Ch 27. Day 10. Finally, Off to Adventure.

Patterns of shadows danced on the ground as the post-midday sun shone through the forest canopy. The rustling sound of leaves gently swaying in the wind filled the world. It was a perfect day in Nenn’s book. Not too hot, not too cold, not too much sun, a little cloud cover. Speaking of clouds, the ones that formed in the Trial were monstrous in size compared to the ones on Earth. The clouds stretched far up into the heavens, looking to be several tens of kilometers in height, and equally as long. Everytime a cloud blocked the sun, the land beneath it was plunged into deep shadow.

The group trudged along at a decent pace. Faster than any reasonable pace back on Earth and wherever the naga hailed from, to be sure, but to Nenn, it was almost agonizingly slow. He yearned to be allowed to let loose and push his new stats to their limits. While it had only been a little over two days since he had last tried to measure his pace, he now had thirty more stat points in each category, bringing him to a total of eighty for each now.

“Do you know where we are heading?” Elkorin asked. He lagged behind the group by a couple of meters. The warrior had been tasked with carrying the still passed out naga shaman, who was currently slumped over his shoulder. From experience Nenn knew she was conscious, if one could call it that. She probably wished that she could have passed out after having entered deep into mana withdrawal. Sure, Nenn could have set up a meditation circle and used both [Nature’s Regrowth] and [Nature’s Absorption] to funnel mana into the up-and-coming glass cannon, but then there wouldn’t be a lesson to learn from all of this.

“Vaguely,” Nenn said. “Velnoriss did not exactly give me an exact location. He said that dungeons naturally form in the abandoned ruins of past civilizations. During my travels to the Obelisk I came across the ruins of a settlement. They looked like they had long since been abandoned, and have become quite overgrown,” Nenn said.

Shirley looked at Nenn and cocked his head.

“You’re asking why I didn’t explore them then? I didn’t have time. I had left the surviving Denver group of humans to make it back on their own in hopes that I would be able to capture the Obelisk before any more naga could emerge. Then I watched Elkorin and his camp of newly integrated naga rise up against the Helkis’ guards on their own. That action changed my mind. I decided to offer them an alliance.”

Shirley tilted his head once more.

“You want to know why I made that decision? Honestly if I hadn’t met the forest goblins by the Ottawa Obelisk, I probably would have been a little more close minded to the opportunity. We made an alliance over there, and found out that the Obelisk’s integration quota could be split between allied races.”

Shirley held his hand out flat, palmside down, and lowered his hand from chest height down towards naval height while keeping the hand in the same vertical space.

“Yeah, the goblins are short. They are your stereotypical fantasy goblins. Short, greenish skin, larger noses and ears that angle back towards a point. Scrawny, but organized and smart. Did you ever play D&D or any fantasy-esque video games?”

Shirley nodded in the affirmative.

“Then you’re ahead of the curve. Everything here, at least their concepts, seemed to have leaked into our world somehow. Goblins, orcs, naga, and even angelic and eldritch beings are here, just as they were presented on Earth.”

“You can add humans to the list,” Elkorin said. “Humans existed in our media too. You… Well, okay. Maybe not you Nenn, but Shirley and the rest of the integrated humans look just like we had imagined them.”

Nenn laughed. Shirley looked a little confused at the exchange.

“How did humans stack up in the hierarchy of monsters?” Nenn asked.

“Hmm, middle of the pack, if I had to put humanity somewhere on the scale. Individually weak, strong together, capable of incredible logistical feats and engineering. Some were strongly specialized, like a grand human wizard. They were usually shown as being the foil race to naga-kind. Naga ruled the seas with an iron grip, while land was humanity’s domain,” Elkorin said.

“Oh good, then we are on-par with each other then. Naga in human media were everything you just said. Capable of great civilizations in the depths. Lots of fighting on coastlines,” Nenn said.

“Don’t forget the islands. Human’s always seemed to like raiding islands for some reason,” Elkorin said.

“That would be for the allure of buried treasure. Everyone loves a good treasure hunt,” Nenn said.

The group burst into laughter, Shirley smiled, and the unmoving naga shaman began to stir to life at that moment.

“Ugh, my head. It’s over. It’s finally over,” the naga shaman said as she regained control over her body. She looked around, before finally locking eyes with her ride’s. The two held each other’s gaze until the shaman looked away.

“You can put me down now,” she said.

Elkorin, as requested, gently lowered his charge to the ground, placing her down in such a way that she did not need to adjust her stature. Nenn watched on with interest. The body of a naga moved in such an interesting and complex manner, that it was mesmerizing to those who were not used to it. Nenn looked over at Shirley and saw that his attention had been equally captured, but his facial expression betrayed intense focus, rather than amazement.

“Yeah, it’s pretty different how they move around. They make interesting opponents to fight, as their fighting style is a little different than ours,” Nenn said to Shirley, who nodded his head in agreement.

“We are sorry that we didn’t have a chance to get acquainted back in the fortress, we’re running on a tight timeline so we figured we’d let you recover on the way.” Elkorin asked.

“That’s alright. I’m just glad I was invited to join the party. My name is Nesthanille, but my friends call me Nessie.”

Nenn looked blankly at the naga shaman for a moment before having to choke back his laughter. Shirley looked to be in the same boat.

“My name is Elkorin, although I think you already knew that from the speeches yesterday. The wooden shapeshifted druid is Nenn, and the human is our resident mute monk named Shirley.”

Shirley formed his right hand into a fist, clasped it with his left hand, and held it in front of his sternum before giving Nessie a respectful bow.

“It’s good to meet you Nessie. Let’s keep moving while we chat. We are burning daylight.” Nenn said. The group followed suit and continued to follow Nenn’s keen sense of direction.

“I’m glad to see that you recovered from our duel. Try not to overspend your mana, otherwise you end up in that state,” Nenn said.

“Right, I was doing my best to leave a good impression. It seems like it was worth it,” Nessie said.

“Yes, indeed it was. You were the only caster out of the newly integrated who had learned that you could modify your spell usage. By over-charging your spell you made a very devastating attack. Even as a level… What level are you anyways?” Nenn asked.

“Uh, let me check.” A piece of parchment paper flew down from the heavens into the shaman’s hands. “It says here I’m now level four. I was level three when I fought you, but I guess you can get experience from duels?” Nessie said, shrugging her shoulders.

“Looks like it. You landed a devastating blow against me with your first attack. You’d be able to take out an unarmored level 10 at close range with one attack. That’s pretty impressive for a level three,” Nenn said.

“Oof, that’s a lot. I’m glad I didn’t try that against anyone else then,” Nessie said. “I felt like I might have overdone it, but when you asked for a second shot, I pushed myself further than I thought was possible. Was it worth the mind melting migraine? That’s a question for you to answer. I’m just happy to be out flexing my tail and going on an adventure. There was a part of me yesterday that thought we were going to be stuck playing fortress simulator for the rest of our lives. I joined The Trial to do things. To experience things that were new and not possible back home.”

Stolen story; please report.

“And to avoid dying from The Culling?” Elkorin asked.

“Well yes, that too. That’s a big motivator. I got lucky for a couple of years, but I figured I had better not press my luck any further,” Nessie said.

“We’ll we are happy to have you on board-” Nenn stopped in his tracks, and the rest of the group followed suit a moment later. His nose had picked up an interesting scent. One that was instantly familiar.

“Ahead of us, there is a group of bears. Well, at least two of them. They are bleeding, and I’m not sure why. Let’s proceed with caution. If possible, I want you three to take them down without my help. You’ll get more experience that way,” Nenn said.

“I’ve got the frontline,” said Elkorin. “I’ll take the attention of one of the bears and move it away . Then Shirley, you come in and fight the other one with Nessie backing you up. Both of you keep calm and don’t do anything stupid. Nenn will back you up if you need it. He’s… Very capable, to put it lightly.” Elkroin pulled his trident off of his back and held it at the ready.

Shirley nodded in agreement, and formed his hands into fists.

“Oh, you weren’t kidding about him being mute,” Nessie said. “We’re going to have to get the man some paper so he can write out his life story. But, yes, okay. I’m ready. I’ve got your back Shirley.” Somehow the ‘s’ sound in Shirley’s name did not meet the naga standards for being exaggerated much to Nenn’s relief.

“Good. Follow me, and keep quiet,” Nenn said.

The party made their way off of the game trail, and into the forest proper. They made their best attempts to move silently, but it was definitely not a naga’s forte. They could not step over anything, so every twig and every dead leaf between them and the bears ahead was trampled, creating a constant backdrop of crunchy foliage heralding their arrival.

The scent of blood got stronger the closer they got. A deep roaring bellow cut through the still forest air, followed by another, similar, but different sounding roar. The group slowed as they approached the clearing the sound was coming from. In front of the group, two of the bear-like creatures were busy trying to tear each other apart. A third, slightly smaller bear, watched from the distance with rapt attention.

Both of the fighting bears, which Nenn visually could confirm to be male, were soaked in their own blood. They continued to fight without pause, as if their injuries were only superficial. Both of their eyes were glowing a blood red color.

“Berserking rage,” Elkorin said quietly.

“That’s right. Their fighting over the right to mate,” Nenn whispered. “They won’t stop until one of them is dead or retreats.”

“On Three,” Elkorin said. The bears had disengaged from one another and were measuring each other up once more.

“One.”

The roaring continued as the bears’ tactic of intimidation seemed to be a poor choice of energy expenditure.

“Two.”

The bears lunged at each other in one quicker-than-life motion.

“Three.”

The bushes erupted as Elkorin slithered forward, charging towards the struggling bears. He lunged forward with his trident, stabbing into the closest bear's hind leg, severing most of the remaining muscle and tendons with one deft thrust.

The targeted bear let loose a cry of pain, but it was cut short by the other bear smashing its head into the targeted bear's jaw, shutting it up.

Elkorin was not idle as he continued to prod the injured predator with a flurry of blows as he moved away from the party, leading the bear’s attention with him. Shirley exited the bush with a blur of motion. He dashed forward, catching the injured bear in the ribs with a sharp kick, then turned his attention to the less injured bear.

The battlefield split in two. One bear was harrying after Elkorin, while Shirley and the other bear had come to a staredown. The monk looked calm, his emotions not betrayed on his face. There was no fear in his movements. Every action looked calmed and calculated, at least to Nenn’s view.

A surge of mana built beside Nenn, and a moment later a fist-sized rock shot through the air at subsonic speeds, punching a hole straight through Shirley’s bear, severing it’s left shoulder. Its limb was left hanging on by the barest minimum amount of flesh. A small victory for the bear which was short lived. Shirley had the final honors of removing the limb with a spinning jump kick, sending the muscular front leg tumbling across the clearing.

The bear roared again, and the red glow in its eyes intensified. It ambled forward faster and more adeptly than it should have been able to, but Shirley was ready for it. The bear stood up and raised its remaining font paw. Shirley calmly stepped into the bear’s range and ducked under the swinging appendage, throwing the bear off balance as it tried to adjust for the monk's slippery movements.

Shirley landed a couple of good blows to the area just below the beast’s ribcage, each blow causing a backsplash of blood and gore to gush forth around his fists.

The bear continued to stumble about. It was clearly becoming disoriented as it tried in vain to pin down the monk assailing it. The beast finally had enough and fell over. A quick stomp to its head made it clear to the observers that the bear was firmly dead.

Elkorin had not been idle. His bear now resembled a furry red baked potato that had been stabbed one too many times by a fork before baking. The bear also had the structural integrity of said potato, as it was a slumped over pile of meat and entrails that had already stopped bleeding.

With both contenders dead the prized female bear looked bewildered. It looked to be caught in between choosing its flight or fight response. Elkorin closed the gap and just as the bear began to turn to take off, he threw his trident through the air. It arched like the deadly projectile that it was and landed precisely through the bear’s paw, pinning it in place.

The beast roared in pain as it struggled to free itself. Shirley wasted no time and seized his chance to engage the beast, striking at its uninhibited side. The blows were not as devastating as they had been to the previous opponent, but they were having an effect nonetheless. Each blow sent ripples through the bear's body, causing it to jiggle and shake like a dense piece of rubber.

Elkorin slithered forward towards his trident but stopped short. The bear was still pinned down, and had been unable to mount a proper defense.

“Nessie, hit it now!” Elkorin said.

“I’m out of mana!” Nessie yelled back. That was a very true statement, Nenn realized. She had recovered from mana withdrawal a short while ago. There was no way that her mana reserves could have recovered enough to sustain an actual fight.

“Shirley, finish it,” Elkorin said.

The monk responded by punching harder once more, each strike created a deep wound in the bear’s flesh. Four strikes later and the bear had stilled. Elkorin pulled his trident free, and for good measure, stabbed it down into the bear’s skull, cutting straight into its brain cavity.

Shirley looked at Elkorin and did a half-bow of respect. It seemed that he approved of the additional violence, and with the strategy evoked.

“Why would you do that!? It was already dead!” Nessie said as she slithered out of the bush and straight up to Elkorin, getting right in his face. “It was dead. You didn’t have to… dishonour it like that.”

“You may be right. But once you spend a harrowing night fighting undead minions, you come to understand that you need to make sure your opponents are properly defeated before you can relax. We… We lost a couple of us that way. We thought the minions were dead, but they were just playing dead, waiting for an opportunity to strike. I won’t let that happen again on my watch,” Elkorin said.

Shirley placed a hand on the naga’s shoulder in support.

“It’s better to make sure then to take the risk,” Nenn said. “Besides, as Elkorin can attest, that won’t be a problem once I enter the fray. The fact that the bears are still here as meaty lumps means that I wasn’t counted as having participated.”

“Did anyone level from that?” Elkorin asked, changing the subject.

“Yes. I’m now level 5,” Nessie said.

Shirley nodded and held up five fingers.

“Oh good. What new abilities did you get?”

“[Healing Water]. It says that I can generate healing water that, well, heals,” Nessie said.

“Ooo, that’s going to be super useful. We need to try that right away,” Nenn said. “Here, let me draw this circle and have a seat. I should be able to draw mana and help refill your reserves.”

Nenn went ahead and began the process of using [Nature’s Regrowth] and [Nature’s Absorption] to refill the party’s reserves. The process also offered some unique insight into Shirley. The man’s mana reserves were still full. Nenn couldn’t quantify it, but he could tell his stamina bar had been thoroughly used in the fight. Elkorin was missing mana, but not as much as Nenn would have expected.

Then there was Nessie. Her mana was like a tiny puddle in a bone-dry desert. Other than the singular point of mana she had recovered in the interim, her mana reserves were completely empty. Here was where Nenn focused the bulk of his attention.

In a stroke of luck there were three fresh corpses that were beginning to reek of unattached death mana to pull from. Nenn used himself as a sort of filter to absorb the death-aspected mana, then convert it into a kind of aspectless mana, and then pass that along to Nessie.

“Here we go. Oh your eyes are closed. Let me read to you Shirley’s status sheet. He’s got [Empowered Strike] which does exactly what you think it would do. [Bodily Energy Manipulation] which passively allows him to better move and direct the energy in his body and increase base stamina regeneration. And his newest spell…” Nessie burst into laughter.

“Oh my god, you have to be kidding me. No way. Damn, that’s not good Shirley,” Nessie said.

“What does it say?” Elkorin asked.

“Says here he has [Power Word: Cha]. He has to speak the word as he strikes an opponent, and the blow will stun them for up to 1 second.”

“Oh… yeah, that’s… not the best,” Elkorin said.

“You’ll find a work around,” Nenn said. “The System is open ended in its usage. I’m sure you can figure out how to use the ability without verbalizing the word. And speaking of work arounds, Nessie, if you could try using [Healing Water] on me, that would be much appreciated.