After breakfast, I returned to the bison area. Again, I chose a target, shot it, waited for the rest of the herd to relocate, and began the process. After lowering the bison, I laid it on the plastic sheet and diagnosed it. Well, it was definitely dead. That was all my Diagnose spell gave me. I couldn't sense anything else from it. Hmm, I didn't expect that. When I diagnosed the jurbers, I "saw" that they were mostly made of mana and felt it dissipating. Here, I got nothing except "it's totally dead." That gave me an idea. I channeled my mana into it, much slower and more carefully than before, and felt how the meat slowly became saturated. At first, I couldn't grasp the path of the mana through the carcass, only felt it leaving my hand and filling the carcass, but I kept channeling and hoping for the best.

Let's try something else.

I closed my eyes and gradually was able to sense the individual mana strands saturating the meat. It was clear that the mana I sensed belonged to me, not just the mana of the surroundings or any other source. I concentrated more and more and sank into it, feeling the mana in the meat. There were still empty pockets, so I channeled more mana into it until it was full but not over-saturated and about to explode. Just permeated with mana. With my eyes closed, I sat like that, entirely focused on the carcass. I learned it: every bone, muscle, fat accumulation, meat, and pelt. Feeling every cell in the whole thing.

An insistent red light threw me out of my examination. Annoyed, I opened it to return to my task as quickly as possible.

You have learned to sense with your mana.

New class unlocked: [Wizard]

Would you like to take the Wizard Class as your sub-class?

Cost: 1 ability point.

Y/N

"Ha!" I barked, half laughing. "You couldn't get me to buy free entertainment for you, so now you're giving me a discount?"

The sky didn't bother to answer.

I blew a loud raspberry upward, then clicked "No," and closed the window. If it wanted a show, it could go somewhere else to find it.

I returned to the carcass, and my mana still saturated it. I reconnected with the mana and continued to examine it, allowing my awareness to sink deeper into the carcass. At first it was only shapes and outlines, but the longer I stayed, the more details became clear. Tendons, ligaments, the thick layering of muscle over bone, even the greasy folds of fat started to make themselves known. After some time, I felt like I knew everything there was to know about it, maybe even too much.

Next, I took control of my mana within it. I didn't just connect, I grasped it, just like I had when I compressed the jurbers or examined the rider for the first time before the Diagnose spell. I pushed my intent into the flow and guided the mana where I wanted it. First, I wanted the carcass skinned, so I pressed a thin layer of mana under the hide, imagining it peeling free from the meat. Then, I pictured the cuts I wanted, and I pushed out "mana partitions" along each line, marking steaks, roasts, and ribs in my mind.

It wasn't easy. The mana kept slipping out of my grip, sliding back into the general mass like water through clenched fingers. Each time I pulled it into line, more of it bled away from my hold. Sweat rolled down my temples, stinging my eyes, and a sharp throb built behind them, but I wouldn't let up. I clenched my jaw, breathing hard, and pushed myself deeper into focus. I knew it was doable if I didn't give up. Finally, I had the mana arranged where I wanted it, trembling but ready. I steadied myself, added a little more mana, and gave a final push. The carcass sagged and collapsed, deflating like a punctured balloon.

I blinked and looked closer. The pelt lay loose on top, completely separate from the rest. I picked it up, surprised to find the whole hide intact with no meat clinging to it. Beneath, the meat had cleanly disconnected from the bones and was heaped between and around them. I bent to examine each piece, turning them over one by one. Every cut was clean, every section exactly as I'd wanted. Steaks, roasts, ribs.

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Everything was exactly like I wanted. Every. Single. Piece.

"YES!" I pumped my fist and broke into a Gangnam Style, but the red light blinked rapidly again, and I stopped mid-step to check it. Crossing my fingers, I chanted, "Looting spell, looting spell, looting spell."

You have learned to wield your mana sufficiently.

New class unlocked: [Wizard]

Would you like to take the Wizard Class as your sub-class?

Note: Due to your achievement, you can take the Wizard Class without spending ability points, and the class's strength will be equal to a main class.

Y/N

I almost clicked "NO" again in agitation, but stopped myself at the last moment. A free class was, after all, a free class. And truth be told, maybe I still didn't understand anything, but I had done some things with mana. The heap of meat and bones in front of me was proof enough.

So, maybe being a wizard was about having better control of the mana?

"Fine, fine, I'll take it," I told the system.

It didn't deign to react.

WIZARD

This is a rare, sought-after lineage class.

Wizards are scholars of magic and mana, dedicating their lives to understanding its nature and behavior. They study its flow, its manifestations, and its countless iterations in all known traditions.

Wizards are the ones who advance magical knowledge in all its forms. They develop spells, combine them, and expand upon them, pushing past old boundaries. Their work creates new ways to shape magic and new methods to use mana, treating it as both a science and an art.

This Class does not come with Spells, Skills, or Abilities—the wizard develops their own, crafting knowledge into power.

+3 Intelligence, +3 Wisdom, +3 Perception, +1 to all other traits.

This class does not receive free points.

"I knew it!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms up. "You were fishing for free entertainment."

A mild rebuke brushed against my mind.

"No, no, no," I shot back, pacing a tight circle around the carcass. "You can't have any complaints. You kept nagging until I took the class, and now you don't give me anything? How exactly am I supposed to 'develop my own' if I don't know anything, huh?" I stopped, jabbing a finger at the sky. "At least the healer came with spells, and my medical knowledge helped. This—this—I don't know anything!"

I dragged both hands through my hair, tugging at the roots in frustration. "It says here that wizards are scholars, people who spend their lives studying mana, its forms, its rules, its quirks. They experiment, they invent spells, they push the limits of magic itself. Me? I don't have any of that. I don't have books, I don't have teachers, I don't even have a clue where to start."

I kicked at the dirt beside the carcass, a spray of dust puffing up. "You say, 'develop your own' like it's simple, but I don't know the first thing about wizarding. I'm not some genius with a lifetime of study behind me." I threw my arms wide at the bloody mess in front of me. "I'm just some schmuck from Earth with zero knowledge, standing here with a heap of meat and bones, talking to the sky, trying to figure out how the hell I'm supposed to wizard without wizarding knowledge, wizarding training, or wizarding anything!"

This time, there was nothing. Silence.

"Nothing to say, ha?" I asked, rubbing a hand down my face.

I shook my head and let out a long sigh. There was no point arguing with it.

The red light was still blinking.

Level up

+3 Intelligence, +3 Wisdom, +3 Perception, +1 to all other traits

Class: Wizard Level 2

"It's unfair," I tried one last time. "No spells, skills, or anything? At least give me the weird Knowing that comes with the Gate Traveler class."

It still didn't answer.

How was I supposed to wizard without understanding anything? The thought nagged at me, and I kept rubbing my face in frustration until an idea popped up. My Luck guided me to the cave with the emeralds. Maybe it could lead me to answers? I engaged the active Luck ability, thinking that I really, really, really wanted to figure out what was going on with my mana and understand this whole magic business. And I felt a direction. It was west, with a slight angle to the south, but had a sort of "wait" undertone. As if I still had time. Like something that was supposed to happen hadn't happened yet.

So, there are answers? It's not arbitrary?

I summoned a cooler, cleaned and purified everything, stored all the meat, rolled up the pelt, and stored it.

This whole wizard business stopped me from doing a Gangnam Style in celebration, and I wasn't in the mood anymore. Still, I managed to partially restore a feeling of achievement. I sat there, enjoying the moment as much as my annoyance allowed. I succeeded in actually looting a carcass—not exploding it or shooting its pelt away, but truly looting it. And I had a direction for answers. That improved my mood dramatically and helped me bask in the moment. At least partially.

Stupid System.

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