The entire group decided to follow me which was expected. If you weren't at least level 15 you would probably not survive the forest. We all quickly discovered an unforeseen problem less than an hour after we set out. It was like the presence of so many low-level people encouraged the beasts to hunt despite my aura. Of course, I couldn't release mine to its full extent. I was forced into battle after battle against monsters of all shapes and sizes.

The real challenge wasn't the fighting. It was like these researchers lacked any kind of survival instinct. Two of them were nearly bitten in half by a panther the size of a small car while a third was nearly grabbed by a massive hawk. I was just about to order our fifth break when I caught something moving in the corner of my vision. **Psychic Aegis** expanded into its wall form less than a second before a python the size of a city bus shot out. Its movements were a blur even to my sight. The research didn't even react until after it slammed into the wall and was already retreating.

"What the hell!"

"Monster!"

I released more of my aura to scare the researchers and keep them from running off into the forest. Unfortunately by the time I looked for the serpent again, it was gone. "How the hell does something that size just disappear?" I muttered to myself. I considered putting Amahle down but there was no way she could defend herself. Nor could I rely on any of the others to stand their ground. Another flash of movement only this time I was a second too slow. The serpent grabbed hold of a man and yanked him back into the forest.

Thankfully the man only screamed for a few seconds. The sudden death of one of their own sent the group into a chaotic scramble. "Fuck me." I expanded my Tao field to its maximum. I formed both a barrier and a cage but it wouldn't be enough. At this size, the barrier was nothing compared to the aegis. Another blur and the serpent slammed into the field to the right of me. The snake managed to get nearly two feet through the field before it was stopped.

Psionic Rain fell on the massive reptile a second later. Only instead of the blades passing through it, the serpent's eyes flashed and a shield of translucent energy formed around it. My eyes widened as it defended against my psychic attack. Not only did it manage to block it but it didn't look like the shield used up much energy at all. I couldn't help grinning as I planned out my next move. I conjured three blades of psychic energy and shot them forward.

The weaker blades faired no better but they did manage to keep the serpent still. "Get behind me!" I empowered my voice with a bit of spiritual energy as I shouted. The effect was better than I expected. The researchers recoiled as if they had been struck they then sprinted toward me. I imbued another three blades with my Tao and shot them forward just as the serpent started to move. The one unattuned blade shattered against the shield but the two attuned ones fared much better.

They slashed through the shield like a hot knife through butter. The snake let out a hiss of pain before turning toward me. A scream of danger was the only warning I had before its eyes seemed to double in size. My body went limp as its eyes consumed the world around me. The next moment the world shattered as Intellect Fortress activated. The mental defense spell drained nearly a fourth of my remaining spiritual energy which left no doubt as to what I was dealing with. This snake was a mental attacker just like me. I laughed and circulated the Tao of Adamance through my head.

The serpent recovered and launched itself at me. Cries of panic filled the air but I pushed them to the back of my mind. Psychic Aegis sprang up to meet the charge. The indigo barrier cracked immediately as the serpent attempted to bite through it. Fangs the size of short swords glinted in front of Maw that felt like staring into an abyss. I unleashed Psychic Blast as the serpent bit down. The attack flashed across the beast's scales and this time it was forced back. I bit back the urge to chase after the beast. Instead, I formed another trio of imbued blades.

The serpent avoided two of the three by rushing deeper into the forest. The third sunk into its tail and I had no way of knowing if it was effective. I gritted my teeth and strained my eyes and ears for any signs of where the snake would reappear. Seconds turned into minutes before I was confident that the battle was over.

"Holy shit. You got rid of it." One of the researchers called out as I slowly relaxed.

"Yeah, but I am sure we will see it again." I took a deep breath and shook my head. "We will leave in ten minutes." I pulled out a spirit crystal and started draining energy. It was stupid of me to be upset that I couldn't kill the snake and the fact that it ran meant I won. Despite those facts, I couldn't help the bitter taste in my mouth. It still felt like a failure.

"Are we safe?" A woman called out this time and I reluctantly opened my eyes.

"Likely no, the serpent will probably come back but for now it won't attack. I don't think anything else will attack in the short term."

Despite my reassurances, the group stayed hunched over and as close to me as possible. It was very distracting but I couldn't blame them, not really. If I was in their position I likely would have done the same thing. When the fifteen minutes were up the group gathered together and I opened a portal. I made another mental note to look into ways to improve Apportation. It was far too good a spell to be limited to brief uses. Once everyone was inside I closed the portal.

I stepped out just in case another beast was waiting for us. Fortunately for us, there was nothing. We alternated between jogging and portal hopping until we arrived at the cave. Romulus and his partner were waiting outside for us. A ball of golden light floated above both of them.

"Got to admit I am glad to see you two." I grinned and gently removed Amahle from my back and shifted her into a bridal carry. "When I caught up to them they were in a fight with a weird pitcher plant kind of thing. I am not sure why she hasn't woken up but it's at least partially because I hit her with my Tao." I quickly explained the battle when I saw their concerned and judgmental looks. By the time I finished, Amahle had been carried into the cave along with the other researchers. Which left Romulus and I to finish things up.

"So what do you intend to do now?" He asked while staring into the forest.

"Haven't decided yet. There might be more people out there in need of help but whether or not we need to find them is up in the air. Furthermore, the longer we wait their chances of surviving plummet."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Everything you said is true but that doesn't answer my question."

I took a breath and nodded. "I am going to leave. The continent still has many secrets which likely include natural treasures and who knows what else from the System. On top of that, I want to get to fifty as fast as I can."

A thick silence passed over us when I finished speaking. I wasn't sure if Romulus was judging me, cursing me, or preparing to attack me. I wasn't sure I cared either. Ultimately our agreement was an unofficial one and it only meant we would be political allies. Furthermore, the expedition was effectively over nor did it seem wise to drag them all along as I went off into the wilderness. It would be better for me to bring things back here or at least wait until I could clear out a safe zone.

"I don't think I can follow you. Our levels aren't that different but it feels like I am sitting next to a monster. Or a dragon. I am not sure what the difference between us is anymore. I have gained two Tao strands and I can't sense anymore from you."

I raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "I think it's the titles. I have a lot of those from the tutorial. Each one provides different boosts to my attributes. Some are a few points, some are different types of percentage boosts."

Romulus had turned his fulll attention to me by the time I finished speaking. I already knew what he wanted to know. "I won't tell you how to get the same titles I have. You should have gained the one for getting your class and the rarity of that class. As for the others, the System seems to prefer people who are at the front. Not sure if this is true but each planet likely has a set of titles. I somehow doubt that in the whole universe, I am the first at anything but on earth... My suggestion would be to find a way to push yourself forward."

We talked for a little longer while I absorbed another pair of spirit stones. The conversation centered on cultivation but it was clear that neither of us was interested in sharing any important information. I wasn't sure if that was smart or not. The information age had brought about many improvements to everyone's lives before but now it was coveted. There was also a lack of known information. I couldn't guarantee anything that I knew was true outside of what the tutorial said.

I also took the time to review the Tao ladder and didn't like what I saw. Romulus had caught up to the second spot. I was pretty sure that his two strands weren't equal to mine but it still felt uncomfortably close. Like he was a hound nipping at my heels. When I was ready to go I stood up and stretched. "I will come back every three days if I don't find something important. I left a few of the beast corpses inside so you all should be able to make some food."

"We can take care of that. If you find somewhere more secure to hold up let us know. A cave doesn't feel strong enough when we are fighting monsters the size of cars."

I laughed at that and nodded my agreement. "I will do what I can. As long as I am within range I will send back messages as well. I hope to see your level start to climb."

With that said I opened a portal and stepped through. The mental calming effect washed away the apprehension I had at my choice. At the end of the day, it was my call and my life. I already left Amara behind to go on this trip. When the portal reopened I was overlooking the forest from the canopy of a large set of trees. Each one was nearly the size of a building. My breath caught in my throat when I saw a massive tree in the middle of the forest. It reminded me of the stories of the world trees from mythology. It had to be at least as tall as the Empire State Building and that was lowballing it. I couldn't even tell how far away it was.

"Well, that's the biggest quest marker in the history of quest markers." I couldn't help but chuckle as I looked down. The forest floor was around ten to twenty feet below me. I took a deep breath vertigo swelled inside me before leaping for the next tree. The brief period of weightlessness filled me with equal parts terror and excitement. The combination was intoxicating and I couldn't resist leaping from tree to tree like a ninja.

My platforming adventure ended a few minutes later when I leaped into the open air and a hawk the size of a sedan shot out from behind the clouds. I couldn't help but think that the warning from my danger sense came too late to be of any use. I pushed spiritual energy into a full-power Psionic Rain as the hawk's razor-sharp peak grew in size. The hawk arrived just as my attack began. Its talons tore a chunk out of my arm before it was forced to retreat.

I barely had enough time to scream before I slammed into the next tree. The branch I hit collapsed almost immediately and I started my descent to the ground. I had fallen nearly half the distance before Apportation activated and a portal formed beneath me. I squeezed my eyes shut just as the portal shut. My heart felt like it was about to rip its way through my chest. I got to my feet and mentally prepared myself for the battle. I activated Psychic Aegis and stepped back into the forest. This time I was on the ground proper which I figured would give me cover against the massive bird.

I scanned the tree line above me until I spotted my prey. I formed three blades of mental energy and imbued two of them with my Tao. All three blades shot forward like homing missiles. The unimbued blade found its target first. The overgrown bird nearly slammed into a tree as it dealt with the metal attack. Next came the blade imbued with Adamance. It slammed into the bird's neck and part of me wondered if they could the blade. Not just the mental attack. Before I had a chance to reflect on that the third blade embedded itself into the bird's chest and kill energy flooded into me.

I then watched the bird's body crash through nearly every branch on its way to the ground. I still wasn't sure if my mental attacks immediately killed or if you felt whatever happened next. I seriously hoped it was more the former than the latter. The broken body of the hawk almost made me feel bad. Of course, it had been trying to kill me so I didn't feel that bad.

I collected the body and decided to travel the rest of the way on foot. It made me feel like I was an eighteenth-century explorer traveling through dangers and untamed wilderness. Only there were actual monsters. I continued for another three hours and another three fights before I decided to settle in for the evening. My spiritual energy was starting to run low and I wasn't sure if nighttime monsters were stronger than daytime ones.

Regardless it wasn't wise for me to push my luck. I settled into a tree hollow the size of a bedroom. The whole thing made me feel like I was in some sort of Disney fairy tale. Regardless the spot was warm and empty. I gave it another twenty minutes just in case this domain belonged to a different animal but when nothing came I shrugged my shoulders. I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. I pulled out two spirit stones and let the energy flow into my dantian. The rush felt better than all the sugar I've had throughout my life.

It took me nearly an hour to consume all but one of my first realm spirit stones. Something that had only barely made up for the loss of energy throughout the day. I would need to kill a lot more powerful creatures if I wanted to reach level 40 before we returned. Once my cultivation session finished I pulled out some of my water and the food I prepared for the trip. I gave it a quick sniff and shook my head. It had no smell which was both reassuring and disquieting. I wasn't sure if jerky was just odorless or if whatever animal this came from didn't smell.

I tried not to think about either option and just ate my meal. I did make a mental note to offer some credits for good food. We needed to get some chefs as soon as possible. I finished up my meal and spent another two hours meditating on each of my Tao. Neither felt anywhere near ready to advance and a voice kept nagging in the back of my mind. I would need to get a third and a fourth one soon. I just couldn't decide what to go after. Time and Space seemed like powerful options but so did lightning fire or wind. They were all equally tempting.

It was a bit like going to an ice cream shop with unlimited money but not being able to buy everything. I pushed down the annoyance at the situation and finished my meditation. Ideally, that would be another problem I would solve while here. I made myself a bed out of leaves and tree bark before settling down for the night. A mix of excitement and anxiety filled my stomach as I let my mind wander. Tomorrow I will start exploring the continent in full.