“How much of this forest have we covered?” Urvi asked.

I pulled out the map and took a quick glance at it. Judging by how much we walked and the fact that we reached the northern gate, I expected to have covered at least a quarter or more of the area. So, you can imagine my surprise when I realized how much we had actually covered.

“Barely ten to fifteen percent!” I exclaimed.

“Are you fucking with me?” Urvi asked.

I glanced at her and replied with a deadpan expression, “right now? No.”

She threw her fist into my shoulder tipping me off balance, before snatching the map from me. Taking a good look at the map, she said, “We can be here for days!”

I moved in close and wrapped my arms around her waist. “Fine by me. I can spend an eternity here.” I kissed her on her cheek, and she reciprocated with a soft giggle.

“Yes, Romeo. I would love to spend eternity with you too.” She spun around to face me before giving me a soft kiss on the lips.

The sun had set by the time we returned to the center. We set out to make a camp for the night before taking a well deserve moment of respite for the night.

***

I awoke by the time the first rays of sunlight reached the forest floor. Despite a comfy-looking nest in the great tree, Urvi and I found it far more comfortable to just sleep on the soft grass in the clearing.

Urvi continued to sleep beside me. I looked at her beautiful naked body shimmering under the morning sun before picking up the tome to get some more reading done by the time she woke up.

I learnt a little more about standard spells. Along with decimation, I needed to practice five more spells.

    Fortify, a defense spell that casts a temporary shield around a subject.

    Recover, a simple spell that regenerates small amounts of health.

    Rupture, a status spell that causes bleeding to a subject.

    Tranquil, a status spell that calms a subject.

    Agitate, a status spell that can heighten the emotional state of a subject.

I looked at the mana bar and saw that it had been replenished. Turns out a good night’s rest is what is needed to get to restore the mana. However, another option is also to meditate. Neither sounded efficient when in the middle of battle. So, it looks like the management of mana is key to being a good sorcerer.

The size of the mana pool increases as I level up. However, amber crystals can be used to increase the pool, though not by a substantial amount. Instead, I must focus on leveling up and mastering spell-casting. With practice and stat increase, my spells can become more powerful and take up less mana.

I heard the sound of the rustling of grass next to me when I noticed that Urvi was finally awake. She pushed herself off the ground and greeted me with a big smile. Her mood had improved a lot since we came here. Actually, both of ours did.

“Good morning baby,” she said.

“Good morning darling.”

“So, what is the plan for today?”

“Well. There is more of the world to see. But how about we start with some magic lessons?”

***

“Like this?” Urvi asked.

After a light breakfast, we began the day trying to get Urvi her own mana pool. I explained to her how the whole process worked and what it would feel like. But beyond that, it would be up to her to channel the magic force and create a pool.

We sat down on the floor, facing each other with our legs folded. I placed one of the few crystals we picked up yesterday in her hands. She grasped it with both her hands and held it up against her face. For a moment she looked like she was praying to it. Maybe she was. She shut her eyes and went quiet.

I too sat quietly before her, patiently waiting to see what would happen. Her body remained steady as a rock, her eyes remained shut, and the crystal remained as it was. I waited, patiently, for I believed she could do it. However, each passing second felt like an eternity. Nothing changed, her body still didn’t move, her face remained calm as a cloudless night, and the crystal remained as a crystal.

Why is it taking so long for her? I managed to do it in just a few seconds. Did I really take this long? Is Urvi equipped to do this?

So many questions began eating away at my brain that I finally caved in. “Ur..” However, before I could finish, the crystal burst into streams of light and vanished into her chest.

I jumped on my feet in joy and said, “You did it.”

She opened her eyes slowly and looked at her empty palm. She had a serene look on her face as she felt about her chest. “I feel weird. Like some kind of liquid is circling in my chest,” she said.

“Congratulations. You can do magic now.”

***

Urvi cast her first decimation spell and it was just as powerful as mine. I told her about the five other spells in our arsenal and she was just as fascinated by them as I was.

“A total of six, huh? But is that all?” She asked.

We walked through the thick forest towards the east. Along the way, we ran into a few more treants, none of whom posed any danger.

“Those are the standard spells. Anyone with a Mana pool can cast them. Beyond these spells is where we begin specializing. We need to pick a branch of magic and focus on it, master it,” I explained.

“What all branches are there?” She asked.

“I don’t have a clear picture. Though if I have to guess, way more than that tome can cover.”

“Reall...” Suddenly, Urvi stopped dead in her tracks and looked ahead. “Do you see a man? Or is it my imagination?”

I danced through the busy forest floor to catch up to her before looking in the direction she was staring at. There was a giant tree, not-so-different from the great tree in the center. There was a human, a man, sitting underneath it, waving at us.

“Hello there!” He shouted.

Urvi immediately armed herself with the Saber.

“No!” He said shaking both his arms. “I am not an enemy!”

We approached him cautiously. He was tall and well-built. Dressed in a brown tunic and black trousers, he looked rather sharp for a forest dweller with a neatly trimmed beard and neatly combed hair.

“Who are you?” I asked. We stood about twenty paces from him.

“My name is Darin. I am a player. Just like you,” he replied.

“Another one? Didn’t expect to see one so fast,” I said.

“Actually, I came here way before you did,” he explained.

“Really? How long back?” Urvi asked.

“I don’t know exactly. Perhaps two hundred years ago,” he replied.

“Two hundred!” We cried out in unison.

“You mean to say we are the first ones here in two hundred years?” I asked.

“No. No. Plenty more came before you and plenty will come after you. I... well. I just never left the place,” he said.

Darin turned out to be a very interesting individual, despite him looking like a buff NPC. We sat down with him and told him all that happened since we arrived, except for the nighttime shenanigans.

“Yeah. That mother is one big bastard. The problem is it clings on to you when you first meet it. Considering it is a high-level beast, you are going to struggle with it unless you are properly leveled up,” Darin explained.

Sounded like a glitch. It looked like no one bothered to patch it up.

“So, Darin... where are you from?” I asked.

“I am from Centurion.”

What the hell was that?

“Centurion? Where is that? I don’t recall any place like that on Earth,” I said.

“Oh. You guys are from Earth?” He asked.

“Wait. You are not?” Urvi said.

“No. Like I said I am from Centurion.”

“Wait! They”re more like us in outer space!” Urvi exclaimed.

I looked at her dumbfounded. “We are in a fantasy land but you are struggling to accept there is life in space?”

She turned to me and said, “Yeah. That is true.”

“You say you are from another world, yet you speak English?” I asked.

“Is that what you are speaking? See, to me I am hearing you speak in my own language.”

Oh wow! That would solve so many problems in our own world.

“That’s crazy!” Urvi exclaimed.

“You see a lot of players?” I asked.

“I do and from various worlds too. Quite fascinating to see humans coming from very different worlds.”

“But Darin. You never left the training grounds, right? There is no way you came back here after leaving,” Urvi asked. Though it was a possibility, Faeren was able to, something told us that was not the case with this one.

Darin sighed, looking off into the distance. “Yes. I didn’t leave.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because I am afraid... of dying. Every time I walk up to the gate, I get cold feet wondering if I would just die in one hit. So, I never left.”

I never quite thought of it that way. The comfort of knowing that I will just resurrect here once I die made me make decisions I would never have otherwise.

“But living here. Alone. It must have gotten to your head,” Urvi asked.

“It did. At first. Faeren let me stay after when I refused to leave. Then new players started popping up. Over time, even the place also started to change. New chests, new beasts, it was a slow life, but I got used to it,” Darin said. He had a somber look on his face. “Don’t worry too much about me. I will be fine,” he said wearing a fake smile.

“Sorry, but it is all a little too difficult for me to comprehend. I mean, what do you do to pass the time here?” Urvi asked.

“Now you are asking the right questions. You see, I was supposed to be a player, but I decided to become a merchant. I can provide you with things that are a necessity, hard to find, and even impossible to find.” Durin explained.

Now we are talking about. But wait. “Impossible to find?” I asked.

“Yes. Two hundred years and like I said, a lot has changed.”

I see. He must be talking about discontinued items. These would effectively be antiques.

“So, what do you need first?” He asked.

“Okay. Do you have something that we can carry stuff with?” I asked.

“Yes, please! We have so much... stuff just sitting beneath the tree,” Urvi added.

“Oh! Is that so? Well, feast your eyes on this,” He said. He turned away from us and towards his back. From behind him, he pulled out a small pouch and laid it in front of us.

It was small. Small enough to fit on one of our belts.

“Is that it?” I asked. Urvi and I stared at the sorry thing.

“It’s an inventory. A magical inventory of course. You can dump as much stuff as you want into this, and it will carry it for you. Granted you can fit the stuff through its mouth.”

“Wait. Anything?” I asked.

“Yes. Anything! When you want to retrieve it, just think of it, and put your hand into it. All its contents will appear in your journal.”

“That is so cool!” Urvi exclaimed. Her eyes teeming with excitement.

“We will take it!” I said.

“Great. Is there anything more you would like?” He asked.

“Oh. I have a request,” Urvi said. Her lips curled into a sly grin. “Get me the sexiest armor you have with you.”

---

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