"What do you mean, we can't go talk with her?" I ask Terrence.

After I confirmed I wanted to speak with Silvia, I was ready to go right then. Terrence promptly told me we couldn't, and now I'm confused. He offers to take me to Silvia, then says he can't.

"I mean just that," Terrence says as his tail swishes from side to side. "Silvia has her place surrounded by all sorts of wards, including ones using dimensional crystals. I don't have a key to let me through the wards, so we'd just end up wandering around without ever finding it."

"Dimensional crystals?" I ask.

"Yeah," Terrence says. "They're pretty rare, but she's acquired a ton of them and actively seeks out more in order to make sure she can sustain her words. I've been waiting in town, she usually shows up about once a month to check for messages and packages. She'll sometimes show up more frequently if she's expecting something. Her last appearance was a couple of days before I came out here, so we've got another couple of weeks before she'll show up, most likely."

"What have you been doing while waiting?" I ask.

"Hunting monsters," he stands and extends a hand to help me to my feet. "Doing some quests. I've got a letter waiting for her at the guild to let her know I'm waiting for her in case her visit is while I'm not there. Coded, so people don't know the actual purpose of it if they peek."

"And how do the townsfolk respond to having you here?" I ask.

"You mean both a prince and a Tier IV?" Terrence asks, and I nod. "They don't know who I am. As far as the people here know, I'm a Tier II wolfkin named Terrence. Blue eyes aren't exactly common among our kind, but they aren't rare, either. So no one knows who I am or suspects that I'm the prince. Without stuff that actually identifies me as a royal, no one will recognize me unless they already know me."

"And only Silvia knows you here?"

"And a couple of others," he nods. "But yeah, no one else knows me here. Everyone who knows 'me' knows me as a Tier II with affinities for fire and air. It's getting a little hard to maintain that secret as I get stronger because I want to keep killing stuff that gives me more Experience, but I'm managing."

Because as he gets stronger, he has to kill stronger things. That will make him grow in power faster than a Tier II should.

"Okay," I say. "Finishing your hunt, or just starting?"

"I was getting ready to start it," he answers. "Someone put up a request at the guild for the hide of a magic deer, so I figured I'd go give it a try. I get some Experience and money, and the petitioner gets the item they want."

"Oh, okay," I say. "If I'm going to wait for Silvia, should I just wait here for you to finish the hunt? Or go to town?"

"Nah," he says. "The hunt isn't an immediately-necessary one, it's been up for two months already."

"Two months?"

"The town has adventurers," he says. "But most of them are Tier I mages, and even among those who are strong enough to handle this, they'd rather handle less troublesome things. As for the stronger adventurers, well, they tend to have other things on their plate. As a result, some petitions remain up for awhile. There's one that I think is almost six months old."

"Oh."

"Yeah," Terrence shrugs. "It'll either get taken care of or rescinded. Anyway, I can teach you how to access your Mana right now instead if you want."

"And spells?"

Even if I plan on getting back to Earth, learning magic would be pretty neat. I don't care if it's only for the time I'm here, either. Whether or not I'll retain my ability to use magic on Earth is a mystery, but I want to learn magic anyway.

"Not immediately," he tells me. "One benefit that contractors have is that they don't need to cast the spells directly. They can cast them basically from birth. All they actually need is to say the spell's name. We casters, on the other hand, have a little bit more effort we need to go through. First, we need to sense our Mana and connect with it. Then, we have to sense the elements within it. After that, and only after that, can we draw out the elements and shape them into spells."

"And that takes time?"

"The higher your Tier," he says. "The faster you gain Experience. This also holds true for learning magics. As a Tier IV, it only took me a couple of months to draw an element out of my Mana. A Tier I might take more than six months to manage it. As an [Archon], I'm not sure what the difference will be, but it probably won't be that much faster."

"Okay," I say. "So how do I sense my Mana?"

"Get comfortable," he says. "And focus on sensing it within you. It's an energy that flows through your body, so it shouldn't be too difficult once you actually start focusing on this. After that, you can enhance your body with your Mana or try sensing the elements. Enhancing your body is basically just spreading Mana through it. You can increase your Strength, Constitution, and Agility by 1 for every 0.1 Mana you use for this, but you spend that much per second. It's not something done often because of that, usually used as a last-resort option by melee fighters if they can't find another way to win."

"Okay," I take a deep breath, then look within myself.

Almost as soon as I try sensing my Mana, I manage to sense it. Not only that, but I'm able to sense the elements almost immediately. They're not "in" my Mana, however. Instead, it feels as if they're seven orbs that everywhere and nowhere within me at once.

Wait, now I can sense the elements in my Mana. They seem to be flowing from the orbs into my Mana. I guess Terrence forgot to mention that part.

I hum a little as I visualize a spell forming, and there's a small surge from one of the orbs I can sense, the orb for fire. My Mana drops as a little as the spell completes.

[Fireball] Learned!

"Can you please not learn a Tier III spell within minutes of being told how to cast magic?" Terrence asks, and I open my eyes to find the [Fireball] floating between us, the wolfkin looking quite unhappy. "You made that look easy!"

"It was easy," I tell him. "All I had to do was visualize it and it appeared."

Terrence sighs.

"That's not very fair," he grumbles.

"Sorry?" I offer.

"It's fine," he snorts. "I should've expected it. The [Archon]s of the myths were extraordinary beings who couldn't be stopped, and they could cast anything. Even magics outside of the elements. They could teleport."

"I think I can only cast the elements," I tell him. "That's all I can sense. [Fireball] is a Tier III spell?"

"Yeah," Terrence answers. "The version of it for the other elements are just called 'bomb' instead of 'ball', but it's grouped with them as a bomb spell. The Tier I attacks I primarily use are the bolt spells. They're the most commonly-used spells for combat."

[Air Bolt] learned!

"Will you stop that?" He exclaims as a bolt of violet-tinted compressed air forms beside the [Fireball]. "And it took me six months to have two spells active at a time! Being an [Archon] is really unfair."

"Why's it violet?" I tap the [Air Bolt] as I dismiss the [Fireball].

I probably shouldn't have touched the spell, but at least it didn't explode. The air spell feels solid and smooth, as well as slightly-cool, like the air here.

"Might have to do with being an [Archon]," Terrence shrugs. "It's always been a light green tint for everyone, so yours is the first purple one I've seen."

"So they all have the tint?" I ask.

"Sort of," he answers. "Air magic that creates air is tinted, air magic that uses air already present isn't."

That might be good to know in the future.

"Any other things I should know?"

"If you see a god, don't ask them questions."

"…what?"

"I had a feeling," he says. "That gods don't normally pop into your world. Your reaction confirmed it."

"Yeah, they don't," I say. "They regularly pop in here?"

"No," he answers. "But it does happen on a rare occasion. A very rare occasion. I grew up in the royal capital, and I only ever saw a god once. You can look but don't talk to them."

"So if one randomly pops up around me," I say. "Don't ask them how I got here and why I'm here."

"Correct," Terrence nods.

"Just in case," I ask. "What's the protocol for if a god shows up?"

"What do you mean?" He asks.

"I'm assuming it's bow and-"

"No!" He laughs. "That's only if it's a god you worship. Otherwise, you can just keep going, just avoid walking into a space within ten feet of them. Most people don't speak until they're thirty feet away, but it's not necessary, you just have to avoid talking to them."

Terrence looks thoughtful for a few moments.

"If Silvia doesn't have answers for you," he tells me. "There's another option available."

"Some other wise mage?" I ask.

"No," he answers. "The gods."

"Didn't you just say I can't ask them?"

"No," he says. "I said you can't talk to them if they pop in around you. There's a place called the Shrine of Illusions. It's in a rather dangerous place, but anyone who makes it there receives an audience with the gods. You never know which gods you'll meet, but they're always gods of the same alignment as you. So if you're good, the gods will be Gods of the Light. If you're evil, the gods will be Gods of the Dark."

"But I can go there and ask if Silvia doesn't have answers?"

"Yeah," he shrugs. "But you'll need some Levels first for sure. Asking Silvia is a significantly easier goal."

"Just how dangerous is the area around the Shrine of Illusions?" I ask.

"Someone would need to be a Tier II Ranker at the minimum."

"Ranker?" I ask.

"Every 100 Levels," he tells me. "You stop gaining Experience until you complete what's called a Rank Advancement Trial. Once you do, you'll be a Ranker. You receive rewards for completing it, too, based on various things. Powerful magic items. One of Silvia's is a cloak that allows her to fly despite her not having an affinity for air."

"If she's a Tier IV mage," I say. "She's got either light and shadow or she's got lightning then, right?"

"Light and shadow," he nods.

"You know," I say. "I'd only need to reach around Level 20-25 to manage it."

"Yeah," he says. "But you'd also need to find monsters that actually get you those Levels. Part of what determines how much you'll get is how easy the fights are for you. Low-Level monsters like those down there," he gestures to where monsters are wandering around further away from us. "Will get you your first couple of Levels regardless, but after probably Level 5 or so, you'll need to hunt stuff in the forest."

"Okay," I say. "And I can just kill monsters?"

"Heck yeah," he says. "Nobody wants monsters around. Generally speaking, if they're aggressive for no reason, they're a monster. There are exceptions, of course, but the majority of monsters are aggressive against people simply because we're people."

"That's a reason."

"Sure," he says. "And if you find goblins, they're fair game. Pesky little things, they have a degree of sapience and develop their own societies and make tools and weapons. No matter how much they're purged, they always return. Just starting out, your Magic is enough to handle the weakest of them."

"Okay," I say. "And what do I do with the dead monsters? Pick 'em up and sell them?"

"You can," he says. "But no one will think twice if you just leave their remains behind. Usually, unless there's a need or demand for the meat or hide, most just harvest anything of value and leave the rest. When you get closer to the town, you'll see the slimes in more detail. Or, uh, wait, where are all the slimes?"

I turn and face the fields outside of town, seeing no slimes at all. I can spot fields in the distance, and a few wandering monsters, but not a single slime.

"Argh," he lets out, showing off that he has cute fangs. "Where are all the slimes? That never happens, and considering they appear out of nothing, we can't just purge them all."

"That's weird?" I ask.

"Very weird," he nods. "I don't see anyone else checking it out, so I'm going to go investigate rather than go on this hunt. Want to help me see if you can spot any slimes?"

"How freaky is this?"

"On a scale of one to 'what the ancient fuck'?" He asks. "This is definitely a 'what the ancient fuck' because slimes do not just vanish like that."

"Okay," I say. "Let's go investigate. What should I do if I find slimes?"

"You can attack it," he says. "Just don't use [Fireball], that would be overkill unless you're getting swarmed."

Terrence and I make our way down the hill and start looking for slimes. We split off to look for them as I contemplate whether or not I can actually trust him. He's cute as heck, and I did literally crash into him for our first meeting. Maybe the gods brought me to him, maybe they didn't.

About thirty minutes into my hunt for a slime, one of the wandering monsters attacks me. It looks like some kind of giant horse with a black coat and a horn made of some sort of black crystal, and as I jump out of its way, I notice that it has two tails.

The ground also quakes a little every time one of its hooves hits the ground.

I thrust my right hand forward and an [Air Bolt] shoots out, glancing off the beast's hide. It whinnies and turns around, charging towards me again. This thing is fast, and the only reason I manage to jump out of the way is because I move before it aims at me. My next [Air Bolt] glances off its side as well, so I try a [Fire Bolt], which also fails.

Looks like I'm not strong enough for this beast, and I don't see Terrence around. Did he send this after me and run?

This thing seems a bit too strong for being so close to a town. Someone sent it here.

Fortunately for me, there are other monsters around. Unless they're stronger than beginner-level, this can go in my favor.

My next dodge of the earth-quaking, black-coated unicorn, I perform a twist out of its way and thrust my right hand out. Casting magic feels natural to me, and my aim seems to be rather good. It feels instinctive to me.

My bolt flies fifteen feet and nearly slams into a monster that looks like a cross between a turtle and a rabbit that was chilling on a rock. More accurately, it's a white-coated rabbit with a green-brown turtle shell on its back and a stubby little horn on its head.

The rabbit-turtle jumps out of the way even though its head was facing a different direction.

"Tch!"

Of course it's not that easy.

I roll out of the way of the quake-making unicorn as I shoot off a few more [Air Bolt]s at the rabbit-turtle. It manages to dodge two of them, but one connects, striking it in the neck rather than the head.

+342% Experience! You have gained 3 Levels!

…okay, I'm going to assume that monster's not supposed to be this close to town, either.

The gain of three Levels makes me quite a bit stronger, and my next attempt at getting out of the quake-maker's way is much easier. The extra Strength allows me to jump further, but using it is as natural as using the Strength I already had. I can control how much I use just as I did before despite the sudden increase.

My jump takes me twenty feet. I land on my feet and twist, sending an [Air Bolt] at the beast. It flies faster than my previous ones did, slamming into the beast's head and knocking the whole thing off-course.

Pushing my hands out, I throw several more [Air Bolt]s at this thing, and they impact against its side, forcing it to the ground. They're strong enough now to batter it, but I'm going to need to do a lot more if I want to kill it. Where's something else to kill?

Actually, wait. I'm just doing blunt damage to something with a tough hide. How about… this!

[Air Spear] Learned!

The shaft of the spear is about seven feet long, the triangular head roughly six inches in length. I thrust my right hand forward and the spear crosses the distance to the beast, piercing through its neck.

+428% Experience! You have gained 4 Levels!

That's quite a lot of Experience, this thing definitely didn't belong here.

Just as I start to look to see if I can spot Terrence, something in the distance catches my attention. A higher [Perception] doesn't increase my vision or other senses, it just allows me to make out details much more easily.

Which is why I can make out that the figure doing the flip about a mile away is Terrence and not just some random person. He's beyond a smaller hill, his jump taking him over it as he flips up, sending some sort of spell down and a green-tinted [Air Bolt] into the air.

An [Air Bolt] that screams.

He didn't abandon me and send a strong monster after me… he's fighting something strong, himself. I'm also out of Mana right now, but I do know a little martial arts and just received a massive boost to my Attributes.

Let's see if I can't help him a little.