The walk down the hill, as difficult as the walk up, revealed several metal rings hidden in high-growing grass. I set my pouch and book down and pulled open one of the doors to find leather armor and a double-bladed sword. It would be too much to carry so I left it for whoever I would send up to get it. The pain was bearable and the drain was not as great, or I was getting stronger.

It was then that I heard the howls. There were many of them and they were getting closer. I heard many shouts of, “run for your lives.” I stopped and looked around and found packs of wolves racing toward the hills. Two packs were headed in our direction. All the hills were in danger, there was nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.

“Up the hill, run up the hill. There are things we can use to defend ourselves,” I called to the people who remained down the hill as I turned around myself. I ran back to the crest of the hill, making it in seconds. I opened the book, hoping it was a spellbook. The first chapter was entitled Sleep, so I began to read.

I heard cries of agony when wolves caught some of the runners and ripped naked, and defenseless bodies apart. I completed the Sleep chapter to learn that it was a spell. It was a spell based on life energy, whatever that was. There was nothing anyone could do to stop it. It would depend on my skill with the spell, put to sleep a medium amount of life energy.

“Aha!” I heard. I looked down the hill to find many people pushing their way past the pain and drain to climb the hill. The wolves were feasting on the people they caught and few were continuing on. I saw the guy who raced me to the top of the hill cry,

“There are caches of weapons and armor, quick over there, and there,” he said pointing to one, then another metal ring that was partially hidden from view.

More and more people got to the caches and then climbed to the top of the hill. Though the sound of the wolves feasting made me sick to my stomach, I went back to reading the sleep spell. How do I improve it? How do I cast it? When I got to the end of the sleep part I learned that I needed to memorize the spell for each level of proficiency I had with it. I had one level of proficiency having just learned the spell. At the second level of proficiency with the spell, I could memorize it twice and have its energy burned into my mind. I could thus cast it twice at the second level though I didn’t know how to level it.

I then set myself to not only understanding but memorizing it. While I studied, others donned the armor and weapons. Through the corner of my eyes, I saw that a good many of my fellow human beings were no longer naked.

“How can he be reading a book at a time like this?” It wasn’t the first time I heard those words. I was soon rewarded with a feeling connecting something within my chest with my mind. I guessed it was the first spell I could cast. I went to the second spell Detect Magic. I then heard the howls again.

There were hundreds of hills now with people at the top and wolves at the bottom. There were thousands of wolves. There were twelve to fifteen wolves looking at us, prowling, trying in vain to climb this hill. I stood up and walked to the edge of the top of our hill and looked.

“How are we going to survive this?” Came a voice from behind me. I turned to find the guy who raced me to the top. He was dressed in leather armor with a sword at his side. The brown leather matched his black hair and blue eyes. Behind him was another brown leather-clad person, a woman who had a bow in her hand and a quiver of arrows on her back. She also had a sword in a scabbard on her waist. She looked away from my nakedness, he did not.

“How many archers do we have?” I asked. The woman with the bow replied, “three.” I looked at her. She was a brunette. I liked brunettes and my body responded to hers. I covered myself with my book and said as her face reddened, “I need to figure out what life energy is. I may have a weapon against all of these wolves here.”

The guy chuckled and said, “you need clothes.

“I may get them when I get the magic armor spell.”

“Wait … what … you have magic? Let me see that book,” said the guy.

I suddenly pictured him taking and keeping my book. He was dressed in armor with a sword as a weapon. I didn’t want to give him my book so I asked, “what do you want with it?”

“I want to learn magic obviously. I am better suited to it than you are. The best person should have the goods. I have a sword and armor,” he said pulling his sword out, “now be a good boy and give me the book.”

“Don’t do this,” I said as everyone looked at me.

“Give him the book boy,” someone said.

“He is leader,” another said.

“So might makes right?” I asked.

“Give me the book boy.”

The girl pulled an arrow from her quiver and pointed it at me, while several men and women in armor drew their swords. I looked around and gave my book to the man in charge. He smiled.

“Good choice,” as he opened the book to read it. I was angry. I could have knocked him out but would have to face these thirty or so people that suddenly sided against me. I could run, but I would never make it away from the wolves. I had to grin and bear it.

“I don’t understand this shit. This isn’t English. This is gibberish. You have been wasting our time studying this bullshit,” he said throwing the book down to the wolves. The wolves yelped and hopped away from it. Then approached it carefully sniffing all the while.

I remembered being pushed and shoved as a child. I remember clenching my fists to hold back rage at assholes in college. Now at the end of the world, I had to deal with this type of idiot. I was furious and getting angrier every second. This went on for a moment when finally I shook my head, grabbed my pouch, and decided to go get my book. I started walking.

“Where are you going? You can’t be serious about going down there, kid.”

When I formed the thought to go down there and get my book, a purple light appeared by my side. I looked in the light and saw my book. I reached into the light, grabbed my book, and held it. I turned to the crowd of my fellow humans,

“This book is of no use to you, so leave me alone while I study,” from then on I set myself apart from the other human beings. I sat and learned Detect Magic. I learned that magic was life-force. It was power, the power to exist, to move, to think, and imagine. It was the power to change and it was the power to defy imagination. When I understood the concept, I proceeded to memorize Detect Magic. I felt Power connecting my heart to my mind, my brain. As this happened, some others watched me while some others watched the wolves.

I never cast a spell before, and now I had two in my mind ready to cast. I was curious about Detect Magic, so I cast it. I felt a warm pressure leave my core, my chest, and travel up my spine to my eyes. First I saw the magic in each of the human beings at the top of the hill. I also saw a thick field of magic coating the hill. I saw a huge amount of energy stored in my body. Lastly, I found a tunnel of magic going deep underground. I walked to the spot where the tunnel began, and then the magic was gone.

I looked around and there was no trap door or anything. The only thing I found was that they were all once again staring at me. I used my book to hide my privates. I sat and began to study Detect Magic again.

After studying and memorizing Detect Magic I checked my Status.

PHYSICAL

MENTAL

WILL

LUCK

7

8

90

60

SCIENCE

MATHEMATICS

SLEEP

DETECT MAGIC