Luckily, I haven't left the forest yet. It would be a lot harder to hide in the wide-open field. I'm certainly not about to try walking back down that hill at the forest entrance in my current condition. I doubt it would end as badly as last time. It was hard enough climbing back up to get back to the forest.
Looking around I manage to spot what might be a fallen log. It doesn't look like it's going to move anytime soon. So, I find the tallest bit of grass growing around it I can find and go hide in it to heal. Being close to the path though, I also keep an ear out for that duo I met earlier. I know that I shouldn't count on another free heal and honestly, I'm not really counting on it. I just wouldn't turn it down is all.
This time I spend just over a week making sure I am fully recovered. Only coming out from time to time to walk around and maybe grab a drink. Oddly though I haven't really been as thirsty as I feel like I should be given all the walking and fighting I've been doing. I wonder if that's a turtle thing or if it has more to do with those floating text boxes that constantly appear. Either way I decide the first skill I'm going to improve is regeneration. I can't be taking a week off to heal every time I get injured. Granted this time was a rather extreme case but as I get more and more health it will naturally take longer and longer to heal if I continue to heal at the same rate.
Now that I'm fully healed, I feel like making up for lost time. Early the next morning I make my way back to the path and start walking back towards the city. It only takes another few hours before I run across a familiar foe.
Name Field Mouse Level 5 Attack 14 Defense 7 Speed 8
This time however things are much different. The poor field mouse didn't stand a chance. I didn't even need to activate my new skill. Unfortunately, having gained a level also meant that the fight was worth less.
Defeated Field Mouse Received Experience 4
It was quick though, so maybe it would be worth it to hunt down a few more of them. It also doesn't hurt that I get a free meal after every fight. I didn't even realize carnivory was an option for turtles, but I find myself eyeing that field mouse the same way I used to look at a nicely cooked steak back when I was human. After my meal I quickly get back to looking for my next opponent.
Wanting a few more easy experience points, I head in the direction the field mouse had come from. I was hoping to find a few more solitary mice that I could fight one at a time. What I found instead, after only about 15 minutes or so was a group of mice. Looking around I can see two level 5 mice and three level 4 mice. The level four mice don't concern me at all but the level 5 mice working together might actually be able to do some damage. The fight starts sooner than I would have thought. These mice are particularly aggressive. They seem to almost not care about their own safety as they launch themselves at me from all sides. It's impossible to avoid losing bits of health as they bite down on any soft tissue that gets near them.
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Some of them do occasionally try to bite my shell which goes about as well as you'd think it would. At first, I thought about dealing with the level 5's first because they are the bigger threat, but I was afraid that would cause the level 4's to run away. So instead, I focused on the level 4's first. It wasn't too hard as they had lower defense and apparently also had significantly lower health. The level 5's followed shortly after that. The victory message that appears this time is slightly different though.
Defeated Field Mouse Outnumbered Bonus 5 Received Experience 70
I barely had time to register how much experience I received before I began to level up.
Congratulations on Reaching Level 4 Please Choose Whether To Receive A New Skill Or Skill Points Equal To Your Current Level
Once again, I chose to receive a new skill.
Selection Acknowledge Beginning Skill Roulette Skill Received, Healing Aura (Passive) level 1 (Friendly units Recover Health Slightly Faster While In Direct Contact) Assigning Random Trait Based On Recent Actions Taken Last Stand ( Attack Increased By 1 For Every 50 Health Lost Until End Of Combat) Attribute Points Awarded Please Distribute Them As Soon As Possible
By now I had figured out the pattern. I got attribute point equal to the level. So, I already knew how I was going to spend them even before the level up. Naturally I chose to Increase all Stats by one. Then I put the extra point into my lowest stat which happened to be attack. As for my new talent, I can see it being extremely useful in the future when I have thousands of health.
Name Thomas Race Mini Turtle Size 20cm Level 4 34/50 Health 212/250 Attack 10 Defense 18 Speed 10 Skills Passive: Regeneration Level 1 0/10 Healing Aura Level1 0/10 Active: Water Manipulation Level 1 0/10, Mirror Shield Level 1 0/10 Talents Stone Shell, Last Stand
By the time it's all said and done I've double in size. I almost got enough experience to level up twice from that one fight. Fighting groups is definitely the way to go. It may be more dangerous, but you can't really argue with the payout.
Before continuing on I take a few moments to enjoy my new size. Original me, that is the me that originally arrived in this world, could now ride comfortably on my shell. Not only that but I have a new talent which seems tailor made to help me fight tougher enemies. The one thing I'm rather confused by is the healing aura skill. I'm a solo act so that skill is completely pointless.