I had lived in Tusk Village my entire life. A tiny farming settlement surrounded by mountains and waterfalls. There was one main path, a handful of houses, and a stream that everyone depended on for water.
"Elias! Get up!"
The shout jolted me from my sleep. I groaned and forced my eyes open, staring at the wooden ceiling above my bed of straw and beast skin. The voice belonged to Martha, the old woman who'd taken me in after my parents died. Technically, she was family. To be honest though, she was more like my master.
Every morning was the same. I would wake up, eat breakfast, and then do all the chores that needed to be done. The only part I ever looked forward to was the short time at the end of the day where Martha would teach me mana manipulation.
Right now, I can only use two spells: lightning orb and lightning zap. Performing these spells is simple, as they are quite basic spells. But they're also very powerful, as lightning is one of the strongest affinities one can be born—
"Elias! Stop daydreaming and get up!"
I sighed and got out of bed. The floorboards creaked under my weight as I shuffled toward the small wooden table where my breakfast awaited. A bowl of porridge, some dried fruit, and a chunk of bread. Simple, but it would have to do.
"Eat quickly," she said, tossing me a spoon. "You need to get to work."
I nodded silently, stabbing at the porridge with my spoon. My mind, as always, wandered to mana. How much stronger could I get if I just had a little more time?
By the time I finished my breakfast, Martha was already tending to the crops with some of her friends. But then I heard something strange. A low rumble sounded from outside. A few moments later, I heard a scream.
"What the hell is happening?" I shouted as I rushed outside. What stood around twenty metres away from me was the most intimidating mana beast I had ever seen. Even more intimidating than the beast that had killed my parents all those years ago.
The beast looked to be the size of a dragon, easily dwarfing the houses around it. Its massive body was covered in a dark fur that emanated a deadly aura.
My heart started pounding.
Where's Martha? And the other villagers?
Then, a horrifying realization appeared in my mind. The beast had eaten them.