Ethan moved through the outer forest of Eden, repeating Darren's words in his mind:
"Control the flow… feel the mana… breathe…"
He extended his hand toward a fallen tree, trying to recreate the small spark he had managed before.
A weak flicker appeared at his fingertips. Then another.
Until—boom!—a burst of flame shot out like an uncontrolled fire sneeze.
The fire struck a moss-covered trunk.
Craaaack!
The sound echoed deep through the forest.
And then…
Came the growl.
Low.
Deep.
Threatening.
Ethan swallowed hard as the creature emerged from the shadows.
A large boar. Bigger than the ones from the early areas of the game. Not a colossal monster, but clearly the leader of the pack, with long tusks and a furious glare.
"Oh… great," Ethan muttered.
The boar charged.
Ethan tried to cast another spell, but the flame came out crooked, weak, veering into the ground.
The creature slammed into him from the side.
BAM!
His health bar plummeted.
As he struggled to land a hit, Ethan was struck again and again. His health dropped far too fast.
65%…
35%…
12% — flashing red.
Another blow sent him crashing into the roots of a massive tree.
The boar backed away a few steps, scraping its hooves against the ground, preparing for the final charge.
Ethan raised his hand in desperation.
"Come on… just a little more mana…"
Nothing.
Great start, he thought. I'm going to die before beating a single monster.
That was when a sharp whistle cut through the air.
FWEEE—THUNK!
An arrow pierced the boar's eye, ripping a deafening scream from the creature.
FWEEE—THUNK!
A second arrow lodged between its ribs, making its body shudder.
The boar staggered, turning toward whoever had fired.
That was when she appeared.
An elf with silver hair, violet eyes, and a steady stance. The recurved bow remained raised, as if it were a natural extension of her arm.
Elenya.
"Get out of there!" she shouted.
The boar charged at her.
Elenya didn't hesitate.
FWEEE—THUNK!
The final arrow pierced the creature's skull.
The boar collapsed.
Silence.
Ethan, still on the ground, breathed rapidly, trying to process what had just happened.
Elenya lowered her bow and walked over to him.
"You really like getting yourself into trouble, huh?" she said with a faint, ironic smile. "Invading a leader boar's territory… brilliant. And you almost set the forest on fire."
Ethan laughed nervously.
"I was just… training magic…"
"And almost became dinner." She held out her hand. "Get up. Even in a game, dying isn't exactly fun."
He took her hand and stood.
"Thank you. Seriously. I thought that was it for me."
"I noticed." She crossed her arms. "And I also noticed you have zero elemental control."
Ethan scratched the back of his neck.
"I'm… learning."
Elenya sighed, as if she'd already made up her mind.
"Come on. I already saved you once. I don't feel like doing it again today."
They walked to an open clearing.
Elenya explained everything with almost military precision:
how to draw mana from the environment
• how to stabilize energy at the center of the chest
• how to channel it toward the fingers
• the importance of rhythmic breathing
• foot positioning
• visual focus
• the difference between pure casting and guided casting
"You really know your stuff," Ethan said, impressed.
"I played as a mage during the beta," she replied, firing an arrow into an improvised target. "Later I switched to archer. But I still cast better than you."
"That's not hard."
"Not at all."
Ethan laughed.
Talking to her felt easy.
With each attempt, his flames grew stronger, hotter, more controlled.
After nearly an hour…
BOOM!
A slime exploded into shimmering jelly.
"There you go!" Elenya smiled. "You're starting to look like a real mage."
They kept going:
defeated monstrous birds circling the area
• faced smaller boars that Ethan could now handle on his own
• completed small beginner hunting quests
When the sun began to sink behind the colossal trees, Ethan said:
"Wow… I didn't even notice the time passing."
"Training does that," Elenya replied, storing her bow.
Ethan opened the menu.
"I need to log out. I work early tomorrow…"
His expression changed.
"Huh… where's the logout button?"
Elenya frowned and opened her own menu.
"That's weird… mine's gone too."
They exchanged glances.
"Probably a bug," she said. "New game, new system. Normal stuff."
"Yeah… probably," Ethan said, exhaling slowly. "If this happened at work, it'd already be on my desk."
"What do you do for a living?"
"Game development. Specializing in… fixing this kind of problem."
Elenya blinked, surprised.
"Seriously? I work with games too. I'm a designer."
"Really?" Ethan smiled. "Interesting."
She looked up at the sky, now darkening.
"Since we can't log out, let's head back to the city. Maybe someone's found a solution."
"Good idea."
They walked side by side between the massive trees, talking, laughing, and commenting on system flaws…
Unaware that this night would mark the beginning of something far greater.