Earlier, as he moved through the city with the overwhelming presence of the crowd, he didn't even notice that something was missing. The multitude of new sights and unfamiliar races made him completely forget about it. But now he was standing in front of… well, what should he call it?

  The place was filled to the brim with all kinds of beasts and mechanical means of transport. Among the living specimens, some were probably used for purposes other than vehicles or pack animals, given their small or rather fragile build. Others, however, were definitely suited for it.

  So, although separated by fences and distance, among the great lizard-like beasts, or the robust, armored half-ape, half-bizarrely-octopus beasts, stood other strange animals, for example those somewhat resembling ostriches with four limbs, elephantine trunks, and large, bulging eyes.

  One could also see feathered piglets the size of domestic cats, something like small, short-haired pears with short legs and hamster faces, and he even spotted the species of a certain distinguished gentleman, although this one was definitely larger and probably older than the one that had bit him in the leg. Seeing him in full view, he saw that his abdomen ended up with a part resembling a swollen belly.

  The inanimate vehicles also had quite various shapes, from some that looked a bit like clumsy cars, floating armored seats to strange, rather abstract shapes. He especially liked the vehicle that looked like a white, levitating quartz geode, whose transparent structure allowed one to see the interior filled with shimmering, colorful crystals. Some of these were polished to create a comfortable seat that was additionally surrounded by some milky material.

  After looking at all this, he decided that in his mind he would call this place ‘stalrking’ a combination of stalls and parking. Or perhaps ‘paralls’ would fit better here? Noticing that the animals that were closest to him were starting to get a little nervous, Orion stopped making up silly names and decided to head toward his planned meeting.

  His earlier visit to the Guild went rather well. When he had said his name and that he was a first level, the receptionist recognized his case and asked if he was the one who had been examined by the Grand Inquisitor.

  This significantly speeded things up because he avoided another explanation of how his power development matches that of a newborn. And even though the receptionist didn't know the whole story, and curiosity was evident on her face, she kept her professionalism and didn't ask unnecessary questions, apparently having confirmation in the documents that his situation was genuine. After a few minutes of polite conversation, the woman introduced herself as Mayra.

  It turned out to be a bit troublesome that he decided to spend the previous ‘night’ outdoors. If he hadn't done that, Mayra could confidently state in her records that after being examined, he wouldn't have the opportunity to become possessed. But disappearing ‘overnight’ without witnesses made it impossible for her to vouch for him with a clear conscience.

  Thus, from now on, if he meets all the requirements for formal acceptance, he would have to undergo another examination. However, the woman told him not to worry about it for now. He could have sworn she blinked at him when she said that, but he didn't understand what the gesture was about. It could just as well have been a facial cramp or something.

  He was given one more cycle to make sure of his decision, and while he was doing so, a preliminary contract would be prepared. Before he left, he pitched his idea of hunting the weakest monsters, to which Mayra handed him a booklet. Flipping through it briefly, he saw that it was filled with illustrations and data about various creatures. The woman added that it was a catalogue of the most common ones found locally.

  Although Orion could not read the characters now, the illustration was accompanied by radar charts showing the distribution of creature stats. So he believed that if he took some time to do that, he would be able to decipher the data, and with a little help, he might be able to identify exactly what stats they have.

  As for his homework, which was to make sure he decided to join the Guild, he didn't have to do that anymore. He tried to convince himself with logical arguments that it wasn't worth it, but as it turns out, it worked rather mediocrely.

  Now he had a clear plan for what to do.

  However, as he walked towards The Regular Chapter, he passed a building whose patterns made him stop, whistling. Orion began to appreciate more and more the local habit of painting on the walls. Without waiting long, he went in.

  Relationships often ended unfairly. Even if one party has done nothing wrong and fulfills all the requirements, someone may break off the relationship simply in the hope of finding a better partner. The one who was breaking up this time was Orion.

  He felt a little bad doing it, but when he saw the display of shiny weapons before him, he silently thanked his trusted sharpened stick for the time they had spent together and said goodbye. Although the last one was already the younger replacement for the beloved sharpened rock, and, well… not that he remembered where he left it.

  “We were… really close to each other.” he said in an exaggerated tone.

  “Agh… Fuck!” a hollow thud reached him, followed by a high but hoarse voice “Aye. Need any help?”

  The owner of the voice emerged from under the counter, massaging his head. Thanks to his pained expression, Orion could see his row of sharp teeth, but it wasn't those that caught his attention. Despite his green skin, hooked nose and elongated ears, it was his fingers that attracted Orion’s eyes. There were three on each hand, long and narrowing at the ends, and most strangely, they were jointless, somewhat resembling clawed tentacles.

  The creature stepped back a bit, fully revealing to Orion what he had initially associated with some kind of goblin or gremlin with strange hands. In general, the creature was pear-shaped, and although it wore silk trousers, he could still see the blue fur and lower body, which looked like a koala's.

  The being moved back a bit, fully revealing to Orion what he had initially associated with some kind of goblin or gremlin with strange arms. Generally, the being's silhouette was pear-shaped, and although it was wearing suspenders, Orion could still see the bluish fur on its belly and the lower part of its body, which was built like a koala.

  “Ah, hey. I'm sorry to bother you. I just wanted to take a look around for now and maybe ask for some advice before I decide to buy anything.”

  “Aye… Ach! First level and silver eyes! You must be the new kid!”

  “Uhm… The new kid?” Orion asked, confused. He was convinced that using Identification on others was frowned upon, especially without prior consent. The creature obviously didn't care too much. Actually… perhaps its profession required it. As for his eyes, he had already noticed a few strange looks but ignored them until now.

  “Haha, your shalard friend has a big mouth, I tell ya! Did you really think the statue was a person? Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Not my business. So? What are you interested in?”

  Although his first thought was ‘What the fuck shalard is?’ the question of the creature led him to an answer. Focusing on the second question, he was still unsure which direction to take with his combat development. But seeing the variety of choices, he was able to keep analyzing and imagining different scenarios.

  His eyes first turned to bows and various other ranged weapons. Some of them he could guess how they worked by looking at them, but some were so unfamiliar with construction that if it wasn't for the section they were in, he wouldn't know what he was looking at.

  While range advantage was definitely an important factor in survival, the weakness of this approach was direct combat. Still, there was always the option of a hybrid development. However, by learning a little bit about the skills and their synergies, he already knew that better results could be achieved by specializing in a specific fighting style. Thus, if he missed the first shot, assuming he could even fire it, he would have to change positions, figuring out how to keep distance from his opponent.

  But that way of thinking was a little too optimistic for his liking. If we're dealing with magic, there's still many things that might surprise him, not to mention the existence of the skills to move quickly. He saw how his ‘shalard friend’; if he guessed the meaning of the word correctly; would disappear into the shadows and reappear somewhere. Orion wouldn't want to be surprised by a creature appearing next to him, just as he's firing an arrow and momentarily defenseless.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Moving his gaze to the next section, he saw weapons that were probably meant to be something between the ranged and the short-range types. This group included various kinds of whips, composite weapons, and chain weapons.

  The sight of these in the middle reminded him of Zaiah's lecture, so he took a proverbial snapshot in his mind because it might somehow help him understand composite magic.

  Continuing, in this section, among other things, he saw a local alternative to nunchaku, with a slightly longer chain and something like small morning stars on the ends. There were both terrifying tangles of spikes on the ropes and sword-whip weapon types here.

  Closest to the typical heavy weapons group, but still in this category, he also saw heavy balls on thick chains and something resembling a heavy, flat-cast shield with wide spines spreading out from the edge like the rays of the sun. On its surface was carved a face frozen in an expression of agony, with tears of blood flowing from its eyes.

  He gave up this group of weapons pretty quickly. Part of it looked heavy and unwieldy, and part of it looked like it would take years of training to use it efficiently.

  Then he looked at the typical hand-to-hand combat weapons. First, there were large blunt weapons, two-handed swords and polearms. Imagining himself using them, he came to the conclusion that they shared a certain flaw with all the ones he had seen so far. Just as when shooting a bow, he would be vulnerable for a moment while nocking a new arrow, heavy weapons would require regaining balance and gaining momentum after striking.

  A skilled opponent would dodge the blow and kill him at least forty-three times before he could pick up what he was looking at. The weapon looked like a pair of hammers welded into gloves, connected; of course, because why not; by heavy chains.

  When he finally saw the collection of one-handed swords, daggers, rapiers, claws, emeicis, kukris and similar, or more abstract designs, he concluded that this was a group he should delve into. Most of these weapons did not require building a powerful momentum to deliver a blow, but they still differed in technique and approach to combat.

  Orion decided to reflect on the fighting style he saw himself in best. When he was in quarantine and fighting the anomalies, he tried to take a cautious and thoughtful approach. Each time, he attempted to pinpoint the creature's possible weaknesses and strike quickly and accurately while minimizing the risk of injury.

  Following this line of thinking, he would need something light and requiring minimal force to penetrate the target. Although he didn't know much about weapons, even just looking at the rapiers, he could imagine that this was the weapon's strong point. He concluded, however, that it seemed too long for him.

  At that point, he decided that his main stat should be agility. The problem was that to get stronger by building toward this stat, he would also have to hunt the beasts that relied on it the most. So in short; and be careful here because it might be too shocking; the problem is that agile beasts were known for being… agile.

  With a weapon the length of a rapier, which; if he was right; was aimed primarily with wrist movements, through a basic understanding of physics, he knew that the requirements of precision could exceed his capabilities. Especially when trying to hit small and fast targets.

  Still, since he was by no means an expert on weapons himself, having one before him, he decided to ask for advice. So he described to the salesperson his course of reasoning and doubts.

  “Well, at least it sounds reasonable. Earlier, a guy came to me wanting to develop as a defender, and his only weapon was supposed to be a bow, I tell ya!” replied the worker, giggling to himself, then stroking his chin in a thoughtful pose.

  This disturbing gesture, given the previously mentioned finger structure, was interrupted by a new voice. Although the first words sounded completely incomprehensible to him, Orion recognized the next.

  “…know you had a client.” said the newcomer.

  “Aye! All right, Kahar, I'll be right with you.” the salesperson answered, and then he turned to Orion. “Give me a second, I'll bring you some variants you might be interested in.”

  He then toddled over to the back room, only to return a moment later and place the material on the counter. As he unfolded it, he revealed the contents.

  This time, Orion saw only a few varieties, most resembling daggers or piercing weapons. His gaze quickly landed on a pair of identical weapons resembling Japanese sai. If he remembered correctly, the original version of this weapon was, in fact, quite defensive. It had no sharp edges, and its construction was strong enough to block the impact of other weapons. The end of the central prong may have been conical, but it was not typically designed for stabbing.

  However, this version, despite its nearly identical overall shape, had a slightly visible blade at the end, and the tip itself definitely looked as if it were intended for penetration.

  Orion stopped his thoughts, attacked by a sudden awareness. He assumed that there were magical ways to move, but why didn't he think of the possibility of magically strengthening defenses or evasions? Shouldn't he be focusing on learning about mana and controlling it instead of the weapons? The meeting!

  Realizing that he had lost track of time, he ran out of the store without a word.

  “Oy!” shouted another customer named Kahar. “Did he steal something?”

  “Uhm…” thought the confused salesperson, looking at the products he brought. “Nah. Everything is in place.” He added, shrugging.

  The road to The Regular Chapter went smoothly this time. Upon arrival, Orion was guided by a staff member to a room rented by the adventurers. There he encountered a team comfortably arranged around a round table, this time complete.

  After an initial apology for being late and a few moments of courtesy, he told the others that he had decided to join the Guild.

  “Oh, Fuck…” hissed out Avir and then he looked up in the air.

  “Nice doing business with you.” Zaiah said to him.

  Orion, with one eyebrow raised, saw that everyone except the ‘shalard friend’ had quite happy faces.

  “This is what happens when you try to get rich too fast.” Egill said, looking at the unusually cheerful Olympia with a told-you-so expression. Seeing this, she rolled her eyes.

  Understanding the situation, Orion had to admit that he was rather surprised by the cheerful state of the owl woman. It must have meant she won the bet by oddly betting on him.

  “I'm not going to explain myself.” She said, immediately reading him.

  He shrugged his shoulders, keeping a stoic face. Fuck, yeah! I knew owls were smart. He added to himself in his thoughts.

  “Hey, Zai. So I tried to find a way…”

  “Pff… ‘Zai’. Look how friendly they already are.” Avir interrupted, mumbling, ignored by everyone.

  “…to control the mana, but…”

  Then Orion briefly talked about the zero results and his approach.

  “I have an idea how to help you with this.”

  “No. Uhm, thanks, but no. No. Definitely not. I appreciate it, but no.”

  “You know that one denial is enough to make me understand, right?” Avir said, visibly disappointed, while the giggling Eyharnis showed him the ‘five’ sign with her hand.

  “I just wanted to be cautious in this case.”

  Then, after a moment's thought, Zaiah spoke.

  “I think I know what the problem is. With every attempt, you're practically assuming failure, aren't you?”

  “I think ‘assuming’ is quite a stretch, rather it's admitting a possibility and preparing another approach based on it.”

  “You see, Ori, the thing is, every attempt should be accompanied by a full determination to do it. Forget about logic and what normally works or doesn’t. Also, forget about the aspects or the detailed composition of mana for now.”

  “It's not that easy to just forget. Especially since I've started to sort it out in my head. It will also be difficult to suddenly believe in the attempt if so many have failed before.”

  “Hmm... So think of it this way: as I mentioned, symbolism and feelings are also among the aspects. Imagine that your conviction, your persistence, and your faith matter to mana. Also, remember that you are currently trying to move your energy. It’s yours and only yours. You reach for your own mana; a part of yourself, and then you command that part to move until it obeys.”

  “That's another thing I'm missing. How do I put this? I don't see anything in me that I can grab or anything that I can push. When I first filled my mana pool, I felt it because there was suddenly a lot of something new. I tried to recreate that memory… But nothing.”

  “That won’t work. What you felt then was something different, namely the first replenishment of your body through a fresh influx of mana. At this stage, you shouldn’t think about delving into these matters.” Zaiah explained.

  “Hmm, but that doesn’t change the fact that I don't have, so to speak, any leverage.”

  The rest of the group, listening to their conversation, looked at each other as if his explanation seemed familiar to them. Egill looked at Zaiah and nodded, but it was Olympia who spoke.

  “It's not an uncommon problem. There is a solution.”

  “What is it?”

  “You should use your skills and try to trace the mana flow on that basis.”

  “It… can be problematic.”

  “Hm? Well, in that case, there is a substance that under normal circumstances is considered a drug…”

  “Ugh, I already don't like where it's going.” Orion said, always against such solutions.

  After another moment of silence, they started talking one by one. Zaiah spoke first, then Olympia, followed by Eyharnis, Avir, Eyharnis again, and finally Egill.

  “You should get high.”

  “Yes. Just this once, but you should still get high. This should give you the feeling you're missing.”

  “You get high, and we'll keep an eye on you, make sure you're okay.”

  “And we're going to get high too. At least I will. And drink. A lot.”

  “For fuck’s sake, Avir! Is that all you can think about?”

  “No drinking. If he combines it, it won't do any good. But yes, you should definitely get high.”

  Attention. It's just a story. You really shouldn't be doing drugs in the real world. :)

  Aaand.

  Thanks for reading the chapter!

  I would also like to sincerely thank everyone who liked the story and added it to their favorites. I can’t even describe how much this means to me. You’re damn awesome ?