The unique and varied forest around me had been growing denser and even more wild as I stalked towards the huge bundle of mana I had sensed during the battle with the Silver Birch Ent. I hesitated as a more humid and semi-tropical nature began to take root but pressed on regardless. I kept a close eye for mana signatures in the trees. There were a few Ent lying in wait from where I fought the last one, which I avoided. It would be harder and harder to spot them as the waves of magic from within the forest increased.
The forest floor became swampy and the tangled vegetation ever more dense as I continued to approach the source of the mana. There was an almost physical pressure from it, whatever it was. “Sooo, how are you feeling?” Naea appeared from thin air, the traces of her invisibility were nearly impossible to see amongst the potent ambient mana. I spared her a glance before fixating on my still active Tracking skill.
“I’m feeling like you chose some specific things to help me with,” I answered in a whisper. Both Stealth and Tracking were obvious choices for anyone to learn in this new world, but they had been particularly helpful in my approach towards what I assumed was one of the Claimants named in my dungeon quest. One of the keys to my freedom, once I defeated it.
“Nuh uh,” Naea shook her head, looking over her shoulder theatrically and putting a finger to her lip. “I never helped. I just made your life hard in ways which ended up helpful.”
“Right,” I nodded like a conspirator. “Actually, I prefer that description anyway. I’m feeling pretty tense right now, if you must know. Can I help you somehow?”
“Ents aren’t very tasty, Grant. Could do with something with less fibre.” There was enough of a tone to Naea’s voice that I deactivated Tracking. My head cleared a little and the drive to chase my target lessened. That was… worrying. Being single-minded was obviously valuable but I felt the lack of control in my actions now I had the reins again. It was enough to make me shudder, despite the sticky heat in the air. Turning to the fairy, her worry was clear.
Naea wasn’t allowed to help me. Did that extend to advice? For some reason, I felt like just asking the question would cause a problem, which was answer enough. A tangible aura descended upon the small dry area where I had stopped my search. “What's going on?” I asked, not knowing what else to say.
“Nothing’s going on,” Naea answered before a look crossed her face and she guffawed. I asked what was so funny but she shook her head. “You wouldn’t get it, I’m afraid. Until you get it, you can’t get it, you get it?”
“You’re a weirdo.”
“You love it. I’m just saying that there’s a lot of stuff out there to fight with. Some things are a little too big to chew just yet, though. For me, of course.” Naea seemed to strain through the final words and gasped as she said them, an unseen pressure released. She implored me with her eyes and I decided to heed the implicit warning.
Go, fight some more frogs and level up some more before facing the Claimant.
“Oh for fu-” Naea began to swear but the world dimmed for a moment, my sight blocked by the tidal wave of mana which crashed over us, along with the splash of dirt and water which came immediately after. “Run! Or don’t!” Naea groaned in pain as she darted away, the glimmer of invisibility cloaking and hiding her. Leaving me with the Claimant.
I allowed the System’s analysis to spend my mana to find out its level while starting to do as Naea advised and tried to get away. I didn’t have high hopes, and the only got lower as twenty mana was drained just to find out the fucking things name and level.
Mini-Boss - Master Thorn - Level 20
Standing at a deceptive height of less than five feet, the ripples of its arrival still settling around itself. A leathery tail slapped the floor, its clawed toes burying into the dirt for purchase. Wrinkled skin and a heavy scattering of wiry, snow coloured hairs sprouted from its mostly bald body. A dirty brown robe covered some of its body but it was worn awkwardly, exposing some mammalian organs I’d rather have avoided seeing. The weapon in its hand, a simple looking staff, seemed to be the source of the vast amounts of energy being expelled in the area. Its face was that of a pointed and mutated ratman, and it twisted further in rage as its beady eyes focused on me.
“Ah fu-” Another explosion of force stole my words and breath as I was thrown to the floor. Damn, this thing was fast. A clawed grip grabbed at my shirt and tore into my chest. With leverage, It was probably quicker than it was strong but that hardly mattered when I was being thrown like a ragdoll. If anything, that made the situation more dangerous. Escape would be nearly impossible. I roared in defiance, throwing an attack at the hand that held my chest. My fist met nothing but the air I tumbled through as I was released in a casual toss.
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A part of my mind tried to accept the end and was resolutely crushed. I would fight. Mana gathered in every part of my body as I spent over five per second to increase my strength haphazardly. As I crashed into the hard forest floor below, I wasted no time feeling sorry for myself. I bounced to my feet and braced for the incoming impact. Except, the killing blow I expected didn’t land. Still amped up by my mana, I hastily located the enemy, and hesitated in confusion.
The ratman wasn’t chasing me down. It looked at me with pitch black beady eyes and the silence in the area was maddening. My muscles were as tense as they had ever been, ready to explode the moment this deadlock was broken. Master Thorn snorted, baring its two large front teeth in a lopsided smirk. Spinning the staff it hadn’t even bothered to hit me with a dismissive flourish, the Claimant turned away from me and began walking away.
Still waiting for the feint surely to come, I was frozen until the mini-boss had moved out of sight through the trees. The second vision of it was lost, I exploded away, Sprint blazing at full force. The skill drained my mana at a prodigious rate, and I was out of energy within fifteen seconds. Panting and terrified, I didn’t stop running until the familiar sight of Clive’s was in view. It was only once I was “safe” that I reckoned with the insult of what had just happened.
The derision in the eyes of the Claimant had said “you’re not worth my time.” I felt the dragon within sneer at my escape, and I pressed back, gaining a sharp pain in my eye for it. That spark flickered slightly as I thought of the dominating power which just ran me out of the forest. The Aspect of the Dragon caused me to feel the insult more keenly. The Aspect wasn’t some ancient dragon sleeping inside of myself, though. It was myself, filtered through the lens of a dragon’s perspective. Which is why poking the Aspect and telling it to shut up felt like being flicked, but I did it regardless.
I didn’t retaliate with mana, which I was still dry of, but a sort of mental energy. Lacking a better word for it, I called it Willpower. It wasn’t a measurable thing like mana, but it was tangible in that over-exertion caused a headache behind the bridge of my nose. My theory was that it had something to do with the way health worked.
I had taken injuries which could have been lethal only days before. The fact my body had recovered so quickly was a marvel but my survival was not just a numbers game of rising recovery rates and maximum health points. I had pulled through against the Attack Animal ambush with grit. I had broken Naea’s illusion with the force of my resolve. Sure, I had been lucky, but I hadn’t given up either. That was Willpower, and as long as I had a spark of it, I wouldn’t die. Even if my “health” dropped to zero.
Within reason, at least. I didn’t think for a second that I would survive having my brain caved in or my head ripped off, and there were plenty of other injuries I wasn’t looking to experience if I could avoid it. Slowly walking amongst the craters of my practice with Naea, I looked at my hands. They were shaking, and no matter what I tried I couldn’t clench a fist and find the strength there.
No, I shook my head. The draconic power inside of me might feel it was cowardly to let an insult go unanswered, but so what? I’m not a dragon. Insult or not, it was the right choice to run. Better to survive and get revenge later when I stood a chance, I felt, than get killed trying to recover some machismo I had never pretended to have in the first place. Grumpy, but determined, I sat down to Meditate.
Character Window
Name
Grant Kaeron
Race
Earth Human
Title
Dragon Slayer
Level
10
Health
11/55
Mana
04/70
I had intermittently used bursts of Sprint until I reached my sanctuary, but I was forced to take a break anyway to recover my health. Knowing I couldn’t calm my mind immediately, I opened my Attribute Window to assign the five points gained from my level up to ten. It was a good thing I had waited, because I would have likely placed the points into additional Command and Regeneration but that wouldn’t work.
I could have a million mana and two million per minute recovery and it wouldn’t matter if I couldn’t even keep up with the Claimant's speed. At twice my current level and with a clear focus on its physical stats, the thing had judged that I was so little threat I could be allowed to leave and gain strength for a better fight later. I would make sure it regretted the decision to let me live.
The next barrier in my way became clear.
Two points were placed in Dexterity and Perception, with the last in Agility. Whatever happened, I needed to be faster to deal with the speed of the enemy. By the time the physical changes had ceased making my body feel like a rubber doll, I had slipped into meditation and my recovery rates increased. It wasn’t long before my health and mana pools were completely full once more, but I didn’t break the calm right away. Instead, I let myself get lost in the movement of mana within my body.
I had noticed something interesting.