I am currently walking north from the capital and arrive at a river. The place is just in front of the hunting grounds north of the city. As I said, I really don’t want to practice magic inside the city, since I don’t know what will happen.

After reading the first chapters of three of the books, I think I have a good understanding of the basics. Or at least I hope so.

I tried to compare the information written there, but they basically said all the same stuff. First, there are different attributes for magic and with enough practice, people can learn more than just one attribute, but it is recommended to focus on one attribute.

The basic attributes are Fire, Water, Earth and Wind. These are the easiest to learn. Then there are the advanced attributes Ice, Lightning, and last, the superior attributes, Light and Darkness. After thinking about it, I decided to go with the Ice attribute as my main attribute, and I want to at least learn the foundations of the basic attributes to have some variation.

But even if I want to focus on Ice Magic, I start with Water Magic. I guess it is easier to start magic with a basic attribute, and Water Magic is probably the closest to Ice Magic.

There are three steps to use magic. First, you have to gather your magic energy. The second step is to convert the magic energy and then, last, releasing the spell. The way it was written in the books, the authors made it sound really easy, but I can’t help but think that this information a bit vague. There wasn’t really much information about how to do these steps, just that this is the way to cast magic.

The lack of information is the main reason I take my magic practice outside the city. This, for example. Usually, just gathering magic energy doesn’t sound really dangerous. I am sure I could practice that inside the city. But what happens after I gathered it? Can I just ‘put it back’ or do I have to cast a spell?

I wish the authors would have thought of this stuff. But then again… I am from a different world. Maybe the answers to all these questions are common sense, then there is no need to write it down. This is really troubling.

I sit down on a slightly larger rock, close my eyes, take a few deep breaths and try to move my magic energy into my hands by will. At first nothing happens and then after a while… still nothing happened…

What does magic energy even feel like? It would be useful to have someone to ask, but I don’t want to ask questions about something that might be common sense and raise suspicions.

I sit there for a few hours until it is about to get dark and I should probably head back. Unfortunately, I made no progress. But I guess I have to be persistent in learning magic. I didn’t think it would be easy.

The next few days, I continue to come back to this place and learn to gather my magic energy. But there is still no progress, so I start to become frustrated. Why the hell isn’t this working. Maybe I should change my approach? But how? I guess I head to the library again tomorrow.

Back in the library, I look at the magic books again. I take out a few books and look through them, but I can’t find any new information. I almost would have thought I don’t have magic energy, because of being a vampire, but according to my Status, I have 149 MP.

I also don’t really understand why I could use my vampire abilities instantly, but magic is that difficult. Where is the difference? Wait!? Is the reason just that I already had the skills? If it’s that, it would mean, I just need to acquire the magic skill, right? But how? None of the books describes a method to learn that skill. Ah, it’s really irritating.

After lunch, I go out of the city to practice again, but I still couldn’t make any progress.

“I really need a change of pace…” It’s about two weeks since I started practicing magic, and I feel like I need to take a break. At first, learning magic was meant to be a break from my work as an adventurer. Over the last days, I became even more irritated that I literally need a break from taking a break. So, I head to the Guild today to see if there is an interesting request. Otherwise I would just go hunting.

I look at the request board, but unfortunately there isn’t really anything interesting. I guess it will get more interesting when I reach a higher rank. It’s only the usual monsters to hunt. But there is still one F-Rank monster that I want to hunt specifically. So I just head to the northern forest.

Upon arriving, I focus on my senses to find that type of monster. Well, since I didn’t meet that monster yet, it’s not like I know how to find it. But I can at least exclude all the monster types that I already met, since I already know their smell. I am really getting better at this.

There are a few spots with monsters that I didn’t meet nearby. But it is not like I know which of them is the monster I look for. And I don’t really want to approach other monsters, since they might be too dangerous. I focus a bit more on these smells and think that some of them smell more like beast type monsters, so I exclude these, too. Now there are two spots left. And from their smell, there should be two or three monsters in each spot. In the end, I decide to approach the closest one, while avoiding other monsters.

I arrive at the monster spot and sneak closer. And when I finally see them, I am amazed that it actually worked. There are three monsters, and they are exactly the ones I wanted to fight. As for how they look? Just imagine walking pigs. Of course they’re orcs. They are basic fantasy monsters. The orcs are about two meters tall, and really bulky. Their levels are around level 12. So how should I fight them?

I silently draw my katana and sneak up close. I’d like to behead it immediately, but unfortunately it is too tall. Because of that, I slash at its leg, so that the orc has to kneel. At this point, the other two orcs also notice me. But before they even can react, I cut off the head of the first orc.

The second orc is about to swing its giant club at me, but… damn, they are slow. Compared to the Black Wolf or even the Wild Panther, it is almost like they are moving in slow motion. I easily avoid the swing and the orcs club crushes in a nearby tree. Well, it has a considerable amount of strength, at least.

I slash at the leg of the second orc, just like with the first one, and avoid the attack of the third orc. The rest of the fight was really easy.

After defeating the three orcs, I dismantle them and then decide to head to the second spot I found earlier. There are another two orcs. I defeat them quickly and dismantle them, too.

It felt great to let loose, but I wonder what that means for me? How could it be that I enjoy fighting monsters that much? Well, it doesn’t matter. The important thing is that I feel better now. After all, the purpose of my hunting trip was to get a break from learning magic.

I finish everything up and head back to Brineian to sell my spoils at the Guild. I actually made quite a profit. The reward summed up to one silver coin. After that, it was almost dinnertime. So I walked around the city, before heading back to the inn to eat dinner and finish the day. Tomorrow I go back to my magic training.