# CHAPTER 2
Magic was a term which existed on Earth only as a fantasy. On the other hand, it became the fundamental force that fabricated the reality of Eldorra. Elves, Dwarves, Giants all had their own methods to use and utilize magic. Dragons, were like the beings magic made itself. Since, magic was known in their realms, their methods were suitable for their own species use. Witnessing all these arcane things, the curiosity within the critical and rational humans woke up.
8 months after the teleportation, the numerous testimonies all pointed to a single conclusion. Humans weren't discarded by nature yet. In fact around 70% of the humans were able to sense mana, around 20% were even able to manipulate mana while the rest remained normal. Since humans didn't have any method or understanding of magic earlier, they lacked behind other species.
Unfortunately, Ray was part of the remaining 30%. Seeing the discrimination from not just the other species but the scorns of the magic capable humans, Ray had decided not to live a life of scorn anymore.
Even then, the tag of 'talentless' prospered.
[ NOTIFICATION
QUEST- KILL THE LYCAN LEADER(0/1).
REWARDS- ???
FAILURE- DEATH.]
[ NOTIFICATION
LYCAN - LEVEL 12.]
"It's definitely a lot stronger." Ray looked at the 1.5m high beast in front of him. Its strong aura wouldn't have gone unnoticed no matter how careless Ray had been.
"Its name is Red. Colors most probably indicate it's strength compared to mine. It means it's that much stronger than me." The three horns on its forehead were proof of its strength.
Even if the level grading system differed for monsters, a Lv.1 v/s Lv.12, the result was apparent.
"RROOOOAAARRR!" It's roar shook off the whole area. Ray was pushed back by its roar. The shockwave from the roar was no joke. Many of the branches of the nearby trees broke and flew far off.
"Hah...." The beast's bloodshot eyes glared at Ray. "Does the system really want me to defeat this?"
Like a mother succumbing up to her kids, the beast licked it's dead comrades before taking action. Even these beasts held a comaraderie like humans. Though, this wasn't something Ray took note of. He understood well that pitying on it will cost his own life.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
Ray's heart pounded hard against his chest. Adrenaline? Yes. Excitement? Yes. Fear? No. A grin on his face taunted the beast. Even though his muscles were pain from the excessive and unnecessary movements earlier.
"RRROOOOAARRR!" The beast disappeared in a flash and appeared behind Ray.
SLAM! CRACK!
"Kugh!.." Ray blocked the direct impact from the beast's paws with his sword. Even then, the brute force sent him flying against a tree.
"Of course, that's how strong this bastard is. Then let's go plan B-" The grin on his face remained even after the impact. It seemed like he had something in mind.
"Hmph!.." Ray rushed towards the beast at his full speed aiming for its horns.
"RRROOOAAARRR!" The beast swung it's drawn out claws from its paws. But the claws didn't touch Ray.
YUP. IT WAS A FACADE.
Ray dodged the attack and poked a hole in the beast's intestine while sliding below it.
"Hah.." Ray rushed at it again. He kept using the same attack pattern, using facades to wound up the beast throughout its body. His rough and unsteady swordsmanship matches with the beast's low intelligence.
"RRRROOOAAARR!" A mana fused roar.
"Shit!" Ray froze in his midway. The facade strategy didn't last long.
CRACK! SLAM!
"Kugh!.." Ray crashed against one tree after tearing through another. "...this damn body of mine."
"Did I underestimate it too much? Or is its rage for his comrades just that high?"
"Grrr...." The beast growled then paused in its tracks. It's horns started shining while a ball of energy appeared near its mouth.
"It's gone crazy to use it now." Ray muttered. He knew about this attack. A degraded version of the original Lycan King's wrath. HOUND'S HELL.
"Add all to Stamina." Ray had saved this for such a moment.
[ NOTIFICATION
STAMINA 7 > 10.]
SWOOM! SSSKRRSHH! SSSSHHH!
Evaporated. The part of the forest which came into contact with the breath evaporated. The grazed parts burned alongside black ashes.
"Grr..?" The beast was frozen in its track. It was a side effect for using HOUND'S HELL.
SHRIEK! RUSTLE!
Branches behind the beast vibrated, not from the wind but from the load on them.
"You fucking bastard of a dog.....JUST DIE!"
"Heaaaaahhhh!" Ray jumped in on the beast from above it's forehead. The sword in his left hand pierced through the beast's left eye.
"RRROOOAARR!" The beast cried in pain jumping with all its might and slamming against trees to get rid of Ray on top of it.
"Kuek!" Ray held tightly on to the beast's throat with his legs. His right hand had evaporated alongside the scarred forest.
"RRROOOCCCRR!"
SLAM! TACKLE! SLAM!
"Uhh! Kugh! Keuk!"
STAB! STAB! STAB!
"Kugh!" Ray stabbed through the beast's head multiple times until it slowed down and ultimately died.
[ NOTIFICATION
YOU HAVE COMPLETED...]
[ NOTIFICATION
YOU HAVE...]
[ NOTIFICATION...]
"Hah..Haha..Hah.." Ray breathed heavily. He climbed off of the beast and finally took a rest against it's body.
"That was harder than I thought." Ray took a look at the massive lump of meat he had hunted just now. Not that he was proud of it. His underestimation of the beast cost him a lot.
"..." Looking at the price he had to pay for it, he was left speechless.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mana is the fundamental energy source of every living being. It's form may change but at the very root, it remains the same. It is also the fuel to use magic.
Magic, required an individual to possess two talents. First was the body's inept ability to sense mana. This required the functionality of the mana veins of an individual. Second was the presence of theta cells which evolved in the prefrontal cortex of the human brain after the teleportation. This part was responsible for the ability to use magic.
Ray possessed neither of the two talents. This made his life, a life a constant scorn, bully and torture. The only path left for him was to hone his body or use his intellect for a researcher or analyst. He had chosen the latter.
[ NOTIFICATION
YOUR ACHIEVEMENT IN THE BATTLE WITH THE LYCAN HAS BEEN EVALUATED AS A+.]
[ NOTIFICATION
THE GRADE OF YOUR REWARDS WILL BE INCREASED.]
"..." Ray remained silent. The loss of his right hand held an astronomical disadvantage for him.
"Did i get too excited? Maybe I should have been cautious when the first quest's failure indicated death.....or would have at least understood the hidden meaning....Damn.." Ray cursed himself for his impatience.
"What's done is done, I can only-"
[ NOTIFICATION
YOU HAVE RECEIVED -
1. 10 ADDITIONAL STAT POINTS
2. EXPERIENCE
3. YGGDRASIL'S SAP × 1]
[ NOTIFICATION × 8
YOU HAVE LEVELLED UP!]
[ NOTIFICATION
AS AN ADDITIONAL REWARD FOR DEFEATING AN OPPONENT WITH A LARGE LEVEL DIFFERENCE, YOU HAVE RECEIVED THE SKILL - EYES OF ISMARA ( ACTIVE ).]
"Huh? A skill? Does it have an amazing ability...will I become a overpowered protago-" Rays eyes lit up. He was done with bandaging the cross section of his right arm.
GROWL!!!
"I got too excited."
"Hah...I should eat. The meat must be ready now. Thank god I had found the Muslan herbs earlier." Ray looked at the huge piece of meat wrapped in a reddish green herb he kept under the bonfire.
"The only flaw of these herbs is that it makes it look kinda vegan, but its taste must be oh, aha, haha"
Muslan Herbs were one of the herbs which were a must for an adventurer. They covered up the smell of the meat easily preventing any possible monsters to incense near the bonfire. Especially when it's almost evening, the time for preys to be preyed.
"Status Window"
[ STATUS WINDOW
LEVEL- 9
NAME- RAY HYSTER AGE- 17 TITLE- REGRESSOR SEX-MALE
TRAIT - ???
STRENGTH - 9
STAMINA - 10
AGILITY - 8
INTELLIGENCE - 11
PERCEPTION - 7
(ADDITIONAL STATS- 34)
HP- 828 MP- 0 (550)
SKILL - EYES OF ISMARA ( ACTIVE )]
"Eyes of Ismara?"
[ NOTIFICATION
ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!]
"Huh?"
[ NOTIFICATION
DUE TO THE LOW INTELLIGENCE OF THE PLAYER, THE SKILL'S INFORMATION CANNOT BE VIEWED.]
"Tsk..why give something like this when it can't be viewed.
"It can't be helped anyways. I'll just check it out later. Even so, my low intelligence? The system's rudeness knows no bounds."
"Hmm...." Ray reviewed his battle earlier. Photographic memory was like a grace at moments like these.
"I need strength, but intuition and agility are equally important. Earlier, if I wasn't quick enough, my whole body would have evaporated with the hand." Ray had a lot of things to consider. Stamina was a also an important component in dragged out battles.
"6 in Strength, 5 in Stamina, 7 in Agility, 8 in Perception, 5 in Intelligence." Ray went with a balanced stat distribution.
[ NOTIFICATION
STRENGTH - 9 > 15, STAMINA 10 > 15, AGILITY - 8 > 15, PERCEPTION - 7 > 15, INTELLIGENCE - 11 > 16.]
[ NOTIFICATION
ERROR! DUE TO THE LOW INTELLIGENCE OF THE PLAYER, THE......]
CRUNCH! GULP! GULP!
"Tsk.....Stwill noht enough!"( Still not enough! ) Ray tried to view the skill again only to end up in disappointment.
"AH! This taste. Lycans sure do taste good." Ray enjoyed his roasted meat.
"Lastly-"
"Inventory." Ray pulled the item between his sword and the loot of the Lycans. A potion bottle.
"!!!" The potion which out was flashy green, emitting a dense aura around it. Pure and dense mana.
[ YGGDRASIL'S SAP
A POTION MADE FROM THE CONCENTRATED SAP OF THE WORLD TREE.
IT CAN HEAL OR REGENERATE ANY INJURIES.
GREATLY BOOSTS THE EFFICIENCY OF THE CONSUMER'S BODY.
INCREASES THE FAMILIARITY WITH THE SPIRITS.
CLEARS ALL THE BLOCKED MANA VEINS OF THE BODY AND INDUCES NATURAL MANA CONDUCTIVITY IN THE CONSUMER'S BODY.]
SLAM! FALL!
"Huh?" The meat stick fell from Ray's hands. "What?"
There were no methods which could invoke the talent for magic in an individual artificially. Though there existed some theories, they only remained on pages. Some who tried to forcefully do so were labelled as Dark Mages and such organisations 'evil'.
"The system won't joke with something like these, right? Even so, consuming such an elixir could be too much for my body to handle. But.."
Plus, potions like this were artifacts for which organizations would wage war to obtain these. Later, with the ever increasing number of wounded adventurers, the Alchemists will shine with their healing potions. Even then, such a potion would be impossible.
That's why, a situation like this was no joke for Ray. People tend to cling on to the tiniest possibilities leading towards a bright future, even knowing the risk involved.
"Maybe, I can also....." Ray eyes lit up with every color there possibly could be. It was like a new meaning was going to enter to Ray's vessel of life.
GULP!
"EEH!" Ray gulped down the whole potion in one go. He didn't have to think twice before taking it. A sword and his knowledge could only take him so much, at the face of unimaginable strength, verything lay waste. So he has to scrape onto everything he can get his hands on. And his sword combined with magic opened up a whole new branch.
[ NOTIFICATION
YOU HAVE CONSUMED YGGDRASIL'S SAP.]
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
[ STATUS WINDOW
LEVEL- 9
NAME- RAY HYSTER AGE- 17 TITLE- REGRESSOR SEX-MALE
TRAIT - ???
STRENGTH - 15
STAMINA - 15
AGILITY - 15
INTELLIGENCE - 15
PERCEPTION - 15
(ADDITIONAL STATS- 3)
HP- 1280 MP- 0 (750)
SKILL - EYES OF ISMARA ( ACTIVE )]