Apprentice mage

The leaves were beginning to grow back on the trees, giving the forest a lively appearance. Flowers were beginning to appear in abundance, which meant it was the perfect time to gather all kinds of plants for potions.

That was why Aryn and Atlas had returned to the forest, though that wasn't the only reason.

Atlas jumped backwards to avoid being stabbed in the chest by a rabbit with a sharp spike in its tail. Then he stretched his arms forward and a light green magic circle appeared in front of him.

An instant later, a blast of air shot out of the magic circle towards the rabbit which he easily dodged and ran back towards Atlas, who tried to cast another spell, but the magic circle never appeared in front of him.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, and just before the rabbit's spike penetrated his neck an arrow darted into the rabbit's chest and pinned him firmly to the ground.

Atlas gasped for air as he wiped the sweat from his brow. As he caught his breath, Aryn came to his side with the bow in her hands.

"You were fast but not fast enough, you also lacked accuracy. But more importantly"

"I ran out of mana" Atlas replied before Aryn finished his sentence.

The elf nodded and walked over to the rabbit, pulled out the arrow and cleaned it before putting it back in her quiver. Then, she reached into the leather pouch at her waist and rummaged around for a few seconds before handing Atlas a blue potion.

Atlas drank the mana potion and sighed, feeling his core fill slightly. It was the first day he had come to train in the forest, and he really realized how difficult magic was.

Aryn had taught him only one spell which was the blast of air that Atlas had used before. While it was not a lethal or strong spell, Aryn intended to teach him to use his mana before moving on to something stronger.

According to what the elf had explained, magic was divided into eight types. The main magics of each element, fire, wind, water and earth, the special magics that were derived from the main magics, the white magic, which was like the incantation Aryn cast to enchant potions. 

White magic was magic that was not necessarily attack magic and was focused more on making a wizard's life easier.

Then there was unique magic, which were incredibly powerful and rare magics. Only those with great lineage, great talent could have unique magic.

Finally there was abyssal magic, which was considered taboo for obvious reasons. It was magic used by abyss monsters and the infected. It was possible for a normal person to learn, but this magic was so sinister that all kingdoms decided to ban it.

Apart from all types of magic, Aryn taught him that magic could only be learned in three ways. The first was through magic grimoires, which were really expensive so not many people could afford them.

Then it was by research. There was a branch of mages who dedicated themselves entirely to magical research in search of new magics and discovering the secrets behind mana, secrets lost in the age of heroes.

Finally, the ultimate way to learn magic was to learn it from a master. Just as Aryn had taught that wind magic to Atlas. 

Every mage had a natural disposition towards some main magic, making it easier to learn special magics if they were derived from the main magic with which the mage had that natural disposition.

But apart from all that, there was another way to learn magic... and that was by being Atlas.

Atlas had the magic codex at his disposal, and while he wasn't entirely sure, he could sense that he could get any kind of magic from it. The shop mainly allowed him to buy skills, which were spells, and while he didn't have enough points yet, at some point he would be able to buy magic at his disposal.

Soon, Atlas and Aryn began to gather plants while Atlas rested and recovered his mana. He could barely cast three blasts of wind before he ran out of mana, so he had to think hard about how to use the spells, or he would simply be wasting mana.

Besides, Atlas still didn't quite understand how magic power worked, but he figured it was relative to how strong a spell would be.

As it was getting late, Atlas sighed at the sight of the dead rabbit in front of him. He had managed to hit it with his spell, and it had crashed into a tree, dying shortly after.

[You have killed a lower spiked rabbit]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

Atlas' eyes widened in surprise as he heard the system message.

'Can I level up by hunting?'

Before creating his first potion Atlas had been thinking for several weeks about how to level up. Now he realized that he could level up not only by creating potions but also by hunting.

'How else can I level up?'

The magic codex still had many hidden secrets and was mostly a mystery. But little by little Atlas was learning more about the system.

Atlas picked up the rabbit by one paw and smiled slightly with some sorrow inside. It was the first time he had ever hunted animals, and even though he knew it was a common thing to do, he still felt some remorse.

Growing up in a society where people didn't have to hunt for food on a daily basis and could simply buy food at a supermarket, Atlas's mentality was still that of someone from another world.

While that was the reason he had decided to use the name Atlas, it was impossible to change one's mentality in just a couple of months. Atlas knew it would take years to get used to this world... if ever.

"You did well for your first time. Now let's get back" Aryn said looking somewhat proudly at him.

She carried a long branch on her shoulder from which hung three rabbits. Finding wild animals so shallow in the forest was rare, for that reason it was difficult to find trouble if one was prepared.

Almost an hour later, the two arrived at Skorslor workshop and left the rabbits with the man before heading to the shop. Once they arrived, they both had dinner and Aryn went to bed early, meanwhile, Atlas studied his stats.

Name: [Atlas] [Level: 25] [Exp: 90/100] 

Race: [Human]

Stats: [HP: 7/7] [Mana: 3/7] [Magic Power: 2/2] [Strength: 4/4] [Agility: 2/2] [Dexterity: 11/11] [Intelligence: 6/6]

His stats had increased, mainly his mana thanks to using magic in addition to the mana potions Aryn had given him. Atlas then turned his attention to his first active ability.

[Minor Wind Blast]

Mastery: [10/100]

Now that he had tasted magic for the first time, a spark ignited inside Atlas. Something that only belonged in fantasy stories was now within his grasp. 

Atlas was eager to continue practicing his magic, but he knew he had to keep creating potions daily, besides, he couldn't go into the forest alone. He had realized that he was still too weak to survive without Aryn's help.

He still lacked control over his mana, combat intelligence and many other things. Atlas was simply still learning, he was just an apprentice mage.