"How, exactly, do you plan on drawing out the king of the magihawks?" Dakota asks. "They aren't as numerous as the snakes or squirrels were, so killing a bunch over time doesn't seem as effective and I don't want to run around all day hunting them down. Didn't it take you and Todd hours to find the owl king?"

"And we were directed to his nest by another owl that seemed a little annoyed by the lullaby ones," I nod. "I don't think finding him would have been possible without help."

"That's not helping your case," he says, then looks at Lucas. "We're going to have to amputate it, aren't we?"

Lucas is still holding Dakota's arm despite the fact that he's finished using [Lesser Heal] to mend it. This isn't the first time it's happened and it seems Dakota decided to finally say something.

"What?" Lucas asks, then his face flushes red. "Um… no… you just have really nice muscles. Sorry."

Despite being caught feeling Dakota, Lucas hasn't let go of the martial artist's arm. I'm not sure if it's just embarrassment causing him to freeze and he's not aware of it, or if he's just not wanting to stop yet.

"You can touch the others if you want," Dakota tells him. "Just be careful of my nipples. They're sensitive."

Lucas's face reddens even more and he starts to look away, his hands starting to drop down to his sides. Dakota's not been much of one for dancing around the bush when it comes to what he wants, just like I no longer am. Every time Dakota's asked, Lucas has turned hesitant and shy, and I suspect it's for the same reason as Wyatt – though Dakota has a nice personally and looks fantastic, his muscle definition can be a little intimidating.

Apparently tired of this, Dakota grabs Lucas's right hand and pulls it to his abs, then lets go to leave the ball in Lucas's court. For just a moment, Lucas tenses up, then he relaxes and starts feeling Dakota's abs.

"Regarding the king of the magihawk owl," I say as Lucas gives up resisting his interest. Dakota shifts his position so that he can stand beside Lucas with an arm around him as the healer continues to lightly trace the warrior's abs. "I already know where his nest is. Fea apparently got into a scrap with him on his way back to Grandma a few days ago and is offering six pebbles for me to take him down. At least, that's what Grandma says, but she did give me a map that shows where Fea claims the nest is."

Dakota, Lucas, and Wyatt all stare at me, unable to figure out how to respond to that.

"Grandma also offered me a [Mystery Seed] since six pebbles is inadequate," I add. "Fea's apparently really upset. And before you ask… Fea's about as strong as I am for both Magic and Mind. Koda, you're the only one who might not be able to resist the king's [Stunning Sound] even with the potion. The effect doesn't stack. I did make some stronger ones, but that sacrifices duration. By a lot. You'll get less than a third of the time for only twice the power."

There wasn't much time to tweak the recipe to something more suitable, not if we wanted to head to the Dungeon tomorrow and take out the magihawk king before then.

"So I'd need to use those while it was casting," Dakota says.

"Yeah," I answer. "When considering the values involved, you'd probably be stunned for around twenty or thirty seconds if you used one of the longer-duration ones. With the casting speed the king will likely have, I wouldn't be able to interrupt it unless I was already nearly ready."

"You let me worry about that," Wyatt walks over to the wagon and climbs up into it. "I've got plenty of [Stoneburst Bomb]s. Soon as I see it start, I'll launch 'em."

"There's a chance you won't be fast enough," I tell him. "The royals do cast rather fast compared to the others. It should still take a couple of seconds, but you never know."

"You let me worry about that," Wyatt says. "Lucas, your [Thorn Shot] is pretty handy but probably won't do anything, not if it's able to survive attacks from Fea. Carter's probably the only one who can actually kill it with his own power."

"I-I'll handle healing," Lucas stops rubbing Dakota's abs as he speaks. "I-it'll probably get a few attacks in, s-so I'll manage that as n-needed."

"Might not be enough," I tell him. "It's too risky-"

"I figured out a n-new spell," he shakes his head. "[Aural Lesser Heal]."

"Aural?" I ask. "Wait – is that why you wanted me to show you the defensive spell that breezestep deer cast the other day? And Dakota his armors?"

Lucas didn't want us to complete the casts, he just wanted to see the spell circles. Since I didn't bother completing it once he finished examining it, I still don't know what it's actually called. I do know that it strained my casting ability, however, and that it cost a ridiculous amount of Mana. Neither of us bothered asking him why he wanted to see the spells and complied with each of the three times he asked.

"Y-yeah," Lucas blushes a little. "D-didn't want to reveal it u-until I'd boosted it m-more."

"That's pretty neat," I say. "If you need more mana potions, I have extras in my pack. Make sure you're stocked up. How efficient is it?"

"I don't know," he looks more relaxed now and has even returned to rubbing Dakota's abs. "But I think it's the same effect as [Lesser Heal]. It costs 350 Mana, lasts for ten seconds, and takes eighty seconds to cast at base. The radius is a tenth of my Magic."

"So about six feet?" I ask, and he nods.

"I used Skill Points to boost it up," he adds. "With what I had saved and just earned, it's Level 3. S-so it takes sixty-four seconds to cast, lasts for thirteen seconds, and the aura is eighteen feet. W-well, the casting time is a little less. I have Level 2 [Mana Manipulation]. So it also costs only 315 Mana."

While that range seems ridiculously good, it's only for a [Lesser Heal]. As long as the injury is light, the healing will work. Bigger injuries will need some potion and the power of our amulets to lighten enough for his spell to work. Receiving healing from his aura spell will still be beneficial even with larger injuries, as it healing any lighter ones will mean the amulets and potions will have their power focused more on the bigger ones, so those will end up healing faster.

"Alright," I say. "Koda-"

"How much EXP do you have left before Status Level 2?" He asks. "I can't imagine you didn't gain at least 2-3 Levels into [Elemental Mage] from the queen."

He must be thinking about the threshold bonuses.

"Oh!" Wyatt exclaims. "Yeah! Weren't you-"

"I'll take the hit," I interrupt. "Making this area safer is more important, and those minor bonuses aren't going to do much. Gaining 20 Mana compared to the hundreds I've gotten isn't really much, and it'll be hundreds more before I'd get that 20 Mana again."

"Every little bit helps," Dakota says. "You also have the highest Mind out of us. If it's still possible for you to get a Level 10 threshold bonus from [Mind Mage], you should do that for the fight. Focus on the sound aspect of [Stunning Sound] rather than the wind aspect."

"Take the potion and f-focus on disabling," Lucas nods. "B-but wait. Who would a-attack? C-Carter's the only one w-who can hurt it."

"Not all parts of it are that weak," Dakota says. "There's a plan that might actually make this fight easy for us."

"There is?" I ask.

"Yeah," he says. "Know how Strength doesn't equate weight and ability to stay standing when impacted? And how Constitution isn't set for the whole body?"

Those small nuances are why he was able to hold the stonefang snake queen down despite weighing less than her overall and her having some decent Strength as well. The part that he was holding wasn't strong enough to deal with the weight of his body and counter his own Strength being used against it.

"Of course."

"If Wyatt uses his potion bombs to obscure the bird's sight," he says. "And you drink one of those Mind-boosting potions and use [Stunning Sound] to disable the bird, then I can probably grab it and try to break its neck. The plan relies on the injuries it gives me in the struggle being less than what I give it – and enough that Lucas can heal me while his magic doesn't help it survive my attack."

That makes sense. The bird won't have a high Strength and it's not very heavy. If Dakota's able to just grab it and pin its wings together, then it won't be able to flee. While his Strength isn't enough to actually hurt the bird and its body is able to withstand his weight in terms of damage taken… he may still be able to twist its neck.

"If that fails," I start casting [Air Mastery] so that I can move the remains of the massive snake into the wagon. "I can still hit it with some [Stone Bullet]s. In fact, I'll get to work on that as soon as I finish stunning it, just in case. I only need 4 Levels for [Mind Mage] and still need 8 EXP. And as I said, I don't mind sacrificing that small boost. Missing it for one Level won't be the end of the world."

Wyatt jumps out of the wagon to avoid being in the way, and I make sure to coil the queen so that she's not crushing the packs. Even if we've only taken the crystals from the smaller snakes as we killed them, we're taking the whole queen.

"Lucas," Dakota says. "Based on what we've learned so far with the three royal beasts that Carter's faced, there's always something extra about them. Its claws probably won't be able to pierce my skin very much if at all, but its magic attacks while I'm pinning it will probably be extremely dangerous for me. Don't focus on those no matter how severe they are. Just focus on having [Aural Lesser Heal] active."

"Keep it active as long as you can, yeah," I look at Lucas, then at Dakota. "But I'm not planning on letting it be able to finish a spell. That's why I'll start casting [Stone Bullet]s immediately."

"Okay," he says.

"If our battle plan is ready," I say. "Let's see how flawlessly we can execute it. But maybe get some extra preparation? Just in case things go wrong."

Something tells me that they might.

We sort out grabbing additional mana potions and Wyatt returns to swapping some of his potion bombs, and we all grab the boosting potions and fix them onto our belts. Once we're all ready to go, Dakota grabs the wagon and I begin leading the way.

"If he's not at the nest," Dakota says as we walk. "Is there a plan to draw him out?"

"Yeah," I answer. "We're almost there. Let's get ready, everyone!"

Those of us still with shirts and hoodies on take them off in case of damage, storing them with our packs and the queen snake on the wagon. That's left behind as we continue forward, then I call for everyone to stop and get into positions. Lucas has start preparing his own spell as well and once he's comfortable with its progress, he calls for everyone to drink a [Mind Boost Potion]. As I drink mine, I begin to cast a [Stone Slice], aiming it into the branches.

The nest is hard to spot due to the canopy and how high up it is, but I think I can see it. With the growth that's been going on, there are trees over eighty feet in height now, the "primary" trees of the forest, as we're thinking of them. Three specific varieties, all magical in some way.

Their branches don't start until around fifty feetup, but there are shorter trees in here as well, obscuring the view of the taller ones a little more. It wouldn't surprise me if the two layers to the canopy start blending together in the next week or so. Fueled by the Mana in the soil, the forest is fairly dense and only continuing to grow.

There may be other nests I can't see here, but the one I've spotted is fairly large and sits in the branches of a tree with leaves streaked with grey and white. It's a tree variant that appeared over the last week or so and the trees are filled with wind magics.

A perfect nesting place for such a creature with wind magics.

As soon as my spell is ready, I fire off the [Stone Slice] and send it straight to the nest. It cuts only a little into the branch the nest is on – but straight through a significant portion of the nest itself. A second [Stone Slice] follows that, then a third. With these attacks, I manage to cut off one of the smaller nests while damaging the bigger one more and more.

The moment that smaller branch is broken, the nest begins to fall.

"Incoming!" Wyatt shouts.

I begin casting a spell, this one fully purplish-pink rather than the greyish-white of [Stunning Sound]. Wyatt didn't shout for no reason – the big daddy of magihawks is weaving its way through branches toward us, a spell circle quickly forming in front of its mouth.

The intent for this spell was to strip away the sound effect and directly assault the bird's mind in case the dual aspect of [Stunning Sound] weakened it. However, it ends up taking longer than I expected to cast and I nearly cancel the spell to switch over to the other one. This one also costs a significant amount more, but I get the feeling that all of that means it'll be far more effective than I expected.

Wyatt manages to distract the bird with a potion bomb I didn't know he have, creating thick clouds of dust to obscure the bird's vision. I can barely make out the bird's form, but it looks like it slams into a couple of trees as it escapes.

"Where's that [Stunning Sound]?" Wyatt calls out.

"Trying new magic in a boss fight isn't good!" Dakota shouts to me.

A [Stunning Sound] fills the air from the magichawk, clearly pissed that Wyatt's managed to prevent it from seeing where it's going and where it's targets are. The sound seems to be more than directed in one direction, probably somehow [Multicast] into several directions.

You have learned [Stun].

The magichawk king's attack abruptly ends.

The moment the spell itself activates, I can actually feel the magichawk's mind. [Stun] is a pure mind spell that directly targets the opponent's mind rather than being carried to it by a sound. A mind-to-mind attack, and that requires a connection between our minds… one that I find I can hold.

However, I can also feel the bird attempting to wrestle its mind out of my hold. Whatever the duration of this spell is, it can be shortened by the bird's own efforts. As long as my own Mind is stronger, however, I should be able to maintain the hold until the end of the spell's duration.

This is definitely a step-up from [Stunning Mind], since I can't fight against the target's own mind with mine, meaning I can now prevent it from shaking off the effect.

"Koda!" I shout.

A form moves through the dust cloud as I shout and a moment after my spell ends and my grip on the bird's mind breaks, there's a startled squawk. Good. Dakota got him.

"Lucas!" Dakota shouts as he dashes out of the dust cloud.

"I'm here!" Lucas says as I move into a closer position.

There's a faint golden glow on Lucas'sskin, while the air around him has its own sort of light filling it, one which doesn't seem to originate from the golden-white spell circle at Lucas's feet. That light is visibly mending the lesser scratches that Dakota already has. A few deeper cuts are visible on Dakota's stomach, but they don't seem bad enough for him to worry about. The bird is struggling against him but isn't strong enough to break free of his grip and as long as Dakota grits his teeth through the pain, he shouldn't let go.

Though it seems that breaking the bird's neck is a problem. It's probably too resilient for Dakota's lesser Strength to work again, but that's not the issue. With how large the bird is, Dakota has to use both arms just to pin it against his body and it's managed to cut his right arm and shoulder with its beak.

"Sorry, Dakota!" Wyatt shouts a moment before a glass bottle explodes against the side of the martial artist's head.

When the bottle shatters, a pinkish-purple cloud blasts out. The spell circle Lucas has dims for a moment, then its faint light surges back to normal. In the moment it started to fade, so did the light that Lucas was emitting.

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Thanks to the cloud mist, I'm able to hit the bird with greater aim. Both it and Dakota are stunned by the cloud of mind magic, unable to move. Blood splatters out of the bird's head with each [Stone Bullet] I shoot, and Wyatt tosses another of those potion bombs when the cloud of magic begins to dissipate. Unlike the first one, this one shatters against the ground instead of Dakota's head.

Lucas's spell ends and he takes a few steps back, aware that the bird is almost dead and his magic won't do much more for Dakota until the bigger injuries have healed more.

This damn bird has a decent Constitution, but I'm able to strike it in the same spot enough to pierce through its skull and obliterate its brain.

You are now a Level 22/50 [Elemental Mage]. +20 Mana +0.006 Mana Regen +2 Magic +2 Mind +2 Skill Points +2 Attribute Points You have gained 2 EXP.

You are now a Level 8/50 [Mind Mage]. +20 Mana +0.006 Mana Regen +2 Magic +2 Mind +2 Skill Points +2 Attribute Points You have gained 2 EXP.

You have completed a Quest! [Quest Type]: Slay [Requirement]: Slay the Magihawk King [Reward]: 9,500 syscre, 5 [Mana Crystals]; 2 [Mind Maginiite]; 1 [Basics Pack]; 1 [Hunter's Pack]; 5 [Health and Healing Pack]s; 1 [Mind Alchemy Kit] The king of the magihawks is a powerful foe, much stronger than his subjects. Resilient to harm, with powerful magics and a decent Mind, taking him on is not for the weak of body, magic, or mind. Those who overcome his power and take him out, however, will find their area spawning fewer magichawks.

"Was it really necessary to start casting a spell you haven't before?" Dakota asks as he stands and carries the magihawk to the wagon. "We probably could have finished the fight sooner if you'd done [Stunning Sound]."

"I almost canceled that one and switched," I say. "But when I realized the longer casting time and Mana cost, I realized it'd be superior. And it was. While it was active, I could actively fight against his efforts to free himself. With [Stunning Sound], I'd be stuck with shouting through the spell if I wanted to try and it take that one out. The short bursts from the snaps wouldn't affect it very much."

"Seriously?" Wyatt asks. "You could battle his mind?"

"Yeah," I answer. "It's not as exciting as it sounds, though, and I've already used my earned Skill Points to boost its Level. Looks like it has a maximum duration of five seconds at the base, and the king wasn't able to break free in that time."

"Alright," Dakota says as he reaches the wagon and sets the magihawk king in it. "I guess I'll forgive it. Sucks I only got one Class Level, though."

Even though the Class is [Martial Artist], it seems to include any fighting that involves his body, even if it's not actually martial arts. So holding the king of the magihawks counted for the Class even though it was just holding it.

"Yeah," I start casting [Stunning Sound] as Dakota sets the magihawk in there. "But… you're going to get a chance to get some. Drink some healing potion pronto. Wyatt, hurry and restock your bombs. I'll try to hold it off."

"Hold what off?" Wyatt asks.

"Oh, shit!" Dakota exclaims when he sees what I've spotted. "Lucas!"

Dakota grabs Lucas and pulls him away from the path of our attacker: a breezestep deer with shoulders that are higher than my head. The beast was angled towards Lucas, having figured out our healer without me noticing it watching us. I only even noticed it because of it casting its armor spell, which it finished before I could react.

In fact, I only even noticed the casting because it stepped into view as the spell circle move downward to cover the deer's body. It must have moved for a more clear line of dashing as it's about eighty feet away from us. The undergrowth must not be an issue for it, either, since it's in position for an [Air Jet]-enhanced charge.

The deer king's spell completes a moment before mine and it practically soars toward where Lucas had been. The sheer speed of its movement rips apart any undergrowth in its path, and those small impacts don't seem to do anything to it.

"KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

I hold the [Stunning Sound] as long as it will last. Though I suspect the spell isn't affecting the deer's mind that well, the amplified force of the sound gives the monster added resistance, slowing its path forward. That's enough that it doesn't reach where Lucas had been before its [Air Jet] ends, and the beast tries to take a few more steps forward, then glares at me.

"That's right!" I say. "Eyes on me!"

"You're not a tank!" Dakota shouts as I start casting [Stun]. "And that takes too long!"

Apparently deciding not to charge at me, the deer king begins casting six [Air Blast]s from its antlers.

"Shut up and heal!" Wyatt responds at the same time.

Before the blasts can finish forming, a glass bottle shatters against the deer's antlers and tiny shards of stone burst out in all directions, ripping through the spell circles and scraping the deer's skin.

"Casting time?" Wyatt asks as the deer turns its head to him and starts casting six [Air Blast]s again.

"Twenty-four," I respond as he lobs another [Stoneburst Bomb] at it, timed just right to disrupt the casting at the last moment. "Koda be ready!"

Wyatt jumps off of the wagon and bolts the moment the deer starts casting at him again, deftly jumping over some exposed roots and thicker undergrowth. The deer moves its head to try and track him, but it looks like it can't cast six [Air Blast]s at once and change their path that easily. That seems to be a trait monsters share in common, even if we people can cast and move at the same time.

Once my spells are cast, that's another story, but the actual casting itself is more flexible for the location. Another thing I notice is that the deer's casting slows a little as it moves. I'm not affected by that, either. Maybe an added cost due to it not just multicasting but effectively simulcasting, since it does have another spell active even if the actual casting part is over?

Or it's a trap that the breezestep deer king is attempting to set.

After running for a couple of seconds, Wyatt dashes behind a thicker tree.

Letting out an angry huff, the deer king finishes aiming toward him and fires off its blasts, all six of them slamming into the tree and breaking off some of its bark. It might be stronger than Wyatt is, but it's not stronger than the trees.

"That was lame!" Wyatt laughs as he steps out from behind the tree. "And mean! What'd the tree do to-whoop!"

The deer king began casting six [Air Blasts] again as he spoke. Wyatt lobs a [Stoneburst Bomb] at it and dashes. With the slow movement of the monster's head, Wyatt doesn't need to worry about being unpredictable, just making sure he's behind a tree if he stops moving. When Wyatt finally does stop for more than a few seconds, the deer king huffs and shoots its [Air Blast]s at the tree he's hiding behind.

After playing game of Wyatt's for a third time, the deer king lets out an annoyed huff and begins casting its [Air Jet] spell at its hooves. This one, I'm fairly certain it can re-aim more easily. Nothing's really told me that besides my gut, but it's something I'm confident with.

"Yo," Dakota steps out from behind the thick tree that Wyatt had stepped behind, the wounds on his stomach mostly healed and his fists and forearms coated in [Stone Armor]. "Why don't you tango with me?"

Deciding to go with this target, the breezestep deer king charges forward, soaring towards Dakota. It's halfway to him when I activate [Stun] and while it doesn't fully stun the beast, it does make him slow some. I can feel it fighting against my mental magic but I remain firm. Even if I can't stop its charge, I can slow its movements.

Dakota takes advantage of that, charging forward to grab the deer's antlers. Slices begin to form on his stone gauntlets, arms, face, and chest from the deer king's armor spell. If it's like Dakota's armor spells, then it'll last until the end of its duration or until the blades are broken.

"Koda!" I shout.

"Don't worry about me!" He shouts back. "Just break its mind so I can do this!"

My [Stun] ends and the deer starts pushing Dakota back. He responds by trying to walk forward, resisting the monster's movements. That slows the deer back down, but it's only a matter of time before the beast starts casting [Air Blast] again, I'm sure. Dakota won't be able to tank the attack from that close. He's lucky the beast's armor spell isn't doing its full damage to him – I'm more than certain it could cut his arms off with a single slice or two.

Since [Stun] has such a long casting time, I switch to just casting [Mind Mastery]. The spell circle takes longer than the other mastery magics to form, but it's still faster than the actual mind magics I know. The added Mana cost over casting the spells directly is a sacrifice I'll make for speed.

Upon completion of the spell circle, I use it to reach out with my mind, feeling for the minds of all around me. This is the first time I've ever used the spell and I'm nearly overwhelmed by all of the minds I can feel. Not just the minds of Dakota, Wyatt, and Lucas (who is deep into a casting of his own from behind a tree), but the minds of the animals and monsters as well. Most of them are small and insignificant, making it easy to identify the deer king's mind.

A mind which I dive straight into just in time to interrupt the start of it casting of six more [Air Blast]s. The deer jerks its head and throws Dakota to the side as it attempts to resist my mind. Dakota lands in a tumble that ends with him in a crouch, so it looks like his injuries aren't that bad.

I'm not really sure of what I'm doing so I just try to replicate [Stun] without the spell circle itself. I can do that with the other magics and their related mastery spells, so I should be able to do that with this.

When I cast the spell both of the previous times, [Stun] put a sort of hold on the target's ability to communicate with its body. The attack didn't make the body go slack, so there's probably stuff I don't know or understand about the spell, but it's enough for me. Magic doesn't require science or an understanding of how it works in order to work, it just needs the knowledge of the spell circle being used and the ability to weave it.

I can feel the deer's movements becoming more sluggish as it wrestles with my mind.

However, it's not able to resist it all that well, possibly because this isn't a proper spell that I've cast but raw manipulation of mental energies. I'm not going to pretend to understand it, however, as it isn't important for this fight.

He turns to face me, head jerking a little every few moments as he attempts to push my mind out of his.

I open up a bottle and down some potion, feeling my Mana recovering. That's not intended as a taunt, I just need more Mana because this is expensive as fuck. Based on what I can feel in the deer king's mind, however, it's viewing it as a taunt.

Six spell circles begin to form in front of the deer's antlers, though their formation speed is less than half of what it was before. Someone needs to do something fast, before I can't maintain my focus on this casting anymore. Sustaining this attempt at gripping its mind purely with my own is starting to give me a headache and I'm not sure how much longer I can maintain it.

"Ha-ha!" Wyatt shouts as a bottle flies from out of my view, slamming into the deer's head and sending shards of stone ripping through the spell circles and scratching the beast.

I noticed him moving while Dakota was handling the deer, though couldn't see what he was doing.

"Wrong one!" Another bottle slams into the deer, a pinkish-purple cloud filling the air around it.

Immediately, I can feel the deer's mind slacken, unable to resist both mental attacks at once. I take advantage of that to push my stunning efforts further and the deer stops moving entirely.

Yes!

Dakota runs back toward the deer and grabs its antlers again, pulling its head down while the deer is momentarily unable to move. More slices form on him, though it looks like his gauntlets are repaired. Did he use [Earth Mastery] to do that? He must have also used his other [Mind Boost Potion] so that he could make it through Wyatt's cloud, though it must still be affecting him even as it dissipates some from the air blades cutting through it.

The moment Dakota has the deer's head pinned to the ground, another pair of spell circles form by him, one behind his back and one above his head. His [Stone Armor] spell. Since he doesn't need to maintain the spell for his gauntlets, he must have decided it's better to protect more of himself after taking those attacks.

I don't think those will be fast enough to reduce the damage if the deer casts more [Wind Blast]s, and I can feel it starting to break free of my mind grip as the cloud continues to dissipate. This might be a magic style I need a lot more practice with.

Lucas steps out from behind the tree he was hiding behind, both hands aimed toward the deer. He's finally managed [Multicasting], a spell circle in front of each hand.

Four brownish-green spell circles form around the deer and vines quickly rise up out of the ground and wrap around its body, pulling the beast the rest of the way to the ground. Small slices form on the vines, much more shallow than the ones on Dakota's gauntlets. The damage is significantly less on any vine that's directly against the deer's skin, it seems.

Its blades of compressed air don't get too close to its body, maybe an inch at the closest. That should hold the deer down, especially since Lucas probably isn't too much weaker than the monster's Strength and having four vines wrapped around it in multiple spots adds extra strength to the binds.

"Hey, Carter?" Wyatt asks, having moved back to the wagon, probably to resupply. "I'm out of the stronger [Stoneburst Bomb] I brought. Think the [Windburst Bomb]s will be ineffective? Or should I swap to the [Waveburst Bomb]s?"

"You're not doing that with Koda there," I say as I lose hold over my spell. "Dammit!"

"Sorry!"

"Not your fault," I say. "I was already close. At least they got the binding down. Give me a few seconds to recover…"

The headache is pretty nasty, but the amulet was working against it even while it was being caused. Now that the source of the headache is gone, the amulet's power works to lighten it more quickly.

As I move to a better position and let my mind recover, Lucas switches to [Plant Mastery] so that he can mend the vines as they tear as he controls them to try and keep the deer down. Dakota's spell casting completes and the circles shift, the one behind him moving forward, covering his torso in stone armor (his upper arms are still exposed) and the other descended, creating a helmet with its only openings at the face being for his eyes, nose, and mouth.

That's just in time, too, as the deer began casting [Air Blast]s, which slam into his armor. Where the blasts strike, stone breaks off. Dakota lets out a gasp from the impact and it looks like the attacks broke his skin. He tumbles back a little, landing on his ass as the deer begins casting more of its [Air Blast]s.

A glass bottle shatters against its head, a high-pressure blast of water tearing through the spell circles with enough force to break them despite not being the opposite element. Wyatt's attack damages the vines very lightly and still only scratches the monster's skin, though not as severely as the stone version does. They also send Dakota flying back a few feet, adding some more wounds to the warrior's body.

I thought I told him not to do that…

The interruption to its attack doesn't deter the beast, which continues to struggle against the repairing vines. Another six [Air Blast] spell circles begin to form in front of its antlers, though those all break when a [Stone Slice] cuts into the beast's neck. It cuts deeply, but doesn't kill the beast. The next one, however, breaks the first and cuts a little bit more deeply.

Defeating a royal beast is not an accomplishment for those weak of power or ability, a feat which only the strong and talented can perform. Those who can slay them ensure the safety of the areas they're in, and for slaying three royal monsters within 24 hours, you have received the [Slayer of the Royal Monsters] Perk.

You are now a Level 10/50 [Mind Mage] +20 Mana +0.006 Mana Regen +2 Magic +2 Mind +2 Skill Points +2 Attribute Points You have gained 2 EXP.

You have reached a milestone in [Mind Mage]. +10 Aura +10 Mana +0.0001 Aura Regen +0.001 Mana Regen

You have reached a milestone in [Mind Mage]. A bonus has been added to when you gain Status Levels from now on. +10 Aura +20 Mana +0.0001 Aura Regen +0.004 Mana Regen +1 Magic +1 Mind

You are now a Level 12/50 [Mind Mage] +20 Mana +0.006 Mana Regen +2 Magic +2 Mind +2 Skill Points +2 Attribute Points You have gained 2 EXP.

You have reached Status Level 2. +410 Aura +470 Mana +0.0076 Aura Regen +0.094 Mana Regen +25 Strength +35 Constitution +15 Agility +15 Dexterity +31 Magic +21 Mind +35 Vitality +35 Soul

You are now a Level 13/50 [Mind Mage] +10 Mana +0.003 Mana Regen +1 Magic +1 Mind +1 Skill Point +1 Attribute Point You have gained 1 EXP.

You are now a Level 23/50 [Elemental Mage] +10 Mana +0.003 Mana Regen +1 Magic +1 Mind +1 Skill Point +1 Attribute Point You have gained 1 EXP.

You have completed a Quest! [Quest Type]: Slay [Requirement]: Slay the Breezestep Deer King [Reward]: 15,000 syscre, 5 [Mana Crystals]; 5 [Air Maginiite]; 5 [Mana Crystal]s; 1 [Basics Pack]; 1 [Simple Living Pack]; 1 [Hunter's Pack]; 5 [Health and Healing Pack]s; 1 [Air Alchemy Kit] The king of the breezestep deer is a powerful foe, much stronger than his subjects. With a resilient hide, strong muscles, powerful magics, and a resilient mind, taking him on is not for the weak or unprepared. Those who overcome his might, however, will find their area spawning fewer breezestep deer.

"Anything else wanna come fuck with us?" I shout without bothering to look at the messages. "I can promise you'll die even faster than the deer did!"

Dakota, Lucas, and Wyatt all wait with me and after thirty seconds… there's nothing that attempts to attack us.

"Good," I say. "Lucas, let's maybe start force-feeding Koda some potions and [Lesser Heal]s. He should've begun that first part the moment the notices popped up."