Chapter 25

I threw myself aside, tucking my shoulder and spreading my arms into a circle in front of me, cushioning my landing and throwing myself back to my feet. I hurled a firebolt while in midair, catching the charging Boarfiend in the side. Even as I landed, my left hand was already reaching up to grab one of the low-hanging branches of the tree I had fallen back against. I pulled myself aside, turning to run a couple of steps up the trunk and backflip off of it. The sound of claws scrabbling against bark confirmed my intuition as the Serpanther missed me with its’ lunge, the cougar-like yowl of frustration drawing a laugh from me in response. I grabbed on with my other hand, and wrenched downward, ripping the burning branch down and slamming it across the creature’s lower back, doing not much more than pissing it off as the branch exploded from the force of impact, scattering flames into the eyes of the charging Boarfiend, throwing off its’ path and sending it careening off into the bushes. The Serpanther twisted and coiled, preparing to launch itself at me, and instead of dodging aside, I simply bent my knees and allowed myself to fall into a controlled drop, ducking under its’ reaching claws and kicking it in the chest, arresting and redirecting its’ momentum to launch it into the Boarfiend. I couldn’t help laughing at the spitting tangle of claws and tusks as they tried to separate themselves, frustration managing to damage their enforced cooperation.

Unfortunately for them, it lasted long enough for me, and I’d already gotten what I came for. The fireball I launched roared as I loosed it, the heat like a sunburn on my skin. It caught the Boarfiend straight on and blew it apart, though the catlike serpent was too quick to be struck directly; even the glancing blow, however, was enough to stagger it, and its’ momentary stillness was enough to hurl a firebolt right between the scimitar-like fangs and put it down for good.

At the moment, I had only two notifications that I really cared about, one new, and the other only recent.

You have drawn the [Ire of the Greenwarden.]

As long as his attention remains on you, wildlife will become much more hostile to you, and become empowered by the Greenwarden’s Blessing.

The other was every bit as interesting, but far more currently useful.

[Skill Increase]

Unarmored Defense (Initiate -> Adept)

You are proficient in defending yourself without the use of armor. Evasion is a far more certain defense from harm; it is difficult to hurt what you can’t hit. While this grants you very little protection against direct attacks, it does allow you to utilize both your dexterity and your Magic to defend yourself at the cost of Mana.

The past four hours had been ceaseless attacks, the creatures coming singly or in small groups, random packs drawn from around me. I suppose the flames I’d surrounded myself with made the job of finding me a little easier for them, but I didn’t awfully mind it. Rather than moving straight toward the giant serpent, I zigged and zagged, encouraged by the quest’s offer of better rewards for slaying the beasts of the forest. I’d actually used the opportunity to practice my Unarmored Defense; while it didn’t seem to have any direct abilities or benefits, it seemed to hone my intuition and allow me to better evade attacks. It was like I was trying to remember childhood training; like riding a bike, it took falling a few times before I could get much distance out of it, but now that I was more in sync with it, it was almost effortless. These creatures seemed slow to me. The blinding speed of the Serpanther seemed like a drunken lurch, the Boarfiend’s stunning charge was a breathless jog. Tying the acrobatic movements into my attacks had been all too easy, fitting together like puzzle pieces I hadn’t even realized came from the same set. The sound of something crashing through the undergrowth drew my attention to my right, the burning bushes bursting apart as an enormous Boarfiend broke through, stomping into the clearing. It paused for only a moment before leaping into action, far faster than its’ smaller, weaker kin. I drew in a breath, suppressing the panic that would’ve drove me out of its’ path, and focused just long enough to summon a pair of firebolts, squeezing them into a flatter disc shape before hurling them. The first spun out flat like a sawblade and cut into the front of the Boarfiend’s left front leg, nearly severing the knee. The second I hurled out to the side with a flick of my wrist, its’ course curving back inward and upward to skim along its’ stomach as it tumbled from the first strike, the blast striking along a narrow front and releasing its’ flame in a long, thin slice, cutting the beast neatly from chest to groin. It hit the ground, tusks-first, and tumbled from the force of impact. I hopped up, swinging momentarily from the branches of the tree behind me. I turned as I released, and my next firebolt was more like a javelin, squished into a narrow spike by an effort of will. I plunged it downward, releasing at the right moment to slam it down into the beast’s side, the thumb-sized hole burning through from side to side, piercing heart and lungs and burning into the dirt beneath.

I’d also increased my proficiency with [Heart of Flame] , which, rather than just increasing the amount of damage I’d deal, actually helped me shape my attacks into more damaging forms. I’d gotten it up to Adept with the same practice I’d given my Unarmored Defense, but in this case using a little more finesse in my attacks; now instead of just throwing endless attacks at a target, I was launching precision strikes, my innate understanding of where and how they would impact growing with practice. I was surprised to discover this would increase [Heart of Flame] and not [Fire Manipulation] , but the versatility was an unexpected boon. By this point, most of my skills had reached Adept, which seemed to be the rank of full proficiency; the move to Expert seemed to require a lot more insight into the workings of an ability. That kind of introspection was proving difficult, however, since I could barely seem to find time to-

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Avoid the prowling Serpanthers that kept trying to ambush me, leaping from bushes or treetops, heedless of the small burns they gained from moving through the flames. Fighting the Boarfiends that seemed to come in larger and larger groups, now four or five becoming the norm. I’d carved out a little space by blasting away the trees around me at one point, but that kind of space only lasted until I had to move forward again, diving right back into the forest. While at first I found the constant attacks frustrating, their predictability had become a source of entertainment. Whenever they’d find some new wrinkle, I’d spend a little time battling it out with them to get familiar before finishing them off.

The one I’d struggled with most was a variant Boarfiend called a Quillfiend; it looked like a giant porcupine that could seemingly launch quills off itself in any direction and hopped around quickly enough to make ranged attacks difficult. I hadn’t quite settled on a strategy for them other than ‘lots of firebolts’, but I had some ideas.

When the next attack came, it came with surprising coordination. A pair of Boarfiends, one big and one small charged toward me, and I dodged to my right to avoid the pair, only to be struck by a falling Serpanther an instant later. A Quillfiend joined the fray a moment later with the characteristic rattling of its’ bony quills, waddling forward to attack. The Serpanther swiped at me with raking claws, tearing into my forearm and trying to bite at me, while the other creatures swarmed closer. I wrapped my fist in flames and punched it in the mouth, fangs snapping off under the strike. While it was enough to defang the beast – literally – it didn’t save me from the spatter of venom that sprung from the broken teeth, spraying into my eyes. My next hit launched the cat-snake off of me, and I rolled away from the pair of Boarfiends that had first attacked, their tusks rooting at me like they were digging for tubers. I felt sharp pains across my upper back as a series of spines impacted me, each one blazing with a little bit of poison that didn’t do much except make the pain worse. I stepped up and kicked the smaller Boarfiend as if I were angling for a field goal, and its’ head snapped back with a squeal of pain. The larger one was less easily dissuaded, but I did a handstand over the top of it, dropping down on the other side just as a hail of quills struck it where I’d been standing a moment before. I turned the momentum into a brief sprint, lunging for the nearest tree that blazed like a torch, shoving my hands into it to steal the flame and use it for my own defense; an enormous horned shield condensed from the flames, and I charged toward the Quillfiend recklessly, shield held before me like a ward against evil. The quills that struck it made bits of sparks and heat spill out of the small punctures, but the flames rapidly consumed the projectiles. I closed with the creature as my shield dissipated, its’ limited strength spent absorbing two back to back volleys of quills. I pushed extra mental energy into a firebolt attack and skipped it like a stone, bouncing off the ground in front of the Quillbeast to strike its’ vulnerable stomach, ignoring the protective armor of quills that covered its’ back. Its’ squeal was short and agonized as it tumbled to the ground, leaving only the large Boarfiend standing out of the bunch; that didn’t remain the case for very long, not nearly quick enough to score a meaningful hit against me.

I hadn’t lost sight of the enormous forest leviathan in the distance, nor had I forgotten about the threat of the Greenwarden, or the looming concerns over Marcus, and the identity of the gorgeous Rogue, but for the first time since entering the Tutorial, I was having fun. Sure, it was challenging, and getting the quills out of my back of all places was harder work and much greater discomfort than I’d like to admit to, but I felt powerful. There was nothing that could stand in my way that I couldn’t overcome. Creativity and raw power were only two tools in my arsenal, but their combination was absolutely devastating. What I couldn’t simply block outright I could dodge, and what I couldn’t dodge I could shield against. I was fast enough to close with most foes, and strong enough to match or overpower them. I felt prepared in a way that I had never felt before. Especially not in the world before.

It was easy not to think about how things used to be, with no human reminders around to make me conscious of the time that had passed and the drastic way things had changed, to reflect on how incredible it was to use magic, coming from a world in which it didn’t exist at all!

I encountered the first signs of civilization not long afterward. I spotted the walls of what looked like a fort with a wooden palisade, before I saw a half-dozen people step into the clearing ahead of me. I slowed my stride, confusion and curiosity warring as I inspected the small hidden fort and its’ serious-looking defenders. I almost assumed they were part of the tutorial, until I realized that most of their gear was clearly the starting gear we’d been given, and the looks of uncertainty and fear on their faces didn’t fit with the zealous rage of the ‘enemy’ humans I’d encountered. A heavy mist spilled out from one of them, dulling the nearby flames and dousing their weakest edges. There was a heavyset black-haired warrior in light mail, a heavily-armored woman of indeterminate other appearance, a shorter man with thick-looking glasses and a crossbow, a man in a heavy ground-length jacket with a two-handed sword’s hilt reaching out over his shoulder, and the mist-summoner with a handful of tiny carven sticks, tipped with glowing gems. The last person was much more familiar to me, and she seemed as surprised to see me as the reverse.

“Hey, you can’t bring that fire to us,” the red-haired rogue told me firmly. “You’ll bring it here. Put them out, now, and hurry inside.”

The others looked ready to protest, but she quelled them with a glance. “No aggressive moves or we’ll put you in the ground, okay?” Her tone was both warning and conciliatory. “I appreciate your help before, but we’ve had a few… bad actors that took advantage of our hospitality. Once.” Her grim expression said the rest.

The wooden wall reached up about thirty feet, and I briefly found myself wondering if it was maybe someone’s Class ability that had helped them build things up so quickly and nicely. Even as I eyed the others moving toward the gate, though, I realized something quite abruptly. If they sheltered behind walls, then how did they grow stronger? My puzzlement must’ve been obvious to those surrounding me, and one of them gruffly chivvied me along with a sullen-sounding, “Come on, we need to go inside. Before the beasts come back.”