Upon waking, I'm greeted by a notification floating within my vision.
As you slept, you have grown a little more… [Crafting] is now Level 3! [Elemental Magic] is now Level 5! [Spatial Magic] is now Level 5! +1 Strength +1 Dexterity +200 MP +2 Magic
Creating the bath really gave me more Skill Experience than I expected, if I was able to go up another Level as I slept. The other two, I did expect as I knew I was close to gaining a Level in [Elemental Magic] after working on the bath and [Spatial Magic] was guaranteed to just because of how much Skill Experience it grants while sleeping for a [Teleport] of that distance.
That's a spell not normally cast before one is Level 15 in [Spatial Magic] and the distance I traveled was quite far for a use of it even for the half-trip stops I made to refuel. At that point, I'd need to cast the spell over the full distance from here to the town many times just to gain a Level, even with my blessings.
I call up my Status to check my stats, even though I know what they should be. It's good to do this every now and then to remind myself of just how much weaker I currently am.
Rowan Zovanzik HP: 100/100 HP Regen: 0.001/second MP: 3,003/3,400 MP Regen: 0.034/second Strength: 18 Constitution: 10 Dexterity: 19 Magic: 38 Mind: 15
Those stats are more than suitable for now, even if I could probably do with boosting them a little bit more. I'm still worried in case of an attack, but I've been here long enough to know that things are relatively peaceful… at least, so far. My mana capacity is also high enough that I can spend a fair bit without worrying about using too much. Not with how easy beasts around here have been and will be.
The part of me used to my old life is a little unnerved, however. Things have been too easy and I feel as if something is going to go wrong very, very soon. I should go to the Mistwood and challenge some stronger beasts to help settle that part of me. Doing so will also allow me to gain some Levels a little more quickly to strengthen myself and acquire materials.
I'll probably have better luck finding reagents in there, too.
My decision made, I get out of bed and slip on some pants, then exit my cabin and restart the fire out back. Potatoes are peeled and diced, part of an onion is diced, some herbs are chopped, and stoneseeker wolf meat is minced. All of that is cooked in a skillet with a little bit of butter added at the start and an egg added in later, the rest added in at various stages.
Hash isn't quick to make but it's filling and will provide me plenty of energy for what I'm going to do.
After cleaning my dishes, I pull on my boots and tunic and fix on my belt, then slip on the armor I crafted yesterday afternoon.
The first piece is a somewhat-stiff, leather, vest-like armor which protects my torso on the front, back, and sides. The shoulders are designed to allow for good mobility, to prevent restricting the movements of my arms. After that's strapped on and secured, I fix on leather vambraces and greaves, made of the same relatively-rigid leather as the torso armor.
Stoneseeker wolves are pretty durable on their own and when tanned with the right process, their hides become even more resilient to damage. At the strength of the ones I've taken out so far and said treatment, the armor should protect my lower legs, forearms, and torso from beasts up to around 30 Strength or Magic in power and reduce the damage dealt by those up to 40.
That's before the enchantments I set on them, which increases said resistances further. It also helps prevent me from being affected by damage caused from impacts as well so that the more blunt attacks won't harm me.
Wearing full armor might sound like a good idea, but I won't go deep into the Mistwood and I know from experience in other places similar that this should be enough for the trip. As long as my forearms, lower legs, stomach, chest, and back are protected, I won't face much of an issue. The boots and gloves Zolbiatz sent with me are basic rather than armor, but they'll do as well.
Nearly ready to go, I pull on my pack, which has been mostly emptied though it does contain a few wooden boxes, woven baskets, and jars. Three bottles of mana potion sits within it as well.
Now ready to go, I focus my magic and cast [Teleport], immediately finding myself at the edge of the Mistwood. Every tree within it is at least ten feet in thickness and the undergrowth isn't just dense but also tall. It obscures my view ahead, and that's before the Mist itself is factored in, lazily drifting against the plants of the forest, thick enough to be considered a fog in the inch above the ground. Thanks to how dense its canopy is, it's also a lot darker in there than out here.
It's a stark and obvious difference from Amberwood Forest, making it clear to anyone who encounters it where the border lies.
I refill my mana a bit – [Teleport] costs a lot for a fifteen-mile trip – then enter the dense forest before me.
While the border between the neighboring forests is quite thick, the undergrowth of the Mistwood isn't necessarily thick throughout. Some spots are lighter in undergrowth density, allowing for easier walking and a little bit more range of sight. I can feel far more minds around me than while in Amberwood as well. More insects and small critters live here, but even some of the plants have minds.
Only about four minutes into my visit into the Mistwood does one of said plants try something with me. I can feel its focus on me for several seconds before a root begins to wrap around my right leg and begin to squeeze and pull.
A flick of my wrist sends an [Arc Slash] slicing through the root as a quartet of [Fire Missile]s soar at the tall stump the roots belong to. Realizing the danger, the six-foot-tall "rotting" stump attempts to dodge the attacks, scampering over the ground cover and between trees, but to no avail. A homing aspect to the missiles keeps them on target and they slam into the monster before it manages to travel fifteen feet from its initial spot.
The monster lets out a screech as the [Fire Missile]s impact. They deliver only a mild amount of concussive force rather than that being their main way of damaging, unlike [Magic Missile]s. Upon impact, the flames of [Fire Missile]s travel forward, splashing against their target and spreading.
Made of wood, tree fiends ignite easily. This makes [Fire Missile] a much more effective spell for dealing with them.
That sends the monster into a panic and it starts to flail around, roots slamming through undergrowth around us and into the less-monstrous trees. There's no damage to the former as that wood is fairly tough on its own, but it would probably shatter some of the trees in Amberwood.
I don't wait for my attacks to burn through its HP, however. As the tree fiend lets out a piercing shriek of pain, I send a swarm of six [Magic Missile]s to hit the spots weakened from my prior attack. They blast right through the charred wood, sending some fragments flying while piercing into the softer wood within.
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Ten more [Fire Missile]s follow that attack. Four hit new spots on the tree fiend while the other six blast into the holes created by the missiles of force. Ten more [Magic Missile]s soar forward and slam into the charred wood of the tree fiend, blasting new holes into it, and ten more [Fire Missile]s punch into those holes.
That should be enough if my estimations are right. Based on the level of damage my attacks were doing with my current Magic, the tree fiend should have around 1,900 HP. Each [Magic Missile] would have done around 25-30 each, while the [Fire Missile]s do less than that individually and initially but more as their flames spread and the monster burns.
About ten seconds after I finish my attacks, the tree fiend bursts into black and red mist, the flames vanishing now that there's no fuel for them. Magic they may have started as, but which they ceased to be upon striking their targets.
[Combat] is now Level 1! +100 HP +1 Strength +1 Constitution
Someone as "inexperienced in combat" as I am would not normally have a hope of defeating a tree fiend as weak as that one. That probably gave me enough Skill Experience to reach Level 3 just from that one kill, except Skills are capped at gaining a single Level at a time.
Why this gave me [Combat] Skill Experience when hunting the wolves didn't is because the wolves were more of hunted than fought. I didn't have to do a whole lot for those and essentially dominated those encounters.
The tree fiend needed more strategy than just "tie 'em with [Bind] and then cut through their necks". Monsters are also more likely to give Skill Experience for easier encounters than beasts.
I dismiss the notice as I move forward to collect my loot.
Only a small amount of fire was set to the forest and what hasn't already died out is put out with a gesture of my right hand as I approach the site of the tree fiend's death. Sitting where it once flailed are three objects. One is a plain magic crystal 1.5" in size, while another is about 1" in size and brown with green streaks.
[Plant Magic Crystal] A piece of crystallized plant magic essence.
It's Grade 4, so I could definitely sell it for a lot. I could also use it to mix up fertilizer for my garden and boost the growth of things further. Not that I need to do that right now, so I'll save it for the time being as I decide on whether to use or sell it.
The third and final object is a block of wood 1' in length and 8" in height and width. It has a medium brown color with a slight pink tint to it and is perfectly smooth on all sides with a slight rounding for the edges and corners.
[Arcane Wood] Wood filled with arcane energies.
This will take up a decent amount of space in my pack, but it's more than worth it. Arcane wood is an excellent medium for making enchanted wooden objects with. Totems, charms, handles, and various other items, and this is a decent chunk of it.
I pull off my pack and store my loot inside, then pull the pack back on as I assess my options. Each [Magic Missile] costs 5 MP and elemental variants cost twice that. Taking down the tree fiend cost me 320 MP not including what I spent on the [Arc Slash].That's almost a tenth of my capacity, and I really don't want to spend that much on fighting monsters, just in case something stronger attacks while I'm here.
I'll need to keep an eye on how much I'm at and drink potions as needed, but also adjust my strategy a little. Casting that many spells isn't a good idea, so I should cast fewer next time I face off against one of those and wait the longer time for the fires to do their work it'll take.
Continuing through the forest, I pay close attention to my surroundings in case of further attacks while looking for a trail indicating a creature I want to take on. After about six more minutes, I spot a lighter area in the distance. As I approach, the undergrowth lessens in density and the source of the glow becomes visible.
Luminescent plants. Flowers, berries, and even mushrooms. The last of those are growing between roots and on a log on the ground, probably a lower branch from one of the trees. I harvest some of each of those, including pulling out a couple of the flowers with their roots intact. Once everything is stored in containers in my backpack, I continue traveling, soon coming across another tree fiend.
This time, I use four [Fire Missile]s for the initial attack, then only four [Magic Missile]s for the second rather than six. The next wave of attacks is six, six, and six, reducing the overall mana cost from 320 MP down to 210. It's not as effective, however, and the tree fiend takes almost a minute to die, trampling through a small section of the forest as it goes. More magic is needed to put out the fires it caused this time and while it's not much…
I'll do eight for each of the last three attacks. That'll save me 50 MP over the first fight but kill the tree fiend much faster than for this second one.
After adding the loot to my backpack, I continue hunting in the forest. That fight granted me another Level to [Combat] and to [Elemental Magic], so I could leave now and be satisfied with some of the gains. It's not enough to make me comfortable with today's trip, however.
I need to take down more monsters and gather more items before I can really feel comfortable.
Various herbs and other plants are foraged as I walk and the deeper I travel into the forest, the more luminescent plants there are. Mana crystals appear from time to time as well, though I leave them be. I can't think of a need for any of those right now so they only hold sell value to me and that's not what I'm here for.
Combined with the ever-present Mist and lack of light from above, the glowing plants create an eerie setting for me as I continue walking.
The first time I was somewhere like this, I was barely thirteen and a half and eight out of ten of the members of the team were wiped out by a single monster. We were in a forested cave and the beast was the origin of some of the mist present within there, while more of it was just Mist itself.
Fourteen tentacle-like legs let the monster traverse the damp cave with ease and its ability to seamlessly camouflage itself made it difficult to see. If it weren't for the range of my [Empathy] back then, we might have all ended up dead. Wrapped up in its sticky goo, saved for later consumption.
Or maybe they were still alive and just preserved, their minds muted to me. I didn't stick around long enough to find out surviving the encounter. That beast had grabbed me with those tentacle-like legs of its, its suctions holding onto me tightly. I barely had time to prepare an attack before it managed to grab me, too. Only me shouting that it was coming saved my life as the surviving swordsman reacted faster thanks to knowing where it was going.
Until it had entered the range of my [Empathy], the only sign we knew the beast was there was when lights dimmed or vanished, as result of it passing in front. As great at camouflaging as it was, it couldn't imitate light. We'd also initially thought that the temporary dimming and vanishing of lights was just flickering from them. Some natural light sources in dark areas do that on their own.
A glow in the distance fades for a moment and in the next, Mist is pushed aside by twenty-one invisible [Magic Missile]s. Before those even strike, seven [Arcane Spears]s cut through the air, and a [Fireball] follows after.
[Casting] is now Level 2! +100 MP +1 Magic +1 Mind
No other notification, no sounds of pain, no attacks returning. I approach where the fires are and put them out with my magic as I try to figure out what happened. There's not a trace of a beast in the charred remnants of the undergrowth or in the damage to the trees.
A small use of time magics shows me what happened: a hanging vine swung a little and momentarily blocked a glowing flower on ivy climbing up a tree. There wasn't a monster at all.
"Haaa…" I let out a breath, partially out of annoyance and partially from relief.
I got myself worked up over the memory of that encounter and reacted on instinct. While I haven't fought something strong enough to make me feel satisfied that I'm safe, it's probably not a good idea to stick around. My heart is racing and I know that I'm going to be striking at shadows again if I stay too much longer.
That incident seven years ago wasn't my first brush with death, but it was definitely the first where I actually felt scared. The similarity to back then and now is definitely affecting me a little. I'll go home and calm down a little, then return once I actually need materials from here.
The hope was that I'd find a few specific items during this trip, but they aren't actually important. I go can without them if it means not dealing with the spooky fest.
A plan in mind, I start walking back towards the edge of the Mistwood. As great of a mage as I am, I can't [Teleport] within it. The high concentration of mana prevents it and I'd need a lot more magical power to push through it.
Here's hoping I don't attack anymore innocent trees on my way out.