As it turned out, not as far as I expected. I managed to create several early prototypes during the night but nothing I'd be able to use in combat quite yet. I had been spoiled by my use of skills thus far, even spell crafting relied heavily on the knowledge the skills provided. Here, I was attempting to combine several skills in a way that was possible but with no assistance from the system. I had to precisely guide all the skills involved to produce the result.
Which led to failures, a lot of them. My creations didn't work most of the time, the runic formations were incorrect, or interacted in unexpected ways with the mana stones, overload, underload. I went through dozens of iterations over the course of the night. Each time I stepped closer to success.
It was thrilling and fascinating.
At the end of the night, I had two viable contraptions. I had also forgotten to wake Vel up for her watch shift.
One was what I called an Emitter and could be used to focus spells into specific shapes like a beam or bolt. It looked like two pyramids stuck to each other at the base, the front had a barrel-like hole that ended at the mana stone at the center. The back pyramid had one small stone on each of the six faces.
The second was the Anchor and could be used to create barriers between several of them. The design was again a two-sided pyramid but this one was slimmer, like a spear point, with a single gem at the center.
The reason they weren't viable was the speed. It took me around thirty seconds to create one, unviable during battle, and the spells drained mana while they existed which meant I couldn't have them active for long periods of time.
I sighed and let the two prototypes crumble away. I had plenty of time to perfect my technique while Vel and I traveled the land. One didn't create a new, to my knowledge, magical technique in a day.
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I gently woke up Vel from her slumber. She swiped at the locks of her I dangled in front of her nose a few times before finally opening her eyes.
"Wake up love," I whispered, "it's time for breakfast."
"Breakfast?" She mumbled.
"I accidentally spent the entire night doing research," I admitted.
"You idiot," she slapped my shoulder. "Not too tired? We can rest some more."
Vel sat up on the bed of moss and gave me a reproachful glare.
"I'm fine," I gave her a reassuring smile, "with meditation I didn't really feel the time pass."
"I will take watch the entire night tomorrow anyway," she said.
"You don't have to …" I trailed off.
"I will anyway," she kissed me.
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After a hearty breakfast, we packed our little camp and pressed forward. The spider infested jungle made way to some variety after a few hours. We passed around a group of big turtles jealously guarding a small pond, a group of fox-like creatures scuttling about hunting small critters, and a family of ocelots.
We couldn't refuse our first opponent however. The ten meters long serpent started to tail us as soon as it felt our feet strike the ground. It spent some time silently shadowing us in range of my sphere before deciding to attack.
> [Barbed Duke Cobra (Level 74, Rank 3)]
Vel and I were prepared for the attack. I raised a barrier in front of me and the snake's open maw caught on it. I managed to dodge the twin streams of venom that came from its extended fangs. I fired a lightning enhanced arrow through the barrier, the new capability came in useful sooner than I thought, it was slowed down slightly but still managed to deliver its electrifying payload.
The snake reared back as it convulsed and Vel got to work. The floor of the jungle became a deadly trap, the roots in the ground grew thorns and snaked around the convulsing beast. It only immobilized it partially, there were still around five meters of death snake facing us, but with limited mobility it made it easier for us to keep our distance.
I fired multiple sharpened ice shards in quick succession. Each hit left a bleeding gash in the snake's skin and a small patch of frost. I followed it up with a lightning bolt which missed its target.
Vel rolled to the side as she avoided a lunge from the cobra. I fired a volley of stone darts at its head, aiming for the soft tissue. The snake let out a pained hiss as one of its eyes was pierced. I pressed the attack and fired a scorching arrow at its head.
> Your group has defeated [Barbed Duke Cobra (Level 74, Rank 3)]
> Experience gain reduced by 20% for fighting with a group
> Experience gain reduced by 30% for fighting a lower ranked monster
> Essence Absorption collected 6 ES
>
> Reached Level 83 (Rank 4, +1 level)
> Gained: 4 ES
The sinuous body hit the ground as the system notification rang in my mind.
"Let's get the venom sacs," I said, "I'll use them to make anti-venom."
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As we continued our trek through the forest, we encountered more of its denizens. Some preferred to keep their distance, I spotted a few lower leveled monsters scuttling through the undergrowth, while others were confident in taking us on.
The first we fought were a pair of Crested Geckos, ambush predators with a poisonous spit.
> Your group has defeated [Adult Crested Gecko (Level 56, Rank 3)]
> Your group has defeated [Adult Crested Gecko (Level 55, Rank 3)]
> Experience gain reduced by 20% for fighting with a group
> Experience gain reduced by 30% for fighting an enemy below your rank
> Essence Absorption collected 12 ES
Not half an hour after, we faced a lone Dart Frog. Its temperament was as aggressive as the colors on its back. The toxic and acidic mucus on its body made it a tough target for any front line fighters. Vel and I had no such issue and dispatched the unruly amphibian with ease.
> Your group has defeated [Adult Dart Frog (Level 61, Rank 3)]
> Experience gain reduced by 20% for fighting with a group
> Experience gain reduced by 30% for fighting an enemy below your rank
> Essence Absorption collected 6 ES
Our next encounter was much more insidious. In the Twilight Jungle, monsters came in all shapes and sizes and one class of predator was likely the death of many inattentive travelers, the plants. Patient but nonetheless deadly killers.
Vel and I spotted the cluster of Strangler Vines nearly at the same time. Through my sphere, the internal mana of the plant creature made it easy to distinguish against the background of the jungle. I used runic casting to focus Solar Symphony into a tight beam and burned the core to charcoal.
> Your group has defeated [Mature Strangler Vines (Level 53, Rank 3)]
> Experience gain reduced by 20% for fighting with a group
> Experience gain reduced by 30% for fighting an enemy below your rank
> Essence Absorption collected 6 ES
On the heels of the vines was another danger noodle, this one faster and sleeker than the cobra we had fought earlier. I harassed it with needles of ice until it fell into a trap set by Vel. Her tangle of thorned vines ended the serpent's life swiftly.
> Your group has defeated [Hooded Baron Viper (Level 73, Rank 3)]
> Experience gain reduced by 20% for fighting with a group
> Experience gain reduced by 30% for fighting an enemy below your rank
> Essence Absorption collected 6 ES
As the night approached, Vel and I started to search for somewhere to stop. She picked a large enough tree and went to work setting up the shelter. Meanwhile, I went hunting for something to eat. We still had some hog in reserve but I wanted some variety.
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After only twenty minutes, I found our meal.
> [Adult Blue Jagras (Level 68, Rank 3)]
> [Adult Blue Jagras (Level 66, Rank 3)]
> [Adult Blue Jagras (Level 65, Rank 3)]
The nest was organized in a small artificial puddle, with the eggs laying on a bed of algae. The blue Jagras variant, unlike their yellow cousins, used water magic. They were still vulnerable to cold but to lightning as well.
From my vantage point, I prepared an arrow and charged it with a shock Arcane Strike modified with a chain rune. All three of my targets were having a bath and it would be foolish of me to not take advantage of it. The arrow whistled through the air and sunk into the head of the first lizard. The spell triggered and electricity coursed over its body, a bolt jumped to the nearest other lizard and shocked it as well. The lightning also coursed through the water where it shocked all three a second time as well.
I wasn't certain electricity really operated that way but I wasn't going to complain. With all three of my targets convulsing in the water, I quickly created an icy mist with the Dark Moon spell. The thick fog would make it much harder for them to target me and slow them down while I was not impeded in the least thanks to my perception sphere.
A water blade shot through the air and sheared a branch several meters to my right.
I cast several lightning orbs by focusing the Song of Thunder spell with runes. The three orbs flew through the mist arcing wildly and struck their targets. The lightning arced through the water once again. A system notification resounded in my mind, one down. I used multishot to fire at the two remaining lizards and the fight ended.
> You have defeated [Adult Blue Jagras (Level 68, Rank 3)]
> You have defeated [Adult Blue Jagras (Level 66, Rank 3)]
> You have defeated [Adult Blue Jagras (Level 65, Rank 3)]
> Experience gain reduced by 30% for fighting an enemy below your rank
> Essence Absorption collected 18 ES
I dropped down from my perch and stored all three corpses in my necklace. A few of the eggs had popped due to the current but most were intact, I vanished them as well. It was time for some lizard omelet.
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Storage items made everything easier. When I came back, Vel had already started to prepare a base stew inside a big pot. She had added several mushrooms and wild vegetables and the smell was already heavenly.
"Honey, I'm back," I jokingly said.
"Welcome back," Vel gave me a peck on the cheek. "You found something?"
"Blue Jagras nest, here are the eggs," I summoned a bowl and dropped the eggs inside. "I'll dress one corpse outside."
"Thank you love," she took the bowl from me, "I'll prepare these while you do."
I dropped to ground level and brought out one of the lizards. One would be enough for our super, I kept the other two in reserve next to the hogs. I pinned it by the tail against the trunk with a dagger. I made a small cut along the neck to let it bleed out and collected some of it in several small phials.
Once the blood stopped, I slid the belly open. The insides started to spill out and I carefully separated the useful organs out. The stomach, intestines, and bladder were discarded, too much potential for contamination. I also didn't want to deal with the shit. I stored the heart and liver, they were tasty when grilled, and threw out the lungs, too spongy for my tastes. The head was discarded as well for similar reasons.
I used Dark Moon to create a stream of water to wash out the inside of the ribcage and cast cleanse to remove any contaminants left. From there, it was relatively straightforward to butcher. I split the legs from the body, removed the feet, and stored them. They were good to eat as-is. I cut the ribs from the spine, not an easy process with just a knife, and split them in multiple segments. Finally, I split the tail in multiple segments.
Vel took the ribs off my hand immediately.
On my end, I washed the trunk with more water and burned the waste. I also pulled a special incense stick from my pouch and lit it. The smell was designed to mask the scent of blood and flesh.
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The stew was divine. Vel had really outdone herself. I wondered if she could grow aromatic herbs in addition to fruits and vegetables with her plant manipulation. I could research the creation of salt with earth magic, then we would be able to open a wandering vegan restaurant.
Maybe once we retired. It was a nice thought.