Standing in front of a board that filled up a good half a wall in this massive room and I had no clue where to start. Papers filled the board. Each seemed to be sorted but how, I had no clue. “Solo or with a group?” came a gruff voice that I recognized.

Turning to face the dwarven sub-guildmaster, I answered her with a simple “Solo.” Her eyes appraised me. I had a feeling that she was looking beyond whatever she physically saw. Not that I cared. Not as long as she got me something to do. Something to kill.

“I think that there is a perfect quest for you.” She said, walking over to the farthest, and largest, grouping of papers on the board. “These are quests that are considered perpetually up. Their ingredients are always useful and easy to get.”

The quests seemed like they were easy ways to get money and experience. At least while in this town. Most games had some, though some limited how many times a single player could use it while others didn’t care. “If they are so easy to get then why don’t people constantly farm the quests?”

“Farm?” Her brows crinkled a bit as she pulled two of the pages down. “Oh, you mean repeat the quests as many times as they can? Because neither is worth much. It is more of a ‘turn in the goods if you happen to grab them as you pass by’ kind of quest. But judging by how you look, I would guess you need something that you can kill without being in too much danger.” Taking the pages, I looked over the two quests.

‘Would you like to accept this quest?’

Quest:

Bunnies, bunnies, it must be bunnies.

Quest Type:

Extermination – Rank E

Description:

The bunny population in the rolling hills around the city is ever-growing. Help the city by culling their numbers. Plus, who doesn’t like a bit of bunny meat now and then? This quest is repeatable.

Requirements:

5 Beater Bunny corpses.

Reward:

2 Silver

10 XP

Failure:

None.

‘Would you like to accept this quest?’

Quest:

The Good Stuff

Quest Type:

Harvest – Rank E

Description:

Potions are always in demand. As such, so are their ingredients. Kill a few monsters and feed their blood to the Bloodfern plant until its thirst is quenched. After which the plant is ready to harvest. This quest is repeatable.

Requirements:

5 Crimson Leaves

Reward:

2 Silver

10 XP

Failure:

None.

Thoroughly grossed out at the thought of feeding a plant that was going to be used in a potion some blood, I had to force myself not to simply toss the papers back at her. She likely had a reason for picking these missions for me. “What is with the plant and blood?”

She shrugged. “Bunnies are as easy to kill as they are plentiful. Since you are going to be in the area, might as well grab the leaves after your fights.” She made it sound as if someone going out to kill creatures to let off a bit of steam was normal. That shouldn’t be normal. Then again, why not? It would be a good opportunity for me to find out just how strong I was.

Yeah, I couldn’t fool even myself with that excuse. I had felt the need to hurt someone before but my tricks and jokes usually were enough to quell the rage. This time, I didn’t think that would work. Something about this anger was different. Almost like it was alive. Nodding my thanks to Ginny, I accepted the two quests and passed back the pages.

Turning to leave, I stopped when she spoke up. “There should be a decent-sized warren a little ways to the southwest of the town.” While I was curious how she would know such a thing, I held up a hand in thanks and resumed walking.

The doors at the front of the guild were wide open. Allowing the gentle, sun-kissed breeze to filter in. All of the stubborn snow and ice had melted away as the air had warmed. I had no clue what season it was, or even if this place had seasons as I knew them, but I felt like we were approaching some sort of change.

In the area immediately around the building people were practicing. Each seemed to be grouped by weapon or training type. As I passed, I found my eyes drawn to the various forms of combat. Wooden weapons of all types smashed against other weapons as an adult watched from a short distance away. Others were firing various projectiles at targets dozens of feet away.

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Given that this was a world built with access to magic, the arrows fired were in the minority. Though those shot were usually fired with some sort of magic infused into them. As soon as one struck a target, the target crumpled into it. Looking like some sort of giant had grabbed the target and crushed it into a tiny ball no larger than my head.

That was the last thing I saw before the crowded street of the market beyond swallowed me up. I didn’t fight the current. Simply going with the flow as they all headed for the gate. While many were alone, most had a teen in tow. Either their kid or some sort of apprentice given everything I had seen in the game so far.

Of course, this did bring to mind my own job status, both in the game and out. This little adventure with the game had cost me a couple of days so far yet what did I have to show for it? Not much. Even if I managed to trade all of my gold for money, I wouldn’t have enough to cover a single month in the real world, let alone the cost of the pod.

Not that I had seen any really good way to make money for someone my level. To do that I would have to take chances. Well, and level up in every way. But I had been trying that the entire time I have been playing the game and I was only level seven. On top of that, the city and area around it was likely a beginner area of some kind and yet I was weak as hell for even this place.

I needed some sort of edge. Something that no one would expect. Something that would work on not just other people but creatures as well. Given how much I tended to rely on them in the real world, maybe a trick of some kind.

The moment I thought that, my mana sent a small flare of fire to lick at my heart. It almost felt like it was agreeing. Only, would that mean that the mana is alive and thinking or was I simply anthropomorphizing energy? Fuck it, it’s a game.

The crowd pushed me out of the gate before releasing me in a spray not unlike that of a high-pressure hose releasing its contents into the air around it. The notification about leaving the town appearing and vanishing in an instant as I look around to get my bearings. Many of the people leaving are following the road straight out of the city, though a few turn north. I was one of the only ones to turn to the south. Following the road set on the outside of the wall.

As soon as I got far enough from anyone who might be listening, I played madman. “What do you think we should do to get an edge?” I asked my mana. Nothing happened. Not that it should have. It was energy and that was it. I felt like an idiot for even contemplating any differently. It was up to me to come up with a solution to my problem.

Maybe I could pour the mana along my Chisa Katana and use it to light the edge up with a fire or something. Then again, having such high temperatures near metal would soften it. So that would do more harm than good.

Maybe I could constantly pump mana through my body. I would be strong and able to take a hit. Unfortunately I would also only last until my mana ran dry. Given how little mana I currently had, that would be fairly quick.

Option after option ran through my head. All of them were good for one thing or another, but each caused more damage or limited my options more than if I didn’t use them. It also didn’t help that I only knew one rune and thus one spell. Fireball. No, I didn’t count body fortification as a spell given that it had no runes attached to it.

Spell

Cost

Effect

Damage

Fireball

25 Mana

Fires a ball of fire.

Explodes on contact. Deals burn and concussive damage.

It was simple and effective. With my current mana pool, I could fire five such spells before I was at risk of mana fatigue. Though, that spell wasn’t really something I could use in close-quarter combat. Not without blowing myself up. It was something I would have to open with or use to clear out large clusters of enemies.

Stepping off the circular path, I made my way down the first hill and in the southwest as Ginny had recommended. Not seeing anyone or anything around to yell at me, I took the opportunity to fire off one of the fireballs. How else would I know when and how I could use it?

Focusing, I formed the rune on the surface of my hand. Letting it gather mana while I held an image of what I thought a fireball should look like. Without warning, the spell crumpled into itself. A blue fire, so dim that I would have missed it if not for the light and heat it gave off, formed in the center of the collapsing spellwork. That wouldn’t be an issue if it was anywhere except on the surface of my palm.

The spell didn’t even finish compressing into the fire before it seemed to shudder and explode. With a small explosion of blood and smoke, the fireball exploded. I stifled a scream as the pain brought me to my knees.

It felt like my hand shredded. Not that I knew if it was or wasn’t. I wasn’t willing to look and find out. I may not have been squeamish when it came to blood but it was different when it came to your own blood. Especially when coupled with the amount of pain I was in.

Forcing the pain to one side, I yanked at my mana. Jerking it into a janky body fortification technique that was focused on my right arm. The moment the spell solidified a soothing heat traveled along my arm and to my hand.

I don’t know how long I knelt there, but it was long enough that the wound was stitched up. Long enough that my mana was coming close to the twenty percent limit. Cutting off the flow, I looked at the results.

In the middle of my hand sat a circle and jagged lines of angry pink skin. No burns. No cuts. No blood. Just some tender skin. Not that I was complaining. If that had happened in the real world I would have likely never regained full use of that hand. Hell, if I had had my hand closed, I might have lost the entire thing.

Taking the win, I got up and resumed my journey to find these damn bunnies. Not that my mind was really focusing on that. Instead, my mind was occupied with figuring out how to cast this damn spell. Every game and book made it sound so easy. Most of them even seemed capable of casting the spell on the first try. Well, I had cast it but it wasn’t a result I wanted to repeat.

Thinking back to how the spell had formed. I ran through the scene over and over. The rune seemed to crumble in on itself as the mana concentrated. The first signs of fire appeared in the middle where the compression was highest. It didn’t fail until it encountered something that disrupted the spell. Given that my hand was the only thing in the area, it was the likely culprit.

Something rusted through the bushes just on top of the next hill. The sound caught my attention, especially coupled with the sudden lack of wind to generate said movement. I stood stock still, waiting to see if it would show itself or if I would have to go over and look for myself.

A small pink nose poked above the grass. Flaring as it took in the scents of the area around it before poking its whole head up. Given the two long ears and resemblance to a bunny I had once seen on a school trip to cities one museum. The thing was one of many creatures stuffed and hung up in a wing dedicated to recently extinct animals.

Taking this as a good opportunity, I pulled mana to my hand. Slowly forming the spell as far from my hand as I could. The moment I finished forming the rune, I pushed mana into it and brought up the image of my ideal fireball. Letting the spell go through the motions while hoping that it didn’t explode again.

A few moments later, a small ball of light blue fire floated an inch of my hand. The color of the rippling flames reminded me of a blue citrine. Its glow close to that of how many movies depicted ghosts.

One would think that, given its proximity to my hand as well as my recent experience, I would be afraid of the ball of doom. But I wasn’t. Likely due to the fact that the thing was half an inch in any direction. It was far enough that I doubted it would have done much damage. Heat poured off of it. Slowly baking my skin as it waited to be used. Pulling a hand back, I pitched the thing like I would any other ball.

Nothing happened. No explosion. No fire. Not even a small stream of light as it flew at my target. Given the heat in my hand, tossing the thing did nothing. Then again, it was tied to my hand with mana and nothing else. Maybe if I used mana to propel it, then it would fly off and hit the target. Which begged the question, how did one go about doing that?

Given the amount of imagery, maybe if I thought about the ball flying it would. Focusing on the fluffy target, I imagined the ball flying at it. Before I could even finish the thought, a thin streak of light crossed the distance. A microsecond later, a small explosion blasted the spot where the bunny had been. I say had been because I doubted it was there any longer. Not with the amount of red mist that was landing on the hill behind my target.

Then again, maybe an inch away from my hand was still a bit too close.