The dried mud cracked with every step he took, the last hour was spent walking through the forest as far away as possible from the swamp and the goblin camp. He needed to think and make a plan. He wasn’t strong enough even with the experience he got from killing that goblin, Ethan knew he should concentrate on his surroundings but like in his life before the tutorial he started to blend everything out and just focused on his thoughts.

  Thinking in terms of a game could be the end of him, this was no game but his new reality, his and that of the whole universe. So when this was the new status quo he needed to adjust. An athlete can improve speed and endurance. A bodybuilder can raise his strength and maximize his muscles. So for him it should be possible to improve his magic beyond the limits of skills and abilities.

  A grin crept onto his face while he thought about the potential he could unlock when studying the arcane arts. With a rough plan in mind he quickened his steps and even when he stumbled, Ethan never stopped. His arms and legs burned from the ordeal of the day.

  While looking for shelter he tripped over a root and landed on his face, with a groan he tried to push himself upwards but the ground under him slid down an arm's length and stopped again. “Okay…slow an- “ he couldn’t finish the sentence when the ground suddenly slid away again and his own weight pulled him into the darkness, the tunnel he was in was covered in roots, rocks and alot of insects. He closed his eyes and mouth, covering his face with his arms while he slid down the tunnel.

  The hard packed dirt vanished and was replaced with rough stone, but instead of stopping he glides downwards even quicker, a thick slime covered the walls, ground and ceiling. A scream escaped his lips and as unexpected as the journey started it also ended. He was dropped through a hole and fell into a pond, this one crystal clear water, not a pit of mud again.

  He climbed from the pond and spat out the water that had entered his lungs. Ethan just rolled on to his back and looked at the ceiling, tiny white crystals covered in the ceiling and walls, their dim light lit the cube shaped room. Without another option he walked over to the wall opposite the hole he was shot from. On the wall he spotted letters that glowed like crystals.

  I am a symbol, ancient and wise,

  A creature of cycles in both dark and light skies.

  I eat my own tail, forever I twine,

  A sign of eternity, where beginnings align.

  What am I?

  Ethan rubbed his chin while looking at the text for some time. He tried to think of different things he read in his life but he couldn’t find an answer. He felt like he had the knowledge but it was blocked behind something, like he needed to go another step or something. Of course he still tried to just push against the wall but even if he was tall, his skinny body had no strength. Sliding down the wall he crossed his legs and closed his eyes.

  He wanted to test his theory, so he pointed his staff at the pond and activated his [Ice Bolt] spell. Like expected the small spell circled was at the tip of his staff, when he opened his eyes but instead of shooting off against a wall it just stayed there. So he activated his spell again and a second circle appeared.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  It took longer this time and it drained more mana from his pathetic pool. His stat screen was now open now while he tried to conjure another spell into existence, but the moment it appeared a sharp pain traveled through his body like a lighting bolt and made the three spell circles vanish. Ethan cursed and rubbed his forehead, the pain still lingered and he noticed some health points were gone.

  So he started to test things, again and again he conjured spell circles, making it to three before the pain started again. When his mana was emptied out he thought about that riddle he found on the wall.

  The hours vanished while he experimented, he tried to use the spell in different ways with some minor success. He managed to make it appear where he looked, even had it follow his movements and the rotation of his head but after a few seconds the pain returned when he tried that.

  In the end he understood even less but was excited about the possibilities. He smiled while an ice bolt appeared in the pond and shot towards the ceiling, a trail of water behind it. Leaning back he sighed, why couldn’t he summon more than three ice bolts and why did he feel pain when he summoned the third one. He spinned his staff in his hand and never even thought about using [Identify] on it. Maybe that was the answer! Excited, he used his ability and read the short messages that appeared.

  [Wanderers Staff - A staff made from simple wood that used to be companion of a normal wanderer]

  “Wow…thanks…system.” he mumbles and points the staff towards the pond. Ice bolts appeared, they even hovered from the spell circle now without delay and were ready to use instantly. He moved the twin ice bolts around before snapping his fingers to make them shoot into the pond. Of course the snap was just for show but he got bored after a while.

  Ethan stood up and he looked at the riddle again, looking at each word, reading it backwards and even switching words around. He did it a lot of times now but the answer wouldn’t reveal himself to it. He thought about the words and it was obvious it had something to do with an animal, about circles and eternity. So he listed some animals he knew from mythology like, J?rmungandr, Medusa, Quetzalcoatl and finally…”Are you…Ouroboros?” it fit quite well so he hoped he got it right.

  The harpy laughed as she looked at the human listing gods and legendary monsters like it was a shopping list. “He will never get it right.” she cackled and viewed something else. The large bear next to him opened his eyes and grumbled. “I told you to keep quiet, stupid bird.” he closed his eyes again but only before looking at the floating screen in front of him where he saw the human in front of the riddle. His head turned to the corner. “I think you need to prepare, I think he will get it.” He snuggled himself into the soft bed again and snored a moment later.

  “This could be interesting, I didn’t think someone would even know about us.” a giant black snake laid coiled up in the corner, its big head was formed like a triangle, the big red eyes burned with internal fire. “He could use the help if he manages to survive.” his voice was like honey, flowing from his mouth that shouldn’t even be able to produce normal words. His eyes fixed on the screen he finally heard his answer and the snake vanished. The big round bear grumbled something. “Finally some silence.”

  “Are you Ouroboros?” The moment he spoke those words the world around him vanished and he appeared on a field of knee height grass, water swirled around his feet and reached up to his ankles. His robe was gone and exchanged for a shirt and some loose pants, only the staff was still there.

  He looked around and only then he noticed the man standing in front of him, around ten meters separated from them. He could feel that the man was old even if he looked like an example of physical fitness. On his shoulder rested a simple wooden staff and the smile he was on his lips made Ethan shudder. “W-who are you?” he asked, his voice sounding subdued by his presence. The man twirled his staff in his hands.

  “I’m Ouroboros and you’re Ethan…I hope you’re ready.” he stopped the staff and let it rest comfortably in a two handed grip. “Because I’m gonna beat you up kid.”