Into adventure!

||Quest objective: Eliminate boars.||

Brown. Mostly just.. Brown. It wasn't stony in here or anything. More like… Muddy. There where spots of green, some small fern things and moss. But mostly just brown. And blue. It was lit up like some kind of… Blue festival I don't know. Fat mushrooms where all over the place glowing an incandescent blue. It was actually enough that this cave area was well lit, despite it being well, a cave.

The air tasted humid and well.. Alive is the best way to put it. I'd worry about breathing in spores or something. But that seems like it would make for a pretty hard quest. Not sure if this is better or worse than the really dry air back in the town.

Come to think of it. Where the hell did quests take place? Was I being teleported somewhere? Or was this like, its own universe? I wasn't paying a ton of attention when it was first explained. But it actually kinda stuck out from the normal fantasy elements of this world… Well whatever. Thinking wouldn't make my arm better.

Hefting up my mace I turned towards the goal of the quest. A boar was standing pretty close to where I came in actually. It probably could see me by now.

Its appearance was kinda indistinguishable from a pig back where I came from. Its not like I spent any time around animals or anything. So maybe its flat nose was a bit wider, or its tusks where a bit wider. And I mean I doubt earth boars had glowing blue eyes, but other then that it seemed pretty standard.

So first order of business. I'm poisoning this thing. Boars are pretty standard fodder in video games, but I've heard some nasty rumors about them back on earth. Better to be over prepared right?

"Lets see… I think it felt like… [Trashheart]"

Okay, wow. There's no other way to describe it. The difference in power is huge. I can FEEL my anima swelling and shooting out of me. Which is good cause this version doesn't really have a visual indicator.

That said. It didn't work.

The boar even looked up towards me while I huffed, turning its head quizzically. I don't need to get side-eyed from a pig! I'm still not used to magic okay?

So options. I could just jump into combat as soon as my stamina recovers, I felt a lot better about melee after dealing with so many biters with it. But still, I was a caster inside dammit! I wanted to start with a spell if I could. There was the white lightning, but I think that's entropic, witch is apparently weak as shit. So either keep trying poison until it works. Or come up with something new…

The boar was rooting around in the mud a bit. Digging for truffles or something..? It definitely knew I was here. So I guess these things are pretty much passive…

Ahh stop thinking so hard about it. I should learn all kinds of spells as early as possible anyways. If my potential skill is buffing my ability to get new skills then I should grab as many as possible.

So lets try for lighting. Its one of the holy trio of attack magic. And I kinda did a weird version of it already…

Lightning…

Electricity….

Energy..?

Did I actually not figure out anything from my first time? I thought it would be easier to learn a new magic cause I've already done it, debatably twice. But this is hard actually! Maybe its even harder then before.. The first time I kinda just knew what I wanted and floundered around until I got it. But now that I know how to work my anima into a spell. I know just how many ways to do it there actually are.

It's like.. Infinite. Not infinite as in like an unlimited number of combinations, but even the formula of combining things in it wasn't solid. It was multiple infinities stack on top of each other. And somehow I had to figure out what kind of spell I wanted to make. It was amazing I even managed to cast spells I knew right actually!

Wait. it wasn't actually that hard. Well, I mean perspective is everything. I actually had a few parameters that made it easier. I kinda felt a difference between throwing that lightning around and using poison. Its hard to describe how. But poison felt more like I was working with water or something. Directing a stream. The lightning was closer to swinging a pickaxe. Just hitting something as hard as I could in just the right way… Or at least that's the best way I could envision it.

Real lightning, electricity or whatever. Should probably be more similar to the white lightning I made. So I can discredit anything that feels like it's moving my anima around like a fluid.

The pig.. I mean boar. Rolled over on its back. Uncaring that I was unraveling the secrets of the arcane through trial and error. Repeatedly burning myself out on spells I didn't even cast…

Wait would I run out of food here too..?! I guess there was plenty of plants around.. And the boar was looking for something earlier, they probably ate those glowing mushrooms too. So best not to panic…

||Fasting Skill up! 2->3||

Not a good time omnipotent skill window!

Actually wait, why did it go up? I'm not even hungry… Well I guess the last time I ate was some crackers after I first woke up after my quest. And before that I threw up so… Okay maybe that skill was doing work.

So yeah.. Magic.. Lightning… Focus….

AHH this was too hard! I literally fell over, and now there's a rough feeling snout prodding at my good arm. Even the monsters here think its unfair!

Its not good to get too attached… Considering I'm probably gonna massacre a ton of these to get out. So up we go. Just lift up the mace high and pull it down. Ignore those innocent blue eyes staring up at you…

WHACK!

||Brutality Skill up! 1->2||

Okay I don't need a moral judgment along with my mandatory quest actions thank you very much.

But damn. This really was easy. The boar kinda just crumpled when I smacked it, I even missed, I was going for its head, but I ended up further back on its spine and it just fell down. It was even soft enough that my weapon sunk in instead of bouncing back.

Okay, so new plan. I don't feel like spending a few days here. So I'm gonna do the quest, and I'll at least try to use a spell every time before I start a new fight.

---

Update. This is a better way to do magic training. I'm not sure I got it right yet, but something is coming out of my hand at least. And this quest is REALLY easy. It makes me kinda bitter about doing the rat one first. Just walk around Wapping starter level boar things and I'm nearly done.

I say nearly, cause there's a pretty obvious open chamber for a boss in the sort of, mildly open quest area. Id say its kinda like a smaller circular area attached to a bigger one.. Maybe if I had a cartography skill-Wait don't think that!

The reason I had to be careful about my thoughts was what I was looking at right now.

||Level up! Please direct your experience||

I didn't close the prompt. Cause even after seeing me kill another one of their kind the 'boars' didn't bother to attack me.

But what was important here is what I did with it. Last time I just sort of thought about increasing my perception, and got a whole ton of skills at once. Maybe its another effect of 'Potential' but level ups seem really useful for getting way stronger at once.

So even though its really, REALLY tempting to just ask it for some help with my new topic of magic, I had to consider if that was in my best interest. I mean I would be getting magic skills anyways if I focused on them right? So I should spend this on something practical outside of my expertise…

Mobility? Melee combat? Perception? Stealth? Utilities? There where so many very tempting options outside of just magic. Skills I would probably not have a chance to get outside of specific, laborious training…

MAGIC. OH GOD I WANT MAGIC SO BAD GIVE ME MORE MAGIC PLEASE!

||Intent confirmed. Casting will be improved||

Well shit. I kinda.. Consigned myself to wasting this now.. Maybe I should look at it more like being a specialist… Yeah, a casting specialist. That sounds like less of an overt mistake.

||Skills, Lightning casting, Anima conversion, Entropic casting, and Casting dexterity have Been acquired!||

||Entropic casting proficiency added, but it was not enough to skill up!||

Woo three new skills! Boo no skill up! Woo it gave me exactly the skill I wanted. Boo I still have no idea what the other ones do!

There was thankfully one monster left before the boss room.. Oh yeah those things arn't really pigs.. So I don't feel nearly as bad about my massacre now. Call me petty, but Its not like I had any options anyways.

For now. Magic. I wish I was the kind of person who could resist the urge. But I simply could NOT avoid showboating a bit. Touching my middle and index finger together in front of my face. I pulled my hand away in a long slashing motion. Swelling up my anima and saying whatever random bullshit came to mind.

"[Epsi arc]"

Pure blue electricity jumped from my fingers, curving around the same direction of my swing to curve just shy of the monster's face, swinging upwards and making a quiet 'zap' against the muddy roof.

God that looked so cool. If only I didn't need to catch my breath after… Or if It actually hit.

"[Epsi arc]!"

Waaay over its head.

"[Epsi arc]"

A few feet to the side, but hey, correct distance.

"[Epsi arc]."

Okay this time It hit, pure blue lightning connecting the tips of my fingers to the side of the boar body for a instant, before jumping through the touch and blasting a smoking hole in the side of the monster. It flipped over as the impact threw it aside, momentum ripping it entirely in two before it scattered itself across the ground.

Wait.. that was big. Like that's serious damage.. I mean its not easy to hit. But for the anima it costs.. Isn't this way too good for a starting spell? I can't exactly confirm, but I don't think Trashheart does nearly that much damage. Did I just come up with something really good..?

Hehehe.. Time for the boss fight. I've really missed the smell of bacon~

The boss chamber was more… Cramped feeling then the rest of the cave. The main area was kinda just broken up by pillars of dirt. With moss and little ferns and mushrooms all around. In here there where still mushrooms, but they where growing out of a curtain of gnarled roots all over the ceiling, even down the sides of the walls, it was just. Roots. With mushrooms growing out of them.

On top of that, I wasn't even walking on dirt anymore. My shoes hit something hard under a concealing layer of filth with every step. It was some kind of metal, coming up to a crest in the middle of the room. But that would be fine, what was kinda distressing is that It was hollow. I could hear reverberations with every step… muffled ones but still..

In the middle of the boss room there was something sticking out. Dirty but still recognizable as metal. And well it looked like a T presenting itself from the… It's a handle, It's obviously a handle, or maybe some kind of.. Gear to turn. Considering this was an obvious boss room. I guess there was nothing left to do but try it…

"There is only regret to be found down there Otherworlder."

A reverberating. Feminine voice seemed to come from everywhere at once. My first instinct was to jump back and brandish my mace. Thankfully I managed to not fall over on the unfamiliar landscape… Even if I did stumble a bit.

Looking around like crazy I noticed some movement on the roof. What looked like a particularly big glowing mushroom was jiggling. Pushing down through the mess of roots. Stretching out a long, earthy body hidden in the mess of the ceiling until it detached entirely.

It fell, making a huge GOOONG noise off the floor as hoofs cracked against it. The huge jiggling glowing mass of slime almost big enough to swallow me whole slowly being hidden as four segments of fleshy brown flaps closed over it. Sealing in the gooey core with a mask of a massive boar.

Ah. so it was just a big version of the other monsters.

"Are you ready for combat..?"

The boss didn't move her mouth as she spoke. But I was guessing at this point these things where some kind of slime anyway. So that tracked. My current line of inquisitorial spirit was on different lines of thought though..

"YOU CAN TALK?!"

"Yes… And so it seems like you can yell…"

Okay. fair enough. I did kinda make an embarrassing squeal of a question. But was the actual literal boss not even gonna attack me.

"Why can you.. No I guess that could be normal. I've got no idea whats going on. Anyways I guess I have to kill you to get out of here.. So uhh.. Sorry?"

"I bear no grudge Otherworlder… But you seem. Injured? Did my kin manage that?"

The tone carried notes of.. Doubt.. Even the boss knew this quest was a joke..? The fourth wall was taking a battering here.

"Ah no I actually don't know what happened, I heard if I beat this quest I might get some item to help fix it."

"Unfortunately I have no knowledge of that. But If you'd accept it, I can offer you the kindness of returning you without further risk."

"What..? How?"

If bosses can give you a way out of their quest without fighting them, that could be huge. It goes without saying that a boss fight is usually the riskiest part of a quest in games. Damn it would have saved me a heart attack if I could do that with the rats..

"It's simple. I will just remain still while you strike me down."

"Are you sure…? I'm not sure I can make it quick.. Actually your okay with dying..?"

"Death is temporary Otherworlder. Please just get on with it."

I mean. Okay I guess. Not cause you told me too or anything though…

"[Epsi Arc]!"

Direct hit! Well. it was kinda a huge target this time. The lightning actually blew off one of her face plate-mask things. And sizzled through some of the slime underneath. But she just sat completely still. Resting on the ground like she was asleep.. This was almost sad..

Squeeeeelchhh!

My mace head tore right through the slime, it was like water actually, and barely resisted as I splatted it out the other side though another face plate. The best indication I had that I actually won was her body going a bit stiff. And then of course

||Quest complete!||

And dry again. So dry. So hot too. But that didn't compare to dry… Oh yeah my inventory!

||Inventory: Water skin. Ragged otherworld Clothing. Blunted mace. Rat knave's jacket. Rodent fangs. Blue goop. Quest 'First garden'||

Wait, that didn't sound like a healing item.. And my inventory is just my pockets so!

Sqllllccsslk!

Eeeeeew. The inside of my pocket looks like melted jello. Except there's also rat teeth in it! Actually. Thinking about it, the quest didn't say bonus reward.. So I guess I missed it..? Shit!

"Oh hey, you finished before the sun set. Good job fledgie."

And then there's this asshole-