“There are four skill stones,” I said. “One for each of us. Tāwai is easy. Darksteel Feathers for you.”

That got a happy set of chirping and a bit of a happy dance.

“I am pretty sure this one is supposed to be mine. Onyx Carver. I think it is for my wards. The other two are Darksteel Skin and Darksteel Penetration.”

“Skin, please,” said Joe.

“The Hogs showed that I clearly need a lot more penetration,” said Myantha.

And that was that.

Tāwai’s Darksteel feathers made their colour a darker green, strengthening them against cutting and piercing damage. What it also did was sharpen the edges of the feathers. Anyone coming to attack him from behind will find their claws sliced up. Don’t rub him the wrong way against the feathers. He might work out a way to use them in an attack, but for now, it was a defensive measure. He would also need to level the skill quite a bit.

Onyx Carver gave me a thin, sharp Onyx blade. It was made for carving. It was a skill, and as I levelled it, I could create different blade shapes and carve harder objects more easily. I tried it out on the shovel, and it carved smoothly and cleanly. I only had certain wards I could carve at the moment but I would get there, and this would mean I couldn’t blame my mistakes on my tools.

“Do we want to head back to Camp now or wait till the morning?” I asked.

“Joe now has the Silent Movement skill, so we should be quieter if we head back now,” Myantha said.

“It is only level 1,” warned Joe.

“How about we head up looking for a defensible place and see how we go,” I said.

“Let me level first,” said Joe. “The boost to my agility will help.” A moment later, “Sweet, sweet Terah and her tiny tits, that is amazing. I have an Advanced Class. I am now a Steel Warden. There are bonuses to defence, constitution, and strength, as well as agility and sudden attacks. It is a great all-around fighting class. That is exactly what I wanted. I think getting the Silent Movement and Darksteel Skin skills might have been the tipping point. I would never have known that about the silent movement. I definitely need to level it.”

“Well done. Are you going to stay with the guard? You could get a job anywhere with this.” I said.

“I am committed to the guard for another five years. We all had to re-commit to get to come on this trip. I will see after that, but the Duke's Guard is a pretty good gig. We get bonuses if we get an advanced class as well.”

I nodded. My idea of poaching Suda now goes down the latrine—or poaching any of them, actually. I wondered how they would keep these people. The Duke is not dumb. He knows how to keep good people.

My Seeker Class can level again. My Spectral Slayer Class needs more and more kills. Me getting the Toxnightcap and the Darksteel ore is obviously not classed as Pilfering. That’s a shame. The Pilfering Class needs the least XP.

Joe’s Silent Movement skill might be level 1, but my Muffle Sound is only level 2. However, I have many other stealth skills to support it, and I do not wear heavy metal armour. I guess he is trying to be quiet.

I wonder if the Mosquitoes swarm at a certain level in the trees as we hit them on the way back up at approximately the same level as when we came down. We were at a higher skill level this time. Joe had Replenish Blood and Darksteel Skin. Myantha and Tāwai knew what to do with the air manipulation, and Tāwai, in particular, had improved a lot. I collected more needles. We did get another skill stone drop, but this time it was Blood Sucker. It took blood from your enemies to boost your health. Nobody really wanted that.

It was fully dark by the time we had finished with the Mossies. Nocturnal life was out. Joe was still the noisiest and most visible of us all, so he was still the target. This time, it was rats. Possibly thousands of rats.

Some of the Rats were the size of normal rats, and some were the size of me. They barely slowed with my Nights Embrace and Umbral Cold. Those were my two area skills that were not worth the mana in this situation. Myantha was cutting them down in waves, and even Tāwai was doing better than me. They could be deceived by my images… mostly. They were easy…ish to kill. I just couldn’t do it fast enough.

Even Rob was having a better time than me. He was smashing whole groups with his tail, collecting them with his tongue and chomping down.

There were some skills that worked. My Cutting Light and Burning Light both went through multiple rats at a time, but they are quite mana-intensive skills. I had my Helping Hand working and watching my back. I was holding my own and targeting the big ones while Myantha and Tāwai dealt with the mobs with their cutting waves.

Joe was also lacking in area damage. He had his Caltrops, but they were only wounding the larger ones. He decided to do what I was doing and target the larger ones, leaving the smaller ones to Myantha and Tāwai. He didn’t have my Spectral Cloak, so he was always mobbed.

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With this number of rats, we would have to pace ourselves. This fight could last several hours. I can take the pressure off me by hiding in my Spectral Cloak, but Joe can’t. I move close and fight beside him. His advanced class has certainly boosted his skills.

“Let me know when you need a break,” I said. “I can arrange a short break.”

“Let's see what you can do,” Joe said. Wanting to test it is a good idea.

“Move left in 3…2…1…Go,” He steps left, and I use Light manipulation to wrap light around him like I used to do before I got Spectral Cloak. I created a copy of him that ran off to the right.

“Huh? Neat. Ten minutes fighting? Two resting?” he asked. So that is what we did.

Rob, Joe and I moved together through the rat swarm, targeting the higher-level ones. Myantha and Tāwai were off-killing hordes. They seemed to be working together. How come it is only me, Tāwai tries shitting on?

I was stuffing so many bodies in my Monster Morgue that I was wondering what it would take to fill it.

Storage expanded to Level 6

Warehouse created, combining Meat Locker, Vegetable Bin, Drinks Cellar, Thieves Cache, Dry Goods Larder and Ore Hopper.

The warehouse didn’t include Monster Morgue, but level 6 gave us more space anyway. The Warehouse seemed to combine all the non-mana goods. I will need to sort it out later. I am a bit busy right now.

About half an hour later, Tāwai flies up. “Help needed. Help needed. Follow. Follow.”

Bossy little brat. “Jump on Rob,” I tell Joe, and we are off.

The rat swarm is larger than I thought. We soon hear the sounds of fighting. Three guards from the other squad are holding off the rats from four academy members, one of whom is not moving.

We drop down from above.

“Take a rest,” Joe said, “We can hold for a bit.”

“I set off the locator,” one of them said. “Sarge should be on her way.”

It was going to take the sarge a while to get here. Four big bastards were the problem. The Guards had wounded two of them, but they were tough and quick. One of them leapt at Rob, and the two went tumbling off the side of the branch. I had one snapping at me, but Tāwai cast Wind Blades at the smaller rats and then dove off after Rob. He is not such a bad bird.

I had Lightreaver and Shadowbane and moved through the dance. Frostshade Rend was still my strongest single skill. I was fighting a large rat. Joe was holding off two, and the “resting” guards were killing the small ones.

I fall into the Purifying Dance, wishing the bonuses would be applied to these monsters. It is still the best technique because it is uniquely mine. I can add Frostshade Rend into the mix. Bloodletting is also good, but Death Strike is less effective than normal. I assume lots of immunity in rats. Holy Strike and Thrust are still my two highest-level skills.

I get clawed down my leg, the bone in the armour stopping some of the damage. My Helping Hand is keeping the small stuff off my back, and I am Syphoning more Mana as the skill levelled up.

When the Rat finally dies I flick it into storage. I am suddenly remembering why I hate trials. “You though you were safe with a high-level group did you?” I can imagine the keeper laughing at us.

I look over, and Joe is just finishing off his second opponent. That's right. I have trained warriors with me, and I am not one of them. They should be doing the heavy lifting here, and I should be the support.

I indicated that one of the “resting” guards should take my place, and I stepped back to deal with the small fry. I store Joe’s two biggies and then start Harvesting. Potions, skills and equipment are what will get us through.

I can store things with my Helping Hand, and it levelled so it can stretch further. I position myself so it can reach the dying monsters on the front line. A Shadow Hand is almost invisible, which means I can keep harvesting while it stores bodies.

The guards regularly switch out with each other, but they last longer with My Rejuvenating Aura going. I can feel Rob and Tāwai. I don’t know how far they fell, but they are fighting their way back. I need to touch Rob to draw him into the tattoo.

“Rat Trap,” I announce as it appears as a loot drop. I set it. It will attract and kill normal-sized rats as long as it has mana. It will take the pressure off those who are “resting.”

“Anyone wants the skill Incisor Growth? No, I thought not. Rodent Stomper boots? Here you are.”

The drops were coming. I was passing out potions as they dropped. I was pocketing the coins and the cores.

“Tough Digestion Skill,” I announce.

“Will it let me do Killer Farts?” Joe asked.

“He doesn’t need it,” someone said

“Phil already has it,” Joe said. Prompting Phil to let loose.

I stored the skill.

“Hide gloves with Rodent Catcher enchantment. Another Bone Incisor knife.” I kept at it. “Tree Runner Skill?”

Pok, the other scout, shouted, “YES!” I passed it to him when he rotated off the front line.

“This is for you, Joe,” I said. “Basic Stealth.”

“There is no way he will be able to learn that,” said Pok.

“Watch and weep, asshole.”

Rats suddenly rain down from above as Rob's tail sweeps across a branch above us.

“Tāwai!” I yell and toss a stone into the air. He flashes past, snatching it. Tough Bones will help him a lot. There is a small chance I might be a little biased in my skill distribution. That might be why the Advanced Skill Shadow Stealth found its way onto my Status.

Myantha flashed past a number of times, but she likes being mobile. Tāwai is rejoining her. Rob is rampaging above us.

Dawn came, and still, the Rats kept coming.