Mathew took a deep breath and mentally readied himself. After a few days of training with the team he was forced to join, he decided to start doing solo fights. He knew it was borderline suicidal, but had the healer, Samuel, on standby.

However, seeing others outpace and outclass him lit a certain fire inside of him. A few members of his bodyguard team had skills already at Beginner 1. After finding a pair of normal wolves, Mathew decided to take them both on alone. This was to truly push his limits.

Originally he planned to try and turn a wolf into his familiar, but a conversation with Zack changed his mind. A familiar was supposed to be a sort of right-hand man companion to a Summoner. Mathew did not see himself having a simple wolf as his companion. He wanted a creature that could talk and interact with him. He was always a cat person anyways.

Mathew checked himself over and looked up at his wisp. It was his first spell, and would more than likely be the first of his powers to reach Beginner rank. Currently it was Novice 8. This would be a perfect test of his capabilities.

Mathew walked into plain view of the two wolves and readied his staff. Before either of his targets had a chance, he rained down attacks on the left one. Purple bolts of magic followed blue bolts from his wisp.

Not all of his attacks hit, but enough landed enough to slow it down behind it’s partner. The wolves zig-zagged through the trees and once they were halfway, Mathew started to run as well. He kept his wisp on attack duty while he ran.

Occasionally Mathew would turn back to fire a [Mana Bolt] from a finger tip, as it was easier to aim and fire with a single hand versus his entire staff. The speed boost granted from his robes was nice, but nothing compared to the speed of the primal dogs.

Mathew heard the wolf leap at him, and he instantly dropped to the ground, landing on his chest. The wolf sailed over him, landing and sliding on the grass. It let out a bark of disappointment since it missed him.

The other wolf was soon on top of him attempting to bite off his arm. Mathew swung his staff like a baseball bat when it got close to him, forcing the beast to miss with it’s open jaw. A rake of claws still managed to hit him, leaving behind crimson streaks on his body.

Hissing in pain, Mathew held a hand directly in the face of the wolf, and fired a huge [Mana Bolt]. Not even giving it a chance of retaliation, he continued running. Both wolves were side by side chasing him.

Mathew glanced at the military squad he called a team sitting up in trees. Holly made a hand motion asking if he wanted their help. He shook his head, as he turned back and fired another [Mana Bolt]. This time hiting a wolf square in the face. Meanwhile, his wisp continued it’s repetitive fire safely from above Mathew’s head.

The first wolf was looking the worst, so Mathew started to focus on that one. His wisp was doing such a great job of keeping attacks flowing that he decided to change tactics. He dropped his staff into his bag, even more grateful he made a slightly larger one to fit it. He pulled out a knife with his right hand, he fired a stream of [Mana Bolts] with his left, waiting for the wolf to try and leap on him again.

The wolf attempted to weave between trees while dodging the magical attacks, but had a hard time. Several attacks still left wounds on its body, but it wasn’t enough to put it down. The second wolf who was still mostly healthy zoomed ahead toward him.

Mathew readied himself and once the wolf was in the air, he dove to the side and held his knife out leaving behind a long cut along its side. Mathew turned, and realized he was in trouble. Both wolves were on either side of him. “Fucking damn it.”

He made a move to run to his left, but the wolf he just sliced moved that way. Mathew moved right, and the same happened, but with the other wolf. The wisp continued firing at the weaker first wolf, but Mathew knew he was about to be in a bit of trouble. Seeing no other option, he stood his ground and trusted his stats.

His wisp was hovering well over ten feet in the air. A safe distance to where it shouldn't be accidentally attacked. Mathew let out a minor war cry and fired a large [Mana Bolt] at the healthier wolf and charged forward at it.

The wolf launched forward, grabbign Mathew’s left shoulder with it’s maw. He positioned himself to where his knife arm was free from any danger, and made several stabs at the wolf. Mathew didn’t know if it was his low tolerance for pain, or enhanced sensitivity, that caused him to scream in pain.

The pain did help him focus, and while he stabbed with one arm, he fired point blank bolts of mana into the wolves body with the hand pined under the wolf.. The wolf had no choice but to let go and back away. Blood dripped heavily from both of them.

If other wolves were down wind, more could show up with the coppery scent leading them. However, that would force the others to jump in and help him. He noticed Holly already had her bow drawn and ready to end a wolf if Mathew was in trouble again.

Mathew lowered himself in a ready attack form he had been practicing. The knife was in a reverse grip, and mana held in his left hand that hung slightly limp to his side, ready to be released at his will. His wisp continued to fire, forcing the wolves to never stand still.

He was tempted to pull his staff back out, but knew if he was in a melee again, he would rather have his knife. The pseudo Mexican standoff only lasted for a few breaths before both wolves ran at him.

Mathew went low, avoiding their gaping maws, and stabbed upwards with his knife, while releasing a powerful blast of mana. The second wolf left behind two sets of claw marks on legs, but Mathew didn’t worry anymore, it was 1v1 now.

Now that he could focus on a single target, Mathew’s wisp could focus fire much easier. Mathews' breaths were deep and he had a slight wheeze. Even so, at this point, he knew he would be victorious.

Mathew saw it in the wolf's face, that it was considering running away. His legs could not support any movement, and it was sheer willpower allowing him to remain standing. Mathew could not allow that to happen, and started to pepper it with more attacks. He had hope it would try to retaliate. His wish was granted, and the wolf charged at him, praying on killing Mathew with a final attack.

Yet, it failed. Mathew plunged his knife into it’s exposed neck, while leaning over to avoid the dead weight that almost plowed into him.

Collapsing to the ground, Mathew glanced at his Battle Summary. He noted a few improvements, mainly with [Knives], [Summon Wisp] and [Staves]. Both of which went up two levels. Which earned Mathew his first Beginner level skill. Before he did anything else, he fished out a healing pill curtousy of Di’s shop.

It tasted horrible. Worse than any medicine he ever taken. It wasn’t trashy or rotten in taste, it was very earthy. Like he ate dirt with a side of fertalizer. The pain in his body won over the need to spit it out, and he swallowed it.

Once that was done, he focused on his rewards. A screen popped up, which was the first of it’s kind Mathew has ever seen.

Spell Upgrade - Summon Wisp

Double Trouble: Allows you to summon an additional wisp.

Cold Sting: Attacks from wisps inflict a slowing debuff.

Mana Cannon: You may infuse wisp with additional mana to activate a large blast from your wisp causing damage to the affected area.

Three options, each equally appealing to him. His first instinct was to snag Double Trouble. It would double the attacks he could fire. However, Mana Cannon was an equally appealing choice. His talks with Zac mentioned such attacks that caused damage to everything in an area.

The downside was, Mathew was sure the attack could hurt allies. Cold Sting was the runner up between the two. Slowing his enemies down was by far the most useful. It would allow him to get in more damage from afar, or more easily dodge attacks. Both which increase his survivability. The downside again was he had to hit his targets.

Mathew closed his eyes for a moment before selecting Double Trouble. His class was a summoner after all, so why shouldn’t he have more summons? Plus, Mana Cannon was a repeat of his [Mana Bolt] just with the extra ability to harm creatures in an area.

“You are a shitty fighter.” Tank said. “But you have a warrior's heart. We will make you a proper fighter before the Dungeons open up.”

“He also has the brain the size of a dinosaur.” Washington said with a shake of his head.

“Hey now.” Mathew retorted. “I am pretty sure my Intelligence is higher than any of yours.”

“Intelligence does not make one smart. It simply makes more empty space for your brain to grow, which at this point you might need to strap yours down.” Washington replied.

“Yea? Well, I am open to free advice if you have any wisdom to share.” Mathew didn’t like the personal attacks Washington constantly threw at him. It was as if he had a personal vendetta against him.

“Why do you choose to fight with a knife, when you can hide in a tree and attack at range. You have three powerful forms of attacks, and can easily train skills in more.”

Mathew stood up once Samuel finished healing him. “Because, I am training for when shit goes wrong. Rule 1 for plans, plan for failure.”

Holly shook her head. “He who plans to fail, will.”

Mathew nodded, “I’ve heard the quote, but in my line of work, I plan for the worst to happen.”

“And what line of work was that?” Tank asked curiously.

“Divorce lawyer. The stories I have when the spouse's lawyer comes in with new evidence that his or her significant other was cheating? Those are the cases that made me groan in annoyance. If my client just told me the truth from the start, I could have easily prepared for such a thing. Then my clients expect me to still let them get full custody of the kids, some people just don’t think logically.”

“Love is a fickle thing.” Holly said.

“Nah never was about love. It was about making the other person hurt more. My partner Leo, he works with Child Services. He works as a state officiated lawyer for minors. Those are the worst cases for him, watching the parents play ‘who is the better parent’.”

Mathew groaned as he looked at his damaged robe. He would need to pay another visit to Di to get it repaired. Luckily, wolf corpses paid well to the leatherworkers and butchers.

The walk back was short, but they still encountered a pair of bears. That fight sent Mathew all the way up to Level 12. He put two points into Intelligence and 1 into Wisdom, which would be his new pattern for now.

Mathew made a quick visit to The Workshop, a converted air hanger that houses a form of open farmers market. There he sold the wolf carcasses, bought some food that those with cooking professions made, and headed to a new stall he knew he was going to love.

“Mathew, I was saving this brew just for you.” An older Chinese lady turned to boil some water. “My brewing skill is two away from Beginner rank, which as everyone says, gives a new perk or a power up.”

“Thank you Mrs. Hayward. I look forward to what you can make then. Your tea is the only thing motivating me to return back to base.”

She slapped him on the shoulder. “I am happily married, Mathew.”

“Hey, I used to be a divorce lawyer. I know the laws, and can easily steal you away. We can ride into the sunset and live happily ever after.”

She gave him a look before turning back to start seeping the tea leaves in the water. “You are too young for me anyways. How was it today? Your armor shows you got in a scuffle.”

“I took on two wolves alone. I need to work on improving my skills. I can’t let others be better than me.” Mathew said.

“I understand. My husband Henry was the same way. Always doing everything himself. Just remember it’s okay to ask for help.” She patted Mathew on his arm before turning to pour out two cups of tea. “Oh looky there. Novice 8. I knew you were my good luck charm.” She smiled.

Mathew took a sip of tea. “The best cup you made yet.”

“Oh stop it. You say that every time.”

“I am not a liar” Mathew said as he held a hand over his heart. “I would even put my hand on a bible and swear by it, this is your best cup yet.”

He left after finishing the wonderful cup of tea. He was tempted to get the skill himself, but decided to hold off for now. Mathew made a quick stop by the Hearth Crystal to repair his armor, and restock up on a couple healing ointments he used during his outings to train.

After which, Mathew headed to his newest job. Sitting in an office, doing paperwork, and getting paid to do it.