Zalia awoke what felt like minutes later sitting up sharply with a gasp, throwing Boreal off the bed accidentally with the movement. Her heartbeat slowed as the nightmares of demonic monsters faded from her mind. She held one hand to her chest as her breathing calmed, smiling apologetically at Boreal who was laying on the floor looking a little dazed.
“Sorry,” she murmured.
She rolled her right shoulder, feeling an ache deep in the bone. Swinging her legs out of the bed, she picked up Boreal from where she lay and put her gently back into the spot of warmth she had left behind. She climbed down the little ladder leading up to their bedroom and dropped the last length to the floor. She heard a plop and turned to see a small disturbance in the water of the pool.
“Hanging out again, were you?” Zalia thought.
She would have to make a plan to befriend that frog at some point but for now she had a little bit of experimentation she wanted to do. Her Herbal magic ability allowed her to intuitively use any Iron and Tin rank herbs in rituals at this level. She hadn’t been diligent in experimenting with each available combination so wanted to try see what she could find now.
Her Tin and Iron rank herbs were Snow-leaf, Bitterbalm, Dodge-vine, Manifest and Zephyr. She decided to go through the list with each. She knew that each ritual she had used so far tended to have a main component and a modifying component, for dual ingredient rituals at least. Using three or four ingredients was an entirely different matter but she could experiment with that later.
With Snow-leaf as a base for the ritual, she knew how it interacted with manifest to create ice but hadn’t really tested it out with much else. Focusing on the other Tin and Iron rank herbs she felt that using Bitterbalm as a modifier would alter the element made by Snow-leaf to lava. When used as a modifier to rituals Bitterbalm tended to reverse effects, something she had used to good effect many times. Using Dodge-vine as a modifier would put an effect on her that slowed attacks coming her way and finally mixing it with Zephyr would create a localised ambient temperature drop. She could innately tell what they would do if she actually focused on it and chided herself for not doing so earlier.
She herself had spoken many times about how versatile and useful an ability Herbal magic was yet hadn’t put in any time to study possible effects. So, she sat and consciously thought about each combination, trying to remember all the possibilities. This was something she should probably add to her daily routine and what time was better to start than the present.
After she spent about half an hour thinking about her possible combinations and trying to push her ability to design new ones, she started her usual routine. Boreal finally got up and joined her as she began running around the cave in circles. Usually she would do the run outside but didn't feel too confident going back out there just yet. She had a few skills she should be able to level up here with relative ease.
After her routine was done, she checked over her messages.
Congratulations! Herbal magic has reached Iron 15.
Congratulations! Mobility has reached Iron 18.
Congratulations! Weapon proficiency - Sword has reached Iron 9.
“Slow and steady progress,” Zalia thought.
She was looking at her Survivalist ability. When that finally reached Iron twenty and tip over to Bronze, not only would it gain a new ability but four passives would level at the same time. The possibilities for what she could gain from not one but five different abilities reaching Bronze were too good to ignore. Thinking about what had helped level Survivalist in the past, Zalia looked over to the pool in the room.
Usually, it levelled quicker from moments of danger as well as surviving generally. Surviving her time here in Cormaine had levelled it quicker than anything she could think of back in Endaria. Preparing to do something stupid, Zalia took a deep breath and calmed her mind. Then, she stepped forwards and dropped straight down into the pool.
She sank quickly as bubbles rose around her. She could see the roots that were beginning to sink down into the water from the water lilies above. Looking down she could see nothing but darkness as she sank a little farther. Not knowing how deep the pool was, she was surprised when she very quickly hit the bottom with a muted thump. She was surprised she sank so easily while holding her breath at all, usually she should have floated.
Wondering where the frog could have gone, she felt around her until she found one of the walls wasn't a wall at all but a passage. She started walking into it, feeling her way forwards until she saw a light ahead. Despite being underwater she almost gasped as she saw an entire ecosystem appear before her. As the light became clearer, she saw a beautiful underwater scene lit in shades of blue and purple. The light was coming from many strange glowing creatures she could most closely call jellyfish. There were many gently floating through the long flowing tendrils of a plant growing from the floor beneath.
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She noticed that some of the jellyfish had small objects in them and looking closer, realised they were the frogs. It seemed like they lived in a type of symbiotic relationship beneath the caves of Cormaine. She was awed and joyous to find such a calm and beautiful piece of nature hiding in the depths of such a place as this. Down here, the aura of corruption was so weak she could barely feel it. She heard a notification pop up but ignored it, mentally pushing it away as she watched for a little longer. Soon though, she had to return to the surface as she felt her breath running out. Reluctantly turning back, she swam back up the tunnel and burst into the open air of her cave home. She pulled herself out of the water and sat dripping on the floor. She started using her cold manipulation to freeze the water before willing it to flow away as ice. As she did, she read the message that had popped up into her view.
Congratulations! Survivalist and associated skills have reached Iron 20.
Congratulations! Survivalist and associated skills have reached Bronze 1.
Survivalist and associated skills wont gain further levels until all classes reach Bronze 1.
Survivalist - passive - body enhancement
Tin - The body of a hunter shall not fail easily. Gain the heat resistance and cold resistance passive skills. They level alongside this ability. You are able to survive with less nutrition.
Iron - Gain the stealth and trapper passive skills. These also level alongside this ability. You require less sleep.
Bronze - Gain the Physical resistance and Mental resistance passive skills. They level alongside this ability. You are able to survive with less air.
Stealth - passive
Tin - Normal vision and sight based skills and abilities have a harder time seeing you.
Iron - Other senses are also inhibited and you blend with your surroundings.
Bronze - When still, you become invisible to the eye, only becoming visible again when you move. Certain perception types can see through this.
Trapper - passive
Tin - Your traps are magically hidden from sight.
Iron - Your traps are magically enhanced.
Bronze - You are able to magically fabricate basic traps you have been able to make before in an instant without materials. You are limited in how often this ability may be used.
Heat resistance - passive
Tin - You take reduced damage from high temperatures and heat related magics.
Iron - You may manipulate fire and heat to a minor degree.
Bronze - You are able to channel heat from the environment to minorly boost yourself or allies
Cold resistance - passive
Tin - You take reduced damage from low temperatures and cold related magics.
Iron - You may manipulate ice and snow to a minor degree.
Bronze - You are able to channel cold from the environment to minorly heal yourself or allies
Physical resistance - passive
Tin - You receive reduced damage and effects from physical attacks and physical related magics
Iron - You may manipulate earth and stone to a minor degree
Bronze - You become harder to move by force
Mental resistance - passive
Tin - You receive reduced damage and effects from mental attacks and mind related magics
Iron - You may perform minor telekinetic feats
Bronze - You may mentally communicate with creatures capable of understanding language
Zalia breathed out as she read the host of messages before her. It was a lot to take in especially considering the extra two passives she had also gotten from the rank up. She read over them once more, looking over to Boreal. It looked like Boreal was also trying to absorb all of the information from the newly ranked ability. Zalia wasn’t the only one due for some experimentation.
Being able to minorly manipulate the earth and stone would be an excellent skill she was glad to receive. Shattering stone by her usual method worked but wasn’t quite as efficient. Again, it seemed like the rank up of her ability was strongly affected by her situation and mental state. Gaining an ability to breathe less as she ranked the ability by swimming, mental resistance when she was struggling to deal with fear and the ability to manipulate stone when she had been using a roundabout method to do so.
She was starting to wonder if abilities really were strongly motivated sub-consciously by the wielder. Being able to fabricate traps instantaneously would prove very useful, bringing that ability from something she had to set up to something she could use in an instant. She also was able to stealth significantly better when standing still, something probably motivated by her recent tendency to sit in one place shooting undead.
The two additions to cold and heat resistance were most interesting to her. She could feel the very minor healing added by the coldness of the room she was in, an ability that Boreal shared and now doubled down on. Using heat to minorly boost could also come in handy, an extra bit of speed or power in the right moment capable of changing the course of a fight. All in all, the ability gave her increased confidence in her own survival by giving a host of various useful abilities. Survivalist indeed.
Thinking again of the frog, being able to hold her breath and communicate telepathically might just be able to help her in her quest there. She also wanted to explore that underwater ecosystem a little, hoping to find some type of flora she could use with her Herbal magic.
Speaking of, Herbal magic was the next one she wanted to get to Bronze rank because the Iron rank ability allowed her to recreate the effects of herbs of one rank lower than the ability itself. That would mean she could freely recreate any Iron rank herb once it was Bronze. That would eliminate her need to use any Bitterbalm, Snow-leaf or Zephyr, all of which would run out in the near future if she wasn't careful. It would also allow her to use a variety of Bronze ranked herbs properly by using the intuition from the ability.
As such, she sat back up and got comfortable, pushing the ability to analyse her herbs effects more closely.