Due to her time constraints she had to forego repairing the armor properly and instead made due with the botched set from her last trip into underground structures. Even though she had just spent months in a coma, the armor still fit snugly.

With some wiggling she was able to squeeze into the armor and equipped her daggers afterwards. Only to step outside, realize that it was way too frigid for the thin armor, and add a wide cloak. In her new backpack, that had two straps again, she placed another few healing potions, a few vials of clean water and a light orb, just in case.

Afterwards Liz had to spend a considerable amount of time getting the lazy cats to move. They seemed content to just relax in the warming rays of the winter sun creeping into the suite through the wide windows of the tower. With lots of prodding, eliciting more than a few growls and hisses, Liz was finally able to force them out of the tower. Of course, the piece of meat she had saved from the morning's bedside-steak probably helped as a motivator.

As she had no idea how the cats left the fort's grounds, Liz headed for the valley gate, assuming the cats hunted in the valley and not the mountains. She was eager to test her new strength, although she hoped she would not encounter any more Bonestingers or monsters of similar caliber. Therefore, she double-checked that aura suppression was airtight.

'If only I had a mana perception skill to properly sense it!'

The felines were still following her, although seemingly begrudgingly, but even when she went through the small gatehouse they did not stop, which Liz saw as a sign that she was on the right course.

Outside, the small layer of snow was undisturbed, giving no indication as to how the cats had hunted their game before now, so Liz just assumed that her best bet to find game herself would be at the end of the first path leading down into the valley. The path was snaking its way down the mountainside in zigzags, taking its time before reaching the valley floor at long last.

It took Liz an hour of going downhill, before she finally reached the edge of the forest. At this altitude the ground was clear of any snow, but the air was still as frigid as on the mountain paths.

It was just above freezing, the temperature still perfect for hunting prey. Bears, if there were any, were probably already forced into hibernation. Now there needed to only be bear-like monsters inhabiting this forest and Liz would be in the clear. As she was entering the forest, the cats also finally rediscovered their inner predator and started stalking through the underbrush instead of their constant play fights they had committed to along their travel into the valley.

Liz herself moved through the forest considerably slower and louder than the feline predators. Where the soon-to-be big cats drifted through the trees near silently, every other step Liz made was accompanied by sticks cracking and leaves crunching. She clearly wasn't going to have success in stalking prey. Instead, she would have to ambush the wildlife, best at a drinking place, making this her destination. Liz considered it an achievement that the cats seemed to have realized her intention for this trip, as none of them strayed from her.

Eventually Liz stumbled upon a clearing. In the middle a small brook gurgled its way through it.

'Finally! I can ambush whatever game uses this as drinking place! I should probably lie low in one of the trees. I should be able to see the whole clearing'

Deciding on a tree along the edge near the middle of the elongated clearing, Liz started climbing the low-hanging branches. The felines followed her with grace, making Liz envious of the ease with which they conquered the branches.

When they all had arranged themselves on the branches, Liz having a good view of the widest part of the brook, the waiting game started.

More than an hour in, movement along the edge of the clearing was visible. Liz, already half-asleep at this point, straightened up.

Out of the darkness of the forest, a whole herd of nearly a dozen of the deer creatures appeared in the clearing.

[Deer - lvl 17]

'They are just deer like on Earth?'

The herd moved cautiously to the brook, several of them focused on keeping every direction of their surroundings in view. In the cover of the leaves, Liz started lowering herself from the branch. When her feet touched the ground, a mighty roar could be heard, causing instinctive thoughts of fleeing to emerge.

'Oh shit, of course this predator is still active in the forest! At least it doesn't sound like it's near me!'

Liz had to fight her instinctual urge to run away, as to not reveal her position. The deer did not fight their urge, instead opting to run in the opposite direction of the sound.

'NO! I waited hours to get you. You stay here!'

Charging Arcane Blast in her hand, Liz ran in the direction of the herd. As the last of them left the clearing, she released her shot blindly in desperation. To her surprise, she hit one of the deer. Before she could fire another Blast, one of the cubs was already on her target. They had converged on the herd the moment they had entered the clearing and now had an easier time catching up to them. Not to mention the forest giving enough shadow to teleport through.

The other three felines had converged on another doe, leaving Liz and the single cub to get their mark. And it worked flawlessly. Liz shot had hit the doe in the hindquarter, severely limiting its movement. By the time Liz caught up to it, the cub had bitten into the flank and was hanging on the limping deer. This gave Liz the opening to aim her Arcane Blast in the other hindquarter, causing the deer to fall and not get up again. By this point the main herd was already gone, only the two targets and their attackers still around in the dense forest.

With her prey disabled, Liz made quick work of it by slitting its throat. Still she felt bad for the unneccesary pain she caused the innocent animal, as she wasn't able to cut in one swift motion. But when her deed was done, the deer quickly perished, a necessary evil to Liz to guarantee her continued survival.

-- You group has killed a [Deer - lvl 17] --

-- Experience awarded respective of contribution --

'Huh, no level? Guess it wasn't high enough in level!'

The three predatory cats had also gone for the throat, once their quarry had ceased running. Still, their handiwork was more messy than Liz's rather clean cut. After checking the severely mauled body for any signs of life Liz left it to the cats, and started dragging her own kill back to the brook.

The felines dragged their body along. When she arrived she started prepping the body for transport. As she had never done this before, she had only a general idea what she had to do. All the while the cats began devouring the second doe.

After gutting and rinsing the carcass, Liz tried to bind its legs together with rope she had brought. While she was doing so, the cats started to growl. At first Liz ignored it, but when all four also started to hiss, did she look up.

At the edge of the clearing a huge dark gray wolf, twice the size of one of the cats, had emerged from the trees. It itself had started snarling, lips curled up and hackles bristled. Its gaze was fixed on Liz's kill.

[Young Lian Wolf - lvl 27]

Thinking to placate the wolf by offering some of her kill, as she was decidedly uneasy to engage such a huge predator, Liz gathered some innards from her deer with slow deliberate movements and, lacking any better alternative, decided to throw them near the wolf.

The wolf however seemed to miss the intention of her peacekeeping effort and saw the hurled meat as an attack and in turn sprang forward. Two of the cats also pounced immediately, throwing the wolf off it's Liz-collision-course mid-jump.

The bundle of one canine and two felines rolled a few times through the muddy grass, voiced with snarls, yips and hisses.

With the cubs engaged so closely, Liz was unable to make a shot at the wolf. But that wasn't a real concern of hers, as two more wolves had emerged from the forest by now, acting equally aggressive as the first.

[Young Lian Wolf - lvl 25]

[Young Lian Wolf Alpha - lvl ?]

The two remaining cubs immediately went after the regular wolf sprinting at them. The Alpha had designated Liz as its prey and was approaching her, fast.

Liz could only roll to the side to avoid the rushing wolf. The wolf barely missed her. Twisting herself to both get up and face the wolf again, Liz charged an Arcane Blast. When the Alpha came to a halt before charging her again, Liz let go of the accumulated mana. Her blast connected at the same time she had to dodge again. She had hit the canine in the head, eliciting a pained yelp.

Yet it seemed to have done little damage, only angered the wolf further. The alpha somehow sped up its movements even further and so, after a feinted charge, was able to get to Liz who was constantly discharging her Arcane Blasts at it.

While the first bite went through the cloak and was stopped by the leather bracers, the second one dug deep into her upper right arm, eliciting a scream from Liz before her new skill blocked all sensation from it.

Still her experience with fighting and her familiarity with her own body, made it possible to ignore the lacking feedback from her arm and continue moving it, although it felt alien and the movements were rather clunky. Even so she was able to retaliate with the dagger in her left hand, repeatedly stabbing the wolf still attached to her arm.

Liz was able to get a few hits in, even channeling one Arcane Blast through the dagger, before the wolf released her with another yelp. She had hit it right in the soft flank, now profusely bleeding, just like her arm.

For now the wolf retired to circling her, Liz moving in the same notion. She used the short moment of reprieve to down the healing potion adorning her belt.

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After just a few seconds the deep wound on her arm was closed and the arm no longer felt asleep. By now her mana had been reduced to a third, but Liz had observed how effective the Blast through the dagger into the innards seemed to be and decided to use her remaining reserves to repeat this deed as often as possible.

But for this to work, she needed to get in close quarters with the wolf. Therefore, she used a small Blast to stop the wolf from circling. Just as predicted it changed direction and charged at her directly, slower than before.

Still fast though, so Liz had trouble moving out of the way of the sharp teeth in time. But she succeeded, although just barely, and even grazed the hide with her dagger, but didn't penetrate it.

The wolf quickly changed directions and charged at her again, already correcting for her dodge. As Liz had anticipated such a move, she ducked in place instead, but also got no hit on the wolf in return.

This dance continued for a few minutes, none getting the upper hand, only wearing down their stamina until Liz not only managed to graze the skin but also stab the dagger into the undamaged flank of the canine. She instantly discharged her pent-up mana into the handle, causing the wolf to jerk back and utter a whine for the first time.

She had accumulated a good amount of mana throughout her dodges and by the end had trouble controlling these massive amounts of magical energy in her arm while moving simultaneously. Still, she had held on, and it now paid off, as the wolf was suddenly reluctant to attack her further and instead tried to keep its distance to her, possibly even retreating.

But Liz was having none of it, for once charging the monster herself. She aimed her dagger for its throat, but when in a surprisingly quick reaction from the wounded wolf, her hand ended up inside the monster's maw, Liz thrust the hand and dagger deeper into the throat, discharging Arcane Blasts into the wounded esophagus in a continuous stream.

Just short of her mana reaching its absolute limit, the Alpha reached its limit, dropping onto the ground, exhausted and immobile, save for its heavy breathing around her fist.

Extracting her bleeding arm from the maw, Liz made quick work of the wolf and slashed its throat. A whole flood of notifications entered her mind immediately after.

But she gave herself no time to recover or look at them, instead running for the backpack to get more of the healing and replenishment potions. While she downed one of each of them, Liz looked for the remaining two wolves.

Both were still engaged in fights against two cats each, the formerly gray and black predators all colored red.

As Liz was watching and deciding which fight to engage in, one of the pairings disengaged and started circling each other. Doing so, the wolf of the pairing saw the downed Alpha and uttered a pained wail.

Instead of attacking the cats again, it retreated to the forest edge and started to howl, a howl which even to Liz conveyed deep mourning. It somehow caused her to feel sadder than she ever felt before, without a real reason.

The second wolf disengaged from its fighting partners as well and retreated to the forest, just as the howl was answered by another from deeper in the valley. And another. And another. Liz felt the meaning shift from mourning to promising great revenge. She shivered when dozens of howling wolves in the valley answered in unison.

With their threat voiced, the wolves left the clearing, one heavily limping as it looked back at Liz before her sight was blocked by the foliage. The cats did not pursue, as their own wounds seemed severe, one uttering a pained mewl before dropping to the ground just as the last wolf left.

'Oh no, you will not leave me!'

Liz ran over and generously applied healing potion in an effort to stop the bleeding all over the cat's body. Fortunately it worked, even though she had never tested it on the cats before.

When Dana, the downed one, had recovered enough in her eyes, Liz applied healing potions to each of the cats, earning purrs and grooming in return.

'Time to get going. I really don't want to meet whatever revenge the wolves promised'

Finishing her binding of the doe, Liz started dragging the body to the forest edge, the cats in tow. When she entered the trees, the cats fortunately took charge and directed her back to the path, a feat she wouldn't have been able to accomplish herself. She had been completely lost in the woods.

Until they left the forest, Liz was constantly on the look-out for any ambush attacks from the wolves or other predators. Her aura suppression, while having slipped a few times during the fight, was now iron-tight again.

Only when they entered the path up the mountain and eventually reached the fork in the road leading to the fort, did she stash her daggers, strengthening her grip on the constantly slipping and cold rope. Her hands were feeling beyond frozen by this point.

With a lot less effort than before, Liz was able to drag the body the rest of the way back to the fort. By late afternoon she was back inside the castle walls. Fortunately, there was no attack during the travel.

Instead of relaxing or getting to the whole armada of notifications bumping into her consciousness, Liz went to dissect the game.

Her first step was to skin the deer. After more than half an hour she was left with hole-riddled and tattered hide and a more or less skinned body. The hide was too torn to be made into leather.

She continued to cut the body into smaller pieces, some usable but the need for food for the cats let her be generous in cutting away unwanted tissue leaving many pieces to be mostly bones and little muscle, perfect for the Shadownyx. Besides the bigger pieces there were also a lot of smaller scraps, all meant for the cats as well. The usable meat amounted to around four days worth for Liz. The blood she had to discard as she had no way of using it, at the moment.

When she was done, her hands and whole armor were covered in a good amount of it. Nothing a good bath couldn't remove. Said bath was quickly done, hot and steaming to combat the cold still permeating her bones.

While Liz had processed the deer, the cats had done their own clean-up, grooming themselves and each other to the point that their coats were perfect again. Liz had to get rid of them multiple times, when they tried to do the same to her, as she preferred the hot water of the bath over the rough cat tongue.

When she was done and the leather armor had also received a rough cleaning with the remaining soapy bath water, Liz cooked herself the first of the new meat over the fireplace and looked into the new notifications.

-- You have killed a [Young Lian Wolf Alpha - lvl 32] --

-- [Arcane Blast] has reached level 4 --

-- [Arcane Blast] has reached level 5 --

-- [Spell Channeling] has reached level 3 --

-- [Arcane Mage] has reached level 16. 2 stat points distributed. 3 additional stat points awarded. --

-- Congratulations! You reached level 16. You may choose a class evolution or select a class focus --

By meeting the following requirements you are able to evolve your class to [Primal Huntress]:

You have reached lvl 16. You have the skill [Identify]. You have the skill [Pain Tolerance] or an evolution of it. You have used a primitive implement to hunt and kill for survival. You have been living in the wilderness for more than two moons. You have fought the predominant predators of a region and triumphed over them.

A Survivalist. The Primal Huntress exists on her own. She only needs herself and has an immeasurable awareness of the dangers of the wild. Given any perils of the Wilds, she triumphs over them. She is undefeated, as she knows when retreat is the better choice.

WARNING: Certain class skills are incompatible with this evolution! Progress will be lost!

By meeting the following requirements you are able to evolve your class to [Wild Berserker]:

You have reached lvl 16. You have an evolution of the skill [Pain Tolerance]. You have fought even when near fatally injured. You have lived for more than two moons in the Wild. You have fought the predominant predators of a region and triumphed over them.

The battle-born Fighter. The Wild Berserker is the bane of the wilderness. No monster is safe from her rage. Always ready for the battle, she fights alone uncaring for the injuries inflicted on her. Her rage knows no bounds.

WARNING: Certain class skills are incompatible with this evolution! Progress will be lost!

'Huh, nothing related to Arcane Mage? Probably because I didn't really use the magic until recently. Primal Huntress sounds good, especially the awareness part. But it doesn't sound like it's a class with magic. How is that even an evolution? It rather feels like a downgrade'

'I guess I should rather select a focus? What even is a focus? Is it just another thing like Arcane currently is?'

Focusing on her intention of selecting a focus, Liz got another 'menu'.

Class compatible foci:

Arcane

Scholar

Runemaster

Shadow

Life

Soul

Necromancy

Astral

'Not a very helpful list! And shouldn't [Deviant] grant the ability to select a class-foreign focus?'

Available foreign foci:

Alchemist

Berserker

Cook

Diplomat

Explorer

Healer

Noble

Scout

Tamer

Tailor

Weaponsmith

Be warned, any foreign foci are severely weakened

'That is some list. And quite wide-reaching. Why would I qualify for being a Cook? Or Tailor? I am as bad as one can get at both professions. Is this about prior experience just like a class? So I acted noble in the past or what?'

Liz got her answers when she focused on single selections with the intent to Identify

Noble - focus

You control a castle and the surrounding lands without any foreign claims to it

This focus helps in managing the challenges a noble lady faces in her everyday life

Tailor - focus

You have had experience in repairing clothing

This focus strengthens the user in the craft of Tailoring

Out of the foreign foci only two sounded attractive

Healer - focus

You have had contact with vast amounts of healing Life magic

This focus lets the user in on the secrets of healing through magic

Tamer - focus

You have convinced wild beasts to follow you

This focus strengthens the users abilities to tame the wildlife of the world

Liz felt the details were a bit too vague. Especially so in the class compatible foci

Arcane - focus

You have had contact with a powerful source of Arcane Magic.

This focus strengthens the user in wielding Arcane Magic

Scholar - focus

You have received training from a scholar.

This focus lets the user manage the responsibilities of a scholar easier

Runemaster - focus

You have studied the intricacies of the runic languages

This focus strengthens the user's understanding of the runic languages

Shadow - focus

You have fought an expert wielder of shadows.

This focus strengthens the user's connection with the shadows

Life - focus

You have ingested a great amount of liquid enriched with Life magic.

This focus strengthens the user's connection with Life magic

Necromancy - focus

You have had first-hand contact with death

This focus lets the user wield the power of necromancy

Astral - focus You have had contact with the Astral Void

This focus strengthens the user in wielding the elusive Astral Magic

'Everything sounds rather vague. But shouldn't Arcane Enhanced prevent anything other than Arcane? If not, some sound rather intriguing. Astral sounds like a possible way back to Earth. But I would probably need to spend years to level up to the right point. If I want to survive, Healer or Life sound like a good idea. Necromancy is definitely out, I don't want anything to do with zombies. Runemaster feels redundant with my Runic Intuition skill and runes aren't the best tools to guarantee survival. Scholar falls in the same category. But Tamer sounds like a good idea regarding the cats. Having the additional fighters really saved my butt in the battle with the wolves. Then again, Shadow could include their teleport skill, which would be a nice boon to have. Besides Tamer and Healer all foreign foci are out, they all just don't sound useful, especially when they are supposedly weakened'

'Ughh, I hate making such a far-reaching decision based solely on guesswork! If it even works and Arcane Enhanced doesn't prevent another decision. Then again, nowhere does it state, that I lose the current focus. If I were to add something I would go with either Healer or Tamer. Or do I possibly need Runemaster for my work for Garuna? Does his deal even still stand? No, I need to make a decision for myself, otherwise he should be here, helping me'