Spell Weaver-Chapter 12: Quest Rewards

Alex made his way through the forest; each subsequent boar fight was smoother than the last.

I’m just lucky that they aren’t together in groups.

While moving between locations, Alex allowed his mana to regenerate. Each time it got close to capping out, he’d practice infusing mana through his hands. The use of the skill made it easy to move the mana within his body. After a few tests, he found that he was able to pull the mana back toward his Core if he didn’t push it outside of his body. Even though it was challenging to pull it back toward his Core, since he was switching from using the skill to infuse the mana to just using his own will and natural control over mana to pull it back in, it was great to not waste the mana each time he practiced. There was still a loss of mana overall, but it was better than letting it fully dissipate.

After killing the fifth boar, Alex decided to take a brief break. The sun was beginning to set and he put some thought into his timeline while in the Rift. He needed to meet with Mark and Sarah that evening, and he arrived at the entry location around 10:00am. But even though it was going to get dark in the Rift soon, he knew he’d only been in the forest for a few hours at most.

It was clear to him that time worked differently within this Rift.

I should leave in about 7 hours to make it to see Sarah and Mark. Red Beanie said that since it’s an Uncommon Rift, time would be dilated by 2x, so maybe it would be closer to 14 hours?

Mentally, Alex thanked the packing list from the AG app. Included in the list were some camping rations, a tent, sleeping bag and fire starter.

I’ve never been camping before.

Do I even want to try to sleep in here? What if there are things more dangerous than the boars out here?

Alex shrugged and figured he might have an extra hour or two before it got dark enough for him to be concerned.

If I really don’t want to spend the night in here, I can just walk back through the Rift and wait outside for a few hours.

He continued his way through the forest in search of his next boar but stopped a short time later when he came across something interesting.

“What the…” Alex trailed off.

From deeper within the forest, a purple and brown tendril seemed to snake its way along the ground, growing in the direction of the Rift entrance. Alex may not have noticed it at all, as it was beneath the large leaves and bushes of the forest floor, but there was a large round plant that grew out of the ground up to his head height.

Cautiously, Alex walked forward. Where he had begun to notice small sounds of life through the forest during his time there, now there were none at all. No bugs, no birds, nothing other than the sound of dripping rain.

The bulbous plant sat on a stem that seemed too small for it, keeping the majority of the plant off of the ground. It seemed like the roots of the plant had sucked all of the nearby life from the ground. No underbrush or greenery of any kind was within a five-foot radius of the gross-looking plant.

Alex followed the path of the tendril along the ground. To him, it looked like a large octopus tentacle reaching out across the forest floor.

He took a few minutes to study the surroundings and think of what he should do.

This must be the corruption that the quest mentioned. If I’m supposed to stop it from spreading, do I try to kill the plant?

Alex wanted to smirk. If he’d come into this Rift, like he had the first one, he wouldn’t know what to do. This time was different though, now he was more prepared.

He pulled off his backpack and fished the hatchet back out before walking toward the corrupted plant.

Thinking that the radius around the plant might be a trap, he stopped just outside of its range and poked the ground with the hatchet to see if the roots might move or if the bulb might do something. His mind couldn’t help but picture the worst-case scenario, where it might be like some sort of giant man-eating plant that would try to swallow him whole.

After several different tests, however, nothing changed.

Stepping forward, Alex avoided the roots the best he could. When he got to the stem, he began to chop at it.

He felt a sense of accomplishment as it spilled over on its side and felt the sudden need to yell ‘Timber!’ into the empty forest.

Pulling up his System window to check the quest, Alex was expecting to see a change in the Rift Quest, perhaps a percentage of his help or maybe a change in objectives. He stood, stretched, and wiped his brow as he looked at the window.

Huh, it’s still the same.

His thoughts were interrupted as a strange sound came from the plant that now lay on its side. Suddenly, a scratching noise erupted, followed by a loud crack. Before Alex could comprehend what was happening, three oversized centipede creatures came skittering out from the pod.

"Shit!" Alex shouted and backpedaled, but the creatures were too quick. The first centipede lunged at him as he swung the hatchet. He caught the monster in midair but mistimed his swing which caused him to half-punch, half-smack it with the handle rather than the blade. The creature crashed to the ground and landed on its back, its many legs twitching in the air as it struggled to right itself.

But there was no time to celebrate. He lifted his right leg and used [Mana Infusion] to empower the stomp that came down on the second centipede. There was a sickening crunch as the heel of his shoe crushed the carapace. As his weight shifted forward though, his feet were too planted and he had no time to move as the third centipede came and latched onto his left leg. Its sharp legs sliced through the fabric of his pants as it attempted to crawl up his side. Alex grimaced as he felt the sting of angry red lines form on his skin.

He used [Mana Infusion] once more to empower his fist and brought it down toward his hip. He felt a headache bloom behind his eyes and knew that he was getting low on mana. Despite the heavy impact on his own hip, he sought the notifications that popped up to signify the empowered punch had killed the creature.

You have slain Corrupted Centipede - Level 1You have slain Corrupted Centipede - Level 1

With adrenaline still pumping through his veins, Alex rushed at the last centipede as it struggled on its back. Its pincers snapped at the air as it tried in vain to bite him. Not willing to give it the chance to right itself, Alex lifted the ax with both hands and swung down forcefully. It took two more swings for him to kill the bug, and he realized that it was because he was instinctually pulling back from the swing as his hand got closer to the sharp and flailing legs.

You have slain Corrupted Centipede - Level 1

He sank down onto his back and took several minutes to catch his breath. His chest was heaving and he thought for sure that his leg would be bleeding, but as he looked he only saw angry red scratch marks from knee to ankle.

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"Fuck me."

The stinging sensation where the centipede had scraped him felt like the time that Sarah's cat had gotten scared and clamped onto his leg leaving painful scratch marks.

Blue lights floated into his chest, and he wondered if he was close to getting another level.

That would at least make this feel worth it.

Alex got himself up and assessed his leg before deciding it would be best if he began the trek back to the Rift exit. If there were corrupted monsters like this lurking in the woods, there was no way he’d trust the thin mesh tent to protect him through the nighttime.

He wasn’t all that tired, considering his body thought it was still the middle of the afternoon, but there was no way he could continue to fight these sorts of beasts in the dark. He’d brought a headlamp with him, but unsurprisingly, just like his phone, it didn’t work.

I guess I’ll need to find an old-timey lamp or something.

As Alex approached the Rift exit, he saw two people setting up a fire near the large tear in space. Alex cautiously greeted the group, slightly worried that it might be some kind of ambush even though Dylan had made a good point of everyone present being apart of the Guild.

Both of the individuals were friendly and older than Alex had thought. They introduced themselves as Bill and Susan and they told Alex that they were camping inside the Rift to still capitalize on the time dilation, especially since it wasn’t even nighttime out in the normal world. Alex saw some logic in this and asked if they minded if he joined them and that he brought his own gear and food.

They agreed easily and welcomed him to join.

Alex set up his tent, struggling through the pain in his leg until Bill came over and asked Alex if he was injured. The man was a doctor in his normal job and offered to take a look at it. While the leg looked red and irritated, Bill told Alex he should do his best to wash and clean the scratches.

Part of Alex was let down that he didn’t have a healing trait or skill of some kind, being that he was a doctor. The expression on his face must have made that obvious, and Bill apologized before sheepishly sharing that his trait was something related to exploration, rather than healing.

Susan offered to show him to the creek nearby and that they could boil some water to make sure that it was clean. Alex agreed to go with her to fetch water before it got much darker.

After cleaning the wounds and changing into his spare pair of pants, Alex had a pleasant few hours chatting with the strangers by the fire while they waited for the sun to come back up. Unsurprisingly, most of the conversations revolved around all of the changes in the world and how crazy things had become since Rifts began to appear.

Time passed quickly and Alex enjoyed the rest. His muscles were tired and unused to not just hiking but such intense bursts of activity. He knew that the next few hours after the sun came up would be hard on him as well, but he relished the thought of finishing his first quest and getting more experience.

Alex wiped his brow and looked down as the blue lights floated up from the boar and into his chest.

Alright, that’s the tenth boar.

You have slain Forest Boar - Level 1

Congratulations Awakened. You have completed Personal Quest: Culling the Boars!

You have one Personal Quest Reward available.

Congratulations Awakened. You have leveled up!

You have 3 Free Points to distribute.

Wow, that’s so satisfying. Where was ‘leveling up’ all my life?

Without needing to put much thought into it, Alex put his three Free Points into Willpower and watched the stat climb up another nine numbers.

He directed his attention to the second window that appeared, curious how he would get his reward for the quest. Before he took a look at it, he decided to head back toward the exit of the Rift, he didn’t feel it would be smart to get distracted while he was so far out.

Feeling accomplished, Alex made his way back to the exit. He was running out of time and he felt like he’d done enough with both completing his Personal Quest and aiding in the Rift Quest. He’d made significant progress in the last few hours with the latter objective.

After brainstorming with his camping companions the previous night, they’d come up with the idea to set the small insectoid pods on fire. They were curious to see how the plant-like structure would respond. The only other solution, that didn’t seem as plausible, was some sort of pesticide meant to target plants or insects but that would require leaving.

Alex tried the fire method and was happy when it worked spectacularly. The corrupted pods were extremely flammable and went up in a blaze so fast that it was similar to a propane explosion.

This led to Alex setting several pods on fire as he looked for more boars.

At first, he’d been worried that the surrounding forest might catch fire, but that had quickly proven to be a non-factor. The surrounding vegetation was too wet, and the fire burned too hot and quickly for the forest to catch fire.

He closed the last distance between himself and the Rift exit and felt confident that he’d receive a reward for his contribution whenever a group came along and finished the Rift Quest.

But that’s for later. Now, I wanna see what a Personal Quest reward looks like.

The System, as it seemed to so often do, responded to his intent.

Blue flecks of light appeared in front of him and slowly coalesced into a small, thin shape. As it solidified, Alex reached out and plucked it from the air before it could fall.

Excitement filled him as he looked at the small item in his hand and the window that replaced the reward prompt from the System.

Congratulations Awakened. You have completed Personal Quest: Culling the Boars!

You gain: 1x Uncommon E Rank Mana Dart Wand.

Feeling a giddy bit of excitement wash over him as he held the small wooden weapon, Alex couldn't resist the urge to test it before heading home. He felt like the forest around him provided the perfect backdrop to fire off a few shots without the risk of collateral damage.

Can't exactly take this to a shooting range, right?

He stepped a little further away from the Rift and found a clean lane with a line of sight to a thick tree about 15 meters away.

Squaring his shoulders and planting his feet, Alex gripped the wand firmly in his right hand. He took a quick breath to still his nerves and focused on the tree's trunk.

He held up his hand, locked his arm, and began to use [Mana Infusion] to push his magic into the wand. He started with a very small amount, unsure of how much was needed to activate it. He felt the sense that it was beginning to build and, just as he released it, he felt a small sense of disappointment. A weak, feeble spark fizzled out from the end of the wooden wand and dissipated before it even hit the forest floor.

Alex frowned and lowered his arm. "Must mean I need more mana than that," he mumbled to himself. He aimed again and this time pushed more mana into the item. He continued to push until the wand activated on its own and a bright bolt shot forward. It veered off to the side and smacked into the ground well before the tree, sending up a spray of dirt.

"Whoa!" he called out, and even though the dirt wasn't anywhere near him, he brought his arm up to shield his face. "Alright, that was a lot better, now I just need to work on the aim."

He readjusted his stance and aligned the wand at eye level while focusing on the center of the tree's trunk. He concentrated and extended his finger along the wand. He remembered when he was a kid and his coach taught him how to throw a ball properly, using the analogy that he should be pointing in the direction that he wanted it to go.

This time, he funneled a steady stream of mana using his skill, but not quite as much as the previous attempt. It activated on its own, and the bolt that was sent flying didn't cause his arm to recoil nearly as much and traveled in a straight line.

The bolt hit the tree with a satisfying crack and left a charred mark on the bark, but otherwise didn't splinter or break the thick wooden trunk. The rush of success made him eager for more. He quickly fired off several more shots and experimented with the amount of mana he used. He felt rushed since he knew he needed to leave, and he should likely take some more time to figure out how much mana exactly he was using, but instead he just had a great time slinging bolts of magic at the tree.

He was grinning wildly and flicking his wrist by the time his head started to ache. He felt like he would fit right in with the wizarding world.

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I want to take just a few more shots, but I know I shouldn't wait around for my mana to regenerate.

He stood for just a moment and took in the impressive amount of damage he had done to the tree with repeated shots.

This should definitely keep me safer than trying to use that hatchet again next time.

Feeling an immense amount of satisfaction and hope for his future adventuring endeavors, Alex gathered his things, exited the Rift and began the short walk back to his car. His back was straighter, his strides more sure, and his pockets three Mana Stones heavier.