12 Enlightened

As Daniel was lazing around eating with the animals he suddenly got a notification that he had received a message.

"Hey, so how did character creation go, are you perhaps actually in Shalee, lets group up, I managed to convince Jennifer," Lisa sent.

He decided it would be easier to just show her first, then try to explain. He stood up and went into his system settings and turned on the camera and began setting it to record. He looked around at all the small little animals as they ate and talked. He already thought they were all cute, he had no idea what kind of reaction a girl might have. He wondered what she was up to while he was here in a fairy tale like environment. "What's that in the sky," he quickly called out while holding two fingers up in a peace sign smiling at the sky.

"Where is it," "What did you see," "Let me see," he heard all the little animals say as they were looking up into the bright blue sky.

"Wha chu looking at Daniel?" Ko said as he was munching on fruit.

"I did not sense anything," Atia said looking around.

"Sorry, I lied and tricked you all, I wanted to capture this moment forever by taking a picture," he said.

"A picture, where is it then," Atia said looking around, she was confused.

"I'll finish creating it in a second," he said, he went back into the system settings and stopped the recording. He began editing and altering the perspective of the camera, the Hud system camera recorded everything in a 100 FT radius of the user, they could edit and move the viewing angle. He looked for the moment he tricked them and swapped the angle to be looking down from the sky. He angled it and zoomed it out around himself smiling and everyone else, he even caught the tree and some berry bushes in the picture. He planned on keeping this picture probably forever, he was glad he chose the beastkin race if anything for these experiences. He set the picture to display unhidden in front of his avatar.

Atia was holding her hand from her face looking up in the sky with her two divine beasts, all the little baby animals had their heads angled up looking at the sky with him, they were all looking into the same direction synced. He even noticed Ko looking up while still chewing with another tangerine held to his mouth with a paw. "Can you all see it," he asked while looking towards the floating picture.

"I am afraid that I can not see what you are talking about," Atia said.

"Where is it?" Daniel could hear all the animals say dejectedly.

"Sorry, I wasn't aware that it was something only travelers could see or interact with," Daniel said apologetically. He sighed inwardly as he closed the picture and went back to the messenger.

"Thank you for trying to share it with us nonetheless," Atia replied.

He nodded while sighing he could still hear the mumbling of the little animals some of them were confused. "No I am not in Shalee, I couldn't start there as a beastkin, I won't be at Shalee for awhile actually. If you don't believe me here is a picture of me in Heelune" he attached the picture and sent it.

He wasn't sure how he was supposed to stick anything into his inventory, looking around he picked up the nearest tangerine. Opening the Evotania menu he found the inventory pretty quickly. He could see a small little black cube-like space. As he was thinking of how to store the tangerine in his hand it suddenly disappeared and appeared inside the black space, he could see a small orange ball. "So I have to have the inventory open to put stuff in, interesting," he said as he grabbed more untouched tangerines.

"If you plan on taking some of the Tangerines with you when you leave, I am sure the king of Sylvantir would be pleased if you shared some with him," Atia said she noticed what he was doing.

"Really, I am allowed to share them?" he asked.

"Yes, they are gifts meant specifically to be shared, selling or trading them is completely forbidden though," Atia said while picking more fruit for Hojun.

"Thank you for telling me," he said, the option of selling fruit was quickly abandoned, "I didn't want to be a fruit vendor anyway," he thought as he thought of his possible fortune slipping away. He practically filled his inventory with the fruit anyway, they were basically rejuvenation potions that would cure most poisons he will encounter for a while. It took him a while to fill his inventory, stacking tangerines enough to fill a 6x4x4 cubic foot area was crazy. Noticing he got a response from Lisa he went to check the message.

"What! how did you get there, why are there so many animals with you, are you a druid or something already?" Lisa replied.

"Not sure, I am actually a beastkin and couldn't start at Shalee, I am currently helping the animals here and no I am not a druid. I won't be at Shalee for quite a while and I gotta get back to work helping out the inhabitants here." Daniel replied. Daniel stood up and stretched for a moment as he looked around, "I am gonna get back to work I want to remove that blockage today," he said

"Good luck," Atia replied as she watched him go back to work.

He proceeded to move rocks repeatedly through manual labor, thanks to the sacred fruits he could practically go endlessly if he was willing to stop and eat some when his stamina became depleted. He lost track of time, the sun has only moved a little bit across the sky, he knew time was extended in Evotania, A day was 48 hours, night lasted only 14-20 hours depending on the season. Apparently, there were two suns, the second sun hasn't even appeared. He wasn't sure exactly what time it was anyway, whether this was actually the second sun. he didn't know if he missed the first Sun. There was no clock beside the systems clock that told him the actual time in reality.

Suddenly he heard a loud bloodcurdling roar from behind him. He was confused as a giant shadow leaped over him, it came from Hojun who had just leaped completely over him and the blockade. He was briefly shocked as his blood rushed, his hairs stood up and his claws came out completely destroying his basic shoes. His mind was clear and the shock disappeared because, of his trait. But he could still feel the power transmitted through the tremors and vibrations on the ground as Hojun leaped away. His state of mind had completely changed, that killing intent and feeling that was transmitted was surreal. He felt confused as he turned around to look towards Atia who was grooming Bentia while watching him.

"Do not worry, Daniel, someone trespassed into his territory, in fact, there has been a lot of trespassing travelers today," Atia called out.

"What will happen to them," he asked.

"They are neither invited nor welcome here they are destructive and do not show respect, they will be warned and sent back forcefully if they are a traveler," Atia said coldly.

"What if they aren't a traveler," he asked.

"You should already know that answer, it also applies to the travelers but, because they are manabound they could try to return," she replied.

"So they would just be getting killed, there is absolutely no way for anyone to fight Hojun at all right now," he thought to himself. "How do you make sure they don't return though," he asked, he wondered how she went prevent them from returning to try and steal or cause damage.

"We mark them and cast them out, the kingdom of Sylvantir will not welcome those that do not follow the divine laws put in place in this kingdom," she said.

"Why am I different then," he asked, his claws began to disappear and his fangs reverted.

"I may explain that to you later when I believe you are more trustworthy," Atia replied.

It felt strange to be told he wasn't trusted but he understood what she meant. "I understand, thank you for the opportunity to earn it," he asked.

"You have already been given the opportunity do not squander it, it's the reason you are still here after all," Atia said while smiling beside Bentia.

"Thank you," he said. He needed to get back to work but first, he had to throw away his boots they were simply weird now that they had holes and splits in them, his claws completely destroyed their durability. He wasn't going to bother trying to get them repaired since they were the generic starter equipment. He continued working until all the rocks he could move with his body were moved. It was a long and tedious work project, he was thankful that his physical stats and skills kept increasing. Also, he was very thankful many of the rocks were easily rolled or flipped over. He stopped for a moment to check his status and skill notifications.

|~Status Screen~|

Daniel Smith

Level 1 Traveller

Paugatha Beastkin

Health: 270/270

Mana: 209/209

Stamina:270/270

Fame:2070

Armor:27

Stat Points: 0

Hunger 100/100

Thirst 100/100

Fatigue: 0

NABT:25.5 (Before Trait)

MBT: 198 (Before Trait)

Natural Armor:27

MP15: 80

MPS: 5

Strength - 24

Intelligence - 15 - X

Constitution - 27

Wisdom - 16 - X

Dexterity - 9

Charisma - 5 - X

Quickness - 7

Luck - 10 - X

Current Growth Points Available: 8

Current Experience: 732/1000

|~Endurance~|

Most living creatures require stamina to move, Congratulations you have learned and experienced how to move your body. the more you move your body the more stamina you will require. Endurance will help you maintain peak performance and require less of your stamina.

-Effect-

Reduced Consumption of Stamina 3%

~Current Skill Level: Novice Rank 9

Current XP (99.3%)

He didn't see any notifications for Natural Recovery. "Maybe it requires both health and stamina to be recovering for it to level." he thought to himself. All that's left to move was the large boulder to get it out of the stream. Walking up to it he first tried to slam his weight into it to get it to move. He strained and pushed himself against it trying to get it to budge. He even lowered himself further trying to put more of his legs and back into it. "Raaaaa," he screamed as he tried to get the thing to budge. The problem was the thing was almost as tall and three times as wide as him but he could feel like he needed just a little bit more strength for the push. Not being on a completely flat surface was causing him problems. He didn't even notice all the little animals were startled by his effort.

"Have you not learned how to use mana, to enhance yourself," Atia called out, she was currently snacking on some berries.

"That, I'm sorry I do not know how," he replied.

"There are spell enhancements of course but what I meant was basic mana enhancement which is a skill, simply utilize your mana in conjunction with your physical self just focus it into your current actions, it is pretty simple, I'm surprised you didn't think to use all your muscles if you were gonna overexert yourself," Atia said.

"Haha, thank you," he replied while chuckling at himself, he planned to try and create self-enhancement spells but he wasn't aware he could just utilize his mana in such a way. He began condensing his mana towards himself pulling it back in there was no image, no element in mind. He wasn't trying to influence his surroundings but himself. He took another stance and readied himself. Bursting forth he slammed into the boulder pushing everything he had at it, straining both his body and mana. He heard a ding from a new notification, but he couldn't stop to look at it. The spherical boulder began to budge as he kept going, he needed to get it moving once it was no longer resting it would require a lot less force to move it. He kept going slowly moving the thing downstream and off to the cleared side he had created earlier for it. His mana kept shaking and fluctuating, he could feel it drain and tear as he pushed. Looking up he could see the clear blue sky, he felt like he was getting closer to being done with his first task.

At least the most worrisome part is done he thought to himself as he looked around. He pulled out a tangerine to eat it replenishing some of his stamina, he was practically exhausted just rolling the rock 10FT. While eating he decided to look at his notifications,

|~Endurance~|

-Effect-

Reduced Consumption of Stamina 5%

25% increased Hunger and Thirst Cap

~Current Skill Level: Apprentice Rank 1

Current XP (0.3%)

|~(Subskill) Physical Enhancement~|

Mana is in all things, it makes up everything. You have learned to harness your mana boosting your bodies strength.

~ Effect ~

Consumes Mana along with Stamina

Physical related Stats Boosted 10-50%

Mana Regeneration Reduced by 90%

Current Level: Beginner Rank 2

Main Skill - Mana Manipulation

(Subskill)

"Well that explains why my mana wasn't regenerating like normally, I need to start getting more wisdom than, it will be more important than intelligence in the long run," he said to himself. Next, he needed to reshape some of the larger rocks he didn't move. He just needed to reshape them into shapes that will not block the flow of water. There were only five large rocks that actually need him to shape and nudge a bit away from one another to create space. He looked over towards the dirt and rocky hill, "I need a shovel or something," he said.

"Atia, how would I go about making a shovel with mana," he asked.

"You grew a tree already, it would be no different if you just grew something into the shape of a shovel, but you are simply too weak, the strength of the material would be far too weak," she said.

"Thanks, I'll just use my hands I guess," he said as he walked over towards the hill.

"You are a Paugathas, use your claws not your regular hands," Atia said.

"I don't know how to control my form," he called out.

"Were you taught anything?" Atia replied.

"Mana orb, Mana manipulation, and Endurance were it," he said.

"What about any of your beastkin traits," she asked.

"Nope nothing, just shown what they would look like when I am in combat," he said.

"Tell me what is combat, what actually determines that Daniel," she said.

He hadn't actually thought about that at all. It mentioned a portion of him being injured, but what was combat. He has just been treating everything as manual labor, even when he overexerted himself. He wasn't desperate or fighting anything, he wasn't preparing for a battle. "I understand, I have been treating my situations wrongly," he said. He knew it sounded ridiculous as he thought about it but he had to change his mindset. "I'm currently fighting," he shouted to himself in his mind, as he began clawing at it with his bare hands. He had to treat each situation differently and consider this a battle of sorts. It made sense to him, "how else would I use my claws to actually initiate anything," he thought to himself. Suddenly his hands and feet began to shift, it felt strange and new, Thick claws began to grow from his hands as the fingers morphed. It happened so quickly, he knew there strength and durability was based on twice his natural armor which was currently 27.

His claws glided through the dirt and gripped the stones as he began demolishing the hill.

Whenever he caught a good size stone he just threw it behind himself, the water should wash the loose dirt and stones along. if not he was planning to just get in the water to remove them by hand. He continued non-stop only stopping to replenish his stamina, the process wasn't slow but it was long. He was slowly shaving away at the small hillside, he didn't know how much time passed, the sun kept beating down on him, he looked up and noticed the second sun had actually started to rise. He was covered in dirt and sweat. He stopped when he heard a different noise. He checked his notification to see that he had leveled up. He decided to not use the two free stat points yet. He gained another five growth points which he will let be consumed into his Strength and Constitution stat.

He had already consumed his first fifty growth points from this endless grinding. His Constitution had reached 32 and his Strength reached 27 with his remaining eight points.

Right now his amount of stamina was the most important thing for him, it didn't matter how fast he could move if he could only be active for short bursts. "I don't want to be a glass cannon," he thought as he considered his future stat growth. It was already bad enough he was using his mana for short bursts of stamina and strength. His Endurance and Physical Enhancement had been leveling up steadily. Even his mana manipulation was close to reaching apprentice rank.

|~Endurance~|

-Effect-

Reduced Consumption of Stamina 5%

27% increased Hunger and Thirst Cap

~Current Skill Level: Apprentice Rank 2

Current XP (19.8%)

|~(Subskill) Physical Enhancement~|

Mana is in all things, it makes up everything. You have learned to harness your mana boosting your physical body.

~ Effect ~

Consumes Mana along with Stamina

Physical related Stats Boosted 12-60%

Stat's Boosted in relation to mana drained

Mana Regeneration Reduced by 84%

Current Level: Beginner Rank 8

Main Skill - Mana Manipulation

(Subskill)

Clawing and digging over and over, "I can't let this hill win," he thought as he continued. Every now and again he would eat a tangerine or two, it really helped refresh himself, even though it completely restored his hunger and thirst meter, "I could eat these Tangerines endlessly, they are a really dangerous fruit," he thought to himself as he chewed on the flesh of the Tangerine.

None of the animals bothered him, some had even left or gone home, there was still a bunch that was playing, some even new creatures showed up to enjoy the environment. He even caught a glimpse of a strange large red and blue six-legged lizard that was happily eating tangerines.

"Can you help me, young man," he heard an older woman's voice call out to him above the hill. He immediately stopped what he was doing and began climbing up what remained of the hill it was starting to look more like a wall now. When he climbed over he saw a bright and colorful tortoise, he never saw markings quite like that before on any tortoise shells, it was trying to get up the unnaturally made hill. It was covered in dull gold and red colors with dull crimson red scales. When he tried to inspect her he just got a bunch of question marks. Just about everything besides the personal names of those that shared them was unknown. He thought Ko was a regular brown bear because he looked like one but he even got ??s from him. Was Ko actually stronger than him he wondered, he didn't think so. But he wasn't sure because he was honestly only level 2.

"How can I help," he asked walking over towards her, his claws receded as he closed the distance.

"I heard there was a new fruit here, would you be so kind as to carry this old lady over and down this hill so that I may try it," she said.

"Sure, I'll be happy to help," he replied as he walked behind her and picked her up by the shell.

"Thank you, young man, may you be so kind as to tell me your name," she said.

"Daniel Smith, I'm pretty new to all this," he replied as he carried her around and over the hill.

"Thank you, Daniel, you're a kind young man giving this old lady your time, they call me Granny here but if you'd like you can call me Sheni, I've long lost count of how old I am so please don't ask," Sheni said.

He carried her past the rocks and debris, "if you need help getting back over, feel free to just ask, it was nice meeting you Sheni," he said while setting her down on an open spot.

"Thank you for being so kind, I may just do that I get so easily tired these days, if you ever need an answer you may always come to me, I've been around for quite some time," Sheni said looking back towards him.

"Thank you, I'm sure I'll have many questions in the future," he replied.

"Good luck Daniel, I've never met a beastkin quite like you, I'm sure you will do just fine with your trial," she replied as she began walking towards the large group of animals.

"Really, you never met a Paugatha?" he replied.

"Hahaha, Oh, I've met quite a few of them, I've been around for a couple of millenniums, I'm talking about your character, there is something different about you may I ask what that is?" she said.

"Is it because I am a traveler?" he replied.

"So they have come then, it's been so long since that prophecy, there will be a great change for the better or for the worse in the future coming then, the world will be changing greatly from now on. Anyway, I'm sure I've spoken too much, I expect to hear an earful from her if I keep chatting so much," Sheni said.

"From who, Atia?" he asked.

"Oh," Sheni paused as she looked at Atia for a moment before continuing walking, "Yes, Atia," she said.

"Haha, I'm sure you will be fine, it's always important to respect your elders," he said.

"Of course you are absolutely right, I don't wish to take much more of your time, you should be getting back to work," Sheni replied as she continued moving towards the others.

"Ok, if you need anything from me Sheni go ahead and just ask," he said as he turned around to face the hill once again. He quickly began to attack the hill once again, brandishing his claws as he excavated the dirt and stones. He was really enjoying his time spent in Heelune it was definitely a different unexpected experience.

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