It took me longer than I liked to admit to climb down the massive tree I was in. And it took me even longer to drag myself over to the crater's edge, where Tabitha was sprawled out on the ground.
The ground was soft from all the upturned earth, and I was without the mana to keep myself from sinking into it. With the weight of my hammer dragging me down into the soft loam, it was like I was walking on sand, further taxing my already starved Stamina pool.
“You, ok?” I groan as I come up on Tabitha. She looked like she was about to make a dirt angle with her arms and legs spread out in every direction.
“Never better,” she responds blandly, not so much as twitching a muscle upon my approach. Her armor was dented in multiple places, and extensive scratches crisscrossed her shield.
“Really? Because you look like shit,” I feebly point to the corner of Tabitha’s mouth where some dried blood was smeared. It looked like she had already tried wiping it away but missed a spot in her hurry.
Tabitha tiredly huffs and aggressively wipes the last traces of blood away with her sleeve. It was good to see she could still move her arm, but it was evident that she was trying hard not to move unnecessarily. “I thought I told you to run,” Tabitha asks me, closing her eyes like she didn’t want to look at me.
“And leave you with all the fun. Please, you should've known I couldn't do that.” Slowly, I lower myself down and take a seat next to her. Now that I was closer, I could see the bruises already forming across her exposed skin, making me question how bad it was underneath her armor. The bright purple welts made me wince in pain; I didn't want to imagine what she was going through.
“It was stupid of you to stay,” Tabitha starts to scold me before pausing, then her eyes slowly flutter open. She then slowly turns her head toward me and locks eyes with me. “But I’m thankful that you did.”
“Damn, you’re going to make me tear up again,” I start saying jokingly, trying to hide the concern in my voice, but I turn away halfway through to wipe at my eyes before Tabitha can notice me doing just that.
I was still riding the waves of emotions that came along with serving something impossible, and I didn’t need to add even more emotions on top of that. So, to distract myself and keep from breaking down in front of an injured Tabitha, I try changing the subject. “So, how’d you know the golem wouldn’t attack us if we weren’t hostile?”
“That wasn’t a golem,” Tabitha tells me in her teacher's voice, though she still doesn’t move. “It was an elemental, a living embodiment of magic."
Well, that explained the ridiculous amount of mana it had, but other than that, correcting me answered none of my thousand questions. "How many times must I remind you I know next to nothing of the world," I say, flopping down next to her. I was conflicted, was it better to let her fall asleep, or did I keep her awake? I was almost positive she had a concussion and had no idea if magical healing would take care of it or not.
“Must have skipped my mind,” Tabitha tells me in a deadpan voice, as she usually does when she tries to make a joke.
"Don't joke; It hurts to laugh," I lightly poke fun at her, even though neither of us was laughing.
“Sorry, I know how funny I am,” Tabitha once again opens her eyes and slowly turns her head toward me.
Tabitha and I blankly stare at one another until we both smile. “I think that might be the best joke you’ve ever told,” I tell her with a genuine smile. Ok, she definitely had a concussion.
“Well, I’m a bit delirious after dodging the elemental. So try not to hold it against me,” Tabitha tells me as if she's self-aware of the situation.
“I’ll try,” I chuckle and immediately clutch my ribs. Apparently, laughing really did hurt. “So, how many goblins did you kill,” I smirk and give Tabitha a challenging look, knowing she killed more than me. I wanted to keep her engaged for as long as possible.
Tabitha's brow scrunches up as she thinks over my question, but she quickly comes up with an answer. “Forty-Seven; I killed most of them before the main horned hobgoblins stepped in, but I managed to slay a handful more while I was dealing with them and the arch-goblin," she tells me with a smile on her face.
Even though she almost died and was a little loopy, I could tell Tabitha was enjoying the post-battle bliss that came with winning. “Damn, that’s impressive; I only killed like twenty-six. And mine weren't anywhere near the level yours were. I had trouble with this one that could predict my movements using a Danger Sense skill, but other than the rest swarming me, that was about it.”
“Did you overwhelm him with pure power?” Tabitha asks me with a concerned look.
“Well, I’m standing here, aren’t I?” I again try to downplay the situation with a joke.
Tabitha nods in approval. "High-level Danger Sense skills can be annoying to deal with. The best thing to do is determine your opponent's weakest stat and use that to catch them off-guard. Users with skills like those usually become complacent, and once you can break past their skill, they crumble easily," she tells me with a sage-like expression.
“That would’ve been nice to know thirty minutes ago,” I snicker and shake my head at the timing.
"Sorry," Tabitha responds quietly, blaming herself for not teaching me that lesson earlier.
“It’s no big deal,” I tell her, kicking myself for my choice of words. “If it weren’t for your teachings, I don’t think I would’ve come up with a solution as quickly as I did.”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
After that little exchange, the two of us lay there silently. It wasn’t awkward by any means; we were both just so exhausted. It was hard for me to stay awake, let alone come up with things to say that would keep Tabitha talking.
Left to my thoughts, I do some quick math. If Tabitha killed forty-seven goblins, and I killed twenty-six, then together we defeated seventy-three goblins, all of which were at least horned hobs. So that meant of the original hundred and forty-seven, we killed almost 50% of them.
I thought we got more than that, but it wasn’t like I could check. The elemental's attack didn't just destroy the forest; it completely obliterated most of the goblin corpses.
Speaking of which, it was starting to smell. Small chunks of flesh were everywhere, and I was sure there was much more just under the surface. The large dust cloud buried a lot of it, but the smell was slowly breaking through the shield of dirt.
“At least we killed half of them," I mumble, smiling.
“It was a good fight,” Tabitha agrees with me with a wide smile. "Too bad we were interrupted before I could complete my objective.”
"Wait, what?" I sit up in shock, painfully grabbing my stomach, and look down at Tabitha, who has a wishful expression plastered across her face. “What do you mean you didn’t complete your objective? I saw the elemental slap the goblin into oblivion, right?” I anxiously ask for clarification, but my hopes are dashed when Tabitha lazily shakes her head no.
“He’s still alive,” she informs me without a hint of doubt.
“How can you be sure?” I nervously swallow a lump in my throat. There was no way I was in any state to protect Tabitha if the goblins returned.
“I didn’t get any experience points for the kill," she tells me.
“Are you sure?” I ask again, hoping she just missed it in all the excitement. "Maybe you didn't get that much because the elemental got the finishing blow?”
Tabitha continues to shake her head. “I did the same amount of damage he did to me. So even if the elemental were the one to kill the arch-goblin, I would’ve gotten a significant amount of experience for my part in his demise. However, I got nothing. He’s still alive, I’m sure of it.”
“Well, shit,” I curse. “Does that me we can expect another ambush?” I nervously glanced around our surroundings; there was nothing in Sense Mana’s range, but we knew how quickly the goblins could move when motivated.
Finally, Tabitha gives me some good news that partially sets my mind at ease. “I doubt it. As you said, we killed half their number. They may be able to get reinforcements from their village, but they'll be hesitant after losing to us. Also, I don’t think the arch-goblin will recover as fast as you think he will. He was already severely injured before being sent flying by the elemental. He isn’t dead, but I don’t expect him to be coming after us any time soon.”
“You’re absolutely sure?” I lock eyes with Tabitha, earning me a firm nod in return. "Well, at least there’s that,” the tension finally leaves my shoulders, and I'm again able to catch my breath.
“So, about the elemental, you never did explain how you knew it wouldn’t attack us,” I remind her, finally thinking of something that would get her talking.
Tabitha sighs at my question, but it turns into a cough. She brings her hand up to her mouth, and to my horror, she coughs up a lungful of blood. I crawl next to her and help her sit up, where she continues to cough up a disturbing amount of blood.
“Oh gods, what do I do?” I ask in a panic.
"Calm down," Tabitha tells me between coughing and trying to catch her breath. "It's only some light internal bleeding. That arch-goblin got in some good hits.”
"I don't think now's the time to compliment him," I admonish her, trying and failing to remain calm.
Tabitha shrugs and again wipes the blood away from her mouth. “I said I’m fine. Of course, I'll need time to recuperate, but if the elemental is like the ones back home, we should be fine here for at least a little while.”
“Says the woman coughing up blood,” I frown in concern.
“I thought you wanted me to explain elementals,” Tabitha raises an eyebrow at me.
“That can wait,” I tell her. “Shouldn’t you use one of those tonics you said you had? One of those would help you recover quicker, right?”
“They’re too important to use on an injury of this magnitude,” Tabitha shakes her head. "Now, be quiet, and let me answer your earlier question.”
Biting my lower lip, I slowly release Tabitha from my nervous grip and reluctantly sit back and give her space. Her coughing had stopped, and she showed no outward signs of pain, but who knew with her? I listen to her explanation, but I only hear every other word because I'm too worried that she’s about to pass out. Or worse.
"Elementals can only live in mana-rich environments. If, for some reason, one were to leave or be taken out of said zone, they would eventually crumble away and die. They’re considered alive but don't act like any other creature, even magical ones. They roam their environments, attacking anything that shows them hostility; they can’t be directed or controlled, at least not in this day and age.”
“Wow, you know a lot,” I nod as if I’m following along, but all I want now is for Tabitha to lie back down.
Thankfully, she lets me direct her back down; all be it, while still explaining elementals to me. "I was forced to learn about them from Master when he took me into my first mana-rich zone. They're important in keeping the ecosystems running or something like that. Sorry, I can't remember exactly what Master told me. The point is everything aggressive flees an elemental's path. As long as we stay here, we’re safe. For now.”
“That’s the best news I’ve heard all day,” I nervously respond while looking up into the trees.
The sunlight drifting through the thick canopy gradually started to fade. We had maybe an hour before it started to get dark, and we were still out in the open without any of our gear.
One of us needed to return to the tree we stashed our stuff in, and I didn't think it would be Tabitha.
I know it’s risky, but I slowly shift into a meditative position and activate my skill. Tabitha wasn't standing over me, protecting me this time, so I had to hurry, but I couldn’t just run into the forest halfcocked in my condition. I needed to know if there was anything remotely close by that could pose even the slightest threat to me or Tabitha, who I’d need to leave behind if I were to fetch our gear.
Pushing Sense Mana to its limits, I start my scan and immediately notice a difference in our surroundings. I'd grown used to seeing thousands of mana signatures when I used my skill, but this time, the forest seemed devoid of almost all life.
In a 1,600-foot radius, there wasn’t a single significant mana signature. Moreover, the forest was so devoid of strong magic beasts, for once, I could easily pick out the weaker lifeforms around us, but even those were few and far between.
Almost everything I sensed was busy hiding in the various nooks and crannies of the forest, and it didn't look like they were preparing to leave even though the elemental was long gone. As soon as I realized this was my best chance, I quickly deactivate my skill and slowly crawled to my feet.
Looking to my side, I see Tabitha had fallen asleep while I was scanning our surroundings. I briefly considered moving her to a more secure spot but quickly decided otherwise after giving it some thought. I didn’t have time to move her, and the longer I took to go and grab our gear, the higher the chance something could move in without my knowing.
I had an opening, and it was clear I had to take it despite the risks. So I take one last concerned look at Tabitha before jogging toward the tree that held our gear.
At full speed, it would only take me a couple of minutes to reach the tree, but that wasn’t happening. I only circle the crater and take a few steps before my leg muscles start protesting all the extra movement.
Yet I push on because what use were skills if they didn't let you overcome your limits? For example, I might not be able to run, but I can jog, and my jogging was equivalent to most people’s running.
Still, it was weird moving through the forest on my own. Without Tabitha by my side, every shadow stretched that much farther and was more menacing, even though I knew nothing was there. Moreover, the forest was unnaturally still in the wake of the elemental's march, to the point not even an insect could be heard.
But despite all my fears, I make it to the tree unmolested. Of course, it takes entirely too long to scale the tree and grab our bags, and I curse leaving our stuff so high up all the way down, but I successfully retrieve our supplies.
When my feet touch the soft forest ground again, I move to grab my waterskin to take a sip, only to pause at the sloshing sensation I feel when grabbing it.
“Ugg,” I scoff, remembering we no longer have regular water. But then again….
Tabitha did say the toad’s poison was a powerful muscle relaxant; maybe it could help with the pain I'm sure she's feeling.
I make my way back toward Tabitha as fast as possible with renewed purpose. And even though I had faith she would be ok, I cannot help but sigh in relief when I’m once again standing over her sleeping form. I wanted to collapse then and there, but my struggles weren’t over yet.
While balancing all our gear on my back, I bend down and gently pick Tabitha up. I consider taking a sip of toad eggs when all my muscles start screaming from overexertion, but I didn't have the Poison Resistance skill yet, and I couldn't risk both of us being incapacitated at the same time.
The fact that Tabitha didn't immediately wake up upon my touching her was a good indicator of how tired she was. Meaning I was the only thing standing between her and danger, should danger come knocking.
With Tabitha in my arms, I turn towards the direction the elemental departed. If I follow the same path it took, then I should be able to avoid any dangerous beasts. But I needed to hurry, the light was dimming by the second, and we couldn't camp here where it smelled of death.
I would find us a safe place to camp for the night. Tabitha would do the same for me; it was only fitting I return the favor.
"Let the journey continue," I chuckle as I find my legs shuffling forward.