As time slipped by, the following days came and went. It would have been nice to say that I suddenly gained a great burst of energy, cheerfully chatting up the others. In truth, even the thought of holding any reasonable conversation exhausted me. Still, I made sure to spare Cal and Verin from the horrors of their own cooking, each day preparing whatever animal Cal managed to bring me to the best of my abilities. After cooking came the eating, and I made sure to sit beside them, no matter what.
It was during these meals that I better understood just how good my friends were to me. They spoke to one another, often posing open-ended questions that would allow me to jump into their conversations without feeling entirely directed towards me. When I largely continued to stay silent, they took my conversational reticence with good graces, letting me enjoy their company in silence.
Of course, my lack of talking had consequences. Often, I overheard the others talking about more serious matters -- about how we would escape and what steps we needed to take. Neither of them ever tried to push those talks on me. Had this been a few months before, I likely would have been hurt by the exclusion. In this case, though, it felt strangely compassionate. I had no desire to think about all of that quite yet, and I got the sense they knew that.
For four more days, we continued on just like that, until I abruptly woke up to a jolt of energy. Though stiff from resting on the cold earth below me, I still felt far more lively than I had since arriving here. I was confused by the sudden change until I took in my latest notification.
Soul Resistance has reached level 3!
That’s leveling… fast. Not that I was complaining?
I looked around to see if anyone had noted me waking up, only to discover I needn’t have worried. Cal was nowhere to be seen, likely scouting or hunting, and Verin was fast asleep.
The easy thing to do would be to go back to bed, but I found myself unable to. I knew part of that had to be from the skill level, but there was something else. Something about Verin that I hadn’t been able to appreciate before.
Taking in her prone form, a singular, insistent thought prodded at me repeatedly.
She looks… wrong.
Or “out of place,” maybe?
It was strange. I couldn’t recall ever seeing Verin wear the same outfit on two separate occasions. More than that, having lain on her bed before, I recalled just how comfortable it was. Her entire form seemed to reject the notion of lying on the ground, her normally inexpressive face pulled into a grimace even in her sleep.
That was… bad.
She’s strong, though. Capable. She can take care of it herself. Or failing that, she had Cal, too. Right? I could just go back to bed.
I thought back to the flickering embers of warmth I’d felt while cooking for the others. To the promises I’d made to myself as I’d woken up.
I was tired. I felt empty. I was different than I was before.
But that didn’t mean I couldn’t pretend, right? Pretend to do what the old me did, until it stopped being pretending?
Wouldn’t it be a good step to help Verin somehow? It would, I knew.
With a heavy sigh, I pushed myself up. There’s a forest around here, right? By now, I’d spotted which direction Cal ran off to whenever she went to collect kindling and food, and failing that, I had a clear memory of spotting trees as we’d descended the mountain.
I turned myself towards the distant forest.
And with slow, plodding steps, I advanced.
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The trip out of the grasslands was uneventfully boring, though that suited me fine. If anything, when at last I reached the treeline, I was less excited to venture forth than I’d been to leisurely walk all the way there. Still, I hadn’t come just to turn around, so with as much resolve as I could muster, I entered the forest.
It was only a few minutes in when I was reminded of something that somewhat surprised me: I liked forests. Even now, after my mind had been shredded, they put me at ease. That was strange, in a way. I certainly hadn’t felt that way back on Earth. With how much time I’d spent in them in the past year, though, the woods, even as unfamiliar as these ones were, felt homey.
Letting myself sink into a sort of comfortable nostalgia, I spent a while aimlessly meandering, temporarily abandoning my reason for coming. It was interesting, or at least I knew it should be. New trees. New herbs. New animals. A shame Hartha wasn’t here to see it. The forest shadow would doubtless have plenty to say about the novel forest.
This is kind of peaceful, right? Wasn’t that something that healthy people did? Meditate in peaceful places? I tried my best to empty my mind, retreating inwards to find my inner zen or however it worked. I wasn’t sure if it was actually helping, but I kept on like that for a while, moving deeper into the forest more out of habit than anything else.
Belatedly, I recalled that this was not the tranquil dryad-managed forest I was used to.
You have been slashed for 280 damage!
You are bleeding!
You are poisoned!
Even as five red-hot lines of pain erupted on my back, I stumbled forward, snapping out of my trance. Though my reflexes hadn’t been quite up to blocking the original attack, I thankfully had enough wherewithal to summon my plate armor directly afterwards, immediately overloading it with earth mana as I did so.
It was a good thing, too, as a piece of the armor’s rocky exterior was chipped away at a moment later.
Damage blocked!
Safe for the time being, I spun about and backpedaled, curious to see what had decided to bother me. A feral, feline face met my gaze with a snarl.
Vitality Panther, Level 21, 1100/1100hp
Oh. Right. I’m in a dungeon, aren’t I? Whether from the pain or something else, I felt my head clear up a bit, providing me with some much-needed clarity.
First, I took in the panther. Though perhaps I shouldn’t have been given its name, I was surprised to find the entire creature was a dull, woodsy green rather than a gray or black. From what little I could see of its skin beneath its grass-like fur, it had a gnarled, thick texture to it as well.
Its second attack failing, the panther crouched down before launching its entire body at my chest. At the same time, it swiped down, bringing both its weight and its frighteningly sharp claws to bear. The two of us collided, and-
Damage blocked!
The beast fell to the ground, momentarily dazed.
I mean, I’d really hope so. With my armor enhanced and overloaded, it was the equivalent of two sets of plate armor, plus the layer of rock, plus the additional overloaded mana and standard magic resistance. If a random stealth-based animal in this dungeon could get through all that, I’d have been in serious trouble.
All of that — paired with my Strength threshold bonus and my Force Dispersal class skill making me harder to push around — meant there wasn’t much the panther could do to me.
“One second, please.” I took some time to heal myself as the monster regained its senses and continued its ineffective campaign to turn me into a scratching post. The bleed and the poison took a bit of time to wear off, but my healing cantrip had evolved to help restore blood loss, and my resistance to both forms of damage were fairly high by now. The pain, too, was laughable after what I’d been through.
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Figuring a cutting edge would be best, I decided against any of my physical weapons, instead conjuring up a sword of death mana. The panther reacted immediately to its presence, abandoning its attack before I could get more than a small cut in. I halfheartedly gave chase, only to discover the creature had another trick up its sleeve.
In what had long since become a common scene to me, the vitality panther dove headfirst into a nearby tree, its bark parting for the animal like water. A moment later, it launched itself from a tree behind me, slashing at my back once more.
Damage blocked!
Huh. Just like Elphaea. I wondered what the dryad would think if she saw the panther copying her like that.
I attempted to track the beast’s erratic movements and intercept it with my blade, but quickly realized it was a losing proposition. The panther wasn’t strong enough to hurt me — that was true — but it still was a much higher level opponent than I was used to. It was clear all of those extra stats had gone into Dexterity.
This is… annoying. I wasn’t in the mood for a fight. Certainly not one where I had to spin around and chase something so much.
Maybe that?
I cataloged my options, realizing there was one new weapon in my arsenal that I’d yet to try. Mostly just hoping to end the fight, but still vaguely curious at what new powers I’d gained, I funneled a bit of spatial magic towards my feet. Obligingly, the newest variant of Mana Feet revealed itself.
Spatial Step
Teleport a short distance to any visible location within range. Mana cost varies depending on distance traveled.
If I recalled, I’d been hoping for something similar when I’d originally unlocked the Light variant of the skill. Undoubtedly, it was better late than never.
“I can make that work, I think.” I wouldn’t even have to do too much running, either.
I spent the next minute simply standing there, letting the panther continue to jump around and doing my best to track its movements. When at last I was confident I could keep up, I swapped out my mana sword for my soulbound spear, instantly Spatial Stepping directly between the panther and its target tree.
Even as fast as it was, it had no time to dodge as it was taken by surprise. I overloaded the spear with a healthy dose of death mana and rammed it downwards, running the creature through and stabbing the weapon into the earth.
Given its prodigious health, the beast didn’t die immediately, but all of my weapon training had taught me just how nasty of a weapon a spear could be. With how I’d angled it, there was no simple way for the panther to free itself as it flailed and batted at me, all while the death mana from the weapon spread through it. Working far faster than usual, the necrosis seemed to relish snuffing out the life mana it found within the visibly wilting creature. A short time later, it was over.
You have slain a Vitality Panther!
You have earned 406xp.
Huh. Good experience. I supposed solo-killing a level 21 would do that, wouldn’t it?
Well, no matter. I hadn’t come here to fight in the first place, had I? Outside of a pleasant walk, there was no reason to be this deep in the forest. I spent some time slowly retracing my steps, partially from memory, partially from the feel of the mana around me. It was subtle, but I’d noticed a slight inwards pull back to where the grand magus lay, no doubt a result of the mana-gathering array.
When at last I returned to where I’d entered, I eyed the towering trees with a bone-deep weariness.
A lumber axe counts as a conjurable weapon, right?
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Verin awoke stiff and out of sorts, a combination that was growing unpleasantly more commonplace as of late. For the first time in a long time, she wondered if she’d have been better off with a different set of stats.
Admittedly, passing the first Charisma threshold had granted her a great degree of control over her body, which was likely the only reason that her stomach had survived the first few days here. Otherwise, the utter disasters of meals she’d eaten would have made themselves known in a number of unpleasant manners. How was she supposed to know that basic cooking would be that hard?
Presently, though, she might trade it all for a few more points in Constitution and Endurance. She hadn’t known that sleeping on the bare ground could be so uncomfortable, precisely because she’d never thought to do it. She’d already been at a loss the first time she’d seen where Tess lived in Emer’Thalis. A small tent? A bed of furs? It had been unthinkable before she’d seen it herself.
It was funny, that. Now she would kill for even those.
Well, no matter. It wouldn’t do for the others to hear her complaining, nor would she bring herself so low as to sulk about. Though it was hardly anything official, she knew that in some sense, she was the leader of the three of them, and she would act accordingly.
And besides, if Tess wasn’t complaining, how could she? In comparison, Verin’s plight was barely worth mentioning.
Of course, I lack any certainty that she would raise any complaints regarding anything presently. It was good to know she’d healed somewhat, but she hardly spoke these days. They’d opted not to press the point, letting her do whatever was necessary for her healing. Given another day or two, however, Verin wasn’t sure if she could keep watching her previously lively friend act fully mute.
Does she at least sleep well? Or if not, better than I do? Checking to see if Tess was managing her bed of dirt, Verin turned to examine her companion and her usual resting place.
The very moment she did so, Verin froze.
She’s gone. Tess was nowhere to be found.
“Lady Tess? Calilah?” She called out only to be met with empty silence.
Of course the rogue is off doing who-knows-what. Verin wasn’t entirely thrilled with the royal’s frequent excursions, but considering that she was keeping them fed right now, she’d bit her tongue.
Could they be together? But no. Certainly at least one of them would have the decency to leave a note.
Completely alone, she had a sudden urge to rush out into the grass to find one of them, but she suppressed the foolish thought. There would be no way to reliably find them, and Cal currently held their only reliable means of navigation -- a gift from the grand magus after Tess had passed out. Without it, Verin was hardly certain in her ability to return once she left.
An entire hour passed in equally dull and frantic tension. Even as skilled as Verin was in maintaining her composure, she couldn’t help but have negative thoughts. Had something taken them? Were they out there, dead or lost? Hells, had they decided to abandon her here?
All ridiculous, especially the last. That hardly stopped her from worrying, though.
It was, then, somewhat of a relief when Cal popped into existence — quite literally, too, canceling her invisibility skill to appear directly before Verin out of thin air.
“Heya V. Miss me?” She hoisted up the rabbit she’d brought back as if waiting for applause, only managing to irk the high noble more.
“Firstly, I would like to make it clear that under no circumstances are you to shorten my name to ‘V.’ Secondly, do you know where the lady Tess has gone?”
Seeming to realize for the first time that the two of them were alone in the clearing, Cal slowly spun about until answering the question without answering it.
“Huh. Well. Shit, yeah?”
Her worst fears confirmed — well, not her worst, worst fears, but some of her less pleasant ones — Verin grew decidedly more animated.
“Find her. You must have some sort of tracking skill, yes? Quickly, quickly, she may be getting farther away with each mo-” Abruptly, she paused.
In the windless, lifeless plains, the air was perpetually filled with an eerie silence. Having barely passed the first Perception threshold, Verin was offered the perfect backdrop to hear even the faintest of noises. And judging by the distant sounds of grass being flattened and shook, it sounded like something was coming.
Something big.
Steps of solid ice materialized before her, Verin wasting no time to climb atop them and orient herself towards the noise. The tall grass hid the exact form of whatever was coming, but much as she’d expected, large tracts of grass were falling only to spring back up as whatever creature tampling them moved on.
And quite notably, moving directly towards them, too.
“Lady Calilah. Ready yourself. Something approaches.” Truly, this was coming at the worst time.
To the normally flippant woman’s credit, she needed no further words, immediately slipping back into invisibility as Verin dashed into the far grass to conceal herself.
Once more, Verin was forced through a painful waiting game, made only worse by the lack of bugs or birds or anything to distract her from the slowly loudening sound of the approaching beast. Closer and closer and closer until the patch of grass on the opposite end of the clearing fell, and-
Out stepped an unbothered, unharmed Tess.
More than that, she hadn’t returned empty-handed, either. Pulled behind her on a makeshift sled was an entirely unreasonable number of logs, fastened together with grass and vines. Atop it all were the corpses of five of what seemed to be panthers of some sort.
With a sigh, half of relief, half of exasperation, Verin stepped into the clearing. At the same time, Cal canceled her invisibility.
Spotting them, Tess gently nodded her head. “Hi guys. I went for a walk.”
Verin forcibly suppressed the urge to pinch her nose in exasperation. She would have to have a long talk with Tess about what she chose to share with the two of them, and perhaps a shorter one on what constituted a simple ‘walk.’ Saving that for later, Verin motioned broadly to the forest’s worth of felled trees behind her friend.
“Lady Tess. Might I ask what all this is?”
Tess glanced behind her as if just now recalling the weight she’d been dragging. “Oh. Right.” Completely casually, she answered as if her actions were the most normal thing in the world.
“Well. How would you feel about building a house?”