Isaac's eyes slowly fluttered open, his eyes, lost in thought, before snapping open.
Dressing himself hurriedly, his clothes slightly messy from his rapid movements.
Without care, however, Isaac darted towards the adventurer's guild.
'Ah, fuck, I better not be late.'
Usually, Isaac wouldn't wake up so late, however, he had another dream again.
Remembering, Isaac's mind wished to forget.
----
Isaac's eyes twitched, somewhat irritated, expecting the sun, Isaac blocked his eyes with his two hands.
However, the feeling of irritation didn't go away, instead it grew.
Trying to open them, he found that he couldn't. Remembering an instance just like this, Isaac cursed.
'Fuck, not this weird dream shit.'
Waiting for a couple of minutes, his eyes finally opened, unlike the previous ashen and desolate land he saw before, this place looked ethereally beautiful.
However, for some strange reason, he felt fear.
Pure, chaotic, and unadulterated dread.
Looking to the right, Isaac saw a strange beast. It looked eerily similar to a fox.
Seemingly laughing at him, it's face contorted into what Isaac imagined was a grin.
Feeling the deep anger arising, Isaac body stood, his hand holding a spear in-hand.
Seeing it's struggle and will, the fox jumped at him, intending to have a good meal.
However, the body Isaac now saw through, wouldn't let it happen easily.
Intending to stab through the wolves' mouth, he attacked upward.
However, the difference in speed was noticeable.
The fox easily dodged, before biting his razor-sharp teeth into his arm, dragging it towards himself, the arm easily detached from Isaac's body.
Feeling the searing pain, Isaac wanted to scream, never before feeling such intense pain before.
The body he possessed, however, let out a grunt before grabbing the spear with his other arm.
The fox could've eaten him there, however, what was it doing?
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
It was busy showing the human his now torn arm, before his expression turned ecstatic, munching on the arm.
----
Arriving at the spot he was told to wait for, Isaac saw a simple wood door.
Knocking, Isaac received no response, so, he turned right before the door slammed open, which now smacked his head.
"What the fu-"
Rubbing his throbbing head, Isaac saw his master, forcing him to pause on his word-choice.
Looking at her disciple, Tasha called him in.
Following her inside, unlike what he expected, there was only a bed and a large room.
This room was big, not too big, however.
"I've accurately gauged your strength yesterday, so here." Tasha's eyes softened, handing him a poster that read.
[Location: Ashen Forest
Mission: Hunt a pack of Ashen Dire Wolves (Novice-Rank)
Reward: 5000 UC]
Looking at his master, Tasha, who was matching his gaze, answered.
"Although you're strong, battle experience always separates good from great, However, seeing that five Wolves of the same rank might be difficult, I'll give you this." Tasha cautioned, handing him an old looking paper, however, the red circle imbedded showcased it's worth.
Knowing that the sheet of paper was important, Isaac looked at her, with a gaze that wanted explanation.
Smiling, Tasha answered, "That paper is an array. Specifically, a spatial array, it'll teleport you directly back to where you have marked.
To mark a space, you have to channel mana into the array, when it glows, immediately stop, and that'll be your spot of teleportation.
To actually use the array, channel mana into it again, where it'll instantaneously teleport you in case of imminent danger."
Listening to the lengthy explanation, Isaac grew to know more about this world.
'Even spatial arrays are possible, huh?'
Looking at his master with a new-found respect, Isaac thanked her.
"Thank you, master, I promise to complete this mission as fast as possible."
Smiling, Tasha replied, "Now, how are you going to do that? What direction is the mission even in?"
Unknowingly, he was going too fast.
Looking at his slightly embarrassed expression, Tasha stopped her tease, "Click on the location, it'll display a map where you find a glowing spot, which is Ashen Forest."
Being informed, Isaac smiled, finding the feature quite nice.
Leaving, Isaac once again thanked her.
Afterwards, Tasha's eyes looked lost in thought.
'You remind me too much of my past self, bastard.'
----
Packing some food, that he actually bought, he stored it in a bag.
His food, consisting entirely of bread, Isaac decided it was time to go.
Although he could ask for a ride there via carriages, he would have to pay regardless.
Fortunately, as a first circle mage, he had gained many advantages.
Thinking about augmenters and mages, Isaac didn't yet know of his status.
Sure, he was a mage as he had elemental affinities, however, his constant use of being able to strengthen his body couldn't be disregarded either.
Isaac wondered if his physique had anything to do with it. After all, if his physique granted him authority over motes in the air, no, over the entire element, what if his standard talent was augmenting?
Deciding to ask the library he had in his mind, he asked, "System, what are my talents or affinities?"
[You hold 'his' physique, so you have control mainly over purple light. However, it seems that your body refining talent also shines.
The system only has very little records of this happening, and when it did, it was due to the fact that the two talents were on the same level.]
Hearing the explanation, Isaac asked, "System, I basically have Chaos-Rank talent in Mana and Body Refining?"
[It seems so.]
Smiling he took note of the word choice the System referred to.
From his novel days, which stopped due to the worsening of his condition, Isaac knew that body refiners were essentially, brutes.
Grinning, Isaac imagined himself punching and destroying an entire planet, leaving the leftovers to space.
Continuing to imagine, he felt the adrenaline course through, imagine fighting a colossal sized dragon?!
However, his imagination stopped itself, as he had reached his first adventure.
The start of his journey, great or not, was now Ashen Forest.