Chapter 4- Fireball

The road was muddy and filled with holes. The caravan crew didn't think much of that, years of experience did make the difference at the end, and the journey went smoothly.

Vincent quest had updated right after he delivered the 100 Sunrise herbs, his new objective was to arrive safely at his destiny. That made him uneasy. Arriving safely meant it could be a dangerous journey, and Vincent being at level 1 couldn't do much against strong opponents.

While Vincent was fearful, the bearded man was laughing and chatting like it was a day at the park.

"How long until we arrive there?" asked Vincent, looking at the endless trees around them.

"It shouldn't take long," answered the bearded man, surprised after noticing that Vincent was shaking.

"Calm down brat. The last incident around here was almost 10 years ago."

"10 years ago? But it did happen so how are you so sure it won't happen again?"

"You do have a valid point, but with me here nothing can take us," he said while punching his right chest. Vincent didn't feel any safer after hearing that. The man was a merchant after all, fighting was not something he was good at.

After a couple of hours, the crew saw the houses and the mine entrance, meaning that they had arrived. Vincent was surprise that nothing appeared out of nowhere and attacked them while on the road. It was already night by the time they got there, but it didn't matter much for Vincent as he would enter the cave anyway.

[Quest completed]

"Here, take this silver coin for those Sunrise herbs," the bearded man gave Vincent one silver coin, which was a good amount considering that the game had just launched.

"The Quest didn't give me XP," Vincent thought, but he was still happy because of the money. He knew that the XP were inside that cave not far from where he was.

The cave Vincent planned to explore was filled with level 5 bats. He knew it, that's why he went there in the first place. Vincent was brave enough to go there because of his starting spell as a mage, Fireball. The bats inside the cave were weak against fire, but most importantly, they couldn't outstand the light, so the Fireball was simply the best tool against them.

They were level 5 monsters, and if you had a fire skill they were easy to kill. It didn't matter that much because by the time players arrived near that cave, they would be at a similar level, so it wasn't worth it to kill the bats. They didn't have a special loot either so one more reason to not hunt them. But for Vincent, who was level 1, they were the perfect victims.

The cave was dark. Vincent came prepared though, bringing along a torch to light up the way. He walked slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible, and also to avoid holes a long the way. Strange noises entered his ears not long after he stepped inside the cave. He knew that these were made by the bats. Vincent continued forward, unafraid, and then the monster he was looking for finally came to sight.

[Nighteye Bat] [Level 5]

The Nighteye Bat quickly discovered Vincent and rushed towards him, looking to bite its prey. Vincent was fully focused, responding right away by casting a Fireball. Magic was not that easy to perform in Rise, but for Vincent who once was a top tier mage, it was as easy as breathing. His hand moved fast, drawing magical symbols non-stop. Each spell in Rise had its own formula, that formula was precisely the symbols Vincent was creating. For the spell to succeed,one had to draw the symbols perfectly shaped,perfectly timed, and most important in the exact order. It looked easy but in fact it was quite challenging.

Soon a ball made of flames appeared above Vincent's right hand, and the Nighteye Bat stopped his attack. Vincent didn't care and immediately launched his Fireball, engulfing the bat in flames.

[DMG 12]

"It did 12 damage? Not that bad. If I remember it correctly these bats have 60 or something HP. My plan can actually work. Let's clean up this cave Hahaha."