We took a different route away from the fort than the one we used to get there. Without high tracking skills, it was unlikely the drakonians would be able to follow us but we didn't want to take any risks. I took care to periodically muddy our tracks with my earth magic and Vel did the same. After we crossed the river again, I removed our boot prints on the banks carefully.
Finally, after more than an hour of careful travel, Vel and I set up our shelter in one of the tall trees indicated on the map. The trunk was three times larger than all the other trees nearby and it towered over the neighboring jungle. From our perch, we could even see the village in the distance.
The shelters were designed to be used in trees, they had special straps to attach them to the trunk and branches. With how exhausted we both were, we opted to skip the watch and instead leave traps on the tree in case anything tried to climb up. As a compromise we both kept our armor on.
"What a day," I said.
Vel was close against me, her head resting just below my chin.
"Yeah."
I mindlessly played with her hair while I replayed the day's events in my mind. We had taken a lot of risks to complete the mission. It had paid off but I wouldn't deny that if I had to do it again, I would take another approach. Which approach? That was another question.
"You're overthinking again," I heard Vel murmur against me.
"Yes," I said sheepishly.
"Stop it," she poked me in the ribs, "it's cute but it's also annoying."
"Sorry," I kissed the top of her head, "I just can't help myself."
"Tell me about your other life," she said.
I blinked in surprise. Where had that come from?
"I'm curious," she continued as if she had read my mind, "neither of us had truly left the village before. The last three days have been so different, I finally saw all those things we heard about, explored an ancient ruin, found a hidden chamber, fought a kobold priestess. I guess I got a taste of adventure."
"So I'm curious about what kind of adventures you went through in that other world."
"It wasn't really all that thrilling …" I trailed off. My life on earth hadn't been particularly eventful.
"What was everyday life like? What did you do all day? Was it at all like here?"
"No. It was incredibly different," I said, "First, I was a human. Second, there was no mana or magic, no classes, no skills, and no system."
"A human? Like, pink flesh and all?"
"Yup."
Our discussion on earth continued for a while. Vel asked questions about my life. I had never considered my life that interesting but she was enthralled by my university days shenanigans. We talked for an hour or so before Vel felt too tired.
----------------------------------------
I woke up a little later than usual, a peek at the mana stones told me it was around mid-morning. I let Vel sleep a bit more, we had accomplished our goal and we weren't in a particular hurry. The village looked close enough to reach within a day if we rushed but I wasn't keen on that. The trek back was a good way of gathering a bit more experience as well.
While waiting for Vel to wake up, I took a look at my status. Most of my skills had come along nicely and I didn't feel the need to increase them further, I would have plenty of time back at the village to train them the old fashioned way. What probably needed a bit of an increase were my attributes. Good skills were key but they worked better with higher attributes. Mystic Enhancement multiplied attributes so a higher base strength would benefit me. The strength of the enchantments I could create was scaled off of my mental attributes as well.
With seventy essence, I had plenty to improve. Essence Mastery gave me three attribute points for each point of essence spent. I decided to spend thirty essence for now, roughly half-half between physical and mental attributes.
> Increased Strength from 48 to 60 for 4 ES (+12 points)
> Increased Agility from 68 to 71 for 1 ES (+3 points)
> Increased Vitality from 45 to 60 for 5 ES (+15 points)
> Increased Endurance from 57 to 63 for 2 ES (+6 points)
> Increased Intelligence from 84 to 96 for 4 ES (+12 points)
> Increased Wisdom from 73 to 85 for 4 ES (+12 points)
> Increased Spirit from 72 to 84 for 4 ES (+12 points)
> Increased Clarity from 61 to 79 for 6 ES (+18 points)
>
> This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
>
> Purchased Minor Grimoire for 18 ES
I also got the perk to improve my number of minor spell slots. I wanted a bit more space for experiments without having to juggle spells. It would also allow me to branch out to more specialized spells.
Bookkeeping out of the way, I played with Vel's hair until she woke up which only took a few minutes.
"Hello lovely," I whispered in her ear.
"Hmmm," she purred, "what a nice way to wake up."
"It will be even better when we finally get home," I kissed her neck.
"Yeah, I am missing our bed."
----------------------------------------
After a quick breakfast made with our leftover game, we set out once again. Vel agreed with me that it was a bad idea to rush back to the village. Instead, she had plotted a route through the jungle that would take us by another of the giant trees for the night.
We traveled for a few hours through more Jagras territory. With the both of us much closer to their levels, we were confident in taking on larger groups. We found two nests on our path, one with five members and one with four. The battles were more dangerous, with the corresponding bonus, but we ended up victorious both times. I gained two levels and plenty of essence.
Then, we entered a swamp. The plant covered ground gave way to shallow water with islands of earth and stone dotted around. The trees had large and expansive root systems that made for good stepping points. The humidity in the air doubled and the constant background noise of the jungle was drowned in insect noises.
It also smelled … not great. Worse to those who had enhanced senses.
"What died here," Vel said with a grimace.
"Hopefully not us," I said, "let's stay vigilant. I don't want to get devoured by a Crocolisk."
"Your sphere can seen in the water?"
"Yes."
I had eyes scanning about as well. The place was considerably more dangerous than what we had visited previously. It was proven when we encountered our first monster, a frog the size of a large dog perched on the roots of a tree. It was a vibrant toxic green with black streaks.
> [Green Jungle Frog (Level 64, Rank 3)]
Its eyes locked onto us. I could tell it was assessing us, whether it was worth the trouble to attack. It gave a deep croak and it was answered. Things were about to turn into a party.
"I think it called its friends," I said.
I pulled my bow out and manifested a Mystic Arrow. The frog opened its mouth and sent a long tongue our way. I jumped from my perch and landed on the water, the Water Stride spell active. My arrow, empowered with frost, hit the frog on the shoulder.
All of my mental partitions were firing on all cylinders and I kept an eye out for any reinforcements in the background. Vel had used her plant manipulation abilities to create herself an escape route. She fired arrows of her own, not into the frog but the tree it was attached to. The trunk immediately started sprouting new branches to ensnare the amphibian.
It jumped off in my direction. Big mistake, with no way to change its course mid-air, I unleashed a volley of frozen projectiles with Frozen Melody. A few of them missed but the majority lodged themselves into the flying frog. I jumped from my spot on the water and to another tree as the frog dive bombed into the water with a large splash and big ripples.
I kept the disgusting water from the swamp away with Water Dance. The frog turned towards me again and tried to lash out with its tongue again but it was in my trap, the water surrounding it was under my control and creeped up its body, immobilizing it.
With Melody of Earth, I created a large sharpened stone blade above its head and propelled it downwards with Gravity Well. The projectile bisected the frog in half and created another large splash of water.
> Your group has defeated [Green Jungle Frog (Level 64, Rank 3)]
> Experience gain reduced by 20% for fighting with a group
> Essence Absorption collected 3 ES
The croaks in the distance intensified. My arcane eyes spotted five more frogs converging on our position.
"Five more incoming," I shouted to Vel.
"Let them come," she laughed, "I'm ready for them!"
While the frog had been focused on me, Vel had started to turn the small area of swamp around us into a death trap. Most branches had grown thorns and the usually innocuous vines dangling from the trees were all under her control. The flavor of her magic was unmistakable through my Magic Sight and Perception Sphere.
The first opponent arrived a bit before its brethren and was bundled up in vines and killed. A group of two arrived at once and I used Frozen Melody again to intercept one of them mid-jump. Its friend turned towards me but Vel's plants were already onto it. I dodged the tongue and watched the frog get torn apart from the inside by branches.
The second one had recovered but I fired an enhanced arrow with a shock Arcane Strike, it fell dead from the electrocution as the water amplified the damage.
The last two were dispatched in a similar manner as well.
> Your group has defeated [Green Jungle Frog (Level 64, Rank 3)]
> Your group has defeated [Green Jungle Frog (Level 61, Rank 3)]
> Your group has defeated [Green Jungle Frog (Level 58, Rank 3)]
> Your group has defeated [Green Jungle Frog (Level 63, Rank 3)]
> Experience gain reduced by 20% for fighting with a group
> Experience gain increased by 20% for fighting a group
> Essence Absorption collected 12 ES
>
> Reached Level 46 (Rank 3, +1 level)
> Gained: 3 ES
Unfortunately, it looked like our battle had also attracted the attention of something much bigger. The king of the swamp was approaching.
"We need to go," I said, "Crocolisk approaching from the right."
Vel nodded and we started to run. The massive beast appeared for a few seconds inside my sphere and I identified it.
> [Alpha Swamp Crocolisk (Level 112, Rank 4)]
Not today, big guy, I thought.
The Crocolisk was fast in the water but we were out of its reach in the trees. Vel and I started to move through the canopy and after some time, the crocodile gave up the chase. We kept moving through the canopy for a while and encountered only minimal resistance. A few snakes tried to catch a bite but they were easily dissuaded or dispatched.