8 ???
William had just closed the book when Jenny re-entered the library. She looked at Will quietly as he stood up from a chair and walked over.
"Your time is up, but you can pay for another hour if you'd like." she said with a smile.
"That's okay, I think I'm ready to leave." William responded in kind. He followed Jenny out of the library, then they parted ways while in the main hall.
William was about to leave when a thought struck him. "Do you know where I can get Cultivation Techniques?" he asked Jenny.
"Cultivation Techniques? We don't have any here, but there is a large collection for sale at our other locations. If you have a chance in the future, I suggest traveling to Blue Moon City. Cultivation Techniques are usually between 500 and 1000 Gold Coins though." Jenny responded, her last sentence causing William to remember how poor he was.
500 Gold Coins? I might as well work until I'm 60...oh wait I don't have that long. He realized there was no way for him to earn that much money. "Why is it so expensive?" William asked.
"Well, when someone learns a Cultivation Technique, the Technique will disappear from the book. This means that the creator of Cultivation Techniques has to draft many copies by hand if they want it to be shared with the world. Powerful Cultivators are also unwilling to share their Techniques publicly in case their enemies use it to target flaws in the Technique during a fight. These people will usually only share the Technique with trusted members of their family."
"That makes sense...I guess I will need to take more Quests if I want to Cultivate." William muttered.
The trip downstairs was brief, and once in the main hall William walked over to the Quest Board.
* [Gather: 10 Lifeshrooms]
** [Capture: 3 Spirit Pigs]
*** [Urgent: Clear Livingwood Forest]
****** [Slay: Nascent Soul Lightning Drake]
"The same quests are available? But I just completed that first quest." William raised his voice so Jenny could hear him from across the room.
"The first two are repeatable quests, so as long as you continue to complete the quest you will keep earning the rewards, and the Lightning Drake quest hasn't been completed yet. That quest was first issued over a month ago when a noble's daughter was killed by the Lightning Drake."
William thought for a moment, feeling that it was reasonable. A shop could hire adventurers to gather an endless supply of materials, while paying a low price. "Okay, can I take the Lifeshroom quest again?" he asked.
"Sure, but be careful. The magical beast has not been killed yet, so it will be more dangerous." Jenny wrote some notes down and handed William an identical Quest Sheet to before, then waved on as he left the Guild Hall.
William noticed it was becoming dark, so he went back home to sleep before beginning the quest tomorrow. He laid on the bed for not even a minute before falling into a deep sleep. Maybe when William woke up, he would be back on the bus next to Fria...
***
-Detecting Potential Score...Awarding Points
-First night in a new world: +1 Potential Point
-Completed 1 unique quest today: +1 Potential Point
***
Early the next morning, William walked down the path to Livingwood Forest while carrying a bedsheet from his room bundled up in hand, only stopping when he had returned to his previous location. Will opened the Menu and evaluated his condition.
———
INFO: ( - )
—Name: William
—Race: Human
—Age: 20
—Lifespan: 45 Years (Medium physical health)
TITLES: ( - )
—Manamatus (Uncommon): ( + )
STATUS: ( - )
—Health: 92/100
—Mana: 135/150
—Cultivation: None (No suitable techniques)
TALENTS: ( - )
—Magic: ( - )
-Fire: D (Cost 25PP to next rank)
POTENTIAL POINTS: 19
SYSTEM RANK: F- (20PP to next rank)
———
I have quite a bit of Mana now. I should be able to put up a fight as long as the enemy isn't too powerful. William thought to himself. He traveled into the forest and began the search for Lifeshrooms.
William had more luck this time, as he was already familiar with the terrain. It seemed that Lifeshrooms grew quickly in this area, as there were over a dozen new sprouts. The beast must have scared most people off. William cheered as he quickly completed the requirements for his Quest.
"If I want to cultivate, I'm going to need a lot more than 5 Silver Coins. Let's get to work!" William laid out the bedsheet, then placed the Lifeshrooms on top. He grabbed the four corners of the sheet and twisted them together at the top, forming a makeshift sack. It was a bit crude and some of the Lifeshrooms would probably be damaged, but it couldn't be helped.
Satisfied with his work, William continued searching for Lifeshrooms. He was more careful this time to avoid the area where the magical beast was previously spotted.
Two hours later, William had collected exactly 60 Lifeshrooms. He was going to leave, but a large clearing filled with Lifeshrooms surrounding a single massive tree appeared in William's view. Walking through the clearing was a green fox-like beast with two tails. It turned to face William with eyes glowing a deep red.
Discovered a magical beast, ???: +1 Potential Point
I'm screwed! William panicked. He focused his Mana and launched a fireball toward the magical beast, then turned around to run away.
The sound of an explosion rang out, followed by a pained howl. William looked back to see the Magical Beast covered in burn marks. The fox emitted a green light and quickly recovered from the lighter injuries, then showed an expression of rage before chasing after him.
William recognized the Life Magic but didn't have time to care. He threw another fireball, which the fox dodged by swiftly jumping to the side. He cursed before throwing a third, followed by a fourth. The fox dodged the third fireball but was blasted backward by the fourth.
It released another howl, but this time a deeper green light enveloped its entire body. The burnt skin began healing, and some fur grew back.
William knew better than to let the fox continue healing. There wasn't going to be a better chance than this. "Fireball! Fireball! Fireball!" Although he didn't have to chant, William found it somewhat amusing to shout while casting his magic.
The fireballs created explosions one at a time at different parts of the fox's body, causing severe burns. William was only about 10 meters away from the fox at this point, which made up for the low accuracy of his Magic.
The red eyes of the fox glowed in defiance before going dull. It swayed to the side and fell to the ground with a soft thud.
-Defeated ???: +2 Potential Points
-First magical beast kill: +3 Potential Points
-First Qi Refinement beast kill: +3 Potential Points
...
—System Upgrade is Available!
William was ecstatic. '8 Potential Points? I'm rich!' He cheered inwardly, but remained vigilant. Last time Will was nearly killed because he lowered his guard.
The corpse of the fox wasn't too large, so William tied the bedsheet around its neck and began dragging it away from the clearing.
About 100 meters and a few minutes later, there was a noticeable streak in the ground stretching from the edge of the clearing to a thin tree. The fur of the corpse had transitioned from a deep green to a light brown from sliding across the ground, and the bedsheet was now tied to a low hanging branch to prevent being tainted by the corpse.
William wanted to leave, but the goblin inside of him said it was time to grab the rest of the loot. He ran to the clearing and started frantically picking Lifeshrooms. He was greedy, but not stupid. The battle likely drew the attention of other beasts in the area, and William only had around 100 Mana left. The battle was surprisingly not taxing on his Mana reserves, but that was probably because the beast was extremely weak and went down with just a few simple fireballs.
William's greed knew no bounds, as he stuffed both pant pockets with Lifeshrooms until they were full. He wrapped his fingers around the bottom of his shirt and pulled up, forming a pouch for additional storage.
This continued for a few trips, until the bedsheet was nearly full and the clearing was completely devoid of Lifeshrooms. All that remained was the single large tree, which gave off a more distinguished glow now that the Lifeshrooms were all gone.
