Soon after, Maraine told me to continue before making her way into the house. I was more than happy to oblige.

It didn't take long for me to find my rhythm, firing one Mana Bolt after the other from each hand until I was hit with another popup.

[Skill Improved: Mana Bolt. Grade F. Level: 3]

[Skill Improved: Mana Sense. Grade F. Level: 2]

More progress! Nothing to complain about, but I was starting to feel exhausted in a way that was new to me. Something different from feeling too sleepy, or too tired from running.

It was like being hungry for something very specific. I had an intense craving for a flavor that I couldn't associate with any food. It was discomforting. 

It was an ache in my stomach, one that was asking me to eat something I had never had before but at the same time was completely familiar with. I sat down as I tried not to think about it too much. It wasn't painful, but it was uncomfortable.

Now was as good a time as any to look at the skill list.

[Class: Sage. Grade F. Level: 1]

[Strength: 10]

[Agility: 10]

[Stamina: 10]

[Intelligence: 10]

[Wisdom: 10]

[Health 100/100]

[Mana 3/110]

[Mana Recovery: 10 per minute]

[Passive Skill: Mana Sense. Grade F. Level: 2]

[Active Skill: Mana Bolt. Grade F. Level: 3]

[Active Skill: Meditation. Grade F. Level: 1]

This awful feeling was probably the side effect of being so low on Mana. Hopefully, it'll be gone soon.

More interestingly, I clearly remember only having 100 mana, not 110. I went to click on the Mana Sense skill but it responded before my finger had even moved. Convenient? Yes. Neat? Yes. A little creepy? Double yes.

[Mana Sense: Increase your innate ability to sense and control Mana]

Mana control too? I don't know if the skill is high enough level to really be noticeable just yet but it was nice either way.

[Mana Bolt: Conjure a Mana Bolt. Requires: Handsign, Incantation]

[Meditation: Increase Mana regeneration. Each level increases your maximum Mana by 10. Requires: Handsign, Concentration]

The culprit for the additional Mana was found! But wasn't 10 quite a lot? 10 mana per level for 100 levels is a huge upgrade. Then again, I wasn't even sure that levels went up that high, or if they had a limit.

If this awful stomach ache would go away once my Mana refilled, then this was a good time to test out the Meditation Skill. If it needed both the gesture and concentration, then it was probably asking me to sit in the same position I had been in earlier.

Deep breath in, and nearly instantly I could feel the difference in effectiveness. The Mana around me was flying towards my fingers and into my body, filling my stomach with the food I had been craving so much.

The craving and discomfort were gone, but I could still feel that my reserves weren't filled. I didn't want to open my eyes and check in case it would interrupt the skill.

No wonder Monks were always portrayed as meditating all the time. It honestly felt weirdly satisfying. It had only been a few minutes, but I was feeling some kind of enjoyment from the task.

[Skill Improved: Meditation. Grade F. Level: 2]

As I opened my eyes to the popup, the gate Maraine had shown me rapidly changed color. From the white it had been earlier to dark, deep green.

I get up to fetch Maraine but she's already back out, watching the event with me. I don't know when she got there, but at least it made things easier to explain.

"I didn't do it."

"I'm aware. I'm not sure why you'd think I'd blame you for this."

Damn, no sense of humor? Maybe it was lost in translation with the Wheel. Or, more likely, the joke sucked. Maybe next time.

"Is it supposed to be doing that then?"

"Yes. A white gate turns green after 6 days. It means we can now enter. Would you like to come with me? I won't hold it against you if you'd prefer to keep honing your skills for a while longer instead."

Honestly, I did want to keep practicing. I had one combat skill and it was level and 'Grade: F', whatever that meant. I was still level one too. Despite my skills having leveled up, I don't think I've gained a drop of XP.

If I were to back down now, I'd feel like I was going back on my word to fight.

"It's fine, I'll go with you."

Maraine responded with a small smile, and that already felt like a good enough reward for me.

"I touched on it for a moment, but the gates follow a strict cycle. A white gate appears that is completely inaccessible. 6 days later, the gate turns green and allows us entry. Another 6 days later, the gate turns red and allows them entry."

"Unless we go in?"

"Correct. I'll explain it as we go. Just head inside."

Maraine walked right through with no difficulty. In my head, I knew this was a portal. It looked like one, it acted like one, and I was told it was one. But seeing someone walk through it, and actually go in was messing with my mind a little.

I walked right through and ended up in a cave. My eyes took a second to adjust to the darkness, but I could still clearly see that Maraine was right next to me, alleviating a bit of my worry.

Compared to being teleported, walking through a gate was too easy. I looked behind me and found the green gate still there too. At least we weren't trapped.

"This is the first room. A gate consists of 6 rooms, usually in different locations. The only exists are in the first and last rooms, but you can freely move between the rooms once you've cleared them."

"Clearing them implies killing the monsters inside right?"

"Correct. You may be able to feel it, but this room only has one monster."

I couldn't see much, let alone feel anything. The only thing I could sense was that this place was filled with Mana. Like a big blanket covering the entire place.

"Nothing."

"Keep trying."

Keep trying? Until my skill levels up? That wasn't a very realistic option. I wasn't even sure what I was looking for. Every time I focused on the mana around all I could feel was how dense and thick it was.

I thought it was pointless until I sensed it.

If this whole place was covered in a big blanket, then what I felt was someone pushing it around. I was technically right, I couldn't see whatever this thing was, but I could definitely feel the Mana reacting to it.

"Good work. Your senses are keener than I expected."

I hadn't even realized it, but I had turned my head towards the source of the disturbance which was what Maraine picked up on.

"It's big."

"It's a Feral Troll. They're big and powerful creatures. They typically live and hunt alone."

"You can tell all that?"

"I've fought them before. You should know your enemy, Sage. Trolls normally live in villages with each other. This one here is naturally more aggressive, and was likely exiled from the village it was born in."

Troll villages?? These things had that much intelligence?! Was that not seriously worrying? Where are the dumb goblins and mindless slimes that weren't downright terrifying?

"I see..."

Maybe she could hear my heartbeat get louder, or maybe she could just sense the fear building in me, but Maraine put her hand on my shoulder.

"It's still deeper in the cave. Keep your distance and I'll take care of it. No harm will come to you."

I don't know how strong she was to make such a big claim, but I was going to hold her to it. Now that I think about it more, I wasn't told much about her. I get that we've only met an hour or two ago, but I don't think she mentioned her class either, just that she wasn't the spell-casting type.

"Thanks, I'm counting on you."

It felt corny saying something straight out of a TV show, but I really was. If this troll wanted to fight me instead of her, there was not a single thing I could do about it. 

Maraine nodded her head and we started walking deeper into this cave.

Being in this place was an assault on the senses. Aside from the heavy mana in the area, this cave smelled strongly of moss and... rocks. It was spacious too, probably because the troll was massive.

There were small streams of water running down from the ceiling across the walls into small stagnant puddles on the uneven floor. We kept quiet, and the only thing I could hear was my own footsteps.

I turned my gaze to Maraine's feet and saw that despite wearing metallic-looking heels, she didn't make a single noise at all. Weird, but cool.

A short moment later, I could feel this sharp chill run down my spine. Maraine gave me a nod as she started walking ahead while I stayed here. Just past this hallway we were in, I could tell. The troll was there. It wasn't anything to do with Mana that set me off, just this sudden feeling of weakness in my body.

The feeling of fear.