Not only did I get the joy of having Tulbat along with me, but I also got two newer warriors. His idea was that I would form a party with the two young warriors and help them out. Apparently, he was more interested in my power leveling his guys than in actually helping me.

I was torn between just pushing into the deeper parts of the forest or warming up here. My melee skills were maxed out until I reached a higher level and could raise them again. So, I decided to give them a chance. I looked at both of the level three ogre warriors.

I had already begun to think of them as Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum. I told them to wait in the first clearing we found. Tulbat stayed further back so he wouldn’t interfere with their gaining XP or because he just didn’t care if they died. Then I went out and threw rocks at a rage badger. It followed me, but with my upgraded Agility I was able to stay ahead of it.

Dee and Dum jumped the monster as soon as it reached the clearing and I turned once I was on the other side of them. Again, I knew I could have taken out the monster by myself, but part of this was to see if I could teach these idiots proper group mechanics.

They got clawed up because neither was very good at fighting and the tribe didn’t have enough armor to give to warriors this low level. At least they had weapons. Dee used an enormous axe and Dum a hammer. They were likely made for smaller beings like humans as two-handed weapons, but worked for them as one handed.

I popped a regeneration on them and watched as their wounds closed. Both of them sighed in relief.

“Dee, you’re up next. Your job is to run out there and bring a monster back for us.”

“Me name no Dee.”

“No, you’re right.” Then I stepped across and slugged him upside the head. The force of the blow knocked him down. I stepped up and placed my foot on his chest. “Your name is Tweedle Dee because I will call you whatever I want. But for now, it’s easier to call you Dee. So that is your name now.”

Then I looked over at Dum, “Do you have any problem with your name, Dum?”

He glanced over at Tulbat, so I held out my hand. “Flameburst.”

The blast of fire exploded right in front of Dum, causing no actual damage. “No, don’t look at Tulbat. He is the head warrior. The entire tribe, including shamans, listens to him. But right now, I’m in charge of this hunt. I’m here to keep you alive and to teach you how to fight together.”

Dum nodded his head and said, “No problem.”

Tulbat stepped into the clearing though and interrupted. “Thiz no ogre way.”

I glared defiantly at him. I knew without Shemi here to save me there was no chance I could take him on my own, but I was sick of being pushed around. “Ogre way is strength.”

“No that no what Tulbat mean. Youz prove stronger than warriorz. They obey youz. Chief say mez no kill youz. No, let monsterz kill youz. But ogre way iz go to monsterz and fight. Why bring monsterz back?”

That might be the most words the head warrior had ever strung together at once. But at least he got to the heart of the matter. “I am teaching a new way of fighting with shamans. A way that will make us stronger than our enemies. Ogres may be strong, but we are still out here in the forest instead of living in the good lands with all the food we want. You want to crush our enemies, don’t you?”

Tulbat hated me, but he loved the idea of being able to crush his enemies. I had heard the ogres complain many times about humans, elves, and dwarves. Those were NPC races that controlled the best land around here. They had the most resources, and the ogres were jealous. Never mind that the ogres wouldn’t have been able to properly use resources, even if they had them.

Tulbat grumbled, “We see.” But at least he stepped back out of the clearing and so I had a free hand to train Dee and Dum. It took a couple hours for them to get the hang of things. Since I was only getting a third of the XP from these monsters, which was already reduced now that they were lower level than me, it chafed.

When they both hit fourth level, things seemed to start to pick up. I could have told them to save the XP for a threshold level, but both of them had simply accepted XP every time we got any. Ultimately, I decided that while I needed to do some of this to get away from here, I also didn’t want to give the ogres too many secrets.

By the middle of the day, I had enough XP to hit level six, and they were both halfway to level five. The monsters were sparser during the day, and I had seen none of the jungle cats. But I felt like we were ready for a challenge.

We traveled further into the forest than I had ever been. All over the trees, I started to see deep scratches dug into the trees. My first thought was bear, but then I realized they didn’t look right for that. The grooves weren’t uniform at all. A moment later, some of the brush parted and a huge creature walked out.

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It was an enormous buck with a rack of very sharp looking horns. At least I knew what caused the scratches in the trees. The beasts back legs were much thicker than I would have expected and ended in three-toed hooves. The front legs looked like they ended in a pair of claws. The creature’s coloring was perfect for blending into the background.

In fact, the longer I stared at it, the more I was certain its hide was shifting patterns as it moved. If I didn’t have the ability to Assess it, I might never have been able to fully lock my sight onto it.

It was called a bounding buck and was level nine. I could see Tulbat shifting his hammer back and forth, and Dee and Dum both seemed nervous. I didn’t know why it had this name, but taking down a level nine would give us far better XP than the level three or four mobs we had been fighting.

I started to tell the two warriors to flank it when the creature taught me what its name meant. Those powerful back legs pushed off the ground and it cleared thirty feet in a single bound. It impaled several of its horns into Dee’s chest. Without me, he likely would have bled out.

“Dum, attack it. Get its attention.”

He was no brighter than his name, but at least he wasn’t a coward. He obeyed orders and was soon whacking at the buck with his long hammer. I cast Regeneration three times on Dee and then turned to focus on the fight.

Dum wasn’t fairing very well. He was already cut up by a combination of those front claws and the jagged horns. Rather than initially healing him, though, I cast Flash of Light on the buck. As expected, the blind effect didn’t work, but it still took the edge off his attacks. A quick pair of Regenerations on Dum kept him up while Dee was now healed enough to jump back into the fight.

Again, ogres may not be very bright, but they are fearsome fighters. Even outclassed by five levels, they were whittling away at the buck. I just needed an opening to try out my signature spell. While it was mana intensive, all those extra Will points made sure that I had mana to spare. I wasn’t going to thank Tulbat for killing me all those times, but it still worked out for the best.

The mana surged in me and then blasted out to strike the buck. It was a clean hit against its head, right between the eyes. My debuff may not have blinded it but burning ice expanding into its eyes did the same thing. The beast threw back its head in pain. The ogres were a bit slow to react, but I thrust my spear straight into its throat.

I wondered if my faster reactions resulted from superior intelligence or a superior Agility score. Either way, their attacks followed a second later. Dee’s axe cut deeply into the neck and opened the wound I had started. It would be fatal on its own, even if not instantly. Dum’s hammer caught the buck on the side of its head. Freezing skin, a neck that was gushing blood, and that blow combined to be enough to knock the beast down.

I continued to allow mana to flow into Frostburn. The effect spread over its entire head and within half a dozen seconds, the creature was dead. Even split three ways, the XP was nice because of the level advantage the creature had. What was even better though was that we learned Bounding Bucks were pack creatures.

The next ten minutes were glorious. I had rarely, if ever, felt so alive. I had played a support caster and even a healer before. They were not my forte, but playing a game was nothing like living it. I cast my spells to keep both warriors up. We fought with our backs to a tree as I waved Tulbat off. I didn’t want to be rescued. I wanted to win this fight.

When it was done and over with, we each had nothing more than a sliver of HP remaining and my mana pool was as dry as a desert. We had all been cut or stabbed and had our own blood covering most every square inch of our bodies. But the results were worth it. I gained enough XP to reach eight, and they were both up to level six.

Technically, they out-leveled me now since I was holding my XP, but I didn’t let that bother me. The sun was setting, and Tulbat wanted to go back to the village. He insisted that the night was too dangerous for us to be in the forest this deep, even with him.

I insisted we needed to skin the bucks and bring back their meat, but he seemed to think even that was too dangerous. I relented after it was agreed that each of us would haul one carcass back. I don’t think I have ever been so drained. I mean, my physical life hadn’t exactly been filled with manual labor and gaming had never made me tired. There was something fulfilling about fighting to the point of physical exhaustion.

Fortunately, ogre constitutions and strength made it, so we recovered fairly quickly. I couldn’t meditate since Tulbat wouldn’t stand there and guard me, but even without it, my mana filled up in a little over ten minutes. I started popping regens on each of us after I hit halfway and that went a long way to restoring us as well.

By the time I got back to the village, I had explained to Tulbat how I wanted to roast the bucks over open fires. I explained the idea of a spit but also how I would take the hides off first. It might not be mana infused food, but the meat would still make for a better meal than the ogres had enjoyed before my arrival. Once again, I saw Tulbat wasn’t a complete fool. None of this made him like me, but he did like good food, so he continued to put up with me.

The final find came when I skinned the bucks. I got a notification that their hides could be used to create magical items. It probably shouldn’t have been surprising given their camouflage like properties. The problem was that I was offered the leatherworking skill. As I understood it, this would have been my second trade skill, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to use it up yet. So, I pushed away the notification and settled in to cook us some venison.