Vivian stirred before the sun rose on the horizon. In the cool morning air, she rose to her feet, stretched her stiff body, and shrugged off the blessed embrace of sleep. She rubbed her dry eyes and approached the pond. Vivian marveled at how the water was always perfectly cool and refreshing when she drank it.

In the water’s reflection, she squinted at the unkempt state of her clothes. Torn and muddy, they fared little better than beggars’ garments. Her thoughts drifted to the state of her body.

She glanced at her immediate surroundings and checked her map to confirm she was alone, aside from one comatose phoenix. Only then she removed her tattered shirt, pants, and undergarments. Standing before the pond in her birthday suit, she dove into the water a moment later. She was expecting a shock from the cool water to get her blood flowing and banish the remaining sluggishness. Instead, the water that greeted her was comfortably warmer than her own body temperature.

"Ahhh, wish I could spend the whole day here," she moaned unconsciously and settled in. The sun slowly entered the horizon, turning the morning darkness into twilight. The pool of water glowed faintly in the dim light. All at once her fatigue, stress, aches, pains, scars—anything and everything ailing her body was washed away in the soothing water. Vivian looked down at the clear water in utter disbelief.

Eternal Pond of Youth

Long ago, an ancient civilization of skilled magicians and artisans thrived here. Back then, this forest was a well-maintained park with the Fountain of Youth at its core—ultimately a tiny part of a thriving city. The Divine war that scorched the world, destroyed the city and all evidence of it. The enchanted waters of the fountain spilled into the park, molded the ground it touched, and formed this very pond. As the name suggests, the waters of this pond exist beyond the reach of time. It bestows varying levels of restoration and rejuvenation, but only to those who surrender themselves to its grace. Drinking the water imparts the weakest form of recovery. Immersal places your body at the mercy of the water, and allows for more vigorous healing. Doing both—

Vivian dismissed the information without finishing it. She swam to the center of the pond and dove down into its depths. She opened her mouth, taking in as much water as she could and swallowing as she descended. All of her senses were at the water's mercy. She opened her eyes while underwater seeing only the clear water around her. The water had wormed into her ears, muffling all sound. She parted her lips, allowing cool water to fill her mouth once more. She experienced the gentle touch of the water from the tips of her toes to the ends of her shoulder-length hair. The water dominated her senses completely.

----------------------------------------

Vivian sat with her back resting against a tree. Her left leg was straight, while her right was bent with her hands folded around the knee. Her head tilted back, she gazed up at the sun; its overwhelming presence filled the clear sky. Isa stirred, patting her slim belly that had been bloated to bursting the night before.

"Good afternoon, Isa," Vivian turned to watch the cute antics Isa made while she was waking.

"You're awful cheerful," complained Isa, puffing her feathers.

"Yeah, you're right. I should be more considerate of the fact you ate an entire maupia, whose only diet is dragon leaf, by yourself. It's only natural you'd feel some after-effects of the sleeping toxin," Vivian chuckled.

"I did what?" Isa asked, blinking her eyes in confusion.

"It seems in high enough doses, the dragon leaf can mess with your memory too, if it doesn't outright kill you," Vivian noted.

Isa took a long hard look at Vivian. Her pure white eyes seemed to be glistening in the sunlight, her skin had discarded the sickly paleness. Which alerted Isa to another problem here—too much skin.

"Vivian, where are your clothes?" Isa asked.

"About that," Vivian frowned, "I took a dip in the pond to clean myself, I wasn't about to put my dirty clothes back on so I went to wash them. When I submersed them, before I even started cleaning, they disintegrated. Yeah, that’s the best word to describe how they just fell apart and vanished without a trace into the water."

Isa's cheerful laughter rang clear, far, and wide.

"It's not that funny," Vivian cast her a sidelong glance.

"Maybe not where you're sitting," Isa wiped tears from her eyes. "But, at least you still have your undergarments."

Vivian looked away.

"You didn't wash them?" Isa failed to suppress a chuckle.

"I was scared to try," Vivian replied, fidgeting uncomfortably.

"We can't have you running around looking like that," Isa rubbed her chin.

"I'd rather not," Vivian agreed with a relieved sigh.

Isa flew off, leaving Vivian alone with her thoughts. A system box entered her vision.

Jadendajuda: Vivian

A 22-year-old, soon-to-be-mother. She's lived a life filled with fears, tears, and hardships. Fleeing from shelter to shelter, always on the run. She's suffered many broken bones and fractures in her hands, arms, legs, and feet. Vivian was chosen over her two sisters as the vessel for the prophecy due to her high willpower. Her bravery had caused her to nearly drown in the Eternal Pond of Youth where she surrendered her body fully to the calm water. As a result, the water unleashed its unparalleled healing upon her.

"Sasha, show me my status again," Vivian said into the air.

Level

2

Health pool

7/7(5/5)

Mana pool

4/4

Strength

3(2)

Constitution

4(3)

Dexterity

4(2)

Agility

4

Wisdom

3

Intelligence

2

Willpower(Unique Racial stat)

6(5)

Misc

This host stands five feet(152 cm) tall - previously four feet and eight inches(142 cm) - and her tail is seven inches(17 cm) - previously five inches(12 cm). This host has completely recovered from malnutrition and dehydrated status. Along with the physical recovery, the host’s pregnancy has progressed to late stage.

"I'd speculated before that stat increases aren't related to level and this further confirms it. What does level mean then?" Vivian drew in a sharp breath when she read the last line. "Late stage?"

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"No, no no no no! I had to see that wrong!" Vivian tried to calm herself as she stared wide-eyed. "That's not possible, I've only been carrying this child a week at most! I should have had months to prepare!"

"Hey, Vivian, try this on," Isa flew back carrying some skins she had managed to salvage from when she butchered the maupia. "Vivian? You look pale, are you okay?"

"No. I'm not," Vivian locked her white eyes on Isa. "I'll be giving birth in a few days at most."

"That's wonder-wait," Isa looked hard at Vivian's body. "Your appearance doesn't match what you're saying."

"Yeah, that’s the issue. I was unaware my pregnancy was progressing so fast! I need to prepare—" Vivian incoherently started babbling all the necessary preparations, growing paler as the list grew longer. Her eyes lost focus and dilated, her breathing hastened and she placed a hand on a tree to stable her balance.

"Calm down!" Isa flew up and slapped Vivian across the face with her wing. "And put these on."

Vivian’s mind being the mess it was, she slipped her legs into the arms of the shirt, which Isa rebuked. "Honestly, what happened to that calm and collected Vivian?"

I'm afraid I have to agree. It’s an absolute mess up in here. I am administering a mental shock.

Vivian's body collapsed on the ground. Several minutes passed before she slowly opened her eyes and looked at the garment she was holding. "What is this?"

"A shirt, not pants, made out of maupia skin," Isa stated proudly. "Made it myself. I think I got the size right."

"What's with this design on it?" Vivian asked as she picked herself up into a sitting position.

"The maupia is a furless beast with black skin covered in yellow dots," Isa explained. "You wouldn't think so, but they blend in with the forest amazingly well. And now you will too."

"Isa," Vivian handed the clothes back to her, "If you think I'm going to dress up to look like every carnivore's favorite meal, not to mention smell like it—"

"Yeah, that was pretty dumb of me," Isa replied sheepishly. "I thought you'd look cute in it and that was, ultimately, all that mattered."

"I appreciate the effort you went through to make it, it does look cute. If the appearance -and odor- could be changed, I'd have no problem wearing it." Vivian remarked, dropping the skin.

"I can fix that," Isa winked while injecting her mana into the shirt and pants. Closing her eyes in concentration, she channeled the mana flowing through the maupia skin. When she was done, she held them out for Vivian to see. She removed the yellow dots, and the beast’s scent, leaving the shirt and pants a solid black.

"You made that look easy," Vivian stated as she looked over the changed garments anew.

"I have a pretty deep mana pool so changes like this are easy enough," Isa replied as she watched Vivian slip into the shirt and pants. "I think I like that look even better."

"Is there any chance of-?"

"Of?" Isa asked playfully. The silence that followed grew heavy with anticipation. Isa finally caved, revealing a matching pair of undergarments.

"You are a lifesaver!" Vivian caught Isa in a bear hug, before abandoning the last of her rags and getting dressed.

"Okay, it’s time to get busy," Vivian said stretching her arms over her head. "Sasha, find me a tight-knit section of sturdy trees."

Several locations meeting criteria found, marking on your map.

"I can work with any trees, but if they're a bit younger that will be better for me."

Updating current criteria with greyscale gradient following age criteria.

"You're a real gem, Sasha. You just helped me find the ideal spot in a few minutes as opposed to the entire time I've been here exploring. I didn't want to bother you with this since I thought I had more time."

I am a tool at your disposal. If you don’t use me then what purpose do I have? But I am pretty awesome. Praise me more.

"You're more than a tool, and I do rely on you. More than we both realize, and more than I want to admit," Vivian said as she started walking. "Isa, could you gather all the skin that's left from the maupia?"

"I don't particularly mind, but how am I going to find you when I have it all?" Isa asked.

Vivian gave her a knowing look. "You found me after you dealt with that beldereaver didn't you?"

"Ah, yeah. I did," Isa laughed nervously. "I'll be going then."

I thought she would deny it.

Vivian shrugged as she watched Isa fly off. "It's easier to drop an exposed facade than cover it up with additional lies. In this case, I’m glad she’s chosen this route. Everything she's ‘hunted’ for us to eat, was, in fact, delivered to her. There's a pack of beldereavers keeping this section of the forest off-limits to everything else in the forest. She obviously did something to the alpha."

Vivian kicked the ground vaulting herself towards a tree. Despite the speed and power behind her movement, she gracefully planted her feet on the side of the tree trunk without even scuffing the bark. She pushed off the tree with enough force to topple it, channeling all the raw power into propelling herself forward instead. She vaulted forward, the tree behind her completely unphased.

She smirked at this newfound control her increased dexterity afforded her. She bounded from tree to tree increasing her speed until she was utilizing the absolute limits of her agility. Angling her next trajectory slightly up into the air, she caught a tree branch overhead, grabbed hold of it, and swung around it several times due to her momentum before stopping with her body crouched on top of the branch. She released her grip and stood up to appreciate the view from high up in the canopy.

"If only I could have moved like that before," Vivian flexed the burning muscles in her legs, they were eager and ready for more. She observed the huge distance she just crossed with ease, unable to discern her starting point. "It's hard to believe I'm pregnant and nearly ready to pop after that."

And there is still room for you to improve. No offense.

"Isa's stats are still about double mine," Vivian frowned. A shiver ran down her spine as she considered what she might be able to do with twice the agility.

Your stats scale differently compared to every other race.

"Meaning?"

Let’s see if I can dumb it down so you can understand. Typically speaking, the difference between a strength stat of one and two is not that large—the same as the difference between 9 and 10. But because I’m so awesome, your stats are special and level plays a booster role. Let’s take your [strength] of three points, and your [level] of two. All other races would have three [strength]. But your three [strength] is closer to five at level two. At level three, would be closer to eight. If you had four [strength] at [level] two, your actual strength would be about seven. As both [stats] and [level] improve, you will be capable of the impossible.

"Isn’t that a bit," Vivian felt sweat forming on her back. “Much?” What would be the purpose behind that?

If the creator had managed to integrate me into the race before he died, your people wouldn't have been reduced to a handful.

"There are still more of us? I had thought I was the last," A heavy weight she bore on her shoulders lost a mental tether.

No, you are not the last—confirmed: Four adults, two children; six Jadendajuda in total are approaching. At their current pace, they are due to arrive shortly before you begin labor, roughly two days from now.

"Why aren't they on my map?" Vivian tilted her head.

We both know I’m not perfect. Maybe one day you’ll come to appreciate me as I am.

"How do you know they are my people if you can't display them?" Vivian inquired.

I am sensitive to the Jadendajuda as I am a tool created specifically for your race by your god. Vague tingles indicate there are still others, but they are so far away I can't get any more than that. Some of the feedback has vanished entirely, either due to distance or—I digress. These might be covered in illusions.

"Magic," Vivian whispered as her hand clenched, her fingers turning white.

"Sasha, change of plans. Drop the tree search and I want you to sense where they are and put a beacon on my map. If you can't do that, just point me in their direction."

Slowly turn to your left. A bit more. And stop, they are directly in front of you, two days journey away at their current pace. And you are set to shorten both time and distance. Do exercise caution.

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Vivian leaped from the tree branch. She touched the ground and turned into a blur when she kicked off at the same moment, launching herself into a run. Her mana pool started draining as her strength and agility multiplied. Unable to control the sudden burst, her footsteps dug deep and sent dirt exploding behind her as she propelled herself forward.

Ahem. This is NOT exercising caution. The inhabitants of the entire forest are alerted to your movements. Recalculating—At this pace, you will meet with the group in 15 minutes.

"I'm not running like this on purpose. I don't even know how I’m doing this," Vivian ducked under branches and weaved around tree trunks as she ran. A vacuum had formed behind her as she dragged the very air with her.

----------------------------------------

Isa perked her head in the direction of the sudden thunder. "Someone sure is in a hurry to be making that much noise. Perhaps I should check it out, but at that pace—Vivian should be fine, right?"

In the end, Isa discarded her task of gathering what she could of the maupia's skin and flew off in the direction of Vivian's thunderous footfalls.