I’m getting sick of Skeletons.

Grifith and I had been ‘hunting’ Skeletons in the Dark Forest for over 4 hours. We had found another swarm of Skeletons and figured we should take it out before it leaves the Forest to find a sapient settlement to attack. I decided to get a little crafty with my Barrier spell to make the process a bit easier.

I made a platform for Grifith and I to run on about 8 feet off the ground and stairs to reach it. When we made it closer to the center of the swarm, I cast a large semi-permeable barrier that would let monsters in, but wouldn’t let them back out. Doing it this way and adding the health and stamina draining effects made for an easy wipe of the whole thing.

The monsters would constantly be trying to get closer to us to kill us, but when they were in the barrier, their resource pools would be constantly sapped away until they turned to loot. The Skeletons constantly kicked the bones towards the middle of the trap as they tried to get closer to Grifith and I, making the pile of loot easy to store when all the Skeletons had died off..

Grifith was impressed by my ingenuity. All we had to do was make a bit of noise to ensure all the Skeletons made it into the trap. We sat on top of the barrier for around 3 hours, just letting the monsters kill themselves off.

The Barrier had grown to hold immense power given it had drained over 600 Skeletons of their health and stamina pools. It had several thousand points of charge by the time we were ready to get off of it.

I adjusted the top of the barrier, layering a set of stairs for the two of us to climb down. When we got back to ground level, I immediately got to work storing as many bones as I could. I’m just glad there wasn’t a cap on how many items could be stored in one slot, as long as they were similar enough. It took us a few minutes to get all the bones together, given there were around 300 of them scattered around.

When everything was done and settled, we headed deeper into the forest to make sure there were no more hordes similar to the ones we’ve dealt with so far.

“This is why there’s regular culling of forest monsters,” Grifith explained. “If left alone for too long, the monsters will gather into swarms and leave the forest to find the closest sapient settlement. Without being able to use some crafty bullshit like you just used, It would have taken at least a raiding party of 30 to deal with a swarm that large. Even more if it had joined with the group from last night.”

“I get it. I honestly don’t mind coming here to get some kills every once in a while. It’s great skill training. I gained 40% a level in Barrier Magic from how many monsters we just dealt with.” It was true. I now sat at 56% into level 14. Dealing with the swarm was a small blessing. Plus it added to our sellable loot, and it greatly added to our kill count for Skeletons.

We didn’t find any more hordes, but we found a few smaller packs of 5-10. We took turns dealing with them in our own methods. Grifith suggested I keep using my draining method to kill them since it was easier, cheaper, and faster. But I desperately wanted the next level in Arcane Magic, since I was sure it would give me the missing piece of the last spell.

“If you want, I can use my information skills and let you know what the next level holds. I don’t use it out of respect for people’s privacy, but if you ask me to, I'm more than willing.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I want to deal with it on my own. I know I can power level this skill by using it to kill monsters, it’s just that Skeletons don’t make good targets for the new spell. It’s easier to get them with Mana Bolts. That’s why my Arc is strictly bolts right now instead of the Exploding Bullets.”

I had 1 empowered Mana Bolt split into 8 regular charge bolts in an Arc behind me. I spent most of my time practicing firing and casting in rapid succession during the 3 hours we were waiting on the horde to die down. It had earned me 20% more in the level since I had a decent amount of monster kills with Arcane Magic, though very little when compared to Barrier Magic.

We kept hunting more and more Skeletons until it reached around 1 pm. Grifith called it good for now, so we headed back out of the forest to have lunch then run for a bit.

“So last night, you were going to explain tiers to me, but you never did. What are they, and how do they relate to monsters?” I asked.

“Tiers have to deal with a monster's spawn strength. The stronger the monster, the higher the tier. After a monster kills so many other monsters, it can tier up and evolve into its next form.” Grifith started explaining as I nodded and took mental notes.

“Take Goblins and Slime, for instance. They’re both tier 1 monster’s. If a Goblin were to kill enough other Goblins or other monsters, it would eventually qualify to evolve into a Hobgoblin. Hobgoblins are considered tier 2 monsters. It's the same with Giant Slimes. I don't know what the tier 3 monster for slimes is, but tier 3 and on for gobs are Orcs, then Ogres, and finally Trolls. When an Ogre evolves into a Troll, it completely skips tier 5. Monster evolutions can occasionally skip tiers like that. Each monster can spawn on its own, but a dedicated Goblin spawn can eventually kill its way to becoming a tier 6 Troll, assuming it doesn’t die before reaching that point.”

“I see. What’s the highest tier monster you know about?” Please say dragons, please say dragons.

“Dragons.” I mentally started fangirling.

“Dragons, depending on the race, can be tier 10 monsters. Some are only tier 9, but they’re incredibly powerful regardless of the tier difference. The last dragon that started wrecking havoc took an entire raid party of only Gold Plate adventurers. That being said, most dragons are relatively peaceful, and they are usually spawned with a higher intelligence. They’re one of the biggest reasons people debate on whether or not monster spawns can be considered sapient. There’s actually a colony of the beasts living in the mountains on the dwarven continent. They number in the hundreds, and if they ever decided to rampage, the rest of civilization would be screwed.”

Oh yeah, I'm SO going to check that out one day. Hell, I might put that higher on the to do list than get a cat girl girlfriend. Priorities, after all. Although… Should I try anything with Sarah? I dunno. Nah. Don’t shit where you eat and all that.

We finished our food and Grifith brought his sword out. I looked around for monsters, but couldn't find anything. He doesn’t usually run with his sword. Not unless…

Oh shit.

I angled west and started running for my life with a psycho behind me, shouting orders on how to run better. I could barely pay attention, since I didn't want to get stabbed again and all.

Well, he gets results.

We made it a little before the sun started to set. I collapsed on the ground and dismissed the 10 bolt Arc that Grifith made me hold, fire, and recharge for the entire sprint, swearing vengeance upon the madman that was my friend. I didn’t mind doing Arc training when we were jogging, but doing it while sprinting for a little over 6 hours drained me mentally.

We started to set up camp when we reached the approximate edge of the wolf territory. Grifith set the wards out, I set the Barrier up.

We weren’t planning on even attempting to enter the Dark forest tonight. We - and I mean me - were too exhausted from the run over to want to risk attacking.

I spent the rest of the night studying the Exploding Bullet pattern, doing my best to become more familiar with it and trying to deduce what I felt was missing.

I almost want to say it’s missing a trigger. I see the trigger to make the bullet fly in the desired direction, but I don't see the trigger to make it explode.

I formed an airtight Barrier that extended from my hand to the edge of the Barrier we were going to sleep in. I planned on using the smaller one for testing.

Test shot one: ready.

I fired the bullet and watched it fly to the end of the mini tunnel I made and explode upon impact. It felt exactly like Mana Bolt and Arcane Explosion were melded together into one twisted amalgamation.

Okay, so the spell works as it’s supposed to. So what’s the feeling I'm getting from it?

I tested the spell again, and looked at my resources to see how much it costs. It cost 15 mana each, which is the same as the original version of Arcane Explosion. It will presumably cost less the more I gain levels.

I kept practicing the spell over and over. I cast over 100 Exploding Bullets by the time I decided to call it a night. I dumped the remainder of my mana into the barrier and went to sleep.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

The next day, Grifith and I charged into the Dark Forest on the look out for Wolves.

I killed around 30 spiders before we found the first Wolf. We had made our way southeast, looking for any tracks or other signs of the beasty monster.

I’d like to give us more credit by saying we found it, but in reality, it found us. Grifith only survived because he traveled with his sword out and he was able to get it sideways in the Wolf's jaws before it could clamp down on his neck.

It was a gruesome struggle, but when I got over my shock, I put a 10 point barrier between the two to separate them and give Grifith some breathing room.

I launched 3 of my 8 Mana Bolts at the Wolf as it jumped backwards to prepare another punching attack at us. 2 of the 3 hit it in its left side, and the third one only grazed its front left paw. I had messed up with the last one since I was still a bit shaken.

Grifith recovered and charged straight through the barrier to engage with the Wolf again. He swiped at the Wolf’s front right paw, aiming to remove the mobility advantage the monster had. I cast a minimal barrier behind it so it couldn’t retreat.

Grifith’s strike landed and seemed to cut about an inch deep and looked to stop at the bone. The Wolf fell forward, now unable to properly walk on either of its front paws and with it left hindquarter injured.

Grifith ended the fight with a blow to the Wolf’s neck.

“Well damn. The bastard snuck up on me. I didn’t realize how quick they were and how far back they stacked their prey from.” He grabbed the Wolf pelt and Wolf meat that was our loot for the fight and handed them both to me for storage.

I was running out of slots for new drops, So i removed the few pieces of Hobgoblin armor I had and traded them for the new drops. We’d be getting more Wolf drops than Hobgoblin drops for the remainder of our trip, so it made sense.

“Also, good work on the Barriers. I’m glad you took my advice for what it was and not as an insult as many people take it. You probably saved my life, if not saved me a good amount of effort.”

I smiled and nodded. “Of course. Always looking to improve.”

We headed in the direction that the Wolf came from and were ambushed by two more. We were more prepared to deal with these since they waited until we were closer to attack, thereby giving Grifith the heads up with his detection skill.

This time, I readied a barrage of Exploding Bullets and fired 5 at each Wolf before they could make it all the way to us. The explosion of the projectiles was enough that each bullet actually tore open each of the monster's sides.

It was a little more bloody than I was used to.

Okay, something about this spell is throwing me off a little, but holy Hagrid that was AWESOME! I’ll be using this a whole lot more.

I released the Mana Bolts that were in my Arc, and replaced them all with a series of 8 Exploding Bullets. I’d be using these for the duration of our time in Wolf territory. We grabbed the two pelts and meat chunk and continued on our way.

I feel more confident now that I have two usable single target spells to go with my AOE spell.

It was another few minutes before we had a similar encounter. The Wolves were fast, very fast. In fact, if I didn't know they were coming, I don't think I'd be able to react in time. But since I had a secret weapon that went by the name of Grifith, I was able to shoot down each and every Wolf that made its way to us.

The only problem was when the Wolves started their charge from outside of Grifith’s range of detection. Then they’d make contact, and I'd have to separate the monster from my friend before tearing them apart with explosions. I’ve come to be able to kill each Wolf with a single Exploding Bullet to the head/neck.

We kept our pace up until we were met with a small pack of 5 Wolves. I was able to take 4 of them down, but I hadn't recharged a fifth Bullet to my Arc yet, so Grifith attacked the last surviving monster from the group. He had decided that he wanted to deal with at least a few Wolves to get the experience of fighting them and to level his active skills too.

I felt bad when he mentioned how he wanted to do more while we were out here. I hadn’t realized how much more of the killing I had done until Grifith mentioned it. I had gained a few levels while I was out here in multiple skills, yet he had only gained 3 levels in his Detection skill, and a level in his Enhanced Body.

I let him deal with the last Wolf on his own. There was one point where I was about to intervene when it looked like he had fallen backwards, but he showed me wrong by twisting mid fall as the Wolf jumped on him and plunged his blade straight through its open maw.

“Damn dude! That was impressive! I almost jumped in there at the last second till you pulled that crap outta nowhere!" I dapped him up then dragged him to his feet. He was heavier than I expected, and that’s including my improved strength.

“Hey, I haven't died yet, so don’t go discounting me too much now.” He grinned and grabbed the loot.

“It looks like the Wolf Pelts have a pretty high drop rate. I think every one we’ve fought so far has dropped one.” I commented.

“That’s because it has a 90% rate. We could probably make a small fortune just from farming these pelts. I think each one goes for a silver each. And the Dire Wolf Pelts go for double.” He handed the pelt to me and I added it to the pile from the other 4 Wolves before adding them all to storage in one go.

“So,” Grifith started, “it looks like we’re getting close to the Wolf den. My skill tells me they usually either find a cave and make that their home, or they find the thickest tree around and dig out the dirt under the roots to make a den there. I’d wager we should look for thicker trees since I don't think there’s any cave systems around here. I think one of us should climb a tree, cut our way through the webs, and see if any tree tops pop out as being the tallest, since that would likely also be the widest.”

“Man, I’m glad I'm not the only dumbass around here. Dude, we’re obviously going in the right direction the more monsters we face, the closer to their home we’re getting. It’s pretty simple math, in my opinion.”

He glared at me for the insult, but ultimately agreed that an increase in monster density was a good thing.

I increased the number of Exploding Bullets I had in my Arc from 8 to 10 and we continued our journey. The mental strain was intense, but I could manage for now, especially since we’re getting closer to the den.

We fought 6 more groups of Wolves over the next 30 minutes. Each Wolf died from a Bullet to the head.

When we were attacked by a group of 9 wolves at once, I killed each one as it came. At that point we had more than enough kills to complete the promotion quest, but I still insisted that we spend the rest of the day killing as many Wolves as possible. Grifith wanted to head back so we could get our promotion, but agreed when I offered to either trap a Wolf for him to practice his Detection on, or if he wanted to fight more, I'd start leaving more Wolves for him to deal with.

“Fine, but only because I really want those damn skill levels. We’ll keep searching for the den, then we’re going home. It’s been a long ass week and I want a warm meal, damnit!”

I laughed and we went on our way. He told me to leave 2 wolves for him to kill from the next group that attacked us, and I agreed. The next group was a pack of 4, so I let the first 2 attack Grifith and killed the second 2. Then I shot a spider that I saw way up in the canopy above us and sat back and watched the fight.

Grifith was pretty damn good. I know he spends a lot of time just killing the same Goblin over and over, but he really knows how to use his sword. He angled himself so that a pair of trees prevented either of the Wolves from trying to get behind him for a pincer attack.

The beasts took turns attacking Grifith, and each time one of them lunged at him, he would come out the victor. The first one jumped forward, getting a serious slash to its side. I thought I saw him take his dagger out at one point to get under the second Wolf’s belly, but I was proven wrong when the end of his sword came out the top of its back, right by its hip.

That Wolf was out of the fight, and the first Wolf jumped him right as its pack member went down. It was at this point, when his sword was stuck in the first Wolf, that he took his dagger out from being hidden in his chest piece and used it to gouge a long bloody line from the base of the monster’s neck all the way down to the base of its hips, removing its tail.

I applauded him, which turned out to be a mistake. Another Wolf jumped out from the shadow of a nearby tree straight at me. I jumped in surprise and Grifith ran to my aid. I cast a Barrier more out of panic than conscious thought, to separate the monster from myself.

The Wolf jumped off of me and switched to snarling and snapping at Grifith.

I was thankful the only injury I sustained was from falling hard on my back with the extra weight of the Wolf on top of my chest. I had cast the barrier before it had time to do any real damage, but I could feel my palms were scraped pretty badly, and I had a small cut across my hand that was already starting to close.

Grifith Had taken care of the Wolf monster before I had time to fully process what was going on.

“You okay there? The little shit came charging at us from too far away for me to call it out, so sorry about that.” He looked embarrassed at having failed at his designated duty.

“Don’t sweat it man. I’d probably be puppy chow right now if it weren’t for you. I only got a scraped hand from it, so I'll be fine. That being said, let’s take a break here for a bit so I can recharge some mana.”

He nodded and came closer to me so I didn't have to make the Barrier as big. It’s not really a problem for me to make it bigger, but it is easier on my head to make it more compact. I added an extra 100 mana to the pattern and leaned back against a nearby tree.

“That last one freaked me out a bit. I was honestly scared for a second. That barrier was an instinctual cast. I didn’t even think about it and it appeared. I’m glad it did too. I’d hate to go back to Silface missing an eye.”

Grifith chuckled a bit at that. “Yeah, it freaked me out too. I almost thought you were a goner there. I had a full solo escape plan set out for myself and everything. I was only bummed out that I would've lost all that loot you were carrying for us.”

I punched his arm. “I swear I'll kick you out of this damn thing and leave you without a Ball of Light to see.”

That only made him laugh harder.

We kicked the shit for a full hour. I dealt with a single Wolf during that time, but we relaxed for the rest of it. My palm healed completely, and my mana pool was back to full. I cast my Arc of Exploding Bullets, then we headed deeper into the Dark Forest.

I think I need a bit of a break after we finish this quest. I’m tired of not having a proper room to myself, or not having warm meals whenever I want.