Beyond the walls of the stronghold, a broad dirt road cut through rolling grassland before disappearing into a distant forest. Smaller trails branched off on either side, with groups of awakeners scattered among the shrubs and trees. Somewhere to their left, a flash of light was followed by a loud bang and several people cheering.
Luke turned toward the sound, but whatever they had killed was hidden by the tall grass.
"Stay on the path for now," Helena said. "This stronghold is located in a relatively safe area. There are two more strongholds near us. There is nothing dangerous in these parts but some of the smaller creatures can still burrow and surprise you."
He immediately paid more attention to where he was putting his feet. Emma walked beside him, looking between the grass and her open interface. Every so often, she flexed the fingers of her right hand.
"Nervous?" he asked.
"A little, young master."
"Me too. But you’re the one who gets to throw fire."
Emma laughed but she still looked quite nervous.
Garrick led them away from the road toward a cluster of low trees. The stronghold’s walls were still clearly visible behind them when he stopped and held up a hand.
"There. Beside the fallen trunk."
Luke peered past his shoulder.
A squat creature was digging at the base of the tree. It resembled a boar, although its back was covered in stiff brown spines and its front claws looked far too long. It ripped a root from the soil and began chewing, scattering dirt from its snout.
"A root boar," Helena said quietly. "A suitable first target."
Luke looked from its claws to Emma’s bare hands. "Ugh... are there no chickens or sheep to start with? That thing looks a bit..."
"Sheep and chicken? Ba ha ha ha! Do you want to train to be a butcher?!" Garrick burst out laughing.
Luke rolled his eyes. All the MMORPG games he had played had bunnies and chicken as starter beasts! What the hell was this weird ass thing? Just one tackle from that thing would puncture him in hundred different places!
"Relax," Garrick smirked. "It won’t get anywhere near HER."
Luke really did not like this guy. He was definitely planning something.
Ignoring the two of them Helena gave a few instructions to Emma. "First focus on the beast. You should get a system prompt if you do. It will tell you about the details of the beast."
Emma stared at the boar. A moment later, her eyes widened.
"I can see it."
Luke focused on the creature too, wondering whether this was another convenience reserved for people who had successfully awakened.
"What are you doing?" Garrick laughed. "To inspect anything using the system you need to actually awaken. Heh. I have heard rumors about a pair of magic glasses that help even the unawakened to see. You have a lot of money, don’t you? Why don’t you try buying them?"
Even before the guy finished speaking, a system notification popped open in front of Luke.
[Root Boar]
[Rank: F]
[Level: 3]
Well, that was interesting. Luke smiled but he did not say anything.
"What does it say, Emma?" Helena asked.
"Root Boar. F-rank. Level three."
"Pay attention to its rank as well as its level," Helena continued. "A level-three monster of a higher rank could be much more dangerous. And inspection won’t tell you everything it can do."
Emma nodded, watching the creature.
"Now we get to the useful part," Garrick said.
He walked into the clearing and clapped his hands. The boar raised its head. For a moment, it simply stared at him, chewing the last of its root. Then its spines lifted and it charged.
Garrick caught the creature by a tusk. Its momentum carried its hindquarters around, but he remained where he stood. With a sharp twist, he forced it onto its side and planted a boot against its shoulder. The boar kicked up dirt, squealing furiously.
"There. Your turn."
Emma looked at Helena.
"Go ahead. I’m right beside you."
She moved forward, stopping several paces from the beast.
"Raise your hand and activate your skill," Helena said. "Aim anywhere on that thing."
Emma extended her arm. A small orange light flickered above her palm. It grew as Luke watched, gathering into a trembling ball of flame.
Luke stared at it with his jaw dropped to the ground. Holy shit. She was actually doing it.
Emma seemed equally surprised. Her fingers twitched, and the flame wobbled.
"Focus on the target," Helena reminded her.
The firebolt shot forward and struck the ground just short of the boar. Dirt scattered across its belly.
Garrick sighed loudly.
Emma’s face reddened, but she raised her hand again before he could comment. The next bolt hit the creature’s side, bursting against its hide. It squealed.
Luke flinched at the sound. Beside him, Emma lowered her hand halfway, staring at the scorched patch she had left.
"Keep going," Helena said. "It’s still alive."
Emma swallowed and cast again. She was only able to do it one more time before she started trembling slightly.
"Emma, are you okay?" Luke rushed forward, worried.
"I... young master... I feel faint... I"
Her knees buckled before she could finish.
Luke caught her around the waist. Helena took her other arm and helped him lower her onto the grass.
"She’s exhausted her mana," Helena said. "Let her sit."
Luke crouched beside her. Emma’s face had gone pale, and her hand trembled when she tried to push her hair away from her forehead.
"You told her to keep casting."
"I expected her to check how much she had left."
"She awakened this morning."
"It’s fine. This is a lesson everyone new has to learn. When she or if she joins an academy, she will learn this there as well." Helena knelt and took Emma’s wrist. "How much mana does your status show?"
Emma’s eyes lost focus briefly. "Zero."
"And your skill cost?"
"Five points."
Helena nodded. "You’ll feel weak until some of it recovers. Don’t try to cast again. Next time stop with two until you recover."
Garrick smirked. "For an F rank that will take around 3 hours. That means only two fireballs in 3 hours. Pathetic. You might think your situation might change if you level up but you will always remain useless in any real fight. Maybe when you are level 100 after 100 years you can fight these boars comfortably."
Hearing him, Emma looked heartbroken. Luke clenched his fists but did not say anything. He wanted to punch the man. Unfortunately, he had just watched him wrestle a charging boar into the ground with one hand. Breaking his own fingers wouldn’t improve Emma’s afternoon.
Instead, Luke shifted closer to her, blocking her view of Garrick. "Look at me."
Emma raised her eyes reluctantly.
"Does your class say you can’t improve?"
"No, young master."
"Then we’ll worry about level one hundred when you get there. Right now, you need to rest."
"I didn’t even kill it."
"You hit it twice. You didn’t know how to cast a spell ten minutes ago."
Behind him, the boar gave another squeal. Luke glanced over his shoulder. Garrick was still standing on it, apparently quite happy to keep the creature pinned while explaining how worthless Emma was.
"What? Little fire mage? Are you getting up any time soon? Am I wrong?" He then laughed and made the boar squeal even louder before lifting his boot.
The boar rolled onto its belly. For a moment, it lay panting in the dirt, its burned flank heaving. Then Garrick nudged it with his foot, straight toward them.
Luke saw its head turn. He barely had time to pull Emma against him before the creature lunged.
"Helena!"
A pale barrier flashed between them and the boar. Its tusks struck with a crack that made Luke flinch, and the impact threw it backward. Before it could regain its footing, a narrow blade of light pierced its skull.
The creature collapsed less than two paces from Luke’s boots. He sat frozen, one arm wrapped around Emma and the other raised uselessly in front of his face.
Garrick laughed. "Look at you. You’ve got a barrier belt on, boy."
Luke lowered his arm slowly. His heart was hammering so hard that he could feel it in his throat. Emma was gripping his shirt.
"Garrick." Helena’s voice was sharp. "Enough."
"What? You had it covered."
"She was sitting on the ground."
"And now she knows monsters don’t wait for her mana to recover. I was just teaching her another lesson."
Luke already knew that the guy was going to pull off some shit like this. But knowing it beforehand hadn’t made the sight of those tusks coming toward his face any easier. From the beginning this was a bad idea. This guy was basically a walking red flag. He needed to deal with this right now before it got worse.
Just as Luke opened his mouth to say something, a loud shrill squawking sound interrupted him. A massive shadow fell over him and the group. Luke’s heart dropped. When he looked up, an enormous monster bird was coming straight for him.