Temporary Home
After Merlin had successfully caught a fish and made a fire, even though his mind was much older than his body, he still felt tired. So it was a very hard day for him, and he went straight to bed. However, when a bright ray of sunlight struck his face, he immediately woke up.
Although Merlin was reluctant to wake, his mind was cleared of the tormenting thoughts of hunger, and he began to think more clearly than before. So the wizard awoke and went to wash his face in the lake.
"Ugh, my back is all sore from this uneven ground, I need to make a bed," Merlin thought indignantly, and took his time walking towards the lake. When he reached the lake, he leaned in quietly and slowly, so as not to frighten the fish around him, and washed up.
"Ooofffff, it's cold. I think it's spring. Everything around me is just starting to bloom, and at the same time you can feel the morning chill. It's a miracle I haven't got sick yet, sleeping on the ground for two days in a row. I'm lucky!" - Merlin said to himself and walked back to the tree he had slept under, picked up his spear and walked back to the lake with it, saying to himself.
"Now, time to catch some fish!" - And Merlin began to stand in one place again, waiting for the fish to come to him. Luck smiled more on Merlin this time than it had yesterday, and within a few hours he had caught two fish. Some might say it was a waste of time, but Merlin had no choice but to stand in the cold water for hours to catch a fish.
After catching a few small fish, the wizard made a fire and cooked one of them. "Phew, that's not a nice way to cut up a fish," he thought before starting his meal.
Merlin wondered why no predator had approached the place in the two days he had been here. "Any way you look at it, the conditions here are very good and there's water and food, so why aren't they here?", no! You wouldn't think so, Merlin doesn't care that they're not here, he cares that he doesn't know exactly when they're coming. And because Merlin was very weak to fight anyone.
His level of magic was very low, as was his physical level. Merlin's level of magic was somewhere around the "life" level - this level is inherent in everyone who is born and lives in this world. In addition to this level there are seven other levels. There were nine levels of magic in Merlin's time, but time moved on inexorably, and when the war ended and it was a time of peace, people were much weaker than they had been.
But Merlin was unaware of this, and so he began his hard but very effective training in magic. But he was also aware of his physical condition, so he trained physically as well. Anyway, before his training, Merlin decided to build a small tree house so that he would have somewhere to sleep and still be safe. Of course, sleeping in a tree was not the best option, as it could be dangerous if he fell asleep or if the materials holding up his hut collapsed. Still, it was far better than being eaten alive. Although Merlin hadn't encountered any predators in this forest, he was sure that it would increase his chances of survival, even if only slightly, until he was stronger.
It had been seven days since Merlin had begun his training. Those seven days had been very hard on the boy's body. Although Merlin could withstand all the mental strain he had put himself through, his body told him otherwise. However, the wizard did not give up and worked hard.
The first thing Merlin did was to increase his magic level and the amount of mana in his body. He also prayed to the God of Knowledge every day.
"O you who know all things in the world, you who give intelligence and knowledge to men, I vow to follow you and learn all that you bring me, be it your kindness or your wrath, whatever. I vow to serve you.
As in his previous life, Merlin prayed, not because he wanted to pay tribute to the god he had prayed to a hundred years ago, but because Merlin knew that the gods could bestow their patronage on those who believed and prayed to them. It used to be that children were born with the patronage of the gods, and everyone thought these children were saints, because there were not many such children, so everyone believed that only a few people, and only at birth, could receive this gift from the gods.
But Merlin, after several decades, insisted on having this power. The power had many benefits, such as giving you a large supply of mana in your body, increasing the percentage that you could make a deal with a mana beast, and many more. But the most important thing was that people who received the patronage of the gods received a skill that described the god they worshipped. For example, the god of knowledge gave them the skill 'Eye of the World', which allowed them to get information about any object or artefact. If the bearer of this skill was very strong, he could learn the secret of any magic once a month and then study that magic, but it was very demanding and whoever did it had to rest for three whole days. Merlin didn't give up and started looking for a way to get God's patronage.
And so, some years later, Merlin heard the story of how a man was able to gain the patronage of the gods. The legend read: "Whoever clears his mind and believes in the god will receive his blessing". Merlin pondered the legend for a long time, looking for different ways to gain this power. One day, in a dungeon, he stumbled upon a maze and, after traversing it, found what he had been looking for - a small book containing the story of how to gain the patronage.
Merlin was overjoyed at this find and began to train diligently. For weeks he trained like crazy - running, doing push-ups, pumping his abs, praying, increasing his soul's mana capacity and also deepening his magical abilities. So Merlin's first month had gone by, and it was already getting warmer, and he noticed more and more animals coming to the lake, but there were no predators among them, which worried Merlin. He was glad that he had seen no such dangers for a month now, and that his life was not threatened by anything.
Merlin's magic level had risen to level 2 in a month's training, but the higher the level, the harder it was to increase, as there were certain conditions. The first condition is that the mage's vessel grows, that vessel being the soul, which contains mana. The second condition is to accumulate enough mana. But there is a third condition, the most difficult one. Once the mage has achieved the first two conditions, he will occasionally have a dream in which he is shown what he needs to do to gain a new level of magic. This condition can be anything but easy. For example, to go from level 2 to 3, the mage may have to kill whatever the dream is about. To go from level 5 to 6, on the other hand, all you have to do is find something or help someone. This is the problem with the third condition, and it is the reason why many mages never reach a higher level of magic.
This doesn't apply to gaining first level magic, but for levels 2 and above, the third condition appears. However, Merlin had already managed to reach level 2 magic in his third week of training, and he had to kill a bird to get it.
The third week of training had passed, and Merlin wondered, "When will I reach the limit of the first level of magic and be able to find out the third condition for promotion? He pondered, staring at his reflection in the water, and decided to go to bed. In his sleep, he dreamt an image of himself killing a bird. When he awoke the next morning, Merlin realised that this dream had given him the answer to his questions.
As always, Merlin went about his business - catching fish and practising. As evening approached, Merlin was ready to fulfil the third condition. It took him some time to catch the bird. When the time came to kill it, Merlin looked at the bird with a sad expression on his face. It was obvious that it could cry at any moment.
"Shit, calm down. You're over 80 and you act like a little kid. Maybe it's this body." - Merlin thought and turned to the bird. "Sorry, but in this cruel world it's survival of the fittest, and you're just unlucky to be prey and not a predator." With a sad face, Merlin killed the bird and felt his magic level rise. Then he buried the bird and fell asleep.
"If my calculations are correct, a month has already passed. At this rate, I may be able to find a way out of this forest in two or three months. In the meantime, I will train and grow stronger. Strength has always got people what they want. And I will follow in the footsteps of those who have believed in it. - Merlin said to himself as he prepared for his next training session.
Suddenly there was a noise from the forest and Merlin panicked, "What was that?" His fighting instincts kicked in and he began preparing traps and weapons in anticipation of battle. The beasts in the forest began to move away and Merlin noticed. He had learned much in his training, but the journey through the forest was beyond him, so he decided to stay and fight whoever came.
Eagerly awaiting his enemies, Merlin said: "Well, I'm ready! Come on, damn it, I'm looking forward to this!" Smiling and chuckling slightly, he checked his spear and waited. The sounds came closer and soon the enemy appeared.
To be continued...