“So basically this is a trade deal. I will provide you with tons of light like before but in exchange you will keep me safe from all the monsters in this forest.”
The gaping green maw filled with oozing orange acidic sap simply looks down on me from its position webbed and hanging between the towering trees.
I am not one hundred percent sure the thing understands me, but the fact that it is just sitting there and not eating me gives me hope. So I continue on.
“One thing I should mention is that the snack I just gave you used up all of my mana and it will take me a while before I am able to do that again.”
And with that statement I know the level 102 mass of killer vines understands me, because it starts angrily rustling and its maw is opening wider and wider.
However, before it can decide it is better off eating me, I rush to extend our deal and try to save my life.
“Wait! I said that I don’t have enough mana currently, but if I can level up and gain more mana I will be able to provide you with meals you can only imagine!”
That makes the viny terror stop though the slight rustle makes me believe that it is still unsure.
“My proposal is that we work together, I will help you hunt for food and in helping you I will gain a share of the experience, this will make me level up and be able to provide you with even more food and tasty light magic. Eating me would only satisfy you for a moment while keeping me alive and protecting me, no, working with me, will provide you far far more.”
Looking up at the inquisitive mass of green and orange I stand my ground with as much confidence as I can muster.
“What do you think, do we have a deal?”
Taking a few seconds to mull things over the snapper makes its decision and simply closes its mouth.
It agreed.
Falling to my knees I shimmy on over to the nearest tree and lean my back against it and let out the biggest sigh I have ever sighed in my entire two lives.
It only took two days of constantly being on the verge of death but I managed to find a safe space in this forest of nightmares.
“Hey, I am gonna rest for a bit and recover my mana. While I do that I will also be thinking of a way for us to hunt together that will provide the most benefits for the both of us. Can you make sure nothing attacks me?”
The vine snapper just sits there with its maw shut, however I decide to take that as a yes for now.
Looking over at the blonde villainess beside me who has been silent for this whole discussion I grin and ask her what she thinks.
Alice just looks down on me with a look of shock, exasperation, and a bit of amusement on her face. Shrugging and letting out a chuckle she lets me know her true thoughts.
“You are completely fucking insane you know that right?”
“I never said I wasn’t.”
At that, she shakes her head and goes back to ignoring me.
Now, I need to figure out the best way to level up while stuck in this forest of high level monsters. Snappy is my only hope to kill anything that is not a level 10 goblin right now and if I can’t contribute to the fight then I won’t gain any experience. And if I don’t gain any experience, Snappy will eat me.
The big problem is I don’t know what monsters are even in this forest to begin with. As far as I can tell I am now in the second ring of The Sea of Trees. The second ring is a place barely anybody bothers to visit. And while it is far from the most dangerous part of this forest, the massive cliff, inhospitable environment, chance encounters with high level monsters, and lack of proper amenities makes it rather low on most people's list of vacation destinations.
With no other options I decide I need to do some scouting on my own. First things first I need to ask the cute blonde girl to my right something I had totally forgotten about with all the nearly dying I have been doing.
“Hey Alice, isn’t there supposed to be a skill shop or something?”
Sighing the living projection turns to me and tells me the bad news.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
“You don’t have access to the full system due to the interference that is preventing access to your mind so the skill point and skill shop systems are disabled.”
With that rather shocking and terrifying news I realize I might be more screwed than I thought. As my shoulders slump Alice gives me a carrot to replace the stick.
“However it is not like you need it considering your absurdly rapid development of your light magic without system assistance.”
“Huh, I guess I have not been using the system as much as I thought.”
“Correction: You have barely been using the system at all!”
Getting a bit indignant at my casual response, the AI girl sets me straight.
“You do remember you need to say the skill name out loud to activate them. Tell me, when was the last time you actually said [Light Beam]?”
“Hmm. I uh, don’t actually remember…”
“And that is what I am talking about. You are already using your magic quite easily without any system assistance whatsoever. Rendering me to function as nothing more than backup commentary.”
With a final huff she turns around and then vanishes into nothing but motes of light.
Now all alone, well, alone with Snappy, I decide I might as well try and develop some new skills to assist me in my survival.
----------------------------------------
Marching through the endless maze of wooden monoliths and rough underbrush a four legged figure of pitch black fur lightly growls, hunting its prey.
It had spotted the creature milling about near the edge of the river around dawn and began stalking it like the true predator it is. Many of the lesser creatures of this forest fear the beast, fleeing at the mere sight of it. It takes great pride in this fear, knowing it stands at the top and that all other creatures are beneath it.
The small two legged creature stops for a moment, carrying its makeshift bucket of water from the river, looking around for any threats that may be near. However the beast is too skilled at concealing its presence and blending in with the shadows to be noticed by its prey.
After an hour of walking the creature sits down in a clearing, letting its guard down, thinking it is safe. The predator of this forest decides this is the best time to strike. It leaps out and charges the shocked figure before it can react. Wrapping its jaws around it and biting down with all its strength. Its teeth tear through the pitiful creature in an instant killing it.
[Level 2 Dirt Golem defeated!]
[Little to no Experience is awarded for defeating a creature 75 levels below you.]
Before the beast can comprehend the message a massive flash of light goes off, blinding the predator and causing it to hesitate. More and more light begins to assault the creature and its eyes start to burn, its whole face prickling and fur starting to singe.
As the pain continues to mount the beast lets out a sharp bark in the direction it feels the magic coming from, the pressure from its shout crashing into the distance and splintering off the bark of the metal like trees. However the magic does not abate, and before the predator of the forest can let out another attack it feels a vine wrap around its leg.
Within moments the leg is yanked into the air before the beast can bite at it to break free. Unable to see what is going on it can only thrash about and try to get its jaws to the vine around its back leg as it dangles helplessly.
More vines reach out and the burning light intensifies, wrapping around the predator, restricting its movements. Finally the agonizing brightness seems to abate and as the beast's vision begins to clear, the last thing it sees is a gaping maw of green and orange snapping around its head.
----------------------------------------
[Level 83 Direwolf defeated!]
[A massive amount of Experience is awarded for defeating a creature 75 levels above you!]
[Less Experience is awarded for barely assisting in the kill.]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
“Hey it worked! Only 3 levels from that but all I did was lure it and blind it so I guess I should count myself lucky that I even managed to get that.”
Turning to my leafy companion I stare in shock and rush forward.
“Hey! Don’t eat all of it! I thought we talked about this. I can’t make any snacks for you if I starve to death!”
Stopping in its munching, Snappy lets go of the single dangling leg that remains of the level 83 direwolf. It falls to the ground still sizzling from the powerful acid dissolving the edges of the 3 foot tall stick of meat.
Exasperated, I go to pick up my dinner for the day.
“Thanks Snappy.”
The pile of vines simply ignores me and continues chewing its little doggy treat.
Dusting the dirt off my prize I grab the little clay pot filled with water my dirt golem had left behind. RIP timmy, you will be missed. I heft the leg over my shoulder and begin making my way back to my little camp while looking over my stats.
[Status]
-Lua Knight-
Species: Human
Level: 8
Class: 1
Magic: Light, Golemancy
Skills:
[Lesser Light Manipulation]
[Light Sphere]
[Create Golem]
[Flash]
[Passive - Solar Regeneration]
[Tethered Vision]
[Infrared Vision]
[Basic Mapping]
[Thermal Shell]
Firstly I realized that the levels of my skills were completely meaningless, because apparently the numbers were just approximations Alice made based on my current skill level rather than the assistance level the system should be providing. So rather than look at a bunch of meaningless data I asked Alice to simply stop displaying them.
Secondly I had Alice remove the skills [Lesser Identification], [Lesser Clean], and [Lesser Repair] because they just take up pointless space and I am a neat freak when it comes to things like this.
Finally, and most importantly, I have been messing with my skills, making new ones, reworking old ones, and changing their names to better suit them.
The main points are that I changed [Light Beam] into [Lesser Light Manipulation], this was due to my own progression being recognized by the system but it is really nice to have a direct manipulation skill at such a low level. Next is [Light Sphere] which I was using to mess with the direwolf. I wrapped a ball of bright light and strong microwaves around its face to keep it from being able to act or fight back.
The real stars of the show are [Tethered Vision] and [Basic Mapping] which are upgrades of their predecessors [Telescopic Vision] and [Shitty Radar]. [Tethered Vision] came about from my desire to scout ahead with my golems so that I would not get eaten or have to leave my safe area to get water from the river. I use my connection to the golem core to run a thread of light back towards my eyes so that I can see around my golem. It is kind of like a 3rd person view in a video game and is what helped me spot the direwolf to lure in. Amazingly the skill works with [Lesser Identification] so I won’t have to worry about bringing back anything that far out levels me and Snappy.
[Basic Mapping] however is the real upgrade as I managed to figure out how to process the returning information from my little radar blasts using a small white sheet of light rather than doing everything in my brain. I am glad the system recognized the changes I was making though, because it looked like garbage without the system picking up a bit of the processing slack. So now I can basically play this forest like a little top down RPG with a rough map and a hero made of dirt.
Alice called me an idiot when I told her that and said if I treated this like a game I would be dead the moment I let my guard down.
And while I agree with her, I still choose to try and make the best of my temporary videogame because without anything to entertain me in this hellish forest I might just lose my motivation to survive.
As I hang the wolf leg on my makeshift drying rack made of pointy wooden sticks I begin weaving my light magic to cook it. The main issue is its high mana level seeps into its very cells making cooking it quite annoying to cook.
I wonder if this will turn out like jerky?