I landed flat on my almost naked ass in the wet grass, gasping for air as I had the wind knocked out of me. Meanwhile, both of my demihuman roommates laughed at my despair.

"Hehehehehe, that's o' for two Nolan! Are you sure you don't want to just practice magic?" Zaru asked, still laughing at my winded form.

While I was trying to muster up the breath to quip, Todone joined in. "I don't mind the practice, but honestly my own shadows would put up a fight".

"Fu… fuck… the both… of you…" I gasped out between my short breaths, garnering another round of laughs from them.

One thing I've grown accustomed to was the painful sensation within every inch of my body. Legs, arms, ribs, my very soul. Thankfully there's an unspoken rule amongst all men to not aim for the junk or throat, but other than that it's fair game. And another thing I've realized is that despite that, despite getting my shit kicked in, I'm just now starting to realize that either a few measly levels is all it takes to wipe the floors with someone, or there is a serious skill gap between myself and Todone. Which was fair in all honesty, since it's not as though I grew up in an environment where it was key to be strong and skilled lest you die.

I get up, using my wooden stick to push myself up whilst Todone twists his whimsically, as though it were simply a game. Which it kinda is, being a sparring match for points and all, but we were doing it for more than that. Not only did I want to make sure I was skilled and capable of fighting off enemies at least long enough to get protection as the support of a party, but I was also curious to see if this would assist in leveling me up through combat experience.

I extended my stick as though it were a spear, giving a figure eight swirl before I took my stance shakily. I cast a light {Cure Wounds} on myself and stand my ground more firmly.

"Third time's the charm. Bring it on, bitch! Show me whatcha got!"

Clack! Cli-cla-click!

We started our third bout, though this time I was certain I wouldn't last as long this time around due to jumping straight into it. At the very least, it seemed to earn me approval from the both of them, glad to see the human has a fighting spirit. My goal this time around was less a matter of offense and more a matter of defense. It was becoming painfully obvious I wasn't going to land a single hit on him either. If he was a dancer before when we fought against those Shearjaws, he's an olympic skater now. Oddly enough, I think it has something to do with the humidity in the air from the recent rain, but it's nothing solid.

Thunk!

"Fuck!" I hissed out, a wallop thumping me in the ribs. I couldn't dwell on the strike however as he was already intent on closing in on the advantage. Thankfully, I just managed to redirect the strike with my stick, making it glide off and away.

The spar continued, both of us trading thwacks and blows. Though I was maintaining defense, I still had to return fire every now and then to keep him on his own feet. As this happened, I was considering my options. Should I try to go for his legs? It would possibly slow him down but it's also nearly impossible to strike. Maybe disarm him? Fat chance of that, his rubbery grip allows him to maintain a firm but flexible hold on the damn thing. Wait, could I…?

"S-so…!" I began shakily asking the lizardman acting as a referee, narrowly dodging another blow. "I kinda held- Clack!- held off on it thinking it- Thwack- wouldn't be appropriate, but- shit!- you're positive it's fair game for me to cast magic?"

Though I was too focused, I got the feeling he was rolling his eyes. "Magic, Martial Arts, Ki… it does not matter what you wield, it is your proficiency and strength that should be lauded. So by all means go ahead young man".

Thank you kindly.

"{Entagle}!" I casted, surrounding myself with stretching vines and grass.

Todone made a leap back, away from the stretching vines lest he get caught. Thankfully, I could still move through the flora freely as I was the one aligned with it, managing to get a glance on him before he pulled out, making him grunt. With him giving his distance, this gave me just enough breathing room to better drink things in and plan out my next attack. {Entangle} was still on cooldown, and a lot of my spells were actually either harmful or useless in this context. But this made me think of one spell that should put me on even grounds with him.

"{Jump}!"

His eyes widened as the magic did its work, and I leapt forth from the growth like a mantis snapping its prey. According to the spell, my jump distance was supposed to be tripled, though I'll admit I've never had the chance to test it until now. What was supposed to be a long enough distance between us that running would have telegraphed my intent, I instead covered the distance in what was close enough to a blink, striking him hard and fast in the chest. The effect was immediate, surprise and pain on his face. With a swirl of my staff I disarmed him, sending the wood flying to the side and landing at Zaru's webbed feet. He did nothing but smile at the sight, our about as well as you can when you have the mouth of a crocodile.

"Huff, huff… that's what it's about fuckers…" I breathed deeply, offering a hand to Todone who was now on the ground himself. "C'mon… lemme help ya…"

We clasped hands, and I pulled the toadboy up, himself chuckling painfully. "I'll admit Nolan, you surprised me with that leap… ow... I had no idea you could move like that with magic".

I smile myself, opting to pat him on the back. "There's a couple other spells I know of that improve one's abilities, but that's the only one I know how to cast personally at the moment. Not to say I'm not experimenting in my free time but I can't do all that much at the moment".

"Still, it allows you to hold your own against some Martial Artists, and that will certainly keep you afloat".

I shrugged. "Eh, hopefully I won't need to be alone. I can always cast these spells on other people to buff their already powerful builds".

The toad boy blinked at that, and looked at me. Then he gave me a froggish grin. "Say, could you-"

"As soon as I can cast it again, yeah".

He yelps in excitement, doing a little in-place dance. I couldn't help but laugh at the sight, and even Zarusosa joined in with a crisp chuckle on his part. Of course, he was curious as to what we were planning on doing and couldn't help but voice it.

"What exactly do you two have in mind?" He asked.

I gave a big smile before giving my response. "Simple, I'm gonna cast {Jump} on him and see how high he goes".

"And then I'll mix it with my Martial Arts to go even further!" Todone added, to which I gave him a concerned eye.

"Hold on a second, I just explained it triples jump distance and I know how high you can jump. The spell does not grant you any resistance to fall damage, and you will break your legs if you're not careful. Even landing in water from a certain height will injure you. Let's see how high you can jump after casting the spell and work from there okay?"

Todone sighed, but relented. "Fine, I'll trust your counsel on this, but I most certainly wish to reach the limit if I can".

I sigh, preparing my hands. "The spell's ready, and remember for the love of God try not to break your legs. {Jump}".

Without a second thought or so much as a blink, he sprung up high like his legs were on a hair trigger.

"Fuck, that's gotta be… sixty feet? Seventy?" I asked myself out loud, though Zaru decided to give his two cents.

"That's… quite possibly the highest I've ever seen a toadman. And I've fought against their ambushes"

Todone lands in the marsh with a cannonball splash, large enough that water washed over the marshy bank in a wave. After a moment, he broke through the water hooting and hollering, the thrill of the jumping likely getting to his brain.

"By the ancestors that was beautiful! I got to see the lake from up there!"

I couldn't help but laugh at the toadman, and he used his enhancement to jump out of the lake and land back in the 'arena', almost losing his footing as he still had to adjust to the sudden strength of his leaps.

Zarusosa was looking on, surprised by the moves the toadman could make. "To think that magic would provide such capabilities… This is something definitely worth mentioning to the druids, that there can be more to our casting than simply healing and curing, but to provide these 'buffs' to our tribes as you've called them"

"Bah, I'm nothing special compared to others back home, I'm sure it would be the same if you compared me to any humans from the Empire," I countered, trying to argue against my already growing popularity with these two it seems.

"Either way, now that I know you can do that I wish to fight you right and properly," Todone spoke, making me raise a brow. "After all, the only reason I held my Martial Arts back was simply because you held back".

"... Come again?" I asked warily.

"With pleasure. {Ability Boost}!"

"Ah fuck me gently"

And with that, Todone charged me, stick in hand and moving much faster.

I hissed at the pain in my ribs, having not fully gone away at the cast of a {Cure Wounds}. And it's not as though I could cast again, Todone drained my mana dry by forcing me to pull out all the stops that I had to make. Still, at least now I knew without a doubt that in a proper fight I'll get my shit kicked in by these guys regardless, which is why I need to play catch up big time. Used to think I was given a nice little head start by my Patron too, but it seems as though he gave me just enough strength to not die in the first week. Joy.

We spent most of the whole day today fighting and talking, though in all honesty it was more of an ass-whooping for me. On the plus side, Zarusosa gave both me and Todone some tips on how to fight, and I could definitely see things become more and more of an even fight as we took to it in our own ways. Or at least, it would have been an even fight had the toad not taken to it a lot better than I ever did, leaving me only with brief windows where I'd pull out a victory here and there in the sea of strikes I took to the chest.

So now, being in a bit of pain, I sat at our table sifting through herbs, taking the moment to properly classify them and their properties. A couple nights back, I remembered thinking about books when the subject of teaching with experience came up, and I had an idea. Why not make papyrus? Unfortunately, by sheer luck it seems, most of the plants in the environment don't make for good pulping. There's only one plant I've found that seems to make for decent paper and it smells like skunk shit when you peel it open. So unless I can find a means of at least neutralizing the odor, I'd have to make do with it once I can make the necessary tools.

Unfortunately, getting said tools won't be easy either. I'm determined for it, but there's only so much you can do with bone and plant fiber. We'd need to make actual machines capable of processing the plant fibers that would need to either be hand cranked, or better yet powered by wind to alleviate the pain of the job for us. So with that said, all I can do is properly peer through the herbs and see what properties they contain.

{Leechleaf: A simple, leafy vine that crawls up trees, slowly leeching it's nutrients through specialized thorns wedged into the bark. When roasted it makes for a pleasant, slightly sweet spice. Should one boil it, they will be able to create an extract that can make for a suitable sweetener}

Eh, decent looking, might make for an interesting ingredient in baked goods should I find some grain substitute, but honestly probably not gonna work out too well with this stuff relying on trees for growth. I put it to the side for now and grab another herb, this one being a flower. White-ish gray petals short and pointy surrounded the center of the flower, almost like a sunflower the size of a tulip.

{Gali's Spite: Considered a sacred plant by druid enclaves, this plant's ashes have the unique property of warding off weaker undead creatures as well as directly inflicting damage on them upon contact. As a note, it is also useful as a mild mood booster, seemingly putting one's mind at easy should the petals be steeped}

Undead? Fuck. Like, I knew that this place was magical and all, but undead? That's not gonna be even remotely fun to handle. That's also something I'll have to ask Zaru about when he's up, seeing as he's the most well acquainted of the three of us with the outside. Would be nice to know if I need to start sage burning any time soon. I reach for the third plant on the table, the tubers that I cooked earlier. I knew they were edible, but I wanted to give a once over on its properties to make sure I saw things right.

{Siltfoot: A thick, starchy tuber rich in nutrients. Though bland, this plant is incredibly hardy and can grow in just about any environment. Often looked at as the 'Pauper's Meal' because of its often plentiful bounty and being seen growing even between rocks, it makes for a simple and palatable foodstuff for any adventurer}

Easy to grow… starchy… this most certainly looks like something that would be great as a crop for the demihumans of the Great Lake Wetlands to grow. Not to mention that I'd like to see if flour could be made from it. I know it can be done with potatoes, so I'll have to completely dry some out and experiment a little. I know the toadmen and lizardmen can eat vegetables, they've proven it time and time again when they chow down on my cooking, but for some reason they only ever go for meat. I tried asking them what was up about that, but apparently the fact that it normally tastes much better was the only answer I was going to get. My cooking notwithstanding apparently, but they solidly preferred bugs and fish respectively over anything else.

I sighed, and just as I was going to reach for another plant I received a new notification from the system.

{Crystal Blessing received! Open {World Item: Humble Beginnings} to accept. Next Crystal Blessing: 30 D, 00 H, 00 M, 00 S}

Well halle-fuckin'-lujah! I get up from the table, too quickly as I realized I just over-exerted my pained body and let out an awkward gasp. Thankfully, it didn't seem to wake either of them, so I continued with my plan. I stumbled over to my bag and pulled the old picture book out, and opened it up. There was a brief glow, and there upon the pages of the book were five new crystals… as well as writing and pictures on the pages. I blinked at that second part, putting the crystals off to the side to study the book itself.

"This is a tale of a man from a simple background, of one who rose to the top through might and spite, and brought joy to those around him with his companion. This is a tale of Humble Beginnings. We start our tale not in the world itself but in the void of the stars, within the domain of the Universe itself… what the fuck?"

I flipped through the pages, being greeted by a more or less summary of everything that happened in a watered down, more child friendly version. There was the occasional picture, drawn out like an old children's book illustration. They were pictures of me, more or less recording everything I went through up to this point.

"What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck…"

My voice was nothing but a whisper as I flipped through the pages, but this… this was basically a fairy tale. Hell of a lot more nicer than anything I could come up with, I'll say that much. I looked up at the sky, despite the thatch roof of our hut blocking my line of sight. I hope that my Patron would get the message all the same. All I could do however was sigh. Nevermind the fact that he essentially gave me a pocket bard to record my tale, but what really disappointed me was the child friendliness. I mean c'mon, I'm more in line with the Brothers Grimm for fucks sake. Still, it'd be nice to have something to look back upon considering I'm in this world for the long haul.

"Either you've got an angel on my shoulder or you're watching yourself. Either way, thanks for the crystals".

I put the book away, and ginger picked up one of the Data Crystals, casting my de facto {Insight Check} on it.

{Data Crystal (Quality: Poor)(Size: Tiny). This blank Data Crystal is a component in many forms of enchantment and crafting, especially in the production of products or replacement of materials in the process}

Alrighty then. This one probably isn't the best example of a data crystal, cloudy as quartz and about the size of a grasshopper, but it's a start. According to the 'flavor text' I can use these as is, but if I want results I'll need to make a Translucer's Altar. I take my time inspecting each one, noticing all of them are the same off-white color, though when shone in the right light they seem to almost shift hue slightly depending on the angle. Nonetheless, after inspecting each and every one of these, I can safely say that either this blessing was shit or I've got a lot of bad drops to look forward to.

Whatever the case, I count my odds plucking through these crystals and I find I have one of two options. Option A, I use three crystals up leaving me with two fairly shitty ones. Option B, use four and keep a sub par one. I weigh my options on this carefully. On one end, it would be a fucked gesture if I enchanted one person's gear and not the other, but on the other end having higher quality gear would probably be our best choice. Ach, what to do…

I glanced between the crystals, chewing my cheek before muttering to myself. "Which one would I even enchant gear for? How good would the enchantment even be?"

I sigh, realizing that if we're going to survive our mystery beasts we should probably be well prepared. And that may very well mean having a trump card that can dish it. I look at Zarusosa, and realize he's probably our best bet with dishing it using his bow, but on the same note Todone's agility and striking speed probably means he'd be the only one capable of distracting the monsters. Armor would likely be the best choice for him, but an enchanted spear would probably be just as good as well. Mmm, spear. Spear it is.

"Bow or spear, bow or spear…" I muttered to myself, though I realized I was putting my cart before the horse here.

"Should probably craft that Translucer's Altar…"

I pocketed the main crystal and grabbed the other four, stepping outside into the light of the full moon. Stepping off to the side, I put the crystals down in the grass, noticing how luminescent they became in the moonlight.

"Let's see… recipe says to channel my mana into the crystals… kinda drained but it doesn't need a whole lot apparently… how the fuck do I… actually wait maybe if I just…"

I rambled to myself for a moment longer before I settled on something inside. Something I felt every time I cast a spell, or inspected an item, or carried {Humble Beginnings} in my hands. I think I know what mana is now…

It's that 'oomph'.

Sure as can be, that cinched it. I was wise to bring these outside as they glowed brightly enough to momentarily blind me, lighting the surroundings up like a flash of lightning. The crystals seemingly melted, now flowing like water as they expanded and took shape. Eventually, they mold into the shape of a small four legged table, and the glow faded to a manageable yet noticeable iridescent color. It was just bright enough to light up the grass by a few inches, mesmerizing as it changed hues. The table itself was surprisingly large, but not so much that it wouldn't fit in my bag of holding. Which is a good thing, seeing as how I needed to keep this thing as secret.

I pulled the crystal out of my pocket and examined the table, giving a proper {Insight Check).

{Translucers Altar: A critical component for all aspiring enchanters and a stepping stone for transmuters. Useful in various thaumaturgically inclined crafting}

Nice and simple… except for the transmuter part? What's that?

{Transmuter: A class which specializes in using Data Crystals and thaumaturgy to convert materials into a higher grade for more crafting oriented classes}

… Fuck, so like I could turn lead into gold kind of transmutation?

{Notice: You are not a high enough level in 'Transmuter' to unlock 'Lead to Gold' recipe}

Alright, so for starters I was kidding, but I could seriously transmute shit? That's… wow, fuck. That's a cheat if I ever saw one, but I imagine there's gotta be some catch to it. Let's see, uh, can I transform stone into iron?

{Notice: You are not a high enough level in 'Transmuter' to unlock 'Stone to Iron' recipe}

Copper to Iron?

{Notice: You are not a high enough level in 'Transmuter' to unlock 'Copper to Iron' recipe}

Stone to Copper?

{Notice: You are not a high enough level in 'Transmuter' to-

Ugh, for fucks sake, what can I transmute?

{Notice: One recipe is available for non-Transmuter related classes}

Damn, lay it on me, what we got?

{Would you like to learn 'Petrify Wood' recipe?}

… that's a little fuckin' cheap sounding. What does that even do?

{Petrify Wood: One of the most basic Transmuter recipes, it transforms and hardens wood, placing it into a stone-like state that makes it immune to burning as well as significantly more resilient to damage. However, it completely removes any flexible properties the wood once held, making it stiff as stone and useless for items such as bows}

I can't help but nod respectfully at that. And suddenly, my brain catches up with my eyes and the possibilities make my eyes light up. I could simply carve out pieces of wood and transmute them, making them suitable as armor while being lightweight on a relative scale between metal and leather. Or maybe even weapons carved from wood, such as sharpened wooden swords or large wooden clubs.

"Fuck it, teach me oh System your ways of petrification".

{Notice: Transmuter recipe 'Petrify Wood' unlocked!}

Let's see what we need… mana, wood ash, and wood? Huh, a little easier than I thought it would be. Doable, but I'll admit I'm curious as to how much mana it would drain. Better save that for a day when I'm feeling 'full'.

With that out of the way, now the main attraction. It took me a moment of deliberation, but after much consideration I have but one choice. After a brief waddle, I came back with Zarusosa's bow, and placed it down upon the altar. I was now greeted with a varying list of choices, however there was one problem.

Every single one of them needed points to unlock.

I yawned, shaking my head of its growing drowsiness as I scrolled. There were some interesting choices. Most of them were unavailable simply because I'd need an actual level into Translucer or required a different class to work in tandem with before I could unlock, but there were a few choices available to me thanks to my Druid class it seems. Most of them were slight stat boosts, but one of them stuck out to me.

{Sprout's Breath: Imbued with natural magics, this bow is not only living, but thriving. Three times a day, the wielder of this bow is capable of casting the spell 'Ensnaring Strike' through any arrows shot from it, recharging at sunrise every day. Additionally, thanks to the now living wood of the bow, it is capable of repairing any damage received to it barring fire damage, and works with its wielder to provide a stronger and more accurate shot}

Fuck, is this even legal? I wanna clock my answer in on this, but one of the key components is mana. What'll even happen if I draw too much? Will I keel over and die, or will the bow blow up in my face?

… screw it, you only live once, and we need all the firepower we can get.

{Notice: Translucer's recipe 'Sprouts Breath' unlocked!}

I place the bow down on the altar and pray to the Patron that this works. Funnily enough, I'm genuinely starting to see the thing as a God I think too. Like, realistically it probably isn't, but I've yet to see Zeus, Jesus, or any other thing for that matter pull me from one world to the other for some really fucked up long haul of a quest. So yeah, suck it Ron Hubbard.

The mana trickles from my fingertips, flowing through the Data Crystal now on the altar and to the bow itself. I could hear faint creaking, watching with amazement that almost broke my concentration as I saw twigs with leaves sprout off the tips of the bow's wood. The string itself turned a light green, growing only slightly thicker by a hair's width but noticeable enough. Finally, soft grooves deepened into the wood, and I could have sworn I saw sap pulsing through them like veins, though it could have been the lighting.

{Enchantment Successful! Would you like to name this item?}

I couldn't answer immediately as a wave of dizziness washed over me, flopping onto my back into the cool grass. As I laid there, I looked up at the moon, vision blurring. The last thing I could consciously say or think was the name of the bow on my tongue.

"Emerald Moon"

Nolan Potts, Human (Karma: 50 [Neutral]) [14/15 Spell slots used]

Classes: Brawler (4), Ranger (3), Druid (2), Clothier (3). Total Level (12).

Spells (Druid): Frostbite, Entangle, Create or Destroy Water, Guidance, Jump, Cure Wounds, Dust Devil, Protect from Poison, Hold Person, Spike Growth, Lesser Restoration

Spells (Ranger): Animal Friendship, Speak to Animals, Ensnaring Strike

Gear: Canvas Clothes (Sturdy, Weathered), Oak-Handled Brush-hook, Canvas Coyote Pack of Holding, Bundles of Herbs (Medicinal), Bundles of Chitin, Pot of Tannin, Bundles of Smoked Bug Meat, Dried Deer Hide, Bones, Bone toolkit

Items of Note: {Humble Beginnings}, {Emerald Moon}

Party Members are as follows…

Member One: Todone, Son of Kodrotti, Toadman (Karma: -30 [Neutral])

Classes: Toadman Warrior (8), Brawler (7), Total Level (15).

Member Two: Zarusosa Shaha of the Greenclaws, Lizardman. (Karma: 110 [Neutral-Good])

Classes: Lizardman Hunter (10), Warrior (9), Ranger (5), Total Level (24).

AN: Here's that extra long chapter I promised to make up for the other one. Also, the story itself is just shy of five hundred views, which I genuinely did not expect. Figured most folks would pass this over, but I guess I'm pleasantly surprised. Enjoy.