Backing away before the second cricket could reach him, he was happy to see the thrashing of the dying cricket injured one of the second crickets legs, slowing it and making it an easier target for him. Looking down at his spear – or what was left of it – he really wished that he had fewer crickets to deal with and more spears ready to use. Looking up he saw the faerie watching him with a smile on her face.

  glancing towards the tree where his last two potential spears rested. He had passed it earlier when he ran after the last two crickets had appeared. Regretting his choice now, he circled the injured cricket in front of him before dashing forward to grab one of the branches. He still had a few seconds before the last crickets were able to reach him.

  Returning to the already injured cricket he lashed out at the joints on its legs trying to disable it before the others reached them. He managed to damage or cripple all the legs on one side, stopping it from chasing after him. Glancing at the remaining two crickets he knew he would have to turn his attention to them before dealing any more damage to this cricket. It was effectively out of the fight now so long as he moved away from it..

  Leaving the disabled cricket and approaching the remaining two. He struck at the one on the right. His strike missed the leg because they were both jostling for the front position trying to reach him first, cracking against its back. Seeing his strike miss he knew he needed to separate them even just a little.

  Ezekiel led them over to the closest tree, keeping just ahead of them. Circling the tree caused one to get in front of the other giving him the chance he was after. Striking out quickly he managed to disable one leg before quickly striking another making sure to put enough strength into his swing to damage the other leg.

  Now that one of them was injured it didn’t take him long to disable first one and then the other. Luckily, no more crickets had come during that time, which left him with three crickets he still needed to finish off. Looking at his latest branch he didn’t think it would be enough to easily finish the crickets off.

  Approaching one of the dead crickets he tried using its serrated front leg to cut through his branch. The limb shifted awkwardly scraping at the end of his branch but not cutting enough away to create a point. Placing a foot on the joint and his other foot on the flat side of the serrated limb he was able to cut a clean point on the end of his spear, if a little awkwardly still.

  As soon as he was done, he returned to the disabled crickets and put them out of their misery, feeling the rush of essence once more.

  “What exactly is essence? It feels pretty good getting it, but why? What do I do with it?” He asked Ilmarillion.

  “Do you truly have no idea about essence? I thought when you asked earlier it was more due to you being a halfwit earlier, not genuinely ignorant.” she responded

  “I’m not a halfwit. I only know what you have told me so far. I can gain it from rifts and killing creatures and they can gain it by killing and destroying things.” He responded a bit annoyed.

  “You become more and more interesting.” she said.

  Then she smirked. “Alright, I will try not to treat you like a halfwit. Instead I will treat you like a child who knows nothing and is just as likely to eat dirt as actual food.”

  “Essence can be gained from more than just rifts and killing.” she continued “though those are the quickest ways of gaining essence. Your body will naturally convert your excess mana generation into essence. You also gain tiny amounts through eating, drinking and even breathing. You can also gain it through crafting and various professions as well.”

  Floating lazily above him as she talked, he noticed that while her wings flapped she didn’t actually need them to fly. Making him realise it was probably more to do with magic than the wings.

  “When I said that I have rocks with more essence than you I was not just mocking you I was serious. Everything contains essence and mana to some degree and when I first found you, you had almost none. I have never seen that before, except for newborns but even then some still had more than you.”

  “Now, there are three main paths people follow to gain essence. The first path are those who seek to gain essence through meditation, enlightenment and often consuming rare and exotic materials that have naturally high essence. They often try to find areas with naturally higher mana and essence spending years in seclusion. Honestly, I do not understand why anyone follows this path. A single monster in the right rift would give you similar essence as you would do following this path. It appeals to lots of pacifists though so maybe you would like it. But when faced with a rift that needs to be closed, someone needs to be able to go in and clear it.”

  “Often the people who follow this path seem to suffer delusions of grandeur for some reason. I think it has to do with the months and years in solitude driving them crazy. They will come out of seclusion thinking they know the mysteries of the universe and have gained ultimate power.” she said rolling her eyes

  “There are plenty of people who follow this path. It does work which is why I tell you about it, despite my own views on it.” she said

  “The second path is through crafting and professions. They will not gain as much essence at once as killing a monster would provide but often the long term essence gained from professions is higher than any other. But this path depends on the materials they work with and the knowledge and skill they have. Each material they work with still contains essence and as they work, refining the materials and combining it with others, improving upon the original material and creating a better product the more essence rewarded at the end. This is why the better quality materials they work with the better essence gain for them. But if they lack the knowledge and skill to work with the materials they will not receive a high return in essence. Many people, especially those not seeking danger or willing to risk their lives will try this path. This can be a good path forward as it is safe and can be very rewarding both for money and essence but it takes time, dedication and skill.”

  Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

  “The last path I have already mentioned, is the quickest and most dangerous path. We will call it the path of destruction. Killing creatures will gain you a portion of their essence. Some of the essence will dissipate and return to the world and some will remain with the body which is partly where some professions can gain essence. The most rewarding and dangerous is destroying rifts as you gain the majority of the essence it has accumulated over its existence. This rift has not been active long so you will not get much from it.” she finished explaining.

  “There are more ways to gain essence than I have explained, some can be rather obscure. Just experiment and find what works for you. The most important thing about any path is that it is the path you desire.” she finished.

  Thinking about what he had heard, he collected his two discarded branches and returned to the cricket he had used earlier to make a spear. Sharpening them into spears he then tied them to his backpack keeping the one in his hand ready to use if needed.

  “So you said crafting provides essence right? So why didn’t I feel the same rush, when I made these spears then, like when I killed the crickets?” he asked.

  Ilmarillion laughed. “You think making a stick pointy is the same as killing a rift monster? Maybe if you had used a branch from a world tree, sure. What you have, is a branch from what looks to be a fairly common tree, considering it is the only type of tree I have seen in this rift. You then spent maybe a minute sharpening all of them. When I said crafting takes time I meant that. Yes you will have gained some but you will probably have gained more essence from breathing the air in the rift than by making those spears.”

  Feeling slightly embarrassed for how easy he thought it would be to gain essence through crafting. He had hoped it would be easier than it apparently was.

  “Come on, if you move quicker, I will explain as we go. Pick a direction and start moving. You should really learn to fly. Walking is just so slow” she said.

  Sighing, he looked around and started walking in the direction most of the crickets had come from. He was glad he had someone to tell him what was going on but the fairy…the faerie, he corrected himself. It almost felt like she was as much help as hindrance at times and seemed to enjoy watching him struggle.

  “So what do you do with essence?” he asked.

  “Essence is for improving yourself. You will keep accumulating essence over time. You use it to enhance aspects of yourself. You can use essence to improve different aspects of your body, mind, magic or even your soul. You can -”

  “Wait a minute.” Ezekiel interrupted. “Is essence like experience in video games then? Gain enough experience and level up and become stronger then choose to improve my strength if I’m a warrior or intelligence if I am a wizard? Are you sure I am not in a game? Maybe some sort of VR game?”

  “Do not interrupt me, it is rude. We are not in a video game or VR game. I am not entirely sure what they are. But, yes, it does sound similar in that you can use it to improve your attributes.” she said “now please let me finish.”

  “Essence can also be used to create a focus which I would recommend you do when you figure out a path you wish to follow as the right focus can make a huge difference in your growth and success.” she continued. “It will help you improve your own generation of mana and essence and also allow you to absorb mana from your surroundings without being affected by it.” she said.

  Waiting for a second to see if she was done, Ezekiel asked. “So can I be a wizard? Can you teach me magic?”

  “Yes, I guess you can be a wizard if you really want to be one. I will teach you the basics for using mana and how to form a focus, once the dungeon is collapsed. Speaking of which,” she said with a grin. “You really need to work on your observation skills. There are two more crickets just over there. Honestly, I am amazed you have gotten this far in life without seriously injuring or killing yourself by ignoring the clear danger in front of you.” she answered.

  Feeling embarrassed for not noticing the crickets sooner, he dropped his backpack and readied his spear. He wasn’t sure if approaching quietly would make much difference, as he wasn’t able to strike the large eyes without them noticing him first anyway. But he thought it was good to practice stealth anyway. These creatures weren’t ones he could attack from stealth but maybe other creatures he would face would be. Better to practice now than when it was too late.

  He was still several metres away when he stopped, having no more cover he could use to draw closer. Taking a breath he stepped out from behind the last tree he was currently using for cover. Almost instantly the crickets turned and started approaching him. Jabbing forward with his spear it easily pierced the eye and killed the first cricket.

  Turning to the next cricket, it only took a few extra seconds for it to draw near, lashing out in a near identical attack to the last time, killing it once more in a single blow.

  He was amazed for a second at how much easier it was using a weapon which was straight, with a proper point on the end of it. It hadn’t tried to twist as he attacked and had cleanly gone in. The crickets were still a threat if they caught him but the reach the spears gave him made it much easier a safe distance.

  “That was much better.” Ilmarillion said. Making Ezekiel feel proud for a moment.

  “It at least did not look like you would trip over your own feet or spear this time.” she said laughing. “But it was a lot better than before. Well done.”

  Unsure how he should feel after the comment, he chose to ignore the faeries comment. “So are you really going to teach me magic?” he asked

  “No, I will teach you how to use your mana and essence. That will allow you to start casting your own spells.” she answered. “Now hurry up. The rift will not clear itself of creatures.”

  Feeling excited at the prospect of learning magic or atleast how to use his mana, Ezekiel once more set off into the rift to find the next cricket.