Chapter 2: Classic Status Screen
As Jessie looked at the screen that popped up in front of him, he was in shock. “Am I in a new world? I wonder if there are monsters and quests,” Jessie thought to himself excitedly. As he looked around, he didn’t see any monsters or quests around, at least not that he could see. As excited as Jessie was, he was also concerned. “it says I can use barrier magic, healing magic and hand to hand fighting. What kind of combo is this?” Jessie thought. “Am I a support fighter?” he questioned himself.
Jessie still a little over excited about having skills of the magical sorts hears some rustling coming from the brush nearby. “Crap! I am about to find out what kind of monsters there are here, and I don’t even know how to use my skills!” He yelled to himself. Jessie starts to shake his hands in front of him and exclaims, “come on magic, work, WORK!”
A woman appears out of the brush and sees Jessie frantically waving his hands in the air. The absurdity of the sight makes the woman burst into laughter. Jessie, still panicking, hears the woman laughing and looks at her blankly. “Oh, thank God, I thought you were a monster!” Jessie exclaims. This in turn makes the woman laugh even harder and louder than before. “What did I say?” Jessie asks. The woman holds up a finger as she tries to breathe through the laughter.
“Oh my, I needed that,” she said. She squints at Jessie with a very confused look. “Someone must have really hated you to leave a level 1 out here all alone,” she states. “Wait, your way too old to be a level 1, how did you get out here?” she asked.
“I have no idea how I got here or why I am here. Honestly, I don’t remember exactly what happened.” Jessie claimed. “One moment I was at school walking to my dorm and the next moment I am in this forest talking to you, questioning my own sanity.”
After a few seconds of looking at each other blankly, they both shrugged. The woman says, “Well, it’s not safe out here for a young level 1, Do you want to come with me and join the rest of my team?” Jessie at this point really had no other option as he had no clue where he is or how to use his skills to stay alive in the wilderness, so he agreed. “Do not worry, you would be surprised at how many people we find in these jungles in need of help to safety. Tally is my name and I kill things for a living. We have a camp close by. My team and I are seekers and are a part of the seeker guild, so I promise not to rob you. Though it seems you really have nothing for me to take that’s worth having.” Tally said with a slight laugh.
Jessie was a bit offended, but when he looked down to inspect what he remembered being main brand clothing and an expensive watch, he realized he was wearing a simple blue tunic and some brown torn cloth pants. Tally headed off in the direction she came from and beckoned Jessie to follow.
“I believe camp is this way,” she said sounding a bit confused, “Sometimes I get lost, but that is the fun part!”
Tally is a pretty tall woman with well defined muscles that she showed off with a crop top and what Jessie could guess were shorts. She carried a massive hammer which Jessie was shocked that anyone could carry. She seemed very happy and extremely confident without a care in the world. Tally looked back and said, “Are you coming? If not, chances are you will get eaten. Normally level 1’s are not let out of the city as you would die from a still breath. I promise I will get you to town and help you get settled. Helping newbs get settled is part of the job!” Jessie without any other option decided to follow her.
They both walked through the forest, Jessie was mostly quiet, but Tally talked the entire time. She talked about herself and her team. She said they met at the seekers academy before joining the guild. She seemed very free with information about herself and did not care that she was talking with a complete stranger.
Jessie asked a few questions about the town and the society a bit and Tally looked at him puzzled. “You must have been really sheltered to be dumped in the Fire Woods. At level 1 someone must have really wanted you gone. I hope the mana takes its toll on them,” she stated. Before Jessie could ask any more questions, Tally jumped into why she was in the forest.
Tally explained that her and her team are looking for a cockatrice. She said that a cockatrice is a monster that resembles a dragon, chicken hybrid. “Those things are nasty, if we are not careful, they will burn us to death.” Tally stated. “Are you even listening to me?” she asked.
“I was just trying to imagine what a cockatrice might look like, that’s all,” Jessie said while looking like he was day dreaming. “So is what you are saying is, if we see a cockatrice, run the other way,”
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“Run? No, no, we are going to kill it! So, when we see one, we go right for it head on!” exclaimed Tally.
At this point, Jessie has put the pieces together and realized that Tally must be some sort of monster slayer or something of the sort. “Okay, so what’s the plan? I am guessing you do this kind of thing all the time right?” Jessie asked.
Tally Nodded and said, “Of course, I just hit it with my hammer until it stops moving.”
Jessie stops in his tracks and looks at her in fear, “We are going to die, aren’t we?”
Tally states, “Its fine! Who cares if we die, it’s the thrill of death that makes this so fun!” She has this crazy look in her eyes that makes Jessie a little uncomfortable.
They walked for what seemed like an hour or more, hiking through the thick woods and brush. Jessie, even though he is not an avid hiker, hadn’t gotten tired at all and thought it must be from his stats that were on his character slate. Jessie looked at Tally as they walked, she was still going on about her many adventures and how she has come close to death many times. “Is your camp close by now?” Jessie asked.
Tally stopped and squinted at her surroundings, “um, yes. Maybe. Honestly, I have no clue. I thought it was north, but maybe it was south. Either way, we will figure it out. Eventually.”
Jessie was horrified by what Tally said but figured as long as Tally could handle any creature that came after them, he was okay with being a little lost. He decided that since they were just wandering through the woods, he would ask some questions that he wanted the answers to. “So, I have a few questions I was hoping you could answer for me.”
Tally looked at him questioningly, “okay shoot.”
“Do you know how to use magic?” Jessie asked.
Tally answered, “Kind of. My magic is different than regular magic. Why do you ask?”
Jessie, a little embarrassed, says, “Well, my character slate says I have barrier magic, healing magic and hand to hand fighting, but I don’t know how to make it go. When you found me in the woods, I thought you were a monster, so I was trying to shake the magic out to do some damage.”
Tally started to laugh and said, “Well, for me, I just want it to happen, and it does. So, just feel the magic right in your chest and make it happen. Everyone is different and it depends on each person’s class and relationship with Eterna. Like me, I just try really hard, and it works. Some people need to use runes, circles and even wands.”
At this point Jessies head is hurting and he decides to give up on the matter at this moment and just go with the flow. “So, you’re saying all I have to do is focus on my mana and see what it does?” Jessie asked.
“Sure, what can it hurt. Clearly you have no battle sense or even common sense. So, I suppose I can help you out,” Tally said in a snarky voice.
“Are you only being helpful and nice to me because you are a seeker?” He asked.
“I am not sure, for some odd reason, I am drawn to help you. I don’t know if you remind me of someone I know or once knew, but all I can tell you is that I do not want you to die out here. So, we are going to find the cockatrice beast, find my team and make our way to Barlow City.” Tally says, while marching in to the jungle as if she knows exactly where she is going.
Jessie wanted to find the mana in himself more than anything at this point, as if he is being pulled to it. He decides to search for it, meditating and looking deep into his conscious. While focusing, he felt a stirring that was not there before. He looked deeper and focused harder and found an ocean. This ocean was radiating energy; he realized it was an ocean of blue vibrant mana. With ease, he was able to manipulate the mana inside him, it did anything he wanted it to. He opened his eyes and noticed that he could see a vibrant purple hue swirling around Tally and when he looked at his hands, he could see a dark blue hue flowing off of himself. “This must be our mana signatures,” he mumbled to himself. Curious about his abilities, he focused on his surroundings, trying to see if there were more mana signatures nearby. He let his sense flow out into the jungle, he could sense the plant life, insects and small game. Then Jessie noticed a much larger energy that made Tally look miniscule in comparison. This mana signature was deep red with rage pulsing from its energy. This rage feeling made Jessie feel sick and he could tell it was extremely dangerous. With fear in his voice, Jessie asked, “Hey Tally, do cockatrice stalk their prey before going in for the kill?”
Tally froze where she stood and turned sharply around to face the direction Jessie was facing. She stood still and pulled out an item from her pocket; it glowed the same deep red as the mana signature he was sensing. “Yes Jessie, they do indeed. I can not believe I did not sense it stalking us with as much mana energy it is radiating. I should have been checking my tracker more often. Let’s not let this chance escape us! Time to go in for the kill!” She said with a bit of laughter in her voice. The vibrant purple hue swirled around her in what can only be explained as excitement as she leapt with inhuman speed into the trees. As she took off, she yelled back at Jessie, “don’t die on me!” as she faded from view.
Jessie is clearly no fighter, but something about the thrill of not dying alone seemed appealing. He knew he couldn’t fight, but he knew he had some sort of healing magic and thought maybe if needed he could at least heal Tally in a pinch or at least try. He took a deep breath and chased after his new friend into the jungle after this cockatrice beast in hopes that he could attempt to help if needed