Mere moments separate the time that we enter the cave proper, take the few dozen steps needed through our old shelter, and arrive at the next cavern in the progression of caves but it as if we have entered a whole other world!
Dimly lit by blue and green bioluminescent fungi plastering the walls, the cavern seems to be about the length and breadth of a football field and roughly a hundred feet high. But that is not the noteworthy part, oh no.
The part that causes our mouths to drop open, even the canine one, pink tongue hanging, is the dense forest inhabiting the majority of the cave.
The trees are different here, looking much more like some sort of weeping willow variant, and surrounded by mushrooms the size of your typical accent shrub or roughly 3 feet wide, tall and deep.
As we draw closer, yet remain far enough away to stay out of attack range of anything hidden within, our eyes open and ears straining, the System helpfully identifies the anomalous trees and mushrooms for us.
{Reaping Willow, Lv.6}
{Magic Mushrooms, Lv. 5}
I trade a wide-eyed look with my cohorts, all of us thinking along the same lines….
With names like those, these plants are clearly combatants, higher level ones too, but fairly limited given the fact that they are literally planted in the ground!
That means one thing for beginner leveling junkies like us….
XP farm!
Not that I have any intention of taking this lightly…
“Alright, we’ll target that first one there.” I say quietly as I point to the nearest specimen while crouching behind a helpfully placed boulder roughly 20 feet away, “Belina, target it with your spear from the front while staying covered with your shield. Meanwhile, Artemis and I will attack from either side in a pincer movement. Both of you, keep an eye on those mushrooms though, who knows what they will attack with or when.” I dictate to my determined team.
As Belina acknowledges my plan and moves toward the tree while turtled behind her shield, Artemis and I pad nearly silently around either side of the tree, remaining concealed as best we can from whatever method of observation the tree uses.
I sure as hell don’t see any eyes, some sort of Mana based sense then, perhaps?
As Belina stabs forward with her spear at the root heavy base of the trunk and begins our attack, I feel a sense of some irritation from Artemis which naturally draws my attention. At least it does until I get the mental sense of disappointment at the lack of any actual meat this time around through our bond; a vegetarian my canine friend certainly is not!
I shake off that distraction with a wry grin, just as the Beastly willow makes its counterattack at the still hunkered Belina busy jabbing away at its rough bark.
One of the many hanging branches, sharp limbs extending from the end like claws, come swinging around rapidly!
I nearly shout out a warning and ruin the plan, but Belina adeptly plants her shield in the ground as I watch on anxiously. The shield flashes silver just at the moment of contact, likely her engaging her Mythril Shield spell on top of her handy Class ability. Ultimately, her synergy in abilities allows her to take the blow like a champ, but there’s no telling how many more she can handle.
Which means it's time for Artemis and I to make our move.
I sprint in from the side, hatchet in hand with the wide axe head at the ready while Artemis barks out in her Call of the Forgotten as she too comes charging toward the now rampaging tree from the other side.
Noticing the awesome boost to my stats from her buff and seeing a newly reinvigorated Belina does much to reduce any worries I may have had over our attack, just as I reach attack range of the Beast too.
I dodge the first sweeping limb adroitly, noticing a slightly glowing edge to the branch itself, some sort of Skill or Spell that luckily misses before I leap over the low-hanging attempt by the next branch before finally reaching attack range of my own!
Realizing that I won’t be able to refill my Mana with Blood-Fueled this time around given our chloro-filled opponent, I know I’ll need to end this swiftly, which gives me just the time to utilize my newest Apprentice bonus.
Natural Reinforcement sucks the activation cost from me as I turn and swing with a mighty heave and a billowing exhale of breath and maximum effort. The hatchet lands with a hearty thwack about 6 inches deep in the willow, eliciting a whistling screech from the Beast that I take to be a scream of pain.
Guess we’re on the right track then, no sense fixing what’s not broken!
And so, I swing again.
This time its namesake becomes apparent, its main attack limb turning into a wooden scythe-like blade that it swings wildly at me, the rest of its branches flailing in a maddened attempt at defense. I dodge most and deal with the pain from those I can’t, noticing out of the corner of my eye Artemis clawing away at a now ice-covered spot on her half of the trunk.
Meanwhile, Belina keeps on steadily stabbing away, only the rare attack threatening her now.
Seeing some last bit of life left in it, I bring my weapon down again.
An even louder screech sounds out now, half of the limbs coming to hang limply as I appear to have struck something vital!
So, I swing one last time.
“Timber!” I yell in satisfaction, channeling my inner lumberjack at its best.
With a crash that echoes out through the cavern, the tree falls to the ground at our feet.
Congratulations! You and your Animal Companion have defeated a {Reaping Willow, Lv.6} for 600 XP each!
Now, that is a solid XP increase for only a few minutes of fighting, and against a stationary enemy at that!
My earlier comment about an XP farm is now holding even more weight.
Although my enthusiasm for the prospect diminishes a bit when the three {Magic Mushrooms, Lv.5} attack us as we are distracted with our post-battle notification check and Mana and HP regen.
At first, I think I have some low blood-sugar going on as I grow slightly lightheaded, my vision fuzzy and balance off, but then I notice the slightly glowing purple dust in the air around us and even more worryingly, the collapsing forms of my companions!
Realizing the likely source of this toxin attack, I take my hatchet to the ‘shrooms with frenzied abandon, vision going in and out as my hefty Constitution keeps me functioning despite the spore’s effects while I, mostly blindly, swing away.
I soon lose myself in the repetition:
Chop!
Pull back.
Chop!
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
Pull back again.
Chop!
I return from my fugue-like state to the white, fibrous stumps of our aptly named enemies and the rapidly fading dust in the air.
As I recover my breath, I move to check on my companions, Artemis blearily blinking her eyes open as she shakes off the effects first.
Belina follows a moment later, releasing a yawning stretch as she does only to freeze as her eyes open and she realizes where she is.
“You okay?” I ask, leaning over and helping her to her feet.
“Yeah…just had the worst trip of my life…” she says, eyes slightly unfocused.
“I’m sure it was, I only got a taste because of my Constitution and that was unpleasant enough.” I reply with sympathy, grabbing Artemis’ oversized snout in my hands and looking into her eyes to make sure she’s okay too, her eyes focusing all the more with each passing moment.
After a few more minutes to allow my Party to recover, I ask, “So, are you okay to continue?”
“Yes, so long as we kill those ‘shrooms first from now on.” Belina replies with a vaguely bloodthirsty grin, eager for her revenge.
And so, we clear out all of the trees and ‘shrooms in our path to the next cavern in the labyrinthine in a vegetarian slaughter of untold proportions, netting us all quite the tasty bump in XP.
As we lay sweaty and sore after our grind, we drink some water, munch on some barely edible strips of dried Beast meat and, most importantly, go over our notifications!
Through hard work and persistent use, you have increased the level of some of your Skills and Spells:
Animal Companion(B): Lv.9à10—Apprentice Tier Reached!
Apprentice Bonus: When Companion has reached 5 in all stats, bonus will reveal itself.
Hmm, that’s interesting…
If my calculations are right, I should be able to get her there in just a moment too!
Huntsman’s Athleticism(B): Lv.1--3
Natural Reinforcement(App): Lv.10--11
Blood-Fueled(B): Lv.6--8
Artemis has increased her Skills as well:
Arctic Claws(B): Lv.5--7
Stubborn(B): Lv.3--4
Happy with our ever-growing abilities, I move on to the next grouping of notifications with eagerness
Congratulations! You and your Animal Companion have killed an assortment of Beasts for a total of 2600 XP!
You have leveled up and have 2 free Attribute points (+1 to Con) and 1 Spell point available!
Your Animal Companion, Artemis, has leveled up!
Artemis has 1 free Attribute point available!
Her point placement is easy of course, Intelligence the only stat remaining below 5 which I can now remedy and discover that sweet, sweet Apprentice bonus!
As I accept the placement of her point, my pup tenses and falls to her belly, convulsing slightly.
Alarmed, I rush to her side, pulling her barrel-sized, yet still just as cute, head into my lap and stroking her soft fur as what ails her begins to fade.
I puzzle over the different reaction this time, over whether she was never naturally meant to cross the 5-point threshold across all of her stats, but my worries are much relieved, even replaced with excitement, as a fresh notification pops up and all becomes clear!
Congratulations! Your Animal Companion, Artemis, has crossed the minimum independent Beast threshold while retaining her sense of self while her Player has managed to reach Apprentice tier in the Animal Companion Skill. Her intelligence will now allow for her to begin maintaining more detailed conversations as well as utilize her own PAID from this moment forward. She will now be classified as a Beast Player and will be eligible for competition in the Great Contest!
Important Note: Her Companion Bond with you will remain, growing stronger and potentially more varied; she merely will assign her own stat and Skill points moving on.
As I finish reading that bit of exciting news, my new and improved companion opens her eyes as the last of the discomfort fades, revealing a depth to them, a more….impactful soul perhaps?
“Hungry.” She thinks at me through our bond, her voice high pitched like a bell and as affectionate as can be.
I guess it did say she would begin to talk more, not that she would jump to full conversations immediately, so I suppose it makes sense.
“Ha, you’re definitely ok then!” I say with relief and a bright smile, handing her some Beast jerky with a loving pat on the head.
Seeing that she is as fine as can be and Belina is still staring into space at her PAID, I open my own and place my first free point in the final sub-5 stat—Soul, bringing it to 5 and bringing me a fresh notification as well!
Congratulations! You have improved yourself beyond what was possible for your species without the System’s grand majesty. You have earned the title: Human+! Keep striving, Player, for you have officially been added to the roster for the Great Contest to represent your System and World! Hip-hip, Hooray for Apex!
My mouth drops open at those last two sentences, my first thought one of excitement and trepidation over the opportunity to fight for not just my own survival, but our entire world’s!
My next thought has to do with the long-term repercussions of these vaguely propaganda-like messages, will people someday actually talk about the System like that?
Worship it, even?
Shaking off that slightly unsettling line of thought, I pull up the description for my new title:
Human+: You have surpassed your species and become more, though this title does not grant any stat bonuses, it marks the passage of the last vestiges of your old pre-System life and signifies your true acceptance of your new one.
“Oh…” I mutter in disappointment at the lack of stats, although I do see how having a reminder of my improvements looking back at me from my PAID all the time could be somewhat meaningful.
Anyway, I still have my other free point left and while I could increase my Intelligence for some extra mana, Blood-Fueled has been keeping me fully stocked and I already received a bump from my increased Soul. Therefore, it’s between Strength or Dexterity, my Con already receiving a point each level.
Dexterity would make me quicker to reach an enemy if we ambush them like we have been with our Party composition but there is no telling what our future opponents will be like in this underground menagerie. Extra speed is always nice but hands down, with unknown challenges just ahead of us, I would take more power over speed any day.
Decision made; I place the point into Strength and move on to….
Drum roll please…..
Spells!
Spells List
Forest Fade (99%)
Claws of the Wild (98%)
Power Strike (95%)
Eco-Missile (94%)
Environmental Clean (92%)
…
Acid Shot (55%)
…
Environmental Agony(-1%)
Definitely some serious changes there, more flavoring from my Class choice I assume although they all seem pretty awesome anyway, at least the top 10% compatibility area. I notice the negative value on the bottom of the list, the first time that I have seen it’s like. At a guess, I assume it is so antithetical to both who I am and what my Class is making me, that it would be incredibly dangerous to select, maybe even deadly.
Putting that well aside, I pull up the top choices and peruse with a critical eye, the first of which is one I passed over a couple times now:
Forest Fade(B): [Active] Casting this spell will shroud the caster in a visual haze that will blend into the shadowy gloom of the forest floor. Costs moderate Mana to activate and minimal mana every minute to keep [Active], will reduce with tier. Every 10 levels in Spell will increase tier and increase level of concealment.
Again, potentially useful, of course, but the passivity and avoidance it would likely instill just doesn’t seem worth it.
Claws of the Wild(Basic): [Active] Grants the ability to create claws made from hardened Mana(may substitute bark, stones, or sticks to save Mana due to Class aspect) extending from the knuckles of each hand. Claws ignore most forms of armor or defenses given their only semi-corporeal form. Costs moderately high Mana to activate and moderate Mana every minute thereafter, cost will reduce with level. Every 10 levels in Spell will increase tier and potentially unlock additional aspects.
Now this is much more interesting, a Spell twisted by my class to be more efficient, definitely a contender!
I skip over Power Strike, not really interested in a basic Spell with my Class-aspected options available.
Eco-Missile(B): Launch a heavy rock, clump of dirt or any other natural material in the environment around you for moderate damage. Costs moderate Mana to form and minimal to fire shot. Every 10 levels in Spell will increase tier and unlock additional aspects.
That one is certainly pretty cool too! The external version of my Natural Reinforcement it seems and definitely something with a good deal of utility to it but I want to see the final top choice before making my decision.
Environmental Clean(B): Clear the area around you of any sign of non-natural movement, debris or signs. Max radius of area cleaned is 20 feet, will destroy any artificial material at tier or below of Spell. Costs minimal Mana per foot of radius cleaned. Every 10 levels will increase tier and may unlock additional effects.
Now, this one seems more like something that I will need when I ever answer my Class skill, synergizing well with helping the threatened environment from what I imagine will likely be either humans or other sentient beings with non0natural tools, materials and other things that I may need to remove.
But that is for the future, not immediately a need by a longshot.
So, that leaves Eco-Missile or Claws of the Wild and while I enjoy the thought of “completing the set” so to speak with Claws of the Wild and Natural Reinforcement, I already have several close-quarters options. It’s time for some ranged attacks to have in my proverbial tool-belt, especially if we encounter something with good awareness that we can’t sneak up on or ambush. Instead, I can stand back and launch some magic missiles like a traditional D&D mage!
Choice locked in, I clench in anticipation and am not disappointed.
Hot lava in the form of knowledge plants itself in my cerebellum and digs itself a home, my teeth creaking as I clench them at the agony but before I know it, it passes like always.
I come back to myself a somewhat sweaty mess but ready for the challenges to come in the next stop in our underground delving adventure.
And as I look over at an alert looking Artemis and a patiently waiting Belina, I know my Party will survive whatever this Mana-mutated burrow has to throw at us!