I didn't leave my room for one week, sleeping most of the time. All my social needs were fulfilled by my faerie familiar and seeing Velora five times a day. I always hid Nenandil when the ranger visited. Nenandil would enter my chest and vanish inside my soul.
We discovered we could talk to each other telepathically. While Nenandil didn't use long phrases either because she didn't want to or couldn't, that was fine. Her presence was a boon.
But the gears of the world spun and winter was long gone. Indeed, my ordeal at the hands of Nenandil's mom lasted for months. I should've known because the goblins ate all the monsters I killed.
King Rudolph III was on the march. Already his scouts clashed against the elven rangers, littering the northern forest with bodies. In less than a month he would reach the edges of Fulgen forest. If I was going to do anything between fighting or fleeing, I had to make my mind.
I had my doubts. The elves used me. But the same feeling of detachment that kept me from owning Lily's body entirely - boy, that sounded creepy - also kept me from internalizing the horrors I'd suffered in this life. The feeling of being in a 1st person virtual reality still remained. Only when I thought about my life on Earth and noticed the holes intentionally left in my memory by Loki was that I crashed back to reality.
I didn't own Lily's body. I WAS Lily. I needed to live a normal life for a while before that dissociation vanished.
I went back to the grotto. Nenandil was immune to poison just as I was. With her on the team, I would change my tactics. During my absence, the deathberry bushes grew wild. I put myself to harvest and refine as much poison as I could. I left nothing behind. Pollen, berries, leaves, roots. The only thing I kept were some seeds that I was dying to store in my item box. There was no way to do that. While there were items to increase one's MP pool, all of them required MP to bond and activate. Gotta have money to make money, I guess.
I boiled more horns, made more gel. I crafted hundreds of pollen and poison powder balls. And I got some ceramic flasks to fill with pure poison so I could use Nenandil's water magic to deliver it as a spray.
With everything I could prepare ready, I went to the front.
When I thought a King the third was coming, I thought of a medieval battle like Agincourt. Mounted knights, men-at-arms with plate armor, archers in maille. That was still in the future. No. Rudolph's host was a rag-tag band of barbarians ten thousand strong. They marched on foot, wearing only some leathers to cover the vital spots. Their weapons were wood and bronze with the spear winning by a landslide.
They didn't use iron. Not even from meteorites. But they did use silver. While the noble metal was too expensive for most, his elite warriors had at least a dagger made from the metal. The priests of Bundeus all bore silver weapons. No doubt their deity informed them of me.
But an antidote to Deathberry poisoning was as common as stainless steel. Even if they all bought a poison resistance trait, that only meant they would be less effective in battle.
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I had butterflies. The barbarians on one side and the less barbaric elves on the other were set to clash. Ten kilometers behind us started the home-forest. The only human allowed to set foot there was me. Rudolph's horde was clearing the land as they moved. Trees were chopped down, removed, and the logs sent back with their empty supply train wagons. Their poor hygiene habits ensured the soil was fertilized. Game fled, coaxed to go deeper into the forest by the rangers and beastmasters.
"Attention!" The elven general shouted. "Archers, ready!"
Thousands of bowstrings flexed.
"Fire!"
I watched as the arrows turned the overcast spring sky into a stormy one. The barbarians raised shields and endured the arrows. The elves had a lot of archery perks to select from in their racial list. The humans could have anything. Anything at all but most of the time, crap. I thought that this human advantage was too much. With proper documentation and information, they could be unbeatable. They weren't just because those with the information didn't share.
Another volley flew. Humans died. Elves leveled up. Rinse, repeat. They slaked the earth with blood. A sight too familiar.
Twenty volleys the elves shot but the losses on the human side were negligible. The shieldbearers were too effective with their perks. The warriors were too tough with their huge HP pools. The human war machine moved and another length of forest vanished.
The sun vanished in the horizon and the horde bivouacked under the stars. Huge bonfires dispelled the shadows. They had as much firewood as they wanted. That wouldn't stop me. It was my turn to strike.
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A black cat a little more than half a meter from snout to butt with tiny leather saddlebags attached to its sides crawled to the edge of the forest.
The blue fae left my chest and sat on my scruff.
The soil in front of me softened as water mixed with it, making it easier for me to dig. I clawed the mud and burrowed. Fifty meters of soft soil separated me from the bonfires and then another fifty to were the barbarians camped.
I moved past the sentries without raising an alarm. With Nenandil's help softening the mud and my combination of perks and skills, I could dig about five meters every minute. I could feel the earth warm when we passed past the bonfires. Now all I need to do was to reach the middle of their camp and the invasion would be over.
I couldn't sense people like I could sense monsters, but Nenandl could sense liquids, and that included blood. She guided me to the middle of the camp and I widened the hole to prepare my next move. I was afraid.
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The poison balls were swallowed by a blob of water where they started to dissolve. I dug an opening and found myself amidst snoring barbarians. Some of them were still sitting around the bonfires, singing, and drinking. They weren't paying attention, they had the sentries for that. Once the hole was open, Nenandil added more water while I fed half of the poison balls I had. I watched as she flew straight up, carrying the ball of poisoned water with her. I bit one of the balls and focused on keeping my saliva from dissolving it. That would be my insurance if someone fought me. I could bit the ball and spit the poison.
I was shivering with anticipation. Afraid. Each of these humans was a wellspring of possibility. A warrior could very well be versed in magic. A forewarned human could be the perfect counter.
I was yanked by the tail and heard a man cackle at the same time.
"Here it is. The elves' kitten!" A man wearing dark leather armor and more knives than I cared to count shouted. The warriors around us were waking up.
I twisted and touched a paw to his arm. Clinging to his vambraces, I pulled myself up with my ridiculous System-enhanced strength to mass ratio. I bit the ball and sputtered the flakes in his face.
> You poisoned scary black rogue.
A fitting description.
I slipped my tail from his grasp as he struggled with the poison. The only known resistance to Deathberry was death. Not that I would wait for the poison to take effect. I ran up his arm and bit his neck, opting for nibbles instead of a hold. The silent, invisible energy of {Vorpal Bite} did its job.
> You killed level 44 scary black rogue. You gained 242,000 Exp (19,360 base x 10,000 perk x 0,0001 curse x 2 size x 1.25 perk x 5 Class rank).
How does one rank up their Classes? A question for another time. The rain did fall upon the sleeping warriors as hundreds of poison messages floated up without hindering my sight. I just needed to focus on the world around me instead of paying attention to them. It was another thing fiction never did right. Why would a System meant to help people fight would distract them when they most needed their concentration? It was a matter of getting used to it and that could happen in mere weeks...
The messages were still floating up. Nobody died yet but those that hit by the rain would have to get help soon. I was an apothecary level eighteen, worked with Deathberry for months, and had not a clue on an antidote.
A blue blur descended fast as ran and slammed into my chest, sinking without hurting me. The warriors were foaming at the mouth. The whole camp was awake now, running around like a kicked anthill. Some barbarians were running away from the rain while soaked in it. They would splash poison on the others and hopefully increase the casualties.
But my fear became reality. They did get people to select perks exclusively against me. That's what I'd do in their place, so no surprises there. Underestimating one's enemy was a sure way to die. I withdrew to my hole and dug deeper before making a large chamber and moving up to make another nook for me. That way, whatever fell in the hole would fill the chamber below before bothering me. I would like another air entrance but I was less than a hand underneath the surface.
Minutes later, the death messages started to float up. A lot of them. Against a force ten thousand strong, it was just a jab. But I watched the levels. They were all around the late thirties up to the early fifties. A massacre conducted solo. A better way to level up wasn't invented yet.
Oddly enough, for some kills, I was gaining partial Exp for "participation". Could be the secondary contamination, the "vector" earning a share of posthumous Exp for their troubles of carrying the poison elsewhere.
The ground trembled. Rumbled. Broke. The earth above me flaked and became fluid, like sand in a blender. Lil' kitten me was tossed around like a rag in a windstorm. Bodies were shaking along and sinking in the impromptu quicksand. Magic was at work. We were all buried as clean earth rose to replace the damp poisoned topsoil.
> Magician used Earth Reversal. You lost 555 HP.
I was packed and buried. More kill messages floated with participation modifiers because whoever used the spell on the dying soldiers was also getting their share. I was thinking to dig out when the hammer fell.
> Magician used Compact Earth. You lost 777 HP. You are suffocating.
Funny, these were the same numbers as before! No time to be distracted! I have to get out!
> You reached Monster Hunter level 22.
>
> You gained 1 Attribute point.
>
> You gained 3 Skill Points.
>
> You gained 2 HP.
>
> You gained 0 MP.
>
> Class rank UP available.
>
> You reached Human [moon-bound] level 21.
>
> You gained 1 Attribute point.
>
> You gained 4 Skill points.
>
> You gained 6 HP.
>
> You gained 0 MP.
>
> You reached Cartographer level 11 [19]
>
> You gained 2 Skill Points.
>
> You reached Apothecary level 19
>
> You gained 2 Skill Points.
Not the proper TPO but any HP boost is a welcome one. Exp messages were still coming even after the level up. One hundred million to the next level. I needed room and air to breathe. I found something odd with the Class message. I could rank up my Class?
Before I could mess around, the hammer fell again.
> Magician used Compact Earth. You lost 777 HP. You are suffocating.
My HP was in the red. I had less than 20% of my Maximum HP. I hit the Rank-Up next to my Class and the options popped up.
> HARKEN, FOR YOU ARE AT A CROSSROADS. BASED ON YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS AND SKILL SELECTIONS, THE FOLLOWING CHOICES ARE PRESENTED.
>
>
>
> * Goblinoid Slayer
> * Aquatic Hunter
> * Underground Hunter
> * Pest Exterminator
> * Poison Hunter
Without time to think, I made my choice.
> You became an Underground Hunter level 0.
>
> You gained the Earth Affinity (rare) perk. All of your skills and traits are stronger when underground. Earth magic costs less MP.
>
> Your Dirt Burrowing (uncommon) became Stone Burrowing (rare).
>
> Your Dirt Digestion (uncommon) became Stone Digestion (rare).
>
> Your Exp progression has been reset. Exp necessary for the next Level: 100,000
>
> You gained 20 HP.
>
> You gained 5 Attribute points.
>
> You gained 0 Skill Points.
>
> You gained the Darksight (rare) trait. You can see in non-magical darkness up to 10 meters away from you in black-and-white and up to 20 meters as blurred shapes
>
> As an Underground Hunter, you gain.
>
> 2 Attribute Points per level.
>
> 6 Skill Points per level.
>
> 5 HP per level.
>
> 0 MP per level.
>
> 1 perk every 3 levels.
>
>
>
> You reached Underground Hunter level 6.
>
> You gained 12 Attribute Points.
>
> You gained 36 Skill Points.
>
> You gained 30 HP.
>
> You gained 0 MP.
>
> You gained 2 perks
The level reset to zero and the first level cost a thousand more than before. Still better than double the previous one. Reaching level six used almost four million Exp, though.
That HP boost gave me a breather, making my maximum HP skyrocket by more than 1,300 points after buffs. I browsed the perk list while my lungs burned.
> You gained the Improved Burrowing (rare) Trait. Double your burrowing speed.
>
> You gained the Less Debris (very rare) Trait. When digging, you generate 50% less debris.
I put myself to dig around me. I needed room. Air was a close second. Wait.
I dug for dear life. Funny enough, half of what I dislodged just vanished. Where the compacted earth was going was not my problem. As far as I cared, it was being teleported to the mage next continent creating dirt to farm.
Clean water flooded around me and mixed with my blood. I resisted but I couldn't help. I drew a lungful of water and panicked. I thrashed and clawed around me. Since everything was dirt, it still counted as digging.
Only when my HP started to tick back up did I stop. The water was crystal clear and I wasn't bleeding anymore. A blue glow illuminated us as Nenandil swam happily around me.
She touched my jaguar kitten's chest.
I huffed a cat chuckle. Very sweet. Maybe I'll live to see another day.