Chapter 2

  I spent a few hours in the woods constantly practicing with my mana to further level up the skill. I didn’t know what to expect from a classless system, but this is actually really great.

  My health has stabilized, yet I’m still a ways off from being able to heal my wound. My low mana makes it complicated to do much with it or level my skills much, but I can take advantage of the child trait to forcibly increase my mana pool.

  Mana is similar to a muscle. The more you exercise it, the stronger it becomes. By draining my body's mana and then letting it fill back up, I’m slowly expanding its capacity while simultaneously improving my control.

  This is almost impossible to do at higher levels since people would have too much mana to naturally grow in any reasonable time frame.

  While relaxing on the ground, waiting for my mana to return, I open my status window to admire the new changes.

  Name: Lukas Blackart

  Level: 4

  Traits: Child, Demon eyes

  Health: 42/80

  Mana: 2/50

  Stamina: 115/120

  Vitality: 8

  Strength: 17

  Endurance: 20

  Dexterity: 12

  Intellect: 7

  Wisdom: 7

  Mind: 8

  Perception: 5

  Stat Points: 12

  Skills: [Meditation lvl 5] [Mana sense lvl 4] [Mana manipulation lvl 4] [Expel mana lvl 3]

  My level jumped up to four from all the new skills I acquired. I’m still a little shocked at how easy it is to get new skills like this, but I’m all for it. I’m guessing my vast well of knowledge and experience is the main reason for the ease of the skill acquisitions rather than everyone being able to obtain them with such ease.

  I had first tried simply sensing mana before I was able to bend it to my will and use my [Mana manipulation] to control it. I have a small mana pool even with the additional levels since I have no class to allocate the stats and I’m unable to spend the free points.

  I’m assuming that the 12 stat points I gained from my leveling will be unlocked for me when the child trait runs out, or they will act as bonuses based on the stat distribution of the class I will eventually get.

  Either way, I found that having access to a simplified version of the system for minors is a great idea. It means that most people won’t be as lost when they eventually choose a class and it isn’t as hard for them to adapt.

  Not to mention the fact that it helps empower young kids, even if stats are locked for now, the ability to acquire skills is extremely useful. It helps instill in youngsters the desire to grow and refine their craft before even having Skills granted to them by their class.

  Now that I think about it, perhaps this was a way to replace the first-class awakening. Everyone knows that the system manifests itself when you awaken your class, at least, it used to. The class you got wasn’t your choice but was believed to be based on your soul.

  When you leveled the class high enough, you would be able to evolve your class or change it entirely based on your talents and actions, and that class change is something you can willingly pick.

  The fact that the first class was based on the souls’ compatibility often meant that people who got fringe classes tended to be judged as bad people because of it. That was how I ended up hunted for the first few years of my life… Past life?

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  Whatever. The point is that this new function of the system should serve to help solve that flaw. Since people's actions are now recognized by the system before their class awakening, perhaps it will function more similarly to the class change and take into account one's skills and actions.

  This is all fascinating to think about. But it also brings up another question. How long has it been? For the system to have changed like this means that I have been away from system space for quite some time, perhaps I spent more time floating in beyond than I had expected.

  My train of thought was interrupted by a fiercely rumbling stomach.

  I sat up and clutched my bandaged wound. I needed to find something to eat soon and I was alone in a strange land with no information or supplies.

  Perhaps I was a little too excited about my new status and got carried away.

  I looked through a clear patch among the trees and could see smoke rising in the sky. I couldn’t see the village from where I was but I knew in which general direction it was located.

  I now needed to make a choice. Either continue deeper into the forest, without any knowledge of where I am or what is happening, and take my chances with the wildlife and elements.

  Or go back to the one place I know at least has some of the things I need while risking death or capture by the attackers.

  It wasn’t a very difficult choice, I still had no information on the dangers of this forest and the only reason I hadn’t been attacked yet was no doubt because the village hunters cleared out the most dangerous monsters in the area already.

  I may have immense knowledge and combat experience, but as I am now, I’m completely vulnerable. My leveling is inherently limited due to the child trait and that will last for six weeks. I need supplies from the village and also a map of the area and knowledge of who attacked my village and why.

  It didn’t take too long to backtrack and find the village again. The area was rather mountainous and had thick patches of forest, but the giant smoke plume rising in the sky was hard to miss.

  I surveyed the area for any danger, but couldn’t find any living beings in sight. The bodies were still lining the streets and many of the houses were reduced to ash, but I didn’t notice any elven bodies. Either they were far stronger than the humans or all of the fallen were taken away by their comrades.

  After a few minutes of observation, I made my way into the village and began looting what I could. A nice belt with a few daggers, a leather bag with a waterskin, and even some food I found in one of the untouched houses.

  I didn’t dare stay long or make too much noise, not knowing who might still be around here.

  Just my luck. I couldn’t find any mounts, potions, or even healing herbs. I wasn’t even able to locate a map.

  On the bright side, I did find some food and water and was able to grab a few weapons. My mana is for shit right now so I won’t be able to do more than minor augmentations.

  I wasn’t willing to stick around any longer and made my way along the dirt road. I couldn’t run because of my injury so I took my time and kept my senses alert for any danger.

  I didn’t know what was at the end of this dirt path, but clearly, it had been worn down by travelers so the must be another village or settlement along it.

  My mind was too blurry last night to be able to remember clearly, but I have the feeling that the fight in the village only involved level twenty and thirties. If they were any stronger, then the landscape would have been far more destroyed.

  That could be a good sign since the creatures around here should therefore also be around level twenty at most. As long as I stayed away from any of the beast lord territories, I shouldn’t encounter anything that I wouldn’t be able to deal with. Unless they attack in packs, that would be an issue.

  I chuckled to myself, remembering the fear I felt when I was alone in the forbidden lands as a child. How every level ten monster was an impossible challenge I had no choice but to run from. And now being an injured level four, I was already considering myself stronger than a level twenty, even without any knowledge of the local wildlife.

  Some might call that overconfidence, but I don’t agree. It's just the right amount of confidence.

  The rest of the day was spent walking the path, veering off into the forest when I sensed something getting too close, but otherwise not encountering any trouble.

  I half expected to be hunted down by those gray elves but they didn’t reappear.

  I wanted to spend this time leveling my mana manipulation skills, but doing so would give away my presence to any beast in the area. I might not be a very mana-rich snack for any raming predator, but expelling my mana would make it seem like I’m higher level than I am.

  Instead, I focused on internal mana circulation. With such a tiny mana pool and low control, it was no easy feat. But after a few hours, I was able to reliably circulate it in my body and gained the Skill.

  Congratulations! New Skill [Mana cycling] obtained

  Mana cycling - lvl 0 > Mana cycling - lvl 1

  This is a very important skill for internal mana manipulation and is going to be very useful for body augmentation without being too wasteful with mana. Despite all my efforts though, I was still limited by my small mana pool and wouldn’t be able to significantly increase it until I gained my class.

  It was only when the sun was beginning to set that I finally noticed signs of life. I had spent all day traveling and covered a huge distance, even finding bodies of villagers who had been cut down here and there when I first left the village.

  In a clearing surrounded by dense woodland, I caught a glimpse of movement and a small campfire. I approached with great caution, my [Mana cycling] constantly active, ready to activate my mana at a moment's notice. I noticed three people around the fire, all seemed to be human but I couldn’t be sure.

  I hesitated to approach, but I really did need information and maybe even help traveling through these wild lands.

  I prepared my dagger and got closer to the camp. The people hadn’t noticed e yet so I figured it would be a good idea to get information before making myself known.

  But as I moved through the dense patch of woodland around the clearing, I noticed a lookout. It was a red-haired woman with a bow in hand. She had climbed a tree and was scanning the surroundings. I kept an eye on her as I advanced in the group.

  I wished I could use my shadow mana to hide my presence, something that I used to do instinctively but not being able to do so now makes me feel naked.

  I near some bushes and simply observed them. The was a knight in damaged but shiny silver armor, an older man in dirty brown robes with a staff, and a blond-haired woman in green robes who radiated a faint aura of calmness. Add the archer and this party seemed pretty standard. They were talking and laughing around the fire with some sort of rabbit cooking above it.

  It was hard to tell but they didn’t seem to be around level thirty, except for the older mage whose mana leaked out of him. He was clearly the strongest in their party and was probably here to protect them from anything too strong showing up.

  Before I could make my next move, I felt a familiar feeling behind me. It wasn’t something I could explain, more like an instinct honed over countless years of battle.

  I whipped around, my mana cycling pumping my arm with explosive strength for a split second as my blade thrust toward the thing that was trying to hide from me.

  I didn’t even see what was behind me when I swung. All I remember was the world spinning and blackness engulfing me.

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