A gentle shaking.
“Kat.
Kat, wake up.” Mmm.
I blinked and looked up at Rey.
What was he doing here, in my… oh.
Not in my room.
The events of the past two days reentered my mind.
Our second day on the run.
Oh!
I jolted up, looking for the beginner spellcraft book I had been reading last night.
There it was.
It laid beside me, open.
I had fallen asleep while reading it.
“It’s morning.
Here, I got us some breakfast.” He held out warm, steaming pork bun.
The smell made my mouth water.
I took it, and gently bit into it.
Mmm… It tasted just as good as the noodles last night.
Eating warm food after the rations of the last few days was felt nice.
Rey ate his too, sitting on the bedroll next to mine.
“… Did you learn about magic?” Um… I took a bite and tried to order my thoughts.
“Yeah… a little.
Um…” I closed my eyes and found the little spark of mana inside me.
Okay, now to slowly tug it to the surface, the top of my finger.
I held it out and opened my eyes.
It was softly glowing.
Rey gaped at the small, dim light.
“Wow!
You really can use magic!
What else can you do?” Oh.
Uh… The glow faded as my mana ran out.
“Um… right now I can just use this.
I only have enough mana for a few seconds of light… oh, but as I practice, my mana will grow!
Um… after a few days, I think I can use the wand to fire a mana bolt when I can keep the light for five minutes…” Although, that would take all my mana.
I sighed, and picked up the book, seeing where I left off last night.
Let’s see… not everyone is born with mana.
Those who are… get it from their parents.
It was…hereditary.
Because of that, magic users are frequently nobility.
Like my parents.
And me.
That was how I could use magic while Rey can’t… I shook my head, trying to forget about it.
Let’s see.
Mana was like a muscle.
The more you use it, the more you’ll have.
That was why it was so important to use as much magic as you can, especially at the start.
As for spells… that small light on my index finger was one.
I can use my wand to make a light too, on the tip of the wand.
And that was about it right now.
At least I could read by that light, and we might be able to save on slime cores.
I sighed.
At least my mana was already back now.
I focused on my fingertip again, making it glow.
I’ll just keep using it throughout the day.
According to the book, while mana can be trained and grow larger, you’re stuck with your regeneration rate.
I had so little mana though, I couldn’t use the method detailed in the book to measure it.
I would have to fire at least one mana bolt to figure out how quickly I regenerate mana.
He finished off his pork bun, dusting his hands off.
“Well, come on!
That old guy told us to go to the guild hall this morning, so we can get some training!
And you know, I read all about slimes yesterday, so now it’ll be a piece of cake for us to take one down.” Uh… I grabbed my pork bun and finished it off in one bug bite.
I took his hand as he helped me up, and we walked out of the tent.
I finished chewing and swallowed as we left our tent behind, just grabbing our bags to take our money.
“We don’t even have a silver left, do we?
I hope we can start earning more money today…” “Uh…” He rubbed the back of his head as he slung his bag over his shoulder “Yeah.
We need to start earning money soon.
Let’s go!” He offered me his hand.
I took it, and we headed out to the guildhall.
It was just down the street from the plaza.
As soon as we walked in, Anna, who was talking to the receptionists, spotted us and walked up.
“You two.
It’s almost nine.
Where have you been?” She sounded cross.
I winced, and backed away, behind Rey, who stood his ground.
She paused and sighed, pushing her hair back.
“I suppose it’s fine since we didn’t formally set a time to meet.
But an adventurer rises with the sun, okay?
Always get an early start to your day.” Oh.
We should have gotten up earlier.
I guess we spent too long reading last night.
“I’m sorry…” She held up her hand.
“No, like I said, it’s fine!
Let’s just… get to the tour.
I’ll show you the way to the dungeon, and the field we use for training outside of town.
Then, Kat, you can practice some magic while I show Rey, the ropes of dual wielding swords.
Follow me.” She took us out of the guild, and back into the city, towards the north.
Soon, we came to a big gate.
She turned back to us.
“Okay, we’re going to leave the city now.
You both have your guild cards on you right?” We nodded.
They were tucked into our bags.
“Okay, then let’s go.
When the guards ask for identification, show your guild card to them.
That way, you don’t have to pay to get into the city.” She flashed her card to the guards, and they nodded at her as we went through the gate.
Here, there was also a small tent village, though most of them looked like adventurers this time some were even eating breakfast, Anna tsking at them.
She gestured to the dirt path to the right.
“This leads to the training fields.
But we’re going to keep going north.
That where this town’s D-rank dungeon is.
It’s a forest dungeon, so keep an eye on the woods for monsters.
Remember, when you’re outside of the town walls or a defense item, you always need to be on guard.” Ah.
I eyed the treeline suspiciously as we jogged.
Soon, we spotted a wooden checkpoint.
She came to a stop, and waved to the guards, who wore the adventurer’s guild insignia.
They waved back, and she turned to us.
“This is the official entrance to the dungeon.
The guards here will check your guild cards before you enter, or in your case, they’ll refuse you entry because your rank is too low.
To enter a dungeon, you have to at least be at the same rank as it.
But you guys won’t be entering the dungeon.
We’ll be going around the outside of it.
Follow me.” She plunged into a small trail off to the side of a guardhouse.
We hesitated a moment before following her.
She explained as we hiked.
“This trail marks the edge of the dungeon.
Here, try and stick your hand into it.” She gestured to the forest on our right.
I fidgeted, nervous, but Rey wasted no time plunging his hand in.
“Ow!” He yanked it back out and rubbed his hand.
Anna smirked.
“Felt that did you?
Yeah, the mana difference between a dungeon and regular land is stark.
The entrance is really the only place you can cross over safely without feeling the mana difference.
Of course, some people will still enter illegally, even though it hurts like hell.
Luckily, that same difference is what keeps monsters inside the dungeon.
So typically, you don’t have to worry about a monster suddenly leaping out of the dungeon and attacking you… although, again some do it anyway, either out of desperation or fear.
But your quarry will be a lot easier than regular monsters.
Let’s see if we can find one…” She started off again, and we followed her.
About twenty minutes later, she stopped.
She held out her arm.
“Stay back.
Look ahead there.
You see that little blob on the trail?” I shifted around her, and I saw it immediately.
A bright blue blob, on the right side of the trail.
It quivered and was eating something on the ground.
Rey caught his breath.
“A slime.” “Exactly.
That’s what you’ll be hunting.
Slimes feast on the magic of dungeons.
Essentially, they eat them.
Like parasites.
If too many slimes feed on a dungeon, it’s rank will drop, and it’ll be less powerful.
That why it important for adventurers to regularly hunt slimes, to preserve the dungeons that are the source of magical materials and food that keeps towns running.
As an added benefit, slime cores are the most popular sources of magic around, due to being so plentiful.
Now, let’s hunt this slime.
How would the two of you approach it?” She glanced towards us.
Rey answered smoothly.
“We make as little noise as possible.
Slimes sense their surrounding through vibrations in the air and ground.
We move slowly, until we’re in striking range, and pop the bubble before it has time to react.” She smiled.
“And let’s say it senses you.
How would you react if it begins attacking?” “Slimes either spit weak acid or attempt to envelope you.
If you’re a ranged user, you back away, and off you’re close combat and rush in.
Either way, you attack it and finish it off as quickly as possible.” “Perfect.
Someone did their homework.
Okay then, I’ll show you how to properly kill a slime.” She drew her swords, smooth, and walked up to the slime.
Yet she did so completely silently, her footsteps leaving no impressions as she stepped on the balls of her feet.
With a blur, her swords moved and the slime burst.
A small round blue core dropped to the ground, and we hurried up to her as she picked it up.
She held it up to show it off to us.
“This is a slime core.
They typically go for ten copper a piece.
Consider this one a freebie.” She tossed it to Rey, who fumbled a little before firmly catching it.
“What?
But you’re the one who hunted it—” She held up her hand.
“No.
Consider it a gift.
And not one you have to pay me back for, like that asshole Orick.
Now, let’s head back to the training field, and I’ll show you how to use those swords for more than just decoration.”