Aida had a restless night, punctuated with nightmares that she would oversleep and therefore forfeit Ezra’s tutelage. After thirty minutes of trying to go back to sleep after her most recent nightmare (she imagined that she somehow got lost, despite following the single straightforward path laid out in the maps she consulted), Aida decided rest was a lost cause and she’d be better off preparing for her meeting.
When Aida finally stepped outside of the school’s gates with a map clutched in her hand, she gasped. Despite the sconces not providing very much illumination, the moon was large and so close she could see individual craters on the moon’s glowing surface. The path wound down the gentle slope of the foothills the school was nestled in, languidly carving out a spacious path through the solemn trees. From her vantage point, Aida could see a small lamp, illuminating a tiny sign pointing in two opposite directions where the large path split.
Very straightforward. Aida tucked her map away into her worn rucksack (Aida had found the rucksack stuffed unceremoniously under her bed while she searched for a suitable going-out bag), double checked she still carried her name tag and wand, and began the hike down the mountain.
Aida had only taken a few steps before a notification box flickered in front of her face.
Warning!
You are now departing Maglica Academy and its protective enchantments. Beyond this point, you may encounter beasts stronger than what you may encounter on Academy grounds. It is recommended that you travel in parties of two or more.
Encounter Danger Level: Yellow
Would you like to proceed?
She nervously eyed the trees lining the empty path. If she had been playing any other RPG, she would have carried on without any concerns; but she was the weakest character in this game, and she was extremely dubious of her ability to handle any monster (let alone a group) alone.
On the other hand, even though Aida was only a supporting character, surely she had some amount of plot armor? She might be needed to set up a scenario for Sue to bond with a bachelor, and no such scenario had occurred yet.
Or I might be the best friend who gets maimed or killed and becomes the reason for the love interests to comfort the main character, Aida reminded herself glumly. Too bad she didn’t play the game at all. Regardless, now was as good a time as any to test her combat prowess in the wild.
Pulling her wand out, Aida considered briefly. Then she opened up her skill box.
You have enough RP to learn a new Skill. Please select from the following:
1. Water Blast (Lv1) - Costs 5 RP to learn.
2. Freeze (Lv1) - Costs 10 RP to learn.
3. Detox (Lv1) - Costs 5 RP to learn.
Total RP: 26
Aida bit her lip. She had been saving her RP in case she came across other skills that would be more helpful, but in the face of unknown danger, it might be better to have all the available combat skills at her disposal. Small fireworks popped around the edges of her vision at her selections.
Taking a deep breath, Aida tried to calm herself as she stepped past the safe boundary. She still had 11 RP left, which was plenty if she ended up learning some new techniques that could trigger new skills available for her to spend RP on. According to what happened last time, each technique learned would grant Aida 5 RP. If she gained levels on one of her abilities, she would earn 3 RP. Maybe she should practice her Mana Blast and Water Manipulation for some easy RP? Likewise, her DEX stat was pretty low, and she had gained 5 RP for each level she had gained on her attributes. She should probably work on her DEX, since according to the texts she had read the principles behind efficient casting were an aggregation of a healthy mind, body, and work ethic, which could be seen in the more complex skills used at higher levels—
Aida stopped in her tracks as she heard a low growl float through the trees. Of course. Scanning her surroundings furtively, she regripped her wand, for the first time taking comfort in the hum beneath her fingers; even though she may be weak, at least she wouldn’t be completely defenseless. Aida tightened her fingers just as a pair of orange eyes flickered into existence in the shadows. I’ll be damned if I let myself go down without exhausting everything I have.
A lynx the size of a tiger crept out of the trees, its eyes fixed hungrily on Aida. Skittering out from underneath the bushes, a pack of capybara-sized rats surrounded Aida, their noses twitching in anticipation of an easy meal.
Gritting her teeth, Aida considered her options. It would likely be easier to escape—there weren’t nearly enough rats hemming her in to make escape impossible. But the primary predator, the giant cat, looked like it could cover any ground she put between her and these beasts in three bounds max with its massive paws and long, muscular legs. On the bright side, the rats didn’t look like they’d take any initiative in attacking her; they were merely following the apex predator for scraps.
Aida whipped her wand around before she could talk herself out of her plan. Freeze.
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Immediately, a block of ice encased the lynx, effectively freezing it in place—but also leaving Aida staggered. Oh crap! Aida could almost hear Ezra’s calm voice in her head, chastising her for her impatience. You didn’t allocate your mana properly. Next time you shouldn’t use a skill for the first time in battle.
Aida’s status box blinked into existence, confirming the feeling of emptiness in her soul—like her body lacked buoyancy, so that even just keeping her wand raised defensively felt like she was pushing against rubber.
Fortunately, the rats had no interest in attacking her; they devolved into shrill squeaks and chaos as they converged and separated, then converged again. If their intelligence scaled with their size, Aida would bet they were collectively trying to figure out what their next move was.
Taking advantage of the pandemonium, Aida dragged her legs away from the distressed huddle of rodents and slowly managed to reach a respectable walking pace.
Warning: You are at 0% mana. When you have depleted your mana, you can still perform physical activities, but will be severely limited in your abilities. In order to recover mana at an expedited rate, it is recommended to use the skill Mana Cycling.
“Yep, first order of business when I finally reach where I’m going,” Aida muttered, dismissing the warning box. She heaved herself forward, finally coming within sight of the little signpost and lamp.
As soon as Aida entered the lamp’s field of illumination, another notification box popped up:
You have entered a Safety Zone, where monsters will not attack humans. Typically, Safety Zones are areas where practitioners have established wards to deter monsters from approaching and consist of area rest points, human settlements and establishments, or campsites using temporary ward camp kits.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Aida made her way to the signpost, seeing neat lettering on the signs pointing to the two places Ezra mentioned: Buddington Town to the left, and Shale Port to the right.
Dropping her rucksack at the base of the signpost, Aida flopped down and leaned against it, taking deep breaths. She was already starting to feel less winded, and her status box affirmed the feeling: already 5% mana had been recovered.
Gazing back along the path she came, Aida took in the view from where she was. She could see the road she hiked down clearly, so that meant she’d be able to notice if someone came down from the Academy. The sky was also still dark; that meant dawn was still at least half an hour away, so she might as well try to recover as much mana as she could before Ezra showed up.
Arranging her legs and arms into a more proper position, Aida closed her eyes and began Mana Cycling.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
“You’re here early.”
Aida started, snapping her mouth shut. She looked up at Ezra, who was watching her with a stoic expression. “Um….” The sky had a tinge of purple in it. “So are you. The sun hasn’t risen yet.” she scrambled to her feet, dusting her bottoms off and feeling distinctly frumpy in her jeans and ill-fitting, colorless sweater. Ezra was dressed in dark athletic pants and a black-and-white color-blocked bomber jacket over a crisp white shirt, with a duffle bag slung over his shoulder. He looked casually fashionable, like one of the streetwear models Annie would see around her city.
Searching for an excuse to look away from Ezra’s model-esque physique, Aida checked her mana. 20% recovered. Not bad compared to her first day when she used up all her mana on Heal.
Heartened by her progress, she looked expectantly at Ezra. “So, we’re here! What now?”
Ezra quirked an eyebrow, the only indication that he noticed her change in demeanor. Unruffled as always, he rolled with it. “We’re going to go to Shale Port. It so happens that I need to take care of some things there, and it’s also a good place for your training since there’s a lot of water there. We can take my golem.”
Aida glanced behind Ezra, looking for any indication of his golem. Understanding her confusion, Ezra unzipped his duffle bag and pulled out an oblong hunk of silver metal, looking somewhat like an elongated egg with a yellow gem the size of her palm embedded in it. Instead of catching the light like normal gemstones, the jewel in the egg appeared to glow with its own light.
Ezra cupped the gem, and light flashed through his fingers before the metal egg started melting, shifting into a two-piece contraption consisting of a large metal ball on the ground, capped by a small standing platform hovering an inch above the ball.
“It might be a little crowded on the platform. I don’t have enough metal to make the platform larger, not if we want to get to Shale Port in a reasonable amount of time.” Ezra turned to Aida and held out his hand.
Aida gaped at him. She had no idea how Ezra’s “golem” was supposed to operate, but she was even more startled by Ezra holding his hand out to her. The sky had lightened noticeably, but the sun still hadn’t peeked its rays through the trees yet; the overall effect was that the dawn’s rays washed out the lamplight, making the small patch of ground Aida and Ezra were standing in very dim.
Despite the murkiness, Ezra was glowing. His silver hair and clear, pale skin caught whatever little light the lamp threw off and amplified it, illuminating his entire being. Aida couldn’t even come up with anything to say, despite all the questions she had – how were they supposed to stay balanced on the platform? How did the golem work? Would they have to fight off monsters on that thing? – and she finally convinced herself to do something by extending her hand to Ezra. After all, there was no chance of any romantic feelings kindling between the two of them…and therefore, she could indulge the fantasy of flirting with a handsome man without worrying about any repercussions.
Ezra wrapped his thumb around her fingers, gently stroking her knuckles with his thumb in passing, and guided her to the ball. He helped lift her as she clambered up the platform, and then handed her rucksack up to her. He instructed Aida to scoot towards the back of the platform, then formed the metal so that it securely anchored her ankles in place; then he climbed up the platform much more gracefully, straightening up to face Aida. She looked up at him and caught a whiff of cologne. He smelled clean and fresh, like a fresh load of laundry.
“I’ll start moving slowly, so you can get used to this golem. Feel free to hold onto me if you need to.”
Aida nodded numbly, not trusting herself to speak. Ezra looked at her for a moment longer, to make sure she had no further questions. Then he turned around, displaying his broad back to her. She hesitantly grasped his now-empty duffle bag, which he had slung across his back, and did her best to hold on without leaning against him.