"This is really boring and tiring. If only I could use wind magic to fly, I think it would be much more convenient," Zean complained.
That was the reality, the feeling of annoyance he felt right now. Because all his abilities had disappeared, or rather, all the types of magical abilities Zean could use had all returned to their original levels, everything had become even more troublesome for Zean.
If all his abilities hadn't reverted to their original levels, as he'd previously stated, perhaps Zean n could have reached the nearest settlement more easily, or at least found a more definite direction.
With his wind magic, at least it would have allowed Zean to fly high in the sky, then locate the nearest settlement from above and fly using his wind manipulation abilities as well. Well, that was at least what Zean had in mind; it was clearly more practical and safer, unlike what he was doing now, which was not only tiring, took quite a long time, and also risked encountering forest monsters.
"Magic does make me more flexible and comfortable with anything, but now, my Archmage title feels useless; I'm more like a beginner player now."
Archmage, that's Zean's job in the virtual game EFO, a job that has kept him among the top ten players for several years since EFO's release.
But now, while he was fortunate enough not to lose his Archmage job, he also felt it would be quite difficult to level up to the last level he had previously achieved. A level he had only reached after spending over three years.
"Well, at least I should be grateful. It's still better than having no power at all or even losing my Archmage job," Zean muttered as he continued walking cautiously.
"Maybe I should focus on increasing my power level and magic power. That should work in this world too, since I still have the status screen."
"Okay, which attribute should I choose to try first?"
Zean paused, then looked up at the sky. He was considering which attribute to test out now.
"Okay, I think fire would be good since it's the most offensive element, although it would be quite risky to test it in the middle of a forest like this."
"Huuufft..."
Zean closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm his mind. He focused on the magic sac in the center of his chest, imagining a glowing core that pulsed gently, brimming with potential.
Patiently, he began to feel the magic energy—warm, like a stream of living water, flowing slowly from his magic core. The energy seemed to flow through his magic nerves, a fine network that felt like warm threads of heat that ran from his chest, through his shoulders, arms, and to his fingertips.
Zean used all his concentration, forcing the essence of his magical power out. His hands trembled slightly from the effort, but he didn't stop. Suddenly, his palms felt hot, and a flash of red flames erupted, swirling like a small vortex above his palms.
"Oh... Finally succeeded, even on the first try," Zean said with a happy expression on his face.
"Successfully creating a stable Fireball on the first try, perhaps it's thanks to the Archmage job."
Above Zean's palm, a small ball of fire, a Fireball, hovered steadily, its bright red flames radiating heat that rippled the air around it.
Zean an shifted his gaze to a large tree not far from where he stood. With a slight adjustment of his focus, he aimed the Fireball at the center of its trunk. With just a light swing, he threw the Fireball like a baseball.
Boom...
The Fireball hit Zean's target precisely.
A small explosion of flames erupted, and a small hole was also created in the tree trunk, accompanied by a cloud of smoke that spread around the tree.
Zean was also slightly surprised to see how much damage his Fireball could cause.
"You could say this Fireball is quite good as one of my offensive magics. Its attack power is even greater than the first time I tried Fireball in EFO. Could it be that this world has a different magic system than EFO?!" Zean spoke, still holding a mesmerized expression.
He didn't stop with just the fire element; he now also tried using his wind element.
And just like before, it didn't take long for Zean to perfectly master the wind attribute once again.
Above his open palm, a spiraling vortex of wind slowly spun. Zean could feel the breeze against his skin; it felt completely real, unlike the EFO, which was merely a visual experience, a series of moving pixels.
"It feels quite amazing, being able to directly experience the magic I've created."
He then threw the wind ball toward the same tree trunk as before.
Boom...
Another explosion rang out, and a circular crack formed right next to the Fireball attack Zean had previously inflicted.
"I think this is good enough. I'll continue later after I get out of this forest."
Satisfied with his magical experiment, Zean focused on walking through the forest again. He also continued in the same direction, taking the same straight path as before.
Zean had been walking for almost an hour. He didn't know how far he had traveled, but it was certainly quite a distance from his starting point. And despite all this, Zean still hadn't found the end of the forest, which was a bit frustrating.
"Aaaaah... Damn it!" Zean screamed in frustration. "How long do I have to keep walking?! How vast is this forest?!" A string of complaints escaped Zean's mouth.
He was now leaning against the trunk of a large, towering tree. Zean himself wasn't completely exhausted, just a little bored and annoyed that he couldn't find the end of the forest.
However, just as Zean was about to close his eyes, he suddenly heard footsteps and the sound of bushes moving. He turned his gaze toward the source of the sound, re-grasping his sword that lay beside him.
"Oe... Oe... What's the meaning of this?! Is this serious?!" Zean said with a slightly shocked expression.
What he saw were several white wolves walking toward Zean with sharp, ferocious gazes, as if they had already locked onto him as prey.