Big Dreams

Vincel opened his mouth to speak but Aidan cut in before he even started.

"He never said he was helpless. We just assumed he was,"

As Aidan spoke, he sheathed his sword and smiled at Vincel.

"You should have told me you could handle yourself. I won't have been so worried about you taking care of yourself on your way to the portal."

Vincel smiled.

"Yeah. But it seems my strength is a bit inconsistent. I'm not sure when I will be able to do that again," he said with a gesture at the Grim wolf he killed,

"I'll probably just stay here until I'm sure it's back"

'How much longer do I have with Arcane Augmentation anyway?'

As soon as he wondered in his mind, a timer appeared.

[5:03]

[5:02]

[5:01]

[4:59]...

'Less than Five minutes. And what do my reserves look like at the moment?'

The timer was replaced with a single stat;

[Arcane Mana reserves: 2/100]

'It was one before so I guess it's refilling. It's just refilling very slowly'

Vincel's hand went to his midsection. As he watched his little Mana reserves, he could feel something inside of himself. Something that was refilling bit by bit...

"Vincel? Vincel!" Aidan called with his voice a little raised.

"What?" Vincel jerked, looking a little startled.

"You spaced out," Aidan said.

"Oh"

"I was just saying, it's nonsense to want to stay here. With the Unan dead, this territory is open. More beasts, like the Grim wolves, will soon sense our presence and come to try their luck."

"Oh, I see,"

"Come with us, maybe your inconsistent strength will come in handy while we hunt for the Gate-Ranker"

Vincel looked over at Kleon who was cleaning off her dagger with a dark cloth even though she never took her eyes off him.

"I don't know,"

Aidan laughed at Vincel's hesitancy.

"Haha, don't mind Kleon, she won't hurt you. Not on my watch at least. Give me your arm"

Aidan reached into the pouch attached to his hips and pulled out a small vial. He dripped a few drops of the brownish liquid onto the claw scratches on Vincel's arm.

Vincel sucked in a breath through his teeth at the sting he felt but then his eyes widened as the scratches closed up and left nothing behind.

One minute he was injured, the next, there was not even a sign except for his blood smudges against his skin and the shirt he was wearing.

And that wasn't all.

[Healing Elixir used]

[+5 HP]

[HP: 29/50]

'So healing a wound that cost me 15 HP only gets me 5 HP back? What a rip-off!'

"Hey, do you want the Core from your kill?" Knowle asked suddenly.

He had cut open the Grim wolf he killed and was now wiping off the orb he had gotten from inside it.

Vincel looked confused.

"Core?"

"Yes, this" Knowle said and thrust the orb in his hand at Vincel.

Vincel eyes roamed and he saw that everyone else in the group had ripped out orbs from their kills as well.

Kleon had gotten two from her kills and she wasted no time stowing them away.

"Knowle, what are you doing?" Jilan called suddenly while keeping his recovered core away.

All eyes turned to see that Knowle had already run over to the Grim wolf Vincel killed. He wasted no time gutting the beast and pulling out the core.

"What? He doesn't know what it is. Those pants he's wearing don't even have pockets," Knowle said as he started cleaning off the core before putting it into his satchel that swallowed it completely.

"I'll keep it safe for you until you want it back," Knowle said with a cheeky smile.

Vincel's brows furrowed at the smile.

'Yeah, there's no way he's giving it back.'

So Vincel joined the group as they left the Unan's river territory and ventured deeper into the forest.

'I have no idea how much further the exiting portal is from here. I might very well run out of Augmentation before I reach it and then I'll be snack for the creatures of the forest. Plus, I have no idea where I'm exiting to.'

All the excitement so far had not made Vincel forget how lost he was.

This was not the world he knew. The world he knew didn't have wolves with horns who could also move through shadows.

'That's the stuff of nightmares actually. Yeah, it's much smarter to move with a group'

By request, Vincel walked by Aidan's side and did not shy away from asking him questions.

"So how do you all know each other?"

Aidan shrugged almost nonchalantly.

"We all have similar goals which is to get better in our chosen paths and to do that, we must venture into Gates, brave the dangers and grow our craft while making money along the way.

I want to become a mighty Knight who specializes in Swordsmanship. I've been told I'm too old for such goals but I won't let those put me down."

Vincel looked surprised.

"Too old? I hardly think so. Besides, you're pretty good with the sword already"

Aidan smiled.

"Haha, thank you for your kind words.

I'm not yet good though, at all. My skills are barely passable and I struggle to handle D-rank beasts on my own. It's why I have assembled this group."

"Oh," Vincel said.

"Yeah, It's all about the foundation. The older you get and the longer you spend on the same level, the harder it is to improve. The body doesn't remain in peak condition forever and it will eventually be unable to keep pace with your ambitions." Aidan explained.

"Knowle there wishes to be a Master Archer"

"One day I'll be able to stand and shoot an arrow right into the sun," Knowle said with a bright smile.

Vincel raised a brow.

"That's possible?"

Knowle nodded.

"Of course it is"

Aidan chuckled.

"Jilan dreams of becoming the strongest of all. A Barbarian.

Able to cause a mountain to crumble with a single punch"

Jilan flexed his muscles with a grin and Knowle rolled his eyes at him.

"If you become that strong, you'll have to sacrifice your speed" Knowle said.

"Worth it," Jilan retorted and kissed his bicep.

"Lea wants to become a Mage," Aidan said and Vincel turned his head to look at the pretty brown-haired lady. The quietest of the group by far.

"She cast a nice spell before. I'm guessing that water column WAS a spell, right?" Vincel asked her and Lea nodded with a small smile.

"Yeah, I cast it with Mana." Lea said.

"What's Mana?"

Vincel could take a guess but he decided he might as well ask.

"Mana is the magical energy around and within." Lea said.

"So you're the only one here who can use Mana, then?" Vincel asked with an enthusiastic smile.

'Mine has Arcane tagged with it but Mana is Mana right?'

"What? No. Everyone here has and can use Mana." Aidan said

"Mana is Power, Mana is life. Mana lives within every being to use however they please.

It is through Mana that any of us can hope to achieve our goals.

Even Beasts possess Mana and that is why they can evolve and be a pain in the ass."

Lea nodded with a smile and then added,

"But in this group, I'm the only one who can use Mana to cast spells. The one with the most connection to it. Spells are a great way to attack from a distance. Just how I like it."

"Cool," Vincel said and he meant it.

'Will I also be able to cast spells? Maybe she can show me some and I can get the chance to learn.'

Aidan continued with his introductions.

"Kleon is an Assassin"

Vincel blanked.

"Assassin?"

He looked back at Kleon and she was smiling slyly at him. Almost like she was coming up with many different ways to swiftly end his life.

'Well, Being an Assassin would explain that Killer look in her eyes.' Vincel thought and shuddered a bit.