As the forest fell silent and the last echoes of battle faded into the night, I turned to Maya. "We wouldn't have survived that without you. Your skills are... impressive."

Maya's eyes lit up, a broad grin spreading across her face. "Exhilarating, wasn't it? I can’t wait to loot everything!"

Her enthusiasm was contagious, though I was still trying to wrap my head around how smoothly she handled herself. It wasn’t just her skills in combat, her excitement was honestly a little odd.

We began looting the bodies, and it was my first real experience with this in VERTEX. I discovered that if I concentrated on a dead body, I could sense if I was allowed to loot it. The process was oddly intuitive, like reaching out with a part of myself I didn’t fully understand.

Maya confirmed it worked the same for her. "Looks like we each have our own loot tables in VERTEX," she said, excitement still tinging her voice. “That’s good to know.”

I nodded, admitting, "It’s useful, and I hope we get some good stuff but, honestly, I’m in such a hurry to get to Elyria that I hope this doesn’t happen again."

She scoffed, giving me a look like I’d just said something ridiculous. "Why wouldn’t you want to experience combat more often? The thrill, the rush... it’s incredible!"

The wonder in her eyes unnerved me a little. I’d seen plenty of people get too caught up in thrilling moments, but there was something about the way Maya embraced it that felt different. She appeared to be bouncing off the walls now in response to it.

We continued looting, though I didn’t find much of value—mostly credits and shoddy weapons that I didn’t bother taking. My inventory space was limited in VERTEX, and the last thing I needed was dead weight. There was some food, but surprisingly little, considering the size of the group. I wondered how they survived out here with such meager supplies.

Once we finished, we got back on our horses. Thankfully, neither seemed too spooked, and it didn’t take long before we were back on our way, the night closing in around us as we pushed further toward Ebonfall.

But the skirmish left me with a nagging thought. If we kept getting attacked like this, the journey could take forever. I had an idea floating around in my head, something I wasn’t sure would work, but it was worth a shot. I wondered if I could use my emotional intelligence ability to project an emotion, not just to a person but over a broader area.

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I concentrated, reaching out with my ability, but instead of focusing on a specific target, I tried to spread it out around us. To my surprise, it worked, but the range wasn’t huge—just a few meters in all directions. It was better than nothing, though. I quickly realized that if I pushed the projection too far, I’d drain my mana fast. I needed to keep the level right in line with my regeneration, or I’d be running on empty in no time. I was too nervous to let that happen out here.

Next, I needed to decide what emotion to project. Normally, this would be a tough choice, but the last fight gave me an idea. I focused on that same excited confidence and anticipation the bandits had unwittingly projected during the ambush. If I could make potential enemies feel like they were walking into a trap, maybe it would scare them off.

Again, I concentrated, letting the feeling radiate from me, imagining it like a ripple spreading through the air around us. It was a strange sensation, almost like I was trying to stretch a muscle I didn’t know I had. After a few moments, I felt the emotion settle into place, the intensity balanced carefully to match my mana regeneration.

Satisfied, I nudged my horse forward, catching up with Maya. “Let’s hope that keeps any more bandits at bay,” I muttered, half to myself.

Maya glanced at me, raising an eyebrow. “What did you just do?”

I shrugged, not wanting to explain the details. “Just a little trick I’m trying out. We’ll see if it works.”

She gave me a curious look but didn’t press further. We rode on in silence, the night around us thick with shadows, but this time, I felt a little more prepared.

We continued on our way, with my projection leading out in front and behind us. It wasn’t too large, but it was big enough to keep most threats at bay. The rest of the day and into the evening passed without incident as we made our way through the dense forest toward Ebonfall. The eerie silence was unsettling. No bandits, no wildlife—nothing stirred around us. Maya seemed disappointed by the lack of action, her frustration barely hidden. She even asked me outright if I had something to do with it. I merely shrugged, not ready to delve into the details of my new ability.

When nightfall approached, we decided to set up camp. We still had our bedrolls from traveling with the merchants, so it didn’t take long to get everything in place. We opted against starting a fire, even though the cold was biting. It wasn’t cold enough to be dangerous, just uncomfortable, and the last thing we needed was to draw attention to ourselves. To me, it wasn’t worth the risk.

We agreed to sleep in shifts. Maya offered to take the first one since she was still keyed up from the fight and the loot. That was fine by me; I was exhausted and knew I’d be more alert for the early morning watch. As I settled into my bedroll, I fell asleep almost instantly, my body grateful for the rest. The sleep was restful as well, at least until the sound of a sharp thwack broke through my slumber, causing me to jump up and pull my axe, ready to fight.