"You just had to interrupt me as I was getting to the good part," Meera grumbled as she stood.
"What was that, dearie?"
"I have a name, you know," Meera snapped. "Stop talking like a grandma."
The witch chuckled. "You're wrong on that front. I'd be more like your great-grandma. After all, I'm over a hundred years old."
"Then why hasn't your wrinkly ass died yet?"
"Now, that's no way to talk to your great-grandma," the Saint said, sniffing a flower that looked suspiciously like a sunflower but with white petals.
Meera groaned. "Which way is the exit?"
"Follow me, dearie," Kalrina mused.
Meera walked off with the witch, leaving the senile Saint behind to sniff his flowers. He didn't even bother giving them a look, content with letting the world's affairs pass him by. Through the foliage, Meera got a peak of Mirithia, which was still visible, though very light in the sunlight. A question arose in Meera's mind.
"Eryx, what is Aetheron?"
"A friend."
"Do you mean he's your friend, or he was?"
"And I've told you."
"No, I meant, is he a dragon or a man, or is he really those rings around Mirithia? What is he?"
"He's all those things."
"Wait, what?"
Eryx replied by moving on to the next flower bush, sniffing it, and sighing contentedly.
Kalrina placed a hand on Meera's shoulder. "Leave it, love. Getting a straight answer out of him is an exercise in frustration."
Meera sighed and motioned Kalrina to continue. They moved from one lovingly planted patch of flowers to another. At first glance, it looked like he planted them wherever he wished, but as Meera walked, she realized the flowers were planted in the perfect spot for sunlight to wash over them through the foliage above. This way, they would have the highest chances to grow and flourish.
They had reached the edge of the glade, as the boundary was nothing but unkempt bushes, similar to the ones Meera had seen when they arrived. Kalrina walked straight towards this one tree, and Meera figured that this was the tree they had to walk through, not the one she broke her neck against.
"Do bring me flowers when you visit next," Eryx said as he appeared out of thin air, holding a veritable bouquet. He held the bouquet out towards Meera, grinning wide, showing his yellow, rotted tooth.
Meera took the flowers. "Thanks. Yes, I'll be sure to."
Kalrina smiled and bowed deep to the Saint. "Thank you for entertaining us."
"And you, me."
Meera and Kalrina turned, walked through the door, and left the Cosmarian's beautiful glade.
----------------------------------------
*ding!*
[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill Acidic Touch. Acidic Touch – Type: Passive. You can imbue your physical attacks with poisonous magic, causing corrosive damage over time to your enemies. Would you like to acquire this skill?]
*ding!*
[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill Blighted Land. Blighted Land – Type: Active. You can corrupt the ground beneath your enemies' feet up to several meters wide with a poisonous substance, causing them harm as long as they remain within the affected area. Would you like to acquire this skill?]
Meera thought about the two, and they were both good, but she didn't have Poison or Acid Affinity. Plus, she wasn't much of a close-range fighter anymore, so that ruled out Acidic Touch, and Blighted Ground could easily be countered by someone moving out of the poisoned area. She was somewhat surprised that a sorceress at Aksha's level even had that skill.
Or is it one of her clones? Do they have different skills than her? Meera shook her head. No, that didn't make sense.
She ignored both the skills and moved on.
*ding!*
[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill Corrupting Hex. Corrupting Hex – Type: Passive. At the cost of a third of your Mana, you can place a curse on a target, causing them to suffer from poisoning whenever they attempt to cast spells or use Focus-based skills. Would you like to acquire this skill?]
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
*ding!*
[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill Poison Wave. Poison Wave – Type: Active. You can unleash a wave of pure poison that engulfs all in its path, causing widespread damage and affliction. Would you like to acquire this skill?]
Meera stared at the first skill—Corrupting Hex. Her next destination was the dragon keep, the home of the sorceresses. She had a strong feeling she would have to fight her way through that place, especially if they were all like Aksha and relied heavily on magical skills.
Even the dragon had used a couple of Focus based skills, and mostly all her opponents. She could pair this up with Death Mark and let her enemies kill themselves as she jumped around the battlefield. Death Mark increased the damage. With Corrupting Hex, the damage would be amplified, and she would have to do nothing. Though, it would cost her a hefty chunk of Mana.
After some thinking, she decided to take Corrupting Hex and gave up Petrifying Surge. Petrifying Surge's only effect was to hold her foes in place while she escaped or set up her next attack. It was good, but Corrupting Hex was better.
*ding!*
[You have acquired the skill Corrupting Hex – Level 1]
*ding!*
[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill Venomous Thorns. Venomous Thorns – Type: Passive. You can summon a field of thorny vines imbued with poisonous spores, trapping and poisoning enemies who venture too close. Would you like to acquire this skill?]
*ding!*
[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill Life Surge. Life Surge – Type: Active. You can channel the power of rebirth to temporarily boost the physical and magical prowess of allies, enhancing their combat abilities. Would you like to acquire this skill?]
She raised an eyebrow at the second one. It would be great if she could do that to herself, but as far as allies went, she hardly fought with anyone, and she would never make the mistake of considering the witch an ally. As far as Meera was concerned, their alliance had ended. She moved on from these two skills.
The next one was Blighted Land again, which Meera had already seen, but the second one was quite interesting.
*ding!*
[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill Weave of Breath. Weave of Breath – Type: Active. You can manipulate the threads of life to mend your injuries, regrow limbs, and even reverse the effects of aging. Would you like to acquire this skill?]
Meera was tempted to take it—really tempted. But her Vitalize skill could regrow limbs, and it was at level 125. She would be losing all its levels so she could remain young. But since she didn't plan on spending much time in these worlds, that part of the skill would be useless. She skipped the two skills and moved on.
*ding!*
[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill Serpant's Embrace. Serpant's Embrace – Type: Active. You can summon a spectral serpent made of poison to coil around your enemies, draining their life force and enriching yours. Would you like to acquire this skill?]
*ding!*
[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill Poison Crafting. Poison Crafting - Type: Passive. You can create various toxic substances, poisons, and venomous concoctions for use in combat, sabotage, or other strategic purposes. Would you like to acquire this skill?]
Serpant's Embrace sounded a lot like her Nightstalker Bindings, so it would be wasteful to have two skills that essentially did the same thing. Poison Crafting could be good, but she didn't want to give up any of her skills for it.
With that, she was done. In total, she had killed two of Aksha's daughters, but she had cut three more, which ended up giving her so many skills. Now, she had an idea of the sorceress's skills and how to counter them when the hunter finally caught up with them. Meera couldn't help but grin at the prospect of using her new skill on the sorceress, giving her a little taste of her own medicine.
"Were you checking your notifications?" Kalrina asked, shaking Meera out of her thoughts.
"I was. Just finished checking them because you rudely interrupted me back in the glade."
Kalrina smirked. "You must've earned a sweet new skill with how you were grinning."
For a moment, Meera thought the witch knew of her class ability, but she would die before she told her about it. "No, I was planning on how to kill you with excruciating pain."
The witch chuckled. "I'm sure it will be lovely."
Saying the words excruciating pain reminded her of Narikas. She hoped the new king of Azeria was doing well for himself and his reign was changing the reputation of his kingdom. She wondered how different things would've been with him at her side aside from this self-serving witch.
I'm sure he has found himself a woman by now. After all, he is a king. All sorts of princesses must've lined up to be the next queen of Azeria.
She couldn't help but feel a little sad at that thought. She shook her head, stopped thinking about such things, and focused on the road.
They were on the road to the dragon keep. She was one part excited to see the corpse of a petrified archdragon that could house the entire cabal of sorceresses. She had seen Tigris up close, and he was massive. She wondered how big could an archdragon be.
Kalrina pulled the reins of her horse, which was made of mirrors, to the right, and Meera followed. They had been lucky to have slipped Aksha's grip when they exited the glade. Either she was recovering from the beating they had given her, or she did not want to come anywhere close to the glade. It didn't matter as the sun had dipped low, and the sky had darkened.
Onyx followed behind Kalrina quietly. He had grumbled when he learned they would be traveling with the witch some more. He practically begged Meera to bite her nose off. It was tough to resist saying no.
"We're almost there. We should go on foot from now," Kalrina said, dispelling her horse.
"See you later, Onyx."
"Bye." He gave one last hateful look toward Kalrina before vanishing, and his tattoo returned to Meera's hand.
They walked quietly through the forest. There weren't many shrubs or thorny bushes, which made walking easy. So, it gave Meera pause that the witch was quiet. Usually, she would've been trying her best to get her throat sliced by Meera.
"You're awfully—"
"Shh!" Kalrina shushed her. "We're very close now. There will be guards patrolling and traps everywhere. From now on, step only where I step."
"Okay," Meera whispered.
She stalked after the witch as quietly as possible, but they had gone only a few feet when something shimmered on one of the tree branches above.
"Aw, look who's finally decided to come home," said a woman who was literally shimmering, sitting on the tree branch.
Kalrina sighed. "I'm surprised you even let me get this close, Arvena."
[Sorceress of Mirages – Level 457]
The sorceress wore dark leather pants and a loose white blouse showing plenty of cleavage. She was pretty, but the bright green hair worked strongly against her looks. There was something oddly familiar about her face, but Meera couldn't quite place it.
Kalrina leaned against Meera and whispered. "Do not comment on the hair."
"Dull or bright?" Arvena asked.
"When have I ever picked anything dull, friend," Kalrina turned and smiled at Meera. "Get ready to fight, dearie, and don't even think of holding back."
"Again?"