Chương 8: Chapter 7

Sam spent the first part of the in-game night simply meditating, making use of the ability of the game to make meditation much easier. Back in the real world, Sam would have had to fight against himself, trying to lock out the environment, and ignore the background noises from the building, the city, and the world. Here the game did that for him. It slowly removed his senses. Leaving him alone with his thoughts.

It allowed Sam to go over his thoughts, organize them, and just process everything that had happened to him so far. Because despite the memories he inherited, he was still way out of his depth. Hell, even the other Sam was out of his depth. The other man was a small-time information broker and contract slave to a guild. He had big dreams and big ambitions, but in the end, he was always pulled down by the people around him, and that colored his memories.

Despite the memories feeling alien, Sam still occasionally got flashes of rage or frenzy at reading something random or seeing a name in the newspaper. He tried to distance himself from it, but the lure of the game was just too strong… Even if he had simply reincarnated into this world, Sam would have still tried the game out. Granted, with the memories, it was much easier, but thanks to the same memories, Sam knew that he would eventually face off against the same people that made the other Sam's life miserable.

Could he avoid them? Sure, he just had to stop playing… Unfortunately, even after a day, Sam knew he was hooked. The fidelity of the game, the recreated senses, the feeling of swinging his sword, and Lucky's fur… He wasn't going to give all that up just because some uppity second-generation rich heirs decided to play a cruel game of king of the hill! Sam wouldn't play their game. No. He would play his own game. With blackjack, and women of questionable morals…

After that little heart-to-heart with himself, he stopped meditating for a little while to check up on Lucky, but the little wolf had seemingly scarfed down the food he left out and was sleeping on the bed in front of him. The wolf's little head was on its oversized paws, eyes closed, but Sam was sure the young cub was looking at him until it fell asleep. He gently reached over to run his hand through the animal's fur and watched as the young wolf yawned cutely.

He logged out for a few minutes to take care of his own body, but he barely saw his own apartment, as he rushed through the entire process before logging back into the game. It was practice time… By the time the sun's rays broke through the curtain, Sam opened his eyes to a very different status and skill screen. Over the night, he religiously practiced with his mana, trying to further his control over it, while also training his ability with the rest of his skills that he hadn't used so far.

He circulated his mana, getting familiar with the feeling, while also practicing meditation to increase his mana regeneration so that he could finally practice the Mana Shield spell. The spell, in its effect, was quite simple. It blasted mana out of his body and using that mana formed a thin layer that protected the user from damage. At higher levels, it didn't just protect from physical damage, but from magical, elemental and, if one was good enough, even mental damage.

That was, if somebody used the skill without learning Mana Control. They would blast out the amount of mana that the current level of the skill described and go about their day. But with Mana Control, Sam could adjust the amount of mana that left his body, and if he got proficient enough, he would be able to form partial shields or even extend them from his body. Opening his eyes, he beheld the screens that popped up in front of him. [Congratulations, thanks to your efforts, Meditation skill has reached Level 7!] [Thanks to your effort to practice deep meditation you've acquired a sub-skill!] [Deep Meditation: Level 0/5 (27%) (Passive) When you meditate, you meditate deep. After 10 minutes of meditation, you will enter into Deep Meditation that will double the Mana Regeneration granted by Meditation. Cooldown: 8 hours] [Congratulations, thanks to your tireless work, Basic Mana Control skill has reached Level 9!] [Basic Mana Control: Level 9/10 (99%) (Passive) You managed to gain basic control over your own mana. Mastering this skill will allow you to learn more advanced techniques. This skill also increases the amount of mana regenerated at a time. +1, 9 Mana Regeneration per Second] [Congratulations, thanks to your effective use of mana, Mana Shield skill has reached Level 6!] [Mana Shield: Level 6 (11%) Using mana, you can form a simple shell around yourself, which decreases the damage you take. Damage decrease depends on the amount of mana invested. For every unit of Mana invested in the spell, the shield will protect you from 0, 6 (physical) damage.] As Sam beheld the results of his nighttime practice, he couldn't help but smile. While Deep Meditation wasn't the best sub-skill, it was still useful, especially in the early game when he still had time to sit down and just practice. He frowned a little at seeing the status of the Basic Mana Control. Intellectually he knew what he had to do to advance the skill, but somehow that knowledge in practice eluded him.

He felt he was close to grasping whatever he was chasing, as it was really hard to put to words what controlling mana felt like. Sometimes it felt like grasping at smoke, sometimes he was shoveling sand in a direction with his phantom appendage, and sometimes it flowed like water. It was maddening, but at the same time exhilarating.

Sam was stopped from thinking more about mana and his progress because the moment he opened his eyes and began to move around, Lucky woke up and the little guy was relentless in wanting some morning ministrations. This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. He laughed gently at the excitable wolf, and without thinking, began to play with his new friend.

After satisfying Lucky's need for love (at least for now) he gathered the items he left out in the room, then went down to the main dining hall of the Green Stump, where the proprietor was already ready with his breakfast, and to Sam's surprise, she even prepared a nice meal for Lucky. He sent her a nod and a smile seeing the two bowls, but Sarah just winked at him and began serving the other patrons, who after a quick glance turned out to be all NPCs.

As Sam shoveled the simple but rather high-quality meal into his hungry stomach. He couldn't help but chuckle, thinking about those poor fools who thought that, seeing that the game didn't explicitly state it, there was no satiety mechanic in the game. Oh, how wrong they were… Future Unknown managed to replicate all sorts of sensations, and players thought they would leave hunger and thirst out?

Granted, with higher stats, especially VIT and END one could endure more hunger and thirst, but unless some very specific skills were learned (or the player turned into undead) they would have to eat and drink just like in the real world. In the future that never will be, there were several guilds scattered around the world of Magic Unbound whose sole focus was on crafting better and better rations for the war guilds. Seeing his inherited memories and in them the Farming Wars… Sam was impressed…

After thanking Sarah for the breakfast, with Lucky's happy bark joining his words, he assured the woman that he would return later and Sam stepped back into the hustle and bustle of Greenwood. For a moment, he watched as the people of the town went about their lives, then he took a step and joined the throng of people walking about.

First, he visited the grumpy butcher, picking up the promised meat (with a harsh reminder that the next time he wanted it done, it would cost him), then he simply refilled his rations, picked up a simple collar for Lucky, just to show that the wolf wasn't wild, then went to the town square to see if there was anything interesting there, before heading out to continue his quest to… Sam didn't really know what his actual end goal was, but at least he had parts of a plan…

In the town square, he saw people setting up stalls to sell their wares, people sitting or standing around, talking with each other. Sam also saw a few more players. They looked properly armed and seemed to be walking with purpose.

'Probably professional players…' he thought as he absentmindedly played with Lucky while people-watching. He was about to give up trying to get Lucky to give him a high-five (the cute wolf just kept looking at him with a grin) when Sam heard a voice call out.

"Hey, you!" He raised his head, looking around, until he found a man, a player, walking towards him with purposeful strides, covered from head to toe with basic leather armor. And to Sam's inherited expert eyes, it was obvious that every piece of armor was made by a different craftsman. Though, at this level, it was impressive to achieve even this much. Compared to his simple bracer and gloves, it was miles better. Sam stood up and pointed at himself.

"Me?" The man nodded in answer.

"Yeah, you."

"Okay… How can I help you?" The man arrived next to him, and Sam immediately noticed that while the player was talking to him, his eyes were on Lucky.

'Ah, that makes sense…'

"Where did you get this cutie?" He asked and leaned down to pet Lucky, but the wolf just growled at the outstretched hand and hid behind Sam's leg. The man sighed in disappointment, but straightened out and looked back at Sam, who was watching the entire thing play out with a small smirk.

"So, where did you get the cutie?" he asked again. Sam thought for a moment, then answered.

"Ten silver." The other man opened his mouth for a moment, then simply huffed.

"Of course, of course… Nothing is free." Then he did a few movements with his hands, presumably to open his inventory, and ten silver coins appeared in his hands.

"Here. Now, can you tell me?" Sam reached for the silver coins but didn't take them immediately. Instead, he began talking.

"Yeah… Find the nearest Ranger and ask them for a partner. Short chain quest." Then he scooped up the silvers and quickly deposited them into his own inventory.

"That's it?" came the incredulous reply from the player.

"Nothing about the quest?" Sam just shrugged.

"Just standard bring back x loot and stuff like that. But it is always different."

"Oh, that makes sense." The man nodded his head in respect, then began to turn around.

"Thanks anyway! Off I go to get myself something adorable!"

"Good luck!" Sam watched as the man left just as fast as he came, and ignored as several people who were also listening in on their conversation left the area with haste. He couldn't help but smirk. There was actually a quest chain that Rangers gave out. But without any help, it would take a new player around a week to finish it. They would probably come after him, but it felt nice to be a little petty…

Giving Lucky a last pat, and a last look at the now bustling town square, Sam shook his head and headed towards the gates of the town. If he wanted to realize any plans, he needed money. Sadly, he couldn't really head for any of the treasure troves he knew about because Magic Unbound had really robust defenses against them. In the other Sam's past life, a group of second-generation rich heirs used their daddies' money to get some juicy information out of some Future Unknown workers.

They proceeded to use the information to cheese an important quest and skip a large part of it. The resulting lawsuit was harsh enough that it bankrupted several families and left an impression on everybody. Though later there were some rumors that the entire thing was a honeypot scheme by the company to establish a precedent, but it didn't really matter. The precedent was established, and nobody tried to cheat after that.

So, despite knowing all sorts of secrets, he couldn't just go directly to the treasure, because the AI would pick up on it, and while the company, Future Unknown, didn't have the same power, either economically or politically, right now as it would have in the future, Sam was still a small fry and they would be able to go after him with impunity. Thus, he would have to go through every boring step of the quest chain to acquire the money he needed.

Approaching the same guard who Sam had met the first time he entered Greenwood, he saw that the guard was once again trying to nap. He cleared his throat, causing the man to startle, then as the guard realized what was happening, glaring at him.

"What do you want?"

"Hi! I was wondering if you have jobs for an adventurer like me?" Sam asked with a forced grin and cheer in his voice, trying to appear as annoying as possible.

'While I can't skip parts of the quest, it doesn't mean I can't force the NPCs to skip it for me…' He pretended not to notice as something dark flashed behind the guard's eyes. After all, there was a reason Sam made sure to annoy the man as much as possible…

"Adventurer, you say?" mused the man.

"I might know something."

"Really? That would be super awesome, sir!" he chirped happily, watching as the other man's eyes twitched. Inwardly, Sam just smirked.

"Excellent. Then why don't you head off to the forest in the east? The wolves there have been causing some problems. Bring back around twenty furs, and the mayor will definitely reward you."

"Really?"

"Sure…"

"Thank you, sir!" Sam reached out and grabbed the man's hand and began shaking it up and down. The guard let it happen for a few seconds, then wrenched their hands back.

"No… problem. Now, why don't you head out… You don't want to miss the wolves…"

"Sure thing, sir!" answered Sam with a happy grin, then motioned for Lucky.

"Come, Lucky, let's get hunting! Bye, Sir!" He turned around and began heading in the direction of the forest, but he never received a reply as the guard was once again laying back on their chair and attempting to fall asleep. Sam let go of the idiotic smile on his face, which was replaced by a self-satisfied smirk. [New quest acquired!] [Hunt those wolves!] [A guard you are 'acquaintances' with has given you a quest. Go into the eastern part of the forest surrounding Greenwood and hunt 20 wolves and bring back their pelts. Presenting them at the mayor's office will probably have them reward you.] [Time limit: None] It was sketchy as heck, but to Sam, it was perfect. He began softly whistling and with one hand on his sword, Lucky trotting next to him, he headed towards the forest. He had wolves to hunt…