Alice was lying on her makeshift bed, one finger held out in front of her. Focused, she was exploring the status page she had only recently learned to summon. The menu floated before her, fascinating and cryptic. Her finger raised in the air, she whispered theories:

"Too bad the page doesn't explain exactly what each stat does. Strength is easy enough to get, but does agility also make me faster or improve my crits? And intelligence must be tied to magic, but what exactly does it enhance? When I used to play games, there was always a wiki or a community to explain all that stuff… not here."

She frowned.

"I guess I’ll have to experiment."

Her gaze shifted to her skills.

"It’d be nice to have more info there too… maybe if I level up Inspection."

"You talking to the ceiling?"

Alice was startled. Golly was standing in the doorway, arms full of enormous, twisted roots. He looked intrigued.

"No! Uh, well… I’m checking the system."

He tilted his head. 

"The 'six stems'?"

"No, the system. It’s like a glowing panel that appears in front of me. It shows my stats, my skills… You don’t see anything?", she laughed.

The golem slowly shook his head.

"I see you. Finger in the air. No panel."

Alice sighed. That confirmed what she suspected: she was the only one who could perceive the system.

"Never mind… It’s already helped me a lot anyway. It gave me quests, taught me a spell… Thanks to it, I can use wind magic."

"You know magic?"

Alice focused and made a swirl of leaves dance outside the hut’s entrance.

"You’re talented, little Alice."

He approached slowly, curious. His steps made the whole hut creak.

"I only know earth magic. That’s what my creator gave me. Watch."

He held out his hands. A deep sound, half rumble, half vibration, rose from the ground. Slowly, before Alice, the soil clumped together into a crude sphere, which rose slightly and spun in place.

"I can move the earth. Not very fast. Not very strong. But well enough."

Alice blinked, impressed.

"Could you… teach me?"

He looked at her for a long moment, stone eyes glowing faintly.

"Yes. But I’m not a good teacher."

Ding !

[Training Quest: Learn Earth Magic]
Objective: Attend Golly’s lessons
Reward: Earth Magic (Level 1), Experience

Day 1

They settled in a corner of the clearing where the soil was soft. Golly knelt, placed his hands on the ground, and closed his eyes.

Seconds passed. Then a small bump formed in the dirt. It grew, shaped itself into a rough mushroom, then gently collapsed.

Alice was amazed.

"You can make earth?"

"Not really. I move it. Densify it. Rearrange the internal structures using spiral compression sequences based on the casting circle."

"...Huh?"

"Want me to repeat?"

"No… well yes, but… with fewer golem words?"

"Earth is solid. But it moves if asked nicely. You have to think in circles. Magic flows better that way."

"Crystal clear," Alice muttered sarcastically.

She extended her hands. Tried to mimic Golly. Closed her eyes. Focused.

Nothing.

"Do I need to say a special word? Like 'Zephyra' for wind?"

"I don’t know that word."

"Me neither, honestly."

Days 2 to 4

Every morning, Golly stood quietly at her side. He rephrased his instructions, drew incomprehensible circles in the dirt with a stick, and spoke of "magical flows with a 37° convergence angle."

Alice had a headache. And her scientist’s pride was taking a hit. Clearly, she lacked the foundation to connect the dots. And her friend couldn’t explain them any better. She tried to reproduce the sensation she had felt with Zephyra. That warmth in her belly, that magical pulse. She could summon it. But as soon as she channeled it toward the earth, she lost all control.

On the third day, she thought she’d succeeded. A small clump of earth twitched. She let out a triumphant cry.

"You used wind," Golly said, staring at her.

"...Seriously?"

"Yes. I felt the air shift."

She groaned and stomped the ground.

"Talk about false hope!"

Day 5

Alice was at her wit’s end. But she tried again, determined. She sat down, closed her eyes, took a deep breath. Following Golly’s advice, she visualized the earth, its density, its weight. Patiently, she imagined magic as a slow, deep, grounding vibration. The soil quivered.

Golly’s excitement was palpable. She doubled her efforts, sweat beading on her temples.
Then suddenly, something clicked in her brain. A small mound of dirt rose in front of her. Unstable. Not dense. But it wasn’t wind. She opened her eyes, astonished.

"You did it," Golly said, tilting his head.

Ding !

[Quest Complete: Follow the Golem’s Lessons]
Reward: Earth Magic – Level 1
Congratulations! You’ve gained 240 XP!
Congratulations! You’ve reached Level 5!

Day 6

She spent the whole day repeating the process. She learned to shape the earth. To move it slightly. To create simple forms: a mound, a trench, a tiny wall. It took much more focus than wind magic, but she managed. Golly watched silently, nodding slowly at each success.

At the end of the day, she threw her arms up:

"I am officially… an apprentice terramancer!"

"Is that a word you just made up?"

"Kind of!"

Another word and idea came to her. Just like shouting Zephyra helped her cast wind magic faster, she might be able to do the same with earth magic.

She whispered.

"Terrae…"

To her surprise, the spell cast much more quickly. Golly tilted his head.

"Is that also a word you just made up?"

Alice burst out laughing.

"Yes, and to my surprise—it works!"

Ding

Success!
You’ve unlocked: Fast Casting – Level 1 / 20

Day 7

That afternoon, as they were walking near the edge of the clearing, Golly suddenly stopped.

"Tracks."

He pointed to round prints in the mud.

"Horned rabbit. A young one. It’s alone."

Alice gripped the rusty dagger she had found in the hut. Her heart sped up.

"I want to try."

"You sure?"

"I’ll never know if I don’t."

Golly said nothing. He simply stepped back. She approached slowly. The rabbit was about twenty meters away, ears twitching. It was huge. Bigger than expected. A twisted horn protruded from its forehead.

"What?! But it’s so cute!"

It saw her—and charged. Caught in her admiration, Alice shouted:

"Z-ZEPHYRA!"

A gust of wind blew, throwing the beast off course. It rolled to the side. 

Second charge. She repeated the spell. It worked, but weaker. The wind hesitated. She felt her reserves dwindle. 

Third charge. She tried to dodge. A horn grazed her arm. She cried out, stumbled back, fell.

"Damn it!"

She got up, panting, blood running down her arm. The rabbit was already preparing to charge again.

"Change of plan!"

She opened her status page and allocated five points to agility, and five to intelligence. She immediately felt the system’s effects. She was faster—as she expected, she had recovered some mana. Even so, she only had energy left for one spell.

The creature charged again. This time, she dodged with ease. She closed her eyes.

"Terrae…!"

She pushed the magic into the ground in front of her. A small bump rose just as the rabbit leaped. It tripped.

Alice screamed and lunged. Her dagger came down—once, twice, three times. Blood splashed onto her clothes. The body twitched—then stilled.

Silence.

Ding

You’ve defeated: Horned Rabbit – Level 6
Congratulations! You’ve gained 3 XP!

Golly helped her carry the body back to the clearing. Alice had washed silently at the river.

"That was… harder than I thought. I mean it is my first time killing… a living being" she said, watching the blood coming off of her arms.

"You survived. That’s good. But you are not done. Dismantling is important too"

He pulled out a sharp stone and began explaining:

"Look. You need to skin it without tearing anything. Then cut here. And here. See that little shiny thing near the heart?"

"...It’s a gem?"

"Yes. Every magical creature has one. It stores energy. We use them to power artifacts, enchantments, or golems."

"Like you?"

"Yes. My master gave me a very strong and special one. That’s why I’m still here."

She looked at hers. Small. Purple. Pulsing.

"It’s… beautiful."

"And precious."

Alice nodded. Her stomach churned, but she kept going. Learned. Cut. Sorted. Cleaned.

Ding

New Skill Acquired: Dismantling – Level 1

Character Sheet
Name: Alice Vanberg
Race: Vampire
Level: 5
Experience: 8 / 220

Titles:
– Fallen Noble (–5 Charisma)
– Survivor (+1 Strength, +2 Constitution)
– Gifted Mage (Two Elements) (+2 Intelligence)
– #&@!?#& (Unknown)

Stats:
– Strength: 4 (2 base +1 [Survivor] +1 allocated)
– Constitution: 5 (3 base +2 [Survivor])
– Agility: 13 (8 base +5 allocated)
– Intelligence: 22 (15 base +2 [Gifted Mage] +5 allocated)
– Charisma: 9 (14 base –5 [Fallen Noble])
– Luck: 2 (2 base)

Magic:
– Wind Magic – Level 2
– Earth Magic – Level 1

Skills:
– Survival – Level 1
– Common Language – Level 20
– Inspection – Level 1
– Fast Casting – Level 1
– Dismantling – Level 1