Two items popped into Eiden’s inventory at the same time.
The first one was simple: Simple Hooded Robe. Dark grey, lightweight, big hood, the classic “I’m a wizard” look. He pulled it out and put it on right away.
He looked down at himself like he was expecting the robe to start glowing or give him a dramatic title like The Hooded One.
Then he reached for the second item.
Magic Book Level I.
It appeared in his hands and his arms instantly went numb.
The thing was massive. Not “big book” massive. More like “if you drop this on your foot, you don’t have a foot anymore” massive. Thick leather cover, heavy spine, pages that looked old enough to have witnessed several wars.
"This isn’t a book," Eiden muttered, shifting it in his grip because his wrists were already begging for mercy. "This is a weapon. You can kill someone with this."
He set it down on a flat rock, opened it, leaned in like a serious scholar for half a second… and immediately realized he was not, in fact, a serious scholar.
The pages were full of neat text. Beautiful, clean lines. Lots of symbols. Probably important. Definitely not his language.
He flipped a page. Same problem.
He flipped another page, because why not.
Still unreadable.
He flipped ahead like maybe, just maybe, the last chapter would randomly be written in “Common”. It was not.
"I can’t read any of this," he said, more offended than confused at this point. "Not a single word."
He stared at the book for two more seconds, then looked up at the sky.
"Use Magic Book Level I."
[Are you sure you want to use Magic Book Level I? This action cannot be undone.]
"Yes. Please. Take it away before it breaks my spine, or I break its spine."
The book turned into golden dust and vanished.
A panel appeared.
[Magic Book Level I consumed.]
[+1 Skill Upgrade Point]
Eiden blinked.
"That’s it?" He stared at the empty rock like it had betrayed him. "That whole book turned into one point. Just one? I hope you feel great about yourself, mysterious woman in my head."
No response. Obviously.
He opened his Character Panel, because at least numbers were a language he could understand.
"Let's upgrade my one and only."
Fire Bolt
Level: 2
Damage: 5
Mana Cost: None
Cooldown: 1 second
Upgrade Points: 1
Available Upgrades:
Powerful Strike: +5 damage
Burning Flame: burns for 3 seconds (+2 damage)
Area Blast: radius becomes 1 square meter
He read the list, then rubbed his forehead.
"AoE mage…" he told himself.
He picked Powerful Strike without overthinking it.
Fire Bolt
Level: 3
Damage: 10
Mana Cost: None
Cooldown: 1 seconds
Range: 20 meters
Radius: 0.5 square meters
"Double damage," he said, nodding like a professional who definitely knew what he was doing. "Good. Simple. Perfect."
He summoned a Fire Bolt in his palm and watched it flicker. It looked basically the same, but it felt heavier somehow, like it had more attitude now.
He closed the panel, adjusted the robe again because he couldn’t stop touching it, and checked Selia’s map.
Devil’s Tongue: done.
Night Mushrooms: next.
"Alright." he muttered. "Mushrooms."
The Ancient Grove looked like it hated sunlight, people, and happiness in general.
The trees were huge, the roots were everywhere, the canopy was so thick the sky basically said “nope” and left. The air felt cooler and quieter the moment he stepped in, and without even trying he lowered his voice because something about the place made normal talking feel like a bad idea.
"Night mushrooms," he whispered. "Bluish glow, base of old roots, easy. Please let one thing be easy."
Ten minutes later, he spotted a glowing cluster at the base of a massive root, and he felt real relief for the first time in a while, which lasted exactly two seconds.
"There, there." he said.
He opened Selia’s pouch and started picking carefully.
The moment he touched the first mushroom, he felt a weird warmth in his fingers.
"Good," he said, standing up. "One down, one to—"
"OI."
Eiden froze so hard he almost dropped the pouch.
The voice was loud, angry, and came from knee height, which should not be possible in nature.
He looked down.
A tiny creature stood on the root with its arms crossed, staring up at him like Eiden owed it money. Grey-green skin, huge ears, a face that was somehow ugly and cute at the same time, and a ragged little tunic that looked like it had been made from stress.
And the best part: it was wearing an acorn helmet.
It pointed at Eiden’s pouch.
"Those are OUR mushrooms."
Eiden blinked. "…Sorry?"
"Put them back."
Then more of them crawled out from roots and moss and bark like the forest had spawned an angry short-person raid party, and within seconds Eiden was surrounded by a bunch of tiny humanoids all making the exact same face.
Eiden did a quick count.
Fifteen. Minimum.
He held up both hands slowly. “Okay. Okay. Let’s all take a deep breath. Nobody needs to get—”
“MUSHROOM THIEF!” the acorn-helmet one yelled, like it had been waiting its whole life to say that exact phrase.
“I prefer ‘forager,’” Eiden said. “But sure. Okay. Talk to me. What do you actually want?”
The acorn helmet lifted its chin like it was giving a speech. “These mushrooms are for the Grove. Not for you.”
Another one chimed in immediately. “Everything in the Grove belongs to the Grove.”
“We gather together,” a third one squeaked, “so everyone eats. You don’t take the best ones for yourself just because you have long legs.”
“If you take one,” another added, “then the next tall one takes two, and then the next one takes five, and soon there is nothing left for everyone.”
They all nodded at that like it was deep wisdom.
Eiden stared at them for a second. Then he said, very carefully, “You guys talk like communists.”
A chorus of offended squeaks erupted.
“We are not COO-MY-NISTS!”
“Yeah, we are not ‘coomy’ anything!” another one added, like this was the worst insult anyone had ever invented.
Eiden lifted both hands. “Okay. My bad. I didn’t realize political labels were a sensitive topic.”
The acorn-helmet one pointed at the pouch again. “Put back.”
Eiden looked at the mushrooms inside. Then at the fifteen tiny angry faces. Then at the forest, which was doing a great job being creepy and unhelpful.
“Alright,” he said, very calmly. “Counteroffer.”
“NO offer,” the acorn helmet said.
“Okay, so you do know negotiation,” Eiden said. “Great start. You’re already ahead of things I’ve killed.”
All fifteen of them gulped at the exact same time. It wasn’t even subtle. It was synchronized.
He crouched down so they didn’t have to yell up at him. “I’m not here to steal your entire mushroom economy. I need a small amount. Like… a medically reasonable amount.”
“MED… ICK…?” one muttered.
“Yes. Medicine. Potion ingredients. Otherwise I die.”
“Die?” the acorn helmet repeated, suspicious.
“Yep,” Eiden said. “And if I die, I become a corpse. And if I become a corpse, big animals smell it. And if big animals come, they don’t stop at ‘human corpse.’ They start thinking, ‘Wow, look at this buffet of tiny acorn-helmet appetizers.’”
Every single one of them froze.
A smaller one whispered, “Do big animals eat helmets?”
“They eat everything,” Eiden said.
The acorn helmet lifted its hands defensively over the acorn like it could shield it.
Eiden softened his voice. “So here’s my genius plan: you let me take two clusters. Two. I leave. I never return. I tell the big animals the grove is cursed and full of angry spirits.”
They murmured among themselves.
“Spirits?” one asked.
“Terrifying.” Eiden confirmed.
“Why you not just take and run?” another creature asked, clearly confused by the concept of talking first.
Eiden gestured around. “Because you have numbers, home-field advantage, and you guys are also very brave.”
The acorn helmet seemed to consider that.
Then it stomped once. “Two clusters. You leave. You tell beasts we kill.”
Eiden exhaled like he’d just talked a bomb out of exploding. “Deal.”
He very carefully picked exactly two clusters and held them up like evidence. “See? Responsible capitalism.” Eiden said, standing and backing away slowly. “I’m leaving now. Peace, comrades.”
As he retreated, the acorn-helmet leader called after him, “If you come back, we bite your knees!”
Eiden saluted. “Fair. If I come back, you’ve earned it.”
Only when the trees swallowed the grove behind him did he let himself grin.
“Okay.” he muttered.
Next stop: Greenfall Meadow.
Malvina Flowers.
Greenfall Meadow was so peaceful it felt suspicious.
Warm sunlight, rolling grass, birds singing... After the swamp and the Ancient Grove, it almost felt insulting that a place could look this calm.
Eiden stepped into the field and his nose immediately started itching.
"Don’t." he warned it.
His eyes watered.
He searched for an hour.
He found a lot of flowers.
But he found none of the right flowers.
He sneezed so many times his brain started to hurt.
"There have to be some here," he mumbled, wiping his eyes like he was crying, which was honestly not far from the truth.
Then he saw it: purple and white flowers, long thin stems, a dense patch near a small rise.
"Finally," he said, with real happiness in his voice.
He started toward it and slowed down.
Something big was sitting right next to the flowers.
At first it looked like a boulder.
It was a troll. A huge one. Asleep. Parked beside the only Malvina Flowers like it was guarding them.
A panel appeared.
New Quest: [Immovable Object]
A Stoneback Troll has claimed Greenfall Meadow as its territory.
Warning: This opponent significantly exceeds your current threat threshold. Engaging is not recommended unless necessary.
Objective: Defeat the Stoneback Troll.
Reward: +10 Max Mana. Armor Slot Unlocked.
Eiden read it.
Then read it again, slower.
"Of course," he said. "The only useful plant in the whole meadow is next to the monster. That makes perfect sense, because why would my life ever be normal."
He backed up to the treeline and watched the troll for a minute, because at least he could pretend he was planning.
Thick mineral plates on its back and shoulders. Deep cracks at the joints. The neck had cracks too. The gaps looked like the only places magic might actually matter.
Gaps. Face. Joints. Neck.
Big Fire Bolt cost ten mana. He had fifty. Five attempts, assuming he didn’t waste any, and also assuming he didn’t get turned into a red smear.
His nose twitched again.
"Don’t you dare," he whispered, because if he sneezed near that troll, he would die for sure.
Then he formed a normal Fire Bolt and threw it at the troll’s face.
The troll snapped awake like it got hit by lightning, screamed something and charged.
Eiden ran sideways across the meadow, throwing fast Fire Bolts at its face whenever it built momentum. They didn’t do much damage through the stone plating, but they did something useful: they made it flinch, and flinches were basically his only defense right now.
He started forming a Big Fire Bolt.
Immediately realized the problem.
Both hands busy meant he couldn’t keep throwing the quick bolts while the troll closed the distance, and also it meant his legs forgot how to run properly because his brain was busy holding a fireball together like a fragile egg.
"Okay," Eiden panted. "New plan. I’m improvising. I’m a professional improviser now."
A Fire Bolt formed anyway—except not in his palm.
It hovered above his boot.
Then he kicked the fire bolt off.
The Fire Bolt skimmed low through the grass and slammed into the troll’s knee joint.
The troll stumbled.
Eiden stared. "Did I just invent foot casting? Is this a thing? Am I about to become the world’s first soccer mage?"
The Big Fire Bolt finished forming in his hands.
The troll grabbed a rock the size of a cart and threw it.
Eiden dove. The rock hit behind him with a ground-shaking THOOM that made his teeth click.
The troll was still for half a second, arms down, joint cracks visible, and Eiden didn’t waste the chance.
[-10 Mana]
He threw the Big Fire Bolt into the elbow crack.
It hit and smokes rose. The troll screamed.
After that, the troll stopped charging like an idiot. It started moving sideways, trying to keep its injured arm away, and Eiden realized the worst thing possible.
"It’s learning," he muttered. "Great. Awesome. Fantastic."
The troll watched his hands.
So Eiden hid his casting inside the folds of his robe. Hands together at his thigh.
The troll crept closer, cautious.
[-10 Mana]
Eiden snapped his arm up and drilled a Big Fire Bolt into the deepest crack on its neck.
The troll reared back, arms flinging wide.
Eiden didn’t wait for it to recover and cast another one faster.
[-10 Mana]
Eiden hit it, and the troll staggered, furious now, and the vibe shifted from “big dumb monster” to “big angry monster that wants you deleted.”
Then it charged again, head down like a battering ram.
Eiden ran, threw regular Fire Bolts…
…and watched them bounce off the top of its mineral skull like he was throwing warm bread.
The troll was gaining. The ground was shaking. The air felt heavy. He could basically hear the you’re dead music starting.
End it. Now.
Eiden stopped running.
Turned around.
Started forming one last Big Fire Bolt with whatever he had left.
His mana ran out before the spell finished.
For a heartbeat, the half-formed bolt flickered, and he felt that awful empty drop in his chest like he’d just reached into a bag and found nothing.
Then something in him basically grabbed the empty tank and said, we’re doing it anyway.
New Passive Ability Unlocked: [Put Everything You've Got]
When you choose to, you can pour all of your remaining mana into your next skill activation, producing a dramatically stronger version of that skill. Can only trigger once per full mana cycle.
The fireball that formed was bigger than it should be, hotter too, and the center was almost white.
The troll lifted its head at the last second.
Eiden sent the bolt straight into its face.
Every crack in the troll lit up at once.
It took two more steps on pure momentum… then collapsed like a falling wall.
It did not get up.
Eiden stood there for a second, just processing the fact that he was still alive, then sat down hard in the grass.
His forearms were burned red and blistered.
A panel appeared.
Quest Completed: [Immovable Object]
You have defeated the Stoneback Troll.
Reward: +10 Max Mana
Max Mana increased: 50 → 60
Reward: Armor Slot Unlocked — Ring Slot
[Rare Material Obtained: Stoneback Hide Fragment]
[Rare Material Obtained: Troll Marrow Core]
"Good," Eiden said, breathing hard. "You were smarter than you looked."
The troll did not accept the compliment, because it was dead.
Eiden got up slowly, sneezed into his elbow , then limped over to the flower patch and collected Malvina Flowers with one functional arm while his nose tried to kill him again and again.
"Never again," he muttered. "I’m done with plants. Forever. If anyone asks me to pick a flower again, I’m setting the whole meadow on fire."
He stuffed the pouch back into his inventory, looked toward Greenhollow—an entire day’s walk away—and rubbed at his burned arms like that would help, even though it obviously wouldn’t.
"How many hours do I have left?"
[Time remaining until the next Wave: 264 hours.]
[Current survival chance: 0%]
Eiden stared.
"Fuck me."