Chapter 7 – Setting Off

The explosively ejected wood fragments shredded the broad leaves of the surrounding shrubs into pieces. A small tree with a diameter of 30 centimeters was snapped in half, and the stone carrying immense kinetic energy continued flying over 50 meters after breaking the tree before finally crashing into a small mound, raising a cloud of dust before vanishing without a trace!

“This power is almost comparable to a high-powered sniper rifle”!

Punk observed the broken tree stump, thinking with considerable surprise.

According to the System’s analysis, this Minor Catapult consumed less than one-tenth of Punk’s total mana. Within just three seconds, his mana had fully recovered. Punk knew that while his recovery speed was indeed faster than that of an ordinary mage, it wasn’t by much—only about ten to twenty percent!

So…

“The power level of this world is quite high. And this is just a low-level spell. Who knows how strong those high-level spells might be.”

Unconsciously, Punk’s resolve to grow stronger became even more firm!

Afterward, Punk practiced several more spells. Through repeated casting practice, he finally managed to compress the casting time to within 1–2 seconds. Moreover, these spells granted Punk flexible and diverse methods, especially the Minor Mage Armor spell. According to the System’s analysis, its defensive capability was no less than that of a three-centimeter-thick steel plate!

Now, with defensive and offensive power not inferior to an armored vehicle, Punk finally had sufficient means to protect himself. It was time to begin his journey.

First objective—find a town or village!

Punk was no mage of the Seclusionists, and the knowledge left by his parents only sufficed up to the Formal-Level. Thus, communication and learning were both essential.

However, Punk had no idea how vast the jungle he was in was, nor how far he was from any towns or villages. On the Faerûn Plane, “vast land with sparse population” wasn’t just an empty saying! Punk had no desire to wander in this damp jungle for ten days to half a month!

In such times, divination spells always offered aid to lost travelers.

Punk rummaged through his memories and found a spell that seemed relatively reliable based on its description. Though it was only Apprentice Rank and its information-gathering ability was questionable, the information Punk sought wasn’t magically shielded, and the target of the information didn’t possess any extraordinary power. Thus, this “Entrails Divination” should suffice!

—————————Break———————

Punk stared blankly at the pile on the ground… now called minced meat, which was once known as a rabbit… thing.

“Indeed, magic isn’t really suitable for hunting, is it…”

Punk had wanted to “borrow” the entrails of a small animal. Although Entrails Divination theoretically worked better with the entrails of higher-level creatures, all Punk could find at the moment was a rabbit…

“According to System analysis, it is recommended that the host use the ‘manual stone-throwing’ method to capture small mammals.”

“…………Shut up.”

Though reluctant, the facts proved… the System was right!

Now, Punk stood in a small clearing, holding a small rabbit with a bleeding head. Dangling by its ears in mid-air, the little rabbit seemed to sense impending doom and struggled desperately despite the pain in its ears!

But even though Punk was a mage with little physical strength, he wasn’t about to let a rabbit escape.Punk swiftly sliced open the rabbit’s belly with a silver knife he had found in his pocket. With the System’s precise assistance, the blade cleanly cut through the skin and muscle without damaging the internal organs.

He immediately began chanting an obscure incantation. The principle of Entrails Divination was to use a creature’s internal organs as a clever conduit to connect with its soul, amplifying one’s own soul’s perception of elusive, mystical information through another being’s soul to gather intelligence.

The more the rabbit’s soul dissipated, the less effective the spell would be!

As the lengthy chant murmured on, Punk opened his mind to receive information. He felt as if a mist had clouded his vision, the emerald jungle growing indistinct. Something viscous seemed to drill into his brain, stirring relentlessly, and then… he perceived information that appeared out of nowhere:

“Travel west for a morning to reach a small river. Follow the river downstream for another morning to find a town!”

The next second, the mist and stickiness vanished. Punk found himself squatting on the ground, his staff cast aside, holding a mass of rabbit entrails in his hands as if about to smear them on his face!

Dropping the entrails, Punk stood up, his brow furrowing slightly. No wonder this magic was considered evil-aligned—the casting sensation was truly bizarre. He guessed that the spell was likely invented by a powerful mage, employing principles far beyond his current understanding. Even an Apprentice Rank could use it, but like a child handling a firearm, it was mere rote execution with no grasp of the underlying mysteries.

“Even low-level magic is fascinating. This world is truly amazing.”

A flame of excitement ignited in Punk’s heart. He casually cast Purification from the Conjuration school. The friction from the filthy bloodstains transformed into ether energy and dissipated; for a few seconds, the friction would remain “etherized.” The blood on Punk’s hands quickly fell away, leaving them clean and pale once more.

He cut a few small pieces of fat from the rabbit as potential future spell components and stored them in the pockets of his Mage Robe (designed with numerous pockets for convenience). Ignoring the still-twitching rabbit on the ground, he felt since his rebirth that his appetite for fruits and vegetables far outweighed that for meat, thanks to his Ancient Elves heritage.

After casting Minor Mage Armor on himself and adding See Invisibility (to peer through thin objects and spot enemies—get your mind out of the gutter), Punk cheerfully headed west.

“Only cautious mages live long.”

Punk thought to himself.

The jungle wasn’t very large. In just two or three hours, Punk emerged into the borderlands between the jungle and the plains.

With the System’s navigation, he easily maintained a westward course without deviation. It was still early morning, and the two suns had just risen from the southwest (yes, Faerûn has two suns, both rising in the southwest and setting in the northeast). The grass underfoot crunched with remarkable resilience. It was currently the Sprouting Season (Faerûn’s year is divided into six seasons: Sprouting, Evergreen, Sunscorch, Harvest, Dawnbreeze, and Frostfall). Dew from the grass blades dampened Punk’s leather boots, but he paid it no mind, walking briskly with his staff in hand.Since Punk intentionally quickened his pace, it took him only half a morning to reach the river mentioned in the prophecy. It was less a river and more an oversized stream, with the entire channel being at most four meters wide and the water quite shallow. However, untouched by industrial wastewater, the river was crystal clear, allowing Punk to see the pebbles at the bottom. There were few fish in the river; Punk only spotted a type of slender fish with small, faintly glowing blue horns on their heads scattered here and there in the water. Everything appeared elegant and tranquil.

But… “I’ll have to clear out some annoying little monsters first before I can continue enjoying the scenery!”

Punk turned his gaze toward an unusually large bush by the riverbank. In his eyes, enhanced with See Invisibility, faint arcs of magical light swirled around his pupils!

(End of Chapter)