Elrianthe, returning to the keep after running and clashing with wolves, was struck by another important aspect to consider.

“Alison, do you know alchemy?” She asked Elrianthe quietly, placing a hand on the shoulder of the priestess, who was sitting alone at the table.

“Miss Elrianthe.” Alison replied, blushing at her touch. “I can make basic potions.”

“And how do you handle poisons?” She whispered, leaning in and bringing her close to her ear.

“I've never tried it.” Alison replied timidly.

Jim and Carl, who were sitting nearby, exchanged puzzled glances. Although they had not heard the content of the conversation, Elrianthe's unusual behavior and Alison's shy reaction made them suspect.

“Hey.” Carl whispered to Jim. “Do you think Miss Elrianthe is interested in women?”

“After her experience with you, it wouldn't surprise me at all.” Jim replied. “Besides, Miss Alison is very attractive.”

“Fact. Do you think she'll ever forgive me?” He asked wasted.

“Forget it. Most of us aren't even a third as well treated as Miss Alison, and you especially have fucked yourself over.” Replied Jim, reminding Carl of the reprehensible things he had committed against the elven woman.

“Alison, wouldn't you perhaps like to try it?” She whispered further in her ear.

“I can try, but I need the exact recipe and ingredients, which may not be easily available.” Alison replied quietly.

“Hmm. That could be a problem.” Elrianthe replied, sitting down next to her, her back to the table.

Looking around the room, her gaze finally stopped on Mitta, who was reading a book in his small library.

“Tomatohead!” Elrianthe called out.

Mitta immediately got up and walked over to the table without even putting the book down.

“How can I help you?” He asked.

“Do you have something about alchemy and potion-making in your collection?”

“I'm not sure. It wasn't a topic of interest to me. I'll go through the cabinets and bring back anything that fits your description.” Mitta replied, then left, searching through the books.

Elrianthe, turning to face the priestess, noticed her blushing cheeks.

'Does she have a fever? Did she catch a cold? It seems that her healing doesn't work on illnesses.' She wondered.

“Alison, could you teach me your healing skill?” Elrianthe asked after a while.

“I can, but I don't know how long it will take. Skills like my healing or your ability to control people manifest naturally or are attributed as a gift or blessing. Learning it alone can take years, unless we're dealing with a magical genius.” Alison explained.

“It doesn't sound encouraging. We're going hunting tomorrow morning, and your power would be very useful to me.”

“I'll go with you.”

“No, I don't want to risk your health. You'll stay here and focus on the potions.”

'Miss Elrianthe cares so much about me? I can't let her down!' Alison thought, motivating herself to act. She got up from the table and bowed to Elrianthe.

[ Alison Roseberg's control increased to 65% ]

“I will devote myself wholeheartedly to this.” She vowed.

“Take it easy. I just want to have something in case the situation gets worse. I know I can trust you.” She said with a smile.

'Increasing control? It's good to know it's possible, but I don't understand why... Is it because I spoil her so much? Oh, that's right. I need to check something else.' Thought Elrianthe, heading for the storage room.

Standing in front of a pile of junk, she began to pick through it and look for something that would suit her. She needed to pick out some weapons before the hunt.

“A sword? Nah, I'd have to fight close. I have no experience in fighting.” She said, tossing the weapon aside.

“A bow? By the time I learn to shoot with it, I'll be dead... A big sword? I don't even have the strength to swing it! Oh, this will be good. The perfect weapon for a woman inexperienced in fighting who doesn't feel like tiring herself.” She muttered to herself, grabbing the two-meter-long spear.

The spar of the spear itself was about 180 centimeters long and ended with a 30-centimeter cross-shaped blade. Mounted crosswise, the blades prevented the spear from penetrating too deeply into the target. The other end was equipped with a pointed metal casing that provided better balance and additional attack capability. Thanks to its length, it could be used to support an ally in close combat from a safe distance.

Elrianthe did not want to fight in the front line. The spear was an ideal solution for her, allowing her to defend herself while keeping her distance.

'As long as I don't get the skills to fight, this should be enough for me. I won't be alone, after all.' She thought, reaffirming her choice.

The next day, first thing in the morning, the team consisting of Elrianthe, Taygeer, Mitta, Carl, Duncan, and Matt set out to hunt.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Excuse me, Miss, what is that bird doing on your shoulder?” Carl asked, pointing at the raven.

“Shut up and don't ask stupid questions. That bird is more useful than you.” Elrianthe scolded him. “Look.”

*Kraa, kraa*

The raven darted into the sky, beginning to circle the area. After a while, it returned, cawing, and took to the air again, circling over one spot.

“Did you see?” She asked. “That's where our targets are.”

“Since when does the boss lady know how to talk to animals?” Taygeer asked.

“I didn't talk to him, but ravens are very intelligent. He quickly understood that we were on a hunt and he had to look for prey.” Elrianthe replied.

'I used < Silent Suggestion > to tell the raven what I want, but they don't need to know about it. Ah, I wish I could communicate telepathically... Using this skill is tiring.' She thought.

A piece further on, they encountered a pack of brown wolves. Moving immediately to attack, the pack stood no chance against the five armed attackers. Elrianthe then noted that she was not receiving any experience.

“Leave me something to kill!” She called out.

“That wolf is still alive!” Mitta shouted.

The woman approached the animal lying on the ground. Its mouth was covered with blood, and red liquid was oozing from its cut side. Elrianthe gripped her spear tighter and pressed the blade to the dying wolf's mouth.

“Forgive me. Kill or be killed.” She whispered.

'The world is too cruel to wonder if what I'm doing is right. If it allows me to survive, I won't hesitate.' She thought, thrusting the spear into the animal's body and ending its suffering.

[ +60xp ]

[ Third challenge: kill first time 1/1 ]

[ +150 xp ]

[ Level 5 450/1600 xp ]

'This will take some time. Even with the daily tasks I've already managed to complete.'

When she saw in the morning that she had received new challenges – Do 10 push-ups and 20 sit-ups – she immediately set about completing them. The third task was to kill something for the first time. It could even have been a fly, but at the time none was circling nearby.

*Kraa, Kraaa*

“Let's go in that direction.” She called out to Elrianthe, pointing to a circling raven. “Don't kill anything.”

“No killing? Why?” Matt asked.

“I want Taygeer to take care of it. You are supposed to leave the victims barely alive. Only he can kill.” She ordered.

The men didn't understand why they should act in this way, but they couldn't ignore their mistress' order, so they followed her command. Only the person who struck the last blow would receive experience points, and Elrianthe intended to take advantage of this.

'Power leveling. If only Taygeer kills, he will quickly reach level seven. Then I'll start killing to get experience for myself.' She thought.

They reached another pack and decimated it in the blink of an eye. A few more stray wolves came to help, but they all shared the same fate.

“There are quite a few of these wolves.” Elrianthe said.

“Thankfully, they are just ordinary wolves and not deviated wolves.” Replied Duncan, joining the conversation.

“Deviated?” She asked, intrigued.

“Some individuals that can't process the magic that accumulates in them undergo forced mutation or die. Those that survive sometimes change in very bizarre ways. Some even gain new abilities.” Mitta explained.

*Grrrrr*

From behind their backs, they heard a loud growl. Three red wolves came out of the bushes, they were over twice the size of the ones they had just fought. They had long, sharp fangs protruding from their mouths and eyes that seemed to glow red. On top of that, they each had two tails.

“You fucking predicted it.” She turned to Duncan.

The red wolves rushed at the unprepared team. One of them aimed a blond elf with a spear. He was extremely fast. The team would not have had time to come to Elrianthe's aid, but she had an ace up her sleeve.

< Daze >

[ Using < Daze > failed ]

“What?” She shouted in surprise.

The red wolf ran toward the woman and, using the momentum, jumped straight at her. However, before he could reach her throat, something with very sharp edges stood in his way. The blade of the spear that Elrianthe was wielding pierced right through the upper part of her mouth and stopped at the cross blades.

Not even a quarter of a second later, the wolf's head was separated from the body by one powerful blow of the huge axe. The body fell to the ground and the head hung from the spear it held. Taygeer reached Elrianthe, eliminating the threat.

The rest confronted the remaining wolves and, thanks to their numerical superiority, managed to defeat them without serious injury.

[ Taygeer Breezetail promoted to Level 6 ]

“It was close, we should go back.” Commented Matt.

“That's not enough.” Elrianthe replied firmly, making a sweep with her weapon to knock off the wolf's head.

She counted Taygeer's casualties, who only reached the next level after killing nearly twenty wolves. It wasn't enough, but they still had plenty of time. Elrianthe wanted to find a better area to farm XP for Taygeer. The raven returned to her after he couldn't find any more wolves and sat on her shoulder.

“Miss, the wolves have already been-”

“Is there anything else alive here?” She interrupted Duncan.

“Quite a few bears are living in the steeper part of the forest.” Duncan replied.

*Kraa, Kraaa*

Raven set off on another scouting mission.

“Let's go.” She ordered.

[ The skill < Silent Suggestion > reaches level 2. Cost reduced by 5 points of magic ]

The group reached an area inhabited by bears and began hunting. These animals rarely moved in groups, making them easy targets, despite their impressive endurance.

Attacking the bears one by one, they finally came across a pair with a slightly different coat color than the rest.

“Deviated?” She asked Mitta, watching them from behind the bushes.

“Probably, but they shouldn't be too strong.” He replied.

“Okay, let's go.” Elrianthe said.

*Wrrrawrrr*

The bears wailed, noticing the attacking humans.

< Daze >

One of them fell to the ground, paralyzed, allowing Taygeer and Matt to quickly eliminate it from the fight.

[ The < Daze > skill reaches level 2. Eye contact is no longer required. The target must be within 4 meters. ]

“Finally. It's awfully slow to raise the levels of these skills.”

While Elrianthe was happily reviewing the messages, the rest of the group managed to seriously injure the second bear. Unfortunately, not enough to defeat it and the animal ran away.

“What are you guys doing? Chase it!” She shouted, noticing her precious experience fleeing toward a nearby cave.

“Should we go in there?” Carl asked, staring at the dark entrance.

“Why not? Are you afraid of the dark?” She scoffed, awed by his doubts.

Without further hesitation, everyone went inside. The cave was spacious, and the sun's rays coming through the entrance slightly illuminated the interior. The group walked a few dozen meters into the cave, but before they reached the wounded bear, Elrianthe suddenly stopped.

[ Special Task ]

[ Survive the ambush ]

[ Reward: instant level up and a random rare skill ]