Alex plucked what felt like a hundred splinters out of his chest and face. He was just grateful that none of them had hit his eyes when he accidentally exploded a stick that he was trying to inject with mana. The explosion had done quite a bit of damage, flinging wooden shrapnel out in a sizable burst with a large bang. Being only a foot away from the explosion, Alex’s ears were still ringing a bit from the sound, as he bled from numerous puncture wounds.

At least I now can make a grenade, he thought to himself as he pulled the last splinter from his shoulder. That should be useful in the long run. He pulled up his status screen and saw that his health was sitting at 8/12, while his mana was at 1/18. Huh, it looks like it did a full 4 points of damage, though it did explode right in my face.

He reached over and grabbed a berry he had managed to find a little earlier in the day and popped it into his mouth and grimaced at how tart it was. After eating a few more, he got up and stretched, wincing as his skin pulled tight causing the numerous new holes, he had to make their presence known. I wish I figured out how to magically heal things instead of finding out how to make a stick blow up in my own face.

He cautiously reached down and grabbed the walking stick he had found, and then filled it with mana. Hopefully you don’t explode. He quickly gave it a once over with his mana sense, only finding the mana inside swirling as it had before. He could sense thin streams of mana winding their way throughout the stick, moving in unpredictable ways. It was mesmerizing to watch the mana twist and turn, circling the stick.

Doesn’t look like it’s going to explode on me, should it be safe. Though I don’t really know what the mana is doing. Is it making it stronger? Or just being stored? Concentrating, Alex tried to reach out to the mana to see if he could take it back. After a few minutes of trying to move the mana back into his palm and only getting a few of the streams to jostle a little, he gave up trying. I guess that mana is stuck until it blows up.

He wiped a bit of blood from his cheek as it dripped from a slightly larger laceration he had received. Maybe I should stay away from trying anything with mana until I figure out more about it. He thought for a second, still not quite ready to give up on his dreams of throwing fire around. Or at least not things that can blow up in my face.

He slowly munched on his berries as he thought of ways he could try and use mana to make magic, instead of just unstable mana filled sticks. Thoughts about carving some sort of runes into the sticks or controlling the mana inside filled his head and before he knew it, he had eaten the last berry.

Blinking out of the trance-like state he had been in, he looked around and noticed just how dark it had gotten. The normally shady forest was draped in darker shadows now that the sun was making its descent for the night. Wiping his slightly stained hands on the tattered pants he wore, he got up and stretched.

Well, another day survived he thought to himself as he breathed in the fresh forest air. Not too bad. Almost got eaten by a monster and blew up a stick. Not too shabby. And now I’m level 3. Moving up in the world.

Alex found himself walking along a nice bubbling stream as it meandered its way through the trees. He felt a lot better having a nice landmark to guide his forays into the forest than just tromping through the underbrush, potentially getting lost and then eaten by a larger monster.

As he walked along the stream, the constant pulling sensation in his gut signaling that something was trying to siphon off his mana gradually faded away. When he could no longer feel it, he let out a long sigh. He had specifically chosen to walk along the river in the direction that would take him away from where he remembered the clearing with the boulder to be since he had woken up several times during the night from the unpleasant sensation of his mana being pulled on.

The sensation wasn’t terrible, but it was like trying to function with a slight headache. Doable, but definitely not comfortable. At least it looks like that’s the reason why I haven’t seen many monsters, he thought to himself as he spotted a flash of bright plumage up ahead. Looks like they just tend to stay away from that clearing. He thought back to his unpleasant night. Not that I would blame them.

He kept walking along the river, looking at the forest around him. The further he walked, the more wildlife he began to see. What he saw were mostly small critters, a few mouse looking creatures with long tails that resembled a monkey’s that skittered about, climbing around on the branches above. He caught a few glimpses of birds flying about as well, their plumage ranging from black to green to even a bright gold at one point.

Alex couldn't help but stare at all the wildlife around him. He’d grown up seeing the occasional deer that had wandered into the city, but that couldn't compare to watching basically a small little furry critter jump 20 feet from tree to tree like it was nothing.

As he contented to walk, he started to notice a change in the forest as well. The foliage around him looked greener, and the underbrush started to grow thicker. Different plants started to crop up, instead of the ones that he had been slowly getting familiar with. He even started seeing what looked like fruit high above on some of the trees, but unfortunately, he didn’t have a good way of getting to them.

He was bending over an odd-looking plant, with blue veins running through the leaves, when he heard a branch break behind him. Alex quickly spun around to see a squat, four-legged animal staring at him. It only came up to his mid-thigh, but it had what looked like armored plates covering its head with two large horns curling from either side of its head. Its small black eyes glared at him from across the stream. As he made eye contact with the creature, it opened its mouth and let out a shrill screech.

Crap crap crap crap was all that was running through Alex’s head as the monster lowered its head and pawed at the dirt with its hoof. What’s up with everything just trying to kill me!

Alex frantically looked around for anything that he could use but didn’t see anything. He glanced back to the monster as it began to charge across the stream. Its thick legs powering it through the water. Alex froze as it rushed at him, its twin horns aimed directly at him.

Recovering his wits just as it was almost on top of him, he quickly threw himself to the side, the breath getting knocked out of him from the process. He watched as the monster rushed past him and slammed into a tree, staggering back.

Alex scrambled to his feet as the creature righted itself and turned to face him once again. The two of them faced off with each other, Alex glancing about, trying to think of something to do, while the monster continued to glare at him. It bent down for another charge, and Alex ready to dodge out of the way again.

Unfortunately for Alex, the monster was a bit smarter than he gave it credit for. As he jumped to the side, the creature whipped it head around and caught Alex in the leg, causing him to tumble to the ground, clutching at his thigh.

His leg felt like it was on fire, but Alex tried to stand anyway, the alternative being beaten to death by large horns. As he clambered to his feet, Alex grabbed a loose stone from the ground. Great, I’ve got a rock now, against a goat hippo.

As he stared at the monster in front of himself, he got an idea. Fighting through the pain in his leg, he focused inwards and grabbed as much mana as he could. He started getting a headache by just trying to move that much mana, but the threat of the monster in front of him worked as a very good motivator to fight through the pain. With a mental shove, he forced all the mana he had grabbed into the rock he was holding. He sensed it start to writhe around inside, very similar to what had happened right before the stick he had infused with mana had exploded.

With now a ticking bomb in his hands, he quickly turned and threw it at the monster. Unfortunately, while Alex had played a few summers of baseball, he pretty much sucked at it. So when he threw the mana filled stone at the monster, it hit the tree next to, rolling a few feet away from the creature.

The monster had turned to watch the projectile fly past but quickly swung its head back around to look at Alex. It was at that moment the mana inside the rock reached a tipping point, and it exploded outwards with a resounding crack. Stone chips flew through the air, shredding into the unarmored side of the monster. It let loose a pained cry as the shrapnel tore through it.

The monster stumbled around a bit, its hind leg shredded and bloodied from the exploding rock. Alex used that time to look around a bit more, spotting a dead tree branch off to one side. He raced over to it, his leg yelling at him to stop the whole way. Grabbing the branch, he whirled around to see the angry face of the monster barreling down on him. Without thinking, he swung the tree branch at the charging monster with all his strength.

It struck the monster squarely across the face, staggering it out of its charge. Alex hurriedly backed up, tree branch held at the ready. The monster righted itself and charged again in a blind rage. As it neared, Alex held up the thick tree branch with both hands and slammed it down as hard as he could on the charging monster. A sharp crack sounded out as the branch split, but the charging beast fell limply to the ground.

Alex stood there, panting, watching the unmoving form of the monster that had just moments before been trying to gore him to death. The improvised club still held aloft, although he could see it starting to splinter already from the two impacts. He jumped back, startled, as a blue box popped into existence.

You have defeated a Juvenile Thare Crusher [Rank 0]

You have gained 50 XP

He let out a relieved sigh at the notification. Glad that’s over he thought as he stood there panting, out of breath. He limped away from the fallen monster and sat down on a fallen log. He looked down at his hands. I can’t believe I just got into a fight with a monster and won. That was crazy, and that thing was only a juvenile whatever it is. I do not want to see an adult one.

Alex froze, his face falling in dread. If that was a Juvenile, basically a baby, where is its parents?

A loud screech sounded nearby, suspiciously similar to the monster he had just fought, only many times louder. It was followed by a loud crash, and Alex could see the trees in the direction of the sound began to shake.

Well, that can’t be good.