After a hearty lunch, we packed out 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.
Identify
[Barbed Duke Cobra (Rank 3, Level 28)]
Vel and I were prepared for the attack. I raised a shield of water 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 an arrow through the water, 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 ice shards in quick succession. Each hit left a bleeding gash in the snake's skin and a small patch of frost. I also made a note to memorize water blade again or make an improved version, the spell was very good against soft targets.
Vel rolled to the side as she avoided a lunge from the cobra. I fired a volley of arcane 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.
System Log
Your group has defeated [Barbed Duke Cobra (Rank 3, Level 28)]
Experience gain reduced by 20% for fighting with a group
Reached Level 29
"Let's get the venom sacs," I said, "I'll use them to make anti-venom."
"Not much meat," Vel said, ""
----------------------------------------
System Log
Memorized Spells
[Water Blade (3rd)] [Earth Spike (3st)]
Cost: 6 memory slots (52/61)
Your group has defeated [Adult Crested Gecko (Rank 3, Level 26)]
Your group has defeated [Adult Crested Gecko (Rank 3, Level 25)]
Experience gain reduced by 20% for fighting with a group
Reached Level 30
+5 SP, +2 AP, +2 CP
Your group has defeated [Adult Dart Frog (Rank 3, Level 34)]
Experience gain reduced by 20% for fighting with a group
Reached Level 31
Your group has defeated [Mature Killer Vines (Rank 3, Level 45)]
Experience gain reduced by 20% for fighting with a group
Reached Level 33
Your group has defeated [Hooded Baron Viper (Rank 3, Level 41)]
Experience gain reduced by 20% for fighting with a group
Reached Level 35
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+5 SP, +2 AP
Your group has defeated [Mature Green Lizard (Rank 3, Level 43)]
Your group has defeated [Mature Green Lizard (Rank 3, Level 45)]
Your group has defeated [Mature Green Lizard (Rank 3, Level 42)]
Experience gain reduced by 20% for fighting with a group
Experience gain increased by 20% for fighting a group
Reached Level 39
----------------------------------------
A blur entered my sphere and I barely had time to raise a water shield to protect myself. Pain flared on my legs and I barely held steady.
At my feet was a dark colored feline with grey spots. It was about as high as my knees and one of its claws was piercing my trousers right above the knee.
Identify
[Alpha Barbcat (Rank 3, Level 61)]
It has a long segmented tail whose end was embedded in my water shield. The flared end contained a poisonous spike which had almost pierced all the way through.
I kicked it away from me and delivered a scorching touch at the same time. It gave a cry of protest and started to circle Vel and I, more wary of its prey now. Its tail waved around like an angry snake, likely as a way to distract us.
I started to cast a healing spell but the barbcat charged at me. I rolled to the side and barely managed to avoid the follow up tail strike. Vines sprouted from the ground and grabbed one of its legs. The distraction gave me enough time to finish my healing spell.
The barbcat turned around to face Vel and readied for another lunge. I hastily cast rock tomb to prevent it from doing so. The earth burst forward and tried to envelop it but the cat dodged out of the way.
We were facing a truly dangerous enemy.
Vel pressed the attack again, harder this time. Her magic flared stronger and the entire ground started to turn into a deadly trap. A shield of wood appeared in front of her and stopped the poisoned spike from reaching her. I fired an enhanced lightning orb and managed to stun the monster for a precious few seconds.
The cat managed to dodge the first few stakes that burst from under its feet but was caught in the end. It disengaged and started to circle us again. I was hesitant to cast obscuring mist, the loss of visibility could be deadly to Vel if the cat had means to see through the spell.
Instead I tried water prison. The cat dodged the small bullet by a small margin but the spell still triggered and started to envelop it. I followed it up with a lightning orb. The barbcat seized and the bubble of water enveloped its body fully.
As long as I could hold the spell, it was a stationary target.
I felt pain in my abdomen. A small spike had embedded itself through my armor.
System Log
Poisoned by [Barbcat Venom (-50 HP/s, 120s)]
My concentration broke and the water prison splashed down.
"Lis!"
I raised a light barrier around me just in time. The barbcat was on me the instant it freed itself. I watched my health and mana slowly tick down. Some quick math told me I would die in less than one minute if I couldn't cast a healing spell.
One saving grace was that the spike on the cat's tail hadn't regrown. It had been a last resort attack. The cat was attacking my shield relentlessly and I needed a window of opportunity.
"Get me a distraction!" I shouted.
I unsheathed a dagger and prepared myself. Vel started to grow branches and vines full of thorns around the my attacker. They started to form a cage and close in on the monster from all sides. It stopped its attack for an instant and I jumped backwards, leaving a shock rune behind me.
The cat triggered it as it tried to pursue and the paralysis gave Vel enough time to trap it completely. It started to hack at the vines with its claws but the vegetation grew faster than it could destroy it, at least until Vel ran out of mana.
I cast both of my healing spells, healing surge closed my wounds and topped up my health while regrowth's heal over time would offset the poison. I pulled a phial of anti-venom from my pouch and drank it, the damage slowed down but didn't stop completely. From my quick math, I was out of the danger zone.
I cast a second water prison and this time, there was no escape. Vel grew spikes inwards inside the cage, turning it into an organic iron maiden. Drowning and beset from all sides, the barbcat panicked and only accelerated its demise.
After a few more seconds, it fell unconscious and died.
System Log
Your group has defeated [Alpha Barbcat (Rank 3, Level 61)]
Experience gain reduced by 20% for fighting with a group
Experience gain increased by 100% for fighting an alpha
Experience gain increased by 100% for dangerous encounter
General Skill Unlocked [Mental Warfare (I, 1/20)]
General Skill Unlocked [Magic Warfare (I, 1/20)]
Resistance [Poison Resistance (I)] gained 7 levels (13 to 20)
Reached Level 40
+5 SP, +2 AP, +3 CP, 1 Perk
Reached Level 45
+5 SP, +2 AP
Reached Level 48
"Are you alright?" Vel asked with worry.
"I'm good, anti-venom did its job," I reassured her, "I'm healing myself back up."
"Let's find somewhere to camp," Vel said, "it's too dangerous in the open."
I agreed. I cast a second regrowth and drank a health potion.
----------------------------------------
I leaned against Vel who was reheating the broth from lunch. Night was still a few hours away but with the day's excitement, we both decided to take a break there. I had healed myself back to full on the way but my mana and stamina were running low.
"That was some impressive manipulation you did," I said, "you've gotten a lot better."
"The items you gave me are … powerful," she said, "it feels like I could just move the whole forest if I wanted to. Everything is just so … easy."
"Well, I'm glad you have them then," I kissed her cheek.
We spent some time relaxing after the meal. I pulled out the enchanting books and started to read them. I could see them with my perception skills and, in a general sense, they worked a bit like spells but I wanted to better understand them. If we found traps or another sealed door in the ruins, I wanted to avoid stumbling in the dark and relying on my intuition.