《The Unwanted Tamer》


 Chapter One

    Kaizer woke up to find himself falling into the middle of a forest. Seeing as he had fallen asleep in his bed the night before he was flabbergasted at what was going on. The forest was the wrong color for every type he had ever known as trees weren¡¯t meant to be pink and their leaves blue. He thought he was dreaming and hoped it would end before he hit the ground. This hope was soon dashed as he splashed into a pond. The water was frigid, and he tried to swim to the edge and realized he was sinking so he walked on the bottom until he could get out. Once he was out of the water and finally had a chance to breathe, he noticed a few other oddities. He was naked. His skin was now made of stone, and he was now a woman.


    It took a few moments for his or now her brain to process this and she ran to the water¡¯s edge to look at her face. Her face was beautiful but androgynous with its angularity. Her pupils were bright amethysts, and her hair looked like it was made of rubies and emeralds throughout. When she touched her hair, it felt like thin gemstones. Her skin was made of smooth warm stone of a tan color. She sat there staring into unfamiliar eyes until she noticed something pop in front of her face. It appeared to be a window like you would see in a video game.


    Status - Unknown. Working on solution.


    The screen then vanished. A few seconds later a new screen popped up and Kaizer started reading.


    Status - Restored.


    Name - Gaia/Kaizer


    Race ¨C Earthbound


    Age ¨C 15


    Rank - Normal


    Titles:


    Unwanted - Unknown


    Class - None


    Abilities - Guide


    Skills ¨C None


    Seeing that Kaizer got up and decided she¡¯d worry about these hallucinations later. She needed to actually look around the surroundings. There was cliff face of thankfully brown rock with a waterfall falling down to the pond that she had landed in with a small creek flowing into the tree-line. The grass around the bank of the pond was more a blue-green color. Everything she saw was like something out of a fever dream. Having realized she was in a clearing she started wondering what she should do when a number of screens appeared.


    Title detected.


    Bestowing reward for title: Unwanted.


    Reward generated.


    After the last screen vanished an egg appeared in her hand. It was small, around the size of a fist and felt warm to her touch. Now Kaizer could no longer call the screens hallucinations after what just happened. She decided to try and follow the creek for a landmark. As she was walking Kaizer tried to pull up what she assumed was her status screen again and it did. This was where she noticed the name, Gaia/Kaizer. She knew where Kaizer came from and assumed Gaia was her name now. She wasn¡¯t going to worry about anything else from this screen as there was nothing else to check outside of the title, Unwanted. Thinking about an explanation for that brought up no results so she ignored it.


    While looking into other things like where she was brought up with no results, she found a small screen in the bottom corner of her vision with what looked like a map. She thought about making it bigger and it obliged. It showed a massive forest that was blacked out and a small trail of light following the creek to what she assumed was the clearing she had appeared in. She continued walking for a bit longer before she saw a clearing up ahead. She continued on until she noticed the clearing was the same one, she had left.


    Guide Quest: Discover the reason for your return to the Pond of Tranquility. 0/1


    Gaia looked at the screen and then around the clearing a bit more closely. Everything looked the same but when she looked at the pond, she noticed the water didn¡¯t even have a ripple while the waterfall was gushing into it. She took a closer look and noticed something on the bottom. It looked like some kind of plant. She decided to try and get it. She started walking into the water and walked along the bottom of the pond and realized it was clear like she was above water. She quickly went to the plant and realized it was a head of lettuce. She took it and made her way back out. The lettuce was like everything else in that it was the wrong color. It was like a rainbow grown in the shape of a lettuce head. It was mesmerizing to look at.


    Guide Quest: Discover the reason for your return to the Pond of Tranquility. 1/1


    Reward: Basic Analysis skill ¨CAllows information to be obtained by focusing on or pushing mana into an object.


    She focused on the rainbow lettuce and then the Egg.


    Shimmering Lettuce ¨C A head of lettuce grown in the Pond of Tranquility. Contains high concentration of mana.


    Egg of the unchosen. Will bind to the first person to touch it. Will hatch within twenty-four hours.


    She read the screen but didn¡¯t know what to do with it, so she set it aside. This was when she realized that even after going into the water the egg was still warm like it was producing a small amount of heat itself. She didn¡¯t have time to think about that and went to make some basic clothes. These mainly consisted of large leaves tied tightly to her so they wouldn¡¯t slip. She also made a small bag from leaves and put the lettuce in. She still carried the egg in her hand as she was afraid it would break then started to follow the creek again. When she paid attention to the map, she noticed that the explored section just stopped like she¡¯d turned around.


    She paid close attention to the map and made some marks on the trees as she walked. She wondered why she suddenly appeared back in the clearing but couldn¡¯t think of a reason outside of, the rainbow lettuce maybe. After a few hours she found a road. It was a dirt road that looked big enough for cars to travel on.


    Seeing this Gaia became excited and quickened her pace. It took her until it got dark to find some evidence of people as she came across a camp on the side of the road. She called out hoping to find someone to help.


    Someone jumped up by the camp and came running towards her yelling something in a language she didn¡¯t understand. The person who came running towards her was a large robed bipedal tiger with a massive sword in his hand. Seeing this Gaia was startled and was about to run when the tiger man stopped. He put the sword away and put his hands up in a more neutral gesture. ¡°Who are you and where did you come from?¡± He said in a growl.


    She hesitated before speaking. ¡°I¡¯m Gaia. I came from somewhere in the woods over there. I just woke up there with nothing but this egg. I was hoping to get some clothes or help from someone.¡±


    ¡°Ok. Let me call over a friend who can talk to you and might be able to get you something to wear.¡± He responded. It seemed he naturally had a growl when he spoke.


    He called out to a person named Titania. She was a beautiful woman. She had long black hair tied into a ponytail and had on some kind of dark bodysuit. There were a couple daggers strapped to her legs and a couple in sheathes on her hips. She jogged over, saw the state Gaia was in and whisked her away from the Tiger man.


    ¡°Hi. I¡¯m Titania. Let¡¯s get you some clothes and then we can talk.¡± She stated in a sing-song voice.


    Gaia was taken into a tent and was given some clothes. The ¡°clothes¡± consisted of a robe that was quite large. It draped around her form and was a few feet too long. She put the ¡°bag¡± with the lettuce in the corner of the tent then went outside.


    When Gaia was outside of the tent she saw the entire group for the first time. There was the large Tiger man who was about six and a half feet tall, the woman titania, a muscular man, and a woman with her face in a book. Titania introduced the tiger man as John, the other man as Francois, and the woman as Jess. After standing next to the group Gaia realized she was only about four feet tall as she had to look up at everyone.


    ¡°So why were you out here alone and with nothing on you?¡± John asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I went to sleep in my own bed and the next thing I know is I woke up falling from the sky. Then this egg suddenly appeared in my hand, and I started walking to try and find anything honestly.¡± Gaia said as she motioned to the egg in her hand.


    After that explanation the group went silent. They looked at each other awkwardly and John broke the silence.


    ¡°Do you have a title?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Yeah. I also have a race called Earthbound. It appeared on a screen that popped up in front of my face. It said Unwanted. Do you know what they mean?¡± She responded.


    ¡°Well, That¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve heard of that title. But I¡¯m guessing you weren¡¯t an Earthbound before falling. You¡¯re what we call the Lost. The lost are people who were transported here from somewhere else. They sometimes keep their original race but most times it changes.¡±


    ¡°This may sound weird, but does it also change your gender?¡± She asked pleadingly.


    ¡°Never heard of that happening but we don¡¯t know much about the lost. So, I guess that happened to you?¡± Titania asked.


    Gaia nodded.


    ¡°Well, sadly there¡¯s nothing we could do to fix that so, welcome to your new life.¡± They said in unison.


    After a few minutes Jess asked. ¡°So, do you know anything about where you are?¡±


    ¡°No. All I know is I have these screens pop up in front of me. I¡¯ve been shown a map, but it is just blacked out, outside of where I¡¯ve already been. It can bring up information on things I focus on like the egg though.¡± Gaia explained.


    ¡°But it only gives me basic info. Like when I see a tree it says tree. The Egg had a name, but I think that¡¯s because it was given as a reward for the title.¡± She finished after a minute.


    They all just looked at Gaia. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s definitely weird. But I don¡¯t know what to say.¡± Titania said.


    ¡°So, why are you guys out here?¡± Gaia asked after a few moments.


    ¡°We¡¯re on our way back to the city from hunting monsters. It¡¯s about a day¡¯s walk down the path.¡± Francois said in a vaguely Scottish accent.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s getting late. Do you want to stay here with us? We can take you to the city tomorrow if you want as well.¡± John asked.


    ¡°If y¡¯all don¡¯t mind. I¡¯d like to. I think this egg will hatch in the morning too. Are y¡¯all alright with that?¡± She asked.


    ¡°That should be fine. We have room in our tent for you.¡± Titania responded.


    They spent the night and Gaia awoke to the sunrise and the feeling of the egg shaking. She went outside and sat down with the egg in front of her and focused on it.


    Egg of the Unchosen.


    Bound to Gaia


    Hatching in one minute.


    Gaia just looked at the egg as it started to crack and wiggle. This went on until a small green head popped out of a small hole. It started to eat the eggshell as it broke out. Once the egg was completely gone there was a small green turtle sitting in front of Gaia. It looked to be small enough for her to hold it in both her hands. A screen suddenly popped up.


    Name - ???


    Race - Turtle (???)


    Rank - Normal


    Level - 1


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Title:


    Unchosen bond ¨C Bond was unchosen. Unknown effects.


    Skills:


    Bite ¨C Creature bites an enemy and has a chance to break appendage.


    Hide ¨C Creature retreats into shell and heals over time.


    Abilities:


    Defensive Nature ¨C Resistance is increased at a set rate every level and doubles between ranks at the cost of Strength.


    The turtle just looked up at Gaia like he wanted something. So, she named him after noticing there was no name. This Turtle would now be known as Malachite. As she said his name a screen appeared in front of her one more time.


    Bond Established.


    Assigning entity Gaia the class tamer.


    Class established.


    Class: Tamer ¨C Class allows for monsters to be tamed. As tamed monsters defeat entities and absorb souls the class holder shares in the absorption.


    Requirements met.


    Entity must possess the title unwanted


    Entity must possess one unchosen bond.


    Entity must not have dealt damage.


    Bestowing new class.


    Class: Unwanted Tamer ¨C Non-combat class. Allows unchosen bonds to be created. Bound monsters'' growth is enhanced. Bound monsters can evolve. As bonded monsters defeat entities and absorb souls the class holder shares in the absorption. Tamer¡¯s Guide Ability acquired. Class holder is unable to deal damage.


    Bond slots created. Bond slots 1/1. Bond slots increase as the holder increases in power.


    Guide Ability modified.


    Tamer¡¯s Guide ¨C Creates quests for the class holder to follow. Quests give rewards when completed. Quests are generated based on Tamer and Bound monsters'' capabilities.


    After reading through the mass of text that appeared after naming Malachite, Gaia was called over for breakfast by Francois. She was given a small bit of bread and cheese with water. She introduced Malachite to everyone, and a screen appeared.


    Tamer Quest: Feed Unchosen Bond (Malachite) Shimmering Lettuce 0/1.


    Seeing this Gaia pulled the lettuce out from the tent and watched him eat for a bit. It was utterly adorable. She then picked him up and carried him while everyone packed up to leave. As they waited the quest appeared as completed and Malachite shone brightly for a brief second and chirped. It was an extremely soft sound that she would have missed if she hadn¡¯t been watching him as intently as she was. Then a screen appeared.


    Tamer Quest: Feed Unchosen Bond (Malachite) Shimmering Lettuce 1/1.


    Reward: Unchosen Bond (Malachite) Attacks deal low magic damage and magical resistance increases slightly.


    Gaia wasn¡¯t sure what that meant but guessed he would deal some more damage when he bit things and was harder to hurt by magic. Once everyone was ready, they started walking towards the city. As they walked Gaia was given an explanation about the country she was in. They were in a country that was simply known as the Kingdom. It was ruled by a royal family that adopted the strongest person in the country and made them into the successor. The current ruler has been ruling for the last three hundred years as when people collect souls and rank up, their life span increases.


    They then explained that their party was part of the Hunter¡¯s League. The League is an organization that helps defend people from monsters and is a middleman for all requests. It is an international organization and is recognized by all governments and protects its members freedom. If anyone wants to join, they can as long as they finish the test which is to defeat a basic monster.


    After hearing the final requirement Gaia¡¯s hopes were dashed as she couldn¡¯t defeat a monster and didn¡¯t want to get Malachite killed. She didn¡¯t know what monsters were like as the only experience she had with them were games and movies.


    ¡°What are monsters like? I don¡¯t want Malachite to die since I apparently can¡¯t hurt anything with my class. It would require Malachite to bite them until they died.¡± She asked.


    ¡°They come in many varieties but I¡¯ll see if we can find a basic monster and hold them so the little guy can bite them. Basic monsters aren¡¯t much different from normal animals. You need at least some way to defend yourself. If we don¡¯t find anything I¡¯ll see if we can get someone to go help you for the first few hunts.¡± John responded.


    They continued walking for the rest of the day while Titania was scouting around for any threats and basic monsters. She didn¡¯t come back until they saw the city¡¯s gate.


    ¡°I finally found a basic monster. It''s called a Walking Gorger. They¡¯re pretty weak and can only hit with their leaves or mouth.¡± Titania said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go then. The little guy should be able to defeat it just fine. We¡¯ll cut off the leaves for this one.¡± Francois stated.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Gaia responded.


    The party went into the forest for a bit where they found the Walking Gorger. It was a small plant that was similar to a Venus fly trap but was about two feet tall and had four roots that allowed it to walk. Its mouth had fangs, and its leaves were thin and cut through the surrounding plants like knives. Jess was the one to act and cast some kind of magic that caused a blade of wind to slice through the roots and its leaves. This caused the plant monster to drop.


    They then told Gaia to put Malachite in front of it and attack it. She did as she was told but held the monster down so it couldn¡¯t bite Malachite while he slowly bit the monster until it went limp. It took him around fifteen minutes to kill it. It then started to dissolve into a black puddle of mush as a green orb appeared and split into two as it sank into Malachite and Gaia.


    When it did a rush of strength surged through her and dissipated just as quickly. She then looked at Malachite as he turned and started towards her. She smiled at him as he appeared to be proud at his triumph. She went over and picked him up while thanking the party for their help. They then made their way back to the road and towards the city. As they were approaching the gate Gaia made a check to see what happened when the soul entered Malachite. The only difference was beside his level which now had a marker of (10%). When she looked at her own level there was the same marker with the same (10%). She assumed that meant they needed to defeat another nine of those kinds of monsters to level up.


    The city had a large wall surrounding it with a massive gate. There were two guards standing by the entrance waving people through and checking cards before letting people through. When they arrived at the gate the two guards looked at the party and started waving them in when they stopped Gaia.


    ¡°Who is this? Don¡¯t think we¡¯ve seen her before.¡± One of the guards stated.


    ¡°This is Gaia we found her in the woods We¡¯re going to take her to the Hunter¡¯s League to sign up for an ID and everything. We¡¯ll vouch for her.¡± Titania responded.


    ¡°Well, we at least need to verify her record. I¡¯ll bring out the Analyzer.¡± The other guard said.


    After a few minutes the guard brought out a stone slab with a circular crystal in the center. ¡°If you place your hand there it will show if you have a criminal record.¡± The guard explained.


    Gaia hesitated but placed her hand on the crystal. As she did the crystal glowed a bright green and soon writing appeared on the stone around the crystal. She didn¡¯t know what language it was, but she could read what it said.


    Name ¨C Gaia


    Race ¨C Earthbound


    Class ¨C Tamer (Hidden: Unwanted)


    Records ¨C None


    She stared at the information for a moment before being dismissed by the guards since she didn¡¯t have any criminal record. She wondered why parts were hidden but didn¡¯t have time and didn¡¯t know whether it was safe to ask in a public area.


    When Gaia entered the gate, she was shown a city that was made of many different races and was reminiscent of medieval towns. The buildings were made of wood and stone, but some were closer to how modern-day earth would look with blocky architecture. The most notable of those was what looked like a hospital near what looked like a central plaza. There was a large mansion towards the northern end of town and was only noticeable as it was the largest building outside of the hospital.


    As the group made their way into the city, they explained everything they could on the walk to the Hunter¡¯s League. The city was called the Boundary as it was the last major city before what people called the Shimmering Forest. There were small villages along the road within the forest, but this was the last major bastion of the Kingdom.


    The shimmering forest took up a few hundred miles to the south of the city and was treacherous to travel without a large group of strong hunters. It was created when a portal appeared and started to change the landscape. At first, it was only a small forest about a mile wide but over the years it expanded, and monsters started to appear that weren¡¯t native to the world. No one knows if the portal is still there, but it hasn¡¯t expanded for the last decade. The Kingdom allowed it to expand as it helped create a border with their enemy of the group called the Tribes.


    She wondered why she hadn¡¯t come across any monsters. She thought it might have been because she was only a little way into the forest then thought about the pond. It was oddly tranquil and there weren¡¯t any animals or any sounds around it. She couldn¡¯t explain it. She guessed she was just lucky or that it might have been the fact she was only a little way into the forest. It seemed the monsters were sparse at the edge of it.


    Her thoughts and the explanation ended when they arrived at the Hunter¡¯s League. It was a small building and looked like a cozy cottage that was built in the middle of a park. It looked very out of place by the central plaza but had a large sign by the door that proclaimed what it was. The group went in, and Gaia swiftly followed to be amazed. The interior was massive. It was around the size of what she would assume the hospital was. There were multiple floors with balconies around a central column of desks with receptionists. The entire place was made out of wood and metal with each floor being a different color.


    The first floor was made of stone, the second of bronze, the third of iron, the fourth a purple metal, and the final floor of a green metal. She guessed that might indicate rank and the highest floor was the highest rank. As she was goggling at the view the group brought her to one of the bottom floors receptionists and explained what was going on.


    ¡°Ah. Ok. I can help her from here if you want to go turn in your request.¡± The receptionist responded.


    ¡°Thank you. Gaia this receptionist will help you.¡± John said as the party went to go up a floor.


    ¡°Hi. I¡¯m Freya. I¡¯ll be your receptionist. I understand you want to register?¡± Freya said. She was a small woman with curly blonde hair, long ears and green eyes. She looked to be a perfect example of the elves that she remembered from video games.


    ¡°Um. Yeah. I don¡¯t really know much about it. I just know I need an ID and that the League will protect my freedom. Also, that I need to kill a basic monster for that.¡± Gaia responded.


    ¡°The Hunter¡¯s League is an organization that helps protect people from monsters. All requests for monster subjugation must go through the League, but there are also other requests from escort quests to help people traverse more dangerous areas to simple collection quests. We can create a basic ID card for you if don¡¯t want to join the league proper but there is a fee to just have a basic ID made. The price is waived if you join the League proper, however.¡± Freya explained.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll join properly. Does that mean I have to take the test?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°Yes. We will provide an examiner who will oversee your test. We have a few basic monsters that are kept in the test site for this reason. I can take you there now if you like.¡± She said.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, but will there be a problem if I can¡¯t hurt anything? I have this little guy with me to be able to deal damage.¡± Gaia said while motioning to Malachite.


    A few moments passed before she responded. ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be a problem, but we¡¯ve never had someone not be able to hurt anything. I¡¯ll leave it up to the examiner to decide.¡± She finished.


    She took them to the back of the building and down a long set of stairs. When they got to the bottom she motioned them forward into a large room. It appeared to be made of grey stone with a small arena looking pit in the middle. When Gaia went inside, she was motioned to a woman in light armor standing by the edge of the pit.


    ¡°Is this a new prospective member?¡± The woman asked.


    ¡°Yes, she is. This is Gaia. Gaia, this is Harley. She will be your examiner.¡± Freya explained.


    ¡°Alright, Gaia. Let¡¯s get you in the pit and I¡¯ll toss a basic monster in there for you.¡± Harley said.


    She followed Harley¡¯s instructions and hopped into the pit. It was about five feet deep with some metal rungs to allow people to climb in and out. Otherwise, it was just a pit made of stone. About a minute later a small fur ball dropped into the pit.


    ¡°This is what we call a Prickly Hare. They are quick but weak. Show me what you got.¡± Harley said.


    It was just a rabbit with a spike on each of its appendages and a small horn on its head. When it hit the ground, it jumped straight at Gaia. She barely managed to dodge and tried grabbing it before it could get away, but she was too slow. This went on for a few minutes before she tried to just take the hit from the rabbit to catch it. It jumped straight at her chest again and she just took the hit. It didn¡¯t even hurt, and she was able to catch it between her hands. She quickly moved it down so Malachite could bite it. After about ten more minutes it was finally dead, and a grey orb rose and split between Gaia and Malachite once again.


    All in all, the fight lasted about fifteen minutes, but the examiner seemed to be annoyed that it took that long. She just looked between Gaia and Malachite with a questioning look.


    ¡°I can¡¯t deal any damage to anything, so I need this little guy to actually hurt things.¡± Gaia explained.


    ¡°What? You can¡¯t hurt anything, and you want to be a hunter?¡± Harley exclaimed.


    ¡°Am I not allowed to?¡± She asked.


    ¡°No, you can but I¡¯ll have to restrict what requests you can take until you¡¯re able to kill one of these basic monsters in at most a minute.¡± Harley explained.


    ¡°I think that will be fine. I don¡¯t want Malachite or myself to get hurt anyway. I¡¯ll gladly take any help I can get.¡± Gaia said.


    ¡°Alright fine. It looks like you¡¯re able to level up with that turtle anyway. It seems like it will take a few levels before you¡¯re able to kill these things well anyway. What level are you by the way?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Um we¡¯re both level one?¡± Gaia said.


    Harley and Freya just looked at each other with a look of exasperation. ¡°Ok. We¡¯re going to recommend you to a training camp for new hunters. It¡¯ll last a few months but should teach you everything you should know and even let you fight with supervision. It is literally made to help people who have low levels to get to the starting line. Most people don¡¯t become hunters until they¡¯re stone rank. At that point you should be able to deal with basic monsters easily.¡± They explained.


    ¡°I think that should be fine, but I don¡¯t have any money for that.¡± She responded.


    ¡°Its free, but they¡¯ll take a little bit out of your rewards until its paid off once you¡¯re out. Most people have help leveling up, by their family to at least level five because by then they can deal with basic monsters mostly by themselves. Stone rank is the base for a hunter as they tend to have to deal with multiple monsters.¡± Harley explained.


    ¡°I¡¯ll put in for your admittance to the camp now and they¡¯ll come get you tomorrow morning. You can stay in one of the Leagues free rooms for the night.¡± She finished as she waved them away.


    Freya walked Gaia back up to the main room where she made her Hunter Badge. This required a small bit of blood which allowed it to bind to the users spirit. The spirit was how most people were identified in this world as it was hard to change and was unique to each person. Gaia¡¯s badge read as follows.


    Name ¨C Gaia


    Race ¨C Earthbound Lost


    Titles: Hidden


    Class ¨C Tamer (Hidden: Unwanted)


    Rank ¨C Normal


    Level - 1 (20%)


    The card was also mostly black and tinged green throughout, which apparently coincided with her spirit. She was told the spirit can change when placed under enough stress, but it was rare, and most of the time it stayed the same.


    The receptionist also explained about levels and ranks. A person''s level increased as they killed monsters and absorbed souls. A person''s rank was divided between five ranks. There was Stone, Bronze Iron, Adamantine, and finally Orichalcum. As a person increased in rank their bodies slowly became closer to their ideal form. This required the souls that a person absorbed to be consumed by their spirit which made changes to their body. This also caused peoples lifespan to increase as their rank increased. The ruler of the kingdom was Adamantine rank.


    A persons level just indicated how far into a rank they were. From normal rank to stone rank was ten levels. There were other conditions, but they weren¡¯t required until attempting to rank up into bronze rank. From stone to bronze was one hundred levels, from bronze to iron was two hundred and rose by one hundred for each rank. Every time you ranked up your level reset to one as the souls that were collect were consumed. In order to rank up one had to reach the level limit for that rank.


    For classes, a normal rank person could obtain their class, but most didn¡¯t until stone rank as it was given due to specific circumstances. For example, someone who helped treat wounds could obtain the class healer or someone who worked with wood could get the carpenter class when they ranked up into stone.


    After the explanation Freya guided Gaia to a small room on the first floor which she was told was her free room for the night. She was also told that she could get some food from the tavern counter in the back of the building for dinner and that someone would be there to get her at dawn the next morning.


    Gaia thanked the receptionist and went to get some food from the tavern. She was handed a bowl with some kind of meat stew; some bread, water and a small salad for Malachite. She sat at a table and ate while watching Malachite slowly enjoy his small salad. A few other people seemed to enjoy watching Malachite eat as she caught a few stares and smiles looking towards him.


    After they were done, she took the dishes to the counter and thanked the tavern worker before going to her room. She found a small bathroom with a shower and cleaned herself. Then put some water in the small basin and let Malachite swim for a bit. She made her way to bed after that and swiftly fell asleep with Malachite huddled against her head.

 Chapter Two

    Gaia woke up to the sound of someone banging on her door. She quickly got dressed in her oversized robe and grabbed Malachite before opening the door. There was a short, stocky, bearded man with slightly pointed ears in front of her. The first thing to come to mind were the dwarves from movies she¡¯d seen on earth. He looked her up and down before turning around and motioning for her to follow. For a person as small as he was, he was quick. She nearly had to jog to keep up with him. As they walked, he started talking.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re the new recruit that can¡¯t hurt anything are ya?¡± He asked gruffly.


    ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s what I have Malachite for, though he can¡¯t do it very quickly.¡± She responded.


    ¡°I¡¯m Havi. I¡¯ll be one of your teachers during this camp. We¡¯ll cram all the knowledge you¡¯ll need to know into the next six months. We¡¯ll also supervise you while you hunt so we can get up to stone rank. That¡¯s when we¡¯ll give you a final test before determining whether you¡¯re ready to be a proper Hunter.¡± He explained.


    ¡°Ah. Also, everything will be provided outside of armor, clothes, and weapons.¡± He finished.


    Seeing as that answered any questions she could think of, she followed Havi silently. He took her through the main roads and out of the town to the east. There were gates at each cardinal direction from what he explained. They continued down the path for a few hours until a large pink wooden building came into view. Havi just pointed towards it and told her to go to the main entrance.


    She did as she was told and walked in, to find it was just a basic wooden structure. There were a few groups of people at small tables just inside the door and a cafeteria style counter to the right of the entrance. To her left she saw a small desk and a weary-looking tiger person waving her over.


    ¡°Please show me your ID.¡± He said tiredly as she got to the counter. She showed him her ID. He then checked a crystal that showed a list of names that he scrolled through.


    ¡°Gaia. Ah, yes, You¡¯re right here. Your room will be on the top floor. We will have a lecture in about an hour on basic monsters. Lunch is currently being served and will end in about a half hour, so I suggest putting whatever belongings you have in your room and getting food. Late attendance will not be allowed for any classes.¡± He stated as he handed her a crystal.


    She walked to the top floor before realizing she was never given a room number. As she looked, she also noticed none of the doors had knobs, so she just started going door to door. Once she checked around seven doors someone came up and put their crystal on a door and it opened. She tried doing the same and it finally worked on the last door in the hall.


    The room was small and had a desk, chair, chest, and bed. Otherwise, it was all made out of a pink wood which she assumed came from the shimmering forest. She closed the door and went down for some food. They were serving a basic meal that consisted of meat that looked like some kind of chicken and some veggies that looked like multicolored versions of their earthen counterparts. They tasted similar to how they looked but the meat was tougher than chicken would be.


    She was thankful that most of the food tasted similar to how their earthen counterparts were but had slight differences. They were small things, the potato like vegetables were naturally spicy, the broccoli is purple and sweet, and the weirdest she¡¯d had so far was a leafy vegetable used as dessert that tasted like chocolate.


    After her meal, she was pointed towards the room for the lecture. It was a long lecture that lasted a few hours. It consisted of the lecturer explaining various aspects of basic monsters. They were called that due to their low levels and similarity to their mundane counterparts. They explained the weak points of the most common monsters near the facility. She thought it was really interesting.


    After the lecture, she was told it was now free time. They could do what they wanted from extra hunting to practicing hobbies like crafting or relaxing. She decided to go and read some books on monsters and try to find anything about her class or title. There was no information about either and she asked the librarian who stated they¡¯d never heard of either before.


    So, to sum up her research there were hundreds of classes and her tamer, let alone unwanted tamer class was not one they had ever had before.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s just wonderfully convenient¡± she thought.


    Nothing she could do about that, so she went back to her room after realizing she¡¯d missed dinner while reading and slept. She awoke to the sound of someone yelling ¡°Get up! You have thirty minutes to get ready for hunting.¡± She just grabbed Malachite, put on her robe, and opened her door to go downstairs. She saw a woman going down the stairs and just followed her. When they got to the first floor the woman turned around and jumped when she saw Gaia.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you getting ready?¡± She exclaimed.


    ¡°I am. I don¡¯t have anything else.¡± Gaia explained.


    ¡°Well. Great. I guess you¡¯ll be with me today then. Its always first come, first served for supervisors. I¡¯m Aira. I¡¯ll be with you the entire day. Go grab your breakfast and they¡¯ll give you a lunch to take with you.¡± She said.


    ¡°Ok.¡± Gaia responded and walked towards the cafeteria counter. They gave her breakfast and a bag with lunch. She checked the lunch, and it even had some stuff for Malachite, so she thanked the server profusely.


    ¡°So, have you actually hunted anything yet?¡± Aira asked as they left the building.


    ¡°Not really. Also, just so you won¡¯t be surprised. I can¡¯t actually hurt anything myself, so I¡¯ll need this guy to actually deal damage.¡± She said.


    Aira just went silent for a minute. ¡°Well, today will be interesting then won¡¯t it.¡± She responded.


    Aira guided Gaia to a part of the forest and motioned for her to take the lead from that point on. Gaia attempted to do so and after about a half hour found a monster. It was something akin to a squirrel but was twice as large and had plates on its body. She tried to sneak up and grab but failed and was instead smacked by the creature''s tail. It hurt a bit but not as much as she expected.


    She ran up and grabbed the creature before pinning it to the ground and again waiting the almost ten minutes for Malachite to kill it. They absorbed the soul and started looking for another monster when another quest appeared.


    Tamer quest: Raise Bond ¡®Malachite¡¯ to level two. (30%)


    She just stared for a moment before dismissing the screen. She was already planning to try and level him up today anyway. They continued and found a few more of the squirrel creatures which she remembered were called ¡°Plated Squirrels.¡± Name¡¯s bit on the nose but fair enough, she thought. The fights went a bit quicker as she started to be able to dodge their tails, which was their strongest attack. It was about midday when they stopped for lunch, and she checked the state of the quest.


    Tamer Quest: Raise Bond ¡®Malachite¡¯ to level two. (60%)


    They only had about four more to go. As they ate Aira gave them advice on how she and Malachite could deal with the enemies a bit easier. She agreed to try and follow the advice. They quickly finished three more fights with different monsters. One was a slime like monster that Malachite just ate, another was a grasshopper that was a few feet in length, and the last was a Walking Gorger. They weren¡¯t difficult but the Walking Gorger tore Gaia¡¯s robe to ribbons. Aira looked on in shock as Gaia walked away with minor cuts.


    Their final monster was found just before it got dark. It was a small forest cat known as an Insatiable Fang. They grew with the number of monsters or prey they ate. This one seemed to have either spawned recently or not found any prey. Gaia sprinted to grab it, but it dodged and bit her arm. It was able to pierce her skin and tore a chunk from her arm. As it swallowed it grew a couple inches. She continued to try and pin it until it was about half her size, and she had quite a few bites. At that point she was able to grab it around the neck to keep it from being able to bite her or Malachite.


    It took quite a bit of her strength to keep a hold on the monster and keep its head on the ground. Sadly, this monster also gained more health as it grew so it took Malachite longer to kill it. Around a half hour later the monster was dead, Gaia crawled to her feet and picked Malachite up. She was still bleeding from multiple wounds and Aira swiftly patched her up with first aid. Her robe was in tatters, and she had multiple bandages on when she returned to the camp building. People looked at her like she was crazy for doing something that caused her robe to be that torn. Others looked on with pity as if thinking ¡°She¡¯s in way over her head¡± or ¡°What did she run into, that could do that.¡± No one voiced these thoughts, at least not loud enough for her to hear them. She was quickly ushered into an infirmary within minutes of arriving.


    There was a healer on standby for this very reason and she was quickly healed. Healing boosted a person¡¯s normal healing speed but was tiring for the body. After she was healed, Gaia was exhausted and hungry. She was brought a cafeteria tray, and she swiftly devoured the food. Then was told to go to her room and rest for the night. She did so and checked the quest when she was in the room.


    Tamer Quest: Raise Bond ¡®Malachite¡¯ to level two. (100%)


    Reward: Increased understanding between bonds.


    She didn¡¯t understand what that meant, so she just held Malachite close and drifted off to sleep. The next morning, she awoke around dawn. She showered and threw on the rags that were now her robe and grabbed Malachite before heading down for food. As she did, she noticed Aira standing to the side of the cafeteria where she called her over.


    ¡°So, we¡¯re not supposed to provide things like armor or clothes, but we have crafting classes. If you take the tailoring class, they will give you some cloth which you can make your own clothes. I was allowed to give you something to wear as long you take that class today.¡± She explained as she handed over a new robe.


    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll go to the class as it seems I might need it. Are there other crafting classes?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°Yeah, there are a few we have a schedule in the first-floor hall if you want to look.¡±


    ¡°Thank you¡± Gaia told her as she went to eat. As she ate, she started to notice a feeling of happiness. She didn¡¯t know what it was, but she just thought it was from watching Malachite eat. When she finished her food, she took her tray back and noticed the feeling of worry and started to be concerned until she noticed Malachite waddling around on her table looking for her. She went back over and when he saw her the feeling was replaced with relief.


    She tried to explore what this new connection was and soon noticed it could go both ways. She could send him feelings through this connection just as he did to her. She wasn¡¯t able to send words or pictures, just emotions but thought it might increase as they leveled up. As she looked at him a bit closer, she noticed that he had grown a bit instead of fitting in her one hand he now had to be held in both hands. She checked his status.


    Name - Malachite


    Race - Turtle (???)


    Rank - Normal


    Level - 2


    Title - Unchosen bond


    Skills:


    Bite


    Hide


    Size change ¨C Creature can change size to any size they have been before. (Does not affect holders'' natural growth)


    Abilities:


    Defensive Nature


    Tamer Quest: Raise Bond Malachite to Stone rank 0/1


    She didn¡¯t know whether she would ever see any numbers for his stats, but he had gained a new skill which she assumed came from killing the Insatiable Fang since it was the only monster that could change its size that they¡¯d fought. She then checked her own status.


    Name ¨C Gaia


    Race ¨C Earthbound Lost


    Titles:


    Unwanted


    Class ¨C Unwanted Tamer


    Rank ¨C Normal (20%)


    Level ¨C 2


    Bonds ¨C 1/1


    Skills:


    Basic Analysis


    Ability copy ¨C Holder gains the ability to copy bonded monsters'' abilities. Copied abilities (0/1)


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Abilities:


    Tamer¡¯s Guide


    Available bond abilities ¨C Defensive Nature


    Copy ability? Yes/No


    She selected yes.


    Ability shared - Defensive Nature. Enacting stat adjustments.


    As this happened, she felt some strength leave her and light shimmered around her for a brief moment before she felt like there was a small barrier around her skin. She poked her arms, but they felt like the cold stone they were. She assumed it required some kind of force but wasn¡¯t entirely sure. It didn¡¯t look any different from before, but she could feel the barrier of something around her. She was brought from her musings by people getting up and leaving so she went to check out the times for crafting classes.


    The tailoring class was slotted for the next couple hours but there were a few other classes from blacksmithing and alchemy to cooking and gardening. She went to the tailoring class and found out she was hopeless at it as her inability to hurt anything also extended to objects apparently. She couldn¡¯t even pierce the fabric with a needle. The next class she took was blacksmithing and quickly left when she had the same problem. The class she enjoyed the most and decided to go to when she could, was gardening.


    The teacher was terrifying at first. His name was Gregor. He was a large and scary man from the Ursia race. They were a race that had the characteristics of bears. He had large claws and was an imposing person but adored gardening and plants in general. He made the class enjoyable and relaxing. He taught magic on how to increase the growth rate of plants and how to tend to them. She loved the class as it allowed her to learn magic which she didn¡¯t know she could use. She also thought she might be able to grow food for herself and Malachite. She was just worried if it would consider harvesting hurting the plants.


    Malachite also seemed to enjoy the class, but she thought it was because of the attention he got. He liked to sit under the plants while they were watered. It was enjoyable to watch him though.


    The weeks at the camp continued along those lines for the first few months. She noticed that the days were the same twenty-four hours as earth, but the weeks were nine days long. She was also told that years were ten months long. She got into a routine as she got used to this world and the camp. During this time, she even managed to raise both their levels to six. As their levels increased, it became harder for their levels to rise. She also started to enjoy the hunts more as the monsters weren¡¯t able to hurt her anymore, including the insatiable fang they had fought the first time. She really appreciated the ability she got from Malachite. His size had increased as they leveled up, he was now about three feet long and about two feet tall. Thankfully, his size change ability made it easy for her to carry him. Their bond also increased as they completed quests from her Tamer¡¯s Guide ability. They were now able to send impressions, and basic words but they still couldn¡¯t talk through their bond it seemed more like Malachite¡¯s intelligence was improving as he leveled up.


    She hoped this meant they would be able to speak to each other at some point through the bond. She looked forward to the day they could truly speak to each other. He mainly said or asked one-word statements or questions through the bond. Like when he was happy, he could say happy, or when he was hungry, he¡¯d say salad. It was quite cute, and his voice was similar to a little boy when he spoke through the bond.


    The day for them to harvest the plants they had grown in gardening class had finally come. She was both excited and scared at what would happen. She quickly made her way to the garden where the gardening instructor Gregor was waiting. He had a large smile on his face as he saw Gaia running towards the garden. She had told him about her inability to damage anything and he had suggested that it may allow her to harvest something if she grew it herself.


    She went to her plant which was a variety of melon similar to honeydew but had the consistency of watermelon. She had tried it when the cafeteria had served some. It was fully grown, and she hesitated before trying to pluck it from the stem. It came off and she almost cried when it did. She had been worried for months from when she had first planted it. She could actually harvest plants she had grown herself. She asked Gregor to cut it and he happily did so. She gave a piece to Malachite who had grown to his current three-foot size, and they all enjoyed the literal fruit of her labor.


    After her first success with growing plants, she started to research growth magic and also had the idea to try healing magic as it didn¡¯t deal damage but instead removed it. Her research took most of her time outside of classes, and hunting. She had some success with healing magic, but it seemed to only work on her and Malachite. She was able to heal small wounds but unable to heal anything major, the magic was quick to cast and take effect though.


    Before she knew it there was only a month left until her final exam to leave the camp. The time had flown by much quicker than she had expected. She had also grown much stronger. She now had a knowledge base about monsters she¡¯d likely encounter, rank differences, how the countries interacted, and how hunters truly operated.


    Hunters finished requests. Whether subjugation or collection. They could pick a request from the hunter board in a town or village and as long as they placed their Hunter League badge on it, the request would be assigned to them. Once they finished the request it would burn any copies of that request from any boards and the hunter just needed to return to a branch location to receive their rewards. Requests could be taken depending on the persons rank, and their level within that rank for safety reasons. When someone completed a number of requests quickly and successfully, they would receive an arrow. This would allow for hunters to take on requests with higher difficulty but often required parties to complete. Therefore, the more arrows a hunter had the more responsibilities they had on missions. The hunters with the highest rank or number of arrows on their cards were often given command of multi-party requests.


    The highest number of arrows a hunter¡¯s badge could have was five. This maximum was decided on as it made it easier to check a hunter''s performance at a glance, without needing to check their records every time a multi-party group was needed. This made it easier to distinguish between hunters that had the Leagues trust, and those that didn¡¯t. Every time they ranked up it would drop by two. This was because when they ranked up, they were considered the weakest of the new rank.


    She was also taught how the countries of the world interact. There were four major countries in the world which held most of the power. The Kingdom which she was currently in, took up the entire western half of the continent. The Shattered Islands, which was made up of city-states in a massive island chain in the Southern Ocean that had a central council with each city-state having a representative. The Tribes were a large number of nomadic groups that traveled the desert and plains that encompass the southern quarter of the continent. The last major power was the Grail Empire which controlled the eastern continent. There were also many small countries, but they all had no power.


    She was also told that all countries used the same currency, however. The currency was known as crystallized cores. There were multiple varieties which coincided with the rank of them. The lowest was a stone core, and the highest an orichalcum core. Most normal rank people used stone cores. One hundred stone cores equaled one bronze core and increased similarly by rank.


    There were five ranks. Stone, Bronze, Iron, Adamantine, and finally Orichalcum rank. Whenever someone ranked up a rank, they were stronger than the previous and the weakest of the new one.. Fighting down a rank was easy, as the person had already passed that rank and therefore much stronger than anything within it. Fighting up a rank was not suggested until at the level cap of the previous rank. For example a stone rank fighting a bronze rank. This was due to the rank difference. The rank difference caused any attacks from a being in a rank lower than its own to deal significantly less damage.


    She learned how magic, and mana worked. Mana was the natural state of magical energy that was widespread throughout the world. Magic was the phenomena when people used the mana, they naturally had to create a desired effect. This was based on what spell they used and normally had to deal with a person''s class and spirit. She was told that some attributes could be bound but didn¡¯t understand what that meant and was just told she¡¯d understand as she ranked up. As her class was tamer, she couldn¡¯t use any magic that caused damage but could use magic like healing and growth. These were normally types of magic that were only accessible by healers or farmers.


    When mana was concentrated into an area it could lead to portal creation. They caused monsters that were not native to this world to spew forth in great numbers and often distorted the landscapes around them. This was caused by the portal leaking high concentrations of magic from the dimension they connected to. Monsters could also form due to the rise of ambient mana in areas where they spawned naturally. Mundane creatures could also become monsters from absorbing more mana than they could control.


    The world had many areas with high mana, and these tended to have higher ranked monsters and portals. Portals could be beneficial as long as they were contained and monitored as they could cause water to spew from them in a desert creating oases or allow certain materials to be mined regularly when the world couldn¡¯t naturally produce them in a sustainable way. They were always full of monsters and were ranked based on the most common monsters they had.


    One area that had an extremely high saturation of mana was the continent to the north. It was known as the Deserted North since there had been a large country there that was destroyed due to a multitude of high ranked portals appearing. It was teeming with portals and Orichalcum ranked monsters. No country had tried to go there since as it was so dangerous and the countries couldn¡¯t justify losing even one of the few Orichalcum Hunters for such a dangerous land.


    She enjoyed learning everything about the world. The one part that was very interesting to her was that some people had the ability to loot things from monsters. These came from lucky or divinely given abilities. She was also loathed to hear that lost always had this ability. The loot items appeared when the monsters dissolved into the mush and left behind items. These could be cores, items, or materials. This caused her to panic for a bit as she didn¡¯t have that ability but was told she would get paid for the requests no matter what as long it was reported as completed.


    As the final week approached, she was out hunting with Malachite and Aira. Aira had become her regular supervisor, and they had started to chat more and more as Gaia and Malachite¡¯s abilities improved. They had become friends over the almost six months they had been hunting together. She was joining them for their last hunt before the final exam. They only needed a few more monster kills before she became stone rank.


    Aira was giving advice on how to kill stronger monsters as Malachite could now kill Plate Squirrels, and similarly low-level monsters within a couple minutes now. They had been looking for stronger monsters to challenge but couldn¡¯t find anything at their level while still being normal rank. They had been told that most hunters were expected to be able to fight and kill monsters at their rank and level easily. They were confident they could but if they tried to fight a monster above their rank, they would only deal about half their normal damage, and anything more than one rank higher they likely wouldn¡¯t be able hurt.


    They would gain the same abilities to resist damage from enemies of a lower rank than them as well. They would also gain more abilities tied to their class as they ranked up. This was nice as that meant basic monsters would be more manageable as a group at stone rank. Aira also explained that most hunters formed parties. These parties allowed hunters to fight monsters that were a higher level in their rank and were even expected to be able to fight monsters one rank above their own.


    When Aira was done explaining about the ranks and their advantages they started to hunt some more. By the time they returned to the camp building Gaia and Malachite were only about one monster kill away from reaching stone rank. They researched more about the ranks and discovered that as they ranked up not only would they gain more abilities, but the existing abilities could be enhanced. Skills would also gain more benefits as they were used and ranked up. It did seem that a lot of information was missing for anything above stone rank in the camps library though.


    They enjoyed their last few days of classes as the final exam crept closer. Before they knew it, it was the day of the exam. Gaia woke up early and did her morning routine that she had developed since being there. This consisted of a basic workout and a run. She always enjoyed her morning runs but today it just seemed especially peaceful. Malachite ¡°joined¡± her run which was mainly him slowly walking in a few circles which he seemed to enjoy.


    She was excited for the exam but also worried as no one knew what the exam consisted of until the day they took it. She grabbed Malachite and made her way to the exam hall. As she got closer to the door, she became more and more nervous until Malachite sent her some happy emotions which calmed her down a bit.


    She waited until the camp leaders called her name. She entered and found an arena similar to the one from her hunter¡¯s test but was many times larger. It was a pit about fifteen feet deep and thirty feet wide. She walked towards the examiner.


    ¡°Ah, Gaia. Glad you made it all the way through. Are you ready for your exam?¡± Aira asked.


    ¡°I-I think so.¡± She stuttered.


    ¡°Alright. Your exam is to fight and kill a stone rank monster. This has been the standard exam for the last hundred years. We have healers to heal you if you get injured and I¡¯ll save you from any deadly blows. Do you understand?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Gaia responded with determination.


    ¡°Well, get in there! Show us you¡¯re ready to be a hunter.¡± She stated excitedly.


    Gaia made her way to the pits edge and climbed down to the floor. On the other side of the pit was a large gate. She could hear something chittering behind the door. She held her breath until the gate started opening and the monster crawled out. What she saw terrified her, as the creatures were already freaks of nature in her mind. This one was that much worse as it was her size on its legs and appeared to be at least six feet long. It was a gargantuan tarantula that had a massive bone like carapace over its body. She screamed at the top of her lungs before a screen appeared.


    Rank up quest: Kill Skull Shelled Tarantula (Stone Rank). 0/1


    She looked between the screen and the six-foot tarantula and just shivered while begging for a different monster. She was, unfortunately, ignored. As she was in this dilemma, the spider was shuffling towards her. It shot a web that she barely dodged and used some kind of magic to summon a blob of green liquid. She went face first into the liquid and started to feel weaker almost immediately. The blob hit the ground and dissipated after she ran through it.


    She tried to keep herself from falling and faceplanted. She got up to realize the pit now looked a sickly shade of green. She could barely see what was happening and tried to clear her eyes but couldn¡¯t clear them. She tried healing herself, but nothing happened. She watched as a massive black blob was trying to bite a green blob which she realized was Malachite trying to bite the eight-legged horror.


    She did what she could, blindly trying to grab the spider which was just a dark blob. Surprisingly, she managed to grab one of the spiders legs. Malachite was there as well and was able to bite one of the legs which broke from what he sent to her. Having found a chance to deal with the monstrosity, she swiftly reached out and grabbed another leg. She used what little leverage she had to bring it towards her bond. They continued to use this method until all four legs on that side of its body were broken.


    The last leg she had grabbed was one of its front legs from the fact she felt something pierce her side as Malachite told her it was broken. She tried to rip one of its fangs from her side but was unsuccessful. Malachite bit its fang and was able to hold it while Gaia got free. As she backed away, she could see that the right half of the spiders body was limp and splayed out to the side unmoving. She took a moment to heal herself and once again dove into the monsters reach. After another four minutes the spiders left legs were broken and Malachite was biting into the spiders body.


    The fight ended with the spider summoning one last blob of what she had discovered was poison right above Malachite. This one seemed slightly different as it was a blob of black liquid instead. Gaia ran and grabbed him before it could hit him, while taking another hit to the face from the liquid. At this point her entire field of view was just a sickening bright green. She couldn¡¯t see anything and started panicking. She thought she wouldn¡¯t be able to see any screens, but for some reason she was still able to see them as one appeared. She guessed it was because it was one of her abilities but didn¡¯t question why they appeared even though her vision was gone. She was just thankful she could.


    Rank up Quest: Kill Skull Shelled Tarantula (Stone Rank). 1/1


    Quest Reward: Monster Egg. Bonded monsters have increased resistance to attacks of higher ranks. Bonded monsters attacks ignore some of the rank difference. Rank up item.


    Title detected. Modifying Reward.


    New Reward: Egg of the Unchosen. Bonded Monsters have higher resistance to attacks of higher ranks. Bonded monsters deal low spiritual damage. Rank up item.


    Egg of the Unchosen. Bound to Gaia. Will hatch within twenty-four hours.


    After a moment of reading through the screens she heard Aira yell from the top of the pit. ¡°Congrats. You killed a stone rank monster alone and one rank below. Come on up here.¡±


    ¡°I-I-I¡¯ll need help getting up there. I can¡¯t see anything.¡± She said in a slightly panicked voice.


    ¡°Teresia. Get down there and see if you can heal it. Quickly!¡± Aira yelled.


    Gaia heard someone land and they walked over to her. She felt the same kind of healing magic but quite a bit stronger than what she could cast. Nothing happened though. Her vision was still completely green.


    Abnormality detected. Monster Skull Shelled Tarantula has dealt spiritual damage through poison. Damage is unable to be healed.


    As this last screen appeared the healer named Teresia yelled ¡°I healed her, but it didn¡¯t seem to take.¡±


    ¡°Did anything happen¡± She asked Gaia.


    ¡°No. but a message popped up saying spiritual damage and unable to be healed. Does that mean I¡¯m stuck like this?¡± Gaia asked as she started to cry. When she did, pain started flowing down her face where she felt her tears go. She pulled her hand up to wipe them and felt a stinging on her hand.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening? My tears hurt!¡± She cried.


    ¡°Oh... Let¡¯s get you to the infirmary now. Can you get Malachite?¡± Aira asked as she got to Gaia.


    She nodded and Malachite shrunk to be able to snuggle her. As they carried her to the infirmary, she was trying to calm Malachite down as he was sending her thoughts.


    ¡°Hurt? Bad? I help?¡± He sent.


    ¡°Yes. You¡¯re helping big guy.¡± She responded, trying to calm him down.


    They reached the infirmary quickly and they laid her down before telling her to rest for the day. They¡¯d talk in the morning. She fell asleep not long after that as she was exhausted.

 Chapter Three

    Gaia woke up to the feeling of something heavy sitting on her chest. She hesitated before opening her eyes. All she saw was sickly green. She felt around her and found the weight on her chest was Malachite. He was his normal size of about three feet long. When she touched him, she had surge of words come through their bond.


    ¡°Okay? Sleep long. I protect.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I think I¡¯ll be alright. I won¡¯t be able to see though. I¡¯ll need you to tell me where I¡¯m going.¡± She replied.


    She felt a surge of relief from him when she said she was alright. He was more worried than she¡¯d thought. As they were finishing their short dialogue Teresia came in with what smelled like some kind of soup.


    ¡°Ah, good. You¡¯re awake. How are you today?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll survive but I still can¡¯t see. Will this be permanent?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°It appears so. You said there was something about spiritual damage, right? Spiritual damage directly affects someone¡¯s spirit. Someone¡¯s spirit can¡¯t be healed as it is not a physical aspect of someone. People¡¯s spirit can affect the world around them and others, but they can¡¯t be healed through magic.¡± She explained.


    ¡°This instance was from a monster that was dying and a rank above you. Therefore, it is likely that it used what little bit of its spirit was left to mark the damage on your spirit. The damage to your eyes is permanent. You won¡¯t be able to see for the rest of your existence. This has an extremely small chance of having some unexpected benefits though. We won¡¯t know what they could be until you rank up at the earliest or may never have them.¡± She finished.


    ¡°So, I¡¯ll be blind for the rest of my life, and may or may not gain any benefits from the very thing that caused it?¡± Gaia asked coldly.


    ¡°Essentially, yes.¡± Teresia replied with a wince.


    ¡°Great. I¡¯m in a world I don¡¯t know much about, outside of the building I¡¯m currently in, with monsters everywhere and can¡¯t see anything. What benefits could outweigh that?!¡± She yelled exasperated.


    After a couple minutes of silence Gaia broke the silence. ¡°How do I rank up anyway? My screen shows that I¡¯m at level ten but there¡¯s no indication I can rank up yet.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because to rank up from stone to iron rank requires an item for your class. The rank up from normal to stone isn¡¯t a massive boost but unlocks a lot of abilities and skills. These normally deal with your race and class.¡± Teresia explained.


    As she finished Aira¡¯s voice came from somewhere to her left. ¡°Luckily, something dropped from the giant spider for you. Not sure if it¡¯s an item for your tamer class as you¡¯re the first we¡¯ve ever had though.¡±


    Gaia felt something placed in her hand. She felt the object and discovered it was some ball of smooth fabric. It was incredibly soft but pulsated like it was alive. She tried to focus on it without her sight and luckily a screen appeared.


    Living Silk. Item is considered a creature.


    Bonding growth item. Does not have a consciousness. Binds to the user''s spirit and allows for a living silk robe to be created. Grows with the bonded entity.


    As she read, she was getting excited. Until a new screen appeared.


    Detected Compatibility. Splitting bond. Living silk has bonded to entity Gaia. Living Silk has bonded to unhatched egg of the unchosen.


    Modifying Egg of the unchosen.


    Modified Egg of the Unchosen. Bound to Gaia. Hatches in twelve hours.


    When the living silk bound to Gaia, she felt the fabric spread along her arm towards her shoulder. There it spread out into a weblike design that covered her entire right shoulder. Then the pain started as she felt like thousands of tiny needles pricked her flesh over and over. It felt like hours of stabbing pain but only lasted a minute. When it stopped, she couldn¡¯t feel the silk there anymore and moved her hand to touch it. In the area the pain came from the skin felt soft to the touch. As she was feeling the area another screen appeared.


    Entity Gaia has completed binding of Living Silk.


    Forcibly ranking up.


    ¡°Well, that doesn¡¯t seem good. I think I¡¯m about to rank-.¡± Gaia started before her body was racked with pain, and she lost consciousness.


    ¡°How is she doing?¡± Aira asked as she walked into the infirmary.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I¡¯ve never seen someone rank up without a ritual. It¡¯s already painful with one so I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s going through. I¡¯m just surprised it¡¯s taking this long. She¡¯s been out for two days.¡± Teresia responded.


    ¡°I also can¡¯t even try to check her health because whatever monster hatched is defending her from everything. We can¡¯t even bring food over without it lashing out with some kind of web.¡± Teresia said annoyed.


    There was a cocoon of spider silk wrapped around the bed Gaia was in with a small spider-like mass of webs crawling on the top. As they watched, it stopped it¡¯s movement completely and melded into the cocoon. Then they heard a muffled scream.


    Gaia woke up to the feeling of being wrapped in silk. It was soft to the touch but hard as a granite when she tried to move or tear it. Then she felt something land on her face. Whatever this creature was, it had eight legs and chittered so, she screamed.


    An hour after waking up she was sitting on her bed with Malachite nuzzled against her and the offending creature in her hand. She instinctively knew she had a bond with it from the moment she touched it but the shock from having it land on her face was a bit too much. She took a moment to check its status.


    Name - ???


    Race ¨C Living Web (???)


    Rank - Normal


    Level - 1


    Title - Unchosen bond


    Skills:


    Bind ¨C Creature is able to create sticky webs and bind creatures


    Bite ¨C Creature bites an enemy with its fangs and injects venom. Has a chance to poison the target.


    Poison Shot ¨C Creature is able to summon blobs of poison and launch them up to fifty feet. Deals slight poison damage.


    Abilities:


    Web manipulation ¨C Webs can be created and manipulated freely through mana.


    Gaia read the monsters status and decided on the name Liv.


    Bond established.


    After creating the bond with Liv, she checked her own status, while copying Web manipulation.


    Name ¨C Gaia


    Race ¨C Earthbound Lost


    Titles:


    Unwanted


    Cracked Spirit ¨C Holders physical body and Spirit are partially merged. The holder¡¯s spirit can affect the world around them. Resistance to spiritual damage. Spiritual strength can be passively increased.


    Class ¨C Unwanted Tamer


    Rank ¨C Stone


    Level ¨C 1


    Bonds ¨C 2/2 (Effected by Spirit)


    Skills:


    Ability copy ¨C Copied Abilities (2/2)


    Spirit Bond ¨C Bonded Monsters are connected through their spirits. Incorporeal monsters can be bound.


    Earth Glide ¨C Holder has increased movement speed while in direct contact with the ground.


    Healing Shot ¨C User fires a bolt of healing mana at a target. Heals target slightly.


    Abilities:


    Tamer¡¯s Guide


    Defensive Nature


    Web Manipulation


    Toxic Spirit ¨C Holders body has poison coursing throughout. All magic has the poison attribute on top of other attributes. Poison deals low damage over time. Instances have a cumulative effect. Healing magic has reduced effect without the poison attribute.


    Bound items:


    Living Silk Armor ¨C Can create a set of armor or clothes from living silk in any shape by using magic. Clothes will use the ambient magic to repair themselves. Can switch between armor and clothes. Armor hardens after forming. (Can be controlled by Living Web)


    Stats Unlocked.


    Strength ¨C 11 (Unbound) Effects amount of Direct Physical damage dealt.


    Resistance ¨C 210 (Unbound) Effects the strength of Natural Defensive Barriers.


    Recovery ¨C 55 (Unbound) Effects regeneration of health, Defensive barriers and Mana.


    Reflex ¨C 11 (Unbound) Effects speed, reflexes, and ranged physical damage.


    Spirit ¨C 165 (Poison) Effects spiritual strength, mana capacity, magical strength and magical perception.


    Gaia goggled at the information from her status. She had gained a few good skills, had some clothes that would repair themselves, and had access to her stats. She was worried about the fact that healing magic would have a reduced effect on her but, she could heal herself at least. She also wondered what the poison and unbound by her stats meant. They wouldn¡¯t bring up any information when she tried so she checked Malachite¡¯s status, but it still showed him as level ten normal rank. As she looked at him a new screen appeared.


    Malachite would like to rank up to Stone Rank. Allow? Yes/No.


    She chose yes.


    Malachite will rank up. Error. Unchosen bond detected. Evolving Unchosen Bond.


    She felt warmth start to radiate from Malachite. After a few minutes the warmth faded, and she checked his status to find his race had changed to a Stone-hide Speed Turtle.


    Name - Malachite


    Race ¨C Speed Turtle (Stone-hide)


    Rank - Stone


    Level - 1


    Title - Unchosen bond


    Skills:


    Bite


    Hide


    Size change


    Shell bash ¨C Creature charges forward and bashes with its shell. Damage depends on length of charge.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Water shot ¨C Creature can summon blobs of water and fire them within fifty feet. Damage and range can be increased by increasing mana cost.


    Abilities:


    Defensive Nature


    Creator of Currents ¨C Creature¡¯s Reflex stat increases at an increased set rate every level. Reflex stat cannot be reduced.


    Strength ¨C 11


    Resistance ¨C 220


    Recovery ¨C 56


    Reflex ¨C 101


    Spirit ¨C 51 (Poison)


    Tamer Quest: Raise Bond Malachite to Stone rank 1/1


    Reward: Bonds are imprinted on the spirit.


    As Gaia read, she was starting to understand how powerful her bonds could become. Malachite had just reached Stone rank and he already had a way to fix his one major weakness which was his speed. He was actually faster than her now. She tried to go over to him to pet him and found he was already right in front of her. He was much bigger than she last remembered. He seemed to be her size now, she had to reach up to pet his head. Thankfully, that solved part of her problem of being blind as she could probably ride on his back at this size. She thought about the reward for raising him to stone rank and had a slight idea of what it meant. She felt their bond was deeper than before but didn¡¯t know much more.


    She was excited by all the new information and tried out her Living Silk Armor. She felt a warm flowing fabric spread from her right shoulder and created what felt like a kind of bodysuit. She tried messing with it and found out she could just think what she wanted, and it would do so. She ended up in a long silk dress, and was even able to make pockets in it. When she touched it, it was soft, but felt extremely sturdy.


    She had forgotten that Aira and Teresia were there until Aira spoke. ¡°It seems like you¡¯re alright then?¡±


    Gaia jumped and looked in her direction. ¡°Yeah. Do you have any suggestions on what I should do next?¡±


    ¡°For now, lets go get you fully signed up in the League. I¡¯ll take you there.¡± Aira responded as she took Gaia''s hand and started walking out of the building.


    ¡°Can you help me get on Malachite¡¯s back? I think he can go faster than me.¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°Oh, and do you mind if we stop by the garden?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°Not at all.¡± Aira replied.


    Aira just picked her up and set her on his shell. It took her a moment to sit comfortably. When they started moving, she fell straight off, as he was moving much quicker than she thought he could. They got her back on, and she was ready this time. They took off at a pace where she felt the wind blowing against her. They quickly stopped by the garden, and she got some fruits that she¡¯d grown from Gregor. She tossed them in her pockets, and they started towards the guild. What had taken her hours to walk when she first went to the camp was done in less than half the time.


    Aira helped her down and they walked into the Hunter Leagues building. She heard the hustle and bustle and kept a hold of Aira¡¯s hand as they went to the desk. She heard a familiar voice and a gasp as Freya saw her.


    ¡°What happened?¡± She asked.


    ¡°She was blinded during the exam.¡± Aira responded.


    ¡°It¡¯s actually partly why I¡¯m here. Can you recommend a good group or person for her to join? I don¡¯t feel right just sending her into a request alone.¡± She finished.


    ¡°Let me check.¡± Freya said as she walked away.


    Gaia just stood there between Aira and Malachite feeling useless. When she thought about why Freya gasped at the sight of her. She asked Aira.


    ¡°Ah. Right. Well, your eyes are green outside of your pupils and you now have a few cracks with a green liquid flowing within them on your face. It¡¯s definitely an odd sight.¡± She replied.


    Gaia just imagined how that looked and agreed it looked odd but kind of scary when she thought of it. They waited for a few more minutes as Gaia pet Malachite to calm herself, as she heard a lot of people, but couldn¡¯t tell where they were. Freya returned and asked to see her badge to make her an official Hunter when she heard Aira and Freya whisper to each other. They then asked her to make another badge as her Spirit had changed.


    She obliged and her new badge was given to her. From what she heard Aira say her spirit was now mostly black and a sickly green spread throughout with a dark green shell and web design. She didn¡¯t know how that actually looked but liked it. After her badge was made Freya took her over to the tavern and got them food.


    She then proceeded to tell them that everyone she could place Gaia with didn¡¯t want anyone else. She resigned herself to her fate and asked Freya to just give her an easy request for her first one. She went to look and found a request to kill a group of Goblins. She showed it to Aira who explained the details. Liv was useful as she could manipulate her webs and she raised the letters up so Gaia could read them through touch. Malachite also helped her by sending an image of what the goblins looked like, but she wouldn¡¯t be much help with that.


    Her screen popped up with the information on the request.


    Request: Kill Goblins (Normal) 0/10


    It also created a checkpoint on her map for the area the goblins were in. She also received another quest.


    Tamer Quest: Raise Bond ¡®Liv¡¯ to Stone Rank. 0/1


    She decided to head out after lunch and asked Freya if they could find a trader that would make a seat for Malachite¡¯s shell. Freya said she¡¯d look and wished her good luck as she left. She climbed on Malachite¡¯s shell with a bit of effort, and they set off in the direction her map indicated. Malachite thankfully followed the roads, but she didn¡¯t even feel like he was running as the ride was smoother than the cars she had ridden in back on earth.


    She started reminiscing about earth while they travelled. She had been Kaizer back then and never really had much going for her. She grew up as normal as she assumed you could. Showered with love from her family since she was the youngest child of three. She started school early and was smart enough to skip some grades. After that she was pretty average compared to everyone else in her grade. She graduated high school pretty easily and tried college but dropped out. After that she worked a dead-end job just to get by. Never really had a goal or dream. She always felt like an outcast though. She missed her family there and didn¡¯t know what they thought happened to her, but honestly she preferred her life here. She had a few good friends she missed too but not many. She didn¡¯t really have any plans for her future either. She had Malachite, and Liv now. She loved them both like family already.


    She missed her family but wouldn¡¯t really mind if she never went back. Even if she did go back, she wasn¡¯t sure if she¡¯d revert back or stay how she was now. Mostly, she was afraid to go back. Would they even believe who she was? Would Malachite and Liv come with her? If she did go as she was, would her new powers hurt them just be being around her? These kinds of thoughts made her not want to go back. So much had changed already. She was happy with her life now even with all the dangerous and bad things that had happened to her.


    Gaia was brought from her musings as she noticed they were almost at the marker on the map. They proceeded into the area and soon Malachite sent that he saw the Goblins up ahead.


    She climbed down from him and asked him to be defensive and draw them closer so Liv could try and deal with them. He ran off before returning with the goblins as she heard multiple sets of feet running towards her. She also heard some yells from them as they approached.


    When they were close, she heard the footsteps stop with some thuds. She inched her way towards them and stumbled over one before realizing they were bound by some spider silk. Liv had apparently gone ahead and bound them. She had a thought and tried producing some web from her finger. It was thin but sturdy and she felt like her spirit had changed them through her mana. She checked the web through a screen.


    Item: Toxic Webs. Inflicts Spiritual Toxin.


    Spiritual Toxin: Condition. Deals low poison damage over time directly to the spirit. Instances refresh when reapplied. Instances have a cumulative effect. Curing and healing effects end the condition early.


    She felt like it was an extension of her, and she could control it with her thoughts. So, she tried it on the goblin at her feet. Was it actually poisoned?


    Goblin


    Rank ¨C Normal


    Status ¨C Inflicted with Spiritual Toxin


    She was giddy as she read the screen. She could do something to deal damage. She wasn¡¯t useless with her bonds. She wasn¡¯t particularly powerful, but she could truly help them even if just slightly.


    Her bonds quickly dealt with the goblins, and she realized all the souls they collected were distributed equally between all of them. This wasn¡¯t overly helpful for her and Malachite but that meant they could hunt some higher-level monsters for more souls. They could get Liv closer to their level quicker that way.


    They finished the hunt for the last few goblins. Soon after, they got hungry and she took some of the fruits from one of her pockets. She gave some to Malachite and Liv, then wondered if Liv even needed to eat. She did absorb the small fruit into her, which was odd to see but she seemed happy enough with that. Then ate one herself before they made their way back to Boundary and went to the League. Malachite stayed where she could touch him and lead her to the desk.


    ¡°Were you able to find the goblins?¡± Freya asked.


    ¡°Yep, we just got back from dealing with them. Are there any other requests for higher level monsters that are still normal rank?¡± Gaia responded.


    ¡°We have a few, how many are you looking for?¡±


    ¡°Can we take them all? I want to level Liv up.¡± She responded while motioning to her bond.


    ¡°Yeah, you can. Here¡¯s the three requests we have.¡± Freya said.


    The group made their way out of the city. As she was starting to realize, when she took requests from the League, quests and markers would show up on her map. This made it much easier for them to make their way to the locations, but she still had to rely on her bonds to truly find the monsters.


    The first quest marker they went to was for a group of rat monsters known as mana rats. They were mundane rats that had absorbed too much mana and were mutated to be much bigger. Some had the ability to cast basic spells and were bipedal. Thankfully, most were just larger and stronger. She thanked all the lecturers from the camp when she was able to remember this information.


    The area they were in was a small farmstead by the forest. The mana rats had been terrorizing the livestock and were eating the farmers food stores. She rode on Malachite until they got to the farmers door and knocked. She got no response. She knocked again and called out that she was a hunter but there was still no response from the building. She asked Liv to check it out as she was able to fit anywhere a single one of her webs could fit through.


    Liv got under the door and started scurrying through the building. She had no eyes but was able to use her mana to create an area she could see and didn¡¯t find anyone. So, she went back to Gaia and relayed that through their bond. She wasn¡¯t able to send words yet but could send impressions and was able to let them know that no one was there. She assumed no one was there because of the monsters and went to check her map when she felt something hit her side. She heard a scuffle to the side before Malachite sent a message through their bond.


    ¡°Found rat. Shot magic.¡± He hurriedly told her.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s deal with them.¡± She said.


    Malachite shot off. She could feel Liv moving as she shot off poison. Before Gaia could even move, they came back and claimed it was over. She felt a bit sad that they dealt with it so quickly but decided to have them search the rest of the farm.


    Her bonds moved in opposite directions to search the area. They were out and about killing some of the monsters as she felt souls come to her. When they told her the farm was clear, she felt something try to bite her arm but it bounced off some kind of barrier just around her skin. She quickly created some webs that wrapped around whatever it was. She felt the area around her for the mass of webs and found a dog sized cocoon beside her. Malachite returned then and killed the massive rat.


    ¡°All clear.¡± He said proudly through the bond.


    Liv was also proud as she dealt with a few of them herself too. Gaia was proud of her bonds but felt useless as she couldn¡¯t really fight. She was just the one that they followed. She felt more and more worthless the stronger they became.


    They started towards the next request marker when she thought about probing the bond with Liv to see how she could see. She wasn¡¯t able to find out much but did feel Liv pushing her mana out.


    She tried to do the same, but nothing happened. She continued to push her mana out for about an hour but couldn¡¯t feel anything happening. She decided it may be something Liv could do because of the type of monster she was.


    They finished the request quickly as it was a group of Walking Gorgers and started towards the last request. This last one was to destroy a nest of Shadow Trappers. They are a type of humanoid monster that is lizard-like. They tend to be darker colors and use traps to catch and kill people. They are one of the hardest normal rank monsters to deal with as they could see in the dark and are one of the few intelligent monsters in stone rank. They arrived in the area and Malachite found a cave that could be the nest site.


    ¡°It dark. Can¡¯t see.¡± Malachite sent.


    ¡°I think it may be the right place then. From what I was told in the lecture they prefer dark places and using traps. I think Liv will be the best suited for this hunt. I do want to try something though.¡± Gaia replied.


    She took a few steps into the cave and started creating some webs. She used them to feel around the cave and found a tripwire a dozen feet in. She continued to channel mana into them and made them longer, they continued creeping along the walls and found one of the trappers. She grabbed its leg with one of the webs and pulled it closer. Liv used that time to wrap it up so it couldn¡¯t move.


    The trapper she had caught took an hour to die from the poison she made but died due to her own effort. She asked her bonds if they would allow her to try and deal with this herself. They agreed but were unmoving in at least protecting her. She also agreed but they proceeded slowly into the cave.


    The tripwire she had found first caused spears to shoot out of the wall. She had Malachite break them and they continued in while she constantly had webs from her fingers following the floor, walls, and ceiling a few dozen feet ahead. They found a few more traps which were an arrow trap, a hole in the floor, and an ambush. She was able to trip the ambushers, and Liv bound them up. By this point they had dealt with ten of the shadow trappers, which was already more than the request said.


    After a couple hours of slow progress, they reached a point where the tunnel opened up. She had Liv scurry in and get a number of monsters. By this point Liv was already at level nine and needed about two more monster souls before levelling up to ten. Their bond had also grown enough to share information. Liv had gone quite a way in when Gaia heard a panicked voice in her head.


    ¡°Help! Was found!¡± Liv screamed through the bond.


    Gaia almost started running when Malachite lifted her over his head and ran. She could feel Liv¡¯s fear and could even feel pain through the bond. She was getting angry at herself, for sending Liv in there alone. A minute later Malachite slammed into something, and Gaia was sent flying.


    She hit the ground and rolled before stopping at a wall. She could hear Malachite snapping at something and could barely feel her bond with Liv. She crawled in the direction indicated by her bond with Liv. It took what felt like an eternity but was likely only thirty seconds to feel Liv beside her. She picked up her bond and could feel that she was in tatters. What normally felt like silk in a spider''s shape was unravelling, and some parts were missing.


    She thought about using her healing magic but remembered the poison attribute and was worried. She didn¡¯t have a choice, her bond with the little mass of silk was quickly fading. She forced her mana into Liv through their bond and tried using it to heal her. She felt the bond grow a bit stronger and pushed more mana through their bond and cast a Healing Shot. It was the only healing spell she was able to use quickly. It sent a small amount of healing magic in an arrow towards the target and heals them.


    She felt her bond strengthen more. She checked on her through the bond and felt she was going to be alright but was unable to fight for a while. She put Liv on her shoulder and sent out some threads towards Malachite who was only a few feet away. She felt a large set of legs and she felt a surge of fear. When she moved the webs upwards, she found the outline of a large bipedal lizard that carried a couple weapons. This was the stone rank variety of Shadow Trapper known as a Shadow Warrior.


    These were much stronger and more intelligent. They were rare in nests with only Shadow Trappers. They used their strength and speed to force attention on them while the trappers fired projectiles at the enemy. They were one of the most dangerous monsters as they were never alone and always had either other warriors or shadow trappers with them to pick off groups of enemies.


    Gaia started to form webs and search the surrounding area for any trappers. She searched as wide an area as she could and couldn¡¯t find any other monsters. She checked on Malachite and breathed a sigh of relief as he hadn¡¯t taken much damage. He was quick and sturdy enough to dodge and take the occasional hit when he couldn¡¯t.


    She brought her webs back in and started to use them to wrap multiple strands together. She then used it to entangle the warrior''s feet. She sent Malachite a signal and he bashed the monster knocking it over. She tried to wrap more webs around its legs and get its arms but couldn¡¯t as it started ripping the strands when they got around its arms. She instead put her mind to holding this monster and inflicting Spiritual Toxin. The longer she held the creature the more she felt it weakening.


    Malachite was using the time to bite and bash the monster. As this was happening, she felt like something was wrong. She didn¡¯t know what it was until an arrow hit her. It didn¡¯t deal any damage but made her realize she¡¯d missed some of the trappers. She couldn¡¯t unwrap the warrior as she was afraid it would be able to hurt them more. She just stayed where she was and made Liv move under her armor.


    The arrows were coming more and more frequently as she realized more trappers were firing arrows at her. She trusted in her defense and just concentrated on keeping the warrior in place. She stood there being peppered by arrows until the damage had exceeded her defense stat. The Warrior was able to get back up when her concentration broke and threw something that cut into her leg just before her armor finished covering her. Malachite still held most of the monster''s attention, and she was able to refresh her Toxin one last time. It died soon after as Malachite bit into its neck when it staggered from the Toxin. By the time the Warrior had finally died, the arrows had finally started to truly hit her and she had a couple arrows in her back.


    Malachite swiftly ran and killed the trappers. Gaia limped her way to where the Shadow Warrior died and surprisingly found a couple items. From what she could feel they were a large axe, sword, and some kind of belt. She didn¡¯t know what any of them did but took them as Malachite made his way to her. He bit off the arrows shafts and gently laid her on his back and took off. When they exited the cave, she felt a cool breeze and thought it might be getting into the evening.


    She was slowly bleeding but thankfully her Living Silk Armor kept all of the blood in, so she didn¡¯t really notice the pain until she stopped moving. She was also grateful that she didn¡¯t bleed on Malachite as she wasn¡¯t entirely sure if her blood was poisonous. The armor had fixed itself, it had no tears or holes and formed around the broken arrow shafts sticking out from her back. It was also wrapped around the items so she couldn¡¯t drop them. She was able to continue like this until they reached the League building and Malachite just sprinted straight in. He went up to the first person he saw that he knew. He found Titania.


    ¡°Whoa, what¡¯s going on?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I need some help. Do you know if a healer is nearby?¡± Gaia strained as her armor changed to show her face.


    ¡°Yeah. Follow me.¡± She replied swiftly.


    They made it to a room where a healer laid Gaia down and asked her to drop her armor. She did and passed out as the healer removed the first arrow.

 Chapter Four

    She awoke to the sound of footsteps approaching her. She could barely remember what had happened before she passed out but remembered a healer.


    ¡°Ah. You¡¯re awake, good. Thought I couldn¡¯t heal you there for a bit. I¡¯m Sherry.¡± The woman said.


    ¡°Am I still at the League?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°Yes, you are. Titania brought you here. Do you know why my healing didn¡¯t work as well?¡± The healer Sherry asked.


    ¡°I have an ability that causes healing without poison to not work as well.¡± She replied as she heard a number of footsteps.


    ¡°Is she awake?¡± Someone called out.


    ¡°Yes. You can come in now.¡± Sherry responded.


    She heard a group walk in before a few familiar voices called out. ¡°What did you do to yourself?¡±


    ¡°Well, a lot happened but the most recent wounds were from a stone rank on my last request. From what I could feel it was a Shadow Warrior I think.¡± Gaia stated to Titania and her group.


    The room went silent for a bit.


    ¡°You¡¯re still here, right? I can¡¯t see anything so please say something if you¡¯re trying to give me a look or something.¡± She said to the room.


    ¡°Ok. That requires an explanation. You know what, just tell us what¡¯s happened since we last saw you.¡± John said in his usual gravelly voice.


    Gaia went on to explain everything that happened, from her first hunt with Aira to her final exam where she was blinded, and finally finished with her last fight against the Shadow Warrior. She also introduced Liv to the group. They seemed to be apprehensive when they learned Malachite was actually a monster and that she had a new unheard-of monster with her.


    ¡°They¡¯re both really good. They won¡¯t hurt anyone unless they try to hurt me. They¡¯re very protective but they¡¯re like my new family.¡± She finished.


    ¡°A lot has happened since we last saw you six months ago.¡± Francois stated.


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll be honest, if it were me, I would have stopped being a hunter as soon as I got hurt as bad as you. I¡¯m surprised you stuck with it.¡± Jess told her.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what else I could do besides being a hunter. I don¡¯t have a family here, don¡¯t know what jobs there are, and now can¡¯t see, so I would be more useless than if I leveled my bonds up. I don¡¯t even think someone would hire me.¡± Gaia stated.


    ¡°Fair, but if you want to continue being a hunter I¡¯d suggest trying to find a party. You can hunt basic monsters but won¡¯t level up that way for much longer. With a party you can hunt stone rank monsters easier. In fact, I know someone who¡¯s looking to form one. He¡¯s just recently become a hunter too. I¡¯ll see if I can get him to meet you, if you''re interested.¡± Titania explained.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure how much help I could be but if you don¡¯t think they¡¯d mind. I¡¯ll try.¡± Gaia responded.


    ¡°Alright I¡¯ll try and find out when he can meet. His name¡¯s Ferguson.¡± She said as she left the room.


    Gaia talked to the rest of the group until her stomach rumbled loudly. She was embarrassed but the group laughed and invited her to get some food in the tavern. She agreed after the healer approved. They ate some delicious sandwiches with some kind of meat that tasted similar to pork. It was quite good. She found out it was from a kind of insect monster and almost lost her lunch at that. All in all, though she enjoyed the meal and the company.


    Malachite took her towards the counter to collect her rewards from the requests. She was given some spherical objects that felt like stones. She checked them and found them to be stone cores. The amount she got was around fifty stone cores. The original reward was around twenty but was given extra since the last job had a stone rank that wasn¡¯t reported in the request. She was given a small pouch with them which seemed too small to hold fifty of them. It apparently expanded to hold more than it should but only held cores.


    Titania came back not long after that and said she had set a time tomorrow around midday for her and Ferguson to meet. She thanked the woman before asking about inns around the town as she¡¯d only stayed at the League and the camp. They helped her find the inn they had been staying at. It was a good inn, as they told her, and they used it whenever they were in town.


    It was close to the Leagues building so it was crowded when they arrived. They came into what sounded like a full tavern as there were many conversations and shouts. Gaia shrunk in a bit hearing all the noise but grabbed Malachite and got on his shell so she wouldn¡¯t trip anyone or cause problems.


    When she entered on her massive turtle the place went silent. This made Gaia even more anxious, and she curled up on Malachite¡¯s shell. Titania broke the silence.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? She¡¯s a friend. Go back to your drinking!¡± She yelled.


    They did so soon after. The group approached someone and told her what they wanted.


    ¡°Can we get a room for her? She¡¯s blind so a room on the bottom floor would be nice.¡± Jess asked.


    ¡°Yeah, I got one room empty. Will she be needing food for the turtle?¡± The man asked.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind. He¡¯ll just eat a salad. One like you would give to people with dinner should be enough. I should be able to cover it all.¡± Gaia explained.


    ¡°Well, one night is three stone cores. Food will be two more so five in total.¡± He responded.


    ¡°Okay. I can cover that.¡± She said as she pulled out five stone cores and put them out in the direction she¡¯d heard his voice.


    She felt a hand take the cores and place a crystal in their stead.


    ¡°You¡¯re in the last room on the left back here.¡± He said as the group led her to the room.


    She arrived at the door and nearly walked into it before she stopped. She fumbled with the crystal before opening the door and creating webs to get a feel for where stuff was in the room. It was bigger than she had expected and was nearly a fifteen-foot cube. There was a large bed in the corner with a trunk at its foot, and a large wardrobe on the right side of the room. She liked it and went to sit on the bed. It was marvelous and much more comfortable than anything she¡¯d slept in since arriving in this world.


    ¡°Thank you!¡± she called at the doorway hoping the innkeeper had heard her.


    She stayed in her room for the rest of the night and the innkeeper brought some food for her and malachite soon after she got settled in the room. Titania and the group let her be for the night and they agreed to have breakfast the next morning. Sitting in the room she finally had some time to think about some of the stuff that had happened since arriving in this world. Since day one she had been running from one thing to the next. She got Malachite, focused on researching and leveling up for six months, and ended up blind.


    She started reminiscing about her life on earth and how it was easier. She was missing the normalcy she had there. She hadn¡¯t been particularly good at anything and didn¡¯t like her job but loved her family. She wondered what they thought happened to her, and if she would or could ever see them again. She just wanted to be able to be around them again. She genuinely hoped she could get home someday but didn¡¯t want to stay there. She didn¡¯t think they¡¯d believe that she was who she claimed.


    These thoughts whirled in her head for most of the night until she fell asleep. She had a dream about her family and slept peacefully. She woke up to Malachite nudging her.


    ¡°Hey big guy. Morning Liv. Did you two sleep well?¡± she asked him.


    ¡°Yep. I shrunk. Also cuddled.¡± He responded.


    ¡°No sleep. No need.¡± Liv responded.


    Gaia thought about it and realized that made sense. She was made of living webs and was likely closer to a golem type monster. These were well known for not needing rest or sleep as they didn¡¯t have any organic components. She thought about when Liv took the fruit and likely just shredded it to get the mana from it. Golems and constructs depended on mana to run and only stopped running when they didn¡¯t have mana, or their core was destroyed.


    She thought about that and asked Liv. ¡°Liv do you have a core?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Part me. Part you.¡± She sent an image of the Living Silk armors tattoo.


    ¡°Does that mean I act as part of your core? I know we¡¯re bonded and even through spirit so, does that mean that if one of us dies we both do?¡± Gaia questioned.


    ¡°Yes. No¡± Both responded.


    ¡°You die, we die. We die, you live¡± They responded together.


    ¡°So, if I die, we all do but if one of you two dies I¡¯m not effected?¡± She asked, horrified.


    ¡°Yes.¡± They said.


    Gaia thought about it and hated that idea. She¡¯d come to love these two creatures. They were her family in this world and refused to allow them to die just to save her. They would all live together no matter what. That was her conviction.


    She thought about ways to make sure she could keep them all alive but was interrupted by Malachite nuzzling her and letting her know it was time for breakfast. They walked out with him once again leading her. She could smell the food partway down the hall and it was mouthwatering. She smelled eggs, potatoes and sausage. It reminded her of the breakfasts her dad would make for her family.


    When they got to the inns main room they went to a table where she heard Titania and Francois talking.


    ¡°What¡¯s the plan for the next few days?¡± Francois asked.


    ¡°I was thinking we take a break and help Gaia out. Freya told me she was looking for a crafter that could make a seat for Malachite¡¯s shell. So, what do you guys think?¡± Titania asked.


    ¡°Sounds fine to me. We haven¡¯t had a break from hunting in over a week.¡± John responded heartily.


    ¡°I¡¯ll use the time to research some new magic.¡± Jess said.


    ¡°Sounds good.¡± Titania agreed.


    ¡°Oh, hey Gaia. Come sit down.¡± She said.


    Gaia sat down at their table and Liv once again used her webs to raise the writing of the menu which her screens translated for her. She ordered the items to make what she remembered her dad calling ¡®Dad¡¯s Breakfast.¡± When it arrived, it smelled even better than earlier. She cut and mixed it all together and ate with gusto. The taste was slightly off from what she remembered but didn¡¯t know if they had a spice similar to red peppers yet.


    They chatted as they ate. It was a nice feeling that she liked. It made her think of her family again but enjoyed the company immensely. After finishing the meal, the group left the inn and Jess stayed behind to study magic. They walked around town and introduced Gaia to a few crafters they knew but the ones she really liked were a husband-and-wife duo.


    They were a tailor and enchanter respectively. The man was called Will, and his wife was Summer. He worked with fabrics, and she worked with mana to imbue different effects on items. They were extremely kind. They agreed to make a seat for Malachite¡¯s shell. Malachite complained as they took measurements.


    Gaia had an idea and asked Liv if the webs she could make were permanent. She said yes as they stayed even when monsters dissolved. She explained that they stayed by absorbing small amounts of the ambient mana. She asked Liv to make as much as she could. She didn¡¯t trust her own as they had her Spiritual Toxin imbued in them and didn¡¯t want to hurt Malachite when she came to a shocking realization. She was bound to her bonds through their spirit and finally asked a question she hadn¡¯t thought about.


    ¡°Are you two effected by my Toxic spirit ability?¡± She asked.


    ¡°No. Our mana poison too.¡±. They responded.


    She thought about that for a minute before checking if her webs stayed using ambient mana too. They did. She could feel some mana being pulled from around her to the webs in her hands.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°Can you handle some poisonous webs to make the seat and maybe something he could use to hit enemies with?¡± She asked hesitantly.


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely an odd request. Can I see what they are?¡± Will asked.


    She moved the web in her hand in the direction of his voice. It took him a moment to respond. ¡°Yeah, I can make the seat from this. Can even make it able to work with him to change into spikes if you want it. I¡¯ll need some extra cores for that work though as it¡¯s already imbued with an attribute, and we¡¯ll need to add his mana into it.¡± Motioning to Malachite.


    ¡°That should be fine but how much will it be in total, how long do you need the webs, and how long do you think it¡¯ll take?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°Should be about a hundred stone cores in total, and about a few hundred feet as we¡¯ll need to weave it. As for how long my best guess is about a few weeks.¡± He stated.


    ¡°Can I pay part now and the rest when it¡¯s done?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Normally I¡¯d say no but with these guys with ya, I¡¯ll agree.¡± He replied.


    Gaia breathed a sigh of relief as she put forty cores on the counter in front of her and started creating webs. When she finished, she prepared to go hunting but remembered the meeting Titania set up.


    ¡°Do we still have enough time to get to where the meeting is?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Barely. I didn¡¯t expect to spend so long here. He¡¯ll meet us at the tavern in the League. We can make it if we leave now.¡± Titania responded.


    They started to head towards the League building. They ran and Malachite had a hard time keeping up with Titania as they ran through the city to get there. He was slightly miffed as he wanted to be faster. They made it there just before the meeting time and went to the tavern section.


    They waited a few minutes before Gaia heard some heavy footsteps running towards them.


    ¡°Hey, Nia... Is this¡­ The person¡­ You wanted me to meet?¡± A man asked through heavy breathes.


    ¡°Yes, she is and you¡¯re late, Ferg.¡± Titania replied.


    ¡°Sorry, got stopped by Mom and Dad before I could leave. I only got away by promising to bring you back for dinner sis.¡± Ferguson replied.


    ¡°Wait, Ferguson is your brother?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°Yep. He¡¯s my little brother. You should introduce yourself Ferg.¡± She replied happily.


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯m Ferguson. I¡¯m a Bowman. I can deal a lot of damage but, I can¡¯t really take any.¡± He said.


    Gaia turned in his direction and spoke. ¡°I¡¯m Gaia. I¡¯m a tamer, this big guy here is Malachite, and this little mass is Liv. I can¡¯t deal damage outside of maybe some poison. Also, I won¡¯t be much help in general since I¡¯m blind, but they can pick up my slack¡±


    ¡°No problem. Nia told me about that. Do you mind doing a lower rank request for a trial so we can figure out each other¡¯s fighting style?¡± Ferguson asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind but like I said, I don¡¯t do much damage if any. It¡¯s really these two that do so.¡± She replied.


    ¡°Alright. Do you want to try a request now?¡±


    ¡°Sure. I don¡¯t mind.¡± She replied.


    ¡°Do you two mind if we tag along? We¡¯ve never actually seen you fight yet.¡± Titania asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± They both responded.


    ¡°That¡¯s settled. Go grab a request Ferg.¡± Titania said.


    Gaia heard Ferguson leave and they waited for his return. He came back a few minutes later.


    ¡°Here¡¯s the request. It¡¯s for some higher-level goblins.¡± He said as he put the paper in her hand.


    She checked the request with Livs help and a screen appeared moments later.


    Request: Kill Goblins (Normal) 0/20


    She also checked where the marker was and it didn¡¯t seem to be too far from the city. They quickly left and started towards the quest area. As they walked Gaia explained some of what Malachite and Liv could do while Ferguson explained some of his skills. His class was Bowman which gave him skills that revolved around firing arrows from a distance. He only had one skill which allowed him to use an arrow for a single melee attack that dealt a lot of damage. She also told him about her ability to use poison webs but that it was her only way to damage things as her class was considered a non-combat one.


    He was intrigued by that and asked if she wanted to fight the first group of goblins they came across. She agreed to do so, and they soon came to the area where the goblins were reported. She climbed off Malachite and started to make webs and send them out in all directions looking for the goblins. She walked around slowly until she found one around thirty feet to their left. She swiftly wrapped its leg and tripped it while wrapping another web around its face. She pulled it towards them and Liv killed it with poison.


    They continued doing so until she had killed five of them. Malachite then ran and killed off a few that were running towards them after she failed to silence one before it fell.


    ¡°Not bad. They can deal quite a bit of damage and your poison, while not super harmful, will come in handy in a long fight.¡± Ferguson told her.


    She was ecstatic to hear she¡¯d be useful in a fight. ¡°Thank you. It¡¯s mostly them but I¡¯m glad I¡¯d be able to help.¡± She replied.


    Next it was his turn to fight some of the goblins. She couldn¡¯t see any of what he was doing but within about five minutes he¡¯d swiftly killed as many goblins. When she asked Malachite, he sent her an image of a single arrow hitting the goblins before they died. She was impressed with just the one image, as he¡¯d killed all of them without the entire group running towards them.


    Within an hour of arriving at the goblins location they were done with the request. For the last five goblins they¡¯d dealt with them together and found a good idea for how to work together. Then they were heading back to the city. They talked about what they thought they could work on. Then decided to try and hunt some every day for a while before taking a stone ranked request.


    They returned to the League and got their reward. It was only four cores, so they divided them and went their separate ways for the night. They took requests every day for the next couple weeks and had found a good groove for hunting with each other. They¡¯d also become true friends during this time as they fought some tough enemies. Liv had even ranked up to Stone rank.


    Name ¨C Liv


    Race ¨C Living Weave (Stone Shell)


    Rank - Stone


    Level - 1


    Title - Unchosen bond


    Skills:


    Bind


    Poison Shot


    Trapped Webs ¨C Creature can create small balls of webs that when touched or hit a surface spread out and create a webbed area. Webbed areas slow enemies within the area.


    Abilities:


    Web manipulation


    Woven Webs ¨C All webs created are strengthened as they are woven together from multiple strands. (Effected by spirit stat)


    Strength ¨C 21


    Resistance ¨C 21


    Recovery ¨C 41


    Reflex ¨C 31


    Spirit ¨C 210 (Poison)


    Tamer Quest: Raise Bond Liv to Stone rank 1/1


    Reward: Bonds have increased health.


    Gaia was excited to see Liv rank up. When she held Liv afterwards, Liv felt like she was made from a woven silk fabric and had a small stone shell encasing her center and back sections. It was oddly similar to her armor but just in the shape of a spider. Liv had also grown; she now had a leg span of about a foot. She loved it when her bonds got stronger as she worried less about them being hurt. She was ecstatic when she saw the reward as that meant they wouldn¡¯t be as hurt if they got hit through their barriers. That night they celebrated Liv¡¯s rank up. The next day they went hunting as usual. That night when they were going to separate for the night Titania stopped them.


    ¡°Do you want to join our family for dinner?¡± She asked Gaia.


    ¡°Are you sure I won¡¯t be a bother?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°Not at all. If anything, our parents would want to meet ya.¡± Ferguson stated.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Gaia responded quickly. She honestly was happy they would invite her. She¡¯d been by herself, aside from Malachite and now Liv, pretty much since she¡¯d arrived in the world a little over six months ago. She was excited to have a friend.


    She hopped on Malachite, and they walked towards the northern section of the city. They walked for around an hour before arriving. She heard a large gate open, and they told her to follow them. She soon smelled a variety of floral scents, and assumed they were in a garden. Malachite sent her an image of long planters with a large variety of flowers. There were a few she recognized like roses and snapdragons but there were more that she didn¡¯t know. Some were similar to the shimmering forest and were blue flowers with pink stems while others were almost transparent.


    She enjoyed the image he sent and loved the scents. They continued through the gardens until they arrived at the house. She heard a large door open with a loud bang that scared her. She jumped and fell off Malachite. She quickly got up embarrassed as she heard a man speak.


    ¡°Nia, Ferg. You¡¯re home!¡± He called as he walked to the group.


    ¡°Yes dad. We are. We also brought a friend. Do you mind if we come in?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Ah, yes. Fine. This is your friend. What¡¯s your name dear?¡± Their dad asked.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m Gaia.¡± She stuttered.


    ¡°Alrighty. Welcome to our home Gaia. I¡¯m their father Jack Carrelion. Will you be joining us for dinner?¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you and if I won¡¯t be a bother. Do you mind having Malachite and Liv here?¡± She asked motioning to her bonds.


    ¡®Not at all. We¡¯re happy to have you all.¡± He said as they walked in.


    She hopped back on Malachite¡¯s shell and followed Mr. Carrelion in. As they walked, she realized the house must be quite large as they¡¯d walked the equivalent of the entire inn she was staying at before reaching the dining room. When the door opened, she was hit by a wave of mouthwatering scents. She could smell a multitude of vegetables, meats, and many others she couldn¡¯t place.


    She was led to a seat where Ferguson helped her get comfortable. She found an array of forks, knives and spoons to the sides of her plate and didn¡¯t know why she would need that many for a meal but just ignored them for now. She waited until someone spoke.


    ¡°It¡¯s wonderful to have you two home tonight. It¡¯s also wonderful to meet you Gaia. I¡¯m their mother Cayna.¡± She heard a woman say.


    ¡°Nice to meet you too ma¡¯am.¡± She replied hastily.


    ¡°No need to be nervous. Let¡¯s get the meal started. Who wants to do the honors?¡± Cayna asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Titania said.


    She then heard what sounded like a prayer but for no deity or being she¡¯d ever heard of before. The deities sounded like they were gods but were simply called the Overseers. There seemed to be quite a few. She didn¡¯t know what they were and decided she¡¯d ask at some point that night.


    She then heard multiple footsteps approach and asked her if she wanted this or that. She didn¡¯t know what was happening so Titania helped.


    ¡°They¡¯re servants who help serve food.¡± She explained.


    ¡°Um. Why are there servants? I thought this was just a family dinner.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Sorry. I forgot to explain earlier. Our family kinda rules Boundary. Our dad¡¯s the baron. We¡¯re nobles.¡± Ferguson stated nonchalantly.


    Gaia stopped immediately. They were nobles? Why were they Hunters then? Did she do anything wrong since she arrived? As these questions ran through her mind Jack spoke.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about etiquette or anything we don¡¯t care about it, and we honestly aren¡¯t any different from anyone else. The only reason we¡¯re nobles is because our family is from a long line of high ranked hunters.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Alright.¡± She stated. She just decided to stop thinking.


    She just chose what smelled good from then on whenever they asked if she wanted something. She also heard Malachite snacking on something and guessed they had given him some food while Liv skittered around on Gaia. She seemed to be trying to hide but seemed happy from their bond. She smelled wine in her cup and decided to check something.


    ¡°Ah one more thing. Is there an age limit for alcohol or anything?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s Eighteen. That¡¯s when you¡¯re considered an adult and when you can legally become a hunter. I turned eighteen a few days ago.¡± Ferguson said.


    ¡°What if you¡¯re younger than that and registered as a hunter?¡± She asked sheepishly.


    ¡°Never happened before. Why?¡± Titania asked before stopping for a minute.


    ¡°Now that I think about it, how old are you Gaia? I assumed around twenty from how you act.¡± She asked.


    ¡°Um. D-don¡¯t freak out or anything but I turned sixteen on the day of the exam at the camp. So, about a month ago.¡± She stated hesitantly. The room went silent for a beat after that.


    ¡°What?¡± They all exclaimed together.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± Gaia said shrinking into her chair.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not your fault. Why are you alone though?¡± Jack asked her.


    ¡°I¡¯m apparently what you call a lost.¡± She explained.


    They started to ask more questions, but Jack stopped them and said they¡¯d continue after finishing dinner. She was thankful and thought about telling them everything she knew but didn¡¯t know if they¡¯d understand. She also needed to ask them some questions as she still didn¡¯t know much about the way things worked yet.


    The dinner was delicious although a bit overwhelming as she felt glances every now and then until they were done eating. She quickly hopped on Malachite¡¯s shell, and they all moved into another room for the discussion.


    She started by telling them about what she knew. Which wasn¡¯t much aside from falling from the sky, having screens appear, and having both her race and gender changed. The last was a shock for everyone but Titania. They talked for a minute and decided nothing was wrong with her being a hunter as she didn¡¯t have a background, and it was probably for the best. They also agreed that Ferguson being in her party was a good thing as he would protect her from certain groups which they never named.


    She finally got to ask her questions after they finished discussing amongst themselves. Her main questions were about the Overseers as they called them, any other powerful beings, the lost, and bound attributes. They told her what they knew.


    The Overseers were the beings that brought everything into being. They were the almighty beings and were above gods. The Overseers governed reality as a whole and didn¡¯t bother in the dealings of singular planets. They governed entire sections of reality. If they appeared in reality themselves the entire section would be warped and destroyed. These beings decided whether new worlds would be created or destroyed.


    The gods were beings that ruled over worlds. These were different depending on what world you were in. The portals that were created from high mana concentrations were commonly connections to other worlds. Sometimes, however, they even connected to a completely different dimension. The gods used them to try and bring their influence to these other worlds or dimensions to gain more power. These gods, however, were bound by what their domain was. For example, the god of war had to use a war to influence the new world.


    The lost were beings that were brought to this world in order to fulfill a purpose. Most times they were brought by the Overseers of reality to entertain them. They gave them the ability to meet the gods of a world to be chosen by one. Then given power to help them survive and fulfill a purpose in the new world. The Overseers gave the lost some information on the world they entered normally by just giving it to them. Sometimes they changed it to entertain them more.


    Bound attributes were as they sounded. Attributes that became bound to one of the stats of a person. These tended to be from the items needed to rank up, but some became bound from spiritual damage, use of spells, or attribute imbued skills. For example, if someone casts a lot of water magic, they will likely gain a bound water attribute. Another is, if someone uses a flame slash skill they¡¯ll likely gain a bound fire attribute. Very few obtained multiple bound attributes due to their own skills attributes and the unpredictable skills they could get. All stats required a bound attribute in order to rank up past stone.


    Bound stats were required in order to rank up as a whole. This was because they affected more than just damage type. They allowed the user to gain skills and abilities dealing with the attribute. Someone who had a bound fire and bound water attribute could gain a fire attack and a water barrier. They could even cause new skills to be created. An example is once again a bound fire and water attribute could create a steam ability. They have a massive variety and could even cause useless or detrimental skills and abilities to be gained.


    She thought about all of the information she was told but was fixated on one particular part. The part about the lost being given power from a god. She didn¡¯t have any power from a god and wasn¡¯t given any information when she woke up here. She started to get angry at the fact she was thrown here for some being''s entertainment, and had her gender changed, likely for the same reason. On top of that, she was tossed aside. They had taken her from everything she knew and for what? Their entertainment? She decided she hated the Overseers and would do what she could to defy them and the gods that had decided she wasn¡¯t worth anything. When she thought about this a screen appeared.


    Authority increased.


    Title: Unwanted ¨C Holder was unwanted by any god. Holder is given no power from divinity. Has increased resistance to divinity.


    Requirement met.


    Entity has hatred for the Overseers of Reality.


    Entity has hatred for the gods.


    Creating New Title.


    Title: Blasphemer ¨C Holder has chosen to defy the gods. Holder has chosen to defy the Overseers of Reality. Has increased resistance to Divine and Ethereal Influences.

 Chapter Five

    She looked at the screens dumbfounded. She could see what her title meant now that she had some knowledge on it. It was immediately changed because of how she viewed the Overseers and gods? Did that mean her analysis skill and guide ability weren¡¯t given by the Overseers or gods? If not, who gave it to her?


    She just had more questions now and she couldn¡¯t answer any of them. Now she was worried that her title would put those around her in danger. She didn¡¯t want to put these people who had helped her and became her friends in danger because she had decided these beings were objectively bad.


    She didn¡¯t know whether to tell them about this new title as it was against the very beings they worshipped. She would think it over that night and decide in the morning. The time went by quickly after that as they started talking about more mundane things. They invited her to stay for the night as it had gotten quite late during their discussion. She agreed and was led to a room where she found a massive bed. She laid down and thought about what to do.


    She eventually decided to tell Ferguson as he was planning to be in her party, and she didn¡¯t want to put him in danger because of it. After her decision she soon fell asleep. It was not a peaceful sleep though.


    She had a weird dream. She opened her eyes to find herself in a massive black void. She thought there was nothing there but realized she could see multiple lights extremely far off in the distance and realized it was space. She marveled at the sight until a massive eye opened in front of her. It appeared to have an entire galaxy spinning within its pupil. She immediately screamed at the sight. The eye just stared at her and had all the other light perish aside from the galaxy at its center. It felt like it was enjoying what she was doing. It had its entire focus set on her. She felt like she was staring into the creation of everything it was beautiful but terrifying. Then the galaxy vanished.


    There was then just the emptiness of the void staring at her. It was cold and merciless. It seemed whatever this thing was it wanted to see how she would react to it. She just closed her eyes and thought about what she¡¯d just learned. She assumed this must be one of the so-called Overseers and it was tormenting her for its entertainment. It wanted to show her how useless any resistance to its will was. She was terrified now that she had seen one of the beings but refused to back down after she had decided to fight against it. She opened her eyes and glared at the eye that was now just a void of nothingness.


    It blinked once. Then twice. Then it went wide as it saw something she didn¡¯t, and it disappeared. She turned to look and saw some beings that defied her imagination. They were made from stars. One was a massive being with multiple heads and a shell. The other was a mass that seemed to be made of the cords between everything in existence. There were a few other beings that seemed to be made from the very void of space that she could tell were there but couldn¡¯t see. She blinked as she saw them and woke up.


    When she awoke, she remembered having a weird dream but nothing about it. She felt like she hadn¡¯t even slept. Malachite and Liv seemed to be fine when she asked them. She got ready for her day by making her usual dress and went to open the door when there was a loud knock. She jumped slightly not expecting it and heard Fergus say something she couldn¡¯t understand through the door. She opened it and asked. ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°I was asking if you were up and wanted to eat breakfast together. My parents are already up and busy, so it¡¯ll likely just be us. Also, if you want to you can call me Fergus.¡± Ferguson said.


    ¡°Sure. I needed to talk to you anyway Fergus.¡± She replied as they walked to the dining room.


    They quickly ate and talked about their plan for the day. She waited until she didn¡¯t hear anyone else around and finally brought up the topic she needed to.


    ¡°S-so, since we¡¯re in a party now I figured you should know this. I got a new title last night that isn¡¯t necessarily good.¡± She stated hesitantly.


    ¡°Ok. You¡¯re making this sound ominous.¡± He said jokingly.


    ¡°It kind of is. Your family said something like a prayer last night to the Overseers, right?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yes. What about it? My family says it because it¡¯s what our ancestors said. They worshipped the Overseers more than the gods. My family mainly worships the gods now aside from me. There are still some that worship the Overseers, but they¡¯re considered heretics by the churches.¡± He explained.


    ¡°Then this may not be as bad. I gained the Title: Blasphemer since I had a thought about trying to defy the gods and Overseers for tossing me aside for their entertainment.¡± She stated quickly.


    There was a long silence. She was starting to get worried when she felt a few minutes went by and thought he had left her there. He then broke the silence.


    ¡°You know how to make everything difficult don¡¯t you.¡± He said exasperated. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing you told me as that could cause problems later on, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be a problem any time soon as we aren¡¯t strong enough to warrant their attention.¡±


    She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized she wasn¡¯t going to be abandoned by her first friend and partner due to this stupid title. They agreed not to talk about it when people were around as it could lead to problems, with those things out of the way, they started to head for the League to start their usual hunting activities. They arrived to find an odd request.


    It was to help either capture or eliminate a new normal rank monster seen in the Shimmering Forest. The weirdest part of the request was that it required the party to go with the requestor. It intrigued them, so they decided to at least talk to the person. They took it to a reception desk, and they contacted the requestor.


    About an hour later they heard someone come and ask them. ¡°Were you the group that wanted to discuss the request?¡± The persons voice sounded like an extremely young boy.


    ¡°Yes, we are. Are you the requestor?¡± Fergus asked.


    ¡°Yes. I ¡®m Griff. I¡¯m part of the Sorcery Guild. We study sorcery which is what everyone calls magic. Magic is a mundane way to explain what magic does. What people actually do is cast sorcery since they use the mana inside them instead of using the mana in the ai-.¡± He started before abruptly stopping.


    ¡°Ah. Sorry I can talk about this all day but I¡¯m here to talk about the request. I¡¯m trying to study the new monster. There have been more and more reports of new monsters. I¡¯m trying to study it to find out if the ambient mana is rising or if it¡¯s a new monster that has come from the portal.¡± He explained.


    ¡°Will we need to defend you while we search and fight it or will you join us in fighting?¡± Fergus asked.


    ¡°I will assist in the fighting. I¡¯m trying to get it alive but as long as I can analyze it with my skill before it dissolves, I will consider the request complete.¡± He replied.


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t see anything wrong with that. If you¡¯ll join in if there¡¯s a problem and we won¡¯t need to worry about protecting you.¡± Fergus said.


    ¡°I agree. It sounds like there shouldn¡¯t be an issue¡± Gaia agreed.


    They got ready to head out and they told each other their level and class. They were now level ten after a month of doing multiple normal rank requests a day. Griff was level eleven in stone rank himself and explained his class. He was a Magic Martial Artist. His class and skills caused him to have mana circulating through his body. This caused him to naturally deal magic damage through physical attacks and created a magic barrier around him.


    In essence he was a close combat mage. Something her party was naturally missing outside of Malachite. They didn¡¯t know how well he could fight so they would watch him during the request. They made their way out of the city towards the requested location when they heard a loud roar from the direction they needed to go. They quickly put up their guard and Gaia made some webs and sent them out in that direction as they cautiously approached.


    They walked cautiously for the next couple hours, but didn¡¯t come across any monsters, so they relaxed their guard until they arrived at the location of the new monster¡¯s sighting. Gaia kept her webs out and searched the area. She found the monster which was described as a small flower-like creature it was in the center of a small clearing. This one was different from the walking gorgers as it couldn¡¯t move. She let the others know and they approached it slowly. They got within fifteen feet of it before anything happened.


    Suddenly, massive roots shot out of the ground and tried to pierce through the group. Gaia was safe from her naturally high defense, but Fergus and Griff had to jump away to escape. She quickly got Liv to bind the roots together, but they were able to slip out of the webs. They decided to have Fergus shoot at the flower from a distance, but the arrow was blocked by the roots. Then realized that they needed to distract it so he could pierce it with an arrow.


    They got into a formation with Griff on the left, Malachite in the center and Gaia on the right. The three then ran into the range of the roots. A few roots shot out from the ground but couldn¡¯t pierce Gaia¡¯s defensive barrier and instead wrapped around her. The same happened to Malachite but Griff was punching the roots as they shot towards him keeping them at bay. During this time Fergus quickly shot an arrow that pierced through the monster and the roots went limp.


    She heard Griff breathe a heavy sigh and walk to where she¡¯d felt the monster. He muttered something and it sounded like he scribbled in a book. He then took a deep breath and said ¡°Good job. I have what I need.¡±


    The party hearing this got ready to leave when they felt the ground rumble slightly. They heard something large bounding towards them when Gaia had a screen appear.


    Quest: Survive The Irradiated Snapdragon (Stone) 0/1


    Her heart sank upon seeing this. Whatever the massive creature was, it was stone rank. She didn¡¯t know what the irradiated part was about but didn¡¯t want to find out. She was about to tell the others they should run when she felt something start to quickly damage her defensive barrier. She realized that she and Malachite likely were the only ones that could stay with this for a long period.


    ¡°Fergus get some distance!¡± she yelled at him.


    She heard some quick shuffling before she felt the damage increase. This thing caused constant damage, and it was getting closer. She finally heard the monster crash through a tree as it entered the clearing they were in. It sounded massive and had a sickeningly sweet smell. Malachite chose this moment to send her an image of it.


    The monster looked to be a living amalgamation of roots, stems and flowers in the shape of a four-legged beast. It had two large wings made from vines and leaves. The ¡°head¡± of the monster was made from snapdragons and had sharp roots acting as teeth in its maw. It looked to be a dragon made from plant materials. It exuded some kind of damage that got stronger the closer they were to the creature.


    ¡®Well, what the hell is this thing?! I¡¯ve never heard of it before.¡± She heard Griff yell in horror.


    That was just wonderful. Not only were they dealing with a stone-ranked monster but also an unknown one. She cursed her luck and prepared to try and fight the monster. She tried to use her webs to poison it and it seemed to truly be poisoned from what her screens showed.


    Name - Irradiated Snapdragon


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Rank ¨C Stone


    Level ¨C 25


    Status ¨C Afflicted with Spiritual Toxin


    When she saw the level, she paled as it was more than twice theirs. She quickly relayed the information, and the party got into as good a formation as they could. She activated her armor, and it turned into a full body suit and hardened. The formation had her as a center point with Griff and Malachite in front, and Ferguson in the back. He was farther back than usual to get out of the area of effect of the damage.


    The fight started when the monster rushed forward and went to bite Griff. He would have been swallowed whole but managed to nimbly dodge to the left and land a kick to the monster''s head. It had much more force than expected and the monsters head was snapped upward at an impossible angle. It swung its tail at Malachite who got hit but managed to hold his ground.


    Gaia wasn¡¯t waiting and was using her webs to create small clumps that she flung at the monster. She knew she couldn¡¯t bind the creature as when she got the image from malachite the roots and vines appeared to be constantly moving. She just hoped the webs would continue to stack poison. Fergus was launching arrow after arrow into the beast''s wings using some wind magic that made them pierce straight through them.


    The monster started to cause roots to launch from the ground and tried to bind the parties'' legs, but everyone managed to dodge except Gaia who couldn¡¯t react quickly enough. She was bound to the spot and couldn¡¯t break free, so she continued to create clumps of poisoned webs. The poison was constantly stacking and dealing more damage by the second, but the monster seemed to be unimpeded.


    The party was fighting while constantly being damaged by the monster¡¯s odd radiation. Griff was having to run to the back by Fergus to launch magical attacks until his barrier regenerated. Malachite and Gaia were just taking the damage like it was nothing. Malachite seemed to have an easier time of it but they continued to keep the monster''s attention on themselves. Malachite was running around the monster and gaining momentum before sprinting straight to the monster and bashing it with his shell bash skill empowered by his Toxic spike armor. Liv was hidden within Gaia¡¯s armor but was launching poison at the monster.


    They continued fighting the monster for what felt like hours when she heard Griff call out.


    ¡°Be careful Gaia! Your barrier dropped!¡± He yelled.


    They had been continuously stacking her Toxin and dealing damage to it. She¡¯d been completely focused on keeping its attention that she hadn¡¯t noticed her barrier had broken. She¡¯d been directly taking damage for a while now. She felt like her skin was heating up and burning from the inside out. She started to feel nauseous and felt weaker the longer it went on but couldn¡¯t break free from the roots to get away.


    She did the only thing she could at this point and started to circulate her mana and cast healing spells on herself. She used one hand to pump healing magic into herself and the other to continuously make poisoned webs. She felt the deterioration of her body slow but not stop. She started to get a splitting headache from using her mana in two different ways at once while trying to keep herself from passing out. The pain continued to increase as the party desperately threw attacks at the monster.


    She could hear Griff sprinting in and out of the area landing hits that dealt large amounts of damage from the loud thuds. She could also hear the arrows whizzing past her and piercing the amalgamation of plant parts. Everything was slowly starting to sound more and more distant as she concentrated on keeping her magic flowing.


    Malachite was biting and bashing the monster with all his might while watching his master, no she was more like a parent to him. She was there from the second he could see and took care of him. He had only just started to pay her back for these and didn¡¯t want her to be hurt so badly. She¡¯d been hurt many times trying to keep him safe. He wanted to do the same, so he found their bond and started trying to force his mana through it to help her heal quicker. This had a drawback as he became fatigued the more he forced through.


    Liv was shooting poison shots at the monster. She was safely within Gaia¡¯s armor and was able to help strengthen it, she was also being healed when Gaia forced her mana out to heal. She was the only reason Gaia¡¯s armor was still holding. She¡¯d taken control of it when Gaia had to stop to focus on healing. She was slowly starting to merge with it as she took more and more control of the armor as the fight continued. As she felt Gaia start to lose consciousness, she forced the armor to move and cut the roots binding them.


    As Fergus and Griff were pelting the monster with attacks, they saw Gaia¡¯s form go limp. They worried for her until they saw her armor slice through the bindings around her and she started sprinting in their direction. They wondered what was going on until they saw her armor drop right as she arrived and realized she was unconscious. They both watched as her skin was almost melting and reforming as it flowed with magic. She was somehow still healing herself.


    They took that as a win and continued to attack the monster. The fight had been going for around an hour by this point and the monster was starting to unravel and parts of it littered the ground along with the blood from the party. Gaia had been unconscious for around five minutes when Griff cast a Healing Shot spell at her. He¡¯d realized her barrier had reformed and she woke up coughing blood.


    Fergus relayed what had happened while she was unconscious, and she got back into the fight. Another ten minutes and the monster had completely unraveled and went limp. They hadn¡¯t received the souls, so Fergus and Gaia hit it with attacks and poison respectively until they felt the souls enter their bodies. They had killed the monster, but it took them a couple hours to kill it. As she thought about that she heard some thuds from where it had died which she¡¯d never heard when a monster had dissolved.


    She limped over to the where she¡¯d heard the noise as she hadn¡¯t been fully healed. When she got there, she kicked an object. Crouching down she felt the area around her and found a few different items. They all felt like some kind of seed. One felt soft and malleable, another was a pair that was hard and wooden, and the final was a pair that felt barbed. When she touched them the quest screen appeared.


    Quest: Survive the Irradiated Snapdragon 1/1


    Hidden Quest: Kill the Irradiated Snapdragon 1/1


    Hidden Quest completed.


    Rewards generated.


    Seed of Range ¨C Seed must be implanted into host''s hand. Creates a parasitic bow made from the vines of a plant dragon when stimulated by mana. The bow creates sharpened vine arrows when the string is pulled. Vine arrows have a chance to bind enemies struck in vines. Bonding growth item. Grows with bound entity.


    Seeds of Impact ¨C Seeds must be implanted into hosts arms. Creates parasitic spiked wooden gauntlets made from the heart of a snapdragon when stimulated with mana. Allows users punches to penetrate armor. Has small chance to regenerate mana upon hit. Bonding growth item. Grows with bound entity.


    Barbed Seeds ¨C Seeds that hold the spirit of a Snapdragon. Bonding growth item. Must be implanted into hosts arms. Creates parasitic spiked vines from implanted area that can be controlled naturally. Considered a separate entity that follows the hosts will. Attacks have a chance to cause the bleeding condition. Grows with bound entity.


    Bleed ¨C Condition. Effected target bleeds and is dealt low damage over time. Instances refresh when reapplied. Instances have a cumulative effect. Healing effects end the condition early.


    Gaia stared at the information. She had just gotten three items, all of which were growth items. One was obviously for Fergus, and one for Griff. The other seemed odd though. She couldn¡¯t damage anything, but this had to be a weapon. The other items were weapons as well, so it made sense for them all to be some kind of weapon. She just stared at them for a while until Fergus and Griff came over.


    ¡°What do you have there?¡± Griff asked.


    ¡°I think my ability gave me a reward, but it seems there¡¯s an item for each of us.¡± She said a bit dumbfounded.


    ¡°What do you mean? I thought you didn¡¯t have a loot ability.¡± Fergus asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t but I got a quest to survive the monster and apparently, we finished a hidden quest by killing it. Then voila, items. They seem to need to be planted in a person and grow things when using mana. Ones a bow, the others are some gauntlets, and spiked vines.¡± She said as she put out her hand to each of them with their respective seeds.


    She felt them take the seeds. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t suggest implanting here. I¡¯d suggest getting back to the city first where we¡¯ll likely be safer.¡± She suggested as Malachite walked up and she climbed on.


    The group proceeded to head back to the city. They had traveled quite a distance to reach the area and got back to town around sundown. They quickly went to the League and got their reward for finishing the request and told them about the stone rank monster they¡¯d encountered. It was apparently also a new species. They got an extra fifty stone cores for the information and then made their way to the inn they¡¯d been staying at. Griff came with them, and they each got a room.


    They all met in Gaia¡¯s room where she proceeded to implant her seeds first. The process wasn¡¯t overly difficult but required her to make a cut which she needed Fergus to make in her forearms and placed the seeds in each. When the seeds entered, she felt some sharp pain from the barbs, but it ended quickly. She then put some of her mana into them and a new pain exploded. She felt like her arms were going to be ripped off from where they entered.


    She felt the seeds open, and roots burrowed up and down her arm from where they were. Then the other two gasped. They saw what looked like a large green stake in each arm where the seeds had been placed. From each side spiked vines grew and wrapped around her arms from her wrist to her elbow. The pain ended when the vines finished growing. She could feel the vines like they were a natural part of her body and could control them instinctively. It was an interesting feeling.


    The other two were hesitant to use their seeds but did after hers finished growing. Fergus had the easiest as it just gave him a vine like tattoo on his hand and when he put mana into it vines grew to make a bow. Griff¡¯s were harsher as they were put in both wrists and wood grew from under his skin to creat gauntlets that had spikes covering their every inch. When he released the mana from them, they slid back under his skin, and he had a tattoo that went from the tips of his fingers to halfway up his forearms. The tattoos looked extremely intricate, like hundreds of roots woven together to make a gauntlet like shape.


    Not long after the seeds finished growing, they went to their rooms to sleep as they were exhausted from the day. The next morning, they went back to their normal routine of taking requests but kept in contact with Griff. He¡¯d become a friend during the request, and they joined up whenever he had a request for the League.


    They took requests for about another month but were still taking normal rank requests as they needed to find at least one more person to finish their party but weren¡¯t in a hurry to fill the position. They¡¯d hunted lots of monsters by this point and had some good strategies for how to deal with the different kinds of monsters they came across. They¡¯d even taken a few more requests with Griff during that time. The only monsters they didn¡¯t hunt were the Shadow Trappers as they were now always marked as stone rank so what happened to Gaia didn¡¯t happen again.


    They had worked hard but couldn¡¯t increase their arrows until they took stone rank requests. They didn¡¯t mind and were getting enough to live. She ran by Will and Summer¡¯s shop after they finished hunting for the day and found the seat for Malachite was done. She quickly paid them the sixty cores which took quite a bit of what she¡¯d gained. Even with the couple weeks of hunting she only had about twenty cores left.


    They¡¯d decided to make a party fund and put fifty percent of the rewards in and split the rest between the two of them. They didn¡¯t get very many for their own use, but it made sure they had funds to repair equipment, or for healing if they needed it. They didn¡¯t need any new equipment as they hadn¡¯t started hunting anything above normal rank but expected they¡¯d need some not long after they did.


    She got Wills help setting up the seat as it would poison anyone else that touched it, and he had some equipment to protect himself. It took about ten minutes to set it up. He then explained that it would react to her web manipulation as it was made from her webs. It would also react to Malachite¡¯s mana to allow it to change form to make spikes. He could now deal some more damage with his shell bash skill while also dealing her Spiritual Toxin condition. They also told her they added in the ability for it to change with his size, but would need more webs each time it grows to a new size. She couldn¡¯t believe they did so much for her. They¡¯d even added a feature she hadn¡¯t thought about.


    She thanked them and hugged them both before remembering herself and became a bit embarrassed. She told them she¡¯d try it out now and that she¡¯d come back to them for any other projects she wanted or needed.


    She tried the manipulation and felt the webs move. They made what seemed to be a large almost throne-like seat and had a cover to block the sun. They even created some small stairs to get up and down easier. When she sat down, she felt like she was in heaven. The entire chair felt like it was made from the softest silk and stayed cool. It felt like she was sitting in the most comfortable seat she¡¯d ever felt. She loved it and almost felt like falling asleep.


    She was brought from her daze when Ferguson spoke. ¡°I guess this is what Nia meant when y¡¯all went to have something made.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Its weird to just sit on Malachite¡¯s shell. It¡¯s made from rock and kind spiky since he ranked up. Ah, also I wouldn¡¯t touch it. It¡¯s made from the Toxic webs I make.¡± She stated, as Fergus jerked his hand away from the seat.


    They made their way to the inn, with her sitting in luxury. She felt a bit bad that he had to walk but didn¡¯t want to hurt him by letting him sit there. At least that¡¯s what she told herself, she just didn¡¯t want to get up from the overly comfortable seat.


    They had a quick dinner and went to their rooms for the night. The next morning, they had just gotten to the League when Freya stopped them.


    ¡°Hey. You¡¯re still looking for one more person to join your party, right?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yeah, why?¡± Gaia questioned.


    ¡°Well, we actually had someone come asking to join a party but asked for you by name Gaia.¡±


    ¡°Why me? I haven¡¯t really done anything to be known by anyone.¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s actually someone who just joined the League officially and you¡¯ve met him multiple times.¡± She replied.


    As she finished talking, they heard someone walk up and a very familiar voice greeted them. ¡°Hey you two. I¡¯ve finally decided to join the League officially. You mind if I join you in your party?¡± Griff asked.


    The two just grinned and laughed. ¡°Of course. We¡¯d love to have you!¡± They exclaimed together.


    They finally had their party. The three of them and Gaia¡¯s bonds. They hoped to get a few more people at some point to round them out but they could now take stone rank requests. They relaxed for the rest of the day and celebrated that night. The next morning, they prepared for their first stone rank request.


    When they got to the League, they went to the desk to get their first stone rank request when the entire League had an alarm go off. There was an announcement.


    ¡°The ambient mana has been rising and new monsters have been appearing. A mana torrent is believed to begin within a month. All hunters be prepared to assist in the defense.¡±

 Chapter Six

    Gaia had no idea what a mana torrent was, but from the fact it was announced through the entire League, she figured it was very bad news. She then heard people rushing around quicker than usual and was nearly knocked over by someone before Fergus caught her.


    ¡°What is a Mana Torrent and why does it make everyone forget about everything else?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Well, a Mana Torrent is when the ambient mana in the world has been rising at a substantial rate. It causes monsters to spawn en masse and can even cause monsters to spawn in cities. They can also cause new portals to be created just about anywhere.¡± Griff explained.


    ¡°They are extremely rare. They are great opportunities to quickly level up and even rank up but often bring other problems. The main problem is that the overall mana density increases making it easier for stronger monsters to spawn naturally. This affects the entire world. The last one occurred over five hundred years ago. It caused an entire continent become uninhabitable because it spawned multiple Orichalcum ranked monsters.¡± Fergus explained grimly.


    ¡°That also doesn¡¯t even bring in the possibility of a portal opening and an invasion occurring. The empire invaded a portal a few years ago so it is possible it could happen.¡± Griff added.


    Gaia thought about these things and understood that it was a big problem. This would effect the world forever. Not only would it increase the spawn rate of monsters but also their strength. This didn¡¯t include the hordes of monsters that would and could spawn anywhere. She wondered if there was a way to fix it but decided she couldn¡¯t do it if the higher rank hunters couldn¡¯t. She decided to prepare for it instead of worrying.


    They went to the counter to get their first stone rank request. There were two requests they were debating between. One was to hunt a colony of Gust Wasps; the other was to clear a nearby portal. The Gust wasps were a species of monsters that looked like wasps but were three feet long and were able to use a few wind spells. The nearby portal was one of the few that created a small space instead of connecting to another world. It was known as a mini dimension. It was an area that was a few miles in diameter that was used for farming as it naturally had mana that sped up the growth of medicinal plants. It naturally spawned monsters but had a stone rank monster spawn about once a month which had an open request to hunt it.


    Fergus and Griff couldn¡¯t decide and left the decision up to Gaia. She decided to choose the portal request as they hadn¡¯t ever been in one and thought it would be a good experience. The portal only spawned one stone rank monster that was usually around the level twelve but also had a horde of normal rank monsters for them to hunt and test their new items on.


    They set out not long after the decision and arrived at the portal around midday. While Gaia couldn¡¯t see the portal, she could somehow feel it. It was like all the mana in the area had solidified into a kind of undulating slab. The portal felt both extremely foreign but also somehow natural like it was both out of place and exactly where it should be at once. It was an odd feeling but also made her curious as to how she could feel it when it was over a hundred feet away. She was going to focus on the feeling but was interrupted by someone calling to the party.


    ¡°Are you guys the party that accepted the request?¡± The person called.


    ¡°Yeah. Is it the usual one stone rank like usual?¡± Fergus asked when they got to the person.


    ¡°As far as we can tell yes. The mana has risen though so there may be two at most. We haven¡¯t gone in to check.¡± The man replied.


    ¡°What monsters usually spawn or can spawn in there?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s usually some normal rank slimes that we could kill easily. The boss is usually what we call a Plasmid which is a large humanoid slime. It can use tools if it finds them and often spawns a horde of the small slimes. Though we¡¯ve seen a Haretol which is a large rabbit type monster. This boss spawns a horde of Al-Miraj. The Haretol is essentially a horse sized Al-Miraj that can strengthen itself and the horde with its magic.¡± The man explained.


    ¡°Ok. Thanks.¡± Griff said.


    After hearing the details of what they could be up against, the party worked on ideas for how to deal with the monsters. Slimes were notoriously weak to magic but highly resistant to physical attacks and the Plasmid should be the same. Both had cores they would need to destroy but the Plasmid could use tools. The Al-Miraj were harder enemies. They were extremely quick and could use some basic earth magic. The Haretol would make a difficult opponent as well, especially if it had a horde of Al-Miraj with it that it could strengthen.


    They decided that if it was the slimes that Liv, Griff and Gaia would deal most of the damage while Fergus distracted and conserved his mana for the Plasmid. If it was Al-Miraj then Gaia and Malachite would be the defenders and take attacks to distract while Griff and Fergus attacked. The Haretol would likely be with its minions so they would have to make a strategy on the fly for it.


    With their strategies decided they went into the portal. Going through the portal felt like pushing through jelly but only lasted for a second before they were inside. The portal was saturated with mana. To her magical perception it was like being in a lake but instead of water it was mana. It was oddly refreshing, like getting a breath of fresh air for the first time. She didn¡¯t understand why it felt that way but enjoyed it, nonetheless. The party started by splitting up with Gaia staying by the portal acting as the center and a kind of base camp for everyone to return to.


    She spent her time focusing on the mana around her and trying to figure out why she was so sensitive to it. She sent her webs out to act as a warning system in case a monster came for her but sat down and started meditating. She¡¯d meditated a bit while on earth but it was mostly to help her calm her mind, so she tried that to start. It worked. Then she tried to focus on the mana around her, she could feel it like it was a physical force. If she pushed some mana out it felt like she could almost get an image of what was immediately around her.


    She didn¡¯t understand how it worked and wasn¡¯t sure it would work outside of this extremely mana rich environment, but she could somewhat sense what was around her. She could tell there was some kind of farm tool around three feet in front of her, a plowed field to her right that started about five feet away, and a covered section that seemed like it was for breaks to her left about ten feet away. She could see them in a sense. She couldn¡¯t get colors but knew where they were by pushing her mana out and creating a bubble around ten feet out from her.


    Everything within that range was outlined by her mana. It was like seeing everything outlined but with no color. She could tell what and where it was but that was it. She¡¯d be able to walk and not have to worry about running into things while she was in the portal. She was extremely happy when she came to this realization. She¡¯d be able to explore without needing to be led everywhere. She waited for the rest of the party to come back while she used her new ¡°Mana Vision¡± as she was calling it to explore the area around the portal.


    The area was a clearing with a few trees place around the portal. There were eight fields in a circle around the portal as a center. There were a few covered tables just by the trees and seemed to be a place to relax for breaks or something similar. Passed the field directly in front of the portal was a small building that seemed to hold harvested crops. When the day was over and they¡¯d be transported to Boundary. The crops were similar to the herbs used back on earth. One was similar to basil but was much larger, another was like thyme, and the final was similar to oregano. There were a few she didn¡¯t recognize though. One had a perfectly vertical vine with small leaves, another had a short thick stem that had large spikes protruding from it, and the final was the oddest one to her. This last one felt like a void to her mana vision. She could see it because it was just a hole devoid of mana. It seemed like a small tree with thin leaves.


    The rest of the party arrived while Gaia was investigating the oddity that was the mana void tree. They ran up to her and she got her first actual ¡°look¡± at the two of them. Fergus was a thin man that stood a little over six feet tall and was slightly muscular. When she looked at his face, she realized he was extremely handsome but also remembered how Francois and Titania looked. She then realized that everyone in this world likely was beautiful considering their bodies became more ideal as they ranked up. Fergus had a handsomeness that felt more natural than high rankers. His nose was slightly too big which made him feel more real. It added to his charm in her eyes.


    She then looked at Griff and was surprised. He was about half a foot taller than her four feet and seemed to be a kid. He had a childish face and seemed like he had a lot of growing to do. She stared at him for a while before he broke her from her daze.


    ¡°You, ok? I can feel mana pouring out from you.¡± He stated.


    ¡°Yeah. Sorry I can apparently use my mana to allow me to see things. No colors, just shapes and was surprised when I saw you. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve actually seen either of you.¡± She replied slightly embarrassed.


    ¡°Wait you can use mana to see around you?¡± Fergus asked incredulously.


    ¡°Apparently. I¡¯ve only been able to do it since we got in the portal though. I think it may be affected by the mana density but on another note, did you guys find any of the monsters?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yeah. If we¡¯re using the building to designate north still, then I found a horde of Slimes and a Plasmid to the west.¡± Griff replied.


    ¡°Great. That means we have one of each group to deal with. I found a Haretol and a horde of Al-Miraj to the east.¡± Fergus replied.


    ¡°Which one do we want to deal with first?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°I say we do the Haretol as it¡¯ll be trickier, and Fergus can focus on it. We¡¯ll save our mana for the slimes and plasmids while Malachite and I can deal with the Al-Miraj pretty easily. Gaia you focus on trapping as many of its minions with your webs as you can while poisoning them. I think that should mostly cover the plan for it. It¡¯ll be the opposite for the Plasmid though.¡± Griff explained.


    They all agreed, and they set off to the east to deal with the Haretol and its minions. It took them an hour to get to the area as they went slowly trying to be unnoticed for as long as possible. When they arrived the other two described what they saw.


    There were around a hundred Al-Miraj which were small rabbit monsters with a large horn on its head and oversized front claws. The Haretol was the exact same but the size of a small car. They quickly jumped into action with Fergus using his new item. When he did a large bow made from intertwined vines grew from the tattoo on his hand and as he pulled the string back a sharp thorn grew into an arrow which he fired. He swiftly made more and continued firing on the Haretol and Al-Miraj. Griff grew his gauntlets and started killing the Al-Miraj with punches and kicks. Gaia walked forward while Malachite ran around killing the monsters as he did so and she activated her new vines. They unraveled from her arms and started lashing at any of the monsters she could see in her bubble of mana. They couldn¡¯t kill the monsters but did leave cuts on them that bled a bit more than they should. While her vines lashed out at the monsters, she was sending out webs and poisoning the monsters as she tried to bind a few so they couldn¡¯t move. Liv was shooting poison blobs at monsters and binding any monsters that Gaia couldn¡¯t with her webs.


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    Within the first minute around half of the Al-Miraj were dead or dying and Gaia was catching more as she went. Griff realized she¡¯d get the rest of the monsters soon and ran to target the Haretol. It had started using its magic to strengthen the others, but they couldn¡¯t escape Gaia and Liv¡¯s webs. Fergus had been pelting the monster with arrows and magic, so it was now bound to the ground by thick vines while Griff slammed the monster with his attacks. Around five minutes after they had found the Haretol and Al-Miraj the monsters were dead. It was by far the quickest they¡¯d ever killed a stone rank monster. It was a slightly lower level than them, but it went better than expected.


    They¡¯d expected to have a fight that would last around half an hour as there were a hundred of the small rabbit monsters, but it was over in a fraction of the time. They took a break after the monsters had all dissolved. Gaia was walking around using her newfound ¡°vision¡± to see everything around her. The other two just watched in amusement as she looked like a child seeing trees and such for the first time. Their break ended when Gaia sat down in her throne on Malachite¡¯s shell. The mana vision was tiring as it required her to push her mana out constantly, thankfully her regeneration was extremely quick and especially in the mana dense portal. They walked for a few hours until they found their other target. The Plasmid and it¡¯s slime horde.


    The Plasmid was a slime that was able to take a humanoid form and could use tools and weapons that it found. The slimes around it were small blobs of a viscous liquid with a small core inside. The cores of the slimes looked like a small pebble inside them with two indents on it. The Plasmid had a single core that moved freely through its body making it harder to kill as it could move from its head to one of its feet almost instantly. It was able to command the slimes to move but slimes were slow and had a low intelligence. This made them easier to deal with as they couldn¡¯t follow sophisticated commands.


    The party swiftly began their plan with Fergus sprinting out into the horde and getting the attention of the horde. While he distracted them Griff ran around the back edge and swiftly killed the slimes before they knew he was there. Gaia stayed on Malachite''s shell and sent out her webs to poison the horde and her vines to keep monsters away from them. Malachite and Liv were shooting water and poison shots respectively at the slimes around them. Within about five minutes the slimes were all dead as well, which just left the Plasmid by itself.


    It was an odd creature to Gaia¡¯s mana vision. It was a blob in the vague shape of a person that carried a large club which appeared to be made from something bound together. It was around six feet tall and the weapon it carried had jagged sections like sharpened branches. It wasn¡¯t overly intimidating, but the weapon made it much more dangerous. The monster moved erratically and could stretch its limbs farther than they should naturally. The monster started by stretching its arm and trying to hit Fergus with its makeshift club. He nimbly dodged under it while Griff ran up to hit the monster. It¡¯s entire body shifted making a hole where his hand would have hit, making him fall. The monster then lashed at Griff¡¯s prone form with its open arm striking him. He took the hit and was lucky enough to roll away before it could wrap around him.


    Gaia was trying to use her webs to poison the monster but couldn¡¯t hit it. She then decided to try making some web balls and threw some which it dodged by simply making a hole where the attack would have hit. She was starting to get really annoyed that she couldn¡¯t do anything to the monster. Malachite and Liv were launching their magic attacks at the monster which was barely able to dodge them. Gaia decided to do something a bit stupid and hopped off Malachite¡¯s shell to try and grab the monster. It seemed to have a harder time dodging the purely magical attacks and hoped if she poured even more of her mana out it might allow her to grab it.


    She poured as much mana as she could into the area around her and she lunged for the monster. It was noticeably slower to respond which proved her idea right. The monster could sense things around it using mana. It had a similar type of vision as she did. When she had poured out her mana in a great volume it had affected the Plasmids vision and made it harder to sense her. She grabbed the monster and forced some of her poisoned webs into its body. The monster attacked her with its free arm which recoiled every time it hit her like it was being hurt. The more it attacked her the weaker the attacks got. As the monster attacked her the others were pelting the monster with attacks. Griff was slamming his magically reinforced fist into the monster. Fergus was hitting it with arrow after arrow that was infused with wind magic. Malachite and Liv were hitting it with their magic as well.


    Gaia just held on until it stopped moving and she saw Griff put his hand through the monster and grab something that he ripped out. It was a small spherical object that she realized was the Plasmids core. He crushed it in his fist and the monster started to dissolve. Gaia fell to the ground and laid there for a few minutes as the fight had tired her out. The others joined her, and they relaxed for a while before getting up. It was time to let the farmers know the monsters were dealt with.


    They arrived at the portal and Gaia realized she hadn¡¯t even gotten hurt once during the request. She asked the others and neither did they which made her happy as it showed their growth. They¡¯d normally end up with a few light wounds during battles so the fact they hadn¡¯t this time was a major achievement to her. They stepped out and Gaia immediately lost her mana vision which made her a bit sad as she¡¯d hoped it would work but she was back to her usual self.


    She quickly got on Malachite¡¯s back and reformed her throne. While she did this Ferguson was informing the farmers the request was done. She heard the farmers yell a thank you as they headed towards the city. She was relaxing in her throne and tried pushing her mana out like she had in the portal. While she couldn¡¯t see anything she could feel a distinct difference to when she¡¯d tried this before.


    She could feel her mana reacting to the mana around her and caused something to happen. She didn¡¯t know what it was but asked Griff if he could see anything. He seemed annoyed with her asking this when they were running but looked over at her.


    ¡°Fine.¡± He said as he turned to look at her. He abruptly stopped when he looked at her. She had a greenish bubble about ten feet wide around her. He could tell it was made from mana but didn¡¯t know what it was.


    ¡°What in the worlds are you doing? How can that be possible?¡± He asked incredulous.


    Fergus turned and saw the same. He was silent for a minute before speaking. ¡°You really do impossible things, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°How does that work? I¡¯ve never seen someone be able to affect the ambient mana to create whatever this is. I can tell it¡¯s made from your mana, but it doesn¡¯t seem to take up any of your own. You¡¯re superimposing your mana¡¯s will on the world.¡± He stated before mumbling to himself as he walked around her poking and prodding the bubble.


    She could feel every poke and prod he made but it wasn¡¯t actually using her own mana to create it. She could drop it when she wanted by just thinking about it ending. She let Griff mess around with it for a while though as he went full researcher mode. She¡¯d seen this a few times when they took requests and they found new monsters. It was quite endearing if not boring at times.


    After around thirty minutes of Griff messing with her new mana bubble she dropped it. He went to protest before Ferguson grabbed his shoulder and pushed him forward. She continued to put the bubble up and end it as they travelled trying to figure out more about it. She didn¡¯t find out much aside from the fact she could bring it up and end it with a thought. In order to find out exactly what it did she needed to do some experiments first. By the time they¡¯d arrived at the city she¡¯d gotten a hang of controlling it. They quickly made their way to the inn and ate dinner before turning in for the night.


    The next day was a rest day and they relaxed. They tended to take at least one rest day a week but normally took two. Their weeks had become more of a three-day hunt one day rest type of schedule. Today they decided to test out Gaia¡¯s new mana bubble as they were currently calling it. Griff was the main one testing it as he wanted to know as much as possible. They went the entire day outside of a long lunch break testing it out. They¡¯d gotten a few goblins that Liv went out and bound up with her webs to test it and discovered that any monster that went inside the area was poisoned by her Spiritual Toxin. He had the idea to check how poisons worked inside it since it had her poison attribute. He found out that they were immune to the poison effect she gave and were resistant to other poisons. While they were testing these out, she had gained a better idea of how it worked. She could push her mana out to start it which was nearly instantaneous and after that it would stay as long as she focused on keeping it up. Griff finally came up with a proper name for it. He called it her Mana Influence.


    She¡¯d discovered that the more she used it the easier it was to control and that she could extend a bit farther after using it for the entire day. She also told them about what she felt when the Plasmid was attacking but they didn¡¯t know what could have caused it. They decided to place that on the back burner for now and relax for the rest of the night. They enjoyed the night and the next morning prepared to go hunting again. They had started preparing for the Mana Torrent as it was less than a month away. They wanted to be strong enough to defend themselves and help out when it occurred. They continued taking requests as normal but every request they took had more and more monsters. This was starting to show the actual effects of the Mana Torrent. Even though it hadn¡¯t officially started mana was already flooding into the world causing more monsters to appear. The Hunter''s League was getting more and more requests to hunt groups of monsters and some where there were even higher ranked monsters appearing. The worst one was an iron rank monster that appeared and attacked a village.


    As they continued their hunts, they got stronger and honed their tactics and skills. This made it easier for them to hunt and they got into a rhythm of doing around three requests a day. The requests weren¡¯t overly difficult as they were mainly dealing with low level stone rank monsters that came in groups. There were a few times where they saw some monsters spawn just before they were going to fight, and they had to back off for a bit.


    The time passed quickly, and it was only a week until the Mana Torrent started. They had just finished their hunts for the day when they were called to one of the counters. They went over and were about to ask why they were called when the receptionist cut them off.


    ¡°We need your party to join a multi-party request.¡± She said.


    ¡°Why us?¡± Griff questioned.


    ¡°It¡¯s a group made up of four teams including yours. The groups are Flora, Swords Edge, and Griffon¡¯s Wings. One of them requested your group specifically as they believe your strong enough to assist them. The request is to hunt new a bronze ranked monster and the stone rank monsters around it.¡± She replied.


    ¡°Can we discuss this for a moment?¡± Ferguson asked as they turned to talk.


    ¡°Of course.¡± The receptionist replied.


    ¡°Ok so the group called Flora is Titania¡¯s group and they¡¯re bronze rank. Swords Edge and Griffon¡¯s Wings are both high leveled stone rank. I don¡¯t know why they would want us but I¡¯m guessing Titania was the one that asked.¡± Ferguson explained.


    ¡°So, does that mean we should take it? It¡¯s a bronze rank monster we can¡¯t fight that at our level.¡± Griff asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if we should but since Titania is asking, I¡¯d say yes. I doubt she¡¯d ask us to join if they weren¡¯t confident in killing the monster. It¡¯s also a new monster so Griff¡¯s skill may shine some light on it.¡± Gaia said.


    ¡°I want to say yes. It is my sister asking and I do want to try and help.¡± Ferguson said..


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to take it but if you two want to I will.¡± Griff stated.


    ¡°I want to even though it¡¯ll be dangerous. We can just hang to the back and fight the minions.¡± Gaia suggested.


    ¡°I want to as well.¡± Fergus finished.


    After their discussion they accepted the request. It was in an area they¡¯d never been to before and was set to leave tomorrow morning. It was likely going to be a multiple day trip, so they went to some stores to get the necessary items. They¡¯d never had an overnight hunt, so they¡¯d never needed any items for it. They spent some of the cores they¡¯d saved for the party fund. Thankfully the items weren¡¯t super expensive, and they were able to use the money they¡¯d saved to buy a specific magic item. It was a small cube that created a warded area. The warded area was obscured from monsters'' senses making it harder for monsters to discover them. The warded area was around thirty feet in diameter and covered the entirety of a small camp. It was also able to be recharged using the ambient mana.


    It felt like a great purchase as it would also help keep the temperature comfortable inside it. They bought one last item. It was a small, enchanted bag that had a bigger capacity than the outside. They were able to carry all of their new items with them easily thanks to it. After finishing their shopping excursion, they made their way back to the inn and rested for the night as they were expecting to leave early the next morning. The night passed by quickly and they awoke the next morning feeling rested. They quickly made their way to the Hunter¡¯s League to meet up with the other groups.

 Chapter Seven

    They arrived in front of the building and waited until the other parties showed up. They waited for almost two hours before the others showed up. The party had started training with Ferguson and Griff lightly sparring. Ferguson was trying to improve his close combat techniques and Griff was a great teacher. Gaia was messing around with her mana and trying to expand the area she could cover. Malachite was running around the sparring pair and Liv was creating some webs which she shot at Malachite as he ran.


    The new group saw a child and archer sparring while a large turtle ran around them while having webs shot at it and a small person with a weird green bubble around them. They were a sight that did not inspire confidence. Gaia heard the people approach and called out.


    ¡°Are you here for the request as well?¡± She asked in their general direction.


    ¡°Yes. Were Swords Edge. Who are you guys?¡± The leader asked in a gruff voice.


    ¡°Ah... We were... Asked to join¡­  Yesterday. We don¡¯t¡­ Have a party name yet.¡± Ferguson panted.


    ¡°Ok so you¡¯re the stone rankers that will dealing with the small fry while we deal with the higher-level stuff.¡± A woman said as she approached.


    This was the other group from what she could guess. This must be the leader of Griffon¡¯s Wings. It seemed both parties had arrived within a few minutes of each other. The final party they were waiting for was Titania¡¯s group Flora. They waited another thirty minutes before they arrived. They arrived at a sprint.


    ¡°Sorry we¡¯re late. We had a few things to deal with.¡± Titania stated.


    ¡°Sure. If waking up late is considered something to deal with.¡± John grumbled behind her. He was given a swift elbow to his gut before she continued.


    ¡°Looks like everyone¡¯s here. Shall we introduce ourselves? I¡¯m Titania and I¡¯m a rogue.¡±


    The entire group went around introducing themselves. It ended up being a decently well-rounded group in the end. The group had one rogue in Titania, four front liners consisting of the entirety of Sword¡¯s Edge and John, four mid range with Griffons wings, and Gaias team were a rearguard. They could act as any of the positions, and they would protect the rear of the entire group while the rest focused on the bronze rank monster and its high-level underlings.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your eyes?¡± One of the guys from Sword¡¯s Edge asked Gaia when she finished her introduction.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m blind.¡± She stated after a few moments.


    ¡°So, we¡¯re bringing a newbie stone rank group with us on a request to hunt a bronze rank monster and one of them is a child and the other can¡¯t even see?!¡± The man asked in exasperation.


    ¡°No. We¡¯re bringing a group that is new but has shown their ability to hunt monsters stronger than themselves.¡± Francois interjected with annoyance.


    ¡°What about our blind little masco-¡± The man started in a mocking tone before he was yanked off his feet. Gaia had used the time to get Liv to wrap a web around his leg and trip him. She wanted to mess with him but didn¡¯t want to poison him with her ability.


    ¡°I can poison monsters with webs and any that get around me. That doesn¡¯t include my vines that can make things bleed. I might not be able to see or hurt them myself, but I can still hurt them. That doesn¡¯t even include my bonds.¡± Gaia stated gesturing to Malachite and Liv.


    She heard a small giggle and some chuckles coming from where she¡¯d heard Titania¡¯s party earlier. They apparently approved of her action and enjoyed watching it. The man swiftly got to his feet and glared at Gaia.


    ¡°If you¡¯re glaring, I wouldn¡¯t know anyway.¡± She stated mockingly.


    Her party laughed. While she couldn¡¯t see him glaring at her, she assumed and apparently had gotten it right. The group left soon afterwards towards their destination. They left through the southern gate and traveled along the road for most of the day before they decided to set up camp. Ferguson and Griff set up their party¡¯s tent while Gaia and Malachite scouted the area. Gaia used her webs as feelers to check an area around thirty feet from her in each direction. As she used her web manipulation ability in this way, she was slowly able to make more and cover a significantly larger area than she used to.


    She heard them call her back to camp and they set up their warding cube. It covered their tent and the area of the campfire. It wasn¡¯t massive but made it easier for anyone that would be on watch. Liv usually stayed awake as she didn¡¯t need sleep and watched the area around Gaia. They decided to have her be on watch the entire night with each shift.


    Gaia took first watch and had her webs out with Liv making a web wire around the edge of their camp. The watch went by without incident, but she could hear the other teams mocking her and Griff which made her angry. She couldn¡¯t do anything about it though, so she ignored them. They¡¯d show their abilities at some point and make them eat those words. She went into the tent and woke up Ferguson which mainly consisted of her tripping over both of the men.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± She whispered.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s my turn?¡± Ferguson asked.


    She nodded and he got up to take his shift. Griff just rolled back over and was back to sleep in seconds. Gaia laid down and tried to fall asleep but couldn¡¯t until Malachite shrunk and cuddled up to her face. He was a constant companion that she couldn¡¯t fall asleep without anymore. She was asleep within a minute after he joined her.


    She jerked awake when she heard shuffling but discovered it was just Ferguson and Griff switching shifts. She laid back down and was swiftly back asleep within minutes. It was a nice night, and they awoke to the smell of stew. Griff had spent some time making them breakfast and handed them each a bowl when they sat down. She heard Titania and her group join them and ask for some as well. Griff happily handed them some. Fergus and Gaia had told him how Titania had helped her out and that she was Fergus¡¯ sister. He was happy to help them after knowing that.


    They ate a nice breakfast and talked a little about how the night was. They had some more small talk before they cleaned up and set out again. They were still another day and a half away from the location of the request. They continued on and a few of the people complained about Gaia riding on Malachites back and asked if they could join. She explained about the poison webs, but some didn¡¯t let that deter them and tried to get on. Malachite snapped at them as they got close as he didn¡¯t like how they¡¯d treated her before.


    A few managed to touch the webs and soon realized she had been telling the truth about the poison. They got poisoned and swiftly got off. Thankfully the poison stopped within about a minute, and it didn¡¯t cause too much damage. They met a few monsters along the way that were killed before her team could even help. It was mostly a leisurely hike for the group, and they talked to Titania¡¯s group and amongst themselves as they went. The day ended the same as the first and they set up camp.


    Gaia took first watch once again and heard some of the other groups talking. She recognized the voice of the man that had mocked her, and he was talking in a hushed voice about something she couldn¡¯t quite hear. She didn¡¯t trust it and asked Malachite to find the person on watch for Flora. He sped away and a few minutes later he came back with someone.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Well, it may be nothing but the man that mocked me is talking in a hush and I don¡¯t trust him. I can¡¯t hear what he¡¯s saying but I was wondering if you guys could keep an eye on him since they¡¯re stronger than us. I hope it¡¯s nothing and I¡¯m just being paranoid.¡± She said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep an eye out and let the others know.¡± He replied before going back to his camp.


    The camps were set up with her group at the center and the other three around them, so they really only had one area to watch for monsters from. They used the monster ward item every time they set up camp. It seemed to work but it may also just be the size of the group or how strong the other groups were. When she was on watch she could hear almost everything and thankfully Flora and Sword¡¯s Edge were on opposite sides of their group. It made it harder for Flora to watch them but made it less likely for Swords Edge to notice John coming over.


    The rest of her watch went uneventfully. She woke up Fergus and didn¡¯t stumble into them this time as they set it up so he slept by the tent opening and she could wake him up without having to enter. The night went by without incident until Griff¡¯s shift. Gaia jerked awake at the sound of someone walking up to the tent. She quickly woke up Ferguson who appeared annoyed he was awoken until he saw her face. She was quite scared as she didn¡¯t know what or who it was and assumed the worst. She heard Griff start to move towards the tent after hearing Ferguson being woken up.


    ¡°Griff get John!¡± She yelled at him as she heard the person quicken his pace to the tent.


    She heard a rip which must have been the tent and felt someone¡¯s hand grab her. Her armor swiftly changed and turned into the full bodysuit. She also poisoned it immediately. The hand didn¡¯t let go however it just tightened its grip around her arm as they pulled her out of the tent. Another hand went to cover her mouth, but she heard the man grunt in pain as she felt something trickle from it onto her.


    Ferguson had pulled a dagger and stabbed the man¡¯s hand. By this point Liv was already trying to wrap the man''s legs up in webs while Malachite grew to his usual size and snapped at him. Gaia was starting to cry as she didn¡¯t know what was going to happen. Her tears started burning her face and the attacker''s hand which loosened. She quickly used her vines to slash him as much as she could, and he started bleeding.


    As this happened, she felt something trying to cut her but was being stopped by her defensive barrier. He kept trying to cut her, but the barrier held, and she could hear him yelping in pain whenever the weapon struck her barrier. She didn¡¯t know why but welcomed any help in hurting the man. She was becoming increasingly more scared as she felt the man dragging her away. She used her new Mana Influence to try and increase the poison which worked. She could hear his breathing become more and more ragged as he dragged her.


    ¡°Drop. Her. Now!¡± Titania screamed which caused the man to waver and stop for a moment before continuing.


    ¡°No. This little wench made a fool out of me. She needs to learn how to respect her seniors.¡± He yelled back.


    ¡°I will not give you another chance.¡± Titania stated.


    ¡°Piss off.¡± The man yelled back.


    ¡°John, will you, do it?¡± She asked.


    All Gaia heard was Titania ask and a roar.  No one moved to stop the Tiger-man as he swiftly decapitated the man dragging Gaia. Then she heard something hit the ground and felt something warm ooze down her and she fell to the ground. She just curled up into a ball while crying. After a moment of shock Fergus and Griff ran to Gaia while Malachite and Liv guarded her all the more. They let her party members through but wouldn¡¯t let anyone else close. She could feel their worry through their bond but couldn¡¯t do more than cry about what had just occurred. Flora went over to Sword¡¯s Edge and talked to them. She didn¡¯t hear anything they said over Ferguson and Griff trying to comfort her and make sure she was alright. Around thirty minutes later she¡¯d stopped crying, and they went back to their tent. Flora brought their camp over and stay with them for the rest of the night to ensure nothing would happen again. She didn¡¯t fall back asleep again that night.


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    The next morning was wrought with tension as everyone woke up and cleaned the campsite. Titania explained what they¡¯d decided to do. Sword¡¯s Edge would continue the request but would be under watch for the rest of it, which they agreed to. The man who had attacked her was dead for assaulting another hunter, let alone, a lower ranked hunter. She was still scared of the entire group that the man had been in but understood they needed to finish the request.


    Ferguson and Griff were by her side for the entire day and John stayed with them to make her feel safer. That helped her calm down quite a bit. She was finally able to completely calm down when it came time for them to deal with the request''s monsters. They had arrived in the area around midday and Titania was scouting around trying to find the monster and its underlings. She found it after about two hours and returned to relay the information.


    The monster was about an hour walk to their south. It was bronze rank and had four stone rank underlings. The monster itself was large and lizard like. It was around the size of a small house. It was believed to have extremely strong scales and a spiked tail. It was unknown if it could use magic. Its underlings were the Chaac which were small lizard men around the size of a human child.  They were known for their speed and use of poisons but could not use magic.


    They decided that Flora would immediately attack the bronze rank monster while Swords Edge and Griffons wings distracted and fought the Chaac. Gaia¡¯s party helped fight the Chaac and killed any monsters that came from the rear. With the plan in place the group set off towards the monsters location. They arrived and Flora immediately sprinted towards the bronze rank leader while the other two teams rushed towards its underlings. Gaia and her party moved forward but stayed out of direct conflict while Ferguson and Griff launched attacks at the stone rank monsters. Gaia brought up her Mana Influence which now covered around thirty feet encompassing the other two teams.


    She heard the teams clash with the monsters. She could hear metal clashing as the two teams fought the Chaac. She also heard loud thuds along with clanging of metal against something extremely hard. The two teams were able to hold off the Chaac and her party was slinging ranged attacks at the monsters. Ferguson had brought out his bow and was firing arrow after arrow at the monsters hitting a few shots which caused them to be bound in vines. Griff was launching spells at the monsters, she didn¡¯t know what kind but they didn¡¯t seem to have an attribute which surprised her. She was sending out webs and poisoning the monsters more while they were within her Mana Influence.


    She was using her vines to bleed them whenever they could get in between the fighters. While the fighting took place, she kept some of her webs to their rear as a warning for if any monsters decided to join the fray. A few started to enter the area and were quickly bound by her webs and her Spiritual Toxin constantly stacked so more and more damage was dealt. This also worked on all the Chaac so they were quickly losing their fight. The other parties were able to quickly deal with them and focus on assisting Flora in their fight. Gaia continued to hear metal scraping against the monsters hide but also started to hear the monster roar in pain.


    The monster was getting hurt, and she had the idea to get closer and try to get it within range for her poison. Her party agreed and they crept closer to the battle. Eventually it was within the range, and they stayed far enough away that they¡¯d not interfere. She constantly checked the monster to see if it was poisoned and it was after a while. It seemed she could poison it but had a lower chance of it working as it was a higher rank than her. While she focused on that Ferguson and Griff were watching the rear and killing any monsters that came at them. The monsters that joined weren¡¯t very powerful and most were high level normal rank so they could deal with them almost immediately. There were a few stone ranks that joined sporadically that Gaia helped by using her vines and webs when they told her.


    The fight continued with all the parties focusing on the bronze rank. The two stone rank parties focused on distraction while the bronze dealt most of the damage. Gaia was slowly poisoning it and whipping her vines at it to try and bleed it. It took almost the rest of the fight before it finally had her bleed condition. Ferguson and Griff were also attacking it but couldn¡¯t deal much damage. Malachite and Liv, however, were able to deal some damage as they could ignore some of the rank difference. It didn¡¯t last much longer after that. Flora dealt a final blow after the monster started to lag from its wounds, the poison and bleeding. The entire group stopped and rested for a while, before checking any loot that was dropped. A few of the members in the group had looting abilities, which made her party a bit jealous as none of them did.


    A few of the people whooped and she assumed they got some good items. They continued resting before talking amongst themselves.


    ¡°So, those monsters felt a lot easier than usual right?¡± One woman asked.


    ¡°Yeah, also that weird green barrier seemed to keep me from being poisoned when one hit me.¡± Another man stated.


    ¡°Those vines also kept them stuck so we could just hit them without them dodging.¡± One man said.


    ¡°Yeah, must have just been some good luck.¡± The woman stated.


    Gaia was starting to get annoyed at the fact that they just assumed that it was luck. They had been the ones to help the rest of the party and they weren¡¯t even being acknowledged as helping. She was about to say something when she heard Griff speak.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯s better to keep our abilities under wraps. Especially the unusual abilities you have.¡±


    ¡°But they want to claim all the credit like we didn¡¯t do anything.¡± She grumbled.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I doubt that they would acknowledge our help anyway. The only ones who know what we did are probably Titania¡¯s party. They wouldn¡¯t have missed what we did.¡± Ferguson added.


    ¡°Fine.¡± She said angrily.


    As they rested Griff told his party and Flora about what he¡¯d learned from his skill. The monster was new monster from the mana increase. This was worrisome as it meant that new higher ranked monsters were already starting to spawn, and the Torrent hadn¡¯t even started. They thought about if for a bit before realizing there wasn¡¯t really anything they could do aside from tell the Hunters League when they got back. After that decision they went back to resting.


    They continued until Titania declared it was time to start heading back. They made their way out of the forest and camped just by the road. The camp now had Gaia¡¯s party and Flora together in a single larger camp with the other two parties to either side. Gaia sat at the camp center and stirred a pot that Jess had started. She¡¯d started making a stew for dinner and asked Gaia to stir it while she helped set up the camp. Gaia was happy to do so as it was one thing she could do to help out though it wasn¡¯t much. She¡¯d started to have an inferiority complex whenever it came to anything outside of battle as that was the only time she felt useful. She¡¯d tried helping set up the tent but just ended up making it harder for everyone else. She started wondering what she could do when Jess had given her the task.


    She enjoyed helping with it as she loved the scents of the food. She was tempted to try and cook herself but remembered she could only really harvest and prepare things she¡¯d grown herself. This made it difficult to be able to do anything as when they hunted, she didn¡¯t have time to tend to any crops since they¡¯d usually be gone most the day. She wondered if there was an item she could buy that houses a small garden she could bring with them. She¡¯d look into the idea at some point in the future.


    She was brought from her musings by Jess. ¡°Thanks. That helped me a lot.¡±


    ¡°No problem. I like helping. Also, it smells delicious.¡± Gaia responded.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll ask for your help tomorrow then.¡± Jess replied.


    They relaxed for a bit before Flora and Gaia''s party came over. They handed out some bowls and enjoyed the nice meal. It was a stew with lots of vegetables she¡¯d never had. They created an odd but pleasant taste. It tasted like a vegetable soup with some beef and pork mixed in. It tasted good but a bit bland, but she couldn¡¯t tell why. The group chatted for a while after they finished and before long it was time for watches.


    She took her watch first as usual, and Titania was the one to take the same for Flora. They had been setting up camp together ever since the incident. They spent their time chatting and she enjoyed the talk. She hadn¡¯t really talked with Titania outside of when they first met and at the dinner with her family. Titania broke her from her thoughts when she asked a question.


    ¡°So, how are you? We¡¯ve kinda just ignored what happened since we¡¯ve been on the hunt.¡±


    Gaia went silent for a while. ¡°Honestly not great. I haven¡¯t really been able to relax. I¡¯m also kinda scared to go to sleep tonight.¡± She hadn¡¯t had the time to think about what had happened since Ferguson, Griff, and John kept her talking for the day. Then there was the fight with the monsters and finally she¡¯d been annoyed about her party¡¯s contribution being pretty much completely ignored. Now that she had a moment, she felt her hands shaking.


    Titania noticed and took her into a hug. She almost cried into her shoulder before remembering and tried to push her face away. Titania just held her while she silently cried for a while. Once she¡¯d cried her eyes out she felt a bit better and was more just angry that someone was petty enough to try something like that.


    ¡°Feel a bit better?¡± Titania asked.


    Gaia moved her head back and felt Titania¡¯s shoulder, her shirt had holes from where her tears had gotten on it. She knew her tears could poison but were apparently also somewhat corrosive which worried her more.


    ¡°Yeah. Thanks. Are you okay? I¡¯m sorry about the shirt and any poison I got on you.¡± She replied.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Didn¡¯t really even hurt.¡± Titania stated.


    They sat there for a while longer until it was time for the shift change.


    ¡°Just remember that you don¡¯t need to carry everything alone. You have a couple really good friends.¡± Titania said as she got up and went to her tent. Gaia sat for a few more minutes before going to her tent and waking up Ferguson.


    She laid down to sleep for the night while cuddling with her constant little protector and fell asleep. She didn¡¯t sleep well though as she woke up multiple times throughout the night from nightmares. Malachite cuddling up to her helped her calm down and be able to go back to sleep.


    She woke up early the next morning from one of the nightmares. She made her way out of the tent to hear Griff and Francois chatting.


    ¡°Oh. Morning Gaia.¡± They said.


    ¡°Good morning.¡± She replied as she made her way to the campfire. She didn¡¯t know how she looked but didn¡¯t feel great as she didn¡¯t get much sleep. She just hoped she looked better than she felt.


    ¡°Can you help us with some breakfast?¡± Francois asked a bit hesitantly.


    ¡°I¡¯d be happy to!¡± She replied cheerily.


    Once again, she was happily stirring a pot of soup over the fire. They¡¯d had the same stews and soups for most of their trip outside of lunches which were mainly some jerky and bread. It made it easy for her help with as she could find the ingredients by touch from helping a few times. This morning, she asked Francois if she could add some of the spices, she had to change the taste a bit since it had been the same food for a few days. He allowed it and liked what she¡¯d done. The spices she had mainly consisted of things that tasted similar to peppers on earth. Francois asked what they were, and she told him happily.


    He then explained that this area didn¡¯t use spices regularly as they were viewed as unnecessary and a luxury. The only exceptions were inns and taverns as they mainly catered to travelers. To Gaia these spices were essential as back home she used many different spices when she¡¯d cooked. Without them things still tasted good but a bit bland. She loved learning more about the world she was in, so she listened intently to Francois¡¯ explanation.


    He finished talking as Ferguson and Titania woke up and joined them. They got some of the soup and when they tasted it their eyes widened slightly, and they quickly devoured it. When Gaia told them what was different, they asked her to help with food until they got back to Boundary. She happily agreed and the entire request group packed up and continued on. The entire way back went without incident, and they arrived back at Boundary the next day. The group went to the Hunter¡¯s League and made their report before receiving their payment.


    It was around fifteen bronze cores for Flora and a bronze core for each team along with around forty stone cores. The parties happily accepted their payment and separated. Flora and Gaia''s party stayed together after the other two left. Titania then told the receptionist about the incident with Gaia. The receptionist swiftly checked with her to make sure she was truly alright.


    Gaia said she was and both parties were given an extra fifty stone cores for dealing with the situation. Gaia herself was given thirty stone cores for some reparations but was just happy the situation was officially over and done with. She was worried Titania¡¯s party would have been charged for what occurred but apparently it was seen as normal for the offender to be killed in those situations. Mainly for the safety of the entire group. She understood why but still had to wrap her head around the fact that death was a very normal punishment for a lot of crimes in this world.


    She¡¯d have to talk to Griff and Ferguson about it. After they finished with the report the parties split up to do what they wanted. Gaia and her group decided to head back to the inn and rest for the rest of the day. They¡¯d go shopping for items tomorrow and get back to requests the day after. The Mana Torrent should begin within a few days of them taking requests again. It was like a looming shadow that had been slowly approaching and would reach them soon.


    They¡¯d prepare new equipment and items for it tomorrow when they shopped. She was kinda looking forward to shopping. While she had trouble actually doing so it was fun to feel things and realize what they were. It was almost like opening a present as she didn¡¯t know what it was until she analyzed it. It was always exciting to do and the shops she went to were all introduced to her by Ferguson, Griff, or Titania¡¯s party so they all knew and understood why she did things. The store owners were all patient, kind and helpful. She was up for a while thinking of what she should buy until she eventually fell into slumber for the night.

 Chapter Eight

    Gaia was still having trouble sleeping and woke up multiple times a night. She knew her room was safe but was still paranoid that what happened would occur again. She stayed awake after the third nightmare and just focused on practicing with her webs and Mana Influence. She had been at it for a few hours when she heard a knock at her door and Griff asking if she was awake. She said yes and they went to get breakfast. Ferguson joined them a few minutes later.


    After breakfast they went to check out the stores and stalls. They went through most of the armor shops. Griff was looking for a new set of armor that would be stronger but still flexible. He didn¡¯t find anything he liked until they arrived at Will and Summer¡¯s shop. He found a leather armor set that was made from some kind of reptile hide. It covered his chest and legs but left his arms uncovered. Ferguson got himself a cuirass made from monster scales. Gaia didn¡¯t find anything she needed as her armor was always active.


    They continued looking around the shops and didn¡¯t find much. Griff found himself a set of scaled arm guards and shin guards that would allow him to block attacks instead of dodging. Ferguson found himself a short sword and a new knife to defend himself in close combat. Gaia felt around the stalls and shops but didn¡¯t find anything until she found a small stone. It was oblong and felt hard to the touch. It felt like it was calling to her when she touched it but didn¡¯t know why.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Just a nice smooth black stone. It dropped from a monster, but no one knows what it is. I thought I could sell it for decoration. No one¡¯s wanted it, though.¡± The man stated.


    ¡°How much do you want for it?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Wait. You actually want it? Then I¡¯ll take ten stone cores for it.¡± He said after a moment.


    She quickly took out ten stone cores and handed them to the man. She then took the odd stone. She still didn¡¯t understand why it felt like it was calling to her, but she held onto it. They went around to a few different shops until she heard Jess call out to her.


    ¡°Hey what are you guys doing?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re out shopping for some things. We¡¯ve mainly gotten equipment though.¡± Griff replied.


    ¡°Well, have y¡¯all gotten new clothes yet?¡± Jess asked.


    ¡°No. Why would I need any?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°You always need some. You¡¯re always wearing the same dress, aren¡¯t you?¡± She replied.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s from my armor. It repairs itself.¡±


    ¡°So, you haven¡¯t gotten any new clothes since you got the armor?¡± Jess asked incredulously.


    ¡°No. I don¡¯t need it.¡±


    ¡°Ferguson. Griff. You two will be helping me select some clothes for her.¡± Jess stated.


    ¡°What?¡± All three replied.


    ¡°You heard me.¡± Jess stated as she started pushing them towards a store.


    If there is one thing Gaia never wanted to do again it was shop for clothes with Jess. Jess was extremely surprised when she found out Gaia didn¡¯t even have undergarments. So, she took her time to choose multiple for Gaia to wear. It took them around five hours of trying clothes on before she let the party go with around five new dresses. That didn¡¯t even include the other things Jess bought for Gaia and made her promise to wear.


    Gaia now officially hated women¡¯s clothing. Everything felt restricting. The only comfortable thing she had was the armor¡¯s dress form which was loose and comfortable. The worst part was that she couldn¡¯t even put half of the dresses on without assistance. She had some clothes to wear if she needed to dress nicely, at least that¡¯s what she thought.


    After the ordeal with Jess and the clothes they made their way back to the inn. She had her armor out in her usual long dress but realized she still had on one of the dresses. Her armor was somehow over the new dress which was odd as it didn¡¯t feel like it was when she walked. When they got back to the inn she put her new dresses in her room, dropped her armor as they were back, and went to get dinner. She walked over and knocked on the guy''s room. Ferguson opened the door and just stared for a moment before letting her in. She asked them if they wanted to go get dinner and they agreed. She walked towards the tavern. The dress she wore was floor length and mostly black with red lace around the bottom with some red ribbons across the front. It also had a couple small red roses made from ribbon on each side of her hips. As they walked, she felt the guys staring.


    ¡°What?¡± She finally asked.


    ¡°You just look really good in the dress.¡± They stated almost in unison.


    ¡°Ok? That doesn¡¯t mean you have to stare.¡± She stated questioningly.


    The two seemed flustered for a moment before they averted their gaze, and the group ate dinner. She felt a few more stares while they ate but was able to just ignore them. After dinner she went back to her room and used her analyze skill on the stone she¡¯d bought earlier that day.


    Familiar¡¯s Egg. - Can be bound by blood. Once bound, hatches immediately. Egg holds a familiar that has yet to be hatched.


    She just stared at the screen and reread it a few times before she charged into the guys room.


    ¡°Do you two know what a familiar is?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s a monster made from a person¡¯s mana that is bound to them. They can have a variety of different abilities. Why?¡± Griff asked.


    ¡°This is a Familiars egg.¡± She stated holding it out.


    ¡°What? That¡¯s not possible. They can only be made and bound through a familiar ability or skill. How did an egg for one appear?¡± He asked incredulously.


    ¡°Do you know what kind it is?¡± Fergus asked.


    ¡°No. I won¡¯t know until it hatches.¡± She stated.


    ¡°Then try and hatch it.¡± He suggested.


    ¡°Do you have a knife I can use?¡± She asked.


    She felt the handle of a blade be put in her free hand. She quickly made a small cut in one of her fingers and placed it on the egg. A moment later the sound of cracking of stone started. It lasted for around a minute before it stopped and heard a small yip. It sounded like a puppy which was weird, but she felt the area she¡¯d put the egg. There was a small puppy sitting in the cracked shell.


    Its fur felt extremely soft, but her hand would occasionally feel like it was passing through the creature. She just pet it for a while before Griff and Ferguson came closer and went to pet it. It made the smallest, cutest growl she¡¯d ever heard. It was more adorable than threatening. She told it they were friends and after a couple minutes they were petting the little dog happily.


    ¡°What color is it?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s black, like pitch black.¡± Griff replied.


    This made Gaia think about her dog from earth. She¡¯d had a large black lab she¡¯d named Shadow. She decided it was a fitting name for the puppy and thus it was named Shadow. After a few more minutes of loving on the little fur ball she analyzed it using her skill.


    Name - Shadow


    Race ¨C Shadow Hound Familiar


    Rank - Normal


    Level - 1


    Title:


    Hatched Bond ¨C Familiar has had no bond before. Familiar has a parental bond with Hatcher. Senses can be shared through bond. When used, sense cannot be used by other entity.


    Skills:


    Bite


    Claw ¨C Creature attacks by slashing its claws. Has a small chance to inflict the bleed condition.


    Shape change ¨C Creature can change its shape into any other creature of its rank or lower.


    Abilities:


    Incorporeal body ¨C Creature has an incorporeal body and can shift between an incorporeal and corporal state. All of creature''s attacks deal magic damage and effect incorporeal enemies.


    Keen senses ¨C Creature has heightened smell and hearing. Extremely loud noises can cause deafened condition.


    Strength ¨C 1


    Resistance ¨C 1 (???)


    Recovery ¨C 1


    Reflex ¨C 10


    Spirit ¨C 1 (Poison)


    Tamer Quest: Raise Hatched Familiar Shadow to Stone rank. 0/1


    Gaia stared at the screen for a while. She reread it multiple times and every time she stopped at one specific section. ¡°Senses can be shared.¡± She thought about that for a while. She might be able to see through its eyes, but it would make Shadow blind while she did. She decided to try it after Shadow ranked up and only use it sparingly. She also looked at the question marks next to the Resistance stat and wondered what they meant. For now, she just picked up Shadow and went back to her room for the night.


    The next morning, after the group had finished breakfast, Gaia decided to check everyone¡¯s status. Ferguson and Griff had asked her to check their statuses as well. They could check their own but couldn¡¯t check anyone else¡¯s without an ability. This gave Gaia an idea. She used her analyze skill on herself and tried to make it appear for them as well. It didn¡¯t work at first, but she did have a screen pop up in front of her.


    Create party with Ferguson Carrelion and Griffon Magnus?


    Yes/No


    She clicked yes and heard the other to start for a second. Then heard them say they could see it.


    Name ¨C Gaia


    Race ¨C Earthbound Lost


    Titles:


    Unwanted


    Cracked Spirit


    Blasphemer


    ??? ¨C Stat and Level Limit increased.


    Class ¨C Unwanted Tamer


    Rank ¨C Stone


    Level ¨C 23


    Bonds ¨C 3/3 (Effected by Spirit)


    Skills:


    Ability copy ¨C Copied Abilities (2/3)


    Spirit Bond


    Earth Glide


    Healing Shot


    Abilities:


    Tamer¡¯s Guide


    Defensive Nature


    Web Manipulation


    Toxic Spirit


    Irradiated Defense ¨C Defensive barrier has Radiation magic emanating from it. Whenever defensive barrier is struck, attacker is inflicted with radiation poisoning.


    Bound items:


    Living Silk Armor


    Barbed Vines (Barbed Seeds)


    Strength ¨C 33 (Unbound)


    Resistance ¨C 440 (Radiation)


    Recovery ¨C 137 (Unbound)


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Reflex ¨C 38 (Unbound)


    Spirit ¨C 490 (Poison)


    Radiation Poisoning ¨C Condition. Causes low damage over time. Instances refresh when inflicted again. Instances can stack. Afflicted entity has strength stat slightly reduced when inflicted and worsens as instances increase.


    She saw that she had spot to copy an ability and chose to copy Keen Senses. This would make it easier for her to tell the general direction something was by sound and smell. It would be more helpful in every situation compared to Shadow¡¯s other ability. Ferguson and Griff stared at her status screen aghast for a bit before she pulled up Malachite and Liv¡¯s Status screens.


    Name - Malachite


    Race ¨C Speed Turtle (Stone-hide)


    Rank - Stone


    Level - 23


    Title - Unchosen bond


    Skills:


    Bite


    Hide


    Size change


    Shell bash


    Water shot


    Abilities:


    Defensive Nature


    Creator of Currents


    Strength ¨C 33


    Resistance ¨C 440 (Radiation)


    Recovery ¨C 161


    Reflex ¨C 321


    Spirit ¨C 161 (Poison)


    Name - Liv


    Race ¨C Living Weave


    Rank - Stone


    Level - 12


    Title - Unchosen bond


    Skills:


    Bite


    Bind


    Poison Shot


    Trapped Webs


    Abilities:


    Web manipulation


    Woven Webs


    Strength ¨C 43


    Resistance ¨C 43 (Radiation)


    Recovery ¨C 85


    Reflex ¨C 64


    Spirit ¨C 430 (Poison)


    The entire group looked at their stats and almost couldn¡¯t believe their eyes. Some of the stats they had were well above what they should be for their rank and level. They also looked at the monsters'' highest stats and realized that each of them was specialized for a role. Malachite with his high resistance and reflex stats was set to be a vanguard. He could keep attention on him for long periods and take quite a few strong hits even if he couldn¡¯t dodge them. Liv on the other hand was set up to be a mid to rearguard. She had some skills that allowed her to control multiple monsters at a time and some to deal damage from a long range.


    Gaia was set to be a mid-guard as she could control multiple enemies and make it easier for any monsters to be dealt with quickly. Her damage over time abilities made her perfect for this as she could inflict a multitude of enemies at a time and could bind them while the others dealt with any stronger monsters. After realizing this Griff and Fergus let her analyze them.


    Name ¨C Ferguson Carrelion


    Race ¨C Human


    Titles:


    Gale Loved ¨C All ranged attacks have the wind attribute.


    Wind whisperer ¨C All attacks that have the wind attribute deal increased damage.


    Class ¨C Bowman


    Rank ¨C Stone


    Level ¨C 23


    Skills:


    Gale Arrow ¨C When an arrow is imbued with mana it gains a wind barrier. Wind barriers increase the arrows speed and damage.


    Arrow Stab - Attacks with arrows at melee range  deal slightly higher damage. The first melee strike with an arrow deals high damage.


    Multi-Shot ¨C Allows multiple arrows to be fired at once to the maximum of Three.


    Gust Blade ¨C Fires a small blade of Wind attribute mana towards an enemy within fifty feet. Damage and blade size can be increased by increasing mana cost.


    Wind Barrier ¨C A Wind Barrier is constantly in place around the holder. Causes physical projectiles to miss the holder. Does not effect magical projectiles..


    Abilities:


    Ranged Proficiency ¨C All attacks with ranged weapons have a higher accuracy. All attacks with  melee weapons deal reduced damage.


    Bow mastery ¨C All attacks with bows have increased accuracy and deal increased damage.


    Swordsmanship ¨C Attacks with swords deal slightly higher damage.


    Volley ¨C Shortens the time required to reload when firing multiple shots.


    Bow combat ¨C Slight increase to damage when making melee attacks with a bow or arrow.


    Bound items:


    Seed of Range/Vine Bow


    Strength ¨C 138


    Resistance ¨C 74


    Recovery ¨C 170


    Reflex ¨C 490 (Wind)


    Spirit ¨C 170


    Name ¨C Griffon Magnus


    Race ¨C Human


    Titles:


    Mana Circulator ¨C Mana naturally circulates through title holder''s body. Physical attacks deal increased damage and magic damage. Reduces aging process.


    Mana Efficient ¨C All skills and attacks that require mana have a reduced cost.


    Class ¨C Magic Martial Artist


    Rank ¨C Stone


    Level ¨C 23


    Skills


    Shoulder charge ¨C User rams an enemy with their shoulder dealing low damage. The longer the run before a hit the higher damage is dealt. Knocks the monster back depending on momentum. Has a chance to stagger the enemy.


    Palm strike ¨C User slams an enemy with their palm dealing high damage ignoring resistance. Can be charged using mana to increase damage.


    Counter ¨C User redirects an enemy¡¯s attack and counters using their momentum. Deals high damage. Low chance to stun.


    Mana Shot¨C Fires a small bolt of mana towards an enemy within fifty feet. Range and damage can be increased by increasing mana cost.


    Healing Shot


    Abilities:


    Unarmed Proficiency ¨C All attacks made without weapons deal increased damage.


    Mana dense ¨C Defensive Barrier is enhanced by mana and can use entity¡¯s mana reserves to replenish.


    Lightweight ¨C Damage increases while not wearing metal armor.


    Magical Martial arts ¨C All unarmed attacks deal additional magic damage.


    Mana Bound ¨C Reflex and Spirit stat are bound and grow at an increased rate at the cost of resistance.


    Bound items:


    Wooden Impact Gauntlets (Seeds of Impact)


    Strength ¨C 170


    Resistance ¨C 42


    Recovery ¨C 170


    Reflex ¨C 330


    Spirit ¨C 330 (Unattributed)


    They all read through their abilities. Griff and Ferguson read through their own and then through everyone''s. They quickly explained that while their own statuses showed them their own skills and abilities they weren¡¯t as detailed as what her ability showed. For example, Fergusons Arrow Stab ability just stated he could stab something with an arrow to deal a lot of damage. Now he knew it would work with all such attacks but the first dealt more damage. This let them get a better grasp on their own abilities.


    As they read their statuses, they all stopped at the odd title Gaia had. It increased her stat and level limit. This was an odd thing as when someone reached level one hundred, they were stuck at that level until they ranked up. This meant she could continue to level up beyond that limit until she could rank up. She could increase her level and stats, but her skills and abilities wouldn¡¯t improve until ranking up. This was both a blessing and a curse. It would make it harder to rank up as she would hit her limit later, but she would be stronger starting out at the next rank.


    This would also make it harder to keep up with her teammates. Griff and Ferguson were both humans. This meant they obtained more abilities during normal rank and that they¡¯d  level up a bit quicker. Therefore, they would also rank up a bit sooner than her. They had explained this to her, but it hadn¡¯t really mattered until this new title changed that for her. This would cause her to rank up much later than them.


    She was worried what that would mean for their future hunts and activities but knew that her teammates would stick with her. They decided to worry about how that would affect them when they reached that point. They went back to their rooms and prepared for the day. They would take a couple requests to get back into a rhythm since the Mana Torrent should start within another day or two.


    They took two requests, both of which were stone rank subjugation requests. One was for a monster known as a Mantis Beetle which was an insect creature that was a mix between a praying mantis and a beetle. It had a pair of scythe-like appendages from a praying mantis with the pincers of a stag beetle and had a carapace that was as hard as iron. It was also around the size of a small house. They were known to be solitary monsters so there would likely only be one but had been seen in pairs before. The second request was for a beast type monster known as a Behemoth Hexabeast. It was similar to a Bison but had six legs and two large hippo-like heads. It was a quick monster and was known to be difficult to defeat since it used its swift movements to dodge attacks and would become enraged and attack wildly when it was heavily wounded.


    Both requests were within an hour walk from each other. The Mantis Beetle request was from a small village just within the Shimmering Forest and the Behemoth Hexabeast request was just outside the forest towards the west. It was mainly plains in that direction and was where some farming villages were located. They decided to go for the Mantis Beetle first since it would require them to go into the forest. The group swiftly made their way to the village and were greeted by a group of villagers waiting at the main gate.


    ¡°Hello there. I am this Villages leader. Are you all the Hunters here for the monsters?¡± An elderly man asked.


    ¡°Yes, we are sir. Can you tell us what you know about them?¡± Griff answered.


    ¡°These young ones can tell you. They were the ones to see them.¡± The Elder explained.


    ¡°Ah. Yes. I saw one of ¡®em. It was flying around the trees about a mile to the west of the village. It was a big black beetle creature. It was cutting the trees in its way, and I ran as soon as I saw it.¡± A young man stated.


    ¡°I saw the other one. It was around the same area as I saw a bunch of cut trees but was smaller than what he described. It was around the size of a horse and was a brownish color.¡± A young woman added.


    ¡°So, there¡¯s likely two of them. Since they¡¯re different sizes and colors I¡¯m guessing a male and female. I¡¯m guessing the male tracked her here since they were seen on different days.¡± Ferguson suggested.


    ¡°Sounds like a good guess.¡± Said Gaia.


    ¡°Thank you. We¡¯d best start heading in that direction.¡± Griff told the villagers as their party started to head to the spot the monsters were sighted.


    They arrived at the area within the hour and began to follow the trail of sliced trees and small holes from the monsters'' movements. They tracked the monsters for a couple hours before finding them. It appeared that it was the monsters mating season as they found one of the monsters doing something with its pincers in front of the other, at least that¡¯s what Griff described to Gaia.


    They quickly made a plan of attack. The larger one was a female and could fly so they would need to trap its wings to keep it on the ground. The other one was a male which couldn¡¯t fly but was quicker on its legs. Malachite would carry Gaia out, she and Liv would use their webs to bind the females wings while Malachite attacked the male and kept its attention. Griff would help Malachite deal with the male while Fergus would have his arrows ready to hit the females wings if she broke free. He would also back up both groups by using his Gale Arrows to deal some damage to each but would focus on the female.


    With the plan ready they enacted it. Gaia was on Malachite''s back as he ran out towards the monsters. He was creating water shots as he ran. Liv was moving around Gaias armor and took control over it to create the body suit as she prepared some poison shots and some trapped web balls. Gaia made her webs and was sending them out, when one finally touched one of the monsters, she hopped off Malachite''s shell. Before she hit the ground Malachite had already changed her chair into his poisoned spikes and he charged towards the smaller monster before bashing his spike covered shell into it.


    Liv had thrown her trapped webs out which were small balls of webs that when they hit a surface unraveled into a large web. One hit the female beetle and wrapped around the back of its shell forcing her wings shut. She¡¯d also sent her poison shots out and hit the female beetle. Gaia was wrapping her webs around the female and binding her wings even tighter while trying to bind its blades appendages. Her attempts kept it from being able to cut the webs Liv had attached.


    Griff had sprinted in soon after Malachite had rushed forward and had activated his gauntlets before slamming into the male with a shoulder charge. This shoved the monster back about ten feet before it regained its balance and moved towards them. Fergus was firing Gale Arrows at the females bladed arms trying to cut one of them off. The shots were distracting the monster and one even bound it with vines. This allowed Gaia to wrap up the appendages in her webs and bound them to its body. The monster wasn¡¯t going to be able to unbind itself easily.


    This allowed Ferguson to focus on the male. Griff and Malachite were dealing constant damage to the monster and Fergusons arrows added to them. Within about a minute and a half the monster was dead and they all focused on the female that was bound by webs. Gaia had been poisoning the monster with her webs and it was slowly being dealt more and more damage. It didn¡¯t last but a minute after that with the entire group focused on it.


    They were relaxing before setting out towards the second request when she realized Shadow had leveled up a few times. She picked up the little fur-ball that had stayed back by Ferguson during the fight and pet her while they relaxed. The other two also came closer to love on the puppy. Looking at Shadow¡¯s level, Gaia realized that if they took one more stone rank request when they got back, Shadow would likely rank up.


    They discussed the idea as they headed towards the second request and decided that they¡¯d discuss it after they returned. It took them about half an hour to arrive at the area for the second request. When they arrived, they could immediately tell something was off. Malachite sent her an image through their bond of the area. It was an area that looked like it had once been a farm with a house. Now it was a barren area that appeared to have been completely trampled with some wooden ruins to one side of the road. The only thing still standing was a thick stone wall that appeared to have had a chimney in one section. Shadow was between Griff and Gaia as they approached.


    Fergus quickly started scanning the area around them cautiously. Griff did the same while Fergus started to move towards the area where the house had been. As he was heading towards it, Gaia heard the sound of hooves rapidly approaching from that direction.


    ¡°Fergus! I think it¡¯s coming towards us!¡± She yelled.


    He moved to run back as a massive impact could be heard. Soon after she could hear the sound of stones slamming into the ground around them. The sound of the hooves didn¡¯t stop though, she could hear them swiftly approaching them. She quickly sent out her webs and focused them all in the direction of the noise. When she felt something heavy and fast hit them, she tried to bind the legs, but it was too quick for her to be able wrap them enough to stop it. It shredded the thin webs as it ran through the group.


    Liv started to make her trapped webs and threw them all around the group with thin passages between for Griff to run through. Malachite had already rushed after the beast when it passed them the first time. Liv had prepared more trapped webs for when the monster came back towards them. Fergus was launching arrows at the monster but only landed a few shots as it was too fast for him to be able to aim accurately. Griff was poised, ready for when the monster came in for another rush.


    After a few seconds the monster turned and started racing towards the group again. When it reached Liv¡¯s webs it slowed but continued barreling through them as Liv hit it with more. Gaia had weaved all of her webs together to make a singular thick thread and wrapped the monsters back legs with it. This time as the monster hit another of Liv¡¯s web traps it stopped as the first trap had slowed it and bound its front two legs. The second had bound its middle pair and Gaia had successfully bound its back set. It slid a few feet before stopping. Gaia and Liv swiftly started using more webs to make the binding more secure.


    The monster was strong and was already trying to break through the webbing. It was also snapping its jaws at the party as they got close, so they stayed towards its center mass. Thankfully, Gaia''s webs had also already started poisoning the monster. Once the monster had been stopped Griff started pummeling the monster with attacks. He started with a shoulder charge as Fergus was firing arrow after arrow into the monsters hide. Malachite had caught up and hit the monster with a shell bash as he made his spikes. Gaia continuously created webs to keep the monster bound while using her vines to cut the monster and bleed it. Liv was doing the same and making trapped webs which she lobbed at the creature and used some poison shots to hit with some extra damage.


    Malachite continued to bite the creature while also using some mana to create water shots that pelted the creature as it was trapped. Griff just finished unloading a massive combination of attacks when the monster let out a maddened roar. As it did it seemed to grow and bulk up by a good foot, and it broke free from the webs. It broke through their traps and formation. It was stronger and quicker than before as it made its way in a semicircular around them almost instantly. Gaia was stunned and had ringing in her ears from the monster''s roar and didn¡¯t notice it until it started charging towards them. They didn¡¯t realize it had passed them and had Griff in its jaws.


    They panicked and swiftly starting firing arrows and poison or water shots at the monster as it charged in a circle around them biting Griff. It made a quick turn and charged towards them with its second head. This time they were able to dodge thanks to Malachite hitting it with a shell bash that knocked it away from Fergus. This caused it to change its target to Gaia though. Shadow was by Fergus and tried to jump between them to block the attack but was too slow.


    Gaia was quickly snapped up in the monster''s second maw, it¡¯s tusks attempting to dig into her. Liv had activated her armor at the beginning of the fight, so it wasn¡¯t a horrible situation. It was also only hurting her defensive barrier which in turn was dealing damage and causing its attacks and strength to weaken with each hit. Fergus was hitting the monster with arrows less frequently as he didn¡¯t want to hit one of his teammates that were now attached to it. Griff was punching the monster while it held him but had been dealing less and less damage as his mana was drained to bolster his barrier. He had managed to break one of its tusks as he attacked it.


    The monster eventually let the two of them go and Fergus let loose with a bunch of his multi-shot skill. Each attack having at least two arrows hit as it charged towards him. Malachite was also launching water shots as it barreled towards them. As it neared it abruptly lost its strength and its legs gave out. It buckled and its front head slammed into the ground as it started to bounce end over end for a moment before skidding to a stop around thirty feet past Fergus. He quickly shot more arrows to ensure its death and sprinted towards his friends.


    Griff had gotten up and was a bit frazzled from the ordeal but was otherwise alright. It was the same for Gaia and she thanked Liv for activating her armor.  The group rested for a moment before going over to where the monster had quickly started to dissolve. There weren¡¯t any items that it dropped but they were thankful to see that the monster was truly dead.

 Chapter Nine

    By the time they had made their way back to the Hunter¡¯s League and received their reward, it was just afternoon. They also checked the requests that were nearby to see if there were any they could do quickly. There were a few options, but they quickly decided on a subjugation request for a stone rank monster known as a Stonetera. These were large ants, around the size of a small child, that had stone carapaces. They also had massive mandibles, and a few were even able to spit acid.


    They were monsters that tended to swarm areas. The request was to defeat the Stonetera in a certain area and report back how many there were. The League would then determine whether they needed to send a scouting party out to find the monster''s hive. Stonetera were monsters that didn¡¯t have much impact on their surroundings and were left alone for the most part unless their scouts appeared near a city like the current request. They even had a beneficial impact by causing most monsters to avoid them due to the size of their swarms. Many cities and villages have one of their nests within ten miles of them.


    The request detailed that there were only around ten that had been seen nearby. The party quickly started heading towards the area. It took them about two hours to reach the area. It was to the city¡¯s north which consisted of hilly terrain and a few scattered trees. The area they were to search was about two miles in diameter. It had a part of a small forest at its northern most point, a few hills, and a large sinkhole about a hundred feet deep. They checked the forest and found one of the monsters which they swiftly dealt with.


    They found another behind one of the hills that Fergus killed with a few well-placed shots and a third just outside the sinkhole that Liv bound while Malachite bit it to death. They looked around everywhere else but couldn¡¯t find any more of the monsters. They decided to check the sinkhole and Gaia heard chittering coming from the bottom. The other two peeked over the edge and barely dodged a blob of acid that one of the monsters had spit towards them.


    They counted and found the remaining seven within the large pit. They decided to attack the monsters from the rim of the hole. Fergus fired off arrow after arrow into the pit. Griff shot some spells into the pit. Liv and Malachite fired off their magic shots at the monster as well. Gaia made small balls from her webs and hurled them into the pit hoping to hit some of the monsters and start poisoning them. Around an hour later the monsters had all been killed. The party made their way back to the city as they thought about the next day.


    Tomorrow was the day the Mana Torrent was believed to start in full force. Tomorrow everything was going to be hectic. So, they were planning to do some stocking up of their necessities and repair on their equipment when they returned. They walked into the Hunters League which was like a wall of noise it hurt her ears a bit but wasn¡¯t too loud. People were running around everywhere. The party bumped into a few on their way to the receptionist counter. They collected their rewards and started to leave when another announcement stating, tomorrow is the day, appeared in the center of the building.


    The party left and quickly went to the craftsmen to get their equipment repaired. They maintained their own but couldn¡¯t repair them themselves. The repairs only took a couple hours, and they were back in the Inn about an hour after dark. They ate and promptly returned to their rooms. This was when Gaia had the screen pop up.


    Hatched Familiar: Shadow would like to rank up.


    Allow? Yes/No


    She chose yes.


    Shadow will rank up. Error. Hatched Bond detected. Hatched Bond will Evolve.


    Name - Shadow


    Race ¨C Shadow Hound Familiar (Stone Fang)


    Rank - Stone


    Level - 1


    Title:


    Hatched Bond


    Skills:


    Bite


    Claw


    Shape change


    Guard ¨C Creature dashes in front of an ally and blocks an attack meant for them by redirecting the attack to the user. All damage taken is significantly reduced.


    Abilities:


    Incorporeal body


    Keen senses


    Protector ¨C All damage taken when blocking for an ally increases recovery stat for a short period.


    Strength ¨C 71


    Resistance ¨C 81 (Radiation)


    Recovery ¨C 21


    Reflex ¨C 101


    Spirit ¨C 50 (Poison)


    Tamer Quest: Raise Hatched Familiar Shadow to Stone rank 1/1.


    Reward: Bonds have increased potentials.


    She had no clue what the reward meant so she glossed over it for now. Instead, she went to pet Shadow and discovered she¡¯d grown. She¡¯d become around the size of a large dog. Her fur was also softer than before but felt like it was stronger at the same time. It also seemed like Shadow had a better grasp on her ability to switch between a corporeal and incorporeal form since Gaia could now fully hug the large wolf. Gaia stood and Shadow hopped up on her hind legs and licked her face. Gaia pet Shadow for a while before going to lay down for the night. Shadow hopped up on the bed and joined the cuddle pile which now had four participants. Malachite was his small form cuddled by her face, Liv was crawling around and stuck by her head, and Shadow was sprawled out by her stomach. Gaia cuddled with her bonds before swiftly falling asleep.


    She awoke early the next morning to Shadow and Malachite nuzzling her. She got dressed and went out to the tavern area. She stopped by the guy''s room on the way and knocked but didn¡¯t get a reply, so she continued on. When she got to the tavern she heard Griff call to her.


    ¡°Gaia. Over here.¡± He called as Shadow guided her over.


    ¡°Is that Shadow?¡± Fergus asked.


    ¡°Yeah. She ranked up last night. She¡¯s gotten bigger!¡± She replied excitedly.


    She heard shadow happily yap a couple times as the guys lavished her with pets while she ordered breakfast for herself. She quickly ate before they started discussing what the plan was.


    ¡°I¡¯m thinking of taking some regular requests if we can, but we should be prepared in case they hold off on regular requests.¡± Griff said.


    ¡°I agree. There¡¯s the chance they¡¯ll keep all the stone rankers close to town in case of a stampede.¡± Fergus added.


    ¡°I want to do some requests as well but what¡¯s a stampede? Is it a large group of monsters?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s a large group of monsters that either spawn together or group up as they move towards a city. They are extremely common during a Mana Torrent. They also come from new portals that spawn randomly. There have even been some that spawn inside cities.¡± Fergus replied.


    ¡°How long do Mana Torrents last and are all the portals permanent?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Mana Torrents can last anywhere from a single day to years long. No one is able to determine the length of one beforehand. They only find out it¡¯s ending by the mana increase subsiding. For portals, not all portals are permanent. There are many that close when someone goes in and defeats the monster that controls it. We call these portals Sub-dimensions. They can be anywhere from a single room to a land that expands hundreds of miles. The lower its rank the smaller it is though.¡± Griff explained.


    ¡°So, during Mana Torrents the League keeps its lower rank hunters close to the city for their protection, since portals can spawn anywhere, and to help defend if a portal spawns inside a city or a stampede starts heading towards it?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yep. They also keep the highest ranked adventurer team in the city for that reason as well. They only send them out when a strong monster is coming close to the city or when they need to rescue a group of adventurers.¡± Fergus replied.


    ¡°Ok. I think I understand it all now.¡±


    After their discussion they went to the Hunter¡¯s League. When they arrived, it was a flurry of activity. Gaia could hear people yelling orders, questions, and answers around everywhere. With her heightened hearing it started to really hurt her ears. She could hear hundreds of conversations all at once. She covered her ears and turned around trying to exit as the noise increased. She walked straight into the wall before her teammates noticed she¡¯d left. She followed the wall until she left the building and realized she couldn¡¯t actually hear anything.


    Gaia sat down a distance from the entrance when Shadow put her head under Gaias hand, and she could feel Shadow was whimpering. She comforted her familiar while Liv just sat on her shoulder and Malachite stood in front of her on guard. Her ears were still ringing from the massive wall of noise that she could still hear, albeit quite a bit quieter. She hadn¡¯t thought about that kind of situation when she obtained her Keen Senses ability. Now she had to worry about loud noises. If there was a sudden loud noise, would she be completely deafened now?


    This was the big question that ran through her head. She started worrying that whenever they had to deal with a situation where there was a massive amount of noise or sudden loud noises she¡¯d be more of a liability than normal. She was stewing over those thoughts while she comforted and pet Shadow who had attempted to curl up in her lap but was now big enough that only her head and paws fit. The ringing in her ears had started to die down about a minute later and she could hear Fergus and Griff saying something.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± They both asked worriedly.


    ¡°I-I am now. My new heightened hearing made all the noise hurt and my ears started ringing. I couldn¡¯t hear anything until now. Sorry.¡± She said apologetically.


    ¡°You¡¯re fine. We were just worried when we turned and saw you had disappeared. Then you weren¡¯t saying anything to us when we found you.¡± Fergus said relieved.


    ¡°Yeah, and sorry. I forgot you pretty much just got it. It wasn¡¯t this loud last night so it makes sense it wasn¡¯t as bad.¡± Griff stated.


    ¡°Sorry. I just think it will take a while before I can block stuff out or get used to that much noise. All of it at once was just too much for me. I can still hear half of what their yelling from here.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s some good hearing then. We¡¯ll go and check the requests that are available and come back out to discuss them. Would that work for you?¡± Fergus asked.


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    ¡°Yeah. I can have Liv go with you. She should be able to listen and relay some of the information to me through our bond.¡± She told them.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that right Liv¡± She asked out loud.


    ¡°Yep. I can.¡± Liv replied through their bond


    Liv crawled down from Gaia¡¯s shoulder and crawled up Fergus to perch on his head. She liked being high up and seemed to be extremely happy that Fergus was quite tall. She sent happy emotions through her bond and Gaia relayed them to Fergus before he walked into the building. While they went to get the information for the requests Gaia focused on trying to acclimate to her hearing. She would get a bit closer to the entrance and stop a bit before her ears would start hurting. Then stayed there until she got used to the noise and could focus on certain parts. She would focus on trying to hear a certain voice until that¡¯s all she heard or could hear it clearly through the noise then move a bit closer and continued to do this until her party returned.


    While she did this, she took breaks whenever Liv would send her the info through their bond. The info was choppy since Liv still couldn¡¯t quite fully communicate. It would come through a few words at a time. As she continued to practice talking through the bond, she was starting to be able to make more than two- or three-word sentences. Malachite was around the same skill with his communication, so they were now about equal in speaking ability. She decided to practice talking with them more every night from that point on.


    The available requests were simple. There were two requests available to them for the day. This was to allow each team to be able to have roughly an equal number of requests since all stone ranks needed to stay close to the city. The two requests were for a nest of stone shelled tarantulas that were sighted by the edge of the Shimmering Forest and for a Troll. Trolls were large humanoid creatures that were strong and had a fast regenerative ability. They were slow though so her party should be able to stay away from it and damage it from a distance or dodge it¡¯s attack easily.


    Gaia let the guys know, through Liv who made webs and spelled out the words, that she was alright with them both but was a bit hesitant to take the Tarantula one, since it¡¯s the creature that had blinded her. They held off on the one but took the troll request and had the other held for if when they finished the current one. The party regrouped outside and discussed the plan for the hunt.


    They had decided to name some of the plans to make it quick for them to switch while in battles. For each formation Liv is counted with Gaia since she controls Gaia¡¯s armor while Shadow hadn¡¯t been added in yet. The first formation was called the Shield. It had Malachite and Gaia up front to block the monster while Griff was a mobile middle guard, and Fergus was the rear guard. This allowed Malachite to dodge and keep the monsters attention while Gaia poisoned it and took attacks if needed. This also made it easy for Fergus to attack with his bow and Griff to do hit and run attacks.


    The second formation was called the Sword. This had Griff and Malachite up front with Gaia in the middle guard and Fergus once again in the rearguard. This focused on damage output but used a similar placement. The third was called the Spear and had Malachite with Gaia on his back, Fergus in the middle and Griff in the back. This allowed them to pierce through a horde of monsters while giving Fergus the ability to shoot arrows safer and Griff to defend the back end. The final formation was simply called retreat. It was almost the exact opposite of shield with Gaia and Malachite in the back, Griff in the front and Fergus in the middle. This allowed Gaia and Malachite to defend while they retreated, Fergus could fire on the pursuers, and Griff could attack any monsters they ran into.


    For the current hunt they decided on the Shield formation since the monster was slow but strong. They could have Malachite and Gaia dodge or block attacks while the others attacked from a distance or hit and run attacks. They guessed Gaia would be able to dodge it even with her low reflex stat. This was the only unknown aspect for the fight currently. They would scout the monster out to get a grasp of its capabilities first. This was decided since it was the Mana Torrent, and the monster could have ranked up or be a different variant that changed or appeared because of it.


    The party made their way to the request''s location and when they¡¯d just about arrived, they started to move cautiously. Gaia could hear thumps from somewhere ahead of them and relayed that to the others. She also heard chewing and some sounds that were somewhere between grunts and growls. They slowly continued towards the noise and Griff halted them when the sound was coming from a couple dozen feet in front of them.


    Gaia could hear the creature''s growls and whenever it took a bite of whatever it was eating, she could hear the cracking and crunching of something hard. It reminded her of the sound of bones breaking and rocks cracking. It sickened her. The others could see a humanoid creature around ten or eleven feet tall. It had dark brown skin that looked like tree bark and leaves growing from its head like hair. It was a mass of muscle and looked like a large hill while it sat eating. There was a large tree stump beside it that came to a small shaft at one end that appeared to be what it used as a weapon. In its hands was a large corpse of some monster. It took them a few minutes to realize it was one of the skull shelled tarantulas they were supposed to hunt. There was only a couple legs and half of the monster''s torso left as it raised the corpse to its mouth and chomped on it. There was the sickening crack of magically enhanced bone and a wet chewing noise that escaped. Malachite sent the image to Gaia so she could see the monster.


    The party almost lost everything in their stomach at the image. They turned around and moved away to discuss what they¡¯d found. They went a couple hundred feet away before talking. Before leaving Gaia tried to pull up its status.


    Name ¨C Forest Troll (Stone Rank)


    Level ¨C 45


    ¡°What in the world is that?¡± Asked Fergus.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s a kind of troll from what I can see but I¡¯ve never seen one at stone rank that could kill a skull shelled tarantula. It was eating the thing. That shouldn¡¯t be possible.¡± Griff replied incredulous.


    ¡°I checked its status. It¡¯s a Forest Troll which is Stone rank but level forty-five.¡± Gaia stated.


    ¡°You were able check its status? Good. It¡¯s a much higher level which is bad.¡± Fergus said.


    ¡°Also, it was able to catch and kill one of the tarantulas. Aren¡¯t they fast?¡± Gaia asked.


    The guy''s faces paled at that realization. The tarantulas were strong monsters and fast when in a forest. That meant the monster was likely strong and quick enough to kill it. This meant they were dealing with a much stronger monster and their original plan might not work. They were about to discuss whether to head back to the League and report when Gaia heard something start moving in their direction.


    ¡°I think it might be coming towards us. So do we leave and report or try and fight it?¡± She asked quickly.


    ¡°Let¡¯s head ba-¡± Griff started before he was cut off by the sound of something being swung towards them.


    The party all dove in different directions, but Gaia was too slow and would have gotten hit had Shadow not used her new Guard skill. Shadow was sent flying a small distance but allowed Gaia to get away from the unexpected attack unharmed. She quickly checked on Shadow and thankfully she was almost unscathed just what seemed to be a small bruise had formed. Malachite quickly started to fire some water shots at the troll while he created his spikes and prepared to ram it. Griff and Fergus were calling Gaia¡¯s name worried if she was hurt but upon seeing she was ok they prepared to fight. Fergus called out his bow that grew from his palm while Griff activated his gauntlets that pushed through his skin.


    While this happened, Liv had transformed Gaia¡¯s armor to its bodysuit form and Shadow was running back towards the party. The Troll didn¡¯t wait for the party to regroup, however, and swung its huge club at Griff and Fergus. They quickly dodged but there was a loud swoosh as its club met with nothing. After dodging Griff sprinted in and hit it with his Palm Strike skill hoping to get a strong starting hit in. He landed it but couldn¡¯t charge much as he had to dodge a swing of its club. Malachite used the distraction to run in with a Shell Bash hitting the troll square in the back of its ankle. Fergus was firing arrows using his multi-shot and volley skills together to fire a stream of arrows into its chest.


    Liv was firing some poison shots and trapped webs trying to bind it to the spot and trap its arm to its side. Gaia was using her Mana Influence to try and poison the monster while using her webs to stack the poison quicker. She was also using her vines to try and hold its legs in place while bleeding it. Shadow was following Griff¡¯s example and doing hit and run attacks and using her Guard skill to block for her friends when they couldn¡¯t dodge an attack. She wasn¡¯t as strong as everyone else yet and was having to take more breaks to recharge her barrier.


    The party was hitting the monster with lots of attacks and barely managing to dodge some of the monster''s attacks while Gaia was taking hits. She would be sent flying for a bit before rolling and heading back to the fight. She had her webs out constantly at this point and was slowly causing her poison to stack which constantly dealt more and more damage to the monster.


    Fergus and Griff saw that at the beginning of the fight their attacks were hurting it but it was healing quicker than they could deal damage. Now, after about thirty minutes of fighting the troll, they could see that Gaia¡¯s poison and Radiation were offsetting the monster''s regeneration. The poison was constantly increasing due to her Mana Influence that stacked it and her webs, which she tried to trip the creature with. Shadow was running around the fight defending attacks and biting or cutting the troll with her teeth and claws. Malachite was hitting the monster with water shots, bites, and bashing it with his spiked shell. Griff was able counter a couple of the monsters strikes and stunned it once. It was dazed and allowed everyone to land a few strong hits before it recovered.


    The party was now extremely tired and had been fighting the monster for around an hour. Gaia¡¯s conditions were now dealing more damage than it could heal itself, but the troll just wouldn¡¯t die. Liv¡¯s poison shots were steadily launching towards it. Griff was landing flurries of punches and kicks. Fergus was hitting it with arrow after arrow. Malachite was hitting it constantly with all of his skills. Shadow was running in and out of its reach while still guarding people and biting or scratching it. Gaia was poisoning, bleeding, and irradiating it. The Troll was still swinging its club, albeit much slower than before, but it was still swinging it with a massive amount of force.


    The troll was bloody with hundreds of scratches, bites, and punctures on its entire body. It mustered up its strength and swung its gigantic club down towards Gaia. Shadow swiftly intercepted the attack with her Guard as Fergus fired a Gale Arrow that hit the Troll in its eye. The Troll fell with the swing and face planted into the forest floor. The party stayed on alert until they saw the Troll start to dissolve.


    The party was bruised and beaten. The Troll was fast and extremely strong. It hit everyone at least once while Shadow had to back out for her barrier to recharge. Gaia felt like she had at least a broken rib from the monster''s attacks that had broken through her barrier so she couldn¡¯t imagine how the guys felt.


    ¡°Are you guys alright?¡± She asked everyone.


    ¡°Yeah. A bit bruised but I was able to block the attacks that hit by recharging my barrier with mana.¡± Griff replied.


    ¡°Not great, but not bad. I think one of its attacks dislocated my shoulder, but I fixed it earlier. My leg not so much.¡± Fergus responded.


    ¡°I¡¯m good. I¡¯m not hurt much just a few bruises.¡± Malachite replied through their bond.


    ¡°I¡¯m ok. I was under your armor so not hurt.¡± Liv stated.


    ¡°I, ok. Sore side.¡± Shadow replied through the bond. She sounded like a young girl that was just learning to talk.


    She was surprised when she heard Shadow¡¯s voice but was more worried about Fergus. She ran over to him and felt around his legs. His left leg was broken around midway down his calf. There it was sideways. Griff came over and Gaia held Fergus while he set the leg. His scream of pain was heart wrenching for everyone. He passed out as soon as Griff finished. They put him on Shadows back to help carry him back. Then they checked to see if the monster dropped anything.


    After finding nothing the group swiftly made their way back to the city while being careful with Fergus. As soon as they arrived, they went to the infirmary in the League and Fergus was healed. After that they all got checked and healed. After being healed they went back to the main room and Gaia realized it was still very busy, but her ears didn¡¯t hurt as much. They still hurt since she wasn¡¯t accustomed to it yet, but she was starting to get used to it.


    They relayed what happened to Freya and she quickly checked the requests information. She came running back with a scowl.


    ¡°The request didn¡¯t have any information aside from a low-level stone rank troll. It shows as complete, so you killed the right monster but now we have to deal with the scout that checked it.¡± She stated.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°Well, we send out a scout whenever we receive a request to ensure the monster is the same as what they claimed. Since it¡¯s the Mana Torrent we send the scouts out early, the morning we receive the request. The scout for this one went out early this morning so it¡¯s unlikely that the monster changed in that time.¡± She replied.


    ¡°Essentially, it¡¯s possible the scout didn¡¯t do his job and could have gotten us or someone else killed.¡± Griff explained.


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Freya said.


    ¡°Also, since the monster was a variant and higher leveled than reported we need to figure out an adequate reward. That might take us an hour or two with everything going on.¡± Freya stated a bit sheepishly.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. We know how it goes. It¡¯s happened a few times already. Gaia how do you feel about the other request? Do you think you can do it after a couple hours rest?¡± Fergus asked.


    ¡°Probably, I¡¯m still a bit hesitant but I know I¡¯ll have to fight them at some point. Might as well rip the scab off now.¡± She replied.


    ¡°If you ever want us to retreat, tell us and we will.¡± Griff stated.


    ¡°We¡¯ll take the Skull Shelled Tarantula request.¡± He told Freya.


    ¡°Alrighty. I¡¯ll get it now¡± she replied as she went to grab it.


    The party looked over the request and found that it was for around five of the monsters. This was the extent of the newly formed nest. They were worried about the possibility that this request¡¯s scout did the same as the last but were relieved when Freya told them it was someone, she knew herself. They took it and started towards the location. While they went, Gaia explained to them what she knew from her fight with the one that had blinded her.


    Most of it was just blurry and her holding the monster in place though. She told them about the poison blobs, webs, bites, venom, and that it could use its legs to stab things. This gave them a bit of pause, since it had so many different ways to attack. They continued onward and arrived in the area soon after. They were extremely cautious as these monsters could move vertically as well as on the ground. They took the Shield formation which made Gaia extremely nervous as it meant she was up front. She had her webs out and was feeling around when she heard something moving around above them.


    She was about to tell them when she heard something fall and felt something attack her barrier. Her radiation pulsed and she heard the monster screech as she quickly tried to bind the attacker up when she realized something. Her webs wouldn¡¯t affect the Tarantulas. The monster quickly attacked again biting at her and she felt something try to stick to her. Luckily, Liv had already changed her armor to completely cover her, so the web had no purchase.


    While this happened, Malachite hit the monster with a shell bash and knocked it away. Griff had hit it with a Palm Strike which dealt a lot of damage to it and Fergus hit it with a couple arrows. Gaia then unraveled her vines from her arms and bled the monster. It tried to run away but Malachite and Griff blocked its escape path. The party hit the monster with attacks and conditions until it died. Liv tried to hit it with poison, but it seemed immune to the damage. It quickly perished under the party¡¯s onslaught of attacks. They took a few moments to catch their breath when they heard a multitude of screeches and the sound of scurrying legs coming in their direction.

 Chapter Ten

    The party prepared to run for the city while fighting the Tarantulas and other monsters as they went. They set up their Retreat formation and ran. Gaia was on Malachite¡¯s back with Shadow beside them. Fergus was in the middle and Griff up front leading the charge. They were running for about a minute before the Tarantulas caught up with them. When they came into view Malachite and Liv started firing their water and poison shots while Fergus fired arrows as he ran. Griff fired a Mana Shot every now and then as he focused on what was ahead of them.


    Gaia was using her vines to lash out at any monsters that got close enough since her webs didn¡¯t do anything. She was slowly stacking her bleed condition on them all, but they didn¡¯t slow down. They continued to charge and fire webs at the party. They were able to dodge all of them but barely. Fergus was almost firing blindly behind him trying to hit the monsters, luckily his Archery ability allowed him to land most of the shots even without looking. The other reason was that there were enough monsters he almost couldn¡¯t miss. Gaia used her Mana Influence to cover the party and tried to figure out how many monsters there were around them.


    She could feel the monsters within but couldn¡¯t tell what they were from the indication. It felt similar to a radar in that she could tell where they were but not what the creatures were without knowing what they were fighting. The feeling she got was like a small flame where she felt the monsters. Her poison wouldn¡¯t work on them as they seemed immune to it, but her power made her allies resistant to poison as well. This also allowed her to use her vines more easily since she could now tell where the monsters were outside of sound.


    Shadow was running beside Malachite and was clawing or biting the monsters as they encroached on the party. Griff was slugging the monsters when they got to him driving them off for a moment only for them to return. Liv and Malachite were still firing their magic while Malachite was ramming the monsters that got close enough. Gaia was perched on his shell whipping her barbed vines around like four different whips. Every sweep causing a monster to bleed. Fergus was firing arrows all around trying to help as they continued towards the city. He even had to use his Arrow Stab skill to kill one that got too close. He was almost to the point of pulling his short sword and slashing with it while clubbing monsters with his bow.


    They ran for about half an hour while battling the monsters. They had managed to kill around ten which was already double the requests number but were still hounded by many more giant Tarantulas. They¡¯d discovered some of the ones that were around them were high level normal rank variants too. This meant it was a massive nest and likely had a bronze rank matriarch. Thankfully, it seemed the Matriarch hadn¡¯t chased after them.


    They were approaching the city walls when Gaia heard arrows whizzing in their direction. Griff yelled for them to continue running and everyone did. The arrows landed hitting the monsters with a few hitting Gaia and Shadow since they were in the back. This let Griff and Fergus focus on the ones surrounding them and they slowed to fight the monsters with the assistance of the city¡¯s archers.


    Around another fifteen minutes of battle passed before the monsters were either dead or had retreated. Most of the monsters that died were the normal rank ones that didn¡¯t have much intelligence and raced to attack the party while the stone ranks retreated after realizing the arrows were launching in much higher numbers. By the end, Gaia had arrows sticking from her in a few spots since she couldn¡¯t dodge all of them as they didn¡¯t show in her Mana Influence like the monsters or magic did. Fergus was further back and wasn¡¯t in range for the arrows to hit him as he was firing arrows himself, and Griff was quick enough to dodge them.


    Shadow had been switching between being physical or incorporeal to dodge attacks and the arrows. There was a lot of blood littering the ground around and covering Gaia due to her bleeding the monsters. Griff and Fergus went over and extracted the arrows from Gaia as she healed herself. The monsters were dead, and they started towards the city gate where a guard stopped and started yelling at them.


    ¡°What the hell did y¡¯all think you were doing? You nearly brought a horde of monsters into the city!¡± He yelled.


    ¡°We were on a request to kill a small nest of stone rank Tarantulas. Then we killed one when that horde started chasing and attacking us. What did you expect us to do? Die?¡± Griff screamed back at the guard.


    ¡°You should have run away from the city until you lost them!¡± He cried back.


    ¡°So, you wanted us to run further into the forest, which is full of monsters, during the Mana Torrent?¡± Fergus asked.


    ¡°W-well, yeah. You would have been fine.¡± The guard replied hesitantly.


    ¡°We¡¯ll, that does it. I¡¯m gonna go in and talk to the Hunter¡¯s League about a request''s misinformation for the second time today, then explain to them that the gate guard suggested we run into the forest instead of trying to survive.¡± Fergus stated as he started walking into the city.


    The party walked past the guard, whose mouth was agape and entered the city. They quickly made their way to the League building. Gaia once again sat outside and worked on adjusting to the noise. It was much easier now. During the retreat all the monsters'' screeches and noises hurt her ears, but she adjusted to it. She was almost at the point where she felt she could go inside without a problem.


    The guys went in with Liv on Fergus¡¯ head. They went straight to the reception desk on the ground floor. There they saw Freya who they waited for, while she finished helping another party. When she finished, she came over to them and noticed the exhausted looks they had.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Freya asked them.


    ¡°Well, first off, the request for the Tarantula nest was not accurate. We killed one near it and were swarmed by around fifty or more as we ran back to the city. Not all were stone rank but at least ten or twenty were.¡± Griff explained.


    ¡°Oh no. Are you all ok? Where¡¯s Gaia?¡± She asked worriedly.


    ¡°We¡¯re fine, thankfully. Gaia¡¯s outside trying to get used to a new ability. The second part is that we ran towards the city where we knew there were archers that could help us kill the horde that surrounded us. Then a guard stopped us and yelled at us saying we should have run further into the forest and tried to lose the monsters before coming back.¡± Fergus explained.


    ¡°I understand why you¡¯re annoyed then. I¡¯ll let the captain know. As for the request, I¡¯m sorry, we had a trustworthy person scout it out, so my best guess is the nest was small but close to a newer larger one. You said around fifty or more, right?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yeah. It seemed like there may be a bronze rank matriarch since the stone rank tarantulas retreated when they were injured and out in the open by the archers.¡± Griff added.


    ¡°That¡¯s worrisome. I¡¯ll send someone out to do a more thorough search. My best guess is the larger nest was just outside the range for them to search around. We¡¯ll instruct everyone to do a wider survey when they check now. I¡¯m sorry for the trouble today.¡± Freya said apologetically.


    ¡°We know it¡¯s not your fault. We just wanted to let you know since it¡¯s happened twice now.¡± Griff replied sadly.


    ¡°Thanks. I¡¯m just glad you didn¡¯t just yell at me for it. A lot of parties do that.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯d never do that. We trust you, especially Gaia.¡± Fergus stated.


    Freya smiled at that and gave them their reward for the troll request, which was now about fifty stone cores, for the Skull Shelled Tarantula request they¡¯d need to redo the reward like the last, so they¡¯d get it the next morning. The guys thanked her as they left for the day. They met up with Gaia as they left the League and made their way to the shops. They got their equipment repaired and split up the reward as they went back to the inn for dinner.


    Titania met up with them and the two parties had a nice dinner together. They told each other about their days. Titania¡¯s party Flora was worried when they heard about the request''s abnormalities but were just happy to see their friends and family back safe. They all talked until about midnight before they went to their rooms for the night. Gaia landed in her bed with the usual pile of her bonds and fell asleep almost immediately.


    The next morning the group got breakfast as usual before heading to the League as usual.  When they arrived, Gaia tried going inside and was surprised to find her ears didn¡¯t hurt. She went with the guys to the reception desk, and they received their reward for the Tarantula request. They were given a hundred stone cores. This was because of the difficulty they had and the sheer number of monsters they had killed or injured. It was also for the information they returned with. Freya was once again the receptionist they met with, and she told them they had an unconventional request. It was for them to join a bronze rank commission to the Tarantula nest. The group they were going with was Flora, Titania¡¯s team and one other that they usually worked with called the Legion. They were a group of Hunters that all wore heavy iron armor and were mostly close-range fighters but were extremely strong for their rank like Flora was.


    The group discussed it before deciding to take it since they were mainly going to be there to guide them to where they were the day before. They would also be the back line and would likely only be dealing with normal rank or a few stone rank Tarantulas while the others dealt with the more dangerous monsters. They also trusted the Flora party completely. They knew they¡¯d protect them as best they could and would do the same if possible.


    The party let Freya know they¡¯d accepted before she sent a message to the other parties via magic. They would all meet outside the League building around noon. Gaia¡®s party decided to train in a quiet spot near the League until it was time for the meeting. Griff sparred lightly with Fergus in close combat while Gaia was talking to her bonds through their link. During the breaks between spars Fergus was giving Griff some pointers on ranged combat, since he usually didn¡¯t fight from range, but had needed to a few times recently. Shadow was running around playing with Malachite while Gaia worked on her control of her webs trying to see if she could improve hers like Liv¡¯s without the new ability. She was also working on controlling her mana influence to try and pinpoint where things or people were.


    While they were training in their own ways Gaia checked her status and noticed she¡¯d leveled up a bit. She was level thirty which meant Malachite likely was too and Liv probably wasn¡¯t far behind. She¡¯d also gained a new skill.  It was called Mana Shaping. It caused her to be able to manipulate her mana easier. Her Mana Influence was easier to control, and she could now spread it over a wider area and tell where things were a bit easier. She could also change whether it was a wide sphere or a straight line in front of her or have holes within it. She felt that if she had a bit more control, she might be able to do more with it but likely wouldn¡¯t be able to for a while.


    After this she called Malachite and Liv over. She noticed that Malachite was still growing with every level he got but not at the rate he had before stone rank. When he¡¯d just ranked up, he was about her size, now he was about the size of small car. His head was a good foot higher than her head and his shell was much wider and big enough to carry at least two people side by side. Liv had grown a little and had a leg span of a foot and a half.


    After noticing the size change, she checked Malachite and Liv¡¯s status¡¯ and found they¡¯d also gotten a new skill. Malachite had gotten a skill called Telekinesis. It allowed him to lift things with his mana including himself. Liv was level twenty-five and had gotten a skill called Creation. It allowed her to create items and golems from her webs. Liv was weaving small spider golems that would follow her commands. The small golems were about a quarter to half Liv¡¯s size. Malachite was floating with his new skill, he was a bit slower but when he used it on a rock, it hurtled fast enough to be embedded in a tree. Shadow was just chasing the floating Malachite.


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    Seeing this Gaia asked Griff and Fergus about it and whether they got some new skills too. They explained that everyone would gain a new skill every twenty-five levels and a new ability every fifty after reaching stone rank. This added up to what she assumed since Liv had a new skill at level twenty-five while Shadow didn¡¯t at level fifteen.


    ¡°What are y¡¯all¡¯s new skills?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not say it here. I wish one of us knew the Silence spell.¡± Griff stated.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Well, skills and abilities can be parties'' trump cards when they need to fight, and some parties aren¡¯t exactly trustworthy. Some are like the guy from the last expedition and use the knowledge to kidnap or even kill people.¡± Fergus explained.


    ¡°The silence spell allows for everything within the spells range to be heard within but be completely silent outside of that. It can also make the area opaque so people can¡¯t read lips.¡± Griff explained.


    ¡°Ok. I understand. Can I check your status though?¡± She asked in a hushed voice.


    ¡°Yeah, feel free.¡± They both stated.


    She did so and both had gotten a new skill. Fergus had gotten a skill called Homing Arrow. It allowed him to target an enemy with his mana and the next arrow he shot would follow the mana to the target. Griff had gotten a skill called Magic Circle. It allowed him to create magic circles from his mana to replace any needed materials. It also reduced the time required to cast it. This gave him much more versatility in his attacks and plans. Magic Circles were like blueprints. They allowed someone to create a desired effect by creating a corresponding magic circle. He could create a magic circle that exploded when something stepped on it for an example.


    There was a downside however, it required the person to memorize the multitude of different designs. He was well versed in them being a member of the Sorcery Guild. He studied the multitude of ways magic could be cast and had researched Magic Circles the most. It normally wasn¡¯t something he could use due to the needed materials and time constraints.


    Gaia quickly showed each of them their new skills and Griff¡¯s eyes went wide with excitement. Fergus liked his new skill since it would allow him to hit monsters that were smart enough to hide behind cover, but Griff was ecstatic at his.


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna need to restart my research. If I can replace materials with my mana.¡± He started mumbling.


    ¡°He¡¯s going to be like this for a while now. I just hope he snaps out of it when it¡¯s time for the request. You mind showing me your new skill?¡± Fergus asked.


    ¡°Sure.¡± She replied as she showed him the skill.


    ¡°That¡¯s going to come in handy. Have you tried it with anything aside from your Influence thing?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Not yet. I was mainly trying to get a grasp on that first.¡± She replied.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be messing with my new skill for a bit if you want to practice some more.¡± He stated as he grew his Vine Bow and started firing at a small target.


    Gaia took the time while he was practicing, to try her new skill with something else. She tried adjusting the mana in the webs she made but didn¡¯t make much progress. She was able to shape the mana before creating them but when they were created it didn¡¯t stay that way. As she practiced, she tried to wrap the webs into a thicker sturdier material using her mana shaping and was finally able to, just as she heard Titania talking to someone as they approached.


    She called out to Fergus and Griff who were practicing and mumbling to themselves respectively. Fergus saw his sister approaching and nudged Griff to bring him from his rumination. It didn¡¯t work so he smacked Griff on the back of his head which elicited a response.


    ¡°What was that for? I was thinking about something and now I lost it.¡± Griff said angrily.


    ¡°The other parties are almost here, and you didn¡¯t respond when I nudged or spoke to you. You¡¯d been like that for around an hour or more.¡± Fergus stated.


    ¡°Really? I thought it¡¯d only been a few minutes.¡± He replied honestly.


    ¡°You were pacing back and forth mumbling to yourself about magic circles, research, and books most of the time. At least from what I could hear and guess.¡± Gaia stated.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± He replied as Titania and the other group arrived by the party.


    ¡°Hey, guys. Glad you agreed. I know you¡¯ve been on a commission with us before, but this party is known as the Legion. They¡¯re pretty nice people and strong too. They¡¯re high-level stone rank but their leader here is already bronze rank. He¡¯s Douglas.¡± Titania stated as she motioned towards the person beside her.


    ¡°I¡¯m Douglas. I¡¯m the Legion¡¯s leader. I¡¯m a Defender. We¡¯re mostly close combat fighters with a healer and a Smith.¡± He stated in a deep fatherly voice.


    ¡°Nice to meet you I¡¯m Fergus. A bowman. Griff is our Magic Martial artist/Mage. Gaia is the one sitting in the circle of creatures.¡± Fergus stated.


    ¡°Hey.¡± Griff stated as Fergus introduced him.


    ¡°I¡¯m Gaia, a Tamer. Malachite is the big turtle, Liv is the large spider construct on my head, and Shadow is the wolf sitting by your leg. She wants pets by the way.¡± Gaia introduced.


    Douglas looked down to see a black wolf about the size of a large dog sitting by his feet looking up at him like she wanted to say, pet me. He knelt down and pet the wolf whose tail started wagging hard enough that she seemed to almost wiggle. He smiled before everyone started introducing themselves again.


    The Legion party had a total of five people including Douglas. The healer was Douglas¡¯ wife Fern who appeared to be some kind of dwarf.  There was a swordsman that used a great sword named Jeff, an axe wielder named Ava, and the smith was Douglas¡¯ daughter named Stephanie. She was a new hunter like Gaia and her party. She was also a bit older than Fergus. She joined her parent''s party since she wanted to see how hunters worked. The parties all welcomed each other, and Gaia didn¡¯t have to explain anything about her sight when she missed a handshake. Apparently, Titania had told them beforehand which she was thankful for.  As the parties were greeting each other she could hear Shadow getting a lot of attention, which was proven when she spoke through their bond.


    ¡°Lots of pets. Happy!¡± Shadow said happily.


    Gaia smiled at her familiar''s happiness. The more Shadow grew the more she reminded Gaia of her old dog. Her personality was the exact same. She was just happy her familiar was happy and enjoying herself. Soon the parties grouped up and started making their way out of town. Gaia was once again on Malachite¡¯s back in her throne-like chair. She wanted to invite one of her party members up but was afraid it would poison them. She knew her Mana Influence could make them more resistant to poison but didn¡¯t know if it would make them immune to hers.


    She decided to test it and asked Griff if he was willing to test it. He happily agreed and she created some more webs to bond to the changing armor of Malachite¡¯s and around a half hour later there was a new throne on his back beside hers. She used her Mana Influence and Griff hopped up and sat in the chair. He sat there for a few minutes, and nothing seemed to be happening. She checked his status.


    Name ¨C Griffon Magnus


    Status ¨C Normal


    She breathed a sigh of relief at that screen. She could now have another person join her and honestly could probably make a third chair if it was one in front and two behind. She didn¡¯t want to over burden Malachite though. She asked how it felt with Griff on his back too.


    ¡°It¡¯s ok. Not very heavy. You two are light. I¡¯ll be much bigger by level fifty, I think. Then everyone can hop on.¡± He stated. His speaking had improved drastically, and he now sounded like a young teenager.


    Liv was making small spider golems while they travelled there were now around twenty of them, but most were just able to either bind things with webs or shoot poison. None could do both. They were all normal rank as well. Gaia guessed this meant she could only make golems one rank lower than herself which made sense. She asked Liv if that was right and if she needed anything.


    ¡°Yep. I can only make them at normal rank. If you don¡¯t mind, could I have some webs you made?¡± She asked. She also sounded like a young teenage girl.


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll make some. I¡¯ll make more when we get back.¡± Gaia replied.


    ¡°Thanks Mom.¡± Liv responded.


    Gaia started making some webs and using her Mana Shaping skill to try and weave it like Liv could. She had some success, but it was still quite a loose weave. While she did this Stephanie slowed down to talk to her.


    ¡°Hey Gaia. Is it just you three in your party?¡± Stephanie asked.


    ¡°Yeah. Currently at least. We¡¯re taking it slow and are trying to find people who work well with us. It¡¯s hard, though, especially since most people take one look at me and judge that we¡¯re incompetent.¡±


    ¡°Really? People do that?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. We haven¡¯t really asked anyone to join though. It¡¯s more we want someone to join us after working with us at least once. Take Griff for example. We did multiple requests for him before he became a Hunter, and we were extremely happy when he decided he wanted to join our party.¡± Gaia explained.


    ¡°Really? I joined my parents party since I wanted to try Hunting but didn¡¯t know anyone besides them, and they¡¯re a bit overprotective.¡± Stephanie replied.


    ¡°I can understand that. They want you to be safe, or at least as safe as you can be being a Hunter. I see my party as my good friends, family even. I want to hunt and travel with them. I think it would make everything worthwhile and fun.¡±


    ¡°I can see how much y¡¯all care for each other. If I become a hunter that¡¯s what I¡¯d want. Granted I¡¯d probably be more Smith than Hunter.¡± She stated.


    ¡°What kind of smithing do you do? If you don¡¯t mind me asking.¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°All kinds. I can make or repair armor and weapons. I¡¯m more of a ranged weapon smith though.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve made a ranged weapon, but my family doesn¡¯t trust it. I call it a boom stick.¡± She replied a bit giddily.


    ¡°A boom stick?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°Yep. It¡¯s a tube with a small ball or multiple smaller metal balls and when I press a button it causes a small explosion inside to blast out at high speeds. It can break through most non-magical armor.¡± She explained.


    Gaia looked in her direction for a few awed moments. This woman who wasn¡¯t a whole lot older than her had created a gun. It was a very rudimentary version of one, but she¡¯d created a gun that used magic to shoot. Gaia was stunned. She¡¯d expected magic after meeting Titania¡¯s party and what she¡¯d seen in this world but had not expected someone to create a weapon, that had been created using science in her world, using magic instead.


    ¡°So, you made a weapon that fires small metal balls by using the power of a small explosion? Did I get that right?¡± Gaia asked slowly.


    ¡°Yep. I did. I want to make more or at least research more to upgrade it.¡± Stephanie replied.


    ¡°You created a gun. You created the equivalent of a musket. We have weapons like that from my world.¡± Gaia stated hesitantly.


    Stephanie¡¯s eyes lit up hearing this. ¡°You have more versions of these things? You call them guns?¡± She asked excitedly.


    After this conversation Gaia talked with Stephanie and explained everything she could about guns, which was very little. She knew what they were, the extreme basics of how they worked, and the different kinds. This conversation lasted the entirety of the rest of their travel. They got close to where they¡¯d killed the Tarantula the day before when Fergus called for everyone to be quiet and prepare for the fight since the monsters could ambush them at any point now.


    The group went quiet and proceeded carefully. Griff got down from Malachite¡¯s shell and went up by Fergus. Malachite shrunk down so only Gaia could fit and he could move a bit easier and quieter. Gaia and Malachite were towards the back of the group with Fern and Stephanie. Jeff and Ava were towards the middle of the formation but on the outside on each side. John and Francois were towards the back with Fern and Stephanie. Fergus was closer to the front, with Shadow beside him, but still behind Titania and Douglas. For a group that wore heavy metal armor they were extremely quiet as the group moved.


    After a few minutes of slow progress Gaia put up her Mana Influence and found one of the Tarantulas in the trees above them. She immediately used her vines to slash it. It fell onto its back and Jeff killed it in one swift slash of his great sword which bisected the monster. After that Gaia could feel everyone¡¯s gaze when Titania walked up and asked her a question.


    ¡°How did you know it was there? I couldn¡¯t tell and it¡¯s my job to scout.¡±


    ¡°I used my Mana Influence thing and felt it. It also makes my allies more resistant to poison.¡± Gaia said a bit sheepishly.


    ¡°Well, keep it up. It would help if you gave a warning, but I¡¯ll have Ava stay near you. It¡¯ll also help in the fight with the Matriarch I think.¡± Douglas said.


    The group continued and Gaia kept her power going. After around thirty minutes they¡¯d killed about ten hidden tarantulas that she¡¯d cut down and Ava had dispatched with her massive axe. The group continued cautiously and within another thirty minutes they started to see thick webs spanning between the trees. Titania ran around to scout the area and returned an hour later.


    ¡°The webs span an area of around a mile. There are more monsters that scout the area around it too. I was able to sneak past them but there were at least three groups of around ten stone rank and some normal ranks with them. It appears to be a nest with a Matriarch as we thought.¡± Titania relayed.


    ¡°It¡¯s starting to get towards nighttime. Do we want to back off a couple miles and camp for the night? I know we weren¡¯t expecting to camp but I¡¯d rather deal with it in the light of day.¡± Jeff asked.


    ¡°I think that¡¯d be a good idea. We can all rest for the night and come at the nest tomorrow morning. We¡¯ll set watches though at least one from our parties and one from Gaias. Does that sound good?¡± Francois asked.


    ¡°Sounds fine with us.¡± Gaia said after checking with Fergus and Griff.


    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s backtrack and set up camp then.¡± Titania stated.


    The group trekked a mile back and set up camp for the night. Floras and Legion¡¯s camps were towards the direction of the nest with Gaia¡¯s party being behind them. After the camps were set up and everyone ate some soup, Stephanie came over and pestered Gaia with questions about guns. This continued until Gaia¡¯s watch was over and the two split up to sleep.

 Chapter Eleven

    That night a few Tarantulas had found the camp but were disposed of before they could make a sound. The next morning the group prepared for their upcoming fight. They decided on a formation for the fight which they would stay in from the camp until the fight was over. It had Titania and Francois at the front since they were stealthy, and they¡¯d scout ahead. Douglas was just behind them with Jeff and Ava behind him. Gaia¡¯s party was in the middle with Fern, Stephanie, Jess, and John in the back to protect the rear.


    They travelled in the formation with Gaia using her Mana Influence to find any hidden monsters. They didn¡¯t come across many hidden Tarantulas, but they did kill two before they arrived at the nest. When they arrived, Gaia shaped her mana to increase the distance she could feel in front, and she felt a massive number of monsters. She realized she could guess their rank by what she could feel. She gasped when she felt them, and she relayed to the group. There were hundreds of monsters that she could feel, most were only normal rank but there were at least fifty stone ranks and one powerful monster that she assumed was the Matriarch.


    She was a bit worried since that monster wasn¡¯t moving but the group prepared for the worst. Just before they entered the nest, she got off Malachite¡¯s back and Liv activated her armor. They swiftly started into the nest, and she heard Titania growl. The nest was apparently a maze of webbed tunnels. They proceeded inwards at a slow pace as everyone was slowed by the webs which gave her an idea.


    ¡°Liv, can you send your golems out to find any monsters and the path forward?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yeah. I don¡¯t have a lot, but they can probably go around without being seen since they¡¯re small. I¡¯ll send them out now.¡± Liv replied.


    Gaia had almost forgotten about the small golems until she had gotten off Malachite''s back as they climbed onto her back when she did. She could feel the small spider golems crawling down her body before going in each direction of the tunnels.


    ¡°Titania, Liv can scout out some of the tunnels with her golems. Let¡¯s hunker down and wait till she finds a path or some monsters.¡± Gaia stated.


    ¡°Really? What the heck are your bonds?¡± Titania asked as she called for everyone to stop.


    ¡°My strong and cute family members.¡± Gaia replied


    ¡°Fair enough.¡± She said back.


    It took Liv¡¯s golems about ten minutes before they found the first path inward but found a number of the Tarantulas in the way. The group slowly pushed forward. The only ones not effected by the webbing were Gaia because of her armor, Malachite who was floating using his skill, and Shadow who was currently incorporeal. Everyone else was fighting their way forward against the adhesive webbed floor. The progress was slow, but they made it to the tunnel about ten minutes later. Titania killed one of the Tarantulas with a thrown dagger, while the other ran forward and slammed into Douglas¡¯ shield before Jeff cleaved the monster with his great sword.


    The monster died but screeched as it did, and Gaia heard a number of monsters stampeding in their direction. She let the group know and they prepared for the incoming monsters. When they entered Gaia¡¯s range of influence, she realized there were only about ten of them with about six being normal rank.


    The group swiftly dispatched the monsters with Titania killing one with her throwing knives, another was slammed into the wall by Douglas and was crushed. Francois killed one by crushing its skull with his fist. Ava killed two through sheer strength by lodging her axe in one and smashing another into the wall with it. Jeff killed two with some swift slashes that left massive cuts in their bodies. Fergus killed one with a couple well placed arrows, and Griff killed one with a shoulder charge into the wall crushing its head. The last was killed after a surprisingly quiet gunshot from beside Gaia and it slid to a stop in from of the group.


    Gaia turned towards where the gunshot was and asked Stephanie if that was from her ¡®boom stick.¡¯


    ¡°Yep. I added a minor silence enchantment.¡± She stated proudly.


    Gaia just sighed. This girl was incredible. The group continued after ensuring the monsters were dead and made it to the next tunnel that headed inwards. Gaia was having to relay directions as they went since Liv could only speak to her and the other bonds through the link. They stopped before continuing allowing Liv¡¯s golems to scout some more. The group continued like this killing any of the monsters they came across until they reached the final tunnel that led to the center of the nest.


    They took a short break there to relax after the arduous journey through the nest. It had taken them hours to trek through the maze of tunnels. Thankfully Liv had been able to send some golems out to scout because Gaia was sure the group would have gotten lost otherwise. They rested to recover their strength before they went into the main chamber of the nest.


    Just before they went in Gaia shaped her Mana Influence and checked the chamber. She could still feel the powerful monster and it seemed it still hadn¡¯t moved. She relayed this to the group since it worried her, but it seemed no one else was worried about it. The group walked through the tunnel, and Gaia could tell the area opened up into a large chamber by how the air felt, it didn¡¯t feel as stagnant as the tunnel.


    The group continued out and abruptly stopped as everyone prepared to fight. Gaia could hear the sound of hundreds of spiders hissing. It caused every hair on her body to stand on end. She could feel a massive pressure fall over the group as she felt the Matriarch move through her Mana Influence field. When she heard it hiss it was one of the deepest and loudest sounds, she¡¯d ever heard. She almost whimpered from the assault on her ears.


    She then heard Titania yell out orders.


    ¡°Flora focus on the Matriarch. Legion assist as you can with the matriarch but focus on clearing out the horde. Gaia, stay in a central area. Griff and Fergus stay by her and help as you can but stay safe.¡± Titania barked.


    ¡°Stephanie, stay with them. Ranged attacks and only close combat when the monsters come close.¡± Douglas told her.


    With the commands given, Flora jumped into action and attacked the Matriarch. Legion worked near their fight to keep the horde off of Flora. Gaia and the others were in between them and focused on ranged attacks and combating the horde when it got close to them.


    Flora was a well-trained party that worked well together. Titania dealt small amounts of damage or aimed for weak spots in the monster''s carapace while she danced around her party members attacks. John was a heavy damage dealer and hit the monster with large strong attacks with his great sword that kept the monster focused on him. Francois would do hit and run attacks like Griff but used strength and speed while maneuvering around Titania and John. Jess slung different kinds of magic at the monster and dealt constant damage.


    Legion was similarly coordinated. Douglas stood as a wall between the monsters and the rest of the party. He had some kind of skill that caused the monsters to target him instead of the rest of the party. He would take out a few monsters when they got close enough by slamming his shield down on their heads or slamming them back to take a hit from another monster. Jeff was a whirlwind of slashes as he swung his great sword around like he was dancing. Ava was a beast when it came to her style of fighting. She would rush into clumps of monsters and cleave them with her axe while punching and kicking monsters to create distance before moving back to protect Fern. Fern was mainly a healer but had a small shield and a mace that she used to smash the monsters that came close when Ava took off into a group.


    They were more independent in their combat styles, but it worked out with Jeff staying near Douglas and Fern while dealing with the monsters Douglas attracted. Ava was the wildcard and would randomly run off to take out groups then come back for Fern to heal her when she took some bigger hits.


    Gaia was in the center of her formation and had her Mana influence covering the entire group. Malachite was being the distraction and blocking hits while Fergus fired arrows at the monsters attacking him. Griff was doing hit and runs on the opposite side from Malachite since he could take some hits. Stephanie was firing her rudimentary musket into the horde by Griff. Gaia used her vines to bleed any monsters that came close enough while Liv¡¯s golems bit into the ones near her as well. Shadow was dashing around guarding the party where she could and biting or clawing the tarantulas as she did so. The fight continued like this for a few minutes before Gaia heard the Matriarch screech.


    As she did, Titania yelled. ¡°Everyone run from the Matriarch I think it¡¯s mutating!¡±


    Everyone heeded the advice and started moving away. This was at least the third or fourth time that Gaia¡¯s reflex stat had hurt her. She was once again too slow to escape before the monster mutated. As it finished, it let out an eerily harmonic hiss. Immediately after, Gaia felt a sharp pain in her left leg, and she fell to the ground. She tried to crawl towards her companions but felt like something was pinning her leg to the floor. She felt the area and found a large conical protrusion with sharp spines going straight through her leg. It had pierced straight through her defensive barrier.


    She couldn¡¯t move but quickly heard John roar and run towards her with the rest of Flora alongside him. A few moments later she felt something oozing down from the top of the spider''s leg that had impaled her limb. When it touched her skin, she felt like acid had just been poured on her. She tried to remove the offending object but as she grabbed it, her hands started to burn. She used all of her strength and still wasn¡¯t able to remove it.


    She was stuck with what felt like acid pouring into and onto her wound and was likely still almost underneath the mutated matriarch. She couldn¡¯t do anything, her body felt like it was starting to go numb. What remained of the horde had flooded in during the time it took for Flora to attack the Matriarch again.


    The monsters were biting her and crushing her under their weight. She was expecting to black out from the pain at any moment, but she continued to try and remove the Spiders leg before trying to just pull herself away, and let it take a chunk of her leg if it meant she¡¯d get out of the way. After what felt like an eternity, she heard Griff and Fergus¡¯ voices through the haze of pain and monster hisses. They¡¯d cleared a way to her, and she¡¯d actually managed to crawl a short distance but had a large chunk of her leg missing now. Malachite was launching water shots and biting while shell bashing monsters quicker than he ever had before while Fergus lifted her up and they retreated.


    A few moments later she was casting healing shot continuously into herself. Fergus was firing arrow after arrow into what remained of the monster horde. Griff was casting healing shot at Gaia while attacking any monsters that dared to approach. Stephanie had Gaia on her back while she fired her musket into the monsters and pulled a large hammer out, bashing the monsters with it when they got too close. Liv was controlling her armor to keep the blood from flowing out any faster.


    Gaia could barely hear what was happening and only roughly knew that Stephanie was carrying her while Flora dealt with the Matriarch. Fern was nearby casting healing when she could while focusing on the larger fight. About fifteen minutes later the monster horde was dead and the Matriarch was on its last legs, literally. The monster only had one leg still intact.


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Gaia wasn¡¯t fully healed when the Matriarch died but she wasn¡¯t on deaths door anymore. She still couldn¡¯t walk and likely wouldn¡¯t for a while because she had a massive chunk of her inner thigh missing. There was a six-inch-wide hole from the center of her thigh to the inner side. The bone and muscles were just gone, like they we cut out.


    She was laying on the ground when the group came over after the monsters were all dead.


    ¡°Is it dead?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yes, it is. Are you alright?¡± John asked before he saw her leg.


    ¡°I¡¯ll survive. Gonna be a while before I can probably walk, though.¡± Gaia replied.


    Fern was healing her while the group talked. It wouldn¡¯t replace the missing parts but would keep it from bleeding.


    ¡°I really need to find a way to increase my Reflex stat though. This is what? The fourth time I¡¯ve gotten hurt because I can¡¯t react quick enough?¡± Gaia joked trying to lighten the mood a bit. Even though she hurt like hell.


    It didn¡¯t work and everyone had a somber tone when they spoke as they started moving out of the nest. Gaia was placed on Malachite¡¯s back who had grown to a size where she essentially had a bed made from his armor. She talked with Stephanie as they made their way back to Boundary. It was slow going since everyone needed a break after escaping from the nest.


    The group arrived in town just before nightfall since they took it slow, and everyone¡¯s spirits were raised when they were back in the safety of the city. They all went to the League and went to the desk while Malachite took Gaia to the infirmary with Fergus and Griff close behind. They¡¯d gotten some minor injuries but were already healed by Fern. When they arrived, the healer checked Gaia¡¯s leg but couldn¡¯t heal it since the muscle and bone were completely gone. Healing couldn¡¯t replace parts that were missing. If someone¡¯s arm was cut off, they could reattach it but not regrow one without a high rank healer. They did give her a wooden crutch so she could walk herself.


    The party made their way out after that and got their reward, which had increased since it was a much larger nest than anyone had thought, and the Matriarch had mutated. In total it came out around two-hundred stone cores or two bronze cores per party. This was a huge amount, and they decided to check shops tomorrow for something to help heal her leg or allow her to walk easier.


    They slowly made their way to the inn and found the parties Flora and Legion at a large table with a huge amount of food. They invited the group over and they celebrated killing the Matriarch and returning alive. Had it just been Flora that went, they may not have returned unscathed.


    They all ate and relaxed after the hard day. Stephanie talked with Gaia, Fergus, and Griff mostly. They agreed to team up for another request if they could after Gaia was back in fighting shape. They enjoyed the night before Gaia hobbled her way to her room for some sleep. She laid down in the bed and fell asleep soon after from exhaustion.


    She awoke a few times throughout the night from pain but managed to get some sleep. When she awoke the next morning, she made her way to get breakfast and sat down at a table. She placed Malachite and Shadow¡¯s food on the floor for them and they happily devoured their food. The guys joined her soon after and they ate a nice breakfast before heading out to check the shops.


    To make it easier Liv had taken control of Gaia¡¯s armor and made the dress with the addition of the bodysuit covering her legs. This allowed her to walk for Gaia speeding up their search. It still hurt tremendously and felt like it was deeper than just missing muscle. It felt like pain through her very being. She didn¡¯t have much of a choice though, and just dealt with the pain while they looked. They couldn¡¯t find anything that would help so they started looking around the smithing or enchanting shops for something to lessen the pain and maybe increase her speed.


    They sadly didn¡¯t find anything and were told that they only had two options. Lose the leg and do a prosthetic or deal with it how it was. They thought they¡¯d checked all the workshops until they came across a smiths shop with a familiar name.


    ¡°Steph¡¯s Smithing and Enchanting? What are the odds this is the one we know?¡± Fergus asked.


    They walked in and were greeted by the familiar cheery voice of Stephanie from the Legion party.


    ¡°Hey guys. Good to see y¡¯all. What brings you here?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Looking to have something made for Gaia so she can walk normally again since healing won¡¯t do.¡± Griff stated.


    ¡°What exactly are you looking for Gaia?¡± Stephanie asked her.


    ¡°I¡¯m honestly not sure. I can walk if Liv controls the armor, like now, but it causes a lot of pain. I¡¯m hoping for something that may dull the pain or make it less noticeable and increase my speed if possible since that¡¯s become a bigger issue now.¡± She stated.


    Stephanie thought for a bit before she had them wait and ran to check something. After a couple minutes she came back and was mumbling while reading a book. She put the book down and Griff went to check what it was. After he checked it, he explained it was a book of enchantments. The section she was reading was about enchantments that could improve stats or give a net increase. She then flipped through the book and stopped at a page.


    She looked up and spoke towards Gaia. ¡°Well, I can make something that increases your speed by increasing the reflex stat. For the pain there¡¯s only one thing to do which is to quite literally burn the nerve so it no longer works.¡± She stated.


    ¡°That sounds like it would cause other problems though.¡± Gaia stated.


    ¡°Yeah. If we burn the nerve your leg would probably go numb. The other options are to create a magical prosthetic and replace the missing section. That¡¯s higher than what I can do. Honestly, I¡¯m surprised your leg is still attached. The best I could do that way is replace the entire leg.¡± She replied.


    ¡°So, my options are to either burn the nerve, or replace my entire leg? Pretty much the only option¡¯s we¡¯ve gotten anywhere.¡± She said with disappointment.


    ¡°From what I can do yes. If you want to replace the section, you will probably need to go to a bigger city. Honestly, I¡¯d personally replace it. Since most of the muscle is gone the only thing keeping it working is magic. At least from what my mom told me she felt when trying to heal you.¡± She explained.


    ¡°Wait, what? That¡¯s the only reason it didn¡¯t need to be amputated?¡± She asked incredulously.


    ¡°From what I understand yeah. There was also just something weird when trying to heal you.¡± She stated.


    Gaia thought a bit and realized it might be from her title Cracked Spirit. It meant parts of her spirit and body were one and the same. Now that she remembered that the intensity of the pain made sense. It had not only ripped out a chunk of her body but her spirit if that was the case. It also made her question what would happen if it was completely removed.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do then.¡± She said as she turned towards Griff and Fergus. She showed them the title and their faces paled slightly in realization.


    ¡°Would it even be feasible to replace it with that in account?¡± She asked them.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Steph asked them.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s about a title she has.¡± Fergus stated.


    ¡°Got it, but if you want to know something I¡¯ll need to know everything about the situation.¡± She explained.


    The group stepped aside and discussed it. They hadn¡¯t known her long but if she was willing to try and help them they¡¯d take it. After making the decision which essentially boiled down to Gaia''s choice they decided to explain the situation to her. After the explanation Stephanie understood why they were hesitant. She thought about the problem and told them she¡¯d research some stuff about it and they should come back in a day or two. By then she should have an idea on what they could do.


    The group thanked her and made their way back to the inn. The search through the shops had taken most of the day and they didn¡¯t really find anything. They had hoped Stephanie might have an idea after looking into it though. As they walked, they stopped in at Will and Summers store for a bit. They entered and were greeted by the couple. They chatted for a bit before Griff and Fergus went outside while Gaia talked to them about something she¡¯d been thinking about getting made.


    ¡°Could you possibly make me a blindfold? Not just a regular one but one that can increase my ability to sense mana?¡± She asked the couple.


    ¡°First off, we can make you a blindfold if you want but what do you mean sense mana?¡± Summer asked.


    Gaia quickly put up her Mana Influence and the couple gasped. She felt like she¡¯d be able to do something else with it if she could just sense the mana within a bit better. The current feeling she got from monsters and people in the field were like small flames. She could roughly tell the strength from the intensity of it. She wanted something that could help her get a better feeling of the whole being instead of just the power. She explained everything to the couple, and they thought for a bit.


    ¡°We might be able to make something. I don¡¯t know how well it will work as this is the first time I¡¯ve ever seen something like this. You¡¯re wanting something that can give you a better sense of mana so you might be able to tell where something is from the movement of the mana within this thing?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Essentially yes. I can¡¯t tell when a monster is trying to hit me just where the core of the monster is.¡± She stated.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see what we can do but it¡¯ll be a bit pricey. We¡¯ll talk about that when we finish it though.¡± They told her.


    She left after that and the party returned to the inn. It was just after midday since they went slowly, and they got lunch at a stall on the way back. They relaxed in their rooms, and she checked her level while her bonds napped around her. Her level was now thirty-five which wasn¡¯t much for the situation they¡¯d been in, but she knew the higher her level got the harder it was to level up. She didn¡¯t get any souls from the bronze rank since she didn¡¯t fight it. For the number of monsters her party killed and the fact most were normal rank the increase was good.


    She was relaxing and Malachite had shrunk down to nap by her. Liv was weaving some more golems from her webs and experimenting with other ideas. Shadow was laid out across Gaia napping with her head laying on her chest getting pats. She heard a knock and told whoever it was to come in.


    ¡°Sorry. Were you taking a nap?¡± Fergus asked.


    ¡°No. My bonds are though.¡± She stated as she gestured to the small turtle by her head and the large wolf splayed out over her.


    He laughed a bit seeing the scene. It was almost comical. Shadow was almost her size at this point, and he could barely see her face over the wolf a large body curled up on her. It took him a few moments to stop laughing.


    ¡°Sorry. It¡¯s kinda funny to see from here. I just wanted to see how you were doing. I was extremely worried when I saw what happened during the battle.¡± He said as he sat down by her.


    ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t really remember anything after it aside from pain. One moment Titania told everyone to run, the next I¡¯m pinned to the ground with pain. After that it was John¡¯s roar and then the monsters trampling me or trying to bite me. Then I heard you and Griff. Then it was kind of hazy with just focusing on trying to heal.¡± She said shakily. It was hard to think about it. It was a traumatizing experience and just compounded when she thought about her rank up fight.


    It took her a few moments to realize she was crying. Fergus let her cry for a bit before he just hugged her. She cried until she couldn¡¯t anymore. She hadn¡¯t truly stopped to think about everything that happened and the implications. The last time she had, was soon after her graduation from the Training camp which was now a little over three months ago. Since then, she¡¯d been going pretty much the entire time trying not to dwell on the bad things that had happened.


    Now that she was pretty much stuck in her room at the inn with nothing to do, she couldn¡¯t distract herself from thinking about them. She¡¯d been blinded, gotten hit with strong radiation, almost kidnapped, and now been told she pretty much had to have her leg amputated. She just couldn¡¯t deal with it anymore. She needed to let it all out.


    Fergus just sat there and hugged her while she cried and let out all of her frustration. After about half an hour she¡¯d cried everything out. They sat there like that for a bit before Gaia realized that her tears had pretty much destroyed the front of his shirt, and he was still hugging her. Her face went as red as it could, being stone as she realized she was up against his bare chest. It was more muscular than she expected, and her blush deepened when she thought that. Fergus looked down when he noticed she¡¯d calmed down. Then it hit him, and he quickly let go and backed up. His face going beet red itself, though Gaia didn¡¯t know.


    ¡°Thanks. I never really dealt with my emotions after everything that has happened.¡± She said embarrassed.


    ¡°N-no problem. Happy I could help.¡± He replied embarrassed himself.


    ¡°Now, if you two are done. Do you want to get some food?¡± Griff asked from the doorway with a smirk.


    The pair once again blushed extremely obviously.


    ¡°Oh, and Fergus.¡± Griff stated.


    ¡°Yeah?¡± He replied.


    ¡°You might want to put on a new shirt.¡± Griff stated.


    Fergus finally looked down to realize the front of his shirt was destroyed and was now essentially bare chested. He quickly ran out of the room and went to his own to change. The party made their way to the tavern section with the two being a bit too obvious in their actions. Fergus was doing everything in his power to not stare at her but was failing, miserably. Gaia was kind of doing the same thing but more using her mana instead of sight. Griff just snickered and picked on the two who obviously had finally realized they liked each other.


    He¡¯d known that for a while and was just waiting until the two realized it themselves. They had both been completely oblivious to their feelings until now. He bet Titania and the entirety of Flora knew already and just enjoyed watching the heartwarming atmosphere around them. The party enjoyed a dinner and talked about what to do. Gaia told them they should take the requests while she was recovering. They were trying to refuse but she was adamant about it, and they reluctantly agreed. That night they all went to bed and Gaia slept better than she had in while. The only thing that woke her up that night was the pain from her leg.

 Chapter Twelve

    The next couple days went by slowly. Griff and Fergus reluctantly went and did the requests that were allotted to them with Shadow and Malachite. Gaia sent the two with them and told them to listen to the guys. They listened but weren¡¯t happy to leave her alone while she was hurt. She practiced with her mana influence and shaping the first day to pass the time. The next day Stephanie came by the inn to talk to her.


    ¡°So, I may have found a way to make a prosthetic work, but it¡¯ll be a bit weird.¡± She stated.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Gaia asked suspiciously.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯d remove your leg like I said. Then we¡¯d basically fuse it with the prosthetic. It¡¯s almost completely made up of magic like the rest of your body so it would be easy to do. We¡¯d be molding the magic that composes it into the prosthetic we make. The only issue is that we¡¯d also be needing to remold that part of your spirit into it. That¡¯s going to be the hard part.¡± She explained.


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing it¡¯ll be painful?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°Extremely. But it wouldn¡¯t just be regular pain it would be pain directly through your spirit. I can guess you take such damage regularly, from how you are though.¡± Stephanie stated.


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll deal with it. When do you want to do it?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I just need to make the prosthetic which requires measurements. My mom will be there to mold the magic and heal. She¡¯ll also help bind the prosthetic since it¡¯ll become a part of you. You¡¯ll be able to feel everything through it like you can now. It¡¯ll just need to be upgraded when you rank up. I¡¯ll also be making a kind of armor for your other leg to balance the stat increase.¡±


    ¡°Ok. Measure for now. I didn¡¯t understand a bit of that, but I¡¯ll trust you. You¡¯ve been nothing but nice and helpful.¡± Gaia stated.


    ¡°I¡¯ll measure then. We can probably start the ritual or whatever you want to call it in around three or four days. It¡¯ll take me a while to create everything and enchant them.¡± She stated.


    ¡°Thanks. I hope we can party up for a few requests after I get accustomed to it.¡± Gaia said as Stephanie finished measuring.


    ¡°Happy to help. If you have any questions, feel free to stop by my workshop. I¡¯ll be at this pretty much all day, every day until it¡¯s time.¡± Stephanie stated as she left.


    Gaia sat there for a while and thought about everything Stephanie had told her. She wasn¡¯t looking forward to truly losing the leg and the upcoming pain, but knew there wasn¡¯t much she could do about it. Unless she wanted to have Liv walk for her which she didn¡¯t want to burden Liv with.


    After thinking it all over for a while she went back to practicing with her skills. She made some headway in understanding them better and controlling them easier. By the time she¡¯d made most of the webs she could create woven together from multiple strands she heard a knock at her door and the rest of her party came in.


    ¡°How¡¯s it been here?¡± Griff asked as Shadow ran in and jumped on the bed and started licking Gaia¡¯s face.


    ¡°It¡¯s. Been. Alright.¡± She mustered through her bond¡¯s affection.


    ¡°Stephanie came by and figured out what she could do about my leg. It¡¯ll be a few days, but she should be ready by then.¡± Gaia finally managed after Shadow stopped.


    ¡°Good. Let us know when. We¡¯ll go with you when it¡¯s time.¡± Fergus said.


    ¡°You guys just keep doing requests. I¡¯ll go and when you get back that day it should be done.¡± She replied.


    ¡°Nope. Not gonna happen we¡¯re going with you.¡± Both of them said.


    Gaia let it go for now and they told her about the requests they¡¯d taken. The first was for a group of termite type monsters. They had been attacking a village a short way into the forest. The second request was for a Weeping Whipper. It was a tree monster, that was similar to a weeping willow tree from how they described it, which used the branches like whips and its leaves were razor sharp. Both weren¡¯t too bad but Shadow was extremely helpful in the first by guarding them whenever one got close. Malachite was the most useful for the second as he kept most of the monster¡¯s whips aimed at him while they whittled the monster''s health down.


    She showed them the extent of her practice which felt very lack luster compared to their day. They were both interested since it meant they could improve their skills abilities by practicing with them. They¡¯d never done so as they thought skills were set and they didn¡¯t have an analyzing ability like Gaia¡¯s to give them a detailed description.


    The party got dinner and relaxed for a while. The group had started getting into the habit of telling stories to each other whenever they were done for the day. This night Griff was telling them a bit about his childhood while Gaia and Fergus shamelessly snuggled on a small couch in the guy''s room. Malachite was in his small form on her lap, Liv was on the back of the couch top, and Shadow was sprawled out on the floor getting belly scratches from Griff. He was telling them about when he got his Mana Circulator title.


    It had happened on his tenth birthday. He¡¯d gone out to play with a couple friends he had in his hometown which was somewhere in the Kingdom proper. They¡¯d gone out to play while his parents went to work and get him some gifts. They¡¯d gone into the forest against the warnings of their parents and had found a small cave. Its entrance was just big enough for them to crawl through and they found a small pond of iridescent liquid. It looked like water, and they didn¡¯t think much of it outside of its color. They were arguing about what to do when one of his friends got angry and pushed Griff in. He fell into the pond and discovered it was much deeper than they thought as he couldn¡¯t swim and started to sink. The other two got scared and ran out of the cave.


    Griff was sinking further and further into the water which was multicolored and shining with light as he continued to sink. He was holding his breath as best he could and eventually ran out of air. He honestly thought he was going to drown and he gulped in the water. That¡¯s when he realized it wasn¡¯t water or even liquid at all. It was a pool of heavily condensed mana. It was hard to breathe and felt like he couldn¡¯t take in a deep breath but wasn¡¯t in danger of suffocating.


    He still sunk though as it had the consistency of a liquid. He slowly breathed as he continued to sink to the bottom which was around a hundred feet below the surface. He got up and walked around the mesmerizing environment. It was a large vaguely spherical crevice with just the single opening in which he¡¯d fallen into. He walked around the area and tried to climb out but was unable to when the ceiling curved inward.


    Instead, he sat at the bottom of the pool and just breathed. Eventually, he ended up in a meditative like state. His parents had taught him to meditate since they were both magical classes and meditating was a good way to feel mana and recover. He had never really been able to enter one as he was always interrupted by friends or noises from outside. In the pool there wasn¡¯t any sound aside from his slow slightly ragged breathing.


    He continued like that for a long period of time. He didn¡¯t know how long he¡¯d meditated but when he opened his eyes again the pool had noticeably shrunk. It went from a hundred feet deep to around seventy-five during that time. He still couldn¡¯t really see anything outside of the condensed liquid mana and went back to meditating. After another round of meditating, he found the mana flowing through him. He didn¡¯t understand it yet but thought it was normal for people who used mana.


    He continued to meditate until he felt the liquid mana drop below his head. He opened his eyes and saw that the pool was almost completely empty and now just reached is chin while he sat. He could also breathe a bit easier, but the air was stale as it only had the little opening he and his friends had crawled through to circulate it. He continued meditating until the pool was completely empty. It seemed that after it dropped below his head, he absorbed it through his skin.


    When it was completely empty, he sat in the now deep dry crevice wondering how long he¡¯d been there. It was a day or two after that he heard people yelling from somewhere. He stood and yelled out to tell them he was there. He heard something hard striking the stone that made the cave until he saw his dad¡¯s face look down from the edge of the crevice.


    ¡°You okay Griff?¡± He yelled down.


    ¡°I think so. How long have I been down here exactly?¡± Griff yelled back.


    ¡°About three days.¡± His dad yelled down as he lowered a rope for Griff to tie around himself.


    He was pulled up and out of the crevice and cave within a couple minutes. Once outside his parents hugged him tightly and cried. They¡¯d been looking for him for a few days before his friends had spilled the beans about what happened. As soon as they knew they ran out and started digging into the cave using magic and pickaxes alike until they found him.


    When he got home that night his family celebrated his birthday and were just happy he was alright. He checked his status when his parents suggested it after he explained what had happened. That¡¯s when he discovered the title and that he had mana circulating through his body.


    ¡°So, it all boiled down to me falling into a pool of condensed mana for three days. Now I only age about one year for every ten that pass. Which sucks by the way.¡± He finished.


    ¡°Really? I didn¡¯t know stuff like that existed or could even happen.¡± Fergus said incredulously.


    ¡°Neither did I until it happened.¡± Griff replied.


    Gaia liked hearing about their lives and interesting things that were in the world. It made her remember how different her life was on earth. The guys liked it when she told them about earth. They were especially surprised by the technology and that there was no magic or mana at all. She¡¯d only told a few stories from her life, but told them about earth whenever she told them stories. Fergus told them stories of how he would sneak out of the mansion when he was younger, which were mostly funny as they often ended with him failing before leaving the gardens.


    They all relaxed for a while after Griff¡¯s story and Gaia went to her room to sleep. The next few days went by slowly as Gaia practiced her skills while the others went out on requests. She hadn¡¯t realized it at first but even when she wasn¡¯t close to her bonds that went hunting, she still received some souls from their hunts. Not as much as if she was there with them but she and Liv still got some during her recovery.


    They always told her about the requests they did when they returned. They¡¯d done a couple requests every day and always stated they felt like something was missing whenever they did one without her. That made her feel good because that meant she actually helped, but bad because it meant they weren¡¯t as strong until she could rejoin them. She was ready for the next day as that was when Stephanie said everything would be ready.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    They slept and woke up early the next morning. They went to breakfast and once they¡¯d finished eating, she finally told them.


    ¡°Well, today¡¯s the day I¡¯ll get my prosthetic.¡± She stated.


    ¡°What?¡± They both asked as they turned to her.


    ¡°Yep.¡± She said.


    ¡°You¡¯re just telling us this now?¡± They both asked incredulously.


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m heading over now.¡± She said as she grabbed her crutch and started to slowly make her way out.


    ¡°What the hell, Gaia.¡± Fergus said as he quickly got up to follow her.


    ¡°Honestly, you never cease to worry us.¡± Griff mumbled as he did the same.


    They followed her as she slowly hobbled to Stephanie¡¯s shop. The trip took a nearly an hour and a half until they reached the door. Gaia went to knock but the door opened, and a tired looking Stephanie looked at the group.


    ¡°Welcome. Come on in. I¡¯ll take ya back to the room.¡± She said to Gaia.


    ¡°You two stay out of the way. I¡¯m guessing you two insisted on coming.¡± She stated looking at Griff and Fergus.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Griff stated.


    ¡°Fine. Both of you can¡¯t be in the room though.¡± Stephanie said.


    ¡°Wait, why?¡± They both asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m working on her legs. She ain¡¯t going to have anything on.¡± She stated exasperated.


    The two took a moment to realize and nodded in understanding.


    ¡°Honestly, it may be better to go do something. It¡¯ll take a while to finish.¡± She finished.


    They both were adamant about staying and were shown to the backyard where they were told they could do whatever, but couldn¡¯t go into the main workshop room. They agreed and Gaia was brought into the room.


    ¡°Alright before we begin, I¡¯ll let you feel the prosthetic. Also, my mom will explain the ritual to you.¡± Stephanie told her as something was placed in her hands.


    It was heavy. Just under two feet long and made from some kind of metal. It was oddly flexible like her leg was now. It was solid metal but had a section around where a knee should be that was completely empty and open air, aside from a joint on each side. It allowed the prosthetic to bend like her leg. When she felt the foot, it was almost exactly like hers in which she realized Stephanie had done the measurements to ensure it was as close to her leg and foot as possible. When she felt the upper edge, she noticed there were some small spikes on the inside which she assumed would help hold it in place.


    After she finished feeling the prosthetic she heard someone walk in and heard Fern¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Ah, good you¡¯re here. Are you ready to hear about what will be happening?¡± Fern asked.


    ¡°As ready as I will be.¡± Gaia replied.


    Fern went on to explain what would be happening. Firstly, Stephanie would cut off the leg from the top of the wound. Then Fern would use her mana to heal the cut while molding the mana that made up the removed appendage into the prosthetic. While this happened Stephanie would be attaching the prosthetic which would connect through Gaia¡¯s mana allowing her to have feeling through it. Fern would then merge the prosthetic and Gaia¡¯s molded mana into the prosthetic.


    Gaia was told it would likely be extremely painful when the leg was removed, and the prosthetic attached since when the leg was removed the part of her spirit merged with it would be disconnected until it was merged into the completed prosthetic. It would hurt when it was attached because it would be forcing her mana into it to create a connection. When Fern merged the mana back at the end the pain would likely spike for a moment as the missing spirit reattached.


    They also explained that there was sadly nothing they could do about the pain since it was due to her spirit being partially merged with her physical body. There wasn¡¯t an anesthetic for spiritual pain. Gaia understood that and expected it but asked Stephanie to warn her bonds and her party before starting.


    Gaia¡¯s party was outside in the backyard of Stephanie¡¯s workshop. Malachite and Shadow were by Fergus who was comforting them. Shadow was whining while Malachite stared at the workshop and seemed worried about Gaia. Liv was by Griff who was sitting by her as she made small golems and was mesmerized by how she wove her mana to create them. Fern and Stephanie walked out and told them it would be painful, and they might hear her but that it would be fine in the end. This made them more worried but understood there wasn¡¯t much anyone could do for it.


    A few minutes later Gaia was laying on a flat metal table in the workshops main room with her armor retracted. She was naked as she couldn¡¯t really put anything on due to the pain of moving the leg. Stephanie and Fern were already back and were waiting for Gaia to give them the go ahead. They¡¯d given her a thick piece of leather for her bite onto to help muffle any screams and so she didn¡¯t bite her tongue. She steadied her breathing for a bit before giving them a nod.


    The next second, she felt an extreme pain from her leg Her spirit felt like it was being torn asunder and immediately after she had the feeling of loss from a part of her spirit being detached. She let out a muffled scream as her vision almost went black. She barely managed to stay conscious. She looked down to see Stephanie had used a hammer and chisel to remove her leg. She heard Fern chanting something while Stephanie pulled the prosthetic into place.


    The entire time she had pain shooting up her body. She felt something clamp around the stump of her thigh and heard some machinery whirring. Then some punctures and cutting as she felt the spikes from the inside of the prosthetic grow and dig into her body, she also felt something come up and burrow into her leg. She once again screamed from the pain as what was happening reminded her of the vines taking root and growing through her muscles. Suddenly she could feel air blowing over the prosthetic.


    She was sweating profusely from the pain and exertion of keeping herself awake. Fern finally finished chanting and suddenly she felt a searing pain shoot up and down her new leg from the knee. The only way she could describe the pain later on was like having a sun shoved into your body. She felt her body burn and her spirit felt like it was being torn and repaired all at once. It took a few hours for her spirit to completely reattach itself and the pain to end. Gaia had blacked out for a while but had a dream during it.


    In the dream she stood in the middle of a small room. Her mana was flowing out like her mana influence, but she could actually see everything. It all had a green tint, but she could see the contours of everything within the small room. It was an area around thirty feet wide and long with pillars along the walls. There were eight pillars in total and only three had anything on them. All the others were perfectly smooth and identical.


    The first one had a pattern along the entire length of it that reminded her of Malachite¡¯s shell and when she touched it, it was hard and smooth. The second looked to be made of some kind of cloth but was hard as stone while being soft to touch. The third was dark and was blinking in and out of existence like it was both there and not. It was soft when there but when it disappeared her hand passed straight through it.


    As she looked around the area, she also noticed that the room had many tears and holes in it. The walls had some marring where it looked like a wound had closed and was healed. The areas that were healed appeared to be made from a hard stone while everywhere else looked like a regular wooden room. When she looked at the ceiling, she noticed it had a massive hole in the middle that appeared to slowly be stitching back together but when she focused on it, she could feel something dark and malicious within. She quickly tried to change her focus but could feel whatever was beyond the void was using her attention to try and drag itself into the room.


    She tried desperately to avert her attention but felt like nothing could help her do so. When the being in the void got close enough, she could see an extremely large vaguely humanoid being with body parts made from different creatures. It looked like a chimera given human form and she was horrified by its visage. Its body fluctuated as if made from every living things body part at once. One moment it was a human with the wings of a bird, claws of a tiger, and legs of a spider. The next it was made up of different creatures.


    She was terrified by what this being was and why it was trying to enter the room she was in. As it got closer the hole in the ceiling slowly closed up until its face was the only thing visible just beyond the small hole. This was when she heard the amalgamation speak.


    ¡°Ah. I finally found the one. I hope we meet on better terms next time. For now, take this.¡± The being said in an extremely pleasant understanding voice.


    Just before the hole closed Gaia saw something fall from it. When she approached it, she was horrified to see it was a small wormlike creature. When she got within ten feet of it, it sprang up like it was shot out of a cannon. It launched onto her hand and attached itself to her finger. It wrapped itself around and hardened into a metal-like substance that felt like it had a heartbeat of its own.


    She fell to the ground as she tried to pry the creature free from her finger but couldn¡¯t get it off. Eventually she looked around the room again and found a door on one side that had an exit sign above it. She went over and opened it to find a bright white light beyond it. She took a step into it and woke up back on the table after the ritual of binding her new leg.


    She awoke with a start remembering everything that happened in the dream to find herself in pain from the sudden movement after the ordeal she¡¯d just finished. She grunted as she laid back down with Stephanie¡¯s help. Stephanie and Fern had been startled when she suddenly sat bolt upright after being unconscious. After checking on her to make sure she was alright the two went out to get her party members.


    As Gaia laid there, she activated her armor which turned into her usual dress and felt her right middle finger where the creature had wrapped itself around in her dream. She could feel the warm slightly pulsating metal ring. She immediately screamed.


    Griff and Fergus had been sparring throughout the day as they tried to comfort Gaia¡¯s bonds while trying to keep their own worries in check. Every time they heard a muffled scream Griff had to stop Fergus from running inside. He wanted to do the same but knew that if they interrupted it could cause more problems. They¡¯d been there since around ten that morning and it was now just about sunset. They¡¯d been constantly worried and were relieved to see Stephanie and Fern come out.


    ¡°She¡¯s alright.¡± Fern said.


    ¡°Yeah. She¡¯s laying on the table in there. Feel free to go on in.¡± Stephanie stated just before they all heard Gaia¡¯s terrified scream.


    Everyone sprinted inside to find Gaia sitting hyperventilating and desperately trying to remove a ring from her right hand. She had a look of sheer horror on her face which startled everyone. She hadn¡¯t heard any of them run in and instead they all heard her talking to herself.


    ¡°No. No. No. What is this. That can¡¯t have been real, but it was. Get this thing off me. Please. What did it give me. What even was it?¡± She was almost hysterical by the end.


    The group was just stunned by what they were seeing and hearing. It took them a minute to regain their composure as Gaia continued to talk about something they didn¡¯t understand. Fergus was the first to go up to her and he just hugged her seeing she was overall alright outside of what was on her mind.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± He asked.


    ¡°This thing on my finger!¡± She screamed motioning to the metal ring.


    ¡°What about it?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what it is.¡± She cried.


    This got everyone to stop and stare at her for a bit before Stephanie realized that it hadn¡¯t been there until almost the end of the ritual. She realized that it had just appeared a couple moments before she woke up again. When she explained this to everyone, they all went quiet. No one understood what it was or where it came from aside from possibly Gaia who was terrified of whatever it was. This made everyone extremely worried. No one wanted to ask about it especially after going through the ritual and all the pain that she¡¯d endured.


    They instead waited for her to calm down which took an hour before she tired herself out from trying to remove the ring. After that Stephanie had Gaia try to walk which took her a bit to do comfortably. She had changed her armor to shorts so Stephanie could get a good look at the leg. This was when Griff and Fergus got a good look at her new leg. It was made from a metal that looked to be sturdy but flexible and had a color that perfectly matched her skin tone. The knee was an open area aside from some braces along each side that met in a joint. In the middle of the knee section was an orb of greenish yellow light that had a dim glow.


    When Gaia walked it made nearly no noise outside of the normal sound of her foot hitting the ground. When Gaia felt her other leg, she realized that Stephanie had already attached the brace to compensate for her speed enchantment from the prosthetic. The brace was extremely thin and was mainly just a couple bars down the sides of her leg that attached at the hip and ankle. It felt like it wasn¡¯t there unless she purposely put her hand on it.


    ¡°Everything looks alright. Both the new leg and the brace seem to have connected perfectly. If you have any problems let me know as soon as possible and I¡¯ll try and fix it. For now, I say we celebrate.¡± Stephanie said.


    The entire group walked back to the Inn. Gaia was actually a bit faster than before. She could actually keep up with everyone¡¯s natural pace. She¡¯d known Griff and Fergus slowed down for her whenever they walked, and she wasn¡¯t on Malachite¡¯s back. She still preferred riding on his shell in her chair but reveled in her pain free movement. She almost ran but nearly went face-first into a wall when she tried since she wasn¡¯t used to her new speed.


    They arrived at the inn a half hour after leaving Stephanie¡¯s workshop and walked in to find the party Flora celebrating a good hunt. They all looked over to see the group walk in and were surprised when they saw Gaia. The group went over, and Fergus explained which led to everyone celebrating Gaia¡¯s recovery and the party¡¯s good hunt. They enjoyed the celebration late into the night and had to help Titania and Francois to their rooms as they got very drunk before heading to their own.


    Griff and Fergus both hugged Gaia as they were happy the ritual went well and that she was somewhat recovered now. The only thing left to do was get used to the increased speed. The party went back to their rooms and Gaia fell asleep almost immediately when her head hit the pillow.

 Chapter Thirteen

    The next morning, Gaia woke up early and walked around her room for a bit. She bumped into things as she was moving much faster than usual and wasn¡¯t used to it yet. She had talked to Griff and Fergus about how to practice, and they all decided to walk and run together every morning so she could get used to the speed and how to maneuver so she could stop before walking or running into things. It took a few days for her to adjust, and they were all finally taking a request together again. They were only going to take one for the first few days and then get back into their usual rhythm.


    Before they left, they checked their levels, and Gaia was level thirty-four while the guys were level thirty-six. After that they left to go to the Hunter¡¯s League, and they went up to the desk with Freya behind it.


    ¡°Ah. Nice, you¡¯re here. Wait, Gaia!¡± She squealed before running around to hug Gaia.


    ¡°Good to see you Freya.¡± She replied while hugging the tall elf woman.


    ¡°I heard you were hurt. I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be back up and hunting already.¡± Freya said.


    ¡°Yeah. Probably only one today. Gonna get used to hunting with the new leg and speed.¡± She stated.


    ¡°Okay. Be careful though. Don¡¯t get hurt again.¡± Freya said as she went back behind the desk.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡± She replied.


    ¡°Good. Here are the requests you can choose today.¡± Freya said as she pushed a couple papers forward.


    Fergus read them aloud for everyone to hear. One was for an elemental. It was in the plains and was an earth elemental known as an Earth golem. They were slow but sturdy and strong. They would constantly regenerate any wounds as long as they were in contact with the ground and could only be destroyed by destroying a core that was hidden somewhere within their body. This particular monster was around level thirty-five according to the report.


    The other was for a group of Blue caps. They were small creatures that were around a foot tall at most. They seemed to be similar to the garden gnomes Gaia knew from earth but actual living creatures. They had large blue hats that covered their eyes and had a small nose poking out from under the cap with bushy beards. They were extremely vicious, however. They roamed in packs of up to twenty and tricked people into getting closer with their cutesy visage before ruthlessly murdering and consuming their victims.


    The group discussed it for a while before deciding to take the Earth Golem request. It was in the plains area to the west in between Boundary and the farming villages. It had been attacking the farmers as they brought their crops to the city. It was about to cause a slight food shortage due to the farmers inability to travel safely. They quickly headed out of the city to the west. Gaia was still slower than the rest of the party when they ran so she climbed onto her chair on Malachite¡¯s back. The party took off along the road to the farming villages.


    The villages were about three hours from the city by wagon and they came across the golem around two hours out. They stopped and Griff gawked at the golems size. It was roughly forty feet tall and made from stone and hardened earth. Every step it took made the ground shake slightly. Gaia got a bit closer so she could analyze it through her Mana Influence¡¯s field.


    Name ¨C Earth Elemental Golem


    Level ¨C 37


    She ran back to the party. She relayed its level, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief at the information. It was as the request said and not like all the requests they¡¯d had since the start of the Mana Torrent. They took a few deep breathes before taking their shield formation and starting the battle.


    Malachite was up front and Gaia not far behind as they ran towards the golem. Fergus was firing arrows trying to see how they did against the sturdy earth and stones that it was made of. Gaia already had her Mana Influence out and making some webs. Malachite was launching water shots at the elemental while Liv did the same with poison shots. She was, as usual, on Gaia¡¯s back. Shadow was running between everyone keeping an eye out to guard them when she could.


    Griff launched a couple mana shots at it as the party ran. When they were finally close enough Gaia tried to wrap her webs around it which didn¡¯t do much aside from trying to poison it. Liv focused on firing poison at it while Malachite was charging and hitting it with shell bashes. Fergus¡¯ arrows were pretty much bouncing off the elemental¡¯s stone form, even his arrows imbued with wind mana didn¡¯t do much. Griff was pummeling golems right leg and parts of it were crumbling. The same went for the left leg where Malachite was ramming it with his shell.


    Gaia¡¯s poison wasn¡¯t doing anything to the creature, as rocks couldn¡¯t be poisoned. She tried her vines which didn¡¯t do much as she had the same problem, the elemental didn¡¯t have blood. Instead, she tried to take a hit with her barrier which was a hard feat as the elemental was extremely strong. She would have to wait for the monster''s massive arm to plunge down towards her until she could hear the wind whistling, then dodge causing the attacks shockwave to hit her barrier that hit it with radiation.


    The only reason she could do this was her new speed from the brace and leg. The additions doubled her reflex stat allowing her to move twice as fast as before. Thankfully, her idea worked, and the elemental was hit with radiation. She continued this while Malachite and Griff landed hit after hit into its legs. Fergus was starting to deal some damage as he aimed for cracks that appeared from the blunt force strikes Griff and Malachite were hitting it with. Shadow was blocking any attacks when others couldn¡¯t dodge.


    It was still rapidly regenerating from being in contact with the ground, but they were dealing damage slightly quicker than it could heal. After an hour of fighting Fergus caught a glimpse of the golem¡¯s core. It was in the lower left area of its torso section. He quickly fired an arrow that pierced it just before it could rebuild the stone that guarded that section.


    Once its core was pierced the golem quickly shattered and fell apart. Gaia managed to dodge some of the rocks that fell from the noise alone, but Malachite picked her up and they escaped the landslide as it turned into a pile of rocks and dirt. Fergus went and dugout the core. Then he destroyed it while everyone else rested.


    This was when Gaia finally realized something. The cores they used for money were actually the monsters cores. The cores were all small but she remembered being told that loot abilities gave cores that were all the same size, no matter the monsters size. This made her feel stupid but she wondered if the cores could be identified but ended up putting the idea aside for future discussion.


    Most of the damage had been dealt by Malachite and Griff who were the ones that had the greatest impact. They had just sat down to rest when Gaia heard something from behind them. It sounded like quiet high-pitched voices and laughing. She let the other two know and they looked over before she heard them getting to their feet and preparing to fight. She was about to ask why when Griff spoke.


    ¡°Seems like we¡¯re doing both requests anyway. Blue caps are coming towards us. Shield formation, Gaia activate your Mana Influence.¡± He said quickly.


    She jumped up and turned in the direction of the noise and spread her Mana Influence out. She quickly noticed they were about fifty feet away and her field started poisoning them immediately. It seemed they were very susceptible to poison. She used her webs along with Liv and they bound up all but two that had suddenly burst forward.


    The two ran at the party but Fergus killed one that went towards Griff while the other jumped at him. Griff tried to grab it in mid-air but just missed it. The Blue Cap suddenly split down the middle vertically, it opened into a massive razor tooth filled maw. There were multiple rows of sharpened teeth the front set being just two massive flat teeth and used for crushing. Fergus quickly used his Vine bow and smashed it into the creature¡¯s side causing it to go flying where Griff caught it. He then swiftly crushed it in his fist.


    The other Blue caps died soon after as they were very weak, but used numbers to devour their victims within minutes. They also seemed extremely weak to poison which was in the party¡¯s favor. They soon were traveling back to the city with Gaia once again on Malachite¡¯s shell with the others running in front. When they arrived at the Hunter¡¯s League they went straight to Freya¡¯s desk.


    ¡°We finished the Earth elemental request. We also finished the Blue cap request by accident.¡± Griff stated.


    Freya just stared at them for a bit before sighing. ¡°Of course you did. What happened?¡± She asked.


    ¡°We finished the golem fight, and the Blue caps pretty much just came straight to us.¡± Gaia replied.


    ¡°Yep.¡± Fergus added.


    Freya checked the request, and it did show as complete. She did cast some kind of spell as Gaia felt the mana change slightly after Freya had said a couple words. It was apparently a kind of truth spell. After they told her again, they were the ones to kill them they were given their rewards and headed out.


    The group made their way back to the inn, but Gaia stopped by Will and Summers shop. They told her they thought they had it figured out and that it should be ready in about six days. They¡¯d already made the blindfold and now just needed to enchant it which would take a while to get correctly. She thanked the couple and went back to the inn.


    That night they talked for a while and decided to change Gaia¡¯s Mana Influence as they called it to her Mana Field. After that they relaxed for the night while Fergus told another story from his childhood. It mainly consisted of him attempting to sneak out of the mansion and getting caught. The servants turned a blind eye to him as he tried to escape through a window. He was and still is a very bad liar which caused his escape plans to go awry most of the time. The only time Gaia had been told he succeeded was when Titania had helped him or snuck out with him.


    The group had some good laughs as the story he currently told ended with him falling into a hedge just outside the building, which he got stuck upside down in, for about an hour until one of the gardeners found him. They laughed for a while after he finished, told each other goodnight and went to bed. The next morning Gaia woke up to Shadow growling in the direction of her door Malachite likewise was sending her warnings through their bond.


    She quickly went to the wall that she shared with Griff and Fergus and banged on it to wake them up. She heard them shuffling and yell from behind the wall.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Fergus yelled worriedly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t fully know. Shadow is growling at my door and Malachite is sending warnings. I¡¯m gonna put up my Mana Field.¡± She stated and did so.


    What she could feel was a vertical mass of mana in an undulating oblong shape. It was a portal that had been created in her doorway. She was really starting to wonder if she was just highly unlucky. What were the odds a portal would spawn in the doorway of her room? Worse yet it felt like a high-level stone rank portal almost to bronze rank. It was a portal she couldn¡¯t deal with. She was thinking when she heard Griff and Fergus¡¯ muffled questions.


    ¡°It¡¯s a portal. It spawned in the doorway to my room. I¡¯m kinda stuck. It¡¯s at least high-level stone rank almost to bronze I think.¡± She yelled.


    She heard a muffled discussion before Griff spoke. ¡°We¡¯re going to get Titania and her party. Wait there.¡± He said.


    She waited for around half an hour before she heard hurried footsteps coming closer. They stopped at her door before going into the guy''s room and she heard Titania.


    ¡°You said there¡¯s a portal in your doorway?¡± Titania asked.


    ¡°Yeah. I can feel the condensed mana that creates it.¡± She replied.


    ¡°Alright. Well, the issue is we can¡¯t see one. We opened your door with the owner''s crystal and can¡¯t see anything amiss. Can you get around it or is it encompassing the entire doorway?¡±


    ¡°I think it encompasses the doorway or at least the area just inside it so I can¡¯t leave using it. Do you think you can enter it?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°Maybe. Either way we don¡¯t know how it will act after entering or completing it. It would be best if we could get you out, but inns are sturdier than most other buildings. They have enchantments to protect the patrons'' rooms so not even an adamantine rank Hunter could break it. If we go in, I think you should as well. The room can probably withstand something happening but you, not so much.¡± Titania explained through the wall.


    ¡°So, basically, I should enter the portal because we don¡¯t know if it could explode or something and I¡¯ll likely have a higher rate of survival if I enter it? Great. Not like I have a choice, right? Then just tell me when I guess.¡± Gaia yelled back.


    After a few minutes Titania told her go in and she listened along with Malachite, Liv, and Shadow. They all ran in together as Titania¡¯s party did the same. Fergus and Griff stayed behind at Titania¡¯s instruction as it would already be hard enough to find and protect Gaia alone. What Titania hadn¡¯t told Gaia was that she would likely end up somewhere complete different from them to start.


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.As she pushed through the portal which once again felt like pushing through jelly, her foot landed on nothing, and she fell about fifteen feet into a ball pit. She was disoriented from falling and didn¡¯t know what was going on until she felt the hundreds of small plastic balls surrounding her in the pit. When she touched the bottom of the pit, she realized it was only about three feet deep. It reminded her of the old ball pits from carnivals and fast-food restaurants when she was little.


    It brought a wave of nostalgia until she remembered she was in a portal. When she checked around herself, she realized she was alone. Her bonds had ended up somewhere else from her. She could feel the bonds there, so she knew they weren¡¯t hurt or worse. She pushed out her Mana Field and once again could ¡°see¡± everything. She was in some kind of massive ball pit it was large enough for her to not see the edges, but she could feel every individual plastic ball within the range of her field.


    She could also feel a gaze but didn¡¯t know what it was, so she ignored it. She decided to walk forward until she found a wall and after a minute found one. It extended well beyond her Mana Field, so it was at least more than fifty feet tall. She followed it to her left keeping it within her range of ¡°vision¡± and came across a corner. She had decided to follow it as long as she could.


    As Gaia made her way through the maze, Shadow was running around playing with all the plastic ¡°toys¡± she had around her. She had seen some kind of person in the distance but when she ran towards them it disappeared around a corner and when she reached it, the person was gone. She was sad her playmate had disappeared and instead rolled around and ran through the ball pit until she smelled a familiar scent and sprinted off following her nose.


    As Gaia walked through the odd ball pit hallways as she came to realize she continuously felt an odd gaze and it seemed to be more than one now that she thought about it. Whatever it was, it was staying out of her Mana Fields range, so it didn¡¯t want to attack her. It might just follow people to keep an eye on them to allow monsters to attack.


    She didn¡¯t feel any maliciousness from the gazes, so they didn¡¯t seem to want to hurt her. She once again ignored the weird gazes since they didn¡¯t approach or give off any intent to harm. She wandered the hallways for at least a few hours, getting very tired of wading through the hip high plastic balls that seemed to be everywhere. She heard something following her and assumed it was whatever the gazes were from.


    After a while she heard something moving extremely quickly in her direction. She heard the plastic balls moving and shifting from something larger than her running through it and soon heard a familiar voice in her head.


    ¡°Mama!¡± Shadow called through their bond as she pounced on Gaia and licked her face.


    Gaia hugged her bond once she got back on her feet. She¡¯d been worried about them ever since she realized they got separated. Now that she¡¯d found one, she was less worried about the others, but she figured Liv would be fine since she could climb the walls.


    ¡°Have you seen anyone else yet?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°Nope. Just Mama.¡± She replied.


    ¡°Ok. Shall we continue looking for them? I think they should be alright, but I do want them near me.¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s go!¡± Shadow replied as she jumped up and ran around Gaia before running forward a bit.


    Gaia tried to keep up, but Shadow was just too fast, and she eventually had to get her to slow down. They slowed to a jog for Gaia and came across a few intersections in which Shadow chose one and she followed while trying to keep track of the turns they¡¯d made. Gaia could feel Liv¡¯s bond getting stronger the closer they got and had Shadow go in that direction.


    Liv had found herself under a pile of odd balls after she¡¯d passed through the portal. She¡¯d immediately scurried up one of the walls as she didn¡¯t like the fact the numerous balls were continuous from what she could see. Her vision was a bit more advanced than Gaia¡¯s Mana Field. They were very similar, but Liv could tell exactly where everything was even without the high mana density. She used her vision to stay high on the walls where the odd humanoid being couldn¡¯t reach her. She stayed up there until she felt Gaia¡¯s mana getting closer and dropped down when Gaia was underneath her.


    Malachite had also ended up alone upon entering the portal. This was his first time ever being alone. He was extremely scared even though he knew he could probably protect himself. He¡¯d always had Gaia or one of the other party members with him. He was used to following orders or just being by someone. He looked around when he landed on the ground and grew to his actual size of about eight feet long and six feet tall. When he turned, he saw someone and immediately ran towards them.


    He was much faster than the creature had expected, and he got an actual look at the monster. It was around five and a half feet tall and wore some kind of odd one-piece outfit. It had a human-like face with weird white and red paint on it with a tiny hat on top of its head. It had very little hair that looked like a rainbow, and the outfit was bright yellow. Its shoes were enormous and were bright red.


    When he looked closer, he noticed there were hundreds of slits all over its body. A moment after he stared at it, all the slits opened into piercing eyes with dark red irises and black sclera. When it opened its mouth, he heard a goofy laugh escape from it as its jaw unhinged like a snake, revealing thousands of serrated teeth that rotated, and it lunged towards him. He immediately started running in the opposite direction as fast as he could. After around thirty minutes of running, he had lost the creatures pursuit, but he continued frantically running full speed until he ran into Gaia who had already found Shadow and Liv.


    Gaia saw Malachite running full speed in her direction and could feel the fear through their bond. As soon as he stopped in front of her, she immediately hugged him, and he shrunk to be able to fit in her hand as he shook from fright. She comforted him as he cried through their bond. She didn¡¯t ask what caused him to be so scared as she didn¡¯t want him to relive whatever it was.


    They continued walking through the halls which was becoming very monotonous. Everywhere they went were just endless halls of small plastic balls that reached up to her waist. The smell was annoying as it just smelled like plastic and the sounds of them sifting through the sea of of plastic was starting to grate on her ears. She started to distract her mind by focusing on the gazes she felt from behind her.


    They had increased as she found her bonds and now could feel about twenty gazes on them. There was still one that stood out as it was the one that had the oddest feeling coming from it. She couldn¡¯t place it but it almost seemed like curiosity. She could have been wrong, but they still never put forth any hostility. It was definitely odd as she¡¯d been followed ever since she¡¯d arrived, but nothing had happened. She wasn¡¯t going to complain though and just continued on their search for Flora.


    Titania had arrived by herself, which she¡¯d expected but immediately noticed something stalking her whenever she moved. She could hear something moving through the countless halls behind her. She never got a good look at the creature but had discovered it was around six feet tall and was shaped like a human. She never felt afraid of the creature as it didn¡¯t seem hostile, but it did make the hairs on the back of her neck rise. She started running through the halls looking for her companions or Gaia. After around thirty minutes of running, she came across John but saw the odd figure in between them. She immediately ran up to it as she called out to him.


    She reached the figure within a few seconds and had just realized it was some kind of painted humanoid as the hundreds of eyes opened. She stopped in horror for a moment as it quickly turned around unhinged its massive jaw and lunged at her. She was a bit slow to get away as she had been startled by its sudden change and its mouth wrapped around her side. She felt the pain as her skin and muscle were almost blended from the rotation of its numerous teeth. John had swiftly run up and cleaved the monster¡¯s head off and the mouth detached from her.


    She slowly got up with John¡¯s help and tied a bandage around her mangled side as they made their way through the maze. They could feel the gazes of the monsters that followed them but after the last experience they decided to ignore them and just search for their companions. It took them a few hours to find Francois and Jess who had both fared better as they didn¡¯t get close enough for the monsters to become enraged. After they regrouped, Flora began the search for Gaia and for whatever the core of the portal was.


    Gaia and her bonds had been walking around the maze for around seven hours before they ever ran into anything aside from the monsters that followed them. They came across a massive area. It was extremely large area and took them nearly an hour to travel around the outer edge. There were four halls branching out from it, one in the middle of each wall. When she moved closer in, she felt something in the center of it but after getting the slightest glimpse of the things strength she immediately backed up to the wall and stayed there. Whatever was in the center of the room was bronze rank or at least extremely close to it.


    As Gaia wandered through the ball pit halls something was following her. It was getting increasingly frustrated by the odd humanoid it followed. She should have been afraid of it, but instead she continued like it didn¡¯t exist. Its entire existence was to cause fear in which it could feed on, but the frustrating humanoid acted like she couldn¡¯t see it which was obviously impossible.


    She¡¯d even looked it in the eyes with her piercing purple irises but had no reaction. It caused the monster to feel something it didn¡¯t understand. It didn¡¯t want to approach the odd existence it followed, but that was its purpose, that¡¯s how it survived. It fed off the fear it instilled in others. As it continued to follow her more of its brethren joined, and the humanoid in front of it had come across some odd creatures. It now had three creatures with it. One that had shrunk down into her hands was radiating a massive amount of fear, but it was slowly giving off less and less. Another had noticed it but completely ignored it like the girl it climbed on. Another was giving off the feeling of happiness and joy as it played with the numerous balls that lined the hallways. This being it followed had a calming effect on the creatures around it. The human was the bane of its kind!


    The monster quickly became more and more enraged, but its brethren seemed to not have noticed the human''s odd ability. Was it the only one that could see it? Was the human it followed even real? It followed behind the human as it began to question its existence until the human entered the center of the maze.


    Gaia and her bonds stayed at the edge of the massive room and waited for Flora to arrive. They weren¡¯t sure what was in the center of the room, but she knew it was strong and would likely kill her easily if she tried to fight it. They waited for a few hours before she heard Titania¡¯s voice from across the room.


    ¡°I hope we find them soon. I¡¯m starting to become worried after fighting some of those things. At least it looks like we¡¯ve found the center.¡± Titania said.


    ¡°Yeah. I hope she didn¡¯t try to fight one of those. Also, what¡¯s in the middle of the room? It looks like some kind of massive stone.¡± Francois said.


    ¡°Hey. We¡¯re on the other side here! We¡¯ve been staying along the edge of the room.¡± Gaia called out.


    Flora quickly ran around to them and breathed a sigh of relief on seeing they were all alright but started panicking when they didn¡¯t see Malachite.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Malachite? Did you find him? I¡¯m pretty sure you brought him in too, right?¡± John asked worriedly.


    ¡°He¡¯s fine. He¡¯s right here.¡± She replied as she pulled Malachite out of one her pockets.


    The group once again breathed easily realizing everyone was alright. Gaia asked them about how the portal was for them so far and was surprised when they said something attacked them. Nothing had attacked her, but she¡¯d felt something following her since she first arrived. She explained this and they agreed that they only seemed to attack when someone got too close.


    The entire group rested there for a bit to catch their breath as Flora had pretty much been going nonstop since they first arrived looking for each other and trying to find Gaia¡¯s group. They rested for about an hour while Jess healed Titania a bit more. Gaia would have helped but was worried her poison-based healing would be more harmful than helpful. By the end of the rest Titania was almost fully healed, thankfully she had been the only one to get a wound as bad as that. After seeing it the first time the group was prepared after that and no one else got hurt. Now it was time to fight whatever the portals boss was.

 Chapter Fourteen

    The group turned to head towards the boss of the portal. The boss appeared to be a massive stone in the center of the room. It was within a cylindrical field of mana that had a reddish glow. The stone was oblong in shape and tapered to a spike at each end. The stone was not smooth but had jagged edges like it had been picked out of a cave. In the center was a massive pupil that stared at the group. In its entirety it looked like a vertical eye made from a black stone with a red slit pupil.


    It stared at the group as they slowly approached it. The group felt a compulsion to keep its gaze as they felt if they didn¡¯t it would lead to something dangerous. As they got closer its focus intensified on the group, and it seemed like gravity was increasing as they felt an immense pressure build around them. It seemed like some people felt the pressure build faster than others. Titania had to stop around seventy feet from the cylinder while John had to stop about twenty feet from it as they seemed to barely be able to stay standing.


    Gaia, however, felt no pressure at all while everyone had to stop at least a dozen feet from it. She had her Mana Field out and could feel the mana density around her increase, but it didn¡¯t make her slow down at all. Her mana field reached the edge of the cylinder and barely managed to penetrate the cylinder of condensed mana, allowing a foot of vision within. What she felt she could only describe as pure chaos. The mana within rampaged around and she felt a lightning bolt of mana rebound off the wall of the cylinder and bounce out of range. This was when she realized the cylinder gave off the overwhelming power she¡¯d felt earlier.


    When she got within five feet of the cylinder of mana holding the massive stone within, she slowed as she realized everyone had stopped further behind her. Her bonds had made it a bit further than everyone else but still were stuck about ten feet behind her. She started worrying as the monster in front of her was much stronger than something she could deal with. She could tell it was many levels higher than her and at the cusp of ranking up into bronze rank. She went back to her group and tried to help them get closer, but they couldn¡¯t. She had no other choice but to go on herself after realizing this. She walked up to the cylinder of condensed mana and put her hand against it. It felt solid but she could push through it slightly.


    It seemed to be highly condensed mana that made a solid wall. When she pushed her hand against it, her hand started to push it inward. She pushed her hand through it, and it passed through the surface of the cylinder. There wasn¡¯t any pain just a tingling feeling as her fingers reached the other side. She pushed her entire arm in and still just felt a tingling feeling. Eventually, she pushed her entire body through the film around the cylinder. When she was through the tingling felt more like small electric shocks that struck her body randomly.


    She pushed her mana field out but met a lot of resistance. It only reached about a foot from her body, and she could feel the mana around her being extremely chaotic. There was no order to it. It appeared like lightning and shot around randomly in every direction, only rebounding when striking the mana wall, she¡¯d passed though.


    She was almost floating in the chaotic mana and had no control over what direction she went. The lightning would just strike her giving an electric shock before she started moving in whatever direction it pushed her in. The shocks of electricity were somehow absorbed by her as she never felt the energy leave her. The more the lightning struck her, the more mana was absorbed into her. It made her feel energized, but she could feel the energy building.


    She felt that if she couldn¡¯t find a way to release it, she might be overloaded from the concentration of mana they forced into her. She was starting to panic as the trapped mana rampaged through her body. As it built, she started to feel it causing damage to her. She started to feel some pain as it chaotically mounted around within her flowing wherever it pleased. The mana was causing a lot of problems within her and she could feel the damage being done. It felt like she had lightning coursing through her but couldn¡¯t go anywhere.


    The more chaotic mana that was injected into her, the more she started to understand it. It was almost like chaos incarnate. She tried to circulate it as the concentration within her increased, but it refused to follow her will. The chaotic nature of the mana made it extremely hard to gain the slightest bit of control over it. The more she tried to force it to follow her will the harder it became to control. Eventually she started to let it flow how it desired while focusing on it.


    As she focused on it, she could feel it burning some kind of pathways through her. It was painful but not nearly as bad as the ritual for her leg had been. The pathways were small at first, but she started to notice that as they were created the chaotic mana started to flow through them. The pathways appeared random at first, but she started to notice the smallest bit of order to them. They went through every part of her body from the tips of her toes to the top of her head.


    She didn¡¯t know what they did but could feel the chaotic mana flowing more and more easily as time passed. The overloading of the mana started to lessen as the mana started to follow the new pathways. Soon the chaos lightning started to strike her less and less until she couldn¡¯t feel any new strikes. She started floating towards the center of the cylinder where the massive stone was and put out her hand to touch it.


    When her hand touched it, she heard an ear shattering screech as the stone felt slick. It felt like it had some kind of liquid surrounding it. When she took her hand off it, she felt the stone start to shudder. She quickly floated out towards the edge of the cylinder. She didn¡¯t realize it at the time but now that the chaotic mana was absorbed, her mana field once again sprang out to its usual fifty-foot range. Once at the edge she felt the stone swiftly start to shrink. It shrank from being as large as a building to being just small enough to fit in someone¡¯s hand.


    Once it had completely shrunk down, she felt it move and land in her hand. It felt like a regular oblong, albeit slightly jagged, stone when it touched her hand. After that, she put it in her pocket and pushed through the wall of mana that had surrounded it. As she did, everyone else quickly surrounded her and started asking questions.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Titania asked.


    ¡°What in the world was that thing?¡± Jess asked.


    ¡°How come it didn¡¯t effect you?¡± Francois asked.


    ¡°You gonna be, okay?¡± John asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine for the most part at least. I have no idea what it was. I don¡¯t know why it didn¡¯t affect me or why you all stopped, and I should be alright.¡± Gaia replied to everyone¡¯s questions.


    ¡°Well, thankfully the portal counts whatever happened as defeating the boss. I can see the portal on the other side of the cylinder. For now, I say we get out of here. The other monsters are creepy.¡± Titania stated.


    ¡°What other monsters? All I could feel was a gaze on me, but it was never hostile or close enough for me to see it in my Mana Field.¡± Gaia said.


    The group all exchanged looks before letting out a sigh. ¡°You might have been the bane of this portal¡¯s monsters.¡± Francois muttered.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°The monsters seem to try and scare people by always following and barely being able to see them. You on the other hand can¡¯t see them making you immune to their abilities.¡± John said.


    Gaia thought about that while they made their way through the waist high plastic balls towards the exit portal. She guessed he might have been right. Malachite had feared something he¡¯d seen but she hadn¡¯t noticed anything scary aside from the power the cylinder had given off. She was thankful that she hadn¡¯t come across any monsters that seemed hostile while she was in the portal.


    The group passed through the portal and Gaia once again noticed the odd gaze and shaped her Mana Field to try and see it. When she did, she almost laughed before she left. The monsters were clowns, while she¡¯d been afraid of them back on earth since they were creepy, she didn¡¯t feel the slightest bit of fear towards them. She laughed because had she been able to see it, she probably would have been scared.


    Gaia passed through the portal immediately after as the monster clown that had followed her from the beginning had an existential crisis. The weird human had left and laughed at it. A being meant to cause fear was laughed at. This was when it noticed it felt something it shouldn¡¯t be possible for it to feel. It felt fear towards the odd being that laughed as she left. Then its entire world crumbled around it.


    Gaia stepped through the portal and her foot touched the cool wood that made the floor of her room. She immediately relaxed and slumped onto her bed worn out from the day. She checked the doorway with her Mana Field and the portal was gone. A few moments later, Griff and Fergus had rushed in and hugged her. They¡¯d been worried sick for the last ten or twelve hours as Gaia and Flora were inside the portal. The entire Flora party were also in her room slumped on the floor or in the chair she had.


    They¡¯d gotten hurt a few times from fighting the clown monsters. Titania had had the worst injury which had taken Jess an hour to heal as she wasn¡¯t a dedicated healer. After they realized Gaia was alright, Fergus and Griff started to check on everybody. It seemed everyone was healed and didn¡¯t have any open wounds so they just relaxed. Gaia was surrounded by her bonds and Fergus who was hugging her close. Everyone was just resting and after around fifteen minutes everyone who had gone into the portal were sleeping.


    The last part where they had to struggle up to the boss had drained most of their remaining strength. Gaia was exhausted from dealing with what she now dubbed the Chaos Lightning. It had burned some kind of pathways in her body which shouldn¡¯t have been possible. Mana wasn¡¯t supposed to go through pathways in a person. The only one that possibly had pathways was Griff, but that was a discussion for the next day.


    The next morning everyone woke up one by one to realize they had all fallen asleep on the floor of Gaia¡¯s inn room. Griff had been the first one to wake up and went to get breakfast for the exhausted group. Fergus had woken up but wasn¡¯t willing to move, and likely couldn¡¯t, from what Griff saw. Fergus was leaned against the wall while hugging Gaia and had Shadow splayed belly up over their laps, Liv sitting on his head weaving something, and Malachite napping in his small form on Shadow¡¯s belly.


    Griff had to bring the food back in multiple trips and every time he returned someone else had woken up. The last to wake up was Gaia who awoke when Griff went to wake her up and he got shocked.


    ¡°What was that?¡± He asked as he yanked his hand away.


    ¡°What?¡± She asked a bit groggily.


    ¡°I just got shocked. Do you know what that was?¡± He asked again.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I know there was some kind of mana that seemed like lightning¡­ Which I kinda absorbed.¡± She said after thinking.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°What?!¡± Griff yelled.


    ¡°Let me check if it¡¯ll show on my status.¡± Gaia replied as she pulled up her status.


    She checked her status and noticed she¡¯d gained a few different things since she¡¯d last checked.


    Name ¨C Gaia


    Level ¨C 35


    Titles:


    Broken Spirit ¨C The holders spirit has been broken to pieces. The holders spirit has further merged with the body. Holders body is partially spiritual. Bound attributes effect the body. Slight resistance to physical damage. Spiritual bonds hold shards of the spirit.


    Abilities:


    Chaos Infused ¨C Chaos Mana has created mana pathways within the body. Allows for sudden bursts of speed and power. Activates randomly. Effects mana randomly. Training is required for control.


    Strength ¨C 45 (Unbound)


    Resistance ¨C 550 (Radiation)


    Recovery ¨C 186 (Unbound)


    Reflex ¨C 100 (Chaos)


    Spirit ¨C 670 (Poison)


    Her reflex stat now had a bound attribute. The attribute scared her a bit as it just added to the list of attributes that had bad connotations. She now had three attributes bound and all of them were harmful attributes. She seemed to be getting darker and darker attributes bound to her which made her worry. She guessed the Chaos Infused ability and chaos bound reflex stat is what caused the small shock to Griff earlier.


    She¡¯d also gained a new title. She guessed that was from the ritual for her leg as her spirit had literally been split. It also may have affected more than just her leg as it was something that truly changed her spirit. It forced her new leg and spirit together which made her spirit start doing the same for the rest of her body. It also seemed to affect her bonds since they¡¯re connected through her spirit.


    She didn¡¯t like how that sounded but it wasn¡¯t like she could change it. It did give her some comfort knowing her bonds helped keep her spirit together though. It made her feel they had a deeper connection, even if it wasn¡¯t necessarily a good thing that caused it. She was brought from her thoughts by Fergus who shook her and she remembered what she was checking.


    ¡°Right. Sorry. I got a new bound attribute and ability. The bound attribute is Chaos and the ability is Chaos Infused. They seem to activate randomly...¡± She replied. Her voice trailing off at the end.


    She heard Griff breathe out a heavy sigh and he put his face in his hands. ¡°What in the world are we going to do with you? Abilities aren¡¯t supposed to be acquired this quickly! It¡¯s ridiculous even if you were a human. Granted each one was due to something ridiculous happening to you.¡± Griff replied tiredly.


    ¡°Honestly, I can¡¯t tell if you have really good luck or really bad luck.¡± Fergus said.


    ¡°At this point I¡¯d say bad.¡± Titania added.


    ¡°Same. Every time she gains something is due to some big injury, some new monster, or something that¡¯s just ridiculous happening. Same goes for this time.¡± Francois said.


    ¡°True. She just can¡¯t seem to catch a break.¡± Jess said.


    ¡°The problem right now is that this new ability activates randomly.¡± Griff said.


    ¡°It says I need to train with it to get any control.¡± Gaia stated.


    ¡°Great. Any idea how to do that?¡± Fergus asked.


    Everyone went silent as they thought but a moment later they replied in unison. ¡°Nope.¡±


    Gaia tried to get up but suddenly slammed her head into the ceiling as her new ability activated. The groups quickly ate and they went outside where Gaia tried to train her new ability to gain some control over it. It wasn¡¯t going well. She would be moving normally when suddenly she had a burst of power from her foot and she suddenly jumped ten feet forward. There were a few times where it caused her to face plant as her leg suddenly moved much quicker and she tripped.


    It was extremely frustrating as she had absolutely no power over it. She could barely feel the pathways it had created let alone feeling how it travelled along them. The only thing she could tell was that whenever it activated in her foot, she could feel the pathway that ended in that foot spark. She could also feel some chaotic mana shoot out from wherever it activated. She¡¯d nearly punched Fergus due to it, granted she couldn¡¯t hurt him but she didn¡¯t trust the chaotic mana to have the same restraints.


    The pathways travelled throughout her body and she jerked randomly whenever it activated. Thankfully, the pathways mostly ended at her feet and hands. It was usually just a sudden burst of speed in her arm or leg or sudden bursts of power from her foot or hand. By the end of the day she had started to be able to feel the chaos mana a moment before it activated. She felt she would need to feel the mana travel throughout the pathways before she could try and gain any control.


    Thus, it was back to training before she even dared to take on a request again. She made Griff and Fergus do at least one request a day so they could still afford their inn rooms. She trained all day every day for a week and a half before she had a grasp on the Chaotic Mana. She could now keep it from activating randomly if she concentrated on it.


    Thankfully, there was another benefit from her title Broken Spirit it made it easier for her to split her attention and concentrate on multiple things at once. She noticed it when she was starting to feel the mana traveling the pathways. She¡¯d been able to focus on the mana¡¯s passage while also having a conversation with Liv who was asking for ideas on what she should try to make with her creation skill.


    Gaia eventually suggested clothes or armor. She suggested armor for Fergus and Griff as they would get more use out of armor while the clothes she could give to Titania and her party as thanks for all the help they¡¯d given her. Liv agreed as she wanted to make something she hadn¡¯t made yet. She started making the clothes and armor while Gaia continued to focus on the mana pathways.


    Now that she could divert some of her concentration to the mana pathways without it taking her undivided attention, she felt it was almost time to go on requests again. Her biggest worry was if putting her Mana Field up made her lose concentration on the pathways. Furthermore, she wasn¡¯t sure if she could use all of her skills like usual and still concentrate to keep the Chaos under control.


    She started by using her Mana Field and was surprised that she had a slightly better feeling of where things were. It was still like before but she felt that its range had increased again and she could feel things a bit more vividly. For example, she could feel Liv¡¯s spirit as a flame like before but could feel it covering her entire center mass. She couldn¡¯t however feel Liv¡¯s legs moving through the mana, just where her center mass was. Before she¡¯d only been able to feel the flame and know something was there but now she had a rough grasp on size.


    It was a step forward but she still wanted that blindfold from Summer and Will. She remembered it should be ready but practiced her skills and continued concentrating on her pathways for a while longer before heading over to their shop. She arrived an hour later to find Will and Summer arguing.


    ¡°I thought you said it should be ready.¡± Will yelled.


    ¡°I thought it would be but I¡¯m missing something. I don¡¯t know what though.¡± Summer yelled back.


    ¡°Did I come at a bad time?¡± Gaia asked hesitantly.


    ¡°What?¡± Summer snapped before realizing it was Gaia. ¡°Sorry. No. Just having more trouble with the enchantment of the blindfold that I had thought.¡± She finished.


    ¡°We¡¯re missing something and don¡¯t know what.¡± Will added.


    ¡°Do you have any ideas on what it could be?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°We just know it has something to do with sensing mana. We have it so it¡¯ll boost the sense but not to where you can get shapes moving through it.¡± Summer replied.


    Gaia thought about it for a while but couldn¡¯t come up with anything. She decided to just bring out everything she had to see if maybe something would help with it. She didn¡¯t have much but remembered the stone that she got from the odd portal after touching the stone in the mana cylinder. She showed that to them and Summer quickly analyzed everything before stopping at the odd stone.


    ¡°This should work almost perfectly!¡± She exclaimed.


    ¡°Where did find this thing?¡± Will asked.


    ¡°An odd portal that opened up in the inn I¡¯m staying at.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s high stone rank. When I analyzed it, it shows up as a crystallized eye. It seems like we could crush it and infuse it into the blindfold to do what we need though.¡± Summer replied ecstatically.


    ¡°So, that¡¯ll work for what you needed?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°It should do what we need it to. I can go do it now and I¡¯ll be done in about an hour since I¡¯ve done all the enchanting. I should just need to crush and infuse this into it for it work.¡± She said as she quickly ran to the back of the shop.


    Gaia waited and talked to Will for about two and a half hours before Summer came back out. She came up and placed a four-foot-long piece of cloth in her hands before speaking.


    ¡°This is it. It should have the effects you wanted but I¡¯m not sure how strong the effects will be.¡± Summer stated.


    Gaia had Summer help her put it on and tie it behind her head. Then after a few breaths she pushed out her Mana Field. When she did, she noticed that Summer and Will were showing up as more than just the usual flames and she could sense that the mana completely wrapped around them allowing her to get a decent look at them. They were still more like outlines and when they moved she could sense the movement through her field.


    It worked like she wanted it to. She still couldn¡¯t sense the location of non magical things as mana just passed through them naturally. She could, however, sense the shape and movement of people and thus likely monsters within her Mana Field. This was a huge step for her as she could now essentially ¡°see¡± the area around her outside of objects. If it was alive and had mana, she could sense it move and see it within her barrier. It still wasn¡¯t a perfect image but she could sense the flame like normal, but it had a basic shape.


    For example, Will looked like a flame that had heat radiating out in the shape of a humanoid being, and when he moved the heat moved like he did. She couldn¡¯t see each finger move like if she could see him with her eyes but it was a big improvement.


    She hugged the couple and thanked them before using pretty much all her cores to pay for the blindfold. It would have been more but since she¡¯d provided the crystallized eye they¡¯d dropped the price by a bit. She then quickly headed back to the inn for the night. She got home much faster than usual as she let the concentration slip slightly and she had a few lucky bursts that sped her up. She quickly concentrated on it again before she arrived.


    She walked in and through the tavern area before stopping at the guys room. They should¡¯ve been back long before now so she knocked. She had her Mana Field pushed out but the doors to the inn rooms were luckily able to block mana abilities.


    ¡°Come in.¡± She heard Griff say.


    She opened the door and the two quickly stiffened when they noticed her Mana Field up. She was able to sense them move around just like she had with Summer and Will. She had a giant smile on her face when she realized that and quickly walked over and hugged them both.


    ¡°I can kinda sense where everyone is now in my Mana Field! I can sense when things move through it. I can¡¯t sense each of your fingers moving but I can sense when your arms or legs do!¡± She said ecstatically as she hugged them.


    They were stunned. They had been hoping for a way to help her be able to see things in any way but had slowly lost their hope of doing so. Now she had a way to somewhat see people moving. They quickly asked about basic objects like the bed and seats but their hopes were dashed when she said no. She could only see things that had souls like people or monsters. They celebrated nonetheless and had some desserts that Fergus had ordered. They were similar to turnovers and he had a few different kinds.


    After eating they continued their usual pastime of telling stories. This time it was Gaia¡¯s turn and she started telling them about her childhood. She¡¯d grown up loved by her family, was the youngest of three children, and was pretty smart. She also told them her favorite thing to learn about was Mythology. They asked what that meant and she started by telling them about some of the myths from earth. She started by telling them about some of the monsters from myths like the Minotaur, Sirens, Mermaids, and the Kraken.


    After explaining what the creatures were they stopped her.


    ¡°You have these monsters on your world? We have them here too.¡± Griff stated.


    ¡°These are creatures that are extremely deadly and at least adamantine rank here. How were you able to kill them without magic?¡± Fergus asked.


    ¡°We¡¯ve never actually seen them. These are stories passed down from civilizations that perished long before I was even born. We don¡¯t have proof they exist on my world.¡± Gaia explained.


    ¡°That makes sense for mermaids at least.¡± Griff muttered.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± She asked.


    ¡°You described mermaids as beautiful people with fish-like tails for their legs about the size of a regular person. They¡¯re not like that here. They¡¯re terrifying creatures that, while look similar to how you described are the size of a regular ship if not bigger. At least from what I¡¯ve heard.¡± He stated.


    Gaia just stopped talking for a while after hearing that. That was indeed terrifying to think about. It made her think about what else could be different about this world. They had similar creatures from what she¡¯d come to understand by telling them about some of the myths she knew. Were all of the monsters different in some kind of way? If so how were they different?


    The thoughts scared her and she quickly changed the topic after that by telling them about television and those kinds of things. This thankfully helped her mind calm down from the thoughts of what monsters could exist here. Griff and Fergus were fascinated by the things people on earth had created using science instead of magic and mana.


    They were especially interested in how people were able to have pictures and sound played through a singular device. She didn¡¯t know much about how they actually worked but explained what little she knew. She promised to try and take them to earth if she ever ended up going back as she knew they¡¯d like it. Griff would love to learn about new things and Fergus would love how different everything was. After she finished her rudimentary explanation they decided to head to bed.

 Chapter Fifteen

    The next morning she awoke and quickly prepared to go out on a request. She figured that she had gotten enough of a handle on the Chaos Mana and it was time to get back to normal. The group left for the League after a quick breakfast and when they arrived went to the reception desk. They couldn¡¯t find Freya and instead talked to the nearest receptionist which was a dwarf woman named Brunhilde. She was around three and a half feet tall, burly and had a magnificent braided brown beard.


    ¡°Are ya¡¯ll here for your requests?¡± She asked in a gruff almost Russian accent.


    ¡°Yes. We are.¡± Fergus replied politely.


    ¡°Alright. Here you go.¡± Brunhilde replied as she set two papers on the desk.


    Fergus read them out for the group. They were standard requests for a group of grass elementals and a plains giant. Both were in the plains region west of the city. The grass elementals would be annoying as they were made from numerous blades of grass and could separate before returning together and were a group of nine monsters with a level of thirty Plains Giant would be annoying because it was ridiculously sturdy and strong. It was also just a single level thirty monster.


    Grass elementals wouldn¡¯t be too difficult to defeat as they could be killed by anything that would normally kill grass like poison. The Plains Giant would be a bit more difficult. It was extremely strong and ridiculously sturdy, but very dumb. They had two heads but each one almost never agreed with each other allowing people to be able to pass it while the heads argued. They took all of this into account and discussed it.


    They decided to go ahead and take both since they were both in the same area. After that, they started heading straight out of the city. When they reached the western gate Gaia climbed on Malachite''s shell and they all took off at top speed. Gaia used the travel time to again train her ability to control the Chaos pathways. Liv was working on the spider silk armor for Griff and Fergus as she sat in Gaia¡¯s lap. They had around a dozen small golems Liv had brought with them to scout when they got closer.


    Shadow ran alongside the other three as they raced into the plains. They arrived near the specified area and Liv sent her small golems out to scout and find the requests¡¯ monsters. It took them nearly an hour to find the Plains Giant and the party moved closer to see the area for themselves. The Plains Giant was around twenty-five feet tall and carried a tree in its hands. It appeared to use the fifteen foot tree as a club and was standing by the main road that cut through the plains. This was the main road used to trade with the cities within the Kingdoms land.


    They waited for a bit and noticed the heads were arguing over something. They took that as a sign to attack while it was distracted. They took their Shield formation and went in for the fight. Gaia already had her Mana Field up when they started running and soon the Giant was within it. She could tell her field poisoned it almost immediately and they had the time to get a few attacks in before the monster¡¯s heads stopped arguing. Griff had gotten in a flurry of punches, Malachite got a shell bash, Shadow a few bites and scratches, and Fergus landed a few arrows in its torso. Gaia ran in close and used her barbed vines to slash it a few times. It finally noticed them after the attacks and swung the tree towards them.


    The tree still had most of its branches and appeared to have just been ripped out of the ground. It covered a large area but the party was able to dodge most of it. Griff was guarded by Shadow when he couldn¡¯t quite make it out of range of the club¡¯s branches while Gaia¡¯s barrier blocked some from scratching her. Her barrier rebounded with some radiation that caused the Giant to only wince. The slamming of the tree into the ground caused a small crater to be formed where the top hit. The ground shook from the strength of it. The party knew if one of them took a direct hit, none of them would likely survive it. The fight continued in this fashion with the party running around the giant¡¯s legs and getting in hits while it slammed the tree down towards them causing scratches and scrapes when they couldn¡¯t fully dodge it.


    Eventually, the Giant had slammed the tree it used as a club down enough that all the branches had broken off. This made the fight easier for them as it made the club easier to dodge without taking any damage. They slowly whittled the giant down with Gaia¡¯s conditions and stacking damage as it waved its club around futilely. Gaia¡¯s conditions made the fight go by quickly as she bled and poisoned the monster continually. It wasn¡¯t until the end that she had an idea for her chaos mana.


    She tried to make the chaos mana go through her vines. It didn¡¯t work very well as it didn¡¯t have a pathway to follow but she was able to make it enter them slightly giving them a burst of power that caused a deeper gash. A few minutes later the monster was dead and quickly dissolved. Infusing the vines with chaos mana was exhausting. When she checked the area she noticed a small offshoot in the pathways towards where she had forced it. She figured this meant she could create new pathways for the mana to pass through. The new one allowing for stronger and faster slashes with her vines.


    The fight with the Giant had taken about an hour which tired everyone out. They now understood why giants were known for their resilience and strength. The party rested for an hour before heading to the next request location. It only took about half an hour for them to reach the area and by the time they arrived Liv¡¯s golems had already found the pack of elementals.


    The elementals blended in with their surroundings as they were completely made from grass. Unless someone or something was near them and they noticed, they stayed spread out along the surrounding grass. Fergus and Griff only saw open plains of grass until one of Liv¡¯s golems walked over one of the elementals and it quickly came together. It looked like the grass got kicked up by the wind and all of the loose blades were blown into a six foot tall tornado with arms and a head.


    The grass spun and writhed together when it formed and Liv¡¯s golem was quickly shredded as it was caught inside the elemental. Once Liv¡¯s golem was destroyed the elemental stayed formed for a minute before spreading back out and vanishing into the surrounding grass. The request was for a group of nine of these elementals meaning there were at least nine such monsters spread around the area. This made them act more cautiously as they weren¡¯t sure where the other ones were or if the elementals would all attack if one was injured.


    They sent out more of the golems Liv had made to try and find the other ones. Sadly there were only six more golems that they¡¯d brought so they found six more within about thirty feet of the first. This left two unaccounted for so they decided to head in and fight while Gaia used her Mana Field to try and locate the two missing elementals. They quickly took their sword formation and ran to where the first elemental was. Liv had already activated Gaia¡¯s armor and formed some poison shots as they ran. The Grass elemental formed almost instantly so Griff and Malachite hit it with attacks. Griff dealt a strong blow with a mana charged palm strike while Malachite¡¯s shell bash didn¡¯t seem to deal quite as much damage as it normally did.


    His attack did end up poisoning it though and Gaia started stacking her poison condition when her field encompassed the monster. It didn¡¯t seem to be as effective but still dealt some damage. Her vines did nothing to the elemental so she stopped those attacks while Fergus was hitting it with multiple gale arrows that punched small holes through it. After the first group of attacks the other six elementals formed and started towards the party.


    Gaia noticed two other monsters moving in towards Fergus at the back of the formation and quickly relayed the information. He was able to dodge one of the strikes a moment later while Shadow blocked the other and he hit them with a gust blade that cut straight through them. Shadow was able to bite and claw the monsters easily since she was able to deal magic damage. The elementals weren¡¯t dead yet and quickly reformed but were slightly smaller than before. The group whittled the monsters down until they were about half their original size. The fight ended with Griff hitting the last one with a mana empowered fist that sent the grass, that formed the elemental, scattering and it floated to the ground.


    This wasn¡¯t much of a fight as the elementals were barely able to hit the party but Malachite had been encased within one of the elementals which caused his defensive barrier to weaken rapidly. Had it been Fergus of Griff their barrier would have likely dropped within about ten seconds of being engulfed. The fight only took about five minutes in its entirety as Griff and Fergus¡¯ attacks were stronger against the elementals than Gaia and her bonds. They rested for a bit before heading back to the city. This time Malachite grew to his current max size and Fergus rode on his back with Gaia. She had her Mana Field up just covering Malachite''s size to counteract her poison. Griff hopped on Shadows back as she¡¯d gotten big enough for him to ride on her back and they raced back to the city.


    Malachite stayed big until they arrived at the Hunter¡¯s League which caused them to be stopped at the gate where they assumed he was a monster. Griff explained he wasn¡¯t and they were let through after a few minutes of waiting. When they arrived at the League, Fergus hopped off and Malachite shrunk so only Gaia could fit and they went in. They went back to Brunhilde¡¯s desk to turn in their requests.


    ¡°Back already? It¡¯s barely two in the afternoon. Was something wrong?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Nope. We finished them both. The Giant was annoying but otherwise it wasn¡¯t too bad and the elementals weren¡¯t bad either.¡± Griff said.


    Brunhilde was silent for a bit before checking the requests and they indeed showed the requests as being complete. ¡°You guys are ridiculous, most people would take the entire day to do those but good job. Here¡¯s your reward and enjoy the rest of your day I guess.¡± She said.


    ¡°Thanks, Brunhilde.¡± Gaia said as they started to leave.


    They had gotten about forty stone cores for the two requests and they went back to the inn to relax. Gaia decided to try and make a new pathway that went through her vines. It was slow to make and took her until nightfall to make a rudimentary pathway that barely went through the vines roots. It was going to take a lot of work to fully create the pathways through the vines. She decided to work on them whenever they were traveling back to the city and on their days off while training.


    That night they were telling stories about the legends of the world. Gaia soon realized most of the legends were similar to those from her world but most had the gods coming down to the world and doing things themselves. She asked about it and discovered that in this world gods quite literally descended to the world and interacted with its inhabitants. They talked to people directly and would come down to fix things within their clergy when needed. They were, however, revered and described as having no faults.


    This made Gaia extremely wary of them. She didn¡¯t believe anyone or anything could be perfect. Everything had a fault. This made her distrust the gods more as they seemed to believe it themselves. She decided to just put that aside for now and enjoyed the legends Griff and Fergus told her until they prepared for bed. The next few days went by quickly with the party taking their two allotted requests and training. After they¡¯d been back and doing requests for about a week they invited Stephanie to join them like they¡¯d promised.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°I thought ya¡¯ll had forgotten.¡± Stephanie said when they met her in front of the League.


    ¡°No, just had a few things pop up right after each other and finally settled back into the usual rhythm.¡± Gaia stated as she hugged Stephanie.


    ¡°Alright. Well, shall we go get the requests?¡± Stephanie asked.


    ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s go.¡± Griff stated.


    The group went in and saw Freya, so they went to her desk.


    ¡°Good to see you guys. Who¡¯s the new companion?¡± She asked.


    ¡°This is Stephanie. She helped us out a few times. We wanted to do some requests together.¡± Fergus explained.


    ¡°Nice to meet you, Stephanie.¡± Freya stated as she took out the party¡¯s requests for the day.


    The requests were for some water-based monsters. There was a lake to the east of the city that had a merfolk village at the bottom. They used the rivers that flowed from it to travel and trade. The merfolk had some monsters that had spawned in the river blocking their trade and one that had started attacking anyone that left the village boundary.


    The monsters were a large fish type monster that was by the village and a group of beaver like monsters. The large fish type monster was called an Arap-eel it was a creature with sharp teeth and had the head of an Arapaima and the body of an eel. They were normally around fifteen feet long and had an electric charge through its body that it used to paralyze its prey before it shreds them with its teeth. They are extremely aggressive even towards others of its own kind.


    The Beaver monsters were called Iron Tails. They looked like beavers but were around seven feet long and had a three foot tail that was hard as iron. Their fur was strong and resistant to cuts while their teeth were strong enough to bite through armor. They had created a dam that blocked the river and had started to lower the lakes water level, this in turn had caused the Arap-eel to become enraged.


    The party took both requests and set out to the lake. Stephanie rode on Malachite¡¯s shell with Gaia since she was slower than the others like Gaia was. They soon arrived at the lake and saw the riverbed to the north of it had a small creek flowing at only about a third of the size it should be. To the south was the Shimmering Forest and to the east were some grasslands. They went to the waters edge and looked into it. The water was completely clear, and they could see all the way to the bottom a hundred feet down.


    They saw the Merfolk village but also saw the Arap-eel, it was around twenty feet long and had scales that caught the light making it look rainbow colored. Gaia could barely sense it as her field only reached a hundred feet out. It was swimming around the top of the village and the party was hesitant to try and enter the lake since they couldn¡¯t swim or breathe underwater.


    This was when Stephanie had an idea and pulled out something that looked like a stick of dynamite. Gaia couldn¡¯t sense it so she didn¡¯t realize what was about to happen. Griff thought about it and figured why not. The Merfolk village had some kind of barrier around it so he figured they¡¯d be alright. All Gaia sensed was some mana making a flame and then Stephanie threw something into the water.


    After about ten seconds a somewhat muffled boom and a large section of the lakes water was blown upwards. Gaia jumped and covered her ears before the entire party was drenched in water. It took Gaia a minute to realize what happened but sensed the Arap-eel floating to the surface. Stephanie then took out her boom-stick and started firing into the monster while it was paralyzed from the shockwave the dynamite had created. Fergus fired his arrows and Gaia had Liv help her pull the monster to the edge of the lake and out with Griff¡¯s help. Then the party just piled attacks onto the defenseless monster. After about a minute the monster was dead. When it finished dissolving there was an item there. It was a stone core. As they thought about it, they heard a voice from the lake yelling in their direction.


    ¡°What were ya¡¯ll thinkin? That was ridiculous. Don¡¯t you know not to do that? If I could I¡¯d come and hit you all but I don¡¯t think it¡¯d knock any sense into those thick skulls of yours!¡± The voice of a man yelled.


    ¡°Sorry. We figured you¡¯d all be fine because of the barrier, and we could take care of the monster quicker.¡± Stephanie said apologetically.


    ¡°No one got hurt this time thankfully. But don¡¯t do it again. Ever. You hear me?¡± The voice called.


    ¡°Yes sir. Sorry.¡± Stephanie replied.


    ¡°Well, get on with you!¡± The voice said as the group headed towards the river.


    ¡°Did you really think that would end well?¡± Fergus asked Stephanie once they¡¯d left the lake.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think about it honestly. Just kinda had the idea and did it without thinking.¡± She replied.


    ¡°Next time consult us please.¡± Griff said.


    ¡°I will. Sorry though.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Just don¡¯t do it again.¡± Gaia said.


    They soon arrived at the dam the Iron Tails had created, and Gaia used her Mana Field to see how many there were. She could sense about twelve of them eight were in or around the dam while four were about fifty feet out cutting down more trees. The group started by taking their shield formation and had Stephanie with Fergus. They quickly ran towards the dam and Fergus fired a few arrows at the Iron Tails by the dam while Stephanie took out a large cylindrical barrel. She put some mana into the hilt and hit a switch on it.


    Suddenly there was long stream of fire blazing in a fifty-foot line setting the dam and two of the beavers that were on it, on fire. The heat was scorching from the line of fire but it quickly stopped firing and went inert. The blaze caused the Iron Tails that were further away to start running back and when they saw their burning dam became enraged. The monsters that were inside the dam had tried swimming out but when they surfaced they were still burning.


    Gaia could sense the monsters rushing towards the party and sent out her webs and bound the ones that hadn¡¯t been set ablaze. The burning monsters started rush towards the group hoping to burn them along with themselves. Gaia blocked them as best she could and slashed them with her vines. Most of the monsters were now poisoned, bleeding, and burning.


    The fight didn¡¯t last for long as the monsters were slowly killed by the conditions. The monsters that hadn¡¯t been set on fire slammed their tails into Gaia and Malachite as they desperately tried to harm the party but their attacks couldn¡¯t get through the party¡¯s defense. Those that attacked Gaia were being struck with radiation and yelping while slowly getting weaker the more they hit. Shadow was running around biting and clawing the monsters, Liv was sending poison shots, and Malachite was biting the monsters when they attacked. Griff was sending mana shots into the living monsters, while Fergus fired his arrows and bound a few in place. Stephanie fired and reloaded her rudimentary musket.


    Within ten minutes the monsters were dead. Gaia had smelled the burning monsters and never wanted to smell it or hear the screeches of pain again. The rest of the group went and fully destroyed the dam which caused the river to flow again. There were also some more cores and what seemed to be one of the monsters'' teeth. This was when Gaia realized how much Stephanie could do. She was extremely versatile. She had nearly killed both requests'' monsters herself. She could cause a distraction, consistent damage, or massive damage in an area. She also seems to have a looting ability.


    Stephanie was a great companion, and she wanted to invite her to join the party but wanted to get Griff and Fergus¡¯ opinion first. The party moved back to the city the same way they¡¯d come. They arrive back at the city before noon and when Freya saw them, she was worried.


    ¡°Was something different from the request? You¡¯re back really early.¡± She asked.


    ¡°No. Both are finished already.¡± Griff explained.


    ¡°What?!¡± Freya exclaimed.


    ¡°They¡¯re done already?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yep.¡± Fergus replied.


    ¡°Ok. Let me confirm it and I¡¯ll get your reward for you guys.¡± Freya said.


    A few moments later she had confirmed that the requests were done and placed their reward in front of them. It was sixty stone cores for both requests as they were deemed more difficult due to the terrain the monsters inhabited. They split the cores as usual and they went to celebrate their first successful requests together. They travelled around the stalls and got a lot of food and drinks, except Gaia who had fruit juice, and eventually made it back to the inn. Stephanie went home when the celebrations were slowing down around midnight and Gaia decided to ask the guys opinion.


    ¡°What do you guys think about asking her to join our party permanently?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with it.¡± Griff stated.


    ¡°So am I.¡± Fergus added.


    ¡°Awesome. So we all agree.¡± She said relieved.


    ¡°Yeah. She¡¯s nice and a strong hunter. Why wouldn¡¯t we agree?¡± Fergus asked.


    ¡°I figured you would but you never know what someone else is thinking.¡± She said.


    ¡°Fair enough.¡± Griff replied.


    She was mostly sure they all would agree but there was always the chance they didn¡¯t. Hearing their answers made her breathe a sigh of relief. She visibly relaxed after the short conversation and they went into their usual story telling. She was telling them about the gods from her world since she was surprised to hear the ones in this world could and would just come down whenever they wanted.


    She was explaining how no one had ever met the ones from her world and how she hadn¡¯t really been a practitioner of any religion. They were fascinated by how her world dealt with this when they never showed themselves and were surprised to hear people just believed in them when they had no direct contact.


    This was never really a subject she talked about as it would normally cause some arguments or worse. She only told them since they were interested when she¡¯d told them the gods were different in her world. She did say that gods being faultless was something most larger religions believed. She preferred the polytheistic gods since they all had character flaws.


    She could see they were interested in hearing more but she stopped as she still wasn¡¯t comfortable talking about that kind of stuff. They relented and she went back to telling legends and myths since that was what Gaia knew the most from earth. She loved the old stories from mythology. She told some more before they slept.


    The next morning after breakfast they went to talk to Stephanie. When they arrived they saw Fern and Douglas were there too and could hear them arguing in the back of the shop.


    ¡°No. She can¡¯t be a hunter unless she joins our party. I can¡¯t protect her unless she¡¯s with us.¡± Douglas yelled.


    ¡°Yes she can. It¡¯s what she wants. If you¡¯re going to be overprotective how about if it¡¯s a team you approve of?¡± Fern mediated.


    ¡°Why does it matter? I want to be a hunter. It¡¯s fun and I found a party I want to join I just haven¡¯t asked yet.¡± Stephanie yelled back.


    ¡°What?¡± Douglas snapped.


    ¡°You heard me. I went out on a request yesterday.¡± Stephanie replied.


    ¡°She did and she¡¯s back fine. I told her she could.¡± Fern told Douglas.


    ¡°What party?¡± Douglas said after a long pause.


    ¡°The one we went with on the Matriarch hunt.¡± Stephanie said sheepishly.


    This apparently made Douglas calm a bit as he sounded a bit calmer. ¡°The stone rank group?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Yes. They¡¯re pretty strong.¡± Stephanie replied.


    Douglas turned to his wife and they whispered for a bit before Douglas turned back and spoke. ¡°Fine. I can¡¯t control your life and you¡¯re old enough to make your own decisions. Just be safe.¡± He said resigned.


    ¡°Thanks dad!¡± Stephanie squealed before she ran out of the back room to see Fergus, Griff and Gaia standing just inside the door.


    ¡°Well, seems we don¡¯t even need to ask.¡± Griff said.


    ¡°Welcome to the party.¡± Fergus said.


    Gaia walked up and hugged Stephanie, who the others could see was best red from embarrassment, since they¡¯d obviously heard everything. Fern came to the front of the shop after hearing the commotion and smiled when she saw Stephanie with her friends. Douglas was a bit more intimidating than before but just told them to keep her safe. They all agreed to do so, and he relaxed a bit.


    The party quickly went to the Hunter¡¯s League and accepted their requests. They started taking their allotted requests and finished them by about three in the afternoon most days. It was around a month after Stephanie joined that the party finally reached level forty. Their leveling speed had dropped due to the Mana Torrent, but they didn¡¯t mind.


    It was another week before the League put out a notice that a stampede was on its way to the city from the Shimmering Forest. The stampede consisted of about ten thousand monsters with one Iron ranked monster leading them. There were around a few hundred bronze rank monsters and a few thousand middle to high level stone rank. The rest were normal rank or extremely low-level stone rank.


    It was all Hunters on deck until the horde was dealt with. The Iron rank monster would be dealt with by the one Iron rank party in the city. The bronze would be dealt with by the bronze and high-level stone rank parties. Everyone else was to deal with the thousands of stone and normal rank monsters. The stampede was believed to arrive within the next few days, so all requests were put on hold and the scouting team was evacuating the villages in the hordes path.


    This was a great opportunity to gain some levels, but Gaia and her party were more focused on preparing so they wouldn¡¯t get injured. They quickly ran to the shops and purchased the necessities. They went with Stephanie to her shop, and she repaired their equipment with the materials they¡¯d bought. Then they trained for the next few days, so they were ready. Gaia had finally finished making the pathway for the Chaos mana to flow through the vines and everyone else was ready as well. Now they just had to wait until it was time for the battle.

 Chapter Sixteen

    It was three days after the League announced the stampede¡¯s movement that it finally arrived. The League had all hunters by the wall and when the stampede reached the edge of the forest all the parties of hunters were ordered outside the gate. When all parties were outside, the gate was shut. The city guard were along the city¡¯s walls with ballistae and crossbows ready to fire. When the stampede left the forest they started a frenzied sprint towards the hunters outside and the city¡¯s gate.


    Most ran for the southern gate while other groups moved along the sides and targeted the other gates. Luckily hunters and guards were positioned to guard every entrance of the city. Baron Carrelion was at the southern gate giving orders to the guards while the stone rank parties were put under the command of bronze rank parties. There were four stone rank parties to each bronze ranked one. This allowed for easier command and each group to work together to lessen any casualties and injuries.


    Gaia¡¯s party was put under Flora since they¡¯d worked together before. They were also one of the three bronze rank parties guarding the southern gate. There were four bronze rank parties at each gate but the iron rank party was at the southern gate since it was closest to the Shimmering Forest, and therefore, the iron rank monster controlling the stampede. The other two bronze rank parties were well known in Boundary like Flora was for being strong and competent. They were the parties called The Swift Blades, and Silver Guards. They were similar in strength to Flora and the Iron rank party was called the Slayers. They were usually hunting iron rank monsters deep in the Shimmering Forest but because of the Mana Torrent they had been stuck to single day requests.


    Gaia¡¯s party and the other stone rank parties were scattered around behind the bronze ranked parties within about twenty feet of each other. This way they could focus on the monsters that came at them without impeding the other parties but still offer support quickly if needed. The bronze ranked parties were in front and were going to cut their way to the stronger bronze ranked monsters. The Slayers were in the middle of the formation and would help out as needed until the stampede¡¯s leader made its appearance.


    After about ten minutes of watching the monster¡¯s approach in a frenzy the monsters reached the first line of hunters. All semblance of command broke as the tide of monsters crashed into the hunters and the parties started fighting the horde. Gaia and her party were almost directly behind Flora and got hit by the monsters quickly. Gaia had her Mana Field going which allowed most of the parties around her to gain the benefits.


    Fergus had been firing some arrows into the horde as they approached but the monsters just trampled their injured or dead as they ran towards the city. They had gone with a formation that had Fergus in the middle and everyone else in a circle around him to protect him and allow him to fire arrows continuously. Stephanie had her boom stick out and fired at the closest monsters before pulling out a massive great hammer. Griff was poised ready to strike whenever the monsters got close.


    Malachite was firing some water shots at the monsters while changing his shell armor to spikes. Liv had activated Gaia¡¯s armor and was firing poison shots while instructing her almost three dozen golems to do the same. Shadow was prepared to guard people as needed and strike out at the monsters. The first monsters to approach were mercilessly slaughtered by shots from Fergus, punches from Griff, and punctures from Malachite''s armor as he bashed them with his shell.


    A few were completely crushed under the weight of Stephanie¡¯s great hammer as she swung it down. A few died from Gaia¡¯s poison before even reaching them, and from the poison shots of Liv and her golems. Shadow had slashed a few and bit through their skulls. After the initial clash it was a battle of attrition as Gaia poisoned, bled, and retaliated with radiation while the others continuously killed the monsters themselves.


    Within a couple minutes, there were already piles of monsters. They were killing them faster than they could dissolve. This went on for a few hours before the parties had to start banding together so people could get some rest. The monsters just continuously came. It was an ocean of monsters that felt never ending. When one died another took its place.


    The battle raged on with the bronze parties cutting their way to the bronze rank monsters. Where one bronze rank party went at least one stone rank party joined. This made it easier for the bronze ranks to focus on the stronger monsters. The stone ranks held the lower ranked monsters off. The bronze ranks would retreat after every four or five bronze ranked monster kills. They¡¯d switch out the stone rank party with them so everyone could rest.


    While stone ranks were stronger and durable than normal humans they still needed rest more often than the bronze ranks. The bronze ranks barely showed any indication they were tired even after a few hours of battle. The stone ranks were having to take turns resting and defending. Gaia had to rest more often than most since her Mana Field drained her mana extremely quickly with the number of monsters she was poisoning.


    Eventually, she had to retract it to be about ten feet out from the defenders. This minimized the mana drain but also lessened her ability to help with the fight. Most monsters made it to the defenders without being poisoned making them harder to defeat. Whenever she was a defender she pretty much just stood in her position and took the attacks while using her vines and webs.


    The battle raged on in this fashion until well through the night. Gaia could hear people complaining about the darkness making it harder. She then felt the warmth of some kind of bright light above the gate. The complaints stopped when it appeared, so she guessed it was some kind of light spell. None of this mattered for her since the light and dark didn¡¯t matter.


    The battle began to slow down just as the sun started rising. The battle had continued all the way through the night and into the morning. It was Gaia and her party¡¯s turn to go with Flora to guard them from the horde. They¡¯d done this at least seven or eight times since the beginning of the battle so they quickly followed. They¡¯d just dealt with the second Bronze ranked monster when they heard a deafening roar that almost caused Gaia to pass out.


    Throughout the battle they¡¯d fought hundreds of monsters. Some were the tarantulas, goblins, plate squirrels, a few trolls, and even some they hadn¡¯t fought before then. Most of the bronze rank monsters they¡¯d helped with were evolved versions of these monsters. These tended to be larger and stronger than their normal and stone ranked kin. One such example was the hobgoblin they had just killed it was a larger and stronger version that commanded a small group of elites.


    The iron rank monster was terrifying when it came into Gaia¡¯s mana field. She¡¯d extended it to its max range and had part of the monster in it. The monster was larger than any she had seen before. It was likely about sixty feet tall and looked to be some kind of mutated dinosaur. When her party looked at it they were terrified, as was Flora. The monster appeared to be a high level iron rank.


    It had the head and teeth of a T-Rex but four times the size, four pairs of muscular legs, two pairs of long multi-jointed arms with hands at the end, and a massive tail. Each tooth in its maw was about the size of a person while each hand would likely be able to grab a tree. The head had two rows of eyes on each side with four on top and three below.


    The head sat atop a humanoid torso with one pair of arms at the normal spot with the other halfway down with another set of shoulders. Each arm had three joints allowing it to move in any direction freely. The fingers had long claws on the ends but it appeared to hold something in each one. One had a massive sword, another a gigantic shield, another an enormous book, and the last held a tree that seemed to be fashioned as a staff. Where the torso would meet the legs it instead met a dinosaur like body. Similarly to how a centaur would look but dinosaur parts instead. There the eight legs that had claws and were around five feet wide. The tail stuck out twenty feet from its back and had a spiked ball at the end.


    Gaia tried her analyze skill but it failed. The monster was much too strong for a meager stone rank¡¯s skill to work on it though. The iron rank party immediately started making their way towards the stampede¡¯s commander. While they cut their way to the monster, the guards on the walls were firing arrows, bolts, and ballista bolts into the horde. One massive ballista on top of the gate fired. It was a ballista around the size of a large building. The bolt it shot was more of a sharpened log than a bolt. It fired straight at the stampeder¡¯s commander.


    The bolt struck the monster in the shoulder but barely did any damage. The monster just grabbed the bolt with one of its hands and pulled it free. Then threw it back at the ballista which was swiftly destroyed by the force of the bolt impaling itself into it. The iron rank party reached the monster soon after and started their fight. They looked like ants compared the ginormous monstrosity but their attacks did seem to hurt it.


    While the giant monster and the iron rank party were fighting the other parties started to finish off the horde. Gaia and her party were still with Flora as they finished off the last bronze rank monster near them. When they checked the battlefield, they noticed the other two bronze ranked parties dealing with the last few bronze ranked monsters. The group took off towards the stone rankers to help finish off the horde.


    They couldn¡¯t help with the battle between the iron rank monster and party. The horde was destroyed with the only monsters left having either fled or been slaughtered by the hunters. The hunters could finally rest for a bit while the deciding battle was waged by the forest¡¯s edge. The monster seemed to be able to use each item it held to attack and even summon them in any other hand almost instantly. This made the battle hard fought. The iron ranked party was slowly dealing damage to it and after ten minutes a few of the monster¡¯s legs were unusable.


    The entire battle took about two hours. Part of that was due to the party needing to be healed. Whenever one was injured the others would focus on distraction until they were healed and rejoined. It was the party¡¯s leader that struck the final blow. He wielded a spear that was able to shrink and grow at will allowing for an unpredictable combat style. The monster had raised its staff high and raised its head to chant something when the leader made his spear grow. The spear pierced through the monster¡¯s skull before shrinking again.


    When the monster dissolved all of the other hunters collapsed from exhaustion. It had been a long, drawn out but hard fought battle. They had been victorious but a few people had still fallen before it was over. Many of the stone rankers had been injured and a few killed from careless mistakes from exhaustion. One of the bronze rank teams had lost a member from the final attack of a bronze rank Vile Shooter. A large insectoid monster, similar to a grub and ant mix, that shot acid as its main attack. It had exploded, covering them in the acid it carried inside it.


    Many stone rankers had lost some limbs from the monsters frenzied attacks. Some had been reattached mid battle and sent back out while others had to continue without them. Gaia¡¯s party was no exception, they all had injuries. Griff had lost a hand that had been reattached before he ran back out to help. Stephanie had multiple gashes and punctures from the monsters attacks. Fergus was the best off aside from Malachite. He had a few cuts and bruises with one large slash down his leg. Malachite had some cuts and bruises but otherwise was ok.


    Shadow had been running around guarding people when she could from fatal attacks. She had fared slightly better than Gaia with a few bruises and scratches with a few deep gashes herself. Gaia had taken a lot of attacks straight on using her barrier to hurt them. She had quite a few cuts, punctures, and even had pieces of her flesh missing from bites. She had lost a finger from a small rat creature that had snuck around while she focused on the monsters in front of her. They thankfully found it so it could be reattached though. She was otherwise alright and had been healing herself when she could.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Liv fared the worst out of them. She had the lowest resistance but had been under Gaia¡¯s armor giving her some protection. Gaia had needed to rest so she could heal Liv when a monster had pierced her barrier and impaled her with stone. Liv had been healed a few times throughout the fight whenever she¡¯d gotten hurt. When Gaia felt her now, she felt like a hole ridden cloth. She healed Liv as much as possible and soon Liv was back to her usual form.


    The entire party was exhausted. They¡¯d fought the longest out of the stone rankers. They¡¯d taken more trips with the bronze ranked parties than any of the others. Gaia healed her bonds as best she could, before trying to heal her bleeding wounds. She had run out of mana and dropped to the ground nauseous. She¡¯d never run out of mana before, so she¡¯d never felt the effects of it before now.


    She had a massive migraine, and everything hurt. Not all of it from the overuse of mana but from her still bleeding wounds. Her party was around in about the same shape aside from her bonds. They circled the group protectively while everyone rested. It took them an hour before anyone was willing or able to get up from the ground. Thankfully the monsters had all dissolved and the stench off blood and death was all that was left.


    The group slowly rose and Flora came over after resting and getting healed. They helped the party to the healing area. Gaia was woozy from depleted mana and blood loss so they kept her for a while before letting her go. Gaia arduously climbed onto Malachite''s shell with the help of Fergus and they left the battlefield.


    They went straight to the inn where they went to the guys room and promptly passed out in a massive pile. No one bothered them and they didn¡¯t wake up the next day. The party woke up sore, still exhausted, and starving. They got some food before resting for that day. Stephanie¡¯s parents had come to check on her and were relieved when they saw her mostly ok. She was still healing from some of the worst wounds she¡¯d had but was otherwise alright. Flora had checked on the group the night before and told Douglas she was alright.


    The next day the group finally checked their statuses. Griff and Fergus were level forty-four while Gaia and her bonds were level forty-two. Stephanie was level forty herself. They had all leveled up a few times during the stampede. Stephanie was lower as she didn¡¯t really do any hunting until recently. She could gain levels from smithing though, so that¡¯s how she¡¯d gotten to her level. They hadn¡¯t gained anything new but were excited to have leveled up as much as they had.


    They went to the League after checking their levels to talk about the rewards from the stampede. They saw Freya at the reception desk and went to her. They were given ten bronze cores as they had helped deal with at least twenty bronze ranked monsters and numerous normal and stone ranked ones. The rewards were apparently given based on contribution and were calculated based on the record of the Hunter¡¯s Badge. The reward was split between the League and city¡¯s coffers.


    The cores they got were a massive amount for them and they decided to find something they could put their items in. They had saved a quarter of all the cores they got in a party fund while splitting the rest. They had quite a bit of saved up cores and didn¡¯t feel comfortable carrying it or hiding it like they currently were. It wouldn¡¯t have been a problem had one of them had a storage skill or ability. They went around the shops looking for something they could use and found something in a shop called Esbert¡¯s Extraordinary Equipment.


    The owner, Esbert, was an interesting person. He was a half elf who was quite loud but extremely kind. He was around seventy years old and stone rank. He was an extremely flamboyant man in his personality and appearance. When they first walked in, he had asked them what they were looking for and showed them what he had. Then after showing them a bag, he started to talk to them. He made tea and they all talked about themselves. He was interested in everyone¡¯s stories and listened intently. After they talked, he started talking about himself.


    He had been a teacher when he was younger but loved history. He had gone on an expedition to search through an ancient ruin and had found an odd book. When he¡¯d touched it, his class was changed, and he could suddenly use magic. He was told his magic couldn¡¯t be taught and was instead from the book he¡¯d found. He decided to use the magic to create items for others to use when he didn¡¯t have anything else to do. This was how he opened his first shop and met his husband. He loved helping people and offered most of his items at a cheaper price so more people could have access to them.


    After his story was finished the group noticed that a different bag than what they had originally seen was in his lap. He took it and put it with the other on the table that was between them. He then took the other one and a moment later it looked almost the exact same, but they could tell something was different. He placed that one in front of Gaia and told them the total for both was two bronze cores.


    This was extremely cheap. All of the other places they¡¯d seen sold one for at least two bronze cores. These contained an area around the size of a five-foot cube. When they checked both of the bags, they were twice the size of the others. Gaia had tried to see if she could sense anything in them but couldn¡¯t. Esbert told Gaia to put a little blood on the bag in front of her and she did. When she checked it, she couldn¡¯t sense anything but when she put something in, she could sense that it was in there. She tried putting a few different things in and she could sense each and every thing in it, like a list, when she pushed some mana into it. The items inside almost seemed to feel like they had a list in which she could sense and take them out with.


    ¡°Thank you, but why would you give us these for so little?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Not many people would sit down and talk with me. Many just see me as a good way to pay less for a decent item. I like learning about people, and it allows me to help them better. You all are the first people to actually have a conversation with me and tell me about yourselves.¡± He replied in an elegant voice.


    ¡°That can¡¯t be the only reason though, right?¡± Griff asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re correct. I like helping people who are kind. Had you come in looked at the bag and just ignored my talking, I¡¯d have just given you the bag at one and a half bronze cores. You all are kind people, please stay like that and you could also think of it as an investment. I think you all will reach at least Adamantine rank.¡± He said with a smile.


    The groups eyes went wide at his statement. That was not something any of them expected to reach, they wanted to and maybe even try for Orichalcum rank. They did not assume they¡¯d reach higher than iron but wanted to try for Orichalcum if they could. Hearing his statement they all decided they¡¯d try and meet his expectations one day. They thanked Esbert and left after they purchased the bags.


    One bag was for the party¡¯s collective funds and equipment while the other was for harvested items and consumable equipment. Something they had learned for certain was that Stephanie had a loot ability. It wasn¡¯t super great but did give a chance for any monsters to drop a core or item. The items that dropped were mostly crafting materials since she could use the, herself. The one Gaia had was for the harvested materials since she was able to pull them out easier.


    The group divvied up their cores, outside of the collective fund which was used for healing, maintenance, and daily fees. They quickly went back to the inn and moved all of their important items to their new storage bags. Gaia didn¡¯t have much but she put the armor Liv had recently finished weaving for Fergus and Griff in it. She also put her dresses and clothes in it as well. When she did, she found she could separate parts so they didn¡¯t show together and could even label them. She used this to separate her own core stash from the collective fund.


    After this the group relaxed and ate dinner before Stephanie joined them in telling stories. She¡¯d mainly listened at first trying to learn more about her new group of friends. Her stories were about some of her inventions and failures. Most of her failures ended up exploding but her first successful invention was the dynamite she¡¯d used for the Arap-eel request. It had a magic rune placed within that would react when a mana infused flame reached the end of the cord.


    The group enjoyed the stories she told and went to sleep around midnight. They had gotten a double bed room for Stephanie and Gaia to share when she¡¯d joined. The next morning they all took a day off and went out separately to enjoy their day. Fergus and Gaia went on a date, at the suggestion of the other two. Both followed them and ran into Titania who joined to watch.


    The two started by going to a food stall and getting some snacks. They looked around some shops before going to a park. Gaia¡¯s bonds were with them as they were inseparable and they played in the park while Fergus and Gaia talked. They played with her bonds for most of the day before going to dinner and then heading back to the inn. Gaia enjoyed it a lot and was smiling the entire day. She hoped Fergus had fun as well and it seemed so.


    She had noticed them all throughout the day and was wondering what they were doing. She got her answer when they reached the inn and she heard them talking inside.


    ¡°They just went and got food before checking some stores? Then went to the park? That was their date?¡± Francois asked.


    ¡°Yeah. It was actually really cute, honestly.¡± Titania said.


    ¡°They played with her bonds at the park. That was it.¡± Griff added.


    Gaia just shook her head as they entered. Fergus apparently hadn¡¯t noticed or heard them. They walked in and ate dinner with the others. They relaxed after that and a couple hours later, went to bed for the night.


    The next few days went by with the group taking their allotted requests and training when they returned to the city. When they got back to the inn one night they finally asked if they could see Stephanie¡¯s status. She agreed and the screen popped up for her to join the party. She accepted and her status screen was shown.


    Name ¨C Stephanie Irons


    Race ¨C Half-Dwarf


    Class ¨C Smith


    Rank ¨C Stone


    Level ¨C 41


    Titles:


    Craftsman¡¯s Intuition ¨C Reduces time needed to craft items. Increases success rate of crafting and item efficiency.


    Dwarven Dexterity ¨C Reduces movement speed but increases reflexes.


    Skills:


    Enchant ¨C Enchants a single item with magical effects. Number of enchants is effected by items composition.


    Repair ¨C Repairs an item using mana. Broken or destroyed items cannot be repaired.


    Forging ¨C Increases strength while shaping metal.


    Inventing ¨C Increases reflex while creating item designs and intricate work.


    Hammer Wielder ¨C Attacks and strikes are stronger while wielding a hammer.


    Abilities:


    Smith¡¯s Constitution ¨C Strength Stat and Reflex Stat are bound.


    Crafter¡¯s Luck ¨C Killed monsters drop crafting materials.


    Armored Combatant ¨C Resistance stat effects armors defensive ability. All attacks deal more damage while wearing armor.


    Bound Items:


    Portable Forge ¨C A forge that is kept in a pocket dimension. Grows with Rank.


    Strength ¨C 515 (Fire)


    Resistance ¨C 255 (Metal)


    Recovery ¨C 61


    Reflex ¨C 515


    Spirit ¨C 101


    The group understood most of her skills. Her class was known as a production class. It focused on creating things instead of fighting. Fighting would allow a production class to level up faster but they could level up through crafting. This was time consuming and expensive though. Therefore, most crafters either settled down and opened a shop or became a hunter to join a party. They didn¡¯t, however, know what a portable forge and asked about it.


    ¡°A portable forge is a magical item that is exceedingly rare. It¡¯s a forge that is within a pocket dimension. They are usually in a random form, like mine is this small necklace with an anvil on it. I can infuse it with my mana and it opens a small portal to the forge. They bind to someone when they drop some blood on it, which is required for it to open the first time. After that it just needs that persons mana. It¡¯s not very spacious though. Just big enough for me to work comfortably and maybe allow one other person inside.¡± She explained.


    ¡°That sounds useful and convenient.¡± Gaia said.


    ¡°Very much so.¡± Stephanie replied.


    After that Griff went on to ask numerous questions about it in his usual pursuit of knowledge and new magic. The rest of the night went by with Gaia and Fergus relaxing while Griff pestered Stephanie with questions about her portable forge. Eventually they had to force Griff to calm down and they went to their rooms to sleep. That next morning started out as usual but they soon found there was something amiss. When they arrived at the League there was an alarm and an announcement.


    ¡°Bodies of hunters have been found within the city. Stone ranks should travel in groups. All hunters should remain vigilant. Assailant is unknown.¡±


    They quickly ran to the desk and asked Freya about it.


    ¡°There have been about five stone rank hunters found dead. All of which were killed in different ways. Every one had a core placed within the wound that killed them. The League thinks it¡¯s a hunter or intelligent monster of high level stone rank or bronze rank. Please be careful until the murderer is found.¡± Freya stated.


    The group quickly went on alert and told Freya they would try. Then they returned to the inn and informed Titania and her party who went to search. They also checked with Mr. Carrelion who had also ordered the guards to do more patrols. From that day on a curfew was announced for everyone. Anyone returning to the city late would be escorted by some city guards or a bronze rank party.

 Chapter Seventeen

    Gaia and her party were always on alert, when on a request and when they were in the city now. They were exhausted and the killer still hadn¡¯t been found after a week. They were starting to worry since more bodies were being found daily. Thankfully, they hadn¡¯t seen anything or been attacked yet but figured it was just a matter of time.


    That changed after another week. They had returned to the city as usual and were spending their time in the inn. They¡¯d decided to all stay in one room until the killer was caught. This made it quite cramped considering her bonds. Gaia and Stephanie took the beds while Fergus and Griff took the floor and one of the chairs. That night after they all fell asleep Gaia woke up to some noise. She heard something being done to the door of the room.


    She quickly woke up Malachite who was groggy and he went to the entrance. He grew a bit to block the door just in case, Shadow was the next to be woken up and Gaia had her be quiet. She took up position behind Malachite. Then Gaia woke up Fergus who was on the floor by her bed. He woke up and noticed her vigilance. He then awoke everyone else and everyone was on alert.


    Fergus had his bow trained on the door while Stephanie had her boom stick aimed there as well. Griff was poised to strike and Gaia had her vines ready. The door clicked a few moments later before being slowly pushed open. The moment the door was completely open Gaia unleashed her Mana Field and the party went on attack. What Gaia felt through her field was not familiar, and was definitely stronger than them, but not peak stone rank.


    It made her wonder how, whoever it was, killed all of the hunters that were stronger than them. Her guess was either a skill or ability or even just a sneak attack. She didn¡¯t know which and that caused her to be extremely cautious. Fergus¡¯ arrow struck the person mid body and Stephanie¡¯s shot struck it in the leg. Griff punched the figure in the head while Malachite was focused on defending as was Shadow, but the figure just fell backwards. When it hit the floor it splashed out like fog before completely disappearing.


    The next moment Gaia felt something appear behind them in the room. It was slightly stronger than the figure that had disappeared. She whipped her vines back and cut whatever it was, but the being had already grabbed her shoulder. She also sensed the figure had grabbed Stephanie. She reached out and took her hand before her Mana Field completely dropped. The next moment she felt like they were free falling. She still had Stephanie¡¯s hand as they fell so she knew she wasn¡¯t alone. She also realized Liv was within her armor which was a relief.


    They fell for what felt like a few minutes before they landed on a hard flat surface. As soon as they landed the hand let go of them and Gaia tried to use her Mana Field. Her field only reached out about fifteen feet and cover the room they were in. It wasn¡¯t able to reach any further than the walls, floor, and ceiling of what Stephanie quickly told her was a cell. She also realized the presence had disappeared. She started panicking but Stephanie calmed her down. Stephanie herself wasn¡¯t calm but they both calmed down after a bit when they realized Fergus and Griff knew they were taken. They had likely seen them be taken. The two didn¡¯t really have much choice but to stay there and hope they were found. Hopefully, before they were killed like the hunters before them.


    As Gaia and Stephanie were kidnapped Fergus and Griff were shocked. They had hit the person before it had just dropped back and disappeared. The next moment it had appeared behind Stephanie and Gaia before grabbing them and taking them with it. They had almost started panicking before Fergus ran to find Flora. They were the most trustworthy bronze rank party he knew and they cared about Gaia and Stephanie.


    Griff followed close behind and quickly found their inn room. They started banging on the door frantically and it was opened in anger by Jess.


    ¡°What the hell are you two doing? Don¡¯t you know we¡¯re-¡° She started before seeing their worried expressions.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Titania immediately asked after seeing them.


    ¡°Stephanie and Gaia just disappeared from our room.¡± They started before telling them exactly what had happened.


    A few minutes later Titania had woken up her entire party and the group went out to search the city. They started with the areas that were shady and areas where there was little foot traffic. It took them until noon to check these areas and they¡¯d even enlisted the city guard for their search. They didn¡¯t find anything and decided to move the search into the sewers beneath the city. They had an expansive network of sewers and had some basic slime monsters that kept the area clean.


    The sewers spanned the entirety of the city, so the search was going to be time-consuming. The search started by the town center. Flora and the Legion were the main parties that started the search. The guards would start their search by the city¡¯s gates and work inward while the parties would work outward from the center. Griff and Fergus split up as did Gaia¡¯s bonds. Griff and Shadow went with the Legion while Fergus and Malachite went with Flora.


    Flora started moving north through the sewers while the Legion took south. They had enlisted a few other parties to take the other directions. The League had most bronze rank parties on patrols around the city. They hadn¡¯t had anyone search the sewers yet as they believed the killer to remain in the city. The sewers were rarely checked and had some monsters within that were strong but kept the slimes population from exploding.


    Flora was moving north and had a map of the sewers that allowed them to mark areas they¡¯d checked. The other parties had similar maps that all linked so they would know when one found the area, if it was down there. They spent the entirety of that afternoon searching and didn¡¯t find anything. They were getting more and more worried about their missing friends.


    By the time it was getting dark they¡¯d only searched a third of the sewers. They tried to continue but it wasn¡¯t feasible. At night, the stronger monsters came out and killed the slimes that had reproduced throughout the day. These monsters were rabid and attacked everything within the sewers. They had their own territories that the others cross into.


    They were left alone as they didn¡¯t do any damage to the structure or even try to get out. They were mid-level bronze rank and stronger than most parties. At night monsters tended to frenzy when they spotted people though which made them that much more dangerous. The group reluctantly ended their search and left the sewers. The group returned to the inn and rested. None slept as their worry kept them awake.


    The next morning came much too slow for their liking. As soon as the sun was rising Flora, the Legion, and Gaia¡¯s party members were immediately in the sewers continuing their search. They searched for some hours before finding something that seemed off. There was a section of the sewers that wasn¡¯t on the map they had. Flora had found a section as did the Legion. There were at least two sections they¡¯d found not on the map.


    They quickly went on the alert and started their searches through these new sections. Fergus was with Malachite and Flora searching this new section. They were in the center of the group as they searched the area. As he looked around the area was similar to the sewers but had some irregularities. The sewers were mostly stone with walkways along the edges for people to traverse. The walls were made of carved stone and small pipes were along the middle of the roof and under the walkways.


    The new section was similar but there was what appeared to be metal along the walls. There were a few solid metal doors with some kind of latch around eye level. He opened one and wished he could forget the sight. Inside the metal room was a horror made of flesh. It was humanoid but had way too many appendages. It had a center mass with around five heads, twelve arms, and six pairs of legs all on a single body. It was unmoving showing it was likely dead. He immediately shut the latch and emptied his stomach.


    When they checked the other doors they were met with similar sights. It appeared to be some kind of experimental lab. Titania had gone in one after noticing something in its chest. She cut it out and realized it was a core. The core appeared to have been implanted while alive which caused the uncontrolled growth. They immediately marked it on their map as an illegal operation. They continued their search around the lab and eventually found a door at the end.


    This door was much larger, marked with red handprints and when they cleaned it they saw an odd symbol. It looked like some kind of dark structure similar to a monolith rising from a circular pool. The pool was a sanguine red and looked like it was the pupil of an eye. The monolith had some kind of script along its faces. At the top was an impossibly dark liquid drop with a different script written inside. The drop was mesmerizing and disturbing at the same time. The scripts were completely different from any language the group had seen but had a sinister feel to it. The symbol was not one they¡¯d ever seen or heard of before.


    After seeing the symbol, they thought the worst and were right. When they opened the door they found a room with a single table inside. There was blood everywhere. Blood coated every inch of the room and they noticed the table had straps to tie limbs down. Along the wall were medical instruments. They noticed some signs of recent use but there was nothing they could use to find the culprit. They made their way out of the lab section before stopping to process what they saw. After an hour, they continued searching, much faster than before.


    Griff was with Shadow and the Legion. They had found a new section of the sewers as well. Their section was much more ostentatious. There were tapestries with bright colors depicting battles and a coronation. All of the creatures depicted were monsters. Not one was the same. The only creature that was depicted in every single piece was a humanoid creature with multiple different monster parts attached to its body. It looked to have the head and torso of a human. Three pairs of arms made from a different monster each. One pair was a long multi jointed arm with claws at the end of a elongated hand. Another looked like the tail of a scorpion made of liquid. The third was like a regular pair of human arms, if you didn¡¯t count the numerous mouths with serrated teeth. The being had six legs one pair being scaled with the others being spider like and directly beside them.


    It was an odd being and was the one that appeared to be crowned as a king of the monsters. They continued through the section that was an offshoot of the sewers walkway. The tapestries continued showing many battles and the same being was depicted in every one. A few things changed on it. An arm was different in one while it had more arms in another. They were cautious as they moved and reached an opening around a corner. It opened into a large throne room where they saw a symbol on the stone throne. It was the same one that Flora and Fergus had seen in the lab section.


    The throne room was massive and had six other chairs lining the hall. They searched the area and found a small wooden hatch behind the throne. They opened it and went down where they found cells. There wasn¡¯t anything but bones in them so they made note of the area and went back to continue their search.


    The two groups met up in the center of the city as the sun set. They hadn¡¯t found any trace of Gaia, Stephanie, or the killer. They did share what they¡¯d found and decided to search east and west for something similar when they searched tomorrow. The groups hopes of finding their friends alive was quickly dropping. It had already been almost two days since they were taken. They once again barely got any sleep as they were exhausted from the day and the things they¡¯d seen.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    That next morning they set out into the sewers. They went east and west today and found more sections that weren¡¯t on the map. One was a completely circular tunnel that led to a few rooms. These held cells. It also had a map that held all four of these sections and another below the center of town. The other was a perfectly square carved tunnel that led to a large metal door. They opened it and it was multiple feet thick. The room behind held a map that filled one wall and had multiple areas of the world marked. This one had a paper that held the symbol and a few written lines.


    The two teams regrouped at the center of the sewers again and they relayed what they¡¯d found to each other. They were all worried since it seemed to be some kind of organization or cult. From what they¡¯d found it appeared the cult was targeting multiple cities and had some kind of plan. They couldn¡¯t tell what the plan was but from what they¡¯d discovered it couldn¡¯t be good. Griff pulled the paper with the writing on it and showed it to everyone. It read as follows.


    Monarch of Blood.


    Group one has failed in the experiments. Results show cores cannot be implanted to gain the power of monsters. They cause uncontrolled growth and killed the subjects within minutes. Only one has been created successfully.


    Group Two has continued their task of obtaining subjects for research. The city guard has started to suspect something but have yet to discover their actions. They have started to abduct from the villages instead.


    Group Three has discovered the Lords Throne Room. There were a few cells found behind the throne but were not touched. The room itself was cleaned but otherwise undisturbed.


    Group Four has continued monitoring the progress of the overall mission. A few of the other branches have gone silent but the majority continue unnoticed.


    Subject 3648


    Race: Human


    Gender: Male


    Age: 20


    Result: Success.


    Core of a Spectral Abomination was implanted. Has gained the Spectral Abomination¡¯s power. Has the ability to split into multiple copies that can act independently. When one is killed it dissipates and power returns to the original.


    Subjects mental state was changed. Seeks bloodshed. Takes pleasure in the pain and despair of victims. Implants a core into victims fatal wound. Appears to be a side effect of core implantation.


    Will continue monitoring.


    ¡°It seems to be a report to someone called the Monarch of Blood. It seems to be some kind of cult with multiple branches. It looks like they want to gain the power of monsters or worship some kind of monster king maybe.¡± Jess stated after a bit.


    ¡°The killer seems to be this experiment subject that was considered a success. What the report says confirms what Fergus and I saw at the inn. After we killed it it disappeared and then another grabbed them before disappearing.¡± Griff said.


    ¡°We also don¡¯t know if he¡¯s already tried to or already killed them yet. My main worry is the cores being placed in them. I hope we get there before he does something to them.¡± Douglas said worriedly.


    ¡°According to this map there¡¯s another section underneath this area. Let¡¯s try and get in there first then deal with whatever we find.¡± Francois said a bit grimly.


    The group began searching the surrounding area and couldn¡¯t find anything to lead them downwards. Griff happened to feel that something was off with a section of wall not far from the main sewer hatch. He walked by it a few times and placed his hand on the area but couldn¡¯t find anything amiss aside from the feeling. He called Jess over and she cast a spell before going to a specific section and pressing it. The wall slid downwards revealing a stairwell heading down. They cautiously walked down it while Titania checked for traps and disarmed the few she found. They continued down the stairs for about half an hour before reaching the bottom.


    The bottom of the stairwell lead into a hallway that had illumination stones along the ceiling and was made entirely of metal. They continued down it for a few minutes and entered a massive chamber. The chamber had multiple floors along the edges with cells all along the walls. There appeared to be hundreds of cells but there only seemed to be a few with people inside.


    The center of the room had a raised pedestal with channels dug from the top to the bottom where a pool of blood surrounded it. The only break in the pool of gore was a walkway that led from the back of the room. They looked at the scene in horror as the pool was nearly completely filled with blood and bodies. When they looked closer all of them had on similar robes or some white jackets. They soon heard the sound of someone cackling from behind the pedestal.


    They ran around the edge of the room to see the person standing in front of a cell. The man had a large blade in his hand that was dripping with blood as he cackled. He was sweating with exertion like he¡¯d been fighting for a while and had cuts all over him. The man was similar to the figure they¡¯d seen at the inn. They looked on as he walked into the cell and they heard grunts of pain.


    They immediately ran to confront him and when they arrived at the cell were shocked. They saw four of the same person taking turns cutting at Gaia as she blocked a small portal¡¯s entrance. They quickly went on the offensive and Fergus shot one of the men in the head with an arrow. The person dropped and dissipated into fog. Flora jumped into action with Titania stabbing one in the side while John cleaved another in half. Francois snapped the neck of a third while Jess sliced the head off the one Titania stabbed. All three dropped and dissipated like the first.


    Then they heard cackling from another twenty people. They turned to see twenty different copies of the man they¡¯d just killed. All of them approached the cell at once. The Legion immediately took up defensive positions around the portals entrance while Flora started attacking the enemies. Fergus stayed by the Legion to fire arrows while Griff took off to attack. Shadow focused on defending people where she could and Malachite was bashing the copies to hurt and put them off balance.


    After a few minutes all of the copies had disappeared. They couldn¡¯t see any more of them and relaxed slightly before checking on Gaia who had already fallen out of the portal. Stephanie was holding her while Fern healed her when they heard some clapping from the pedestal. They turned around to see the man sitting on top of it.


    He was different from the copies. The copies all looked human with some black haze around them but he looked very different. He still looked human but had multiple cracks across his body. His face had a maniacal grin but his mouth had cracks that allowed it to literally split his face in half. His eyes were completely black aside from pinpoint white irises. He wore pants but no shirt and carried one large blade similar to a machete. He had an unearthly black haze surrounding him and removed all light that came close. Everything around him seemed to lose all color.


    In every crack that crosses his body was a black void and it released the black haze that surrounded him. He was clapping which itself didn¡¯t sound like normal clapping each one had the sound of something cracking. With the sound came the visual cue of another crack appearing on his skin. He looked at them like they were nothing more than ants or toys for him play with before disposing of. When he saw that he had all of their attention he dropped his legs from the top of the pedestal and spoke.


    ¡°I see you came to take my toys from me. Sadly, I¡¯m not done with them yet. The redhead was quite entertaining. She even survived the core implant. Now, I¡¯m just waiting to see what will happen. I guess you all can entertain me until something changes.¡± He stated in an oddly disjointed and unhinged fashion before standing.


    When he stood up, the cracks along his body stretched. He became around ten feet tall and his limbs were stretched. His arms became almost seven feet long and each crack worked like a joint. He jumped toward Flora who immediately spread out with John taking the attack with his great sword. Titania threw some knives that skittered off the haze that hardened when the knives connected. One hit a crack and disappeared into it. Fergus fired arrows whenever he could and Griff hit him with a palm strike that seemed to stagger him. It also seemed to bypass the haze that blocked Titania¡¯s knives. Francois immediately went in for strikes that also bypassed the haze.


    John slashed but his sword was blocked by the haze as well. Jess used an earth spell that created boulders and lobbed them at the target. They struck him as well but parts were absorbed by the void in the cracks. She also summoned a wind blade that cut him but parts were also absorbed by the void. They realized blunt attacks and magic worked against him while slashing didn¡¯t. They also realized they needed to avoid the area that was within the cracked sections of the man.


    The fight continued as Fern was slowly healing Gaia. Stephanie was holding her and trying to help as best she could. Douglas blocked the entrance of the cell while Jeff and Ava focused on the fight. Ava ran in and attacked a few times when there was an opening as her axe was more of a hammer. Jeff stayed back as he could only hit him with the flat of his blade. Francois and Griff were the main damage dealers as their attacks effected the man the most.


    Gaia was slowly healing but they could see something was wrong. Stephanie had seen what the man had done.


    When they had arrived at the cell they waited for a while before anything happened. After a long time they heard the man enter the chamber and walk to the edge of the cell. He phased through it by becoming a haze of black smoke. When he entered, he was staring at them both. Stephanie had immediately opened her portable forge and pulled out one of her muskets and shot home in the face.


    The next moment he had disappeared and Gaia shoved Stephanie into the portal and stood at the entrance. She heard the man grunting with frustration and effort for a long time. Then she heard the man laugh and saw blood drip down from Gaia. Then she heard the maniacal laughter of the man as he disappeared. When he disappeared Gaia dropped to her knees holding her stomach.


    Stephanie ran over and saw a wound on her stomach with a core shoved deep inside. There was also the black haze around it that kept her from removing the core. By the time Fergus and them had reached them the wound had already closed but the man came back to do the same to Stephanie. Gaia refused to let it happen and refused to move from the portals entrance no matter what happened.


    Stephanie came back to the moment and she could still see the black haze around the scar on Gaia¡¯s stomach. There was also something else happening as Liv had disappeared at some point and she couldn¡¯t find her. Gaia was barely conscious and Stephanie was worried. She turned her attention to the fight and saw that the man was losing. Griff, Francois, Fergus, and Malachite were whittling him down.


    Just when they thought he was done they saw something worrying. The void within the cracks suddenly spread outward from him. Everywhere it touched a black haze spread and congealed into a copy. He didn¡¯t seem to gain any strength or health back but there were now twenty more of him. They felt weaker than him but were trouble nonetheless.


    Jeff killed one that came close and it dissipated before flying back to the man. When it reached him, some of his wounds healed and he appeared to gain some strength. This meant they had focus on the main body and ignore the copies. Otherwise, they would just be healing and strengthening him while tiring themselves out. Jeff, John, Titania, and Shadow focused on distracting the copies while the others attacked the main body.


    It took them about an hour before the man died. They had had no choice but to kill some of his copies which healed him. He had done that attack once more before Francois had killed him by crushing his skull. The entire group was exhausted when the man was dead. They immediately ran to the rest of the group and they all got ready to leave the chamber. Gaia was still barely conscious and was carried by Stephanie as they all ran.


    They ran up and out of the sewers before sprinting straight for the League. The moment they arrived John yelled out for a healer. Freya sprinted over before running to find one herself. The group ran to the infirmary as the healers were summoned. Gaia was laid onto one of the beds as a few healers arrived. They quickly asked for details about the situation before paling and working on trying to remove the core. The group was kicked out to give the healers room and they all waited outside. It took a few hours before a healer came out and spoke to them.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened, but she¡¯s lucky to be alive. The core was implanted about two days ago. The only reason she survived was the weird web golem she has. It had crawled inside the wound and slowly broke down the core as best it could. I don¡¯t know what kind of effects it could have on her though.¡± He stated.


    The party breathed a sigh of relief when they were told that she would live but were worried about what would come of the situation. They were about to go in but were stopped as she was unconscious. They waited for a few hours before being allowed in. Gaia was still unconscious and not expected to wake up for a while longer. When they entered they saw a small Malachite sitting by her head while being vigilant. Shadow was laying by her feet and Liv was on her stomach on top of the bandages. Liv was dark red as opposed to her usual off-white color.


    It was proof of her location during their imprisonment. She was also a bit larger than before but had a few small holes and char marks all over her. She hadn¡¯t gotten out of the ordeal unscathed. The group was just happy that they were both alive. They did see the core that had been removed from her though. Cores were usually either spherical or looked like crystals. This one looked like a large bean that was pockmarked and had been gouged out randomly. They couldn¡¯t tell what monster it was from but there was a label beside it. ¡°Agony Larvae¡± it read.

 Chapter Eighteen

    While Gaia was unconscious and laying in the infirmary¡¯s bed, she was back in the odd room with pillars. It was almost the same except the massive hole that had been in the ceiling was closed. The pillars were all the same aside from one seeming to beat rapidly and have cracks throughout. It was also smooth with small hairlike protrusions along the entirety. She was interested in the pillars change. She realized why the others had designs, it was because of her bonds.


    The ones with designs coincided with the bonds she currently had. This new one was odd as she hadn¡¯t gotten a new monster egg. She didn¡¯t know what it was, or why it was likely now one of her bonds, but whatever it was, they were bound. When she looked around the room with her Mana Field she noticed a few gashes but nothing large enough for the abomination to appear again. At least that¡¯s what she thought before its voice rang out in her head.


    ¡°Ah. I see you¡¯re back. It looks like you¡¯ve gotten stronger again. Good. I also feel there¡¯s another bond. This one¡¯s odd though.¡± She heard the Amalgamation¡¯s voice in her head.


    ¡°I see. You¡¯ve surprised me. Absorbing a core and creating a bond. That¡¯s new.¡± It stated a moment later sounding a bit impressed.


    ¡°W-What are you? Why can I hear you?¡± She asked hesitantly.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter. As for hearing me, the ring you have. I¡¯m glad you kept it.¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t get rid of it if I tried. Believe me, I did.¡± She replied angrily.


    ¡°I¡¯m sad to hear that. At least we can speak whenever you like now. Even outside of this sad little box.¡±


    ¡°What is this place? I understand the pillars being my bonds. I don¡¯t understand the rest though.¡± She asked the being.


    ¡°This, is a representation of your spirit. It¡¯s more of a mental construct than anything else, but since your body and spirit are one and the same, I could find it. After all, I was the one to gift you your class.¡± It stated.


    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°Sadly, that¡¯s all for now. Time for you to wake up. Don¡¯t forget to contact me through the ring.¡± It stated before there was silence.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± She yelled out at nothing.


    After a couple minutes of not receiving a reply she checked the room. All of the gashes were gone and healed. The pillars were the same as when she arrived and she realized the exit door was there again. She could have sworn it wasn¡¯t there when she arrived but now it was. She just hoped it was her subconscious blocking it instead of that being having power over her spirit. When she walked through the door she awoke in the infirmary¡¯s bed.


    She awoke and jolted upright which, was a mistake. Her body was extremely sore, her wounds had been healed, but her body had had many wounds. When she jolted awake her friends had woken from her gasp and then moan from pain. They swarmed around her bed to check on her. Stephanie was in the back and wasn¡¯t saying anything as she felt guilty. She felt it had been her fault Gaia got so hurt since she was protecting her.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Fergus asked as he gently hugged her.


    ¡°You scared us!¡± Titania stated.


    ¡°Whew, we were starting to get worried.¡± Griff stated.


    ¡°I¡¯m alright. A bit sore. Is everyone else ok?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yep. Just you getting hurt badly. Which, you need to stop doing.¡± Titania stated.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m kinda useless outside of blocking and taking hits.¡± Gaia replied before realizing she¡¯d said that out loud. She felt the entire room go quiet for a bit while everyone stared at her.


    ¡°So that¡¯s what you¡¯ve been thinking. About what I was expecting.¡± Griff said.


    ¡°Really? Do you really think that?¡± Stephanie asked incredulously.


    ¡°I mean it¡¯s kinda true isn¡¯t it?¡± Gaia replied.


    ¡°No. It¡¯s. Not. You are incredibly important. Your mana field helps us discover hidden enemies, protects us from poison, and poisons enemies. Your vines help wear down strong enemies and none of that includes your bonds. None of which we¡¯d have without you. Let alone the fact the rest of us likely wouldn¡¯t have made a party or possibly even met!¡± Stephanie started.


    ¡°Are you good at taking a hit and protecting us? Yes. But that¡¯s not all your good for. Your presence helps us stay calm and we can focus on everything else while your conditions weaken all the enemies!¡± Griff finished.


    ¡°You do a lot more than I think you realized.¡± Fergus said.


    Gaia just kinda sat there a bit dumbfounded. She¡¯d never thought about all of those things. She¡¯d always just thought that she should be able to do more. She always thought they believed she should be able to do more. They didn¡¯t even expect or seem to want her to do more than she was. She was doing a lot for them that she didn¡¯t even realize. She¡¯d been stuck in her own head since arriving in the world and at first it was just surviving. Then it was surviving while getting used to being blind. Now she had people she could rely on and that she could and did help.


    The group looked at Gaia as she sat there letting everything they said sink in. Then they watched as she started to cry a bit. She was extremely insecure about her usefulness. Now they told her that it was all in her head and she did more for them than she¡¯d ever thought she did. It was a bit liberating. It felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Then the tears just came.


    She sat there until she calmed back down and then remembered the pillar she¡¯d seen in her dream. She pushed her Mana Field out searching for something that she didn¡¯t know. She found it to her right. When she felt for it she found a box and after opening it found an ant. It was huge compared to normal ants from earth. It was about three inches long and had large mandibles.


    When she noticed it, she was surprised as she felt the bond she had with it, but it felt different from the others. She put her hand down for it to crawl on and she realized why it was different almost immediately. The ant felt the exact same as her stone skin. It felt like it had been made from the same stone she was and seemed to have a deeper connection with her from the start. Her bond with the others was weak at first and got deeper as they leveled and ranked up together. This one felt just as deep as the others currently were and it was just made.


    ¡°What was in the box?¡± She asked.


    ¡°The core that was taken out from your wound.¡± Fergus stated.


    ¡°That might explain this then.¡± She said before going quiet for a bit.


    There was silence for a minute before someone spoke.


    ¡°That explains what?¡± Griff asked a minute later.


    ¡°This little guy is now one of my bonds. I don¡¯t know specifically why. I¡¯m guessing because I absorbed part of the core and whatever mana it took from me birthed this guy.¡± Gaia explained.


    ¡°I thought you could only get one from the eggs you get.¡± Stephanie said.


    ¡°Same. Apparently not though. I¡¯m just as surprised.¡± Gaia replied.


    ¡°Well, what is it?¡± Titania asked.


    ¡°Let me check.¡±


    Gaia pushed her mana to the ant and its Status came up.


    Name - ???


    Race ¨C Pain Ant (???)


    Rank - Normal


    Level - 1


    Title:


    Core Hatched ¨C Creature was hatched from a core that had been implanted. Species magic given.


    Skills:


    Bite ¨C Creature bites an enemy. Has high chance to pierce armor.


    Phantasmal Spike ¨C Creates a psychic spike that can be shot up to fifty feet. When struck target is dealt low damage and causes the Phantasmal ache curse.


    Abilities:


    Ants Constitution ¨C Strength and Recovery stats are bound at the cost of reflex.


    Phantasmal Ache: Curse. Deals slight psychic damage over time as target feels pain radiate from the struck area causing weakness. Instances refresh when reapplied. Instances have a cumulative effect. Cleansing and Divine effects can remove the Curse.


    Tamer Quest: Raise Bond to Stone Rank 0/1


    Gaia was surprised by her new bonds skills and abilities. She was expecting it to have abilities like normal ants so the constitution ability and bite skill made sense. The Phantasmal spike was a shock even with the ant being a ¡®Pain Ant¡¯ as she just assumed it would cause more damage with attacks. She also quickly checked her status and noticed she had a new bound attribute. This one was bound to strength and just said Agony. She honestly didn''t want to know how this one worked. She had read everything before remembering the little ant didn¡¯t have a name. She thought for a while before deciding on Antonio. She giggled at the name which she thought was a bit funny but fitting. Everyone just stared at her as she giggled at the name, which they hadn¡¯t heard yet.


    ¡°What¡¯re you laughing for?¡± Francois asked after a moment.


    ¡°Sorry. Everyone meet Antonio.¡± She said as she held him out to everyone.


    Griff and Fergus just sighed while Stephanie laughed a little. The group stayed in the infirmary for a couple more hours until one of the healers checked on Gaia. They were told Gaia could leave and the group started out of the League when Freya stopped them to check on Gaia herself. When she was happy, she hugged Gaia before letting them leave.


    They made their way to the inn since it was just before sunset. They all ate together and got a different room for the guys. They didn¡¯t want to stay in the same room after what had happened. When they all were relaxing in the room she finally asked a question that had been on her mind for a bit.


    ¡°How long were we down there and how long was I asleep or unconscious?¡± She asked.


    ¡°You were in the cell for about three days and you were asleep or unconscious for another three. We were starting to worry you wouldn¡¯t wake up.¡± Fergus replied.


    ¡°So, over half a week has passed since we were taken.¡± She said as she digested the information.


    ¡°Yeah. They worked for a few hours to remove the core and then try and heal you after whatever that guy did.¡± Griff stated.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    ¡°A lot happened while was out. Did the guy get caught or what?¡± She asked.


    The group went on to explain how the killer was dead and what they¡¯d found beneath the city while searching for her. She was shocked when they described the experimentation lab and the throne room with the tapestries. The report also made her shiver since it meant similar things were likely happening elsewhere. It did bring up a few questions though.


    ¡°Do you know what the organization is or have any information? Is it a known organization somewhere or a new one?¡± She asked.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know and as far as the League knows it¡¯s a new organization too.¡± Griff replied.


    ¡°For the symbol we both found one in different areas so we think that might be the organizations symbol.¡± Fergus replied and described the symbol to her.


    ¡°From the information we have, they seem to want the power of monsters for themselves and will use innocent people to experiment. They also seem to worship this weird monster king or whatever you want to call it.¡± Griff explained.


    ¡°Do you mind describing the monster king you saw in the pictures? I don¡¯t know if it will help but maybe.¡± Stephanie asked.


    Griff went on to describe the pictures from the tapestries and the monster king he¡¯d seen. When Griff had finished describing it Gaia almost paled. The creature from the tapestries was eerily similar to the Amalgamation. It may not be the same but was too similar for her liking and she broke out into a cold sweat. If it was the same being, the pictures may depict when it became powerful enough to rise to power. She still didn¡¯t know what the Amalgamation was after all. It might be this monster king after it got too powerful and was banished or something.


    She¡¯d heard stories of such things from myths and legends on earth but this might be an actual example. The depiction Griff had seen and what she had were different enough that there was doubt the beings were the same. The possibility was disturbing for her to think about though. There was also the information that the Amalgamation was the one that had given her, her class. She started to explain to them about what she¡¯d seen.


    They were incredulous that she hadn¡¯t told them sooner and she didn¡¯t really have a response to that. The only one she had was that she hadn¡¯t thought about it until finding out the being might be connected to this cult or organization. The first time it had happened was when she¡¯d just gotten her prosthetic and had to deal with the ring. Then she¡¯d forgotten about the ring since nothing had happened until now.


    ¡°My main worry is how the being from the pictures and the one I¡¯m apparently bound to are so similar.¡± Gaia finished.


    ¡°It is worrisome. Do you think it will lead to anything?¡± Fergus asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. We¡¯re not even sure if the beings are the same. They¡¯re similar but there are differences. I think we should still plan for the possibility though.¡± Gaia responded.


    ¡°I agree. If they are different great if they aren¡¯t then we¡¯re ready for if something happens.¡± Stephanie added.


    ¡°I think so too.¡± Griff stated.


    After they agreed to plan for the worst they decided to rest for the night. They agreed to plan stuff out the next morning. Then use the day to rest before getting back into requests the day after at the earliest. The girls returned to their room and got ready to sleep. Gaia¡¯s bonds joined them causing the room to be a bit crowded but they enjoyed the comfort of their companions. The pair had pushed the beds together since neither was comfortable being at any distance after their ordeal.


    It caused the beds to turn into one giant cuddle pile. Stephanie and Gaia laid in the center of the large bed while Gaia¡¯s bonds took up the rest of the space. Shadow was sprawled on her back in between the two who giggled at the large wolfs antic. Malachite was shrunk down and by the middle of Gaias back, while Liv was in one of the beds far corners weaving some clothes for Stephanie. Antonio was over by Liv since he was small and liable to be hurt if anyone rolled on him.


    The next morning the pair awoke to Shadow licking their faces. They quickly got up and Gaia herded her bonds. Liv took her usual place on Gaia¡¯s head while Antonio crawled up her arm to her shoulder. Shadow and Malachite were both by her legs while they waited for Stephanie to finish getting ready. They went out a few minutes later and met the guys for breakfast. After eating they started to plan for if the Amalgamation and the Monster King were the same being.


    She¡¯d finally told them what she called the being and they all thought it fitting. Their plans were more hypothetical than anything since they weren¡¯t sure where this Cult, as they decided to call it, was. The group came up with a multitude of plans but stopped as they kept getting more and more farfetched. They couldn¡¯t account for every possibility and just decided on three major things.


    The first was if they travelled anywhere, they would be on alert, especially if it was one of the towns that had been circled on the Cults map. The second was that everyone would go as pairs or all together wherever they went, outside of when in the League or the Inn. The third was that no one was going anywhere after it got dark unless the entire party was together. This was also in effect while in Boundary since they weren¡¯t sure if all the cultists had been killed or left the city.


    By the time they¡¯d finished hammering out these rules it was around noon. The party went out and had some food from the stalls before doing some light training. Gaia was mostly off to the side and practicing with her Mana. Just before they were done for the day she decided to check her Status. She was extremely surprised when she did. She had another slot in her ability copy skill, and had a bound attribute to her strength stat. The bound attribute was pain which was a bit odd as pain magic didn¡¯t sound like it was an actual attribute.


    She checked the abilities her bonds had and decided to hold onto the extra slot for a while before taking a new ability. She would have taken Antonio¡¯s current ability if she could actually hurt something herself, but she couldn¡¯t. She would hold onto the open slot until she found one that would be more suited for her. She was excited to see the changes but focused on Antonio when she felt him create an odd semi-transparent spike above him. She could see the mana congealing into the shape and a moment later it was shot forward and hit the ground. He seemed to be practicing his aim with the spike.


    She decided to create a small ball of webs for him to fire at while she continued practicing herself. He stayed on her shoulder the entire time and seemed content enough to practice. The party returned to their room when the sun started setting and once again told stories for a bit. They relaxed and joked with each other until they headed for bed. The next morning they all ate before heading for the Hunter¡¯s League.


    They arrived at the League and walked up to the reception desk. Today it was Brunhilde again and she showed them their allotted requests. The one was a dungeon request while the other was an escort request. The first was for what they believed was a small dungeon found an hour into the woods to the west while the other was an escort request for the farmers bringing their crops to the city. The escort request was to and from one of the farming villages so it would likely take half the day. The dungeon request was allotted for today and tomorrow so they wouldn¡¯t have to stay overnight outside the city.


    They took the escort request and made their way out of the city towards the farming villages. Malachite had Stephanie and Gaia on his back while the group sped towards the villages. They arrived at the specified village about an hour and a half later. When they arrived they found a farmer with his cart waiting. They walked up to him and asked if he was the one who made the request.


    ¡°Yes I am. We have a few more carts that will be ready in about half an hour if you don¡¯t mind waiting.¡± The farmer said.


    ¡°Alrighty. We¡¯ll wait by the entrance. Do you mind if the two of us ride on the carts?¡± Gaia asked as she motioned in the direction of Stephanie.


    ¡°Not at all.¡± The farmer stated.


    The group waited at the villages entrance while the farmers finished loading their wagons. They decided on having Gaia on the third cart, which ended up being in the middle, and Stephanie in the very back cart. Fergus was in the front most cart while Griff, Malachite and Shadow ran along side the caravan. Liv was with Gaia as usual and Antonio was with her as well.


    They set out when everyone was in place and Gaia immediately put up her Mana Field. It was large enough to cover all five carts now that it was able to reach out a little over a hundred feet. They started the three hour journey to Boundary around ten in the morning and didn¡¯t run into any monsters until an hour in. Fergus was the first to spot something since he was in the front. He saw a few stone rank slimes. They weren¡¯t strong monsters but were annoying since they took less damage from physical attacks. These were slimes that couldn¡¯t rank up into plasmids for some reason. They were stronger against physical attacks and were larger making it harder to strike their core. When one¡¯s core was struck they quickly died making them easy monsters to kill, if you could strike the core quickly. Otherwise, one needed to cause it to shrink from attacks until they could attack the core.


    Fergus could see a total of three slimes. He fired an arrow which struck it but quickly lost its momentum when it passed the outer wall of the slime. A moment later the arrow had dissolved. He called the caravan to slow while he fired a few more arrows using his Gust shot skill and killed one with three arrows striking it in success. The slimes had started towards the caravan but one was slowed by some webs Gaia sent out when it came close enough. The other was killed by a palm strike from Griff that caused the slime to explode. The one Gaia had pinned was slowly being poisoned by her Spiritual Toxin but she had Antonio fire one of his Phantasmal Spikes at it.


    The spike hit it but nothing happened so she had him fire a few more. His condition hit and the slime started quivering. She had him fire a few more and after a minute it seemed to lose its cohesion turning into a puddle as its core rolled over the liquid. A moment later it dissolved and left behind a few items. When Stephanie reached it, she hopped off the cart and collected the items. It had dropped its core, a small chunk of slime, and a stone core.


    The other two had dropped similar items, but Griff had collected them before they continued. Gaia could barely sense the items with her Mana Field. They had some Mana in them but they felt more like embers you would see floating from a fire, rather than the small fire she¡¯d sense from monsters. This made it hard for her to sense the items, but she could only do so thanks to the effects of her blindfold.


    The caravan continued on with the group running into a few more monsters that came from the Shimmering Forest and a few that just spawned in front of them. They dealt with all of the monsters pretty quickly and let Antonio get a few hits in to help him rank up quicker. The main monsters they fought were a group of giant Grasshoppers called Giant Locusts and a group of Bug Bombers that spawned over them. These were large ladybug like monsters that exploded like a bomb when they got close to something or died. A few of each were bound up by webs from Gaia or Liv for Antonio to slowly kill while they travelled.


    None of the monsters were higher than level twenty in the stone rank making the fights swift and easy. They arrived at Boundary¡¯s gate after only about three hours and fifteen minutes. They had planned for an extra two hours each way to be safe. They didn¡¯t expect it to take that long but planned it just in case they came across a stronger monster or group of monsters that required them to have the caravan back up.


    They were let through the city¡¯s gate quickly and the farmers went about their business while the party split up to guard each farmer. No one expected any trouble in town but there was always the chance that something could happen. No one had any real issues aside from someone harassing the farmer Stephanie was with. The perpetrator was dragged off by the city guards with a broken arm and likely a few ribs. He¡¯d tried to extort the farmers crops while Stephanie was with him, she¡¯d told him to leave and he had attempted to punch the farmer when he realized he wouldn¡¯t get his way. Stephanie had swiftly moved the farmer behind her and brought her arm around to smack his side.


    Then the man had a broken arm and ribs before being dragged off by the guards. The farmers were done with their trades a little after two thirty that afternoon and the group started out of the city. The caravan had their wagons filled with the necessities their village needed but were about the same weight allowing them to move just as fast. In their return trip to the village the caravan only came across one group of monsters. It was a group of mole monsters called Crystal Diggers. They were about the size of a person with crystal like claws allowing them to burrow through the group easily.


    The party were able to deal with them quickly since Gaia sensed them when they entered her Mana Field which extended into the ground as a sphere around her. The Diggers dug up only to find Griff waiting over one of their holes while Fergus fired arrows at them as they breached the grounds surface. Stephanie shot two with her pre-loaded muskets and Gaia bound one up with her webs as Antonio struck it with his spikes. He also bit it a few times when he crawled over to it. His Phantasmal Spikes were much stronger than his bites though so he used it unless something was within biting range.


    Stephanie picked up the items that were dropped by the Diggers. These were mainly parts of their claws which were good to blend with metals for sharper weapons. They reached the village on time and after helping the farmers unload their cargo from the wagons said goodbye before traveling back to Boundary. They arrived just before the sun set allowing them quick entry and they went straight to the Hunter¡¯s League to get their reward. They received forty-five cores since they had four fights and were given five for the basic escort. Escort requests could be lucrative or extremely wasteful depending on how many and how hard the fights were.


    If there were a lot of easy fights they could be lucrative but if there were a few or really hard fights could be costly depending on what items were used or needed. The same could be said for the dungeon request they were planning to take the next day. If they had a lot of easy fights with the one hard boss fight at the end it could be well paid. If there were a lot of strong monsters in the dungeon they may make less than what they spend on needed supplies. They went to the inn for the night since most shops were closed.


    The next morning they prepared to take the dungeon request. This request was from the League as it was a new dungeon that had formed due to the Mana Torrent. They had a scout reach it but there was a level limit. It only allowed for people under level fifty in the stone rank to enter. The scout had a strong analyzing ability that had shown them the requirements to enter. The League was giving them each a low grade healing potion and a low grade mana potion of stone rank.


    The healing potions were concoctions that people with Alchemist classes could make. They healed the body quicker and with less strain than healing magic, but were hard to concoct. They also weren¡¯t able to be used for a time after taking one as they would have no effect. For example, one could take a low grade stone rank healing potion about once an hour. When they got to higher ranks the grade of a potion would be more important.


    The same went for mana potions which were basically just potions that filled one¡¯s mana reserves. When one was imbibed it gave the drinker a jolt of mana that allowed them to continue fighting for a little longer before running out of mana. These were much more expensive than healing potions as they required mana dense materials to concoct. After being given their potions, the party set off to the new dungeon. It took them an hour to reach the dungeons entrance which was in the middle of a small forest to the northwest of Boundary.


    It was a cave that was partway into a hole in the ground. It had sloped bottom from ground level down to the entrance. Gaia could sense the mana emanating from the caves mouth with her Mana Field and it just stopped at the caves entrance. It was like there was a solid wall of mana right at the caves edge that her mana couldn¡¯t penetrate. The group made sure they had everything ready and took their first step into the dungeon.

 Chapter Nineteen

    When the party entered the dungeon, it had a similar feeling like entering a portal. It was similar in that it felt like moving through a layer of jelly but different because it was much thinner than the portal. It was like the difference of an inch to half a foot, similar, but it easier to push through to the dungeon. When they completely passed though the entrance they went straight into a defensive formation. Gaia immediately pushed out her Mana Field and was struck by the ability to sense everything within her field.


    She could sense everything from the floor of the area to the ceiling and every single little thing in it. She could essentially see everything, or at least the outline of it all. It was the second time she¡¯d ever been able ¡°see¡± like this. It was her first look at Stephanie too. Stephanie was a little under a foot shorter than Fergus while being much more muscular. She had long curly hair and small pointy ears with a few earrings. Her face was beautiful if a bit wide and she appeared to have a nose ring.


    Gaia could also see the armor Stephanie used. It was thick and made from heavy, sturdy metal. She looked like she was wearing a full set of plate mail. It covered every part of her body but she was currently holding her helmet. It was a full great helm that could cover her entire head. When she finished looking at Stephanie she was about to go back to checking the surroundings but a screen appeared in front of her. The same one also seemed to appear in front of the rest of the party as well.


    Quest: Defeat the Dungeon Boss 0/1


    Reward: Unique Title and Class Improvement (Item or Skill)


    It seemed like everything had mana which allowed her to sense it, where as when she was outside of the dungeon she couldn¡¯t sense the trees or ground. She could see every contour on the floor and every leaf on the plants. They were in a large cavern like space. There were multiple stalagmites and stalactites, some of which had grown together to create pillars. There was a small creek that ran from right by the entrance to a small tunnel leading downward at the back. There were many plants some which appeared to be moss and others she didn¡¯t know.


    Granted she had never really been someone to explore caves and didn¡¯t know what would be normal plant life in one aside from moss. She was fascinated by the environment since she could actually sense it all and somewhat see it. Her attention was brought to the three monsters at the far side of the room though. She could sense the usual flame and it radiated like usual but she could sense the difference in mana from the ambient mana to the monsters mana.


    The monsters were giant centipedes. They had large mandibles in the front and back ends with hundreds of legs and had thick chitinous shells. The centipedes also had small hair like protrusions across their entire body which gave Gaia a bad feeling. She tried analyzing them and a screen appeared.


    Name ¨C Giant Dungeon Centipede


    Rank ¨C Stone


    Level ¨C 30


    The monsters weren¡¯t overly strong but she couldn¡¯t shake off the feeling that something was off. She warned the others as they all prepared to engage the monsters, which had noticed their pretense and were moving towards them. The battle started with Fergus growing his vine bow and firing a few arrows at the incoming centipedes. All of them bounced off the monsters hard carapaces aside from one that struck between one of the plates of the monster. This one also caused vines to sprout from the arrow and bind the monster in place. Stephanie followed up with a musket shot at the closet monster which cracked the plate covering its head.


    Griff sprinted in and struck the last with a shoulder charge while Malachite hit it with a shell bash. Liv was starting to bind the closest centipede with her webs while Gaia used her chaos pathways to strengthen her vines and cause it to hemorrhage. Antonio was firing some Phantasmal spikes at the one bound in vines and Shadow was running in out slashing with her claws. All of the monsters were slowly being stacked with Gaia¡¯s Spiritual Toxin conditions while another was being bled. Antonio¡¯s spikes were starting to effect on the first monster as it started to thrash about.


    Stephanie had run forward and used her great hammer to crush the closest centipedes head while Griff killed the other with his gauntlets and a charged Palm strike. The last was slowly dying from Antonio¡¯s condition and Gaia¡¯s poison. Fergus fired a few more arrows to deal some more damage to it and it died a minute later from the conditions. The group looked around the room for any other hostiles while Gaia surveyed the entire room with her Mana Field. She didn¡¯t sense any other monsters and relayed such to the others.


    They started towards the tunnel at the back of the room where the creek continued downwards. The tunnel was about ten feet tall and just wide enough for two people to walk side by side. They walked down the tunnel for about ten minutes before Gaia sensed it widen into another large cavern. She couldn¡¯t sense much from where they were but could sense some plants and what seemed to be some kind of slime monster on the ceiling by the tunnels exit.


    They continued cautiously and when they reached the exit of the tunnel they stopped for Gaia to check the area ahead. She could sense around five slime monsters on the ceiling outside of the tunnel. It was around twenty tall at the exit of the tunnel. She could also sense a few more monsters a bit farther in the next cavern that were in the ceiling. From what she could sense they felt like some bat monsters.


    They decided to have Griff and Malachite run under the slime monsters for them to fall and have the others attack them. The monsters were already being poisoned by Gaia¡¯s field which caused them to be agitated. They needed to move quickly before the bat monsters decided to join the fight. Griff and Malachite sprinted out under the slimes and they fell to the floor with a few loud splats. Stephanie started by firing her silenced musket at one of the slimes while Fergus fired three arrows at once. Every strike struck the slimes. Shadow ran out slashing the one Stephanie had hit while Griff and Malachite sprinted back in and hit the other two. One was moving towards Gaia by causing one section of it to spread towards her and the liquid inside streaming into it. She watched in fascination for a moment before Liv fired a few poison shots into it causing it to dissolve.


    The slimes were all dead in a matter of seconds and the bats were far enough away they hadn¡¯t noticed them yet. They were starting to wake up and fly due to the noise and condition Gaia put on them with her Mana Field. The group waited until two of the bats discovered them and started moving towards them. Fergus and Stephanie killed the two bats in seconds with a single shot each. Then a horde of the bat monsters came surging down from a tube above the cavern.


    Gaia sensed them as they entered her field and was shocked by the number of them. She suggested they move back to the tunnel for the smaller area but the bats were upon them in moments. Gaia, Stephanie and Fergus were the only ones in the tunnels entrance since they all fought from a distance. Liv had changed Gaia¡¯s armor to cover Antonio when the bats started approaching.


    The group started firing arrows and musket balls up into the colony of bats. Gaia used her vines and chaos pathways to strengthen the strikes to bleed the bats. Antonio and Liv were firing Phantasmal spikes and poison shots into the mass of bats. Griff was extremely accurate with his punches and kicks each of which landing on a bat and killing it. Shadow was slashing with her claws and biting completely through a few. Malachite was less effective with his strikes. He was firing water shots into the bats after being unable to strike them with physical hits. The bats were dropping as the groups strikes hit.


    There were just hundreds more to take the fallen monsters places. The group continued to fight the bats as Griff, Malachite, and Shadow slowly moved towards the rest of the group. They connected with the others a minute later, thankfully by this point the bats had been within Gaia¡¯s field for a while. The bats started dropping from her poison condition while others were dying from bleeding. The group just needed to last for a little while longer before the bats would either die from Gaia¡¯s poison or the groups collective strikes.


    After another twenty minutes the bats were either dead or had flown away from the group. They were all a bit bruised and cut from the bats bites and scratches. A few of them had even used some wind blades which were annoying but weren¡¯t strong enough to do more than cause some deep cuts. A few had even used some kind of sonic attack that had caused Shadow and Gaia to be stunned for a few seconds and caused them to be deafened for a while.


    Those had been the ones that caused the most problems. The two were highly reliant on their hearing making that a major weakness. The group sat down to rest for a bit after the bats flew away. Gaia and Shadow weren¡¯t able to hear until about fifteen minutes had passed from the fight. Gaia¡¯s best guess for why it lasted so long was that the last one to use a sonic attack had been right beside them.


    After about thirty minutes the group got up to continue through the cavern. Gaia had her field out to the maximum she could which was a little over a hundred feet. She could sense most of this caverns area. There was a large hole in the ceiling, where she assumed the bats had gone, that she could only see a little bit of. The cavern they were currently in was a large straight crevasse with high walls. There was the small creek still running through the center from where they¡¯d entered the new cavern. They¡¯d come across a few more of the centipedes and slimes, but the bats seemed to have been a one time thing so far. They hoped the bats were, at least from the sheer number there had been.


    The group walked along the crevice for a few hours while dealing with the occasional group of monsters. Most of the monsters had been some kind of modified cave dwelling creature. Most were large insects while a few had been creatures that could blend in with the environment. They¡¯d come across a mimic shaped like a rock which they¡¯d only noticed due to Gaia being able to sense it in her Mana Field. Another was a large salamander that had jumped out at them from a deeper section of the small waterway.


    Most of the creatures only attacked when they got close to them aside from the insectoid monsters. After around four hours of walking along the crevasse they stopped to rest and eat. They¡¯d fought quite a few monsters by this point but none had been above level thirty. They¡¯d even come across a few normal rank monsters. These were usually in groups with the stone rank versions of themselves but were odd to see.


    From what Gaia recalled from the training camp, dungeons were areas where something called a core was created. A core was a physical mass of concentrated mana that effected the world around it. Dungeons could form over long periods of time or be created within a night. A core was created in two ways. The first way is mana concentration in area drastically changing and was absorbed by a monster or sentient being. The other is by one of the chaos gods creating a core and placing it somewhere in the world. The one they were in was one of the former, from the information they¡¯d been given.


    Dungeons created from mana concentration could create any kind of ecosystem within them. It just depended on what monster or being became the core. Most dungeons after forming had a restriction on them. This limited who or what could challenge them. The limit on natural dungeons was the strength of the monster when they became the core. This was because they couldn¡¯t leave the dungeon to level or rank up. For dungeons formed from a core created by a god, this was based on the boss monster¡¯s level and rank. This allowed for the hunters to have a challenge when exploring it but not wipe everything out instantly. No one knew why these rules were in place but they¡¯d discovered them through years of research.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    Dungeons were different from portals by one major factor. Dungeons were part of the world they were created on. The caves and tunnels they were currently in had become a natural part of the world. Dungeons would disappear after its core was destroyed no matter what kind it was. These were usually guarded by a boss monster or were inside the monster that had created the dungeon. When the dungeon¡¯s core was destroyed the tunnels and caves that had been changed by the dungeons creation would remain. The monsters they found here would spawn naturally as the mana concentration within would be higher than the surroundings. This would dissipate over a long period of time until the mana¡¯s concentration had evened out with the surrounding world.


    Some dungeons absorbed more mana than they could contain and caused monsters to spawn unnaturally fast breaking the barrier that held them within. This caused monsters to spawn continuously until the mana concentration had dropped back to normal. When monsters spawned like this it caused them to be able to leave the dungeon and created what was known as a Monster Tide. This phenomenon was more likely to happen during a Mana Torrent as the ambient mana levels rose.


    Most dungeons were destroyed soon after they were found since they were dangerous. This was due to the possibility of a Monster Tide if left alone. The area would naturally spawn monsters similar to the rank the dungeon had been until it dissipated. When one destroyed a core they were always given a title and sometimes an item or skill. The item or skill were usually related to a persons class. If a party destroyed the dungeon they would all receive the rewards. This fact was proven by the screen that had appeared when they entered the dungeon.


    The party was willing to do this request even with the unknown dangers because of this reason. They also were confident in their ability to deal with traps because of Gaia¡¯s Mana Field. The monsters were a bit weaker than they were expecting but guessed there might be stronger ones farther in. They weren¡¯t even sure how big or how many floors the dungeon had. They¡¯d already been in the dungeon for five or six hours and had only gotten to what they assumed was the second floor. This floor had been massive so far and they still hadn¡¯t found the way down yet.


    Gaia was brought from her thoughts by the rest of the group getting ready to continue. They continued for another hour before they finally found a tunnel that led downwards. The creek that had run through the center of the crevasse continued down this tunnel but it grew wider the further down they went. Eventually the entire tunnel¡¯s floor had water running down it but the center was much deeper than before. From what Gaia could feel the tunnel had widened to about twenty feet wide a couple hundred feet from where they¡¯d entered.


    The waterway the creek had run through had deepened to about seven feet while the water filled it and flowed with strong current. The water had started flowing quicker and quicker as they continued and the water started to flow over the edges of the bank. By the time they reached the next floor the water was up to their shins. It also had a small current that made it harder for them to keep their balance.


    When they exited the tunnel to the third floor Gaia realized there was now a problem. The floor was slanted down until the water was about four feet deep. This was mainly a problem for her since it would be above her head and she couldn¡¯t swim. Thankfully, Malachite would be able to swim while carrying her which solved that problem. The main one was that the others would be slow in the water while the monsters would likely be aquatic giving them an advantage.


    The group stopped to assess the situation but continued after a quick deliberation. Gaia was on Malachite¡¯s shell in her throne with Live and Antonio. She constantly had her Mana Field up and was able to sense anything that would be in the water although it was all a bit distorted. The water seemed to have some mana but not enough to completely block her field. They continued for a bit before they came across their first monster on the floor.


    It was a large crayfish monster known as a dual shelled crayfish. It had two layers of shells making them extremely durable and had serrated edges on their claws. Fergus attempted to fire an arrow at it which fell flat when he let the bowstring go and the arrow just went a few feet due to the resistance of the water. Griff moved forward but was slowed down greatly by the water. His palm strike hit but dealt much less damage due to the water draining the strikes momentum. Stephanie pulled her great hammer from her back and swung it from over her head at the monster. Her strike seemed to speed up as it fell, most of the momentum slowed when it hit the waters surface but sped up slightly afterward. Antonio fired a few Phantasmal spikes at it which hit easily and were unhindered by the liquid.


    Shadow had been incorporeal since they entered the water allowing her to move unhindered but would switch back to block attacks before reverting. When Stephanie¡¯s hammer struck the monster its outer shell shattered revealing the sturdy second shell it had. The party slowly hit it with strikes until it died. Fergus had needed to pull his sword out in order to hurt it at all. After this, the party decided to move forward slowly so they wouldn¡¯t get overwhelmed by monsters in the water. They came across a few other aquatic monsters through this floor. These were mainly a few fish monsters, salamanders, and a giant water snake.


    The last was the most difficult to deal with as it was nearly thirty feet long and could move through the water effortlessly. It was also stronger than anything they¡¯d fought so far in the dungeon being level forty. It had two large scythe like fangs and had sharp spikes along its scales. The monster had been fast enough that it had sped from the edge of Gaias range to the group within a few seconds


    It was fast enough that they couldn¡¯t land a real hit against it and had needed to have Shadow block its attacks when she could. The group was slowed by the water while the monster was accustomed to it making the fight much longer and more dangerous than it would be otherwise. They¡¯d needed to have Gaia¡¯s and Antonio¡¯s conditions to wear it down. When it had a lot of injuries it had tried to flee but had swam to the surface where Stephanie and Fergus were able to shoot it. The projectiles had been the last attacks that were needed and it went limp in the water before dissolving.


    After another two hours on this floor they found the way down when Gaia heard the sound of a massive waterfall. When they got within what Gaia guessed was a few hundred feet from the cliff it fell off, they felt the current become much stronger.


    They found a small outcropping before the current grew too strong for them and rested there before continuing. The group checked their status and realized they¡¯d leveled up during their last fight. Gaia had felt Antonio growing slightly as he leveled up but hadn¡¯t really noticed him getting much bigger. When they were resting Gaia finally checked Antonio¡¯s status and noticed he could rank up. She selected yes when the screen asking her to allow his rank up appeared. A few moments later she felt warmth from the floor in front if her where he was. She quickly analyzed him.


    Name ¨C Antonio


    Race ¨C Agony Soldier Ant (Stone Mandible)


    Rank - Stone


    Level - 1


    Title:


    Core Hatched


    Skills:


    Bite


    Phantasmal Spike


    Psychic Sting ¨C Creates an psychic stinger that can be shot up to fifty feet. When struck target is dealt medium damage. Renews inflicted curses.


    First Aid ¨C Uses mana to suppress pain and slightly heal small injuries.


    Healing shot


    Abilities:


    Ants Constitution


    Healer ¨C Increases healing effects on others. Decreases healing effects on self unless self cast.


    Strength ¨C 110 (Agony)


    Resistance ¨C 51 (Radiation)


    Recovery ¨C 110


    Reflex ¨C 11 (Chaos)


    Spirit ¨C 51 (Poison)


    Gaia read the information and was ecstatic. He had gotten two new skills and an ability. She decided to copy his Healer ability since it seemed useful. She could heal her teammates as long as they were in her Mana Field, and this would make her healing shots stronger on them. It would allow her to be a pseudo healer whenever they needed it. After copying his ability, she put her hand down for him to climb up and noticed he¡¯d changed quite a bit. He was now about six inches long and had a much larger head than before. His mandibles had grown to be about an inch long each and he was much heavier than before as well. He wasn¡¯t super heavy but felt like he weighed a few pounds.


    When she felt his carapace, it felt like stone with cracks throughout that radiated heat. She could also feel a rapid heartbeat from the cracks in his shell. She was worried it might be something bad, but he seemed fine. He was able to send her basic feelings now. She was so focused on Antonio that she hadn¡¯t noticed a second screen had appeared.


    Tamer Quest: Raise Bond Antonio to Stone Rank 1/1


    Reward: Bonds growth rate is increased.


    Hidden Quest: Have four bonds reach stone rank.


    Reward: Bonded Body ¨C Ability. Bonded monsters can enter a subspace within the tamer¡¯s body becoming tattoos. Bonds within the subspace will heal quicker but absorb fewer souls while inside. Bond¡¯s mana within the subspace can be shared.


    She stared at the reward wondering what it meant. It could mean they¡¯d grow in size faster or level up faster or even their mental growth would increase. It could even mean all three would increase. She wasn¡¯t sure which it would be so she would just have to find out when they leveled up. As for the other reward she didn¡¯t know what to think about it. It was an interesting ability but didn¡¯t really seem useful at the moment. She checked with her bonds if she could try it and they agreed so she tried it with all of them to the sudden shock of her party. They stared at her as her bonds just suddenly disappeared.


    ¡°What just happened?¡± Griff asked worriedly.


    ¡°A new ability I got. I can apparently create a tattoo of them on me that works as a subspace for them.¡± She stated a bit shyly. She¡¯d honestly not thought about where they were before using the ability.


    ¡°Really, another ability? Do you know what they look like?¡± Fergus asked as he shook his head.


    ¡°Nope, but I can bring them right back out.¡± Gaia replied as her bonds reappeared around her.


    ¡°You never cease to amaze, do you?¡± Stephanie asked.


    ¡°I guess not?¡± Gaia said questioningly.


    ¡°It¡¯s always something new at random times. I should be used to this. I¡¯ve been in this party for months now.¡± Griff grumbled.


    The group finished resting about ten minutes later when Griff¡¯s grumbling stopped. They prepared to go to the next floor which appeared to require them to go down the waterfall. None of them wanted to just jump off so they tried to figure out how to get down without anyone getting hurt. Luckily, Malachite had grown a bit more after his last level up and Gaia added some more of her webs to his armor when he grew to his current full size.


    He wasn¡¯t overly massive yet but he¡¯d grown enough that they could all fit on his shell. From what Gaia could sense in her field he¡¯d grown to be a bit smaller than an SUV being nine feet long and about seven feet tall. After she finished making the webs needed to adjust his armor they climbed on his shell which now had two large seats. They appeared to be the size of loveseats but were in the throne-like shape her chair usually took.


    As they all climbed on Shadow jumped on and laid down in between the two seats. One faced back while the other faced forward. Gaia took the front seat that faced backwards, Fergus shared it, while Griff and Stephanie took the other. When they were all on and seated Malachite swam forward with the current until he was airborne and used his Telekinesis to lower them all down slowly. He was struggling with all the weight so Gaia had Shadow enter her tattoo which helped a little. They slowly lowered down and were saved from being buffeted by the falling water thanks to a small canopy that had been made with the seats.


    When they were about a hundred feet from the bottom Gaia finally had sense for the areas layout. There was a large pool of water of which she couldn¡¯t feel the bottom and the walls of the cave were just within her field. When they got closer to the bottom, she could feel that there was a ring of dry stone along the edge of the room and about thirty feet into the water it dropped off into a underwater tunnel. Malachite slowly took them down to the ring of dry stone.


    When they reached the bottom, they all got off his shell and let him rest for a bit. She also let Shadow out of the Tattoo. Gaia couldn¡¯t sense a boss monster, but she also couldn¡¯t sense a tunnel leading to another floor. The only way down she could sense was the massive hole in the center of the room filled entirely with water. She was not going to go in there. She already had a fear of deep water and the situation she was in did not alleviate it in the slightest. Thankfully, or rather horrifically the boss monster solved this dilemma. At least she hoped this being was the boss monster.


    She suddenly sensed something massive rapidly coming up the flooded tunnel. She only sensed it for a moment and barely had time to say anything before it breached the surface. The monster was massive, she could sense it down for about seventy feet before her field ended and couldn¡¯t see its end. This creature was terrifying as it seemed to take every disturbing part of a sea creature and cram it all into one massive monstrosity.


    It was extremely long and similar to a worm in body shape. That was where the similarities ended. It had tentacles coming up from the water all around it that were dozens of feet long and had barbs, along with suckers, down their length. At the end of each tentacle was a large jagged jaw similar to a Bobbit worm. Its head was at least fifty feet wide and had two massive eye shaped holes where there seemed to be nothing aside from odd stocks that were a dozen feet long and stuck straight out like barbels. Its mouth had massive teeth that were so large it couldn¡¯t close it. There were a few lamprey like tongues that wiggled around within the open maw. Gaia was horrified by the monster¡¯s visage and almost forgot to analyze it.


    Name ¨C Abyssal Chimera (Boss)


    Level ¨C 55

 Chapter Twenty

    The boss had leveled up since they¡¯d entered the dungeon. They didn¡¯t know how a boss leveled up when it couldn¡¯t leave the dungeon, but it had. Now they had to deal with a boss monster that was around ten levels higher than the party. Gaia nearly got hit by one of the boss¡¯ tentacles while she was analyzing it, but Shadow was able to block it. The barbs along the appendages were longer than the suckers so Shadow luckily hadn¡¯t been grabbed and dragged off. That did bring up a problem. There were dozens of these tentacles coming out of the water. They needed to deal with them before being able to focus on the boss¡¯ main body.


    The tentacles were currently the biggest problem. They reached all the way around the monster and were able to reach anywhere within the chamber. The group was currently dodging them as they swung around the room trying to slash or grab the party. They quickly got into a formation around Fergus and Stephanie. The two were the main ranged combatants and they focused on attacking the tentacles. Whenever one would get close Shadow would slash it with her claws or block the attack.


    Griff focused on dodging and trying to land a few hits on the tentacles. Fergus had his sword out so he could slash the incoming appendages hoping they could remove them from the fight. Stephanie had her musket out firing at the main body. She¡¯d switch off firing at the head and smashing tentacles with Fergus. Malachite was bashing the tentacles with his shell and spiked armor hoping to slow them down and allowing the party to attack them.


    Liv was firing poison shots at any part of the monster she could while Antonio did the same with his psychic attacks. Gaia¡¯s vines were working with her chaos pathways to cut and bleed the monsters appendages while she constantly tried to poison the boss with her field. She wasn¡¯t blocking any hits due to the high possibility of being grappled.


    The party was currently stuck. They couldn¡¯t deal much damage to the tentacles being swung at them and therefore were trapped trying to block or deflect the attacks. Stephanie¡¯s hammer strikes were just sliding off the appendages while Fergus couldn¡¯t get a good cut on them either. The only things actually cutting the tentacles were the vines. These couldn¡¯t sever them though they only made them bleed.


    After about five minutes of being pelted with attacks, Gaia¡¯s poison finally took effect. It wouldn¡¯t do much but would start dealing some damage. Antonio was firing some spikes at the monster, but his condition hadn¡¯t taken effect yet. The group continued trying to deal with the tentacles when after about ten minutes one of them was severed. It looked like it was almost shriveled up when Fergus sliced it with his sword.


    They didn¡¯t fully know why it worked but guessed it might have been the bleeding since it had stopped. They started to have Gaia slash them with her vines as often as possible. She started using her chaos pathways with every strike of her vines. This made them faster and caused the cut to be deeper causing more blood loss. They also had Fergus try his gust blade skill when it was starting to shrivel.


    This seemed to be the fastest way to remove the tentacles. It only took them another twenty minutes to deal with the ones near their section of the room. They had a slight reprieve from the tentacles before they moved around to take as many out as they could. Around an hour later they had taken out about half of the boss¡¯ tentacles.


    This was when something changed. The remaining appendages were pulled under the water and the boss¡¯ head lunged at the party. They were barely able to get out of the way by a well-placed counter from Griff. As it lunged the lower jaw about hit him and he was able to counter it by bashing its head upward. The boss¡¯ head then went just above their heads and they all quickly attacked it as its teeth were lodged in the wall.


    It couldn¡¯t remove its teeth from the dungeons wall, so it just crunched down on it until a section broke. This allowed it to return to the center of the room and dropped a large chunk of the wall where it had struck. The party had to dodge to the sides of the new blockade causing them to be split up. Fergus, Stephanie, Griff, and Shadow were together. While Gaia, Malachite, Liv, and Antonio were stuck alone.


    The boss turned towards Fergus¡¯ group as they were the ones that had severed its tentacles. It brought its head down onto the section of stone with a little bit of water and its lamprey tongues darted out at the group. Fergus and Griff dodged two as Shadow blocked one that went for Stephanie. She was able to smack it with her hammer which caused it to flatten out against the floor. A moment later the flattened tongue looked to fill back up as if it hadn¡¯t been attacked.


    While the other group dealt with the boss¡¯ head, Gaia¡¯s group had to deal with the remaining tentacles that had come back up trying to strike them. Her poison was still stacking, albeit very slowly. She was using her vines to bleed the tentacles as Malachite used his shell bash to divert their strikes. Liv focused on firing poison shots at the boss¡¯ while Antonio had finally inflicted his Phantasmal Ache condition.


    The boss slowed down a bit due to Antonio¡¯s curse. It weakened the affected area which this time happened to be its head. This had a much bigger effect than anyone thought it would. As the curse affected the head it caused the monster to slow, the boss also stopped randomly as it felt the pain allowing Fergus¡¯ group to land a few hits. This also slowed its tentacles down allowing Gaia and Malachite a few moments to breathe.


    The main issue Gaia faced was that no one in her group could really sever the tentacles. Malachite could bite them, but it wouldn¡¯t cause them to be removed. Antonio wasn¡¯t big enough to be able to bite through them either as each one was about a foot thick at the smallest section. The tentacles they dealt with were almost all shriveled now but were still being swung at them.


    They were much slower due to the damage but still attacking. After realizing it was only taking more damage from the group by its head, the boss lifted back up and switched sides as Gaia¡¯s poison was starting to ramp up dealing more and more damage as it stacked. It started by bringing the shriveled tentacles up to attack Stephanie¡¯s group and lunging its head forward at Gaia¡¯s. It lunged at them and they were barely able to get out of the way of its toothy maw. They used the moment it tried to shut its mouth to hit it with a few strikes. Malachite hit it with a spiked shell bash that put another poison stack on it as Gaia slashed it with her vines. Liv and Antonio hit it with their magic.


    Fergus and Stephanie fired arrows and bullets at the boss¡¯ head while Shadow slashed the slow-moving tentacles. Griff launched a few mana shots at the monsters head. Gaia¡¯s group continued to narrowly dodge the monster¡¯s bites while attacking whenever it got stuck on the wall or slowed due to the conditions. They were slowly dealing damage, but the party was tiring from the onslaught of attacks.


    After a few more bites at Gaia¡¯s group Shadow was able to sever the last tentacles that attacked their side. This enraged the boss as it let out an unearthly screeching noise. It caused Gaia and Shadow to stop and cover their ears which gave it just enough time to lunge at Gaia. The monster¡¯s massive teeth closed around her as she was slowed by the deafening sound.


    Luckily for her, the monsters teeth closed around her without hitting her. It was also unable to fully close due to the massive protrusions. She had to use her vines to cut the wriggling lamprey like tongues to dodge them and also got a couple cuts around its mouth. Then she was able to jump over the teeth that had closed behind her as the monster retracted its head.


    Her other party members were horrified for the few moments after the attack. All they had seen was Gaia stop, cover her ears and then the monster closed its jaws around her. They thought she had been swallowed whole or wounded badly. Then they saw her appear from the boss¡¯ jaws completely fine. The only odd part of the image was the boss¡¯ odd colored blood. It was almost pure white aside from a tinge of red.


    As Gaia was extricating herself from the monster¡¯s jaws its blood had splattered over her. She just felt the cold blood of the monster cover her from the bleeding cuts she caused. She started moving towards the rest of her group as everyone moved towards each other. Luckily, Gaia¡¯s poison had been stacking more and more as the battle continued. It was stacking more often than when the fight began.


    The boss was starting to waver as the conditions affecting it got worse and the damage the party had inflicted worsened. The monster had more and more wounds covering it and was slowing more and more as Antonio¡¯s condition stacked up. It appeared its resistance had finally been surpassed by the collective onslaught. The party finally met back up as the boss slowly turned to the congregated group.


    It attempted one last big attack as the party prepared for it. The boss began pulling more of its body out of the hole and raising its head higher and higher. It rose high enough to escape Gaia¡¯s field. Then she heard the sound of something massive rushing downwards as the boss¡¯ head swiftly appeared in her field directly above them.


    The main problem was that its jaws were spread so far apart that they were almost parallel with the ground. The only place they could move, to try and escape being crushed, was the center where its throat was. They weren¡¯t fast enough to be able to run far enough to escape its attack. The monsters jaws spread out to encompass almost her entire field.


    Gaia quickly pulled her bonds into their tattoos as she grabbed her friends close. The monster¡¯s maw slammed into the floor, and they felt the air around them become wet. The monster¡¯s skull partially shattered due to the force of its attack. Its teeth dug into the stone and a section of the rock broke as it tried to pull its jaws closed. The party was within its throat while Gaia had a section of the monster¡¯s skull that had broken inward stabbing her in the back. The other party members were in the same state with parts of the broken bones sticking inwards.


    They didn¡¯t understand how it was still alive with its skull at least partially shattered but they felt the rock beneath them shudder slightly. Then they felt the floor move and started tilting upwards. They quickly began trying to grab anything they could to hold themselves up. Gaia didn¡¯t have anything she could hold aside from jagged sections of the skull that pierced inwards. She grabbed them and felt her hands bleed.


    Fergus was able to stab his sword in the side of its throat to hold himself up along with a bone shard. Griff was precariously holding himself in between four pieces of bone and Stephanie had her hammer over another section giving herself a handhold. Gaia used her vines and Chaos pathways to bleed the monster more. While she did so she was desperately holding onto her handhold which was quickly becoming slippery from blood. Both hers and the monster¡¯s.


    As her hands bled and held onto the jagged bone shard she felt more and more pain. As her pain increased, she felt something odd, she felt like her strength was increasing slightly. As her pain increased, and she continued slashing with her vines she started noticing the cuts they left became deeper and bled more. She also felt like she was lighter than before. She didn¡¯t fully get why that was happening but was happy she was dealing more damage.


    The others weren¡¯t able to really attack from how they were holding themselves. Then Gaia remembered she could bring her bonds back out and she spoke to Malachite through their bond.


    ¡°Hey buddy. I¡¯m gonna bring you back out, but I need you to levitate yourself and grow right when I do alright?¡± She asked him.


    ¡°Okay. Will do.¡± He replied immediately.


    The next moment she brought him out of the tattoo. As she did, he appeared directly behind her and fell a few feet before catching himself with telekinesis. Then he grew before coming up under her until her feet were on his shell. She let go and landed on his shell before he did the same for the others. They were then able to attack from his shell.


    They were attacking for a while, and they were becoming more worn out the longer they attacked. It was getting harder and harder to breathe as the air was very wet and the rock above them seemed to be cutting off any air from getting down the monster¡¯s throat. They were all starting to slow down their attacks as they couldn¡¯t take any deep breaths.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    They were in a fight against time now. They all attacked trying to bring the monster down before they suffocated. They attacked with everything they had. After a few more minutes of attacking something changed as they felt the monster¡¯s body go slack and it fell. They were able to walk along the side of its throat now and they all focused on cutting their way out the side of it.


    It took some time to cut through the few feet of muscle and skin before they were outside of the boss¡¯ throat. The moment they were outside they took deep ragged breaths as they were finally able to get some oxygen. They moved to the boss room¡¯s wall to rest for a bit and catch their breath until the boss dissolved or somehow attacked again. They desperately hoped for the former and it dissolved a few minutes later. When it did Gaia heard something large and heavy drop in the shallow water.


    When she pushed her field back out, she sensed a large chest. It was a large cube shape with stubby feet on each corner. The top and bottom sections were split by an almost invisible line with a large circular design sticking out slightly. The group rested for another couple minutes, knowing the boss was dead, before going up to the chest.


    They looked around it for a minute trying to see if it was trapped or not. From what they could see and feel it wasn¡¯t. Gaia went ahead and pressed the large circular design that appeared to be a type of button. As soon as it was pressed there was a loud click and the sound of metal moving across stone as the chest opened upward. When it had fully opened, the lid fell backwards and there was a screen that popped up in front of her. From her friends reactions the same had happened to them.


    Quest: Defeat the Dungeon Boss 1/1


    Reward: Unique Title and Class Improvement (Item or Skill)


    Title: Dungeon Conqueror (Deep Caves) ¨C Holder has conquered the (Deep Caves) Dungeon by defeating the Boss. Holder¡¯s resistance to water attributed mana is increased.


    Hidden Title: Boss Slayer ¨C Holder has killed the boss monster of a dungeon at least twelve levels higher than their own. All attacks deal slight Magic and Spiritual Damage when the monster has a higher level than their own. Damage dealt scales depending on the difference in level. Effects can stack with other similar effects.


    The group was shocked on getting two titles. They knew they¡¯d get the first, the effects of the Dungeon Conqueror Title depended on the dungeons type. It usually increased resistance to the type of mana the boss used. The second was a different story. They didn¡¯t know there would be a hidden title because of the level difference.


    It was truly a welcome surprise though. It would allow them to deal more straight damage to monsters as long as they were a higher level than them. The spiritual damage would even allow them to hurt monsters that were a rank above them with less difficulty. Magic damage was useful as it affected something¡¯s defensive barrier directly where as if someone blocked an attack with a shield or sword it would cause the damage to their barrier to be reduced. Magic damage bypassed the physical defenses and hit the defensive barrier directly. It did not help against monsters of a higher rank due to the rank difference.


    After reading through the titles effects and being happily surprised, Gaia analyzed the items in the chest. There were four items in total as only the the four had classes to receive something for. The first item was shaped like a ring, the second was a pair of small aquatic eggs, the third was what appeared to be a large arrow, and the last was a scroll. She analyzed each of the items.


    Weapon Ring ¨C Bonding growth Item. A ring with a small storage space within. Can hold up to three weapons within that can be put in and taken out instantaneously. Requires blood to bind.


    Eggs of Reach ¨C Bonding growth Item. A pair of aquatic eggs that must be implanted within the host¡¯s thighs. Creates scaled leg armor with tentacles made from the hide of an Abyssal Chimera when stimulated with mana. Tentacles allow user¡¯s kicks a longer reach. Has a chance to grapple and bleed targets.


    Arrow Dagger ¨C Bonding Growth item. The arrowhead of a giant arrow that is more suited to melee strikes than being fired. Can be affected by skills using arrows instantly and without being fired. Counts as an arrow instead of a melee weapon. Requires blood to bond.


    Skill Scroll: Transfer ¨C A scroll holding the Transfer skill. Transfer allows the user to transfer injuries to and from Bonded creatures. Injuries transferred from bonds do not damage the spirit and heal quicker. Injuries transferred to bonds heal much slower and can¡¯t be healed using magic. Severed appendages require mana to restore.


    Gaia explained what each item was before handing them out. It was pretty obvious what item was for each person. She liked the Transfer skill a bit but didn¡¯t like how it would allow her to transfer injuries to them. She was used to getting hurt and didn¡¯t want them to get hurt. She could see the use though. If she got her leg hurt like before she could transfer it to get away and likely survive a fatal attack while her bond would be able to heal the injury just extremely slowly.


    It wasn¡¯t something she would use unless absolutely necessary. She did like how she would be able to take some of their injuries to herself and heal them much quicker, which might help her save them if needed. The rest of her party seemed a bit worried about the effects of her skill. They did, however, seem to like their items. Stephanie¡¯s item was a ring with three indentations around its outside. It would allow her to put a few weapons inside and call them out whenever she needed them. This meant she wouldn¡¯t need to carry her great hammer, musket, and flamethrower on herself anymore. She could instead call them out when needed and switch between them much quicker. If she needed to fire a shot and then pull out her hammer it would be almost instant now. When she put a weapon in it, it caused an extremely small version to appear in an indentation.


    Griff hadn¡¯t implanted his items yet, but seemed to like what they could do. They looked like large octopus eggs. Remembering how much it hurt to implant her own, Gaia understood why and figured he¡¯d do it when they got back to the inn. This would give him a slightly longer range for his attacks allowing him to have a few more options for strategies.


    Fergus seemed to really like his item. It was the end of a large arrowhead that seemed to be broken. The arrowhead was broken to be curved like a dagger while the arrow shaft was thick like a swords grip. It allowed him to use his arrow skills on it without needing to fire it. It gave him a viable melee weapon that he could use his wind skills with.


    Overall, the dungeons rewards were much better than anyone expected. They didn¡¯t know if it was because of the difficulty of the dungeon rising while they were inside or something else, but they liked it. They all stopped for a moment as Stephanie and Fergus bound their items. Griff and Gaia were going to wait until they returned to the inn since they weren¡¯t sure how his implantation or her skill acquisition would go.


    They could go easily with no problem or cause them to be unable to move for a while. They would rather be somewhere safe than inside the mana dense environment the dungeon had created. They walked around the edge of the boss room trying to find a way back up but couldn¡¯t find one. They would need to try and use Malachite to get back up or wait until the League sent someone to find them.


    They tried Malachite first. Shadow was put inside her tattoo alongside Antonio and Liv to lessen the weight on Malachite. Gaia had to take control of her armor and just put it into the usual long dress. Malachite started raising himself with telekinesis while the party was on his back. It was tiring and slow, but he got them all back up.


    They rested on the outcropping they¡¯d used before the boss fight. They waited for a few minutes before they set out back towards the second floor. They ran into a few monsters, but they were quickly handled by Stephanie and Fergus with their new weapons. They made the pair much stronger, and they killed about twelve monsters within a half hour of traveling. The pair could kill most monsters within seconds since they¡¯d leveled up due to the boss.


    Gaia and her bonds had leveled up twice while Stephanie had leveled up three times. Fergus and Griff had leveled up once themselves. They made their way out of the remaining two floors quickly as the monsters stood no chance with their higher levels and equipment. When they exited the caves that had been the dungeon, they found someone waiting outside. It had just turned dark, and the person was Bronze rank.


    ¡°Awesome. You¡¯re done. I was worried when I saw the dungeon had leveled up while you were in there. Since the dungeon was destroyed, I guess you guys killed the boss right?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Yeah. Was a hard fight but we managed somehow. It¡¯s dark already? We can¡¯t have been in there that long, right? Oh well, I guess we¡¯re roughing it for the night.¡± Griff stated.


    ¡°Nope. I¡¯m here to lead you all back to the city. The guards already know to expect us so they¡¯ll let us in. We can thank the League for that.¡± The Hunter said.


    ¡°Great.¡± Stephanie replied.


    ¡°Shall we?¡± The Hunter asked.


    ¡°Please.¡± Gaia replied as Malachite grew to his new size and she restocked his armor.


    The party climbed onto Malachites shell and sat in the comfy loveseats while the scout led them back to the city. They were thankful to have someone take them back as they were exhausted after the slog through the dungeon. It didn¡¯t help that stronger monsters came out at night along with most monsters being slightly stronger or more aggressive at night. The Hunter leading them was likely used to dealing with monsters at night which helped them relax slightly.


    It didn¡¯t take them super long to reach the city, but they went at a pace similar to a jog. Malachite kept up with the scout easily since they were going somewhat slow. When they got into Boundary the party went to the League to get their reward and then went sleep for the night. They went in and saw Freya waiting for them.


    ¡°I see it ended well.¡± She said.


    ¡°Yeah, for the most part at least. The boss had leveled up while we were inside, but we were able to deal with it.¡± Fergus replied.


    Freya looked to the hunter that brought them in, and he nodded. Confirming what they just said. They were given seventy-five cores for the request, which was welcome since it was harder than it was originally reported. They¡¯d also gotten some cores and materials from Stephanie¡¯s looting ability bringing the total to about a hundred stone cores. After they finished counting it all out Freya said something that caused them all to stop and cheer.


    ¡°Well, the League hasn¡¯t been able update your badges because of everything that¡¯s happened but they finally ordered it. Your party will all receive two arrows on their badge. Sorry it¡¯s taken so long but with the Mana Torrent then the stampede and killer caused everything to be hectic. I can go ahead and add them now if you pass me your badges.¡± She stated.


    The party all handed their badges over and after about ten minutes they were handed back with their new arrows at the bottom left of its face. The party celebrated after that for a bit and started towards the inn. When they arrived at the inn Griff implanted his new items. These were much weirder to implant. Griff had made the two cuts in his thighs as he was told by its description but after they were implanted nothing happened for about a minute until he suddenly grunted from pain.


    Then there was an odd fluctuation in his mana before his legs seemed to start wriggling like something was trying to break free from them. Then from the cuts he made a few tentacles wriggled out and curled around his leg all the way down to around his foot. It wasn¡¯t as thick as the boss¡¯ tentacles but were still a few inches in diameter. After the tentacles finished wrapping around his legs they seemed to disappear. What Fergus and Stephanie saw was the tentacles adhered to his leg and almost meld into them. There was an intricate tattoo along Griff¡¯s legs that had a broken scaled pattern along every inch of his leg.


    When Griff put some mana into them the tentacles reappeared with hard scales covering his legs. The tentacles also seemed to end under his foot and when he kicked a tentacle shot out in the direction of his kick for about ten feet. He was happy with his new item as he sprinted out his door and they could hear him doing multiple kick attacks.


    Gaia used her item which just required her to put some mana into the scroll. Then the mana would be pulled back in while carrying the skill with it. It was a weird feeling, like getting shot. She felt a small pinprick of pain when she pulled the skill in, but her head started pounding when the skills information was forced into her brain and spirit. After about five minutes of a grueling migraine, she understood exactly how the skill worked.


    If one of her bonds had an injury all she had to do was pull it through their bond and it would transfer to her. To do the opposite she just had to push the wound through the bond. It seemed odd since it would transfer a physical wound through their bond. Her best guess of why it could work was the fact her body was partly spiritual allowing her to take or give wounds through the spiritual bond.


    It wasn¡¯t an overly impressive show but did give them all an idea on how skill scrolls worked for future reference. After Griff came back in, only due to Stephanie dragging him back inside, the group decided to head for bed. Stephanie and Gaia shared a room, and Gaia finally asked her something that had been on her mind for a bit.


    ¡°Would you mind telling me what my Bonds tattoos look like and where they are?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°Sure. Go ahead and I¡¯ll tell you.¡± Stephanie replied.


    The next moment Gaia called all of her bonds into her as tattoos. Stephanie then started describing each of the tattoos and their locations to her. Malachite¡¯s Tattoo was on her back. It took up most of her back and was dark green and brown color in the shape of a large turtle shell. It had sharp edges and seemed to glow slightly. Liv¡¯s Tattoo was on the spider web that her Living Silk Armor came from. She sat in the center of the web and was a slight red color. On the web she appeared like a spider that was wrapped in hundreds of thousands of threads woven together. Shadow¡¯s Tattoo was just between her breasts and was a deep dark black flame with a wolf at its center. It looked to truly be burning with small dark wisps flying out of the inferno. Antonio¡¯s Tattoo was on her left hand, starting from her palm up her arm a few inches. His was just a six-inch red ant with a cracked carapace that had fast pulsing purple light radiating from the cracks. She liked how they all looked considering she didn¡¯t have any choice in the matter. After that she let her bonds back out and the entire group went to sleep.

 Chapter Twenty-One

    The next day was pretty uneventful. They took their two requests but took them slow. The party wanted to try out their new items. Stephanie¡¯s Weapon Ring was extremely easy to use. She was able to switch between the three weapons within it seamlessly. Griff loved his new leg armor. The tentacle it had gave him an extra ten feet for any of his kicks. He was able to cause cuts with the small barbs along it or grab an enemy and drag it closer. It gave him a few new attacks for his repertoire.


    Fergus used his Arrow Dagger whenever something got close. He was able to coat it with wind using his gust shot skill and could cause serious damage with each attack. Gaia didn¡¯t have a reason to use her new skill yet but during most of the bigger fights they¡¯d had her bonds had taken a few injuries. None that were worrying but almost all of them had some deep cuts.


    The party got some good use out of their new items during the requests since they were both for groups of monsters. One was a group of mushroom monsters called Shroommen, which were three-foot-tall humanoid mushrooms. These were easily dealt with by Stephanie and Fergus. Griff and Gaia stayed back while the two killed them first with their bow and musket then their hammer and dagger. It took them a bit longer than the request usually would since they were focusing on using the new items.


    The second request was for a group of Chrocamorphs. These were chameleon monsters that could change more than just their color. If they killed a creature, they could change parts of their body to become parts of these creatures. This did not affect their natural camouflaging ability. These were some of the more annoying stone rank monsters since they were extremely hard to detect before they attacked.


    Luckily for the party, Gaia could sense them within her Mana Field. They were the usual small flame with heat radiating out so she could sense the shape of its body. Sadly her mana still passed through the ground and plant life around her since the ambient mana was still quite thin. She still needed to use her webs to feel the terrain around her but they only went out about thirty feet. Considering she could sense them around fifteen feet off the ground she assumed they were up a tree.


    When they got close enough to the monster for it to attack they were ready for it. It shot a spike from its tail that sailed towards Griff who easily dodged. The monster scrambled down the tree before its tail changed into some kind of stinger while it grew wings and its front legs turned into something else Gaia couldn¡¯t make out. Griff swung his leg out and one of the tentacles stretched out and wrapped around the monster. He pulled it closer while Gaia used her vines to bleed them more.


    Griff¡¯s new leg armor was nice as it gave him the ability to grapple monsters and pull them closer while also bleeding them. This gave him an attack that caused a condition while also allowing for him to control parts of the fight. The condition he dealt also stacked with one Gaia could deal making her condition deal more damage from the get-go.


    The monster died from the onslaught of Griff¡¯s strikes and Gaia¡¯s poison and bleeding. They moved on and took out four more that weren¡¯t very far from the first. These were killed just as quickly but Gaia had Antonio and Liv kill the last one with Shadow and Malachite protecting them. Antonio and Liv got hit a few times from a projectile it could shoot from it¡¯s front legs.


    Gaia tried her new skill after the fight was over. Her bonds weren¡¯t injured greatly but had a few gashes and cuts from what she was told through their bond. The skill worked immediately after she tried activating it. She could feel something being pulled through their bond while something else was pushed towards her bonds. When the injuries finished passing through their bond she felt the pain of cuts and gashes from different parts of her body.


    From what they told her the location of the injuries were the same as they were on her bonds. They were a bit painful but nothing like the pain she got from being injured herself as it also effected her spirit. The group started towards the city after everyone made sure she was alright. They all rode on Malachite¡¯s shell after he grew to his current full size. It only took about half an hour for the wounds she¡¯d taken from her bonds to completely heal. It would have taken them at least twice that for them to heal. She was glad that any of the injuries she took from them would heal twice as fast as usual. She did wonder how it would work if, gods forbid, a limb was gone but she wasn¡¯t hoping to find out any time soon, if ever. They came upon the gates of Boundary about an hour after killing the last of the Chorcamorphs.


    They collected their reward for the requests from the League before heading back to the inn for the night. The next day they decided to take a break. The party went about their own business with Gaia going to search the shops with Stephanie and her bonds. They were scattered over her body. Liv chilled on her head while Antonio and Malachite, in his small form, claimed her shoulders. Shadow was walking right beside the two while getting occasional pats from the pair. She had heard about a magic item from her gardening teacher during the training camp. She hadn¡¯t thought about it since he¡¯d told her as she wasn¡¯t sure if she would ever be able to afford it.


    The item was a portable garden. It was similar to Stephanie¡¯s own portable forge but was larger and was filled with fertile soil. From how Gregor had described it, it was similar to the first portal she¡¯d gone through just on a smaller scale. Stephanie was helping her look through the shops for one but they hadn¡¯t had any luck. They looked through almost every shop throughout their trip which had started just as places started opening. Now it was almost five or six hours later and they still hadn¡¯t found one.


    Gaia hadn¡¯t held out a whole lot of hope in finding one since they were difficult to make and usually extremely expensive. Most of the portable gardens were bought by higher rank alchemists so they could grow their own herbs and ingredients while they traveled. They stopped by Esbert¡¯s Extraordinary Equipment last. It didn¡¯t take him long to welcome them.


    ¡°Ah Gaia and Stephanie! It¡¯s good to see you two again. Is it just you two today?¡± Esbert asked cheerily.


    ¡°Yeah. Just us today. We¡¯ve been looking around the shops all day and haven¡¯t found what we were looking for yet. We hoped you might have it.¡± Gaia replied.


    ¡°Ah. Alrighty, what is it you¡¯re looking for?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re looking for a portable garden. I know they¡¯re pretty rare and expensive but was hoping to find one. I mainly want it for personal use which I know is a bit odd.¡± Gaia said.


    ¡°I¡¯m sad to disappoint but I don¡¯t have one either. I¡¯ll keep an eye out for one though. If you just want one with a small single field I may be able to get one custom made. It¡¯ll take at least a few days for it to be made though. I just need to know how big you want it to be.¡± Esbert replied.


    ¡°That would be wonderful. I don¡¯t have a whole lot though. I would probably need an estimate on how much it would be.¡± Gaia stated.


    They went through the details of what she wanted. The main points were a field about thirty feet square and had a high concentration of mana inside so she could somewhat see everything. The cost of it would be extreme from what Esbert explained so she decided to scrap the idea for a while longer. The base cost would be at least fifty bronze cores since it would be a magic item that creates a pocket dimension.


    She knew that it was a long shot but figured it was worth finding out. They went back to the inn empty handed after their unsuccessful shopping trip. When they walked in they found Fergus and Griff at one of the tables having a debate. From what Gaia could hear before they noticed them it was about some request the party had been allotted. The two hadn¡¯t taken it but went to check the requests from the League.


    Gaia and Stephanie sat down at their table and got some fruit juice. This one was different than any Gaia had had before. It smelled oddly sour like a lime or lemon would but when she took a sip it was extremely sweet with a tinge of sourness to round it out. She really liked it and wanted to find out the fruit or fruits it came from. Her thoughts were interrupted when the others called her name.


    ¡°What? Sorry I was thinking about something. What did I miss?¡± She asked.


    ¡°We were talking about the commission Fergus and I read through when we went to the League earlier.¡± Griff replied.


    ¡°What about it? What kind is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a commission that includes escort into subjugation.¡± Fergus started before taking a large swig from his drink. ¡°We would escort the group to the location then help them with whatever it is they¡¯re doing there.¡± He finished.


    ¡°That¡¯s a bit weird but what caused you two to debate about it?¡± She asked.


    ¡°It would take us pretty deep into the Shimmering Forest. Deep enough that a bronze rank party will be going as well, possibly even one that has an iron rank in it. The actual commission isn¡¯t for another month but it was allotted so far ahead so we could take it and get to know the people going. The length is for a month as well.¡± It¡¯s an odd request that would normally be denied since there¡¯s the Mana Torrent.¡± Griff explained.


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing you two were debating whether to take it or not then?¡± Stephanie asked.


    ¡°Yep. I¡¯m for it while Griff¡¯s against it. I understand why, but the group would consist of at least two more stone rank parties and likely two bronze rank parties as well. We also have the choice to meet the other groups before fully accepting it. I figured we could meet the other hunters and the people we¡¯ll be going with before writing it off. It would also allow us to fight some higher level monsters since our leveling speed has dropped a lot recently.¡± Fergus explained.


    Gaia and Stephanie thought about it for a bit before speaking their piece. ¡°I¡¯m fine with meeting them at least.¡± Gaia stated.


    ¡°Same for me.¡± Stephanie added.


    ¡°I¡¯ll agree, as long as we still hold off on the final decision until we all discuss it afterwards.¡± Griff stated.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s let Freya know we want to meet with the requester and the other teams before fully taking the request.¡± Stephanie finished.


    Griff ran to the League to let them know and they had a time for them to meet the requesters in two days at noon. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and the group agreed to take a few weeks to relax. They would take requests at least six days a week and use the last three to relax and do whatever they wanted. The next day they took their usual two requests and returned to the city a few hours past noon. Gaia convinced Fergus to go shopping with her. She wanted to find some seeds she could plant since she had convinced the inn keeper to let her use a small section of the yard to garden. He was reluctant but said she¡¯d give him anything she ended up growing. She just wanted to grow something.


    Fergus was happy to go with her. It was the first time she¡¯d asked him to go shopping with her with just the two of them. The fact it was for seeds was something he¡¯d never expected since she¡¯d never said anything about wanting to garden. That may have been because they¡¯d been hunting almost every single day since they¡¯d met. The only breaks from it had been when she had gotten injured or he had gotten hurt himself.


    He was happy to learn more about her and help with shopping. That outlook was great until they¡¯d been at a stall for almost three hours while she asked every question she could think of to the operator who happily answered every question she asked. He pretty much stood there listening and learning more than he had ever wanted to know about the seeds the stall had.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    The look on Gaia¡¯s face after they¡¯d bought a few seeds had made his suffering worth it. She had an extremely adorable smile on her face as she held the bag with her seeds to her chest. He was holding all of the equipment she needed to plant and harvest the crops which was more than he had expected but they got to the inn after a quick walk. Gaia immediately went to the back and started to work in the area she¡¯d been allotted to garden.


    Fergus ran to follow so she could have the equipment she needed. He dropped them where she stopped and she thanked him before she was once again wrapped up in her plans of what to plant. He watched for a bit before realizing she was so absorbed in her gardening that she didn¡¯t know he was still there. The seeds she had gotten were for a variety of fruits and vegetables.


    These were called Sweet Sprouts, Greenberries, Blissfruit, and Sugarweed. The sweet sprouts were similar to Brussel sprouts but were naturally sweet. Green berries were similar to blueberries in texture and size but were sour like lemons. Blissfruit was similar in shape to an apple but smelled sour while being extremely sweet. These were also an oddity as they apparently grew on bushes. Sugarweed was similar to lettuce aside from the fact that it smelled sickeningly sweet while being leafy in taste.


    These were the first four crops Gaia wanted to grow. She started by using a spade to break up the sod then a hoe to to break up the soil before having Malachite make a few rows using his webbed feet and telekinesis when he needed to move any stones. After he made the rows, Gaia proceeded to have him help her sow the seeds. This was time consuming as he used his head to show her where to plant after she explained the distances.


    After this she covered the seeds with a little bit of soil and got malachite to create some water shots and he dropped his concentration on them. This allowed the water to fall into a watering can she¡¯d bought which she then watered the seeds with. After this she pushed out her Mana Field and tried to see if she could keep her poison from effecting the seeds while casting some growth magic. She didn¡¯t know if it worked but she figured she¡¯d find out within the week. If the growth magic worked the crops should be sprouting in the next couple days. She walked back into the inn where her party was waiting. They all laughed a bit when she entered.


    ¡°What?¡± She asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re covered in dirt. It just wasn¡¯t something we figured we¡¯d see.¡± Stephanie replied.


    ¡°Gardening is a dirty hobby. I bet y¡¯all will like everything if it grows though.¡± Gaia stated.


    ¡°I bet we will. Now we just need to wait for them to grow, right?¡± Griff asked.


    ¡°Yep. I just need to water them a few times a day and use some growth magic once a day. I hope my poison mana doesn¡¯t effect that though. Then pluck the weeds which I might need Antonio¡¯s help with. I figure he might be the best for the job.¡± Gaia replied.


    ¡°Alright. Sounds good. I¡¯m looking forward to seeing what you grow.¡± Fergus stated.


    ¡°Shall we get some dinner? We have the meeting with the requester tomorrow.¡± Griff stated.


    Gaia nodded and they all went to get food. The meeting the next day was at the League where someone would guide them to the meeting point. They were all excited and nervous about meeting the requester and the other parties going on the request. They still had the option to back out after the meeting but didn¡¯t know how the other parties would take it. The request didn¡¯t have a time limit to it so they could be out there for a week or a month they didn¡¯t know. This all caused them to worry but sleep came like usual.


    The next morning, they had breakfast, and Gaia went to tend to her garden. After that the party made their way to the League. They got there around ten and just sat in the tavern area for an hour before someone came up and spoke to them.


    ¡°Are you all the party that wanted to meet with the requester for the escort commission?¡± The man asked.


    ¡°Yes, we are. Are you our guide to meet them?¡± Griff asked.


    ¡°Yes. I am Drint. I will guide you to the Journeyman Guild¡¯s building. The guild master is the requester. I know it¡¯s a bit earlier than planned but the guild master wanted me to bring you whenever you were ready.¡± Drint explained.


    ¡°We¡¯re ready when you are.¡± Stephanie stated.


    ¡°If you¡®ll follow me then.¡± Drint finished.


    The party rose and followed Drint out of the League. They stopped for a moment to allow Gaia and Stephanie to climb on Malachite¡¯s shell before setting off. They were glad they did since Drint was a fast man. Fergus and Griff had trouble keeping up with him. He didn¡¯t mean to be so quick and after a few minutes he slowed down after seeing them a bit behind him.


    ¡°Sorry. I forget how fast I go sometimes. I¡¯m usually a courier for the Guild so I have to be quick to relay the messages when they¡¯re required.¡± Drint explained.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. We just weren¡¯t expecting to go so quickly. Thanks for slowing down for us though.¡± Fergus replied.


    The group continued to the Guild¡¯s building which was somewhere in the southern section of the city. They arrived about thirty minutes after leaving the League. From her party¡¯s reaction she guessed the building was beautiful. She could smell flowers and food drifting out towards them, all of which smelled delightful. Drint led them through what she guessed was likely a courtyard, from the stone tiled floor, into a large hall. She could hear their footsteps echo through a large space as they passed through and were brought to a room where they were asked to wait for a bit and asked if they would like anything.


    Gaia had brought all of her bonds into their tattoos to save some space, and she wasn¡¯t sure how everyone else would respond to a group of stone rank creatures. A few minutes after Drint left she heard a couple people walk in and place something on the table in the middle of the room. She caught the scent of sweets after the people left. When she probed the table she felt some pastries on the table. She grabbed one and happily bit into it. It was wonderful. It was similar to a turnover but had some kind of sweet that was leafy, instead of fruit.


    They waited for about half an hour and were brought water along with other refreshments until Drint returned. He brought them to a large room where they heard a multitude of voices. He walked up to the door and knocked. A moment later it went quiet and a muffled voice said to enter. Drint did so before speaking.


    ¡°Esteemed hunters. The guild master and other hunters are ready for you.¡± Drint stated.


    Fergus took Gaia¡¯s hand and led her inside the room where she could feel a multitude of gazes on her. They sat in a group of chairs at a table that was about ten feet into the room. As soon as they sat a woman spoke from the opposite side of the room.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you. I am Delilah the Guild master of the Journeyman Guild. You wanted to meet with us before accepting the commission, correct?¡± The woman stated in a stern voice.


    ¡°Yes. We did. It¡¯s an odd request considering what¡¯s going on and we wanted to get as much information as possible before accepting.¡± Griff replied as his voice wavered slightly.


    ¡°Understandable. The commission is for an escort and protection while we explore a newly discovered ruin in the Shimmering Forest. It¡¯s more dangerous with the Mana Torrent occurring but the League allowed it due to the possibility of discovering an artifact that could help with defending the city. The guild members that will be going can defend themselves to a point but the support personnel can¡¯t defend against a high level stone or bronze rank monster. Hence, why we¡¯re commissioning stone and bronze rank parties to join us.¡± Delilah explained.


    ¡°What exactly will be our duties?¡± Stephanie asked.


    ¡°You will mainly be there to guard the caravan during the transportation and then the main camp outside of the ruins. You will be paid extra if you decide to enter the ruins to help with the exploration as long as it is not your assigned time to guard the camp. There will be a flat payment of ten stone cores per day along with free food. Lodging will be cheap if you want to stay in the inn that was built but free if you want to make a small camp within the walls. There will always be one bronze rank party active at the camp in case of an attack. I will be there myself to help in case of an iron rank monster.¡± She added.


    ¡°Sounds reasonable. I¡¯m guessing everyone else here compose the parties joining the commission?¡± Fergus asked.


    ¡°Yes. If you have anymore questions for me feel free to ask Drint and he will find me. Otherwise, I¡¯ll let you all talk to each other.¡± The Guild master stated before standing and leaving. Silence prevailed for an awkward minute after the Guild master left. It was broken by a few familiar voices.


    ¡°I see you guys were given the commission.¡± John stated in his usual gravelly voice.


    ¡°Well, if you guys are planning on going I¡¯m guessing it¡¯ll be quite interesting.¡± Douglas stated a moment later.


    Gaia heard someone walking over towards them and stopping behind her chair. ¡°There¡¯s the Legion and Flora as the two bronze rank parties. The other stone rank parties are here as well. There are a total of five other stone rank parties here. Shall we all introduce ourselves?¡± Titania asked.


    ¡°As everyone probably knows I¡¯m Titania leader of the bronze rank party Flora. John is the big Tigren Barbarian, Francois is the muscular Martial Artist, and Jess is our Wizard.¡± Titania introduced.


    The hunters went around the room introducing themselves or their party until it was just Gaia¡¯s party left. ¡°Well, I¡¯m Griff a Magic Martial Artist, Stephanie is our Smith with the full metal armor, Fergus is the tall Bowman, and Gaia is our Tamer.¡± Griff explained.


    ¡° If everyone doesn¡¯t mind can I bring out my bonds to introduce?¡± Gaia asked. After a few moments Fergus whispered they all agreed.


    Gaia let her bonds out of their tattoo¡¯s one at a time. As they appeared she had them grow to their usual size or wait where they appeared so everyone could see them. She introduced them as they appeared and she could hear some people tensing or reaching for a weapon. They were quickly stopped by the parties that had seen them before, thankfully.


    The room was quiet for a while after that as the parties came to terms with the fact these creatures were allies not monsters. They were all able to come to terms with it though and the entire group started asking questions of each other. The bronze rank parties kept everything on track so it didn¡¯t descend into chaos. Gaia and her party learned a lot about the other parties.


    They were starting to believe they could trust some of the parties to watch their backs if they agreed to the commission. None had asked if they¡¯d officially decided to take it and just acted as if they had so no one would feel awkward. The party was thankful for that since they still hadn¡¯t technically agreed to it yet. The meeting lasted for another hour before the hunters started to filter out of the room. When it was just Flora, the Legion, and Gaia¡¯s party they all relaxed.


    ¡°Are you guys planning on taking the commission?¡± Douglas asked the party.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. We¡¯ll discuss it after we get back to the inn for the night and will likely have our decision by tomorrow morning.¡± Fergus replied.


    ¡°Fair enough. Would rather you guys be certain you want to join than decide hastily and then be forced to follow through.¡± Francois stated.


    ¡°If you do, we¡¯re all here for y¡¯all. Just be prepared for a long commission if you do.¡± Fern stated.


    ¡°Will do. Thanks.¡± Griff replied before the party got up and left. They returned to their inn and sat down to discuss what they wanted to do.


    ¡°How do we want to start?¡± Griff asked.


    ¡°Shall we start with what we¡¯ve learned first?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°It seems to be well planned.¡± Fergus started.


    ¡°We¡¯d have two bronze rank parties we know pretty well too.¡± Stephanie added.


    ¡°The other stone rank parties seemed strong and reliable.¡± Griff said.


    ¡°The Guild master will be there in case of an iron ranked monster and daily pay for each of us.¡± Gaia finished.


    ¡°A lot of pros for accepting while the main cons are the unknown dangers. Shall we go ahead and decide then?¡± Griff asked.


    ¡°I think so.¡± Fergus added.


    ¡°Then, those that want to accept say aye.¡± Griff stated.


    ¡°Aye.¡± All of them stated together.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s decided then. My main worries were alleviated finding out we know both the bronze rank parties. I¡¯ll let the League know in the morning that we¡¯ve accepted it.¡± Griff finished.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s relax for the rest of the day and plan to take requests like we planned. The last week before the commission starts, I say we don¡¯t take any requests and relax while preparing.¡± Stephanie suggested.


    ¡°Sounds good to me.¡± Gaia replied.


    ¡°Same.¡± Fergus added before the party split off to do what they wanted until dinner.


    Gaia went back to tending her small garden. Stephanie went into her portable forge and worked on her weapons. Fergus trained with Griff for a while before splitting up. Griff went to the library to research some sorcery while Fergus went over and tried to help Gaia. He mostly ended up just watching her work since she was focused and didn¡¯t notice him. Her bonds helped her or were playing around in the area nearby.


    Dinnertime came much quicker than any of them were expecting and they all met back up. After eating, they retired to their room to tell more stories until they went to bed. The next morning, they ate breakfast before heading to the League. They relayed their acceptance to Freya before taking their allotted requests for the day and heading out as usual. The two requests were done quickly as they were basic subjugation requests. They had been dealing with monsters close to their level recently without any issues. The League, however, wouldn¡¯t give them any requests for monsters of a higher level since there just weren¡¯t that many to begin with. The Mana Torrent was still going but there hadn¡¯t been any significant increases in high stone rank monsters since the stampede.


    The party was frustrated, but couldn¡¯t do anything about it. They were just not going to level up anytime soon which they¡¯d started to come to terms with. It had been taking longer and longer to level up as theirs rose. The last level up was the dungeon boss. They just had to deal with it until the commission at the earliest. Then they might come across stronger monsters or at least have to fight more monsters than they currently were with the restrictions from the League.

 Chapter Twenty-two

    The next couple weeks passed with them following their new schedule of three free days a week. It allowed them time to practice their hobbies or do other things they enjoyed. Gaia spent most of the time tending the garden or playing with her bonds. Around once a week she¡¯d go talk to Esbert since she enjoyed his company and learning the history of the world. He would always welcome her and they¡¯d talk for a few hours while having some tea before she¡¯d head back to the inn.


    Fergus spent his free days sparring with Griff in the mornings, and woodcarving during the afternoons, when he wasn¡¯t going on a date with Gaia. He would carve animals and give them to the kids that sat and watched him. They were fascinated by the speed in which he was able to create the wooden figurines and how realistic some looked. Many of the kids really liked his figurines of Shadow and Malachite. He¡¯d even made a small figurine for each of the party members but hadn¡¯t shown any of them yet.


    Stephanie spent most of her free days smithing or tinkering. She¡¯d spend most of the time working with the metals and materials she¡¯d gotten. Then she¡¯d try and work them into her already existing weapons or try to make some new ones. She¡¯d managed to make some improvements to her hammer and musket. She had been able to essentially remake her musket into a single shot rifle by using the little bit of knowledge Gaia had to guide her. She¡¯d been able to add some rifling and created a bullet that only needed the explosion magic behind it to fire. She was now much more accurate and could fire faster.


    Griff spent his time while not sparring with Fergus in the library researching new magic. Other than that he spent it drawing. He would spend his free time relaxing at the park drawing whatever he saw. He¡¯d even been asked to draw a few portraits for couples when they¡¯d happened to catch sight of his work. They¡¯d offered to pay him but he just gave them to the groups.


    The party would always meet back up on their last free day to relax as a group before getting back into taking requests. Time passed quickly and they were finally only a week from the start of the commission. As they¡¯d already decided, this last week would be a free week. The party went shopping for the first few days to stock up on supplies then Stephanie took the party¡¯s armor to repair them.


    This mainly consisted of her own armor and Fergus¡¯ armor. Griff didn¡¯t need the few pieces of armor he had before outside of his leather chest piece. She then went into her portable forge for a couple days. Griff spent his time in the library researching monsters and magic or rather, sorcery. This left Gaia, Fergus, and her bonds by themselves for a few days.


    Gaia spent her time gardening, playing with her bonds, and relaxing with Fergus. They didn¡¯t really have anything they needed to do and wanted to use the little time before the commission to relax. It was their first week of straight free time, at least when no one was injured. Gaia and Fergus spent most of their time together.


    The final week flew by and the commission was about to begin. The morning of the commission¡¯s first day arrived and all of the parties would meet up at the Journeyman¡¯s Guild. The parties arrived at the guild just after dawn where they were met by the Guild Master. The guild had prepared early and the caravan was ready to set out when everyone was prepared.


    The caravan set out about a half hour later when each party was in their assigned area. Gaia¡¯s party had been relegated to the middle back section of the caravan. Flora was taking the head of the caravan while the Legion was taking back. The Guild Master would be in the middle so there was someone ready to deal with a higher ranked monster no matter where it appeared. Gaia was riding on the front seat of one of the wagons her party was assigned to.


    Her Mana Field was out to its maximum range so she was able to cover their party¡¯s assigned section and part of the area in front and behind. It wasn¡¯t due to a lack of trust in the other parties by them, but more a precaution since she could sense everything in the area including through the ground. The first day was relatively uneventful with only a few monsters wandering into the road or attacking the caravan. Most were normal or stone rank so they were easily dispatched.


    When dinner time camp her party¡¯s camp became crowded. They had a small pot set up for stew and Gaia added some spices she carried with her. The scent had wafted through the air towards the other camps, and they¡¯d come to investigate. Most hunters still viewed spices as unimportant and made bland stew or soup for their meals. When they had gotten a whiff of the party¡¯s food they were interested. Some even asked if they¡¯d be willing to share, to which Gaia agreed. Griff added in the stipulation of a price since they¡¯d be giving away some of their food supply.


    The parties paid them with some of their own rations or cores. A few even offered to hunt some meat for them tomorrow if they¡¯d be willing to share. They all agreed and were excited for the next night¡¯s feast. After the parties wandered back to their respective camps, Gaia¡¯s party set about their usual watch schedule and the night went by without any surprises.


    The second day onward was where the monsters could become difficult. The further they continued into the forest, the higher the chance for stronger monsters to appear or attack. The caravan¡¯s expected travel time was a week. They were expected to reach the ruins in nine days but had a day or two of leeway they could add in case of attacks or repairs. They planned for some monster attacks but there hadn¡¯t been any sightings of high-level bronze or iron rank monsters so they were expecting only stone rank or lower monsters.


    The second day was also relatively tame. The caravan was attacked a few times but the monsters were killed soon after being spotted and never made it to the wagons. Gaia was able to point out some monsters that were hidden along the edges just before they attacked a few times. The day was overall quiet but the night was where that changed.


    Multiple groups of monsters attacked the caravan¡¯s camps throughout the night. A few groups barely got sleep due to the number of monsters. Most attacked the front end of the caravan but none got close enough to harm the wagons, but a few people were injured. Thankfully, no one was killed and all of the injuries were superficial when Gaia asked about them. The third day was slow since the path they were taking was narrow and monsters were becoming more frequent. The caravan had gotten attacked multiple times during the day and almost been split up. The Guild master dealt with the stronger monsters allowing the hunters to regroup and repel the attack.


    That night was just as bad as the one before, but the monsters mostly came at the back end of the train of wagons. Gaia¡¯s party was thrust into the battle soon after the initial attack. She had sensed the monsters a few moments before they attacked her area, allowing her group to be a bit more prepared. The monsters weren¡¯t overly strong but there were a few she could sense that were close to their level. Most were lower level stone rank or normal rank monsters that her party dispatched almost immediately.


    The few she could sense were spread out with two being at the edge of her Mana Field on each side by the other parties while one was coming right for her group. From what she could sense, the monster coming at them was a ball and it was rolling at them. It wasn¡¯t until she analyzed it that she realized what it was.


    Name ¨C Thorn-blossom


    Level ¨C 50


    It was a spherical mass of thorny vines. The Thorn-blossom rolled directly at the party but when it got close the ball shape exploded. Gaia felt something try and pierce through her defenses when the ball erupted and she sensed the monsters shape change. It went from the almost three foot comical ball to a fifteen foot mass of writhing vines that tried to wrap around her and the party. The party was luckily able to dodge it. The monster didn¡¯t roll back together immediately though. From what she could sense, the vines all met in a central mass and was constantly shifting around.


    Fergus fired an arrow at the Thorn-blossom¡¯s center mass, or core, hoping to kill it quickly but the mass shifted and started moving down one of the vines. Griff and Stephanie were trying to hit it with kicks and bullets respectively. Shadow was jumping and blocking the vines as they lashed out at the party. Liv was firing some poison shots at the monster while also shooting some at the monsters other parties were fighting. Antonio was doing the same as Liv with his spikes while Malachite bit at the thorny vines. Gaia just studied the monster¡¯s movement. She noticed the core always moved down a vine but the respective vine started wrapping around it to bolster its defense. Each time it moved down a vine it stayed wrapped up.


    The monster seemed to roll and then explode outward to wrap up its victims before slowly wrapping back into its ball one vine at a time. Each vine that was still unwrapped squirmed to try and grab or lash out at the party members until the monsters core started moving along it. Whenever the core started moving along a vine it stopped trying to lash out. She relayed this to the party and they started to slow down. Fergus and Stephanie in particular started to focus on the vines to determine where it would be moving next.


    They started landing their shots on the monster¡¯s core and could tell they were dealing some actual damage. Gaia¡¯s poison had been slowly applying to the monster but it seemed to have a natural resistance to it. Whether it was due to its level or a natural resistance to poison, her poison had only started dealing small amounts of damage to it. The arrows and bullets Fergus and Stephanie were hitting the core with were starting to cut or blast off some of the vines.


    This caused the monster to start wrapping up much quicker than before but it had lost some of its mass. It had been about three feet wide when balled up before but it was only about half that size as it finished wrapping itself up. It moved towards Stephanie and Fergus before once again exploding. Gaia once again felt something attempt to pierce her barrier and heard Fergus grunt in pain. When the Thorn-blossom exploded outwards it fired off thorns in every direction and hit Fergus.


    This caused him to flinch and he was caught in the monsters vines. He quickly pulled out his Arrow Dagger and started to try to cut through the vines entrapping him. He was able to slice through a few before the vines began to constrict and forced his arms to his body where he couldn¡¯t move them. Gaia quickly had Malachite try and bite through some of the vines while Griff ran in to rip the vines away.


    Gaia ran up to him trying to help loosen the vines but her inability to damage anything and her low strength made themselves known. She wasn¡¯t able to do anything to help outside of trying to poison the monster or getting her bonds to help. She had Shadow try and bite or claw through the vines which in tandem with Malachite and Griff¡¯s efforts allowed Fergus to wiggle an arm free. He then swiftly used his gust shot and arrow stab skills on the arrow dagger before stabbing the Thorn-blossom¡¯s core.


    The monsters vines immediately slackened and Griff was able to pull the dead monster¡¯s vines off Fergus before helping him up. After he was up the party quickly made their way to help the other parties and the monsters attack was repelled around thirty minutes after it had started. There weren¡¯t any casualties from this fight either which was good but a healer did check on each person.


    Apparently, some of the monsters were poisonous so they were checking everyone. The Thorn-blossom had managed to poison Fergus slightly since he was the only one that had taken a direct hit through his defensive barrier. Thankfully, it hadn¡¯t progressed as quickly as it should have due to the poison resistance he gained from Gaia¡¯s Mana Field.  After being checked on by the healer the night went by with a few more small attacks but only one required their party to fight.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Gaia was mad at her inability to help Fergus when he¡¯d been bound up and failure to keep him from being poisoned. She hated that she¡¯d not been able to keep him from being poisoned especially. That was one of the few things she could actually reliably do and she¡¯d failed at it. While Gaia was beating herself up in her head, she heard a voice that was familiar and extremely unwanted.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t beat yourself up over something so small. You are weak, you just need to get stronger so it doesn¡¯t happen again.¡± The amalgamation stated.


    ¡°You think I don¡¯t know that?¡± She spat aloud before collecting herself as her party members stared at her.


    ¡°What do you want anyway? I thought you wouldn¡¯t be able to speak to me unless I initiated the conversation.¡± She finished a few moments later.


    ¡°I got tired of waiting. I wanted to let you speak to me when you wanted or needed but seeing how weak you are I decided it was time speak.¡±


    ¡°Ok. So what did you want to say? I don¡¯t like you in the slightest so I¡¯d rather get this over with as quickly as possible.¡± She replied.


    ¡°You need to go to another city after this annoying detour. You¡¯ll just wither away without getting stronger if you stay and I can¡¯t have that.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I need you to be stronger. That¡¯s all you need to know for now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll figure that out after this commission¡¯s over. Are you done bothering me?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± The amalgamation finished, sounding annoyed, before going silent.


    Gaia was silent for a bit, letting the conversation sink in before she realized someone was shaking her slightly.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Fergus asked as he shook her shoulder.


    ¡°Yeah. Sorry. What¡¯s going on?¡± She asked.


    ¡°You were talking out loud like you were having a conversation with something. Then when we tried to talk to you, you just ignored us until now. Even Malachite and Liv were nudging you.¡± Griff stated.


    ¡°Sorry. I didn¡¯t notice anything.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± Stephanie asked.


    ¡°You all remember that Amalgamation thing I talked about a while ago?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± They all replied.


    ¡°It can apparently talk to me whenever it wants now. I was talking to it.¡± She explained.


    Her party members broke out into questions about the conversation. She answered them for a few minutes before deciding to just tell them everything it said. They were all worried since it was cryptic in how it replied to her but there wasn¡¯t anything they could do about it. The party continued on like usual after that aside from her party members keeping an eye on her in case something else happened.


    The third day went by with a few more fights but none left anyone with more than a scratch. The monsters were becoming more frequent but were still mostly stone rank. There were a few bronze rank monsters that were quickly dealt with but still caused the caravan¡¯s tension to rise. The night went by similarly with  monster attacks. None were overly strong or even above level forty in the stone rank so they were dealt with quickly. The number of attacks was increasing as the travel continued they had dealt with almost twice as many attacks on the third day and night as they did the day before.


    The fourth day was exhausting. The hunter¡¯s were starting to jump at everything they saw expecting a monster attack. There were a few attacks before it even hit midday and when another attack happened a few hours later, chaos erupted. This attack was much larger than any of the others they¡¯d dealt with. Gaia barely had time to warn her party before the monsters were upon them. There was a group of monsters that sprinted towards the caravan causing confusion and panic before a second wave entered the fold. The initial monsters were fast but relatively weak while the second were strong and robust.


    From what Gaia could discern, the fast monsters resembled wolves and other forest inhabitants but were twice their usual size. They were also much faster than their mundane cousins. The second wave was made up of a multitude of creatures. Some were large humanoid monsters while others were moving trees. The oddest of them were massive blobs that were similar to slimes but were the size of the wagons.


    Those were just the ones she could sense. The fighting began immediately with the first wave being slaughtered relatively quickly but a few hunters were killed. The second wave was a different problem. Gaia and her party were beset by at least ten different stone rank monsters while others were fighting similar numbers. They luckily had enough time to prepare and weren¡¯t injured when the stronger monsters had reached them.


    Liv had set up some trapped webs around them causing the monsters to slow considerably and allowed Stephanie and Fergus to land some attacks. She was also firing poison shots when she could while binding any that got close enough to stop them. Malachite was blocking and attacking the monsters coming on the side Fergus was on, with water shots and a few shell bashes. He was able knock them back into the webs whenever they escaped them. Shadow was darting in and out biting or slashing monsters with her claws while blocking any attacks for the party when she could.


    Antonio was firing his Phantasmal spikes and psychic stings from Gaia¡¯s shoulder. Griff was dashing in and out landing punches while using his extra reach to land kicks on other monsters simultaneously. Gaia was using her vines and chaos pathways to bleed any monsters that got close enough to her while taking attacks to weaken them as well, due to her irradiated defense. Her toxin was also stacking poison on them as the fight continued.


    After around ten minutes most of the monsters within her Mana Field were staggering due to the poison and wounds allowing the hunters to finish them. Once the monsters that were attacking her party were killed they moved out to help the other parties. Thankfully, those closest to them benefited from her mana field and the monsters were swiftly dealt with. The party moved down the caravan helping any party they could and Gaia healed a few people with a couple healing shots.


    With her Healer ability from Antonio, she was able to increase its effects. Antonio even used his first aid skill on a few people to help relieve the pain. While Gaia did so her party was attacking and killing monsters around her giving the other parties a short break. If a monster broke past the party Liv would bind it up and Gaia¡¯s vines would bleed them.


    The party continued their way forward in this manner for the next half hour, when the parties they¡¯d helped earlier had recovered enough to rejoin and help. The fighting ended after another hour or so when the attacking monsters were either dead or had fled after being heavily injured. The monsters were getting more coordinated the further they went into the forest which was worrying. She voiced her concern when they reached the front by Flora.


    ¡°Is it normal for the monsters to be this coordinated? I know that it¡¯s weird for the outer edge of the forest but I don¡¯t know about further inside.¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s more coordinated than we¡¯ve ever seen, since we¡¯re never in such a big group.¡± Jess stated.


    ¡°It¡¯s pretty normal for this far in. The higher a monster¡¯s rank the more intelligent it is. Therefore if they see a large group of people they¡¯ll gather more monsters together to attack hoping to overwhelm them.¡± The Guild master, Delilah said as she walked up.


    ¡°This number is a bit high though. I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s just because there are a lot of us.¡± She finished.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know monsters also got smarter when they ranked up.¡± Gaia stated.


    ¡°Yeah, it depends on the type of monster though. Some don¡¯t. Beast type monsters, like the saber wolves we fought earlier, mainly get their instincts heightened instead of intelligence. Most only get intelligent when they reach bronze or iron rank.¡± Delilah explained.


    ¡°So we should expect this kind of stuff more often?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°Yeah. Expect it, but it may not happen again for a while. Most times a big attack like this happens and then there¡¯s only small attacks for a while. At least that¡¯s how it¡¯s been when I¡¯ve been out here. So stay on alert just in case.¡± Delilah suggested.


    The parties all moved back to their designated areas after that and the caravan continued onward. Like the Guild Master had stated there were only small attacks the rest of the day that targeted a section of the caravan, but not the entire thing like earlier. The caravan stopped to set up camp for the night an hour before sundown. The night passed by relatively quietly, there were a few small attacks and one that Gaia¡¯s party repelled before it even got close.


    The fifth day was relatively tame compared to the day before. There were a few small monster attacks throughout the day but none that were overly difficult. This day Gaia¡¯s party got to talk to one of the other stone rank parties. Their position was just in front of Gaia¡¯s in the caravan. They were a group of four guys around Fergus¡¯ age. The weird thing about their party was that they all had the same name, but were quite different.


    They were all named Jeff but each was spelled differently, which apparently mattered enough for them all to stress it. Their leader was Jeff who was a swordsman. Everything he wore was red including his leather armor and even his sword was red. Then there was Geff who was an axeman. He wore all black including his chest plate and axe. Next was Geoff who was a scout. His color was yellow which also included his daggers. Lastly was Jeoff, he was a bowman like Fergus. His color was pink which included his bow and leather armor.


    They stuck out like a sore thumb in the forest but they seemed to be around the same level as Gaia¡¯s group. They guessed the guys were just skilled enough that it didn¡¯t matter too much. They proved this thought correct when a small attack came and they killed the monsters within a couple minutes almost by themselves. They were strong but not arrogant like a few parties had been until the attacks started. They were also just a friendly group that liked to talk.


    The two groups talked whenever they were taking their breaks from watches and when the caravan set up camp. They quickly became friends and gave tips to each other where they could. They¡¯d even agreed to try some sparring whenever they reached the commission site and had a break. They separated for dinner but the group came over not long after when they smelled the soup Gaia had helped make.


    After they had some, they became regular dinner time companions and even offered to help cook, or at least bring the supplies they had to add to it.  They enjoyed the camaraderie with the new party but had to split up for their watches throughout the night. Gaia as usual took the first watch with Liv who sat on her head the entire time. They talked a little bit throughout but Liv focused on creating stuff with her webs while Gaia was focused on paying attention to her mana field for threats.


    Her watch passed without incident and she woke up Fergus for his watch before quickly falling asleep. Fergus¡¯ watch also went by without anything happening as did Griff¡¯s. Nothing happened until halfway through Stephanie¡¯s watch when she noticed something small dash straight for her from the forest. She immediately pulled her musket from her Weapon Ring and fired a shot straight into what she assumed was its skull. Sadly, she was mistaken as the monster continued its beeline straight towards her. Her gunshot woke up the others and the parties on either side which was lucky. Her party moved straight into action with Fergus having his bow ready and launching a couple arrows and Griff moved to be in front of her. Malachite did the same ready to shell bash the creature if needed and Shadow was beside them ready to guard if needed. Gaia already had her vines and webs out moving in front of everyone as well. Liv had a few trapped webs and poison shots ready as well.


    When the monster reached them, they all swiftly struck it with their prepared attacks. Gaia bound its feet as Malachite shell bashed it knocking it back to where Liv¡¯s trapped webs were tossed. Fergus hit it with some arrows and Griff hit it with a flurry of ranged kicks. Antonio hit it with a few Phantasmal spikes as Shadow dashed in and slashed it with her claws. Stephanie fired another shot but hit it in the chest this time and the monster fell after the onslaught of strikes. Gaias vines quickly wrapped back around her arms when she realized the monster was dead.


    The party moved to identify the creature and were surprised to find a small creature similar to a humanized weasel but with its face in its torso. Stephanie had hit the appendage that appeared to be its head which was completely gone. It had been a non-vital area though. As they marveled at the creatures anatomy it dissolved and left behind a small fang. The party quickly made their way back to the caravan after collecting the item where they found an annoyed party and interested party of Jeffs.


    They quickly explained what happened and the other parties went back to their respective areas. Gaia¡¯s party didn¡¯t go back to sleep as it was only about an hour early and they started the sixth day. The day went by the same as the fifth with a few attacks throughout the day. There weren¡¯t any massive attacks and none of the hunters or caravan members were injured. The sixth night was quiet without many attacks. Any that happened were dealt with quickly or at the other end of the caravan.


    The seventh day was extremely tiring. The day started with an attack similar to the waves they¡¯d fought before but were continuous. The fighting started as they were breaking down camp and after the first hour of fighting the caravan members started to run and pack everything up while the fighting was happening. The hunters protected the members as they prepared to move hoping to lose the monsters attention when they were traveling.


    That didn¡¯t happen. The monsters pursued and the commotion caused more monsters to attack the caravan as they moved. The caravan now had monsters on each side and just hoped to reach the commission camp and get the defenders help. The hunters were fighting constantly as they ran alongside the caravan trying to keep the monsters from destroying the wagons wheels. Gaia and Stephanie had to hop on Malachite¡¯s back in order to keep up with everyone. The hunters were tiring quickly from the continuous strain of keeping pace with the fleeing caravan and defending it at the same time. The hunters were starting to take more and more hits and getting wounded. This went on for about six hours before the commission camp could be seen on the horizon.


    Seeing it, the caravan picked up pace as did the hunters and after another hour they had reached the gate where they had all the wagons move into a semi circle. The hunters then moved to the outside to fight the monsters and the camps defenders launched attacks from the top of the wall. It was another two hours before the monsters were killed or ran away and the caravan entered the camp.

 Chapter Twenty-Three

    The caravan entered the camp to the relief of everyone present. The last week had been grueling due to the monster attacks. The camp, luckily, seemed to be quite fortified from what Fergus and Stephanie stated. Gaia could sense at least a hundred people around twenty feet up so she assumed they were the defenders. All of them seemed to be around her strength or stronger based on the flames she sensed.


    There was one that was around Titania¡¯s strength along the wall as well. They seemed to be the leader for the group. As Malachite walked alongside the caravan she was able to sense more and more people, most of which were barely stone rank and some were still normal rank. She guessed they were the support staff. The caravan continued until they stopped with the entire group, wagons and all were in a large circle, which Gaia assumed was a main square or something similar. Then Delilah spoke.


    ¡°It looks like everyone here has been alright. Good. Those of us who have just arrived need to be guided to lodging or an area to set up if need be or wanted. Thank you to all the hunters who have accepted the commission and stuck with us until now. Enjoy the rest of the day to relax and get situated for the coming weeks. We¡¯ll meet again in the morning to set up rotations.¡± The Guild Master finished.


    The hunters all moved to a side of the square where they were out of the way of the caravan unloading. They sat and rested for a bit before a few groups of people made their way to them and asked for the parties requests for sleeping arrangements. Most chose to set up camp around those they¡¯d met and became close with during the trip, while Gaia¡¯s group and the party of Jeffs asked if there was somewhere like an inn they could use.


    There luckily was one such building, it was similar to an inn and was relatively cheap. It was only two stone cores a day for a double room. They got two like they usually did with the guys and girls each getting a room. This made it easy for Gaia to memorize the area around her bed and not fall over things other hunters had set out. Which had happened quite a few times when they were traveling.


    The rooms weren¡¯t massive and had two beds with a large end table in between them. There was also a large chest in the corner for storage and a small wardrobe for any clothes. Otherwise, the room was empty and had a few feet on either side of the two beds and at the bottom for people to move. Stephanie ran and quickly made sure they could move stuff around, which they could. She wasted no time in moving the beds together into the corner and having the end table beside it. This opened up the room for Gaia¡¯s bonds to be able to move around a bit and generally gave them some space.


    After settling down in their room and Gaia memorizing the layout, for the most part, they went to check on the guys. They had a room about the same size but left everything how it was originally. They decided to go check on when dinner and meal times were. Dinner was in about another hour and breakfast was an hour after dawn. Lunch was served from noon to two, to allow different squads of defenders to switch and get food. There was a midnight meal for the defenders on overnight as well.


    It seemed like there were defenders on the wall at all times. There were three shifts that rotated on week long cycles. Those on the wall overnight would be on it during the morning the next week and during the day the week after. Then, back on overnight the following week. All of the squads stayed the same unless the leader of a group asked for a change.


    The shifts were to ensure there were defenders at all times. The rotation allowed them to access the shops, without requiring some shops to stay open constantly. Each squad was comprised of at most nine groups to allow each to have one day off during each rotation. The Hunter¡¯s parties would be added on to these squads to bolster personnel, at least six times a week. The other three were for them to do as they pleased. Their rotation was with the squad they were added to, however, so if their squad was overnight so they.


    If the parties went into the ruins with the explorers, they¡¯d get extra pay. Otherwise, they would not get paid unless they helped during an emergency on their days off. They could help to man the wall for their ten stone cores on one off days, but were required to take at least one day off from the wall. This was mainly so no one got worn out from working every single day and accidentally allow something to happen.


    The party returned to the girl¡¯s room after learning about the defenders and the schedules. They all sat on the floor as they discussed what they planned. It mainly depended on what their first rotation was, which they wouldn¡¯t find out until the next day and decided to make the decision then. There was suddenly a loud banging of metal on metal which sounded like pots and pans. Gaia guessed that signified dinner was ready.


    They made their way out of the inn and Gaia rode in Malachite¡¯s shell towards dinner. There were a few awkward moments with people complaining about the large turtle blocking the way but quickly quieted when the party reached the mess hall. Gaia climbed down from Malachite¡¯s back and he shrunk down before she placed him in her shoulder. Antonio was on her other shoulder, with Liv perched on the top of her head, and Shadow right by her side. They took their place in line with Gaia at the back and a few people complaining once again.


    ¡°Come on! Can¡¯t you see the people are moving?¡± A man said from behind her.


    ¡°No. I can¡¯t, but thank you for telling me.¡± Gaia replied.


    That apparently caused the person to be dumbfounded and stuttered for a moment before being quiet. After that, Shadow nudged her whenever she needed to go forward. The others hadn¡¯t said anything since they¡¯d honestly forgot, so Shadow helped her through the line by either nudging or telling her when to step forward. When Gaia fumbled for the tray Fergus realized and helped her carry it to a table.


    That was when everyone remembered and apologized, since it probably would have been easier if she had been in front or between them. She didn¡¯t mind and was just a bit annoyed that someone was rude. She couldn¡¯t really blame him though; she was holding up the line by accident. The dinner was pretty good with some vegetables that tasted similar to green beans, some kind of pasta like spaghetti, and some hard bread. There was water to drink but if people wanted alcohol they had to pay for it at the tavern by the central square.


    After dinner the party retired to their rooms and went to sleep. They awoke just before dawn the next morning and made their way to the central square to meet the Guild Master. The party was surprised to be the first ones there and had even beat the Guild Master there. They had to wait an hour before the Guild Master appeared. She seemed a bit embarrassed to be there after them.


    ¡°How long have you lot been waiting?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Around an hour.¡± Gaia replied.


    ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to make you guys wait. Here¡¯s the rotation schedule, you can choose any squad to group with since you¡¯re the first ones here.¡± The Guild Master explained as she moved a couple sheets of paper forward.


    The party discussed what was written. It mostly explained the three shifts and their composition. Each shift had a bronze rank group assigned. One had the Journeyman Guild¡¯s bronze rank party while the other two had Flora and Legion respectively. Each shift had two group spots open so Gaia¡¯s party could choose any of the shifts. The morning shift was from dawn until mid afternoon. The afternoon shift started just after lunch and went until about midnight. The overnight shift started just after dinner, which was a couple hours after sunset, and ended immediately after breakfast. Each shift worked a few hours together each day.


    They decided to join the morning shift for the week. This way they could get used to the rotation without having to switch their sleep schedule immediately. The shift also included Legion so they knew one of the parties already, which would help them settle in a bit better. After they relayed their decision to the Guild Master she just asked them write their party name in the slot, which caused them all to pause for a bit. They hadn¡¯t come up with a party name yet.


    This was when Fergus had a spark of inspiration and wrote a word for their party name. Fauna. From that point on they would be known as Fauna. With their party name written down, the Guild Master told them where to go to meet the defender shift they¡¯d be working with for their time in the camp. Gaia hopped on Malachite¡¯s shell and as the party moved towards their destination, Griff asked the question everyone had on their minds.


    ¡°What did you write?¡±


    ¡°I wrote Fauna. Figured it would work well for us, especially since half of our party are animals or at least animal like creatures, and the party started thanks to Flora¡¯s introduction. Therefore, our party is called Fauna.¡± Fergus explained.


    ¡°I like it.¡± Gaia stated after a moment.


    ¡°It does suit us, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Stephanie added.


    ¡°Yeah. Not a bad name.¡± Griff finished.


    The party was quiet for the rest of the walk, until they reached the wall and were greeted by the person in charge. At least that was what Gaia assumed from their commanding tone.


    ¡°Are you the party that¡¯s going to be joining our shift?¡± The man spoke in a grizzled voice.


    ¡°Yes sir. We are. Our party is called Fauna.¡± Griff replied.


    ¡°No need to call me sir. I¡¯m just one of the squad leaders. I¡¯m just here to meet and guide you. I¡¯ll take you to meet the captain. The name¡¯s Dante.¡± He stated and started to lead them somewhere.


    It took about half an hour to reach the captain as their guide had to stop and ask where they had gone to. The party guessed it was because the captain was busy doing their job and they were correct. They were getting closer to the sound of someone yelling at another.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re hungover. It¡¯s your own fault. You will not slack off and sleep while on duty guarding the walls. Do you understand me?¡± A slightly feminine voice barked out.


    ¡°Yes sir!¡± A young woman¡¯s voice replied.


    ¡°Good, if this happens again, you will be banned from the tavern and I¡¯ll have you on scout duty until the ruin exploration is over.¡± The first voice stated.


    Gaia didn¡¯t know what scout duty meant but based on how the other persons voice started quivering as they replied with a ¡°Yes sir.¡± she guessed it wasn¡¯t anything good. The reprimanded defender quickly moved away after being dismissed by, who the party now understood was the captain. Then, the guide stepped forward and introduced the party.


    ¡°Captain. This is Fauna. One of the two stone rank parties we will be working with on our shift. Fauna this is the Captain.¡± Dante introduced.


    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re here already. I was honestly not expecting anyone to be here before lunch. I am Captain Drakon, the leader of this shift. Everyone just calls me Captain. Before you ask, Captain is my first name and yes I am the Captain of a shift.¡± The person explained wearily.


    From what Gaia could sense, the person in front of the party was about two and a half feet tall and was similar to what she guessed a kobold would be. Her senses indicated that the person had a long snout on their face and they had a tail similar to a reptiles.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    ¡°I¡¯m Griff, the tall one beside me is Fergus, the tall dwarf is Stephanie, and the earthbound on the big turtle is Gaia. The creatures around us are also part of the party. I¡¯ll let Gaia introduce them if you want.¡± Griff stated.


    ¡°Please do so. They all seem quite unique.¡± Captain replied.


    ¡°Well, the big guy carrying me is Malachite. The spider on my head is Liv. The ant is Antonio and the big wolf you¡¯re currently petting is Shadow. They are all my bonds.¡± Gaia introduced.


    ¡°Alright. Don¡¯t know what that means but they seem pretty well behaved and friendly. Nice to have you lot on our shift but if you don¡¯t mind me asking how is a blind person going to keep watch on the walls.¡± Captain asked.


    Gaia just put up her Mana Field before explaining. ¡°I can sense any monsters or creatures with mana that are within this field. My bonds can also watch with me and let me know if they see something.¡±


    Captain flinched slightly when the Mana Field passed over him but otherwise didn¡¯t react, listening to Gaia¡¯s explanation intently. After a moment of silence he spoke again. ¡°I think I understand. I apologize for my rude question. Welcome to the shift Fauna, glad to have you.¡±


    After this Captain started to explain the basics for the defenders. The shifts different squads were to be on watch along their designated section of the walls at all times. This meant actively walking along the wall and scanning the area outside for any monsters or threats. During meal times, half of the squad was to go and get their meals while the other half remained. At this time another shift would also be doing the same, when the first group was finished eating they would return to the wall and let the other half go get food.


    Once the shift was dismissed, the rest of the day was free to do with as you wished. The only rule was to be sober and attentive during the shift. If you were found otherwise you would given a verbal warning first, before being banned from the drinking establishment or moved to a different shift if it was due to something else. The rules seemed quite lenient for a first offense but still quite harsh for repeat offenders due to the importance of the job. If a monster made its way into the camp injuries or even deaths were expected.


    For their first day on the walls Fauna had a member of another squad with them to help them adjust. The person they had been assigned was none other than the person who had been warned about being hungover on the job.


    ¡°I¡¯m Lilia. I¡¯ll be with y¡¯all today to show you the ropes. Just please don¡¯t make any loud noises for a while.¡± She stated slowly and deliberately in almost a whisper.


    ¡°Are you going to be alright?¡± Stephanie asked.


    ¡°Yeah. Just need an hour or two to get over this hangover.¡± She replied.


    ¡°Well, alright I guess. What do we need to do? Just keep a lookout along this section of the wall?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°Yep. I¡¯ll be here to help in case you spot something and to guide you during meal times. Now, just keep a lookout and let me know if you notice something.¡± She finished before walking a distance away from the party while massaging her temples.


    ¡°She¡¯s definitely something.¡± Griff stated when Lilia had moved far enough away.


    ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s just leave her be for an hour unless we see something, alright?¡± Gaia suggested.


    ¡°Fair enough.¡± The others agreed.


    ¡°Do you want a chair?¡± Fergus asked her.


    ¡°Is the wall wide enough for Malachite to grow and everyone get by?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see.¡± He replied. Malachite grew just big enough for Gaia to make her chair and everyone was able to pass by comfortably. With that out of the way Gaia put up her Mana Field, shaping it to focus out passed the walls edge, and Fauna started their watch.


    The watch went by relatively uneventfully. Gaia sensed a few monsters which they reported to Lilia, but she just let them know they could kill them if they¡¯re single weak monsters without worrying about reporting. Fergus or Stephanie quickly killed the singles since they were low level stone rank at the highest. The rest of the party had seen a few as well which were similarly dealt with.


    The first day on watch luckily ended without incident. Getting lunch was a bit weird since the party was used to going all at once, but didn¡¯t cause any significant issues. Gaia sent Shadow and Antonio with the first group to make it easy. The second group consisted of her, Malachite and Fergus. Liv didn¡¯t need to eat so she just stayed on Gaia¡¯s head. To make the line easier she just stayed on Malachite¡¯s back while she got her food and got a salad for Malachite as well.


    When the party met back up on the wall the afternoon shift had joined them. The squad assigned with them was a group of six. There were two men and four women. They were a distance from Stephanie and Griff when Gaia and Fergus arrived.


    ¡°Are they the afternoon shifts squad?¡± Fergus asked.


    ¡°Yeah. They didn¡¯t give us a good first impression though. Everything was going well until they saw Shadow and Antonio. They tried to attack them which didn¡¯t end well.¡± Stephanie explained.


    ¡°Really? Is everyone okay?¡± Gaia immediately asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m ok.¡± Shadow replied through their bond.


    ¡°Not hurt.¡± She heard the voice of a little boy say through a bond.


    ¡°Antonio?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yes. Mom.¡± The same voice replied.


    ¡°You can speak now!¡± She stated out loud excitedly.


    This was the first time Antonio had been able to speak or reply to anything through their bond. It also let her breathe a sigh of relief to hear that her bonds were alright. Stephanie and Griff had also relayed they were alright while she had been listening and talking to her bonds.


    ¡°What happened then?¡± Fergus asked.


    ¡°They went to attack and Griff punched one denting their armor and Shadow blocked the attack for Antonio and I without a scratch. Needless to say, I don¡¯t think they like us now.¡± Stephanie explained.


    ¡°Well, no skin off my back, especially if they tried to hurt my friends and bonds.¡± Gaia stated.


    As the party talked Gaia sensed the squad coming closer. She quickly let the others know as the other squad approached. From what she could sense, the squad was a bit weaker than her party individually. They were all taller than her but she couldn¡¯t tell anything aside from that. When the group got close, Gaia¡¯s bonds all moved to the back by her with Griff, Fergus and Stephanie in front of them.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re the one that likes and uses monsters?¡± One of the women asked.


    ¡°They¡¯re not monsters. They¡¯re my bonds.¡± Gaia replied indignantly.


    ¡°They¡¯re monsters. I can¡¯t trust monsters. They¡¯re what we¡¯re here to kill and keep out of the walls. Get rid of them.¡± Another of the women stated.


    ¡°No.¡± Gaia said icily, with a tone none of her friends had heard from her. Her tone had apparently also caused the other group to be surprised as she sensed them reaching to their hip or back.


    ¡°What do you mean no? They¡¯re monsters, you¡¯re here to keep them out.¡± The first women replied.


    ¡°From my point of view you¡¯re the monsters. You want to kill my family and expect me to have no qualms, because you¡¯re so narrow minded to think anything that¡¯s not humanoid deserves to die. When, not a single other person I¡¯ve come across, has had a single issue with them. So, I¡¯m going to leave and make sure I never see you lot again.¡± Gaia replied as she had Malachite walk away. Her party members followed immediately afterwards.


    They made their way off the wall and went to find their shifts Captain. He luckily wasn¡¯t far and they waited for him to finish the conversation he was having. A few minutes later he turned to see Fauna waiting quietly behind him.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you guys in the wall? It¡¯s not the end of our shift yet.¡± He asked.


    The party quickly explained what had happened and what was said word for word. They also told him why they hadn¡¯t stayed on the wall. Captain was silent for a few moments while the information sunk in before letting out a deep sigh. From what Lilia had reported to him, the party was extremely competent and great lookouts. They had seen monsters even she¡¯d missed until they were pointed out. He didn¡¯t want the party to be worried about their safety.


    ¡°Alright. I think I understand the situation. I understand why you left the wall, but you should have had a few stay behind while the others reported this. I won¡¯t even give a warning because of the circumstances and this being your first day. It was also likely the best thing you could have done. I¡¯ll talk to the other shifts captain and ensure something like this won¡¯t happen again. We will ensure nothing will happen to you all because of it either, so there¡¯s no need to worry.¡± He stated.


    The party sighed in relief when he finished speaking. They¡¯d been worried something would happen because of it or that they¡¯d get in trouble for leaving their post.


    ¡°Thank you. We didn¡¯t know what to expect when we came to talk to you.¡± Gaia stated.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. You¡¯re with my shift now so, you¡¯re one of my people. I¡¯ll look after you lot as long as you¡¯re under my command. Now, I¡¯ll let you guys leave early today while I go and sort this incident out. Don¡¯t expect to leave early again though.¡± Captain stated.


    The party thanked him again before making their way back to the camps inn. When they arrived, they all went to the girls room and immediately slumped down on the floor or beds. The entire situation had been tense, from when the other squad had tried to attack Shadow and Antonio the first time, to the end of the conversation with Captain. They had been on edge when the other squad had approached and it had gotten worse when they started talking. Then after explaining everything to Captain had caused their nerves to fray until he had alleviated their worries.


    Now that they were back in their room, they finally had a chance to relax, which caused all of the exhaustion to hit them at once. The party all stared at Gaia for a bit when they remembered how icy and angry her voice had sounded when replying to the squad. It hadn¡¯t been something they¡¯d ever heard. They¡¯d never even heard her sound angry about anything so hearing her voice dripping with what they could only assume was hatred and fury was jarring.


    When they looked at her now, she was sitting with her bonds curled up with her as she hugged them all protectively while trying to comfort herself with their presence. She was also crying now that she felt safe enough to. She¡¯d been scared for her bonds more than anything else during the entire ordeal, for all she knew the defenders could just decide to kick them out of the walls or hurt them or even worse. Her emotions finally caught up to her now.


    She¡¯d never felt hatred for anyone or anything before those people had told her to let them kill her bonds. What they did was equivalent to someone walking up and saying let me kill your kids and entire family because we don¡¯t like them or they scare us. Thankfully, her friends had been with her to help which made it easier to deal with in the moment, but now all of the worry, fear, rage, and relief rushed her system all at once.


    She didn¡¯t even notice the pain of her poisonous tears. She could hear her friends speak but couldn¡¯t respond. She was just overwhelmed by everything and moved to the corner of the bed with her bonds snuggling up with her. Her friends all stayed with her and talked to each other but she couldn¡¯t hear any of it. It wasn¡¯t until it was time for dinner that she was able to function again. She¡¯d apparently fallen asleep at some point and was awoken by Fergus gently tapping her and saying it was time for dinner.


    She slowly got up with his help and made her way to the mess hall. Antonio and Liv were both on her shoulder and head respectively, with Shadow right beside her, and Malachite shrunken down opposite of Antonio. Fergus was beside her holding her hand as he walked with her. They arrived at the mess hall about five minutes later and waited in line for food. Fergus helped her get all of the food for herself and her bonds before going to a table where Griff and Stephanie were waiting. The party ate quietly with all of Gaia¡¯s small bonds eating on the table in between them and Shadow eating from a bowl beside her. They then made their way back to the inn and went back to the girls room to rest and talk.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Stephanie asked Gaia.


    She just nodded.


    ¡°Still a bit overwhelmed by everything?¡± Fergus asked.


    Once again she just nodded.


    ¡°Alright. Good. We were worried about you. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re ok.¡± Griff stated.


    The rest of the night went by with the other three telling stories which Gaia enjoyed listening to. It helped her relax and feel normal again which was welcome. Her bonds still cuddled up with her as they sat listening to the stories her friends told until they fell asleep for the night.


    The next morning she awoke a few hours before dawn feeling much better. She prepared for the day and started to practice her mana shaping. It wasn¡¯t long before Stephanie woke up and the pair went out to meet the guys and head for the gate. They arrived to find Captain waiting.


    ¡°Good you¡¯re here. You¡¯ll be assigned to the same area on the wall as yesterday. The situation was also taken care of so there¡¯s no need to worry. The squad from yesterday will not be placed with you again. I am sorry for what happened yesterday.¡± Captain stated.


    ¡°Th-thank you.¡± Gaia was able to stutter out.


    ¡°No need for thanks. Now, you lot had better get a move on. The squad you¡¯re with from the night shift is one of the parties from the caravan.¡± Captain said.


    The party made their way to the section of wall they were assigned. Once there they noticed who the other squad was. Flora. After the mishap from yesterday having them nearby was reassuring. The two parties talked while keeping a lookout and Titania laughed when she heard their party name.


    ¡°I like it. It fits you guys and I won¡¯t lie. Knowing we had an impact on the choice makes us happy.¡± She said before suddenly going quiet as she stared out at a particular section of the forest.


    It was a few moments later that Gaia heard the sound of branches breaking and she focused her Mana Field out to find out what it was. That was when she sensed something moving towards them, slowly. It was slow but big it appeared to be some kind of serpent monster that was moving directly towards them. The main issue was that it was bronze rank so Flora would have to deal with it.


    Then she noticed something else. There were three more monsters like it moving towards the wall. She quickly relayed the information and Titania burst into a sprint towards the gate Captain had been at. A few moments later Gaia heard multiple people running up the wall to their area. Then, she was asked to relay the information to another person. Immediately after there was a bell rang from somewhere to her right and a shout.


    ¡°Monsters incoming! At least four bronze ranks! Stay vigilant!¡± The voice yelled as the monsters approached the wall.

 Chapter Twenty-Four

    The monsters moved quicker as they got close and Gaia finally got a sense for the monster¡¯s size. It was almost a hundred feet long and at least ten feet tall. If they reached the wall they could likely go over it if they wanted. This was when she noticed that Flora had jumped from the wall to battle the first of the four titanous serpents. The best she could do to help them was to keep her Mana Field up and hope it counteracted any venom if they were bitten. It would also poison the monsters if given enough time. She didn¡¯t want to throw any poisoned webs as she ran the chance of hitting the parties while they fought.


    The monsters sped up as they got close to the wall until they met with Flora and another bronze rank party that had made it there. The four monsters stopped when they came into contact with the bronze ranked defenders. Flora was able to get the first strike in their fight wounding the monster, from its pained howl Gaia guessed it was a strong hit. While the bronze ranked parties were fighting two of the monsters the other two moved around the battles making for the wall. This was when she heard the sound of arrows and bullets being fired. There was also magic being chanted and skill names being yelled.


    Between the sounds of the hunters yelling and chanting, the monster¡¯s howls, and the sounds of close combat along with projectiles being fired, the camp was a cacophony of noise. It was almost enough to deafen Gaia and Shadow. While they were reeling from the roar of battle Liv was tossing trapped webs and poison shots down towards the two unoccupied monsters. Malachite was firing water shots at them while moving to stay out of the defenders¡¯ way. Eventually this required him to get down from the wall, which when he looked around, meant hopping off the front and out of the camp. The wall had become crowded with most of the defenders moving to attack the approaching monsters, leaving only the bare minimum to watch the other areas.


    Gaia didn¡¯t realize what was happening until Malachite had already jumped and she sensed the defenders moving further away. This was when she noticed one of the monsters was directly in front of her and Malachite dashed out of the way of its strike. Thankfully, Malachite was fast enough to dodge it and he also seemed to be generally faster than the monster as it chased after him and it started lagging behind rather quickly. Gaia had Malachite circle back around but stay out of range of the monsters so she could still lessen any venom¡¯s effects and try to weaken the monsters with her poison.


    This caused them to ride a very dangerous line since they were outside of the wall and moving between multiple monsters an entire rank stronger than them during a fight. She wasn¡¯t overly worried since Malachite was faster than the monsters and her defensive barrier was quite strong. That didn¡¯t mean she could even withstand a single hit from the monsters but she would do what she could to help. While Gaia and her bonds hopped down and did something reckless, her party members were none the wiser, focusing on attacking the monsters.


    Fergus fired arrow after arrow at the monsters while Stephanie fired bullets from her repeating musket. They were a good team with Fergus firing while Stephanie had to reload her musket and Stephanie firing while Fergus rested for a moment. They weren¡¯t dealing much damage but thanks to the title they¡¯d gotten from the dungeon they were dealing more damage than most others. Griff had jumped down soon after Flora since he couldn¡¯t help much from range. He was dashing in and out of the fight with Flora striking when he could to help.


    Shadow had jumped down when Gaia had and joined Griff in striking and attacking when she could. Her ability to slip between being physical and essentially a shadow allowed her to dodge attacks and attack immediately after when the monsters didn¡¯t expect it. This gave Flora a few extra moments where the monster wasn¡¯t solely focused on them. Flora was constantly attacking the monster dealing damage, but weren¡¯t able to deal a decisive blow due to the monster¡¯s hard scales. They were constantly dealing damage, but they mainly consisted of surface wounds, like scratches. The best strike they¡¯d delivered was from Titania stabbing one of the monster¡¯s eyes, which had occurred at the beginning of the fight.


    The monsters were slowly but surely taking damage from the barrage of attacks from the wall. Since the defenders on them were stone rank they dealt a minuscule amount of damage, but damage was still damage. With at least a few dozen attackers the damage was slowly building. When one of the monsters not preoccupied by a bronze rank party was about to climb the wall, Gaia sensed someone that was much stronger than everyone else join the battle.


    They attacked the offending monster causing it to fall back before they jumped down and struck it with two quick attacks. The monster stilled immediately after and the person ran for the other unoccupied monster. Gaia could sense everything moving within her Mana Field as long as it contained mana, so she could sense the fights quickly conclude, with the assistance of who she realized was the Guild Master.


    After the monsters all died, there was a cheer from the wall and the parties that had fought the monsters. It was during this time that Fergus and Stephanie noticed Griff had jumped down to fight with Flora and that Gaia had disappeared. They were about to panic when they saw that she and her bonds were by Flora along with Griff. The monsters quickly dissolved and the parties grabbed any items that they had dropped before making their way to the gate.


    It was at this time Gaia noticed the Guild Master sprint straight at her before grabbing something directly behind her. Gaia sensed an extremely faint bit of mana from whatever it was as the Guild Master gripped it before the mana signature disappeared after hearing a loud crack. Whatever the creature was, it had been able to completely hide its mana signature from her Mana Field and make absolutely no noise.


    Whatever the creature was it was her antithesis. It was able to remove itself from her ability to perceive it whereas others would be able to see it. It reminded her that her Mana Field wasn¡¯t omnipotent and that there were things able to trick or hide from the sense. Thankfully, the Guild Master had seen it and acted before it was able to do anything.


    ¡°You alright?¡± The Guild Master Delilah asked.


    ¡°A bit shocked but yes. I couldn¡¯t sense or hear it at all like it was able to hide its mana and be completely silent.¡± Gaia replied.


    ¡°Yeah. These things are called Lurkers. They are able to completely conceal their mana and make no noise when moving. They¡¯re rare, but there are many of them this deep into the forest. They¡¯re very easy to spot visually though.¡± Delilah explained before realizing. ¡°Which makes them horrible for you doesn¡¯t it?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Seems like it.¡± Gaia replied.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± Delilah started.


    ¡°Nothing we can do about it.¡± Gaia stated.


    It was only after a few moments of silence that the Guild Master spoke again. ¡°We should probably head back inside the camp.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Gaia replied as the group walked to the gate.


    As soon as everyone was back inside the gate it was closed with all haste and barricaded. Gaia moved back to her position on the wall to continue the shift. There she was greeted with a few worried hugs and after a few minutes the parties went back to their watch. The rest of the time with Flora was welcome as they were able to relax their guard and focus on keeping a lookout.


    When breakfast rolled around the party took the same two groups with Gaia and Fergus staying behind with Malachite and Liv. Antonio and Shadow went with Griff and Stephanie for their meal. Flora split up with John and Titania staying on the wall. Nothing happened during the time the parties were split up and breakfast ended with Flora heading off to bed.


    There were a few monsters that approached the wall but they were quickly taken care of. The group for the afternoon shift ended up being the party of Jeffs who had finally decided on a name for their party as well. They were now known as the Mighty Brigade. They had the same problem Gaia¡¯s party had, they hadn¡¯t come up with a name and so their leader picked the first thing that came to his mind. The watch with the Mighty Brigade went by without incident and Fauna went back to the inn to rest for the day.


    When they got back to the inn they all convened in the girl¡¯s room to relax and tell stories again. The story for the day was from Stephanie and she told them about how she got her class. To start out, since she was a half dwarf she¡¯d had the title Dwarven Dexterity and the Armored Combatant ability since she was born. Both were inherent of the dwarves. The first made her reflexes grow faster but slowed her speed while the second allowed her to have a higher defense while wearing armor.


    The two effects were what dwarves were usually known for. They were dexterous when creating items and strong warriors that were able to take hits. They were also known to not use magic. She was an odd one though, she was a half dwarf that wasn¡¯t really a dwarf nor a full-blooded human. She wasn¡¯t able to craft as quickly as other dwarves while not being able to grow as quickly as humans. It allowed her the ability to craft faster than most humans and be able to enchant where dwarves struggled to do so.


    This allowed her to create items with dwarven techniques that she could enchant. Most dwarven items were unable to be enchanted due to the techniques they used causing the materials magical capacity to be removed. This made the items exquisite and break or block magic but unable to be enhanced by magic at all. It had taken her years of creating items and forging with materials before she noticed this problem. She tried a few experiments and found that it didn¡¯t matter what kind of material was used. Whether it had a high magic capacity or none at all to start, if it was forged using the dwarven technique, the magic capacity would disappear.


    She then tried infusing magic into her tools when she worked and found that it started to allow some magic capacity to remain or even be created. It wasn¡¯t until she was able to use the techniques she¡¯d been taught and have the magic capacity remain the same that she got the class. The reason it was just called smith, as she guessed, was because she¡¯d made items using all kinds of materials from swords to clocks and even some jewelry.


    The story took until dinner time for her tell as she went into detail about all of the techniques and each of her creations. The group didn¡¯t understand a lot of it but could tell how much she enjoyed crafting, forging, and handling materials. They also learned that the first item she¡¯d made after getting her class was the ¡°boomstick¡± she used the first time they¡¯d met. It had been upgraded by then but was mostly just modified without changing its original design.


    Dinner was uneventful as most of the people had met her and no one got worked up about her bonds either. In fact a few people had come up and pet Shadow and Malachite. The two had gotten pretty popular and enjoyed the attention. Luckily no one stopped them while they were heading to the wall or for food usually but most people knew Fauna was on the morning shift. Gaia let them enjoy the attention when she could as she could feel their happiness through the bond.


    After dinner the party split up and did different things for a couple hours before heading to bed. The next day went by with only a few monsters approaching Fauna¡¯s section of the wall and the party enjoyed a somewhat relaxing day. There were only three more days before they had their free days so the party discussed what they wanted to do with them.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with whatever we decide but I think we should take at least one day off where we don¡¯t explore the ruin or be on the wall.¡± Stephanie stated.


    ¡°I agree and think we should explore at least one day. We don¡¯t have to every week but I think we should, so we¡¯ll at least have a good idea of what it entails.¡± Fergus added.


    ¡°Same. We can always do another day on the wall if we want to as well but I say we plan for one day of rest and another for exploring. Captain also said we could just show up and sign in for an extra day on the wall, so we don¡¯t have to decide until it¡¯s time to show up for watch.¡± Fergus stated.


    ¡°That sounds alright with me. How about we do the first day as our day off. The second for exploring and the third as a flexible day. If the exploring was tiring we can use it as a recovery day, go exploring again or do another day on watch.¡± Gaia suggested.


    ¡°That sounds alright to me.¡± Stephanie replied.


    ¡°Same.¡± Said the guys together.


    ¡°Alright with that settled, shall we go explore the camp a bit more?¡± Gaia asked.


    The others agreed and they all went to check out the rest of the camp. Fergus described the area to Gaia as they went. The camp was situated around the large area where they had stopped when the caravan had first arrived. Around the ¡°square¡± as it was called, were the smithies and equipment shops. The shops were more like stalls while the smithies mainly consisted of a small forge and work area under a wooden roof. These took up the entire western side of the square and took up a majority of the western section of the camp. The southern section of the square had the mess hall which took up the entire side of the square with training areas behind it.


    To the north was the support personnel¡¯s work area, this mainly consisted of a large roofed structure with equipment scattered throughout. One section had large basins with soapy water for laundry and another had cloth and threads to fix clothes. There were many other sections with different equipment to account for anything the defenders and explorers would or could need. There was even a small garden area which had Gaia excited for their day off. She hoped they¡¯d let her grow a small section of her own or at least help grow something.


    Finally, the last section by the square was to the east which had the inn they were staying at and most of the residences of the camp. Most of the residences consisted of small communal buildings with large rooms where everyone slept. There was also the tavern beside the inn where all of the alcohol of the camp was sold, it also had a brewer working constantly to keep up with demand.


    From the central square there were six smaller paths and two main roads. The roads went to the north and south of the square with paths on each corner and going east and west, heading towards the walls. The road to the north is the road that the caravan came in on as it was the road going all the way to Boundary. The southern road went to the ruins which were just outside the southern wall¡¯s gate. Each of the paths helped people move about the camp without having to move between buildings to go anywhere.


    The camp was larger than Gaia had initially thought as they explored it. She had guessed the camp was smaller and mainly consisted of the square, inn, tavern, southern section and part of the northern section. It was about three times as big as she initially thought. Luckily, it was organized in a way that made everything obvious.


    They all walked around for a while before heading back to the inn to sleep. The next morning started early with a warning bell being rung. Then they heard a voice yell out ¡°Monsters incoming! Around five, all mid-bronze rank!¡±


    The party quickly got ready and rushed to the section of the wall that the warning had come from. As they approached the wall, Gaia created her Mana Field and they moved up to the top of the wall. She could sense three of the five monsters that had been relayed. They were all different kinds of monsters as opposed to the four snake-like monsters from a few days before.


    One seemed to be a massive beetle with four extra appendages. Two on each side one pair was scythe-like while the other seemed to be like a hammer. Another was a bear with three pairs of arms and around twenty feet long. The last one that she could sense was a hedgehog monster. It was about three feet long and only had four long quills. She could sense the quills growing rapidly before being shot towards the wall. She didn¡¯t know what the four other quills were for but its rapid regeneration of quills made attacking it difficult.


    The beetle seemed to be the most worrying as it might be able to break or cut through the wall but the other two were problems in themselves. The hedgehog monster would be difficult to deal with as it could shoot hundreds of quills almost every second. The bear was strong but from what she could tell it only had its size and physical strength to fight with. Flora was already on the ground fighting, since Gaia could hear John¡¯s roars and Titania¡¯s orders.


    They were fighting the beetle, keeping it from getting closer to the wall while the bear moved towards them to fight. The hedgehog ignored the fighting and continued firing its quills at the wall. This made it hard for the defenders to offer support. Stephanie quickly noticed this and stood in her full armor and fired her musket at the hedgehog. Her armor gave her much more protection than most other ranged fighters and the quills stuck into her armor without hurting her. She got a few shots off before having to crouch behind cover.


    Her bullets couldn¡¯t kill it but they could wound it. Fergus quickly jumped up and fired a shot before dropping back. After seeing the two attack, others began to do the same as after the attacks, the monsters projectiles fired slower. This allowed them to attack it more and more as the defenders launched projectiles and magic at the monster which was soon killed under the barrage of attacks. Each attack didn¡¯t deal much damage, but a lot of little damage adds up.


    With the hedgehog dead, the defenders could attack the other two monsters and help Flora out. This fight mainly had Gaia and Griff on the sideline, as they weren¡¯t the best for ranged damage where the combatants are extremely close. Eventually, the monsters were killed and the defenders returned to their respective watch areas.


    Each time there is an alarm or warning bell a pair of reserve lookouts is moved to watch each wall as the defenders deal with the threat. This allows the fighters to deal with the monsters quicker while still having a lookout to spot a new threat if they approach from a different direction. It¡¯s a good strategy as it makes it so the walls are always manned. It also allows all of the fighting power to converge on a significant threat without having to worry about missing a new threat.


    The party moved back to the inn to relax until it was time to take their watch. They didn¡¯t go back to sleep as the fight had woken them all up. It was also almost time for them to head to the wall anyway. They soon moved to the wall and began their day on the lookout for monsters. It was a relatively normal day with a few monsters coming close and being quickly dealt with on their side. On the other sides there was at least one alarm that was rung. This caused them to run back and forth from their wall to the others to assist.


    It made the day tiring, but luckily there wasn¡¯t a need to sound an alarm on their side. Most of the monsters that appeared for them were middle or low stone rank and were dealt with by a few well placed shots by Stephanie and Fergus. The monsters that appeared on the other three sides were a mishmash of different monsters. A few they¡¯d dealt with before like one bear and one of the serpents from the first big fight, but many were new monsters that Fauna hadn¡¯t encountered yet.


    These consisted of mutated forest beasts mainly with one humanoid monster that was similar to what she guessed a humanoid squirrel would be. It was around two feet tall and had a massive tail like a squirrel but held a small axe and knife in each hand. It had snuck up and onto the wall during a larger battle where it had proceeded to injure a few people and even killed two before it was killed.


    The day ended with a quick memorial for the hunter and defender that had perished before Fauna returned to the inn. The night had a somber atmosphere after that. They all did their own things before turning in for the night. The next morning was relaxing as the party awoke and leisurely prepared for the day. They went to Captain and were assigned to a section of the wall as usual.


    The day was similar to the day before but with large attacks occurring constantly throughout the day. There were at least four such attacks on their section of the wall alone. They were able to slowly deal with one monster of a two monster attack thanks to their ability to deal more damage than usual to monsters of a higher rank. The other was dealt with by Legion as Fauna whittled down theirs. The attacks were almost constant with only a few breaks between them. The day was exhausting as the defenders were constantly running from wall to wall to fight the monsters.


    The worst one was during lunch time when there were only half of each squad on the wall. This one had Gaia, Fergus, Malachite and Liv on the wall while the others had gone for food. There were also only two of the Mighty Brigade on the wall the axeman and luckily the bowman. There were five monsters that approached the wall this time and the alarm was quickly raised. Two of the beetle monsters and a group of three humanoid squirrels.


    Fergus and Jeoff fired their arrows at the incoming monsters as Legion arrived and jumped down to deal with the beetles. Douglas blocked one and caused it to focus on him while the rest of the party dealt with the other beetle. This left the humanoid squirrels to deal with which moved around to attack members of Legion while they were focused on the beetles. Gaia quickly made some webs while Liv did the same and they hopped down with Malachite to slow the squirrel-men down.


    Liv tossed trapped webs around far enough away to not interfere with Legion¡¯s fight, but blocked the squirrel-men from reaching their targets. Gaia wove some webs and targeted the squirrel-men¡¯s legs when they got close and managed to bind two of them. The other rushed in to attack with its weapons, a small spear and sword this time, before Geff slammed his axe into it leaving a large gash and knocking it back into Liv¡¯s webs. He moved to hack away at it but decided to attack the two Gaia struggled to keep bound up. She¡¯d been able to trap their legs but not their arms as they flailed around wildly, blades swinging randomly. Geff slowly moved forward and used the longer length of his axe to slash down at them. It took him a few minutes to kill one while Gaia¡¯s poison was taking its toll on the other. Malachite moved forward and bit down on the monster¡¯s head as it weakly swung a small club at him before going limp.


    As this happened, the last squirrel-man had made its way out of the webs Liv had made and threw its spear like a javelin at Gaia who couldn¡¯t sense it. Geff tried to slash or block it with his axe but wasn¡¯t fast enough as it hurtled towards Gaia. It struck her defensive barrier and barely pierced it, only embedding itself a couple inches into Gaia¡¯s side. She pulled it out and cast her healing shot on herself.


    Geff in the meantime had run up slashing it with his axe while Fergus and Jeoff finished it off with arrows. By the time it was dead Gaia was completely healed. After ensuring she was alright Geff and her moved to assist Legion the best they could. Geff attacked with a few skills while Gaia used her Vines to try and bleed it which somehow worked. Her poison was also slowly stacking as the fight continued and after around ten minutes all of the monsters had been killed. All of the fighters then returned to the wall as they saw the other members of their parties running towards them.


    ¡°Sorry. There was another alarm at almost the same time as yours, we just ran to the one that happened first. We didn¡¯t realize it was yours that rang a bit later.¡± They all apologized.


    ¡°It¡¯s all good. It turned out alright in the end.¡± Geff stated.


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re alright by the way?¡± Geff asked Gaia a moment later.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. It didn¡¯t really do much and I healed it already.¡± She replied.


    ¡°Wait. You got hurt?!¡± Fergus immediately asked as he moved to look her over.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Gaia reassured him.


    After a few minutes of bickering Gaia and Fergus went to get their lunch. There weren¡¯t anymore big attacks during the last hour of their shift and the party went to relax. They all split off to do their own things after they got back to the inn. Fergus went out and collected some wood before starting to carve some small figurines. Griff was in the guys room reading from one of his books that he¡¯d bought just before coming on the commission. Stephanie was in her portable forge repairing her equipment and tinkering on her weapons. Gaia was in one of the training areas, that she¡¯d been given permission to use, playing with her bonds and practicing some of her skills and abilities.


    While she focused on practicing using her chaos pathways with her vines and controlling them better, her bonds were practicing some of their own skills. Liv was still working with her creation skill and Malachite his Telekinesis. Shadow had leveled up to around thirty-two and had gotten a skill called Shadow Dash a little bit ago that she had barely been able to use. It allowed her to jump between shadows within about thirty feet of her. To Gaia¡¯s senses she was disappearing after a puff of mana and reappearing somewhere else. Antonio wasn¡¯t quite high enough to get his next skill being level twenty four himself. After a few more fights he¡¯d get a new skill too. When Gaia heard the clatter signifying dinner being ready she and her bonds made their way to the mess hall. She met the rest of her party, including a grumpy Stephanie who had been dragged out to eat. They had a nice meal consisting of some kind of beans and a sandwich with a mouthwatering piece of meat that tasted similar to fried chicken. They went back to the inn and relaxed while Stephanie went back to her forge and worked on whatever it was she dragged from. The other three talked and they soon went to bed after once again forcing Stephanie out of her forge to get some sleep.

 Chapter Twenty-Five

    The next morning Gaia awoke with her bonds sprawled all over her. Thankfully, Malachite was in his small form as he was tangled in her hair.  Shadow was splayed out on top of her, covering her almost completely. Liv had been working on making a shirt from what Gaia guessed as it was covering her face and Antonio was still, almost as if he¡¯d been frozen in place, just by her shoulder. She could hear a giggle coming from nearby as Stephanie had woken up early and seen her try to move but fail, due to the mass of other creatures on top of and surrounding her.


    ¡°Is it really that funny?¡± Gaia asked quietly.


    ¡°Definitely. The only parts of you that can be seen are your feet, one hand, and your hair. Otherwise, it¡¯s just a mass of animals.¡± Stephanie said between bursts of laughter.


    Gaia just laid there as Stephanie continued laughing. She didn¡¯t want to move and wake her bonds up since today was their free day. She¡¯d planned on sleeping in a bit herself but getting up around dawn had become a habit. Stephanie woke up earlier than everyone else and worked in her forge for an hour or two before it was time to get ready for requests. As for Griff and Fergus they usually woke up around when Gaia did and went out to spar for a bit. Since today was a day off they were free to do what they wanted and so everyone could sleep in.


    Gaia eventually realized the laughing had stopped after a few minutes and heard the whooshing sound of Stephanie¡¯s Portable Forge opening up. Then the sound of tinkering could be heard. Gaia just continued to lay there for a bit longer before deciding to try working on her mana field and mana shaping. These were two things she could practice without needing to move as they were both controlled mentally. Some physical movements made mana shaping easier, like if she wanted to make the mana field become a line, she could point in the direction and make the mana flow down her arm to help guide the skill.


    The downside to only using her mind to control them was that it was taxing. If she spent too long practicing this way it would at best cause a headache and some body aches. She¡¯d figured this out before by doing so and decided not to try past that limit. She didn¡¯t know why the physical movements caused the drain on her mind to decrease but had discovered something interesting. Each time she used a skill it also took a little bit of energy and if overused caused a similar problem.


    This meant skills couldn¡¯t be used indefinitely without a drawback. It also meant that the spirit was tied to someone¡¯s mind or consciousness. She guessed that if someone else did something similar they¡¯d just get a headache, whereas since her spirit and body were partially melded, it also caused some physical pains. The more she learned about how skills and magic worked, the more worried she became about her odd situation. Someone at her rank shouldn¡¯t have their body and spirit melded as hers was. One thing she¡¯d learned was that as someone ranked up their body slowly changed to become closer to their ideal form, or as she¡¯d come to understand their soul¡¯s form. This meant their body would slowly become fused with their soul. It also caused their defensive barrier to meld into their body.


    This was why someone at Bronze rank wouldn¡¯t have a barrier. Instead, the defensive barrier they had at normal and stone rank was infused into their skin. The belief behind why this is, is that at bronze rank the body and soul have started to truly meld together. Gaia guessed the reason her own defensive barrier was so close to her body instead of a small bubble around her like she¡¯d been told was due to her Broken Spirit title. It caused her spirit to be merged with her body more than it should at her current rank. She also guessed it was merged in a way that it shouldn¡¯t be from the fact the title was broken spirit.


    Either way there wasn¡¯t anything she could do about how her situation and just continued practicing mentally until her bonds woke up. This didn¡¯t happen for another two hours and almost caused them to miss breakfast. After breakfast the party split up to do their own things. Gaia made her way to the garden area she¡¯d found the day before. It took her a little bit as she had the general idea but ended up a little lost. Thankfully, someone was willing to guide her and her bonds to the area.


    When they arrived, she was guided to talk to the person in charge. The person in charge of the garden was named Yort. From what she could sense, he seemed to be a large humanoid elephant. She¡¯d never heard anything about his race before but wasn¡¯t surprised there would be one she hadn¡¯t heard about.


    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Gaia. I was hoping to be allowed to use a small section of the garden area to grow some plants, if that¡¯s alright.¡± She stated.


    ¡°Ah. Nice to meet you little one. My name is Yort.  If you¡¯re looking to grow some crops I¡¯m all for it, but we don¡¯t have much room to grow things, so it¡¯s limited to edible plants. If you¡¯re fine with that and giving the crops for food, I can find a small section for you now.¡± He stated with a deep but nasally voice.


    ¡°I¡¯m perfectly fine with that. I just like to plant and grow my own plants. Its very relaxing for me.¡±


    ¡°Very well. Will your animals be helping?¡± Yort asked.


    ¡°Yes, and if you don¡¯t mind finding me a place close to the front, I¡¯d be very grateful. I can¡¯t see so I might end up stepping on someone else¡¯s plots or even their crops by accident if I need to go very far in.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll see what we have and try to accommodate you.¡± Yort replied respectfully as he stepped away to check what areas they had.


    Gaia waited for a few minutes before Yort returned. ¡°We have one plot that is close to an entrance that no one is using. I can take you there and make a designation so you can tell where it is whenever you come back.¡± Yort stated as he led her to another section of the garden area.


    It only took a couple minutes for them to arrive at another side of the garden plots and Yort opened the gate for her. She entered and was led to a section immediately to the left as she entered. It was an area about ten foot by ten foot and was separated by a small wall. The wall was only about six inches tall and made of hardened dirt that almost felt like stone. It was enough that she could feel where the plot ended but not enough that it could interfere with movement much or the plants growth.


    Feeling the are Gaia could tell the dirt was already tilled and prepared for planting. All she needed to do was decide what seeds she wanted to plant and place them in the ground before watering them. She wouldn¡¯t use any growth magic immediately as it was best used after the seeds had sprouted. She thanked Yort before he left to allow her time to decide what to plant. It didn¡¯t matter what she planted as long as it was edible since they needed food and could make do with whatever it was.


    She eventually decided to plant a few of each of the seeds she had. This meant some Sweet Sprouts, Greenberries, Blissfruit, and Sugarweed. These were the same plants she¡¯d grown back at the inn in Boundary. She already knew how to care for them thanks to the stall owner¡¯s advice and instructions. Planting the seeds didn¡¯t take overly long, as she had Shadow¡¯s help during planting as she used her claws to make the small holes for the seeds and used her snout to guide her hands where they were. Then Malachite would create a water shot and cancel it to water the seeds.


    She felt a few gazes while she did all of this and guessed they were interested in the new gardener with the creatures helping her. After the planting and watering was done Gaia relaxed in the garden for a bit enjoying the smells of the gardens. Then, she let Yort know what she¡¯d planted and made her way towards the training grounds since there wasn¡¯t much she could do now in the garden.


    When she arrived in the are a she stopped by and talked to the supervisor. She allowed her to use the Sam training area she had the night before but to stay to the front area. Fergus and Griff arrived when she did and they all went to the same area. The guys agreed to make sure she didn¡¯t accidentally enter and mess with someone else¡¯s training. They got to the area and the guys started sparring at the edge of the area they were allotted and they acted as the edge for Gaia.


    Gaia played with her bonds for a few hours which mainly included fetch with Shadow and Malachite. Shadow would play for a bit before laying down and wanting pets from Gaia. Malachite enjoyed it as he could run as fast and as much as he wanted to. Liv continued to practice creating items while Antonio practiced his skills and dug a little bit. He seemed to enjoy digging but couldn¡¯t dig very quickly. Gaia spent most of the time sitting against the edge of the training area throwing a ball of webs Liv had made for them to play with. She would also practice her own web manipulation ability and her skills.


    She also walked around a bit trying to understand how her Earth Glide skill worked but couldn¡¯t figure it out. She seemed to move a bit quicker while not having her armor covering her feet so she decided to not cover them. The skill was weird since she didn¡¯t have it before ranking up and didn¡¯t really seem to give much of a boost. If she had to guess, from what Fergus told her later, she was about five percent faster than when she had her armor cover her feet completely. It wasn¡¯t much but she was still a bit faster.


    After her bonds had tired themselves out they went back to the inn. When she got to her room she could hear Stephanie tinkering away in her forge and checked to make sure she¡¯d stopped to eat. She hadn¡¯t, so Gaia pulled out a bit of bread from the enchanted bag, which she¡¯d decided to call a space bag, since everyone just called them enchanted bags. Then she sat down and attempted to relax when her unwanted ¡°friend¡± decided to speak to her.


    ¡°You have a day where you can do what you want and you decide to garden and practice a useless skill?¡± The Amalgamation asked incredulously.


    ¡°Yes. I like gardening and the skill might not do much but it helped me know what it actually does. Also no skill is useless from what I¡¯ve discovered at least. What do you want anyway?¡± She asked annoyed that her rest had been interrupted.


    ¡°I¡¯m getting bored watching you do the same thing over and over each day and you don¡¯t even have the grace to talk to me. So, I¡¯ll make things interesting for myself. You plan on going into the ruins tomorrow with your little band of misfits, right?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not misfits, but yes. Why?¡± She asked uneasily.


    ¡°Sure you aren¡¯t. Well, I¡¯ll give you a little test. If you¡¯re able to get to the second floor tomorrow I¡¯ll grant you something that you¡¯ll find useful.¡± The Amalgamation stated.


    ¡°What if we fail?¡± Gaia asked hesitantly.


    ¡°Something you won¡¯t like, so don¡¯t fail.¡± It finished before going silent again.


    ¡°What do you mean!¡± She yelled as a screen appeared.


    Quest: Reach the second floor of the Ruins of Xerios within the time limit.


    Time remaining: 35 hours, 45 minutes and 26 Seconds.


    Reward: Class item


    Failure: UnknownUnauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    She didn¡¯t get a response from her outburst and panicked after reading the screen. A moment later she heard some scrambling and a few curses before Stephanie spoke. ¡°What in the hell Gaia! Why did you suddenly yell?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but can you get Griff and Fergus for me?¡± She asked.


    It took Stephanie a moment before she went and grabbed the guys. It was around ten minutes later that they arrived, since the guys had continued sparring at the training area.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Griff asked as they came into the room.


    ¡°Well, I was just given a quest by the Amalgamation to reach the second floor of the ruins by midnight tomorrow. If we fail, it just said it¡¯s do something I wouldn¡¯t like.¡± Gaia explained.


    ¡°Wonderful. Now we have to get to the second floor tomorrow. I don¡¯t know if the explorers have even reached that far yet!¡± Griff exploded.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I wanted this happen!¡± Gaia replied.


    ¡°First, let¡¯s calm down. We can talk everything out after that happens.¡± Fergus said.


    It took a few minutes for the pair to calm down enough to have a proper conversation.


    ¡°Ok, I¡¯m good now.¡± Griff said.


    ¡°Alright, so we have to reach the second floor of the ruins by midnight tomorrow, right?¡± Stephanie asked.


    ¡°From what I understand, yes. If we succeed it seems like I¡¯ll get an item for my class, but if we fail something bad will happen probably.¡± Gaia said.


    ¡°Ok. What do we know about the ruins?¡± Fergus asked.


    ¡°We know the Journeyman¡¯s Guild had to request reinforcements from the Hunter¡¯s League because of insufficient manpower.¡± Griff said.


    ¡°As far as I know they haven¡¯t reached the second floor of the ruins yet either.¡± Fergus added.


    ¡°I don¡¯t even think they know what the ruins are called or what civilization they¡¯re from.¡± Stephanie said.


    ¡°I know they¡¯re called the Ruins of Xerios. That¡¯s what the quest called them at least.¡± Gaia stated.


    ¡°Do you guys know that name?¡± Fergus asked.


    ¡°No. I¡¯ve never heard of it before.¡± Griff said.


    ¡°We should probably ask the Guild Master. Her guild has been exploring ruins and the areas around Boundary for a long time.¡± Fergus said.


    ¡°Sounds good to me but we¡¯re gonna have an early morning tomorrow. Let¡¯s see if we can talk to her tonight.¡± Stephanie suggested.


    The party made their way to the tavern hoping to find someone that knew where the Guild Master was. It only took a couple minutes to arrive at the tavern since it was next to the inn. They went in to raucous laughter and conversation. It was extremely loud and smelled of alcohol. It was almost too much for Gaia but she was able deal with it while they asked around.


    They spent an hour asking around the tavern before someone told them that the Guild Master had her quarters in a building just inside the wall. It was by the southern gate which led to the ruins. The party thanked the woman who told them and bought her a drink before leaving. They made their way to the southern gate and Stephanie saw the building. They arrived and knocked on the door hoping the Guild Master was in, and thankfully she was.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± The Guild Master Delilah asked.


    ¡°Well, we have some thing we need to talk to you about.¡± Griff replied.


    ¡°Alright. Come in.¡± Delilah said wearily.


    ¡°What is this about? You haven¡¯t been harassed by anyone else right?¡±


    ¡°No we haven¡¯t. This is about the ruins.¡± Stephanie stated.


    ¡°Oh? What about them?¡± Delilah asked.


    ¡°Do you know the name of them or that theres a second floor?¡± Griff asked.


    ¡°No we don¡¯t know the name but we believe there will be at least a second floor and possibly more. Why?¡±


    ¡°Well, I was given a quest to reach the second floor by midnight tomorrow. I was also given the name of the ruins with the quest.¡± Gaia explained.


    ¡°You were given a quest? What does that mean? Wait. The League¡¯s not here to give requests so it¡¯s not that.¡± Delilah asked before mumbling everything else.


    ¡°I don¡¯t entirely know, honestly. I¡¯ve been given a few before but nothing like this one. Either way, it called the ruins the ¡®Ruins of Xerios¡¯ and gave me a time limit to reach the second floor.¡± Gaia said.


    When Gaia said Xerios the Guild Master stopped mumbling immediately. ¡°You¡¯re positive it was the Ruins of Xerios?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yes. Why? Do you know what the name means?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°Xerios is a city from mythology. Specifically, the capital of the Demons or at least that¡¯s how it¡¯s commonly known. It was the center of a country controlled by intelligent


    monsters. These ¡®demons¡¯ as these intelligent monsters were called, were nine creatures that ruled the country and held immeasurable power. Each demon was a progenitor of its race.¡± Delilah explained.


    ¡°Right. There were eight of them and their king. The eight demons were the Gargantuan Destroyer, Draugr, Oni, Basilisk, Sinew Horror, Spectre, Wendigo, and Verdant Colossus. These eight were all under a single being known as the Eternal Lord. He was killed by a coalition of many races as he attempted to ascend though. At least that¡¯s how the Myth goes.¡± Griff explained.


    ¡°Wait. Then that means this country from the myth actually existed?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°If what you told me is true then it¡¯s possible. It also means this ruin is much more dangerous and important than we initially thought. It means there will likely be many more floors than we believed too. We¡¯ll have to be extremely careful when exploring.¡± Delilah started before remembering the party was there.


    ¡°Well, that makes this quest that much harder.¡± Gaia said with trepidation.


    ¡°Yep. We¡¯ll have to be extremely vigilant tomorrow when we explore.¡± Stephanie said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll send you lot in with the best explorer we have. I hope you¡¯re able to complete the quest but be careful. Your lives are the most important thing.¡± Delilah said as the party started to leave.


    ¡°Will attempt.¡± Gaia replied.


    ¡°What do you mean will attempt?¡± Fergus asked.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know what we¡¯ll have to do or deal with in the ruins. Especially now that we know they have to deal with a mythological capital for intelligent monsters. So, we don¡¯t know what will happen and, therefore, we¡¯ll attempt to survive.¡± Gaia explained.


    There was silence the entire way back to the inn after this. Her party members couldn¡¯t argue with her explanation, so they stayed quiet. They arrived and split up into their respective rooms. Gaia laid down and tried to relax, which didn¡¯t happen until her bonds cuddled up with her. She spent a few hours cuddled up but decided to go for a walk to clear her head. She couldn¡¯t fully relax knowing that there was time limit and that the consequence of failing was unknown.


    She walked with her bonds around the central square area a few times but still couldn¡¯t get her mind off the issue. She went back to her garden plot and sat down hoping that being in her plot would help. It did a bit as she felt the soil and noticed that there were a few sprouts. The plants didn¡¯t grow this quickly normally so she guessed the soil had some kind of magic fertilizer or something similar added to speed up growth. She noticed the soil was a bit dry and had Malachite water them again.


    Being able to feel the sprouts had helped clear her mind slightly since gardening was relaxing for her. It could be hard work to get the ground ready, but most of it had been done before she got the plot. She enjoyed just being in the garden as much as growing her plants. Something about the aromas and environment helped put her mind at ease. The smell of freshly water plants and soil with the sun¡¯s warmth helped her relax, and with her bonds right by her, it made the area extremely comfortable. She was able to relax for a bit and forget the looming danger. She laid there for a while until she ended up falling asleep. She¡¯d forgotten that none of her companions knew she¡¯d left or where she went.


    It wasn¡¯t until an hour later that her companions noticed she¡¯d left and they started a frantic search for her. Stephanie was the first to notice when she came out of her forge to get something to drink. Stephanie immediately ran to the guys and relayed that Gaia was gone from the room. The guys didn¡¯t panic at first until they realized no one knew where she¡¯d gone. This caused them to scatter and start searching the camp for her.


    They were all worried something had happened like the time the murderer had kidnapped her and Stephanie. They also worried since there hadn¡¯t been any kind of retaliation from the group that had been hostile to her because of her bonds. Their minds created all kinds of different scenarios, each worse than the one before.  Stephanie ran to check the training areas, Griff checked the stalls and shops, and Fergus checked the main paths thinking she may have just gone for a walk.


    Stephanie checked the entire area and the mess hall but couldn¡¯t find her. She went back to the central square and found Griff. He¡¯d not found anything either so they started to check the main paths themselves. They searched for around an hour or two before they ran into someone who had seen her walking with her bonds. He pointed them in the direction and the quickly made their way in that direction.


    Fergus was the first to see where she was. He called the others over as he¡¯d seen Shadow who after noticing him hopped over the fencing for the garden area and ran to him. Fergus let her a few times as Griff and Stephanie made their way over to him. They all moved towards the garden and immediately saw her. Gaia was curled up on the ground napping with her bonds guarding her.


    They all breathed a sigh of relief and slumped down for a bit since they¡¯d been running around frantically searching. Seeing that she was fine allowed them to relax and laugh. They all knew she liked gardening so they should have checked here earlier. She¡¯d even said she was going to garden during her day off earlier that day. They¡¯d been led by their imagination to believe something bad happened so they didn¡¯t even think about it until now.


    ¡°She really knows how make us worried, doesn¡¯t she?¡± Fergus asked.


    ¡°Sure does. I¡¯m just glad something bad didn¡¯t happen. Normally, if she¡¯s off by herself something ridiculous would happen. Last time it was a portal. Now, just a nap.¡± Griff stated.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just be glad nothing actually happened. We also probably shouldn¡¯t worry about her so much. As long as her bonds are with her, I don¡¯t think anyone here outside of the bronze rankers or Guild Master could hurt her.¡± Stephanie said.


    ¡°You¡¯re probably right, now that I think about it.¡± Fergus replied.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget you were the one to panic first Steph.¡± Griff prodded.


    ¡°Oh shut it. Ever since I met y¡¯all it¡¯s been one thing after another.¡± She replied.


    ¡°Fair enough.¡± Griff ended.


    The three all laughed and talked for a few minutes before Gaia stirred due to the noise. At first she was worried, since she wasn¡¯t sure where she was. She started to remember, as she fully woke up, that she¡¯d been in her garden relaxing and must have fallen asleep. She slowly got up and checked her sprouts, since she was worried that she may have accidentally broken them. Luckily, she hadn¡¯t so she started to leave when she heard her companions laughing.


    ¡°Oh? Why are you guys here?¡± She said with a yawn.


    ¡°Someone didn¡¯t let anybody know they were going out so, Stephanie came out of her forge to see you were gone. Then no one knew where you were and we assumed the worst. Especially since last time you were alone a portal appeared.¡± Griff said.


    ¡°Then we ran around looking for you. We didn¡¯t find you till a couple minutes ago.¡± Fergus finished.


    ¡°Sorry! I went out for a walk to clear my head and ended up coming here and must have fallen asleep.¡± Gaia rambled embarrassed.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Everything¡¯s good now. Just let someone know before you wander off, so we don¡¯t think you just disappeared.¡± Fergus said as he pulled her in for a hug.


    ¡°Alright.¡± She promised.


    The group all started to make their way back to the inn and Gaia put her Mana Field back up now that she¡¯d started moving. They¡¯d walked for a few minutes when her stomach growled and she realized that she¡¯d missed lunch. Thankfully, there was still some bread in her space bag, so she snacked while they walked. Just as they were about to enter the central square Griff ran off to a stall and Gaia noticed something that piqued her interest. She walked over to the item and touched it.


    ¡°What do ye think yer doin?¡± A gruff male voice asked.


    ¡°Sorry. This piqued my interest. What is it?¡± She asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a seed, can¡¯t you see?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± She said then a moment later asked ¡°What kind of seed?¡±


    ¡°Sorry lass. It¡¯s a seed from the ruins. I don¡¯t know exactly what kind of seed it is but no one from the guild wanted it. They decided to let me sell it.¡± He said after a puase and sigh.


    ¡°What do you want for it?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Honestly, I¡¯ll take five cores. It would be less but it was down a hall of traps so any less and it wouldn¡¯t be worth it.¡± He said wearily.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take it.¡± She said as she pulled five cores out of her space bag.


    ¡°Alright. Here you go lass. Thank you and sorry for earlier. I¡¯m Trevor by the way.¡± The man said.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright and thanks. I¡¯m Gaia if you have anything else like this can you hold onto it for me. As long as no one else wants it, of course.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do. I¡¯m just the item dealer so I¡¯m always here just after lunch and until dinner.¡± Trevor replied as Gaia started walking off.


    ¡°What¡¯d you get?¡± Stephanie asked.


    ¡°A seed. I sensed it in my mana field. It seems odd. Let me try and analyze it.¡± She said as she pushed her mana into the small oblong seed.


    Name ¨C Seed of


    ¡°My skill can¡¯t even tell me what it is. I was curious since it has mana unlike most of the other seeds I¡¯ve come across.¡± Gaia said.


    ¡°That¡¯s weird. I bet it¡¯ll be something ridiculous, knowing you. I bought us some party trackers.¡± Griff said.


    The trackers were bracelets with a small stone that would allow them to keep track of each other. They would glow with a dim light that would brighten or dim depending on how close another tracker was. For Gaia¡¯s he¡¯d been able to get them to change it to warm up and cool down instead. It did mean hers wouldn¡¯t be ready until around sundown though.


    The party relaxed until bedtime after finishing their preparations for the ruin delve the next day. They all had their trackers and planned to go to sleep early to maximize their time for the quest. They talked to Flora during this time and told them about the quest and everything they knew. Flora was about to go and say they were going to join Fauna during their ruin exploration, but Fergus was able to talk Titania down. After this exchange, they went to their rooms and went to sleep.

 Chapter Twenty-Six

    The next morning started early with the party being up and ready long before dawn arrived. They quickly ate some road rations, consisting of bread and jerky, they had in their space bags. Then made their way to the Guild Master¡¯s building where Delilah was waiting for them with another person and some bags.


    ¡°I figured you¡¯d be here early. This is Edrahni. He is our best explorer. The bags have supplies for exploration, from food to rope and pitons. His tracker can be bound with your party¡¯s to make it easier too. I¡¯ll let you lot all talk and prepare.¡± Delilah said as she went inside her house.


    ¡°Hello. My name iz Edrahni. It¡¯z nize to meet you all. I zhall be helping you reach the zecond floor of the ruinz.¡± Edrahni said with a heavy accent.


    ¡°Nice to meet you. I¡¯m Fergus and I use a bow. Griff there is a close combatant, Stephanie a middle guard, and Gaia has her bonds. Malachite is a vanguard, Shadow a defender and damage dealer. Liv a supporter and Antonio an attacker. Gaia can do a bit of everything.¡± Fergus said as he motioned to each member specifically.


    ¡°Ok. Zoundz good. I¡¯m a zcout. I can detect trapz and zuch easier then mozt.¡± Edrahni said.


    ¡°Alright. Are you set to go now?¡± Griff asked.


    ¡°Yez. Whenever you are ready.¡± They replied.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s head out.¡± Stephanie said as the group moved towards the South Gate.


    Gaia could roughly sense Edrahni¡¯s form and it seemed a bit odd. He was hunched and extremely thin but she couldn¡¯t sense anything very clearly. The gate was only about a minute away from the Guild Master¡¯s house. It was opened rather quickly upon Edrahni¡¯s word and the party moved towards the ruins. They were about ten minutes down the path from the gate. Close and visible but not close enough to create a problem if monsters came from it. Upon arriving at the ruins edge Gaia felt the mana density rapidly change. It felt similar to the dungeon and portal she¡¯d been in before. There wasn¡¯t a designation like the other two though. It was more like a gradual but rapid change due to the party¡¯s speed.


    When they¡¯d gotten about a couple hundred feet within the ruins perimeter, she could sense everything within her mana field. She could sense the ground and the outlines of her companions. She could tell the ruins were truly ruins with destroyed buildings and walls. The path they¡¯d come in on was cobbled but heavily deteriorated having large sections of cobblestones missing. The ruins truly seemed to be the ruins of a large city. She couldn¡¯t feel the edge from where she was and guessed they had a while to go to find the actual ruins entrance.


    As they continued Gaia was mesmerized by the layout. For a city known as the capital of demons from myth, it was well planned. There was the main road they were moving on with medium sized paths between buildings spaced relatively evenly apart. There even seemed to be sections denoting residential to mercantile to even governmental. It mainly started with the foundations of smaller buildings placed in the outer section, then larger buildings with more tiled open areas, and finally large buildings with what may have been a central square in the last section. She guessed there would have been another section for the Eternal Lord and his eight demons in the center, but now all she could sense was just a massive hole into the ground.


    The way the hole was made it seemed like whatever had been there had been erased from existence. Like the entire area was ripped from reality and destroyed. The only thing that led her to believe this notion incorrect was a staircase spiraling down along the edge. The stairs appeared to be created from the stone along the holes edge but levitated where it was with some sort of magic. It wasn¡¯t connected to the side walls but was free floating around a foot into the air.


    This was going to suck. Gaia wasn¡¯t afraid of many things, just a measly three things. One was spiders which she¡¯d kind of gotten over, second was open ocean since she never knew what could be under her feet, and third was heights. In the time since she¡¯d come to this world she¡¯d come across all three. The spider during her training camp and requests afterwards. The water during the dungeon but to a lesser degree until the boss area. The heights with this disparaging quest.


    She lamented that she would need to go down these free floating steps over a massive hole but took comfort in that she could ride on Malachite¡¯s shell. She could just pull her mana field in and just imagine it was a normal staircase. The party moved to the edge and followed Edrahni down the stairs. As they carefully made their way down the stairs Edrahni explained what they knew about the ruins.


    ¡°We have been exploring what we now know is the firzt floor. You might be wondering why we don¡¯t know how many floorz there are when there¡¯z this mazzive  hole in the zenter. Well, the reazon iz that the only ztairway that can be zeen in the hole is thiz firzt one. We aren¡¯t sure if the ztairwayz to the other floor or floorz are hidden zomewhere or if the ztairwayz are connected and hidden by zome kind of magic. Thiz could mean there are more ztairways juzt like thiz one that are hidden from view unlezz you¡¯ve reached that floor. We just aren¡¯t sure where to look and there are many thingz we can learn or find in each floor. Thiz iz alzo why exploration is zlow, we don¡¯t want to mizz zomething becauze we juzt rushed pazt it. We, however, will be moving to find the ztairway from what the Guild Mazter zaid.¡± Edrahni explained.


    ¡°Yes. We need to have reached, and likely be on, the second floor before midnight tonight.¡± Fergus said.


    ¡°Very well. The firzt floor iz juzt up ahead. It iz zimilar to the what we zaw above. The largezt differenze iz that the areaz are connected by tunnelz and a natural cave network.


    There are zome larger cavernz that we have explored, but there are likely many otherz we will need to in order to find the ztairway down. There may alzo be trapz and monzterz down here too. Make sure to be on guard and vigilant. I will guide you and zcout for trapz az we move.¡± Edrahni stated as the party stepped off of the stairway.


    The path to the first floor was a gargantuan tunnel. It was fifty feet tall and thirty feet wide the entire way from the stairs to the entrance of the first floor. They walked for a few minutes before reaching the start of the floor. They entered and Gaia sensed that the area was indeed similar to the ruins above but the buildings were in much better shape down here. One of the buildings she sensed was immediately left of the entrance tunnel and seemed to be carved directly from the stone. The roof of the building was the cave¡¯s ceiling and the building beside it shared a wall. The oddest thing about the buildings were that all of the rooms had a ridiculously high ceiling. If a normal house had a ceiling of ten feet for each floor, these were all at least forty feet tall per floor. The doorways were just as massive but were just empty holes now.


    From the floor of the cave to the ceiling was high enough her senses couldn¡¯t reach it. The cave was massive in comparison to the party and the buildings made them feel like ants. They could spend days searching around the buildings and not explore it all, just due to the difficulty of getting around. Each stair was the size of them, they didn¡¯t know why the stairway down to this floor was their size if the floor was likely inhabited by giants at one point.


    ¡°Thiz iz the zection that haz been explored thoroughly. The areaz we¡¯ll be going to are further out. If you are ready I will ztart zcouting juzt ahead of you.¡± Edrahni said.


    This was the first time Gaia focused on Edrahni since the mana density skyrocketed. She finally got a good sense of what he looked like. Her best description would be a monstrous human. He was about half a foot shorter than Fergus and was unnaturally thin with a hunched posture. His arms and legs were longer than a regular humans and seemed to end in sharp claws or talons. His face was gaunt and long with no symmetry. If the guild master hadn¡¯t introduced him as a member of her guild Gaia likely would have mistaken him for a monster.


    He seemed to notice when she gasped slightly. ¡°Ah, it¡¯z your first time zeeing zomeone like me izn¡¯t it? I am zomeone who fed on living monzterz to zurvive. It led to the form you zee now. I waz onze a human like your friendz. I am what people call a fallen human. I am zomewhat humanoid with monztrouz characterizticz. I hope it won¡¯t cauze any problemz.¡± Edrahni explained.


    ¡°Not at all. Just the first time I¡¯ve gotten an actual sense for your form.¡± Gaia said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be ahead checking for any trapz or monzterz. If you all dizcover anything or change direction juzt call out to me, I will come back immediately.¡± Edrahni said as he ran forward, dropping lower and using all four limbs to gain speed.


    Gaia wasn¡¯t scared of the man and felt bad as that seemed to be how he took it. It was more just the difference between his personality and appearance. He seemed to be very polite and respectful while his visage was menacing. There wasn¡¯t much she could do about it at the moment as he was scouting ahead, and they needed to move quickly. She decided to apologize to him later when they could.


    The group moved forward rather quickly, while still being cautious, and found that there were many traps that were disarmed. They came across a few monsters and Gaia thought she discovered the theme for this floor. Everything was massive. The monsters they came across were all very low-level stone rank and were dealt with in moments, but they were all three times the size of a person. The further out they got from the floor¡¯s entrance the more they realized this floor may be circular like the ruins above ground. They came across a large wall, reaching beyond her field¡¯s influence, with a large hole likely where a gate had been.


    When they passed through, they noticed there were a few sections of the ground to either side that weren¡¯t stone like the rest. Instead, there was dirt and, from the smell, some kind of plants. She guessed they survived due to magic or were some kind of cave plants like moss or lichen. This came to be incorrect when Gaia moved closer and felt what seemed to be large leaves like from a massive tree or bush. When she got closer, she noticed the big bush smelled like a carrot and as she focused on the leaves of the plant she realized it likely was a gargantuan carrot.


    This meant the trees may actually just be bushes that were multiple times their regular size. As she realized this, she thought that if she could get the seeds of the giant plants, she could possibly grow them outside. She didn¡¯t think about this for long as they moved past the plants to continue their search. Her party members knew that if there was anything that could distract her, it was plants and the prospect of growing her own.


    They moved on and began their search in earnest now that they¡¯d left the heavily explored area. The area they were in had been looked over but the Journeyman¡¯s Guild focused on slow but thorough exploration. This meant that the areas were meticulously combed through by multiple groups before moving on to another area to ensure they didn¡¯t miss anything. This also meant exploring the entire floor would take an extremely long time. The party didn¡¯t have that luxury, so they rapidly spread out and searched before continuing to another area after they didn¡¯t find anything.


    This continued for hours with occasional giant monsters appearing and swiftly being dealt with. The further out from the center of the rings the party got the higher the monster¡¯s levels. They were still only in the second ring with the first being directly around the entrance and hole. Each ring was enormous in size though. From the entrance to the gate they passed through had likely been a few miles, with this just being a straight shot. This didn¡¯t include the rest of the ring, it also meant the rings would get exponentially larger until the outer edge of the city.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    This meant they had what was likely hundreds of miles they would need to thoroughly search with around fifteen hours to do so. The quest was looking increasingly impossible to complete, unless they just happened to stumble into the stairway by dumb luck. It was even more frustrating that she hadn¡¯t been able to reject the quest and instead was forced to do it. The more she thought about it the more she realized that it was inevitable she¡¯d fail, like that was what was supposed to happen.


    She didn¡¯t like that she was once again forced into a situation against her will, due to a being that literally decided to force this situation for its entertainment. As she thought about it she continued searching with her Mana Field but didn¡¯t notice anything off or different as Malachite moved. They had spread out over a large distance so they could search a wider area with each person moving quickly. The only reason it was possible for them to search such a wide area as quickly as they did was thanks to their superhuman senses.


    Their eyesight and thinking speed had improved as their levels and stats increased. They were able to spot small details within moments while still moving at a speed a normal person couldn¡¯t hope to ever reach. Gaia was able to sense if the mana was different as long as it was within her field no matter how quickly Malachite went. This let her cover an area quicker than the others since she only had to stop if her senses picked up anything while the others had to go inside buildings to search.


    Edrahni had been called over when the party split up to expand the search area and he went forward towards the next ring to scout it. The party had to be cautious for any traps since Edrahni couldn¡¯t scout the areas all of them searched as he couldn¡¯t be everywhere at once. They were cautious and thankfully they hadn¡¯t set any traps off or noticed them before any injuries could occur. This didn¡¯t slow the party down much but every second counted. The party met back up at the gateway to the next ring since they hoped the way down would be somewhere stronger monsters were, like it had been in the dungeon. They didn¡¯t have any proof that¡¯s how this worked but could only do what they thought would lead them closer to their goal the quickest.


    The search continued for hours with no luck. They¡¯d already gone through three rings since entering the floor and each ring was larger than the last. There was no chance they¡¯d be able to search the entire city before midnight. It was so large that, even if they had a week, they may only search through half of it at their frantic pace. They could only continue forward and hope they miraculously found the way down.


    The time limit was shrinking at what felt like an ever-increasing pace. They searched through the areas just around the main roads from the gates they entered and left. They didn¡¯t have time for any more exploring if they continued with their initial idea. They met at the gateway to the sixth ring and Gaia finally decided they should just move directly to the outermost ring before searching again. It was a last-ditch effort hoping their hunch that the way down was at the place where the strongest monsters were.


    The party thought about and agreed. They could only search so much of an area within the time they had left. Their best bet would be to follow their initial idea and just make a mad dash until they reached the area they hoped it was in. Then they could search more thoroughly there. Edrahni was called back and told about their decision which he agreed would likely be their best bet. He sprinted ahead to disarm any traps along their path since they¡¯d be moving forward extremely quickly.


    Stephanie joined Gaia on Malachite¡¯s shell and the party rushed through another two rings before they reached the outer wall of an eight ring. There they found an actual gate, whereas all of the other rings just had gaping holes where they guessed a gate had been. This one had an actual gate, two massive doors sat made from the same stone as the wall with intricate designs carved along its surface.


    The doors were each at least thirty feet wide and went well past Gaia¡¯s senses in height. The designs covered every inch of the doors and made images. She couldn¡¯t sense them all since the doors were gargantuan and likely reached the ceiling from her guess. The ones she could sense depicted multiple scenes of humanoid monsters with bulky figures, horns and little to no clothing.


    At the highest edge of her senses, she could tell there was another depiction but only got the lower half. There were multiple sets of legs and feet that appeared to be on the move. There wasn¡¯t anything else she could understand from this without the entire image. The next image depicted a group of the monsters, which she guessed were Giants from their size compared to the trees carved, fighting with smaller humans and monsters within a forest. The one after it depicted a singular giant meeting with a much smaller human. The giant was muscular and had six horns with long hair and short beard. This human seemed odd, she didn¡¯t know why, but they were beautiful. The human was carved with immense care and respect.


    The depiction following this had the same Giant kneeling in front of the human. The images following this depicted the Giant returning to his people. They all moved together following the diminutive human and built a circular city. The final depiction showed the leader of the Giants following the human when he left the city. She could only guess this was a set of carvings depicting the creation of the first floor of Xerios.


    Down the middle of the gate, with half being on each door, were eight carvings all of which were the same. They all depicted a water drop. Gaia didn¡¯t know why these were here, but considering there were eight of them and eight rings they¡¯d passed through, she could only think the worst. She figured each one likely had something to do with each ring.


    ¡°I think we found our way down. The only issue is that I can only assume it requires something to be done in each ring.¡± Gaia said disheartened.


    ¡°I agree that we found the gate to the way down, but why do you think it requires something to be done in each ring?¡± Stephanie asked.


    ¡°We¡¯ve gone through eight rings and how many water drops or whatever there are, are there? Eight. If I¡¯m right, we¡¯d need to figure out what needs to be done, after finding whatever mechanism is connected to this on each ring. I also highly doubt they¡¯ll be in the same place in every ring, and even if they were, it would take us days to find where they are in each ring.¡± Gaia replied harsher than she meant to.


    ¡°We only have about three hours left until the deadline. There¡¯s not enough time to even make it back to the entrance before it¡¯s all gone.¡± Gaia finished after a moment of silence.


    ¡°Well, is there anything else we can do? What exactly did the quest say?¡± Griff asked.


    Gaia took a moment to take a few deep breaths before trying to pull the quest up for them to see. As she¡¯d said there was only about three hours left. Griff read it and went quiet as he thought about what it said. It only said they had to reach the second floor of the ruins not that they had to reach it the usual way.


    ¡°Edrahni!¡± Griff called.


    ¡°Yez?¡± Edrahni said as he ran to the group.


    ¡°Has anyone tried breaking or digging the floor? Do we know if it¡¯s able to be damaged?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Not that I know of, no.¡± Edrahni said wearily.


    ¡°Alright. Well, shall we try?¡± Griff asked the group.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Stephanie asked.


    ¡°The quest just said we had to reach the second floor. It didn¡¯t say how we did so. U figured we could try digging or breaking our way through the floor.¡± Griff explained.


    There was a stunned silence before Stephanie whipped her great hammer out and slammed it into the floor. There was a loud whoosh of air before a resounding crack. To Gaia¡¯s senses she could tell the floor cracked but it didn¡¯t seem very deep. Stephanie then started slamming the hammer down repeatedly and the cracks got wider and wider. It was more like creating a small crater than breaking the floor but it did prove the floor could be damaged and therefore could possibly be broken through with enough time and effort.


    Now they just needed to hope they had the right tools and time to break through the floor this way. If they didn¡¯t, well at least they had hope it was possible this way. The party began attacking the floor in the same spot. Stephanie smashed her hammer into the floor with all the strength she could muster. Griff fired mana shots and smashed his gauntlets into the stone. Fergus used his arrow dagger to pry the cracked stone apart and at times let Stephanie use it as a chisel. Malachite fired water shots to fill the cracks hoping it would slow any regeneration, if there was any. Liv used her own poison shots in tandem with Malachite to try and weaken the stone. Antonio used his mandibles to break chunks off and moved any loose debris. Shadow defended and fought the monsters that approached due to the noise. Gaia helped Shadow by distracting the monsters.


    The party all worked together hoping to complete this quest, but as time dragged on, the hope was starting to fade. The hole was slowly getting deeper, but they didn¡¯t know how deep they would need to dig before they reached the second floor. It could be another foot or another hundred. They were all starting to slow down due to the continuous stress and physical exertion. When Gaia checked, the time there was only about an hour left.


    After relaying this, the party redoubled their effort. This was their last option. Either they made it through to the second floor this way or they failed the quest. Gaia was blocking the incoming monsters while watching the timer tick down. The monsters were coming almost constantly due to the consistent commotion at this point. They were all massive but none were humanoid which was odd since the floor had been constructed by humanoid giants, but she didn¡¯t have the chance to wonder why.


    She could sense the hole being made by her companions and it had grown quite a bit since they began. It had started as a few inches and was now about five feet deep. The progress was visible but they still didn¡¯t know how much further they would need to go. The time passed quickly with the party¡¯s hope similarly diminishing. By the time the hole was about seven feet deep the timer had dropped to five minutes. It was at this point Gaia hopped into the hole.


    All of her party members were already within and she hoped it would decrease the number of sides she had to guard. There was now only one direction to worry about, up. Even if they completed or failed the quest they would be exhausted and surrounded by monsters at this point anyway. The work in the hole continued with Gaia basically being a shield above her party.


    The timer had ticked down to the last ten seconds when her party members all started to brutally strike the floor. She could sense a few small cracks that led into a wider area. As the timer hit one the floor of the hole broke and the party fell.


    ¡°We did it.¡± Gaia thought as they fell for a few seconds.


    Then, they hit water. It was flowing downward at a steady and fast pace. Gaia was sliding along the bottom where the current was a bit slower as was Stephanie due to her armor. It did cause her some worry since she couldn¡¯t get to the surface to breathe, and her other companions were quickly being pulled further from her, including her bonds. They had already been pulled beyond her fields range and were likely only getting further from them. This continued for a few more minutes until she sensed something that made her heart drop.


    Just at the edge of her mana field was a cliff, which she was being dragged straight towards. She tried to grab the floor or anything she could reach to slow herself down. What few plants there were on the riverbed, were immediately pulled free from her momentum which had steadily started increasing. The floor under her had started sloping gradually with it being a slow descent but now it was closer to a leaning wall. It wasn¡¯t but a few seconds later that she was thrust over the edge of the riverbed and was in an open free-fall. Luckily Stephanie was beside her and they grabbed each other to keep from being separated.


    The pair fell for around a minute. They were able to take a couple shallow breaths as the water turned to mist, before they were submerged once again. This time they sunk for while. Gaia could barely sense things in the water as it was infused with mana. It drastically reduced her sensing range and made everything blurred. They reached the bottom of the lake after half a minute and began moving in a direction Stephanie suggested.


    Gaia followed behind her as they moved along the lakebed and reached an incline after a few minutes. They moved up it for another couple minutes before they breached the water¡¯s surface. After they got above the surface they could finally take in a few deep breaths. Thankfully, ranking up decreased the need for certain functions. One being the need to breathe, which took a while to get used to. They didn¡¯t need to breathe as often so they could go for around a half hour before needing to or passing out. This was mainly since their bodies were changing when they ranked up, which removed some of their ¡°weaknesses.¡±


    They moved out of the water and onto the shoreline of what Gaia could only assume was the second floor. Then she realized that Liv and Antonio were still with her. They must have been kept together due to her armor. She was about to check on them when she heard an all to familiar voice in her head.


    ¡°Well, you put up a nice effort. Had you had a few more minutes you would have succeeded. It was also quite entertaining so thank you. In return for the spectacle, I¡¯ll wait until you find the other misfits of your little band. Then you¡¯ll have to deal with the consequence of failing.¡± The Amalgamation stated.


    ¡°What?!¡± Gaia cried.

 Chapter Twenty-Seven

    ¡°What do you mean I failed? We reached the second floor didn¡¯t we?¡± Gaia asked incredulous.


    ¡°No, you reached the way down, not the floor.¡± The Amalgamation replied.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to fail it on a technicality?!¡± Gaia snapped.


    ¡°Yes. You didn¡¯t complete the quest in time. There¡¯s no need to be angry. You actually surprised me by breaking through the floor, but the second floor doesn¡¯t include the entrance tunnel. Just like the first floor doesn¡¯t include it or the stairs.¡± The Amalgamation replied.


    Gaia was astonished. She¡¯d thought they had actually succeeded, but because of a technicality they¡¯d failed. The worst part was that it didn¡¯t matter what she said since the Amalgamation had decided it was a failure. Her thoughts were broken by it speaking once again.


    ¡°Now, you may want to stop arguing with me. I¡¯m only so patient and magnanimous. Find your little friends soon. I¡¯m only willing to wait for so long.¡± It said before going silent.


    Gaia huffed in annoyance before remembering Stephanie was beside her.


    ¡°I think I can somewhat guess what was going on, but I only got half the conversation.¡± Stephanie said.


    ¡°Yeah. We failed the quest. All because the annoying thing doesn¡¯t consider the path down as part of the second floor. I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s going to do, but we have a little time to find Fergus, Griff and my bonds before he starts whatever it is.¡± Gaia explained.


    ¡°Then, we might as well start moving.¡± Stephanie replied as she led the way deeper onto the shore.


    The pair travelled quickly but cautiously since they didn¡¯t know what to expect on the new floor. They also weren¡¯t sure if Edrahni followed them down, and even if he did, where he could be. Their best bet would be to move and keep their senses tuned for any indication of their other party members. Gaia could usually sense what direction her bonds were in but the mana density made it hard. The best sense she could get was that they were alive and uninjured.


    The pair moved for a few minutes before coming upon what appeared to be a massive open field. There weren¡¯t any buildings no matter how far they walked. The plants all were heavily saturated with mana to the point they seemed to almost shine like suns to Gaia¡¯s senses. She could tell they all had a poisonous attribute from how they seemed to absorb the mana from her field. This meant she¡¯d have to drop the field so her mana wouldn¡¯t be drained, but left her unable to travel without Stephanie¡¯s help.


    That would mean Stephanie wouldn¡¯t be protected from the poison and could cause her to end up poisoned. Neither of these options sounded good to Gaia so she ended up compromising and putting a hand on Stephanie¡¯s shoulder while trying to shape her mana field to only encompass the two of them. It was tiring to do and she couldn¡¯t make it wrap around them like she wanted, but was able to decrease the range of her field to only be about five feet. This would encompass both allowing Stephanie to be safe from poison and make it so she could still sense what was directly ahead of her feet.


    This did slow them down though. It took most of Gaia¡¯s brain power to keep the shape of her field with the plants draining the mana. The plants also distracted her by their mana density flashing in her senses whenever they passed over one. The travel turned into an exhausting training session for her mana shaping. It was helpful in that she didn¡¯t need to use as much mental energy to control the field¡¯s shape but overall exhausting. She felt drained from her mana being greedily devoured by the poisonous plants and she had gotten a headache due to the mental strain.


    The floor was appearing to be more difficult for her. The plants all absorbed her mana from her field but to different degrees. Those that appeared to be dimmer and had a lower density would absorb a little, while those that had a high mana density absorbed a lot. This meant that as long her mana field was up her mana would be drained at a rate depending on the plants mana density. The plants also posed a problem for her companions since they could be poisoned if her field wasn¡¯t up.


    It was then that she started worrying for her other companions. Her bonds should be fine since they were bound with the same attributes she was and therefore essentially immune to poison. Griff and Fergus in the other hand were not. They normally didn¡¯t have to worry about it because Gaia was there and most times had her field out. She hoped they remembered this and didn¡¯t venture too far into the field if they did at all.


    That was of course depending on whether they knew the plants were poisonous, or at least had it as an attribute. Out of the two, Griff was likely the one to realize it and keep them from venturing into it. Unlike Gaia and Stephanie. The pair continued onwards for another thirty minutes before deciding to veer off towards the left to exit the poisonous meadow. It wasn¡¯t until they were about to leave the meadow that they heard something. The sound of combat. The two moved quickly and exited the meadow a moment later at almost a dead sprint.


    Gaia was finally able to release her mana field to a comfortable extent, still reigning in in case there were more plants like the ones from the meadow. They arrived at the fight a minute later and Gaia wasn¡¯t sure what she was sensing. Griff, Fergus, and the rest of her bonds were fighting something that she could only describe as a horror. It looked to have been an experiment gone horribly wrong yet somehow alive.


    The creature was around eight feet tall and around twice as long. The bottom half seemed to be a kind of equine creature with eight legs. Where a normal horse would have one leg there was another directly behind it, moving in tandem with the other. The head of the horse was grotesque. There was a single eye placed directly in the center of it¡¯s oversized skull. The head was almost half the size of the body with a maw that opened vertically with broken jagged bones where teeth should be. Attached to the back of the creature in its center was a humanoid torso that mainly comprised of a spine and ribcage.


    From it¡¯s shoulders two unnaturally long arms reached all the way to the ground with a multitude of joints along their length. Both appearing to be only bones until the wrist. The hands ended in a few regular fingers and some clawed. A third arm sticking from the back of its spine held another head. This one was in the shape of a human, but without features, instead looking more like a head shaped piece of meat. At the back end of it was a long, sharpened bone tail that was moving with rapid speed. The most disturbing part of the creature was that it seemed to have no skin, instead it was just bones and muscle with what she could only guess was blood dripping from its every inch.


    She stopped after seeing the monster shocked by its purely horrifying visage. Then she felt mana surge towards its mouth and a sickening cloud of mana was released from it. The mana seemed to seep from its every inch, causing it to be surrounded in a haze of deadly miasma. This made the creature that much more menacing and difficult to deal with. Gaia wasn¡¯t sure what kind of attribute the mana was but she definitely didn¡¯t want to touch it. She had a sense that nothing good would come from being in contact with it.


    Fergus and Griff were fighting from a distance with Malachite and Shadow by their side. Malachite was firing water shots at the horrifying monster while Shadow was blocking any physical attacks. She seemed to be safe from the miasma, as long as it wasn¡¯t prolonged contact, due to her Protector Ability increasing her recovery when blocking attacks. It made it so the miasma left behind was purged almost immediately. It was at this point Gaia heard Stephanie¡¯s shouts to move and her musket firing.


    Stephanie had already started running towards the guys while Gaia was stunned by the monster¡¯s visage. Gaia quickly started after her while Antonio fired a few phantasmal spikes at the creature and Liv tried a few poison shots. Neither seemed to do much as the monster continued spewing forth the horrendous mana. It was moving its head around as her companions dodged. Gaia had her mana field up surrounding the monster and her companions which is how she realized it wasn¡¯t being poisoned and that the mana wasn¡¯t even being effected. Her mana field would do nothing to the creature and actually seemed to fuel whatever it was. She ran to companions and relayed this.


    ¡°Well, we can¡¯t run from it. We¡¯ve already tried that, it¡¯s slow but relentless in its pursuit. It¡¯ll eventually catch up.¡± Griff said.


    ¡°Have you analyzed it yet?¡± Fergus asked.


    Gaia hadn¡¯t and immediately remedied this.


    Name ¨C Minor Sinew Horror


    Level ¨C 60


    ¡°I have now. It¡¯s called a Minor Sinew Horror and it¡¯s level sixty.¡± She relayed.


    ¡°Great. We need to make some room. I don¡¯t think we can kill it, at least not with how exhausted we are.¡± Griff said immediately after.


    Gaia heard the slightly masked panic in his voice and had Malachite grow while everyone held the monster off. Once he was finished the party hopped on his back and he sprinted in the opposite direction of the monster. Gaia could hear the wet and splatting sound of the monster¡¯s legs hitting the ground as it galloped after them. It was, indeed extremely slow, and she couldn¡¯t hear it a moment later as they almost immediately outran it.


    Malachite ran into the field of poisonous plants on Gaia¡¯s suggestion. He was immune to poisons due to sharing a bound poison attribute. Gaia had already dropped her field by the time they entered the meadow to keep the plants from absorbing her mana. This, however, didn¡¯t go unnoticed.


    ¡°You alright?¡± Fergus asked when he saw her field dissipate.


    ¡°Yeah. The plants here are poisonous, and absorb poison mana. Found that out the hard way when Stephanie and I entered the meadow.¡± She explained.


    ¡°So, we shouldn¡¯t get off Malachite¡¯s back. Got it.¡± He replied.


    ¡°Gaia. You¡¯re sure it said a Minor Sinew Horror when you analyzed it?¡± Griff asked after he was sure they had some breathing room from the monster.


    ¡°Yes. Why?¡±


    ¡°You remember the myth of Xerios right?¡± He asked. She nodded. ¡°There were eight demons. One was called a Sinew Horror. If I remember correctly, it was one of the weakest demons but was the most feared. It used an attribute of mana which no one could identify and was nearly impossible to kill. No manner of magic or wound could kill it as it could heal from any injury. The only known weakness it had was fresh water with no mana concentration, which is nearly impossible to find nowadays.¡± He explained.


    ¡°So, we¡¯re basically stuck here with an unkillable monster, that will relentlessly chase us?¡± Stephanie asked.


    ¡°It kinda seems that way. We either need to figure out a way to go back up to the first floor-¡° Griff started before Gaia suddenly screamed in pain and went slack in front of everyone.


    As Griff explained, Gaia heard the Amalgamation speak.


    ¡°Now that you¡¯ve found them, it¡¯s time.¡±


    After hearing this she felt a sharp stabbing pain radiate from her right ring finger and start burrowing up her arm. It felt like having a creature burrow into your skin, muscle and bones. It was at this point she passed out.


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    ¡°Gaia! What¡¯s wrong?¡± Fergus asked while panicking.


    ¡°I think the Amalgamation decided to deal her punishment for failing the quest. Which we failed because the tunnel to the second floor isn¡¯t considered part of the second floor.¡± Stephanie explained after making sure Gaia was just unconscious.


    ¡°What? That¡¯s ridiculous.¡± Fergus replied angrily.


    ¡°Yep, but nothing we can do about it sadly.¡± Stephanie said while motioning to Gaia.


    When they checked on her again they noticed her right arm almost seemed to have something wriggling under the skin. They didn¡¯t know what it was or what it was doing but they didn¡¯t mess with it assuming it had something to do with the punishment. They also weren¡¯t sure what would happen if they tried to interfere with whatever was happening. It could cause nothing to happen or cause the punishment to worsen. They just had to wait out whatever was happening.


    It was a lucky break that Malachite and her bonds weren¡¯t overly affected by what was happening. They could tell the bonds were in pain but were able to continue moving despite it. This was a good thing as they were still in the middle of a meadow filled entirely with poisonous plants. If her bonds had become incapacitated like she had it would cause a multitude of issues. The Minor Sinew Horror was still after them, they weren¡¯t sure how far away it was, but it was still after them. If they had to traverse the poison meadow, while trying to carry Gaia and her bonds, and deal with constantly being poisoned, it would be extremely perilous if not impossible. The party couldn¡¯t do anything about what was happening so they could only turn to the situation they were in. They began trying to come up with a plan of action.


    ¡°Alright. We have a couple options. We can either try and find a way back up to the first floor, which seems like the harder of the two at the moment, or try and find the way down to the third floor.¡± Griff said.


    There was silence for a few moments while the group thought about which they should try.


    ¡°Hey, Malachite. I know you can use telekinesis and it¡¯s a lot to ask, but could you possibly lift all of us up to the hole we fell through?¡± Fergus asked.


    He didn¡¯t get a response outside of the giant turtle shaking his head.


    ¡°Ok. I figured it would probably be too much. That leaves either trying to find a place to climb up or an actual path we can¡¯t see. I think we should just look for a path or gate. Doesn¡¯t matter which direction it goes. If it goes down great, we can hopefully escape the unkillable monster. If it goes up, even better since we can get out of the ruins.¡± Fergus said.


    ¡°I agree. It doesn¡¯t matter which direction for me as long as we can get off this floor. It¡¯s also extremely dangerous for us even without our relentless pursuer.¡± Stephanie added.


    ¡°Sounds like a plan. We¡¯ll look around for any paths we can find then. Now we just need to search this vast meadow, this was the only area outside of the shore that I could see. There¡¯s also the giant lake that seems to stretch for at least the sections we¡¯ve travelled. It¡¯s weird though, the water seems to be salt water but there¡¯s not a sea for hundreds of miles of this area. It¡¯s also where the monster emerged from so it may be faster while submerged.¡± Griff finished.


    With a plan decided on, the group continued moving while on Malachite¡¯s shell searching the vast meadow for any indication of a path off the floor. They searched for hours while Gaia was still unconscious without seeing a change from the expansive meadow. It wasn¡¯t until about six hours of traveling in a straight line that they reached another shoreline. This one looking the exact same as the one they¡¯d fled from.


    They guessed the giant meadow was the only section of land with a giant salt water lake surrounding it, like a giant underground island. This made them worry since they had likely travelled almost the entire length of the island and not seen a single indication of a path existing on it. This meant the paths were either at the edge of the floor where it was part of the caves wall or somewhere under the water. Both of which were daunting to search, since the floor was likely as large as the first which expanded hundreds of miles in total. The water was also extremely hard to search since they still needed to breathe and could only search under water for about half an hour before needing to come up for air.


    Not including the fact that the salt water was likely the monster¡¯s domain. They weren¡¯t sure if it was faster under water or not. If it was, it made the search that much more dangerous, and even if it wasn¡¯t they could only search so much while needing to take breaks for air, before it caught up with them. This was also when they had a horrible thought. Was the Sinew Horror they saw the only one on the floor? They didn¡¯t know and it made their search all the more important, as well as possibly more dangerous.


    The party decided to try and venture towards the tunnel they¡¯d fallen from. They were hoping that if the tunnel down was there, then the way up would be nearby. The biggest problem was that they would be going along the coast and may meet the monster on the way. It also meant they would need to go over the water to get to the cave¡¯s wall. This would be an issue since they would be in the monster¡¯s domain for however long it took to reach the wall and, if the way up wasn¡¯t there, the entire way back to the island.


    This also didn¡¯t fix the issue of Gaia being incapacitated, which was causing her bonds to become worried. They could feel a lot of the same emotions she could because of their bonds and would randomly stop before continuing again. Griff, Fergus and Stephanie could only guess this was because of what Gaia was being put through, which they had no way of knowing what was actually happening. The only visible changes were that the weird ring she¡¯d had on her right hand was gone and the arm was twitching like something was moving inside.


    Gaia was still for the most part unmoving. She was breathing which let everyone know she was at least still alive, but the situation was still causing them to worry. The fact the punishment, or whatever was happening to her, was still happening over six hours later and didn¡¯t seem like it would end soon was starting to effect the party¡¯s morale. They just had to focus on their search, so they started moving over the water. Malachite was able to carry everyone, including Shadow, on his back as long as he wasn¡¯t needing to use telekinesis so swimming was no issue.


    The party was on edge due to not knowing where the monster was or if there was something under them. They kept an eye out for the Minor Sinew Horror, but didn¡¯t spot anything as the wall came into view. They could see the waterfall they fell from, which ended up being a hole in the ceiling, a distance from the wall. It seemed to be closer to the island than the wall which made them start to question if the path up would even be on the wall. For all they knew, it could be some kind of magical boat or something even more outrageous, they just wouldn¡¯t know unless they found it.


    As they got closer to the wall, they started to notice that it wasn¡¯t perfectly smooth. It was jagged with small caves and formations along its surface. The caves were randomly along its surface with one being half submerged in the water and another being a hundred feet above. There were likely even a few that were completely submerged. The formations were a mixture of natural and unnatural. Some of them seemed to be pillars made from where stalagmites and stalactites met and some even seemed to be made from the water eroding the wall. Others seemed to have been statues that had been broken while others may have been abodes that were carved into the wall. Some sections even looked to have been melted or liquified.


    The passage of time had obviously taken its toll on the floor which seemed odd when compared to the floor above. The first floor had been preserved like time had just stopped until it was discovered. This floor seemed to have been the opposite, like time had continuously passed with nature eroding and effecting the floor. They looked at the wall and quickly began moving to search the caves along its surface. They could reach a lot of the lower ones but didn¡¯t find anything. The caves all looked to have been rooms. Each was different but they had similar aspects. One was that a large depression surrounded by flattened stone that was in the back corner of the rooms. Another was that most of the rest of the stone had been liquified to create the space. It was all odd as the stone was extremely durable and had a high mana density. This made it almost impossible to melt with heat and made Griff start to wonder how they were made.


    They continued searching along the wall for another couple hours looking for a cave that headed up or down but didn¡¯t find anything. As they were  heading further down the wall they saw something moving quickly in the water nearby. They quickly got ready for a fight expecting it to be the Sinew Horror but were surprised when it was a different monster. The only thing they¡¯d come across since arriving on the floor was the Minor Sinew Horror and poisonous plants.


    The monster that appeared was a large salamander like creature. It was around four feet long and almost entirely a milky white color. The only part that differed were some frilly pink gills at the base of its elongated head. It didn¡¯t have any eyes which the group guessed was because of the dark water. It didn¡¯t move to attack, instead seeming to investigate the noise and commotion around its burrow. After noticing the group moving away it sunk back under the water and they saw it swim in the opposite direction before losing sight of it.


    They continued searching the walls and eventually decided to just have Malachite swim around the lake while they looked from his shell. They could tell what the entrances to the rooms looked like from a distance so they had no reason to look through every cave. They kept an eye out for any different openings hoping it would give them a clue in how to get off the floor.


    While they looked, Fergus was keeping an eye on Gaia more and more. She still hadn¡¯t woken up from whatever the punishment was and the odd twitching of her arm continued. He was really starting to worry about her. She¡¯d been incapacitated for around ten hours now. It was starting to wear down his mental state. It bothered him that he couldn¡¯t do anything for her aside from watch whatever was happening. He knew she¡¯d likely come out of this alright, for the most part at least.


    They continued looking and began to see more and more monsters appearing from the water. They were all odd aquatic cave creatures. One they noticed was probably an octopus while another looked like a giant spiked lobster. They were all different creatures and left them alone for the most part aside from one almost transparent shrimp monster attacking them. It had been a difficult fight since it was a higher level than them and they could only fight from Malachite¡¯s shell.


    There were a few more short fights like this as they moved around the underground lake. The Minor Sinew Horror had even caught up to them at one point causing them to have to flee. The monster was much quicker while in water as it could almost merge with the water and flow wherever it wanted, but Malachite was able to outrun it with a lot of exertion. This put more strain on Malachite since he carried everyone and had to take attacks from monsters as they fled. None of the attacks were overly strong so he only had a couple minor scratches from them, but they would eventually add up.


    The further they searched along the wall the lower their expectations were to find the paths they sought. With all of the monsters being aquatic creatures, the Minor Sinew Horror included, they guessed the paths were likely underwater. This led to the party taking turns going underwater while the other two kept a look out for any monsters approaching. Liv created some thick webs and tied them around each person¡¯s waist so they could be pulled back up, since none of them knew how to swim. The exploration of the lake bed was tiring and slow. They had to rotate who went under and where, quite frequently, since their relentless tail continued to hound them. They could only search small sections at a time before needing to run away and repeat the process. They continued this for as long as they could.


    The situation was starting to exhaust them and the continuous pressure was causing them to become paranoid. They would think they saw something or that Gaia was waking up when nothing was there and nothing had changed. They began rushing which was causing mistakes to occur. One time they moved too quickly while searching and caused a monster to become enraged leading to a battle. This in turn slowed them enough that their pursuer caught up and turned into a retreating fight.


    As they ran from the Minor Sinew Horror, it was able to hit Malachite with its mana breath causing him to be hurt quite badly. Shadow had tried to block what she could but was also dealing with the mana overpowering her. This caused Malachite to slow and the Sinew Horror to continuously bombard them with attacks. Malachite could still outrun it given enough time, but the more attacks it released the more damage they took.


    Malachite began moving towards the shore since the Sinew Horror moved slower on land. He could outrun it much easier when on land allowing them time to rest and heal. This meant he had to reach the island and the party would need to last long enough for him to reach it. That would require them to fight for around an hour before he could gain some distance. It was a tall ask but one they didn¡¯t really have a choice in. The fight began and lasted the entire hour until Malachite was on the shore and racing away from the monster.


    They slowed after about a half hour of running to rest and this was when they turned to check on Gaia and saw that something had finally changed. Her right arm now had a intricate pattern that started from her right ring finger and stretched all the way up her arm to her shoulder. The pattern had a metallic hue, but pulsed like it had a heartbeat of its own.


    It had a circle on the back of her hand that connected to a few thin lines that wove their way along her forearm. Each had a different design, one was jagged and had sections that ended without connecting to any others. The second was completely straight going directly up from the circle. The third was woven like a vine that meandered up. The final one was more of a light that went under her skin and shone through as it wrapped up her arm. They all stopped at her elbow where a thick band of the tattoo stopped. Above this were four lines that met with the thick band. There was a large circle with four smaller ones overlapping it where the lines connected. One appeared like a small stream, a second like webs, a third like shadows, and the last like connecting pathways, all leading to the band. They were surprised by the depiction and almost missed that Gaia started stirring. Seeing this their worries started to fade.

 Chapter Twenty-Eight

    Gaia woke up slowly to a throbbing pain in her right arm. The last thing she remembered was the Amalgamation saying he was starting her punishment and then nothing. Just black which was more worrying since she felt like something had happened during the time, but she couldn¡¯t remember it. She felt a sense of loss that she didn¡¯t understand, but her thoughts were quickly interrupted by her party¡¯s voices.


    ¡°Gaia! Hello? Are you okay?¡± Stephanie asked as she tapped Gaia¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Huh?¡± She said before continuing. ¡°Uh, yeah, I think. My arm hurts but otherwise I think I¡¯m alright.¡±


    She heard her friends breathe a sigh of relief. ¡°Good. You¡¯ve been out for over ten hours. We were getting really worried.¡± Fergus said as he hugged her.


    ¡°What?! Ten hours? It felt like I just passed out for a moment. What happened while I was out?¡± She asked worriedly.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, we¡¯re all fine for the most part. Malachite and Shadow were hit by the Sinew Horror¡¯s mana though.¡± Griff explained as she heard a couple voices speak in her head.


    ¡°Mom! You¡¯re okay?¡± Her bonds asked in unison, two of which sounded slightly pained.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, aside from my arm being sore. What about you guys? Shadow and Malachite were hit by the mana right? How are you two?¡± She asked.


    ¡°It hurts a little bit, but I¡¯m okay for now.¡± Malachite replied.


    ¡°Same for me. I think I got hit more than brother though.¡± Shadow said right after.


    ¡°Let me know if it gets worse, ok? I¡¯ll do what I can.¡± Gaia said.


    ¡°Ok.¡± The two responded.


    ¡°Alright, I think we¡¯re all okay for now. I¡¯m guessing you haven¡¯t found a way off the floor yet?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°Nope. We haven¡¯t, but we think it¡¯ll be somewhere under water. The biggest problem with that is it¡¯s the monster¡¯s domain. It moves faster in the water and Malachite could barely outrun it. Let alone us while submerged.¡± Stephanie explained.


    ¡°So what¡¯s the plan? I mean Malachite can¡¯t lift us all up to entrance at once so, we can either search for the way down or have him ferry us a few at a time. Both are dangerous, but the second one seems worse as we¡¯ll be split up.¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s what we were about to discuss when we noticed you starting to wake up.¡± Griff said.


    ¡°Shall we start then? I¡¯d say finding the way down would be better than trying to go back up, but it could just land us in a situation similar to now. Going back up would allow us to get out of the ruins though.¡± She started.


    ¡°The biggest downside of going up is that we¡¯d be split up while Malachite shuttled two of us up. There¡¯s also the fact that he¡¯s currently hurt and doesn¡¯t seem to be getting better. Going down proves to be just as dangerous since only two of us could search the seabed at a time, while the Sinew Horror is after us.¡± Stephanie added.


    ¡°We¡¯d also have to figure out how to open the way down as well. Going up would be dangerous but is likely the best option right now. We couldn¡¯t before since Gaia was out and couldn¡¯t put Shadow into a tattoo for the trip.¡± Griff said.


    ¡°That would mean Gaia would have to be one of the two that stayed while the others were shuttled. It seems like trying to go up is our best option while being the most risky.¡± Fergus finished.


    ¡°This is all assuming that Malachite¡¯s better and can shuttle us.¡± Stephanie added.


    At that moment, Malachite collapsed and the party was sent rolling off his shell. He even shrunk down while Gaia heard pained whimpers through their bond. Shadow wasn¡¯t much better and had fallen to the ground. Gaia immediately ran and checked on them. She analyzed them and they both showed the same condition.


    Condition ¨C Miasmic Decay


    She quickly pushed her mana field around them and noticed the spots where the Miasma, as she now knew what is was called, had burrowed into them. On Malachite it was on his back left leg and went up to just below his left front arm. For Shadow it had hit the left side of her face and went down to the middle of her left side as well. There was no skin in the area like it had been melted off and it seemed to be trying to go deeper.


    ¡°It¡¯s only getting worse. If Malachite can¡¯t raise us up, how long do you think it¡¯d take to get out?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°Nearly impossible. With him, about an hour maybe. I¡¯m guessing so it may take more or less time depending on if he needs a rest. I don¡¯t think he can lift us up in his current state though.¡± Griff guessed.


    ¡°How long do you think someone could deal with this Miasma? If they took it from them both?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°It would depend on their recovery and natural resistance to pain and mana. Why?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Let me rephrase. How long do you think I could deal with it?¡± She asked.


    Griff was silent for a bit. It took a moment for Gaia¡¯s words to sink in and Griff replied as the other two went to protest. ¡°Probably a few hours. Depends on how bad the initial damage is and on how well you can naturally stave off the mana.¡±


    ¡°No, we can¡¯t do that. You¡¯d already have to be one of the two who stay on this floor while the other two are ferried up. If you¡¯re also dealing with the Miasma then it would be that much more dangerous.¡± Fergus said.


    ¡°I agree with Fergus. You can¡¯t do that. If could kill you long before we find someone who could heal it.¡± Stephanie added.


    ¡°I understand that, but if I don¡¯t how are we going to get off this floor? Malachite and Shadow will likely die if they stay like this. Malachite¡¯s our ticket out of here even if we try to find a way down. We can¡¯t have him be out of action anyway. If I take it, he can ferry two of us up while the others stay and defend themselves.¡± Gaia explained.


    Her companions argued for a bit longer, but the whimpers of pain from her bonds were breaking her heart. She moved towards them and transferred the injuries to herself. The transfer was almost instantaneous and she didn¡¯t feel any pain while she saw her bonds injuries disappear. Then the pain came all at once. She felt something trying to decay her skin and muscle along her entire left side. It was painful, but she could manage the pain for now. She activated her armor so they wouldn¡¯t be able to see how bad it got underneath until they got out.


    ¡°Alright. Shall we move towards the entrance tunnel?¡± She asked through gritted teeth. The pain was slowly getting worse as time passed. When she read the transfer skill again, she was thankful that the injuries she took couldn¡¯t damage her spirit and healed faster, but wasn¡¯t sure if it was infallible. She could already tell the Miasma was dealing more damage than she could heal, even with the boost. She would just have to grin and bare it until they escaped the ruins.


    That started with the party moving to the beach she and Stephanie had first arrived on. Once there it was decided that Fergus and Stephanie would be the first two to go up. Gaia and Griff would stay on the beach with Shadow, who was now healed, Liv and Antonio. When Malachite came back, they would wait until he was ready, if need be. Then Gaia would put the rest of her bonds in their tattoos before Malachite floated them up to the first floor.


    Fergus protested but relented when Gaia told him to go. Stephanie and Fergus hopped on Malachite¡¯s shell, without the chairs, and held on as he started to float them up to the first floor. The wait for others was long, but nothing happened for the first few minutes before the Sinew Horror swam up to the beach. The group was placed in a precarious situation, they couldn¡¯t leave the beach since they didn¡¯t know how long it would take for Malachite to come back down. They would just have to defend their position until they had to run.


    Griff quickly got ready for the fight as Gaia reined in her Mana Field. Shadow was prepared to block as best she could and Liv, along with Antonio, were ready to let some magic fly. The Sinew Horror wasn¡¯t alone though, there were quite a few monsters with it. Gaia couldn¡¯t sense them with her field only a few feet from her body but Griff warned her as the monsters charged.


    Shadow focused on the Sinew Horror and distracted it while the others focused on the other enemies. Liv fired poison shots and trapped webs around to slow the advance while Antonio fired as much magic as he could at them. His Phantasmal spikes and psychic stings were great at slowing the horde down while dealing some damage since Gaia was locked down due to the Sinew Horror¡¯s ability to absorb her mana. Griff was a menace to the monsters as he was lashing out with ranged kicks and dashing in to strike them causing a few to gain major wounds.


    Gaia had her vines whipping around the monsters while using her chaos paths to increase the speed. Shadow had been able to lead the Sinew Horror away enough she could increase her mana field¡¯s range a bit. This was when she noticed that, as she was slashing them, the monsters were bleeding more than usual and she couldn¡¯t figure out why. The Miasma was slowly burrowing through her skin and had started to effect her muscle tissue. The pain was quickly increasing, but she couldn¡¯t do anything to fix it.


    It took her a while before she remembered something that had happened once before. She remembered that when she checked her status a while ago she had an attribute bound to strength, Agony. The biggest issue with this was that she couldn¡¯t hurt anything herself and hadn¡¯t really thought anything of it until the dungeon boss fight. That was when she realized what the bound attribute did and with her current situation it played in her favor. The Miasma was just causing the pain to worsen the longer it continued, so the stronger her conditions became. It even seemed to increase the severity from the start. The most disturbing thing she realized, was that the increase didn¡¯t seem to have a limit, aside from what she could withstand.


    The monsters were quickly slowing down from Gaia¡¯s conditions which were quickly getting easier and easier to stack. Some monsters were already succumbing to bleeding and poison, without Griff needing to attack them. The more intelligent monsters in the back of the clump were beginning to retreat as they saw their brethren die without inflicting even a glancing blow. The unintelligent ones saw Gaia, who was looking more and more injured with every passing second, and renewed their charge.


    The fighting continued with Griff landing some ranged hits on the monsters when necessary and running in to finish them off as he could. At this point, when he looked at Gaia he saw her on knees on the ground barely holding herself up with her right arm. The entire left side of her armor had a black cloud on it and he could see that the webbing had turned pitch black. He could also see spots where the armor was melting. The miasma was definitely a horrible attribute. The fact that she saw what was happening to her bonds and still took it on herself was definitely something she would do.


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    When the monsters were finally all killed or retreated Griff ran over to her. After she¡¯d fallen to the ground, her vines continued to whip out and slash enemies. A few had even been brazen enough to rush in and attack her since he was occupied by a few others. These ones were hit with a burst of radiation intense enough they almost started melting on top of bleeding and being poisoned. One had attacked her left side and started decaying the moment it touched the cloud.


    The miasma was clearly getting worse and they had to get her out of the ruins and to healers immediately. Griff glanced up and saw Malachite falling to the water as he rushed back to them. He arrived at their position a minute later as the Sinew Horror approached. Shadow had been distracting him as best she could, but could only dodge for so long. She ran back towards Griff and Gaia as the monster ran towards them.


    ¡°Malachite, how long do you need to rest?¡± Griff asked.


    ¡°Mom! Put them in tattoos! We can go now!¡± Malachite shouted through the bond.


    ¡°Griff, now!¡± Was all Gaia could manage through the pain.


    Gaia had her other bonds enter their tattoos as she tried to get up to get on Malachite¡¯s shell. She more crawled with her one arm until Griff saw the Sinew Horror rear back to attack her. He immediately dashed forward and grabbed her, resulting in three deep gashes on his back. The gashes hurt and he could feel something attempting to burrow into his body. It took all of his mana to keep the miasma from burrowing into his back that he forgot about Gaia. He touched the haze on her left side and the miasma started burrowing into his arm.


    He ignored the pain as he put Gaia on Malachite¡¯s shell and climbed on himself, holding her to ensure she didn¡¯t fall off. The trip up was long and Griff finally got a hint of the pain Gaia was experiencing. The miasma was only burrowing into his arm and the wounds in his back, but was already excruciating. He could only imagine how it felt to have her entire left side be under this abuse. She¡¯d even been fighting the entire time. As they rose, Griff noticed Gaia was laying down to ensure the miasma wouldn¡¯t touch Malachite, even when in unimaginable pain she still worried about her bonds.


    The trip up lasted about fifteen minutes until they got to the first floor. Once there they met up with Fergus and Stephanie, who had been killing monsters that came at them as they waited. When they reunited, Griff told them not to touch him or Gaia, but they hopped on Malachite and raced to the ruins exit. When they were halfway there, they saw Edrahni as he raced forward with some people. He stopped after seeing them and ran to speak.


    ¡°You guyz are alright? Thank goodnezz.¡± He said before noticing Griff and Gaia.


    ¡°We¡¯ll need healers ready as soon as we arrive at the camp. I¡¯m not too bad, but Gaia¡¯s really hurt. I don¡¯t know if the healers will be of any use though.¡± Griff said.


    Edrahni understood and immediately sprinted back to the camp at his top speed which far outpaced Malachite. The party continued running to the entrance and luckily didn¡¯t run into anyone else. When they were above ground, Griff glanced at his hand and his face paled. He¡¯d only been inflicted with Miasma for about an hour and his hand was already completely black and he could see bone in a few spots on his fingers. He glanced at Gaia before realizing her armor was still up and he couldn¡¯t see what her wounds actually looked like.


    The camp came into view about ten minutes later and Griff saw the Guild Master there with every healer he¡¯d seen. They arrived and Griff relayed what was causing the injuries as he picked Gaia up and put her on a blanket they had prepared. When the haze surrounding Gaia¡¯s side touched the blanket it started to decay at a visible rate. The healers backed up immediately and Griff showed them his back. It had started to get a slight haze similar to the one around Gaia. One healer stepped forward and examined it. He didn¡¯t touch it but used some skill to do so.


    ¡°This is bad. Really bad. Do we have any healers with a holy attribute?¡± He asked quickly.


    ¡°We should have at least one. Quickly now!¡± Delilah yelled.


    A young man stepped forward and spoke timidly. ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°Good, now heal this with holy mana.¡± The first healer commanded.


    The young healer did as he was told and the haze disappeared. Once the haze was gone the healers tried healing it. It worked slightly and the wounds lessened, but didn¡¯t fully heal. When they tried to heal his hand the holy mana didn¡¯t effect the haze much. Griff guessed it was because the miasma had burrowed deeper while he held Gaia on the way back. It looked like he wouldn¡¯t be fully healed for a while whether the miasma was purified or not. This was when he made everyone focus on Gaia since she¡¯d been inflicted with it much longer than him and on a much larger area. She still had her armor up so they couldn¡¯t see any wounds, which only made her friends worry more.


    Gaia let her bonds out of their tattoos before her armor dropped and there was a collective gasp. Her entire left side was pitch black with some spots throughout where bones could be seen. Her muscles appeared to have liquified, but were somehow still attached as well. The weirdest part was that she wasn¡¯t getting any worse, at least from what they could tell. When the holy healer tried to heal her it actually made her condition worsen so they moved him back. The others tried healing her but nothing was working, so they had Griff carry her to the clinic. She was placed in one of the beds and the same thing happened to it as the blanket. They put her under observation and her party stayed nearby. Griff was purified of the new miasma and the day passed by. Gaia wasn¡¯t able to sleep, since the pain was continuous, but couldn¡¯t do anything else either. She just laid there as her body stabilized and eventually started to heal extremely slowly.


    Griff was also put under observation since he had been in contact with her the longest and had been inflicted himself. He wasn¡¯t nearly as effected by it as Gaia, but the wounds on his back slowly healed while the holy attribute healer purified his hand every couple hours.  The healers checked on them hourly and noticed that they had started healing after a couple days. They didn¡¯t know how or why Gaia was healing though. It should have been impossible to do so without being purified, but that¡¯s what was happening. When her friends were told this their worry lessened but only very slightly. Until she was up and walking they wouldn¡¯t be able to truly relax.


    It took griff about two weeks to fully heal, but the skin that had regrown over the wounds was a dark gray color. As for Gaia, it took her about a month to heal. The healing had started extremely slow, but had accelerated as time passed. After the first week, the healing could be seen each day. The second and third week had shown visible improvement around twice a day to four times a day. By the final week, she had almost completely healed, but hadn¡¯t fully recovered until the week was done.


    During this time Gaia couldn¡¯t do anything aside from practicing with her mana and talking to the people that came to visit. At first it had just been her party, Fauna, that stayed. Then, Flora joined and finally Legion joined the third week. They had all been worried about her and were extremely happy when she had fully recovered. There were some changes from the experience though.


    She had checked her status and seen something disturbing. She had gotten her last bound attribute, Miasma. Worst of all, it was bound to her recovery stat. She didn¡¯t know how that would work or if she even wanted to find out. She¡¯d also gotten a skill from it called Hex. It allowed her to place a hex on a creature that would inflict it with miasma, dealing damage over time and weakening its defenses. It was also able to stack like her other conditions.


    Her companions had waited to tell her what the physical changes were until she was fully healed, so they could tell her without the wounds. The changes, as her friends finally told her, were shocking. The entire left side of her body was pitch black and similar to obsidian. Her hair on that side had turned completely white. On this side her skin had become somewhat sunken with her skeletal structure becoming slightly more prominent. Her veins had also become black throughout her body. The vine on right side had not been spared either. It had become pitch black and had an ominous aura to it. It was shocking for her to imagine and was honestly kind of creepy.


    She had tried to get up and walk, but was a bit unbalanced. She¡¯d not walked for about a month since the doctors didn¡¯t want her to accidentally inflict someone with miasma. The haze hadn¡¯t fully disappeared until a few days earlier so it was a legitimate worry. Her left side was also very weak compared to the other so it could barely hold her weight. She also came to realize her chaos paths had changed somewhat. They were slightly harder to control than before, but figured a couple days of retraining her focus would fix it.


    She could also feel something else similar to the paths, but was wholly different. It felt like her blood had changed which, according to her companions, possibly had. It felt thicker than before, like it couldn¡¯t flow as quickly she wasn¡¯t sure why her blood had changed. Her best guess was that her situation with her body had effected it somehow. Maybe it was the easiest way for her body to adapt to the miasma, or maybe blood was what held the attribute and, therefore, allowed miasma mana to be created. It was the only way it made sense for her blood to have changed.


    She slowly made her way out of the healing tents and towards the inn. Her companions had taken shifts to stay while the other two and her bonds went on watch, so they were still getting some cores. They had all gotten the day off to be there when she was up and moving. They stopped at the mess hall on the way as it was time for a meal and saw the Guild Master.


    ¡°Ah, good, you¡¯re up and moving again. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re alright and I¡¯m sorry we couldn¡¯t help you.¡± The Guild Master Delilah said.


    ¡°No problem. I¡¯m just glad I¡¯m moving again.¡± Gaia slowly said as the change made it a bit hard to speak.


    ¡°Well, you still have a week to heal and get your strength back before the recovery time is up. We won¡¯t force you back on watch, but if you could help around here then we¡¯d appreciate it.¡± Delilah replied.


    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll let you know when I¡¯m back to normal.¡± She replied.


    Fauna continued into the mess hall where they sat to eat. Gaia¡¯s recent change was going to take a bit to get used to as everything was a bit harder. She ate her meal which made her feel a bit better and the group went back to the inn for a bit. Gaia was still having a bit of trouble controlling her chaotic movements, so she soon moved to the training area. She was able to get a small area again where she started to work on her chaos path control again. It only took an hour before she was back to normal in that aspect.


    Next, was trying to strengthen her left side back up to normal. She started with a slow walk and worked on basic strengthening. She used some weighted stones to work on her arm but couldn¡¯t really think about anything else she could do for now. She was still quite weak but was able to walk close to normally after about four hours of continuous workouts. She could also hold about a fifth of what she normally could after training for the day.


    She wasn¡¯t going to be back to normal within a few days, but figured if she pushed herself she might be able to after a week. She spent the next week training in this fashion and increasing the duration or weight as she needed to. During her rest time she focused on practicing with her mana and on her less strenuous skills. She also played with her bonds when she could which helped encourage her to work harder. Her companions continued their watches as usual with Malachite staying with Gaia. Now that she was moving they weren¡¯t worried and could focus on watching for monsters.


    After the week was up, Gaia was almost completely back to normal but still decided to take it easy. She went up on watch, but mostly stayed out of the battles for another week. She used her Mana field to help and her vines to attack if the monsters got close enough though. She didn¡¯t use her hex skill in fear of accidentally hurting someone if the miasmic haze appeared. After the week was up she started taking her usual role in battles without taking big risks like she usually did. This went on for a couple more weeks before Gaia suggested something to her party that they were all surprised to hear.


    ¡°Do y¡¯all want to go back into the ruins?¡± She asked.


    There was silence for an uncomfortable amount of time.


    ¡°I should have known you¡¯d want to go back down there, but can I ask why?¡± Fergus asked.


    ¡°I want to try my new skill but I¡¯m afraid of what it could do. It has to deal with the Miasma and don¡¯t want to try it out where someone could get hurt. I figured we can just go to the first floor and I can use it to see its effects.¡± Gaia said.


    ¡°Wait a second. You can use the miasma now too?¡± Griff asked.


    ¡°Apparently, it did become a bound attribute and I got a skill from it. I don¡¯t want to figure out how it works with the stat though.¡± She replied.


    ¡°I actually got it bound to me somehow too. It¡¯s bound to my strength. What is yours bound to? Wait, if it¡¯s something you don¡¯t want to find out, is it bound to recovery or something?¡± Griff asked jokingly until he saw Gaia¡¯s head nod.


    ¡°It¡¯s bound to my recovery stat.¡± Gaia confirmed.


    ¡°Sorry. I didn¡¯t think it actually would be. I can understand the hesitation.¡± Griff replied apologetically.


    ¡°I also figured out how my bound Agony attribute works too.¡± Gaia said as she explained the effects she discovered during the fight from the second floor.


    ¡°That¡¯s not great. A bit disturbing actually. I don¡¯t like how it requires you to be in pain for it to take effect. Why couldn¡¯t you just get a skill like Antonio¡¯s spikes from it or something similar?¡± Fergus asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but it¡¯s not like I got to choose or had any say in how it works.¡± Gaia replied.


    ¡°Ok. Ok. Calm down you two. It¡¯s good to know for the future, but be careful alright? Effects like that can lead to other problems.¡± Stephanie said.


    ¡°Alright, but back to the topic of the ruins. What do you guys think?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°Let¡¯s wait a few more days. I still need a few more days before I can even think about going back down.¡± Fergus said.


    ¡°I¡¯m with Fergus. I¡¯d rather wait and talk about it in a few days.¡± Stephanie added.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to go back. I will if we need to, but I¡¯m never gonna be the same after what we¡¯ve been through because of it.¡± Griff said.


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s discuss it in a few days.¡± Gaia finished.


    Fauna went to the inn to relax for the rest of the night. They ran into Legion while they were resting and enjoyed a night of chatting and teasing before going to sleep.

 Chapter Twenty-Nine

    The next few days passed by in a flash. There were a few larger monster attacks where almost every defender joined to repel them, but otherwise, it wasn¡¯t very hectic. Most monsters that came close were quickly dispatched or fled after being injured. A few bronze ranked monsters passed by, but only one had attacked the walls, which was odd and these were reported to Captain. It was the night before their days off that Gaia brought the subject of the ruins back up.


    ¡°Are you guys alright with going back to the ruins in the next couple days?¡± She asked a bit hesitantly.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with it, but only if we truly stick to the first floor.¡± Fergus stated.


    ¡°Same.¡± Stephanie replied.


    Everyone turned to Griff who was still silent.


    ¡°Fine, but we¡¯re sticking to the entrance. At least for a few days if we go back again, alright?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Sounds fair. I just want to test out my hex skill today.¡± Gaia said.


    ¡°Shall we go tomorrow then?¡± She asked.


    The others agreed and the night went by quickly. They awoke the next morning and got ready to enter the ruins again. Only this time they had a couple people joining them, as they saw Fern and Francois waiting for them.


    ¡°We heard that you guys were going back to the ruins today. Figured we¡¯d tag along if that¡¯s alright.¡± Francois said.


    ¡°Douglas wanted to come himself, but I convinced him to stay by saying I¡¯d go myself.¡± Fern explained.


    ¡°I won¡¯t lie, it¡¯s nice to know we¡¯ll have you two in there. Even if we¡¯re only planning on going to the first floor and staying by the entrance.¡± Gaia said.


    ¡°Then lead the way.¡± Francois stated and the group left the inn.


    They made their way to the southern gate and were let out a couple minutes later. The group swiftly travelled through the surface ruins before arriving at the hole in the center. They slowly walked down the steps, Gaia riding Malachite and attempting to ignore the open air under the steps. Once they were in the tunnel Gaia explained to Francois and Fern what she wanted to test.


    ¡°So you can use that mana now? Well, let¡¯s test it out. You have me curious about what it¡¯ll do.¡± Francois stated after hearing the explanation.


    ¡°You¡¯ve piqued my interest too, but be careful. I don¡¯t want anyone to be inflicted by accident.¡± Fern added.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best. I¡¯m not sure what¡¯ll happen, that¡¯s why I wanted to try it where there were a lot fewer people.¡± Gaia replied.


    They moved in a bit and Fergus fired an arrow at a lone monster to catch its attention. It took a moment for it to get close enough for Gaia to sense it. This monster was a large cricket. It entered Gaia¡¯s senses from midair as it landed around thirty feet from them. It was massive, like everything else on this floor and had some large mandibles. When it landed, Gaia tried out her hex skill. The skill was odd in that nothing happened at first when she reread the skill she realized what went wrong.


    Hex ¨C Skill. Allows the user to inflict a hex on target through contact. Inflicts the Miasmic Hex condition. A small percentage of damage dealt by condition is returned to user in the form of healing.


    Miasmic Hex ¨C Condition. Deals low damage over time and lowers defenses. Instances can be refreshed and stacked. Damage dealt can not be healed unless purified or healed with holy attributed mana.


    ¡°I have to touch them? That makes this a bit harder.¡± Gaia muttered.


    She dashed towards it a moment later and touched it with her hand as it shot a leg at her in a kick. Shadow jumped in front of her and blocked the kick with no difficulty as Gaia analyzed the monster to see if the condition worked this time. It showed it had been inflicted so she backed up and paid close attention to the mana around the monster. She could sense the mana of the hex as it was a black spark to her senses. She could see it within the mana of the monster as it slowly spread. She also noticed that she felt something flow through her body. It was flowing through her veins and felt like it should be able to heal her slightly. She decided to try and slash the monster with her vines to see if it would be able to inflict the hex. It worked. She sensed the spark from the hex darken and spread slightly farther.


    Her poison was also working on the monster and it had started bleeding from her vines. She continued slashing with her vines and saw the spark spread further and further within the monster until it had spread to about a third of the monster. Then the monster crumpled down and died from the conditions she¡¯d continuously inflicted. After she¡¯d confirmed the monster was dead by the feeling of souls being collected, she turned to her friends who were standing behind her.


    ¡°So did you guys notice if there was a haze? I couldn¡¯t sense one, but you never know.¡± She asked them.


    All she got was silence and the feeling of everyone staring at her for a few moments before Francois replied. ¡°Uh, no. There wasn¡¯t a haze from what I could tell.¡±


    ¡°What happened? Does your hex skill have something else it does?¡± Griff asked a bit incredulous.


    ¡°What do you mean? The skill does siphon a small bit of damage for healing, but I wasn¡¯t hurt.¡± She replied.


    ¡°Well, it seems to do a bit more. You remember how one side of you looked a bit skeletal. It looks like it had before, aside from being like obsidian. It looks the same as the other in musculature and such.¡± Stephanie explained.


    ¡°Really?¡± She asked as she touched her left arm.


    It did, in fact, feel like it had before the miasma had hurt her. She felt her face and leg, they too were back to the way they were before. It was odd since she didn¡¯t feel any different than before the fight just now. If she had to put it into words, she felt a bit more energetic maybe, but otherwise couldn¡¯t tell a difference outside of the physical appearance. She did feel like she looked a bit less creepy like this. After this discovery she asked Griff about his miasma bound attribute.


    ¡°So did you get a skill or anything from it?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Not like you did. Mine is called Corrupted Surge and does two things from what I can understand. It makes my physical attacks deal some extra Miasma damage, which is unable to be healed, unless it¡¯s purified or healed using holy attributed mana. It also boosts my strength based on how much miasma is in a creature. It gets stronger the more attacks I¡¯ve dealt. I¡¯m assuming like yours is, right?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Yeah. I think mine changed because of my class somehow. That may have also been what happened with yours. I don¡¯t really get how skills from bound attributes work. Like if I didn¡¯t have my class would it do something different?¡± She asked.


    She heard Griff take a deep breath and she could tell one of his lectures was about to start so she quickly spoke. ¡°Well, we¡¯ve finished my test shall we hunt a few monsters? I figured it¡¯d be a bit of a waste to just come and fight one. We won¡¯t go far in though. Also I do want to hear your explanation but let¡¯s talk about it back at camp.¡±


    ¡°Fine. It would be a bit of a waste to just take care of one monster. Shall we split up a bit and deal with a few each?¡± Griff suggested.


    ¡°Yeah, but everyone stays within view. If everyone agrees to that then we¡¯re good.¡± Fergus stated.


    ¡°Alright.¡± The others replied in unison.


    Fern and Francois stayed in the middle of the group that fanned out. Gaia was just in front of them with her bonds. Her bonds moved forward and spread out as well. They got monsters attention by firing a magic shot at them before leading them to Griff and Gaia. Fergus and Stephanie just picked off any monsters they saw with a few well placed bullets and arrows. Shadow stayed between Griff and Gaia so she could block for them if she needed to. The monsters were of a lower level, but they could still get a good attack in that could wound the party.


    Liv fired poison shots from on top of Gaia¡¯s head and tossed some trapped webs out in front of them. The monsters would rush towards Gaia and Malachite who were the biggest targets and where the attacks came from before being caught in the webs strewn along the ground. Antonio would fire his phantasmal spikes and psychic stings at the trapped monster. Gaia would slash at them with her vines while bleeding and hexing the monster. Malachite fired water shots and ran around Shell bashing monsters with his spiked armor out.


    Griff would dash in and out of the monsters range while landing punches and kicks before backing up and lashing out with ranged kicks. His attacks slowly built up power as he struck the monster. What started as a basic punch or kick that just hurt the monster, turned into devastating hits that caused the monster to stagger or even break whatever he hit. His sustained battle efficiency had skyrocketed since getting the new skill.


    Fern would run around checking on everyone and healing any injuries they incurred, including small scratches. Francois stayed by Griff and gave him pointers on things he could fix, but would run around killing monsters whenever he got bored. They continued like this for a few hours before they grouped back up and moved towards the camp. None of them had leveled up in a while because of the low-level monsters they¡¯d been facing and the difficulty of raising their level the stronger they got.


    The only one of them that had leveled up recently was Antonio and he¡¯d just gotten to level thirty. He¡¯d gotten a new skill a few days earlier but hadn¡¯t gotten to use it yet. It was called Neural Wave and was an area of effect skill. It allowed him to create an area of about ten feet around him that would deal damage and decreased enemies accuracy due to extreme pain. It also caused healing to be less effective for a time as the damage came from a curse. The Curse was called Tormented Blight. It was something that used up a lot of his mana so he could only do it a couple times before needing to recover his mana.


    The skill was useful but short ranged, so he only used it if monsters got within range. Sadly, most of the enemies they¡¯d been dealing were either killed before coming within range, or too deadly to get close enough to. This meant the skill went unused until today when he used it on a monster that had gotten close enough to swipe at Gaia. He used the skill and the monster¡¯s attack jerked upwards from a pained spasm in its limb, making the attack miss where it would have hit. As the party traveled to the camp Antonio was thinking about his new skill and what had happened within the last couple months, mainly from when his mom had been injured.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Antonio now felt like he could help protect his mom or rather the queen of his colony. He knew he could help her by attacking and killing the monsters that attacked her, but he was always worried for her safety. His siblings, the odd creatures they were, were very good at protecting her usually and he was happy they all felt the same towards her. The main issue was that she was too self-sacrificing if it was about them. When she took on the weird giant green ant, Malachite, and the equally odd large black ant¡¯s, Shadow¡¯s, injuries his heart shuddered. He could feel the pain his siblings were in through their bonds and when mom had taken them on he almost died from worry.


    He had spent most of the time from when she initially took the injuries using his first aid skill, but it didn¡¯t seem to do anything. He had felt useless as he watched his mother suffer the excruciating pain and he couldn¡¯t do anything to help. Even afterwards she had been stuck in bed, and he couldn¡¯t even get her food or anything else she needed. Now he had a way to help keep her from getting injured again. He was the only one of his siblings that had any way of healing and was determined to help keep his mom as safe as possible.


    The group arrived at the camp and were let in after a couple minutes. They made their way towards the central square before hearing the telltale clanging indicating food was ready. They quickly beelined their way to the mess hall as they were all really hungry. After a nice meal they separated from Francois and Fern before they split up to go about their own business.


    Gaia went to her garden where she checked on her plants and weeded with her bonds assistance. Her plants had grown quickly and were already grown enough to harvest thanks to some growth magic being cast on them regularly. They harvested the crops and took them to Yort who happily took the crops and gave them to the cooking staff. Gaia went back to her small plot and cast more growth magic on her plants. The crops could all grow multiple harvests before needing to be replanted. She finished with the needed upkeep and went back to the inn for a nap.


    Fergus spent his time walking around the camp helping anywhere he could. When he wasn¡¯t needed, he would practice some woodcarving and give them to anyone who was interested in them. He also went and sparred with Griff, working on his close combat using the arrow dagger. After that only a few hours had passed so he went back to the inn to relax. He met Gaia as she returned, and they talked for a bit before falling asleep while cuddled up in one of the rooms.


    Stephanie spent her free time as she usually did, tinkering and forging. She had been working on her musket recently to increase its rate of fire. Every time she wanted to fire a shot she had pull back the hammer for it to spark the explosion magic. This was the only way to keep it from having the explosion magic constantly going, which had caused an early model to explode after a few minutes.


    She had heard Gaia talk about a few different kinds of guns similar to her musket. While Gaia didn¡¯t know much about them she did remember a lever action being a type of rifle. She¡¯d described it as best she could and Stephanie had been working on trying to recreate one with her single shot rifle as the base. She felt like she was close and had been able to create the lever and make it load a bullet. She was having trouble trying to make a slot to reliably reload the bullets. She had heard Gaia call something a magazine that holds the bullets, but wasn¡¯t sure how to make it or if it would work with the lever action. Stephanie felt like after another week or two of attempts she would be able to make them how she wanted.


    Griff was reading through some more of the books he¡¯d bought and spent sometime practicing with his new skill. It worked on training dummies, which were enchanted to repair themselves if they were destroyed. He was starting to get a good idea of how the skill worked and how much it could increase his strikes power. What had originally taken about a hundred hits to destroy now took about half as many, but it also seemed to have a maximum amount it could increase the damage to. He experimented with it for a while longer before sparring with Fergus. Then returned to his experiments.


    The entire party didn¡¯t get back together until dinner time when Gaia had to drag Stephanie to the mess hall and Fergus did the same with Griff. The two always got engrossed in their experimenting that they consistently forgot to eat or drink anything. They enjoyed a dinner together albeit to the annoyance of Stephanie and Griff at first. They returned to the inn and heard some of Legion¡¯s stories for a while before heading to bed.


    The next day Gaia convinced the others to go and train together for a while. This mainly consisted of sparring with each other. It started with the usual spar between Fergus and Griff which ended in Griff¡¯s win. Then Griff and Stephanie fought, this one was a bit more evenly matched since Stephanie was able to seamlessly switch between ranged and melee combat. It ended in Stephanie¡¯s win, Gaia and Antonio healed the smaller scratches on everyone during the breaks between each spar.


    Next had Malachite and Shadow fighting. This was an interesting fight since Shadow could switch between being physical and not at will, while Malachite was fast enough to dodge and had strong enough defenses that most attacks didn¡¯t matter. This one ended in a draw since neither could get a strong hit on the other. Antonio and Liv had a small spar on the side as Fergus went against Stephanie. Fergus and Stephanie¡¯s bout was completely ranged until the end where Fergus dashed in and was able to bring his dagger arrow to her throat before her hammer could get close to him. Between Liv and Antonio, Liv won as she was able to ignore most of the effects of Antonio¡¯s curses.


    Gaia had a few bouts with everyone, but most ended in her loss due to her inability to deal damage without conditions. She didn¡¯t use any outside of bleed since she was worried what would happen if she used any of the others. She did enjoy them as they helped her get further used to dodging different kinds of attacks while landing a few slashes with her vines. It also helped her to sense where projectiles were in her field so she could dodge them. This was one of the hardest things since many projectiles weren¡¯t magical, like a basic arrow or Stephanie¡¯s musket balls.


    The spars went on until lunchtime and the group ate a good meal. This one was some kind of sandwich with a small fruit salad made from multiple different fruits. She guessed some of the fruits she¡¯d grown had been used for a couple of the salads since there were some greenberries and some blissfruits in the salads. After lunch they all split up and went about their own business until dinner time. The group met up at the inn after dinner to discuss their future plans during the commission.


    ¡°What do we want to do on our free days now? Were pretty much stuck out here until the commission is done so we can either go back into the ruins every now and again or just do what we have been and not go back in.¡± Fergus asked.


    ¡°I won¡¯t lie. I kind of want to go back and explore the ruins. The correct way this time so we won¡¯t be stranded on a floor like last time. I am a bit scared of the Sinew Horror though.¡± Gaia replied.


    ¡°I¡¯m of the same opinion as Gaia. I think we¡¯ll be fine if we don¡¯t take any shortcuts like we did last time. As for the second floor we just need to be extremely careful and hopefully we can convince Flora or Legion or some bronze rankers to join us for that floor at least.¡± Stephanie added.


    ¡°I¡¯m hesitant to go back. Gaia, you got hurt really badly, and I only experienced a fraction of the pain you did, but it was enough to make me terrified of the Sinew Horror. I¡¯m fine with the first floor, but I don¡¯t want to go back down to the second until we are much stronger or have a couple bronze rankers who can help us.¡± Griff explained.


    ¡°We won¡¯t go any lower for a while at the least since we¡¯ll need to figure out how to open the gate anyway. So, are we all good to at least go and explore the first floor tomorrow and on our days off?¡± Fergus asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Stephanie and Gaia said.


    ¡°I¡¯m good with that.¡± Griff stated.


    ¡°Alright. Then let¡¯s plan to truly explore the first floor tomorrow.¡± Fergus finished.


    The group made sure their equipment was prepared and went to bed early for the night. They woke up early the next morning and made their way to the ruins. They decided to all ride on Malachite¡¯s shell after leaving the camp to save energy and he didn¡¯t notice the extra weight as long as they weren¡¯t floating. They entered the ruins and went straight towards the mural on the gate they¡¯d seen the first time they were there. They wanted to study it since they guessed it had some way of depicting what needed to be done to open the way down. They reached it after about three hours due to a few hordes of monsters blocking their path that slowed them down.


    When they arrived, they noticed that the hole they¡¯d made was still there but was smaller than before. They figured the floor must slowly regenerate since it was still there but noticeably smaller after about two months. They didn¡¯t get close to it since they all had a fear for the second floor. They focused on the images depicted on the gates. They could somewhat understand what the images depicted with the giants and paid attention to the other images they¡¯d seen. Gaia had sensed the water drop symbols along the center of the gates and had guessed that they were the hint to the opening mechanism.


    ¡°Do you guys think it has to do with the water drops?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s my best guess but since there¡¯s no color to the images we don¡¯t know if it¡¯s a specific kind of liquid or if any will do. Like could each require a different liquid, or each one requires a specific kind, or if water will work for all of them.¡± Stephanie said.


    ¡°For now I say we just go back to the entrance and search that ring since it¡¯s the smallest. If we can find what the mechanism is we¡¯ll know what to look for in the others which should shorten our search time drastically.¡± Griff finished.


    While the other three talked, Fergus was firing arrows at the monsters that came due to the noise with Gaia¡¯s bonds taking a few out, themselves. Not many monsters came, but the longer they stayed in one place the easier it was for monsters to find them. The blood from the monsters also attracted more due to the smell, even though they dissolved relatively quickly. They all hopped back in Malachite and they returned to the central ring to begin their search.


    They spent the majority of the day searching the central ring with little luck. The buildings were massive making traversal hard and the central ring was also at least tens of miles in size. They had a few moments where they thought they¡¯d found something only to discover it was just an oddity in the rock carving or where something had been destroyed. They continued searching until they got hungry and they sat down to eat.


    ¡°This place is massive and we¡¯re not even sure what we¡¯re looking for exactly. The only thing we really know is that it might have something to do with liquid.¡± Stephanie said after a deep swig of water.


    ¡°The monsters aren¡¯t helping either. I mean they¡¯re not hard, but there are just so many. We¡¯ve killed at least a couple hundred alone today, haven¡¯t we?¡± Fergus added.


    ¡°Yeah. I hope we can find the mechanism today. Just searching the other rings is gonna take forever, even if we know what to look for by then.¡± Gaia said before taking a bite of jerky.


    ¡°Luckily, we only have about another quarter of this ring to search before we can double check any of the areas we marked as possibilities.¡± Griff said as he finished his meal.


    They had decided to sketch a basic map of the ring as they went and mark any oddities on it to recheck after they¡¯d finished searching. They hoped that this way if they had to return to the camp before finding the mechanism they wouldn¡¯t waste time by rechecking something they already had before. Then they would also know what to look for based on the sketch and where it was in this ring to see if it was in a similar area in the other rings.


    They continued searching after finishing a quick lunch that was interrupted by a few monsters bothering them. The last quarter of the ring only had one possible mechanism based on their hunch from the gate. They checked it first after finishing the search. It was an odd indentation in the ground with a small channel coming out from it that moved underground after a few feet. They decided to try water as it was a plentiful resource they could easily replenish at camp.


    They poured a small amount in, but nothing happened so they poured more in until it started flowing down the channel. They waited around twenty minutes to see if something would happen, but didn¡¯t notice anything so they moved on. The next couple possible locations they discovered were similarly unresponsive and they stopped at the last. This one was different as it was a pillar around fifteen feet tall that looked like it had been a kind of pedestal for a giant.


    They got on top of it with Malachite¡¯s help, and a bit of time, and found it had a hole in the center, that was about a foot and a half in diameter, of a curved bowl. The bowl was about a couple feet  deep at its deepest and consisted of almost the entire top of the pedestal aside from about three feet along the edge. They weren¡¯t sure if they would need to put a lot of water in the bowl, but decided to pour a canteen in and see what happened. Nothing did so they prepared to get back down when they heard a few monsters climbing up the pedestal towards them.


    The monsters arrived a few moments later and they killed them quickly. The monsters blood ran from them and down the bowl to the central hole where they saw something happen. The hole had started to fill with the monsters blood and it started to glow while Gaia sensed the mana concentration there. The basin apparently needed monster blood and the floor had hundreds if not thousands of monsters that they could lure and fill the basin with.


    The next hours consisted of the party luring monsters up the pedestal and killing them within the basin where the monsters blood slowly started filling. It took them around two hundred monster kills with Gaia¡¯s vines doing most of the damage to fill the basin to full. Once this happened the blood drained quickly down the central hole and a few moments later they heard a loud crack from the direction of the gate. They ran to it as fast as they could and the topmost water drop symbol had a large crack through it. They had figured out what the mechanism was and how to activate it. Now it was just a matter of time before they found the other mechanisms and opened the gate.

 Chapter Thirty

    Fauna were in high spirits after a successful exploration, there were only seven more mechanisms to go and they now knew what to look for. They leisurely traveled back to the surface where they heard the warning bells ringing from the camp. Their elation at the success quickly died as they rushed back to the camp. The bells continuously rang the entire sprint back and they finally heard the shouts of the defenders.


    ¡°Four bronze rank monsters from the west!¡± One yelled.


    ¡°One iron rank from the east!¡± Another shouted.


    ¡°Thirty high level stone from the north!¡± Another yelled.


    ¡°Three bronze rank from the south!¡± Yet another screamed.


    The camp was being attacked from every direction and there were more bronze and iron rank monsters then there were bronze ranked parties. Griff quickly got into his tactics mode and gave out orders.


    ¡°Fergus scout and see where we are needed, ignore the northern section it should be fine. Stephanie and Gaia prepare to engage any monsters we come across. Plan to distract as opposed to try and kill, we¡¯ll likely be occupying a bronze rank monster until reinforcements arrive.¡± Griff ordered.


    Fergus quickly sprinted ahead of everyone as he was the fastest and had the best eyesight so he didn¡¯t have to get close to see the situation. Griff, Stephanie, Gaia and her bonds prepared for a drawn-out distraction as opposed to a usual fight. The plan was for Gaia to be front liner to try and stack conditions. Shadow would assist Gaia and block when she could while Stephanie was on Malachite¡¯s shell peppering the monster with bullets. Liv and Antonio would be with Stephanie firing their ranged attacks so they would be out of danger, at least for the most part. Griff would be a mobile damage dealer and attack whenever he could while taking the monster¡¯s attention when Gaia needed a break for any reason. Then the two would switch who took the attention so the other could get a reprieve. This was all the more important since they would likely be distracting a bronze rank monster, at the least.


    Fauna continued their approach, slowing slightly as the walls came into view, Gaia still couldn¡¯t sense the area yet, but Fergus came back a few moments later.


    ¡°I say we help the south. It¡¯s the closest and the west has four of the bronze ranked parties defending there. The south only has two leaving one of the monsters unchecked. The Guild Master is currently dealing with the iron ranked monster to the east. The defenders there are helping as best they can so she should be fine for a while.¡± Fergus relayed.


    ¡°Alright. Straight ahead. Do you know what kind of monster it is?¡± Griff asked.


    ¡°Some kind of humanoid ant with what looked to be tentacles on its back. You¡¯ll understand what I mean when we get closer. From what I could tell it uses a spear-like weapon with one arm and has a massive set of mandibles on another that act like blades. Then it has appendages similar to tentacles without any suckers coming from its back that it uses to grab, throw, block, or maneuver with.¡± Fergus explained.


    ¡°Okay. Be ready for anything.¡± Griff stated as the party got close enough for Gaia to sense the battle.


    There were two bronze rank parties engaged with two other monsters these were different than the one Fergus described. One appeared to be some mix between a spider and bear while the other was some kind of horrific dragonfly without wings. The one they were heading for was just as Fergus described only with it being about six feet tall. It was definitely bronze rank to her senses, but seemed weaker than the other two.


    This was an advantage they weren¡¯t sure what kind of monster they¡¯d be distracting, but if it was weaker than the others that was good for them. They would likely be able to be defensive and be safer than with something stronger. They moved in swiftly and began harassing the monster, to the relief of the defenders on the wall. The monster had been using its tentacle-like appendages to attack the defenders when they tried to fire at it. It also used its spear as a projectile and threw it towards the defenders as they stood to shoot, if it missed it grabbed the spear with one of the tentacles and brought it back. The appendages were extremely elastic allowing them to stretch much farther than most suspected.


    The distraction started with Griff rushing in and striking it a few times with some punches and kicks. Then, Gaia moved to start slashing with her vines and begin her attempts to stack afflictions. Fergus was towards the back firing arrows at the monster as Stephanie shot at the monster from Malachite¡¯s shell. Antonio and Liv fired their own magic at it, with Liv tossing a few trapped webs to hopefully constrict its movements. The strategy worked as the monster turned towards the party ignoring the defenders it had previously been focused on.


    It¡¯s attention started on Griff since he had dealt the most damage to it. It moved towards him and thrust its spear towards him while keeping its other arm close to counter if Griff closed in. Griff dodged and punched the monster¡¯s arm causing its claws to loosen around the spear, but the monster swiftly recovered and a tentacle wrapped around the spear-shaft.


    Fergus and Stephanie pelted the monster with arrows and bullets respectively dealing minimal damage at most. Liv¡¯s poison was hitting, but didn¡¯t seem to have damaged or inflicted a condition at all. Antonio was firing his spikes and stings, but weren¡¯t dealing much damage let alone inflicting their conditions. Malachite was firing some water shots, but they seemed almost ineffectual. Gaia was slashing at the monster with her vines and had only managed to inflict the monster with her bleeding condition. She tried using her miasmic decay by hitting it in the same spot, but didn¡¯t have any luck. Her poison on the other hand was slowly starting to stack on the monster as it fought them. Her Mana Field once again showing its use, but still wasn¡¯t dealing much damage. It took a minute or two before its attention turned towards Gaia.


    Her poison had slowly stacked as did a couple bleeds, as were the only two conditions that she could inflict reliably on it. It¡¯s attack started with a spear throw, which Shadow nimbly deflected, as it moved to attack with its other arm. Gaia dodged back just in time for the mandibles to snap shut inches from her nose. As the attack ended its spear was whipped back to its other hand and two of the elastic appendages whipped out at Gaia. Shadow blocked one while the other slammed into the front of Gaia¡¯s barrier as she was dodging. There was a small burst of radiation, but the monster seemed unaffected.


    Gaia was tossed back about ten feet from the force of the appendage and somehow managed to land on her feet. The monster, however, didn¡¯t give her time to recover as the spear was once again thrown at her. Griff took this moment to dash in and get another couple strikes on the creature before disengaging. The monster backhanded him before he could escape and he, too, was sent flying. Fergus and Stephanie were still firing at the monster, but didn¡¯t seem to be doing any damage. They were thankfully able to distract it, as that was their goal, but the situation only seemed to be getting worse the longer they chipped at it.


    Griff and Gaia weren¡¯t strong enough to take any direct hits, especially not multiple. They also weren¡¯t fast enough to completely dodge the monster¡¯s attacks. The longer they fought the monster the harder it would be for someone to take its attention from Gaia. They were luckily still at a point where a few good hits from Griff could take the monsters attention from her for a few moments but that wouldn¡¯t last for long. This was the major downside to Gaia¡¯s conditions, they continuously dealt damage meaning monsters would target her more and more the longer a fight went on. With the current situation Gaia would soon be under the monster¡¯s onslaught continuously until a bronze rank group could take over the fight. Even then it would likely target her until the party dealt some good damage to it.


    Griff got back up after a moment and rushed back to help Gaia. He was the only one able to deal significant damage in close combat while still being fast enough to narrowly dodge most attacks. Shadow was blocking more and more for Gaia as her conditions worsened making the monster target her more often. Gaia was taking a few heavy attacks, but shadow was blocking around four of every five attacks. The monster was getting visibly agitated at the fact its attacks weren¡¯t landing as heavily as they should and it sped up. Fergus and Stephanie were now having to slowdown so they didn¡¯t just fire and miss, or worse hit their teammates. The monster now seemed about twice as fast as it had been before, causing everyone to panic. Griff had barely been able to keep up with it before, now he was getting thrown around whenever he tried to attack. It was now fast enough to dodge or block his attack and strike almost instantly causing him to be sent flying anytime he got close. Shadow was now up against Gaia blocking as many attacks as she could, but most were getting through at this point.


    Liv tried tossing a trapped web just behind the monster, but it ignored it and passed through it effortlessly. As for the attacks hitting Gaia¡¯s barrier they caused bursts of radiation to hit the monster and were starting to deal some damage. The main issue was that its strength was overwhelming, meaning any weakening the condition caused was negligible. Gaia continued slashing with her vines and trying to inflict any other conditions to hopefully slow or weaken it. By this point Stephanie had gotten a lucky shot in when it threw its spear at Gaia and broke the spear causing the monster to drop what remained of it. Now it was using its elastic appendages as spears and whips lashing out at everything around it making it hard for any to approach.


    Gaia was still fine and her barrier was still up thanks to Shadow¡¯s efforts. She had a bit more in her before she started taking some actual damage. It was at this point that one of the bronze rank parties finished off the monster they¡¯d been fighting and moved to assist. They approached cautiously as the monster¡¯s appendages frantically whipped around. One of the bronze ranks used a large shield and pushed into the maelstrom. Another right behind lashed out with their sword at the limbs and severed them as they slowly pushed closer to the monster. After around thirty seconds they reached the monster and the sword wielded slashed it¡¯s back making it turn and strike at him.


    The shield user blocked and the monster went to return its attention to Gaia, only for another member of the bronze rank group to strike it in the chest with an arrow. It stumbled back and was finished off by a blast of magic from another bronze rank. They all remained on guard for a moment before they confirmed its death. The bronze ranks then moved to assist the others to finish off the remaining monsters.


    Fauna on the other hand checked on each other. Griff and Gaia were going to have a few bruises, but were otherwise unharmed. They were lucky the monster they¡¯d been up against was focused on speed as opposed to damage. They all quickly hopped on Malachite¡¯s shell and he lifted everyone up and over the wall using his Telekinesis. The group sprawled out where they landed and just breathed while they rested for a bit. The fight had taken only a few minutes at most, but was still one of their most dangerous ones, especially since they¡¯d decided to distract it. The fighting all ended around five minutes later as all of the bronze rank parties convened to scout the area for any other monsters.


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    Fauna just stayed where they were and rested until one of the healers checked on them. They were then told to move since they were only bruised, so they did as they were told and headed towards the inn. Once they arrived they went to the girl¡¯s room and relaxed for a while. They were eventually called by the Guild Master about their assistance in the fight and their exploration. It was required that everyone who came back from exploration give a report or at least relay any relevant information, if they were able to. They reached the Guild Master¡¯s building around twenty minutes later as they were told there was no rush and many others were being called.


    ¡°Good to see you lot. Thanks for the assistance during the attack. What you did was reckless but honorable. Thank you. I will have someone prepare your payment for the fighting by tomorrow if that¡¯s alright. Now, for your exploration report if you don¡¯t mind.¡± She said.


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am. For our exploration today, we searched the central ring and believe we found the mechanism to open the gate to the second floor. We¡¯re not sure if it will be in the same spot in every ring, but we think we know what to look for in each ring.¡± Griff started.


    ¡°It¡¯s a large pedestal type structure, and when you climb on top, there¡¯s a basin with a hole in the center. We discovered, that if you fill the basin with a certain amount of monster blood, it will drain and light up one of the symbols on the door. We¡¯re not sure if they need to be done within a certain amount of time, but are positive we know what to look for now.¡± Stephanie finished.


    There was silence for a minute.


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me you figured out how to open the gate to the second floor? We¡¯ve had people searching for months and they haven¡¯t been able to figure anything out!¡± The Guild Master exclaimed.


    There was once again silence as the Guild Master regained their composure.


    ¡°Sorry for that outburst. Thank you for relaying the information. Do you have a map for the area or can you lead someone there tomorrow?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yes, we have a rudimentary map. I didn¡¯t spend much time trying to map it and instead just marked notable landmarks in their rough location. We can also take someone there tomorrow if you like, but today is our last rest day.¡± Griff replied as he pulled the map he¡¯d been making out and handed it to the Guild Master.


    ¡°You call this rudimentary? While it¡¯s not the best map I¡¯ve seen, it¡¯s pretty thorough and marks the important things. I¡¯ll send someone to follow this map and find the pedestal. Don¡¯t worry about tomorrow I¡¯ll let your captain know. How big is the pedestal and could you guess how deep the basin is?¡±


    ¡°The pedestal is around fifteen feet tall and is more similar to a pillar. The basin is a couple feet deep at its deepest point, excluding the central hole, and takes up the majority of the pedestal with only about three feet of flat stone at the edges. As for how to get monster blood up there we just lured a massive number there and had Gaia bleed them with her condition. It took multiple hours to complete though.¡± Fergus stated.


    ¡°Ok. I feel a bit better about our guys missing it, if it looks like a pillar. Thank you. I¡¯ll have someone join you tomorrow morning so you can show them what to look for. For now, enjoy the rest of your day.¡± The Guild Master said as she dismissed them.


    Fauna left and went to relax. Their shift was changing back to overnight this coming week so they expected to be exhausted for its entirety. They didn¡¯t mind showing someone the mechanism they¡¯d found as it meant the other explorers could find them in the other rings. It also meant it was less likely they¡¯d be required to fill all of the mechanisms themselves, or at least they hoped so. Just filling one had taken hours so the thought of doing another seven gave them a sense of resignation.


    The rest of the day passed quickly with the party getting absorbed in their personal hobbies or napping. The next day started early so they could show the explorer what to look for and gave the explorers time to actually search the rings. They met the explorer at the Guild Master¡¯s building, and it was Edrahni. They quickly moved to the ruins and showed him the mechanism they found which hadn¡¯t changed much from what they¡¯d seen. Edrahni hopped on top of it and searched around it while sketching the entire time. After around ten minutes of studying and drawing he closed his book and thanked Fauna for their assistance. They all then swiftly returned to the guild master, who took the book from Edrahni and studied the drawings.


    ¡°Have these shown to all the explorers and let them know to mark the location of any of these on their maps. This will make finding the others mechanisms much quicker, but I doubt we¡¯ll be able to fill them as efficiently as you guys. So, if you you don¡¯t mind would you be willing to fill any we come across during your next exploration?¡± The Guild Master asked.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Gaia replied. At this reply her companions nodded since it was her condition that would allow them to speed up the process.


    ¡°Wonderful. I¡¯ll have some explorers focus on searching for anything similar to the pillar you found. We should have at least one found by the end of the week.¡± The Guild Master finished happily.


    Fauna left a few minutes later after realizing they weren¡¯t needed any longer. The week passed quickly with the occasional monster attack and it was time for their exploration again. They met with the Guild Master after dinner one night and she relayed that they¡¯d found what they believed to be two more of the mechanisms. It looked like their next day off would be a slog of luring and bleeding monsters.


    On their first day off they spent most of the morning and afternoon traveling to the areas the pedestals were found. They had Edrahni guiding them, so they reached the areas relatively quickly. They floated up on Malachite and determined it was indeed the same as the one they¡¯d found. They relayed this to Edrahni and they prepared to lure and bleed monsters. The first mechanism took about three hours to fill thanks to the smaller area of the ring. The second one they found took longer.


    The size of each ring grew exponentially as they got further from the center. Therefore, there were more monsters which was good, but they were also more spread out. This made luring the monsters they needed both easier and harder. Harder because they needed to lure them from farther away, but easier because they would usually get larger groups on each trip. It mainly made the process take much longer. What took them about three hours, turned to five, due to the distance they had to travel to find the monsters.


    Just filling those two took them a majority of the day with the travel between them. It was good that they now had completed three of the eight mechanisms, but there were still five to go. They also expected it to take the scouts that were searching for the other pedestals at least a month to find the other five mechanisms. They just had a massive area they needed to search to find the other mechanisms. It was now just a waiting game for the mechanisms to be found. Then there was the time-consuming task of filling the pedestals with monster blood.


    The party continued their search of the ruins rings on one of their off days to pass the time and help with the search. Even with the other explorers and scouts searching it took them around five weeks to find four of the five remaining mechanisms. There was just one left which was in the outermost ring. This was also the largest ring making the search area expansive. The last one was found after another three weeks making this search last for more than two months just for the mechanisms. This commission was looking like it would be for a much longer period than they originally planned.


    A few days after the last mechanism had been found Fauna was on their first day off of the week and had just finished filling it. As the monster blood drained, there was a loud crack and the sound of scraping. Fauna rushed to the area where the gate was and found the gate slowly opening. Where Gaia had sensed the water drop symbols there was a massive jagged crack down the center that was slowly being pulled apart. The scraping was from the gigantic doors being pulled into the sides of the frame and after a few minutes of the cacophony the gate was wide open.


    What she could sense beyond was a large room that expanded beyond her field¡¯s range. The front half was circular with a flat floor that extended for most of the room. When they entered she sensed one thing in the middle of the room. A hulking twenty-foot-tall figure stood in the center, still as stone. The figure appeared to be a statue of a giant with a large sword in it hands with its blade pointing downwards like it was guarding the path forward.


    Gaia wasn¡¯t sure what to make of it, but if she had to guess it could either be the guardian monster or just a piece of art to spruce up a safe spot between floors. If she had to bet on it she¡¯d bet the former. Fauna cautiously approached the statue, expecting an attack, but nothing happened. They moved passed it expecting a response but there was none. Gaia finally had the idea to touch the statue and this was when there was a response. The statue broke and dissolved into dust. Once the statue was gone, a small circle of mana condensed where it had been and something popped out, based on the sound of something hitting the ground. Griff made his way over and checked what had appeared.


    ¡°A box?¡± Griff asked to no one in particular.


    ¡°Can you open it?¡± Gaia asked excitedly.


    ¡°Yeah, give me a minute. I¡¯m gonna see if there are any traps on it.¡± He replied.


    There was silence for a few minutes as Griff checked in every way he could for traps. There weren¡¯t any on or in it.


    ¡°Looks safe. You want to open it?¡± Griff asked Gaia.


    ¡°Yeah!¡± She replied eagerly and took the box. The box wasn¡¯t large and was only about a six inch wide cube. She fumbled around on it for a bit before finding the latch and swinging it open. As she reached inside, she felt something and she pushed her mana into it to analyze it.


    Necklace of the Grimsword ¨C Magical item. When worn the wearer can harmonize with it to gain the resilience of a Grim Giant. This effect lasts for one minute. Can be used once per day.


    ¡°That¡¯s really cool. It¡¯s a necklace that says you can gain the resilience of a Grim Giant for a minute, once a day. Do you know what that means?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°What? I don¡¯t know about grim giants, but I know most true giants are extremely resistant to certain types of mana. It¡¯s part of the reason they¡¯re so difficult to deal with. If I¡¯m understanding what the item does, whoever wears it will gain the giants resistance to that mana type.¡± Griff explained.


    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s a coincidence that it¡¯s right before the Sinew Horror¡¯s floor or what? I feel like it would be too convenient for it to give a resistance to Miasma. Then again, that could be the exact reason it¡¯s here.¡± Stephanie said.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ll find out at some point. Honestly, I say we give it to one of the bronze rank parties and let them figure out the second floor. I don¡¯t want to go down there.¡± Fergus added.


    After this the party went back to the camp and met with Delilah, the Guild Master. They relayed that the gate was open to the second floor and what they found. They also asked if the bronze rank parties could deal with the second floor. Due to their experiences with it, the Guild Master gave the order for the search to start and for the holy attributed healer to be on standby.


    The next couple weeks passed by with the usual monster attacks and emergencies, and surprisingly the scouts had figured out how to access the third floor. It required three things to happen. One was to charge eight orbs with miasma. The second, for the Sinew Horror to be on land. Finally, for the Sinew Horror to be killed. They discovered this in an old tome found in one of the rooms in the wall of the floor.


    It also had one suggestion for how to damage the Sinew Horror. The plants needed to be gone and no one could use miasma, or poison mana around it. These two mana types would help heal and replenish its reserves causing it to be functionally immortal. It also suggested mana less fresh water but that was impossible to get. This meant Gaia was out of the picture for the fight and that Griff along with Gaia had to enter the floor to charge the orbs. This next floor would be complicated and dangerous for everyone involved, but they finally had an idea on how to progress.


    The next week after the discovery of the tome was pandemonium. The scouts focused on finding the orbs that needed to be charged since they were the most important part. They had also discovered the use of the necklace. It gave whoever activated it near immunity to miasma for a minute. The bronze rank parties were preparing for the plan while Gaia and Griff were preparing to go back to the floor. The thought of reentering the floor caused them major discomfort. They had both been injured by the Sinew Horror and were now essentially forced to go back if the commission was to progress. They readied their minds as best they could and soon it was time for the plan to be executed.


    The Guild Master had everyone joining the operation meet at the main square. There were two bronze rank parties prepared. One was Legion due to Douglas¡¯ ability to hold a monster¡¯s attention while the other was one from the Journeyman¡¯s Guild. After everyone had gathered she addressed everyone.


    ¡°Thank you to everyone participating in this operation. It¡¯s dangerous, but necessary to continue the commission. I hope everyone is prepared for what is to come. As long as we stick to the plan we should all come out relatively unharmed. We also have our holy attribute healer joining us and will be nearby to heal anyone if needed. Now, let us take down the abomination ruling this next floor!¡±


    There were shouts and cheers from all of the participants of the operation at the Guild Master¡¯s last words. Then, as the people quieted, the group moved towards the ruins and the site of the upcoming battle with the Sinew Horror.

 Chapter Thirty-One

    The operation had four main groups. One consisted of Legion who were the ones given the task of dealing with the Sinew Horror. Gaia had given them the necklace since they would be dealing with the miasma. The second consisted of mages and fire mana users who would be burning the plants on the island. This group also had the holy attribute healer so he could be nearby to heal any miasma during the operation. They would move in with Legion and start burning the plants from the moment they reach the ground. This way they could clear an area when Legion entered, and they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the Sinew Horror targeting them. The third consisted of Stephanie and Griff with a couple bronze rank hunters. Flora split up so Jess and Francois were going with them along with a bronze rank defender similar to Douglas. The fourth group consisted of Fergus, Gaia, Titania, John and another bronze rank defender for safety.


    Gaia and Griff¡¯s groups would be moving in together about fifteen minutes after Legion to ensure they had the Sinew Horrors attention. They would immediately move towards the orbs while being guided by a scout once they entered and charge the orbs as quickly as possible. Both groups were responsible for four orbs and had a flare like magic tool to indicate they¡¯d completed charging the orbs. Once the flares were activated it indicated that it was time to deal with the Sinew Horror and the other teams would retreat before the other bronze ranks went to assist Legion.


    There were also contingencies for if things went wrong, which Gaia assumed they would. They never seemed to work perfectly because something always changed. With as many different parts this plan had it was expected that something would go wrong. These thoughts passed through her head as the group participating entered the first floor of the ruins. They swiftly reached the passage down which they had discovered consisted of a large longboat type ship at the back of the room the statue had been in. The back third of the room consisted of calm water until it reached the back wall where it flowed downwards.


    The first two groups hopped on the boat and it started moving as oars were pushed out and rowed without anyone touching them. The ship soon disappeared as it reached the edge of the slope and picked up speed. After about five minutes of waiting another longboat appeared rowing itself up the slope and stopping where the other had been before it moved. There was another five minutes of nervous silence before someone finally spoke.


    ¡°Looks like it¡¯s about time. You guys be safe. I know this is going to be hard with what we¡¯ve already dealt with on this floor, but we won¡¯t need to be there long.¡± Gaia stated as she pulled Stephanie and Griff into a hug.


    ¡°You guys too. I know we don¡¯t have much to worry about with these guys with us. I¡¯m more worried about you, since you won¡¯t be able to use your mana field.¡± Griff replied.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got this one to keep me going the right way and my bonds to help guide and protect us too.¡± She said motioning to Fergus.


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep this one safe.¡± Stephanie said poking Griff.


    This devolved into petty squabbles which helped everyone relax a bit. After another couple minutes Titania spoke up.


    ¡°It¡¯s time you guys. Everyone ready?¡± She asked.


    There were a variety of yeps and yeahs as the groups boarded the longboat. The travel started after a moment with roars magically rowing the ship to the slope. Once it reached the edge it tipped forwards and gravity did the rest. The ship picked up speed as it barreled down the slope until a minute later it broke passed the cliff. The oars popped back out and it rowed itself through the air. It was at this point Gaia retracted her mana field just to be safe and not accidentally interfere with Legion and the fight. From what she felt the boat flew quickly and was quite smooth. She didn¡¯t notice anything until they were on the water¡¯s surface again.


    ¡°You guys be safe.¡± She said as she got up to hop off the boat.


    ¡°Same to you guys.¡± Stephanie replied as she hopped off the ship.


    They had Gaia and Fergus holding hands to ensure she knew what direction to go. There was also a rope tied around their arms to ensure she could move the correct way if they somehow got separated a bit. As they moved Gaia heard fire burning in the distance and the clangs of something hitting metal. She also heard the distant sound of something sizzling which worried her.


    Her group quickly moved into the water after about a minute of walking along the shore. The travel in water was difficult since she couldn¡¯t swim even if she wanted to. They moved as quickly as possible towards the first orb while Titania and John focused on dealing with any monsters that attacked. The other bronze rank was focused on protecting Fergus and Gaia in case of an ambush. They were moving relatively quickly and reached the first orb after a couple minutes. Gaia started pushing some miasma into it and sensed the orb slowly fill up with mana. The orb was full around ten minutes later and they moved to the next one.


    They were accosted by a few monsters as they went and were trying to stay underwater for as long as possible. The scouts had discovered that anything on the surface or breaching the water attracted the monsters much more than if they stayed on the floor. This was going to be a problem for Fauna as they were only stone rank and couldn¡¯t hold their breath for more than thirty minutes. This meant after the next orb they would need to surface for air. This was more of a problem since Gaia couldn¡¯t swim up and they had decided on keeping her bonds in their tattoos to minimize their group. The main reason was that the bigger the group the more monsters would notice them and attack.


    They reached the second orb after fifteen of travel due to monster attacks. This was when Gaia really needed to breathe. She could feel the rope tied to Fergus tighten as he swam up and took a breath. She was about to pass out due to the exertion of the travel and mana use without being able to breathe, so she wasn¡¯t sure if she imagined what came next or not. Just as she was going to call Malachite out due to necessity, she felt Fergus grab her and kiss her. More he shared his breath with her, but didn¡¯t have time to think about what came to her mind, so she filled the orb and continued to the next one.


    After another hour and four more shared breaths, as she couldn¡¯t hold her breath as long since there was less oxygen when sharing a breath like this, they had finished charging their four orbs. Titania swam up and fired off their signal flare. This attracted some more monsters and the group dealt with them as they moved towards land. When they reached it, and were no longer submerged, Gaia and Fergus were taking deep breaths. After a minute for recovery Gaia brought Malachite out and they hopped on his shell to return to the longboat they came in on. As they reached about the halfway point to the boat, they saw and heard the signal flare for Griff¡¯s group.


    They reached the boat about an hour later, as the orbs didn¡¯t encompass the entire island instead covering just the front half. When they reached the boat, Titania and John split off to help Legion while the scout and defender stayed to protect Gaia and Fergus. Around two hours later, Griff and Stephanie arrived with the former carrying the later. When they arrived, Jess and Francois split off to assist Legion as well while Fauna and the defenders hopped on the longboat.


    Gaia could hear the fighting going on in the distance between Legion, Flora and the Sinew Horror. While they had been running back to the boat she hadn¡¯t heard as much fighting which she guessed meant they were moving around to conserve energy. The fewer attacks they had to take during the charging of the orbs, meant they weren¡¯t injured for the actual fight. As they were flying up the sound of the fighting grew more distant, but the worry for their friends and family who were fighting continued to grow.


    Even after they reached the first floor they couldn¡¯t stop their worries from rising. They were all a big bundle of nerves since they weren¡¯t sure if their friends would be alright. Their minds raced through all the worse case scenarios which only made their anxiety worsen. It wasn¡¯t until two hours later and their friends returning unscathed that they breathed a sigh of relief. They hadn¡¯t gotten injured outside of a few scrapes and any miasma that had infected them was healed immediately. When Legion and Flora returned, the participants waited for them to speak.


    ¡°The Sinew Horror has been killed! Now, it¡¯s time for the easier part. To find the way down!¡± Douglas exclaimed as Stephanie tackled him in a hug.


    Fergus did the same for Titania as the entire group cheered at the success. Each one of the participants that went to the second floor was checked by the healers just to be safe. Luckily, no one had been exposed to any miasma for long so there weren¡¯t any lasting effects, unlike Griff and Gaia had. After the checkup everyone started back towards the camp. They were all in high spirits after the success and after returning everyone celebrated. When Legion went to tell what happened, everyone around got quiet and listened to the tale. Flora jumped in every now and again to add their own viewpoint to the tale. Everyone was enthralled by the story and enjoyed the celebration.


    Things didn¡¯t calm down until the next day as people partied the entire night. Fauna, Flora, and Legion had the day off due to participating, whether it was originally scheduled off or not. They all woke up a bit later than usual, but still early enough to get breakfast. The main difference was that Gaia and Fergus were the only ones not hungover. Griff had been pulled into drinking with Francois and Stephanie had been pulled into it by Douglas, after he was already drunk. Gaia had had to carry Stephanie back to their room while Fergus did the same for Griff. For the two that were sober, it had been quite an entertaining night. Griff and Francois had started singing some song, extremely loudly and out of tune. Stephanie had passed out almost immediately which was quite a sight.


    This morning was just as entertaining. Griff was usually put together and proper, but fumbled his way to the mess hall this morning. Stephanie was half asleep and leaning on Gaia while grumbling about not drinking with her dad again. Gaia chuckled at this as they waited in line for breakfast. They sat to eat with Legion and Flora who were also slumped at their seats dealing with the after effects of the previous night.


    ¡°I told you, you need to not drink so much. You always have a terrible hangover when you do.¡± Fergus teased Titania.


    ¡°Shut up.¡± Titania replied.


    ¡°Sorry, but did you drink so much you can¡¯t even come up with a come back? It¡¯s not fun when it¡¯s like that.¡± Fergus replied.


    ¡°Fine.¡± She replied. There was momentary pause before she continued. ¡°That¡¯s rich coming from someone who finally had their first kiss. And all it took was a life or death situation.¡± She replied a bit harshly but trying to tease him.


    There was silence for a moment before she spoke again.


    ¡°Aww, what? Was it so magical that you can¡¯t speak?¡± She teased a moment later.


    There was silence for a while as Gaia could feel her cheeks warm with what was undoubtably a very visible blush. She guessed Fergus probably was too from the others reactions.


    ¡°What? We missed it?¡± Griff and Stephanie exclaimed teasingly as well.


    There were a couple other awws and oohs from the others before Titania spoke again.


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    ¡°Sorry. That was a bit mean, but y¡¯all have been together for a while. It was about time.¡±


    ¡°Okay. So how did it happen?¡± Stephanie whispered to Gaia.


    The teasing and excited questions, like Stephanie asked, continued for a while before everyone realized it was more of a necessity. Gaia still considered it as one, which was obvious from how her blush just deepened whenever someone asked her about it. It wasn¡¯t until after breakfast that everyone was satisfied by their answers and dropped the topic.


    The rest of the day was spent doing their own things. They all did their usual individual things. Gaia spent more time in her little garden. Griff read through some more of his books. Stephanie was in her portable forge working on her rifle and tinkering. Fergus was whittling and talking to his sister who kept trying to apologize much to his amusement. From the time breakfast ended Fergus and Gaia couldn¡¯t meet each others eyes without blushing until it was dinner time. The others all got a kick out of the heartwarming and innocent couple. They all reconvened to enjoy dinner and talk about their plans going forward.


    ¡°We¡¯re planning to continue exploring the ruins, right?¡± Griff asked after everyone finished eating.


    ¡°Yeah. If everyone else is up for it.¡± Gaia replied.


    ¡°Yep.¡± Stephanie and Fergus added their responses.


    ¡°Alright. Then I think we should all try and find out some more about Xerios and the demons that are tied to it. The more we know the better prepared we will likely be. Do you guys agree?¡± Griff asked.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Everyone replied.


    ¡°Then I think we should try and talk to the Guild Master. She seemed to know more about the myth. Shall we try and catch her now or try in the morning?¡± He asked.


    ¡°We can try now. I think she¡¯ll probably be busy tomorrow getting ready to scout the third floor.¡± Fergus said.


    The party got up and moved towards the Guild Master¡¯s building. They arrived about twenty minutes later, as they weren¡¯t in a hurry, to find the Guild Master sitting at a desk with three chairs waiting.


    ¡°Ah. You¡¯re here, good. I figured you¡¯d be coming to talk to me either tonight or tomorrow. Feel free to take a seat. Sorry, Gaia I kinda figured you¡¯d be on Malachite. I can grab another chair if you want. I¡¯m guessing this is about the myth? What do you want to know, I¡¯ll help as best I can.¡± She stated.


    ¡°No need.¡± Gaia replied as she climbed on Malachite¡¯s shell and he grew just large enough for her throne to form for her.


    ¡°We wanted to know as much as you could tell us about Xerios and, if possible, as much about the demons tied to it as you can.¡± Griff replied.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you as much as I know. It¡¯ll take a while though. We can do this in the morning if you want. I can make sure to have time set aside for it.¡± She stated.


    ¡°Whenever would be better for you. We should have tomorrow free as well.¡± Stephanie said.


    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s go through it now then. So, what I know is..¡± the Guild Master started.


    The Guild Master went into as much detail as she could and prefaced it with the fact that everything she stated was derived from the myth. This meant that it could be true or could be exaggerated for all she knew, but she was relaying what she knew. First for the myth, all of the demon¡¯s races vowed to serve the eternal lord for eternity after their kings or rulers submitted to him, leading them to follow him and create the capital, Xerios. This capital consisted of nine layers, each of which was created by one of the races that followed the Eternal Lord. The deepest layer was for the Eternal Lord himself, but he had a palace that extended the entirety of the layers, from what was said in the myth, at least.


    The first two layers or floors were already dealt with, so she left them out of her explanation, for the most part, and started going into detail on the third floor. The main things for the first two floors were the names of the floors. The first was known as Grimheim, the city of the Grim Giants. The second was called the Abyssal Loch, home of the Sinew Horror.


    The third was known as the Lush Forest, home of the Verdant Colossus. The Verdant Colossus was a massive plant monster that never had the same shape. It was believed to be made up of hundreds of different plants that were connected. They couldn¡¯t be burned and whenever parts were cut, they regrew nearly instantly. This creature was believed to be one of the most dangerous due to its rapid regrowth. It was finally dealt with by an army of thousands who systematically cut it down over the course of a year. Each day they would slash at it and have their soldiers rotate to continuously attack it. They had tried poisons as well which had some effect but couldn¡¯t output enough to counteract the regeneration. The layer was believed to be a massive forest with hundreds of plants that were constantly growing to the point of overgrowth and taking up every inch of the floor.


    The fourth layer was called Nufnerbeld, the Sea of the dead and home of the Spectre. The Spectre was a type of undead monster similar to a wraith. It was known for attacking a person¡¯s spirit directly. It was unable to be damaged by any kind of physical attack and most magical attacks as well. Whenever it killed a creature, it would raise its spirit as a wraith under its command to attack for it. It was believed to have no limit to the number of wraiths it could command. It was finally killed by a group of mages that sacrificed their lives to strike it with spiritual attacks that caused it to dissipate. The layer was made of stone and was a wasteland with no light or plants.


    The fifth layer was known as Jorthonir, home of the Oni. The Oni was a creature that was odd when compared to the others. It wasn¡¯t as strong as the Gargantuan Destroyer and had a major weakness. It could easily be damaged by blades, but it was extremely skillful in dealing with attacks. It used two weapons a wooden club and an iron rod that it alternated between one using to attack and one to defend. It was believed to be the weakest of the group until it was seen dodging and blocking with a swiftness uncommon of its stature. It was extremely fast, but when truly struck with a blade easily dealt with. The layer was a town more akin to a castle¡¯s dungeon than a city, with chains and cells filling the majority.


    The sixth layer was known as the Wilds, home of the Wendigo. The Wendigo was creature similar to the Sinew Horror in that it was nearly immortal. Its specialty, however, was in hunting. It could hunt creatures over any distance and was known for its gluttony. It specifically targeted humanoid creatures for food and could possess people to make them murder others. The main ways for one who was being hunted by it to determine its distance was by its distinctive howl and its foul stench. The closer it was, the further its howl would sound, while if you could smell the stench of death and rotting meat you were done for. It was finally killed after someone discovered its den and burned it to the ground destroying whatever kept the creature alive. The layer consisted of a vast wilderness with thousands of creatures that rapidly spread to counteract the Wendigo¡¯s gluttony.


    The Seventh layer was the Toxic Swamp, home of the Basilisk. The Basilisk was a creature that was nearly impossible to get close to. It constantly let out an extremely potent poison that killed and eroded whatever was around it. Everywhere it went turned into a toxic waste that caused large areas to become uninhabitable and killed everything within a couple hundred feet of it. It was extremely weak physically though. This allowed someone who had a poison immunity ability to kill it without issue, but everything they had was turned to a poisonous goop in doing so. The best way to deal with it based on this, was to try and purify its poison to get close and kill it.


    The eighth layer was called Malhavia, the fortress of the Draug. The draugr were paradoxical creatures. They were both living and undead, which was believed to be impossible until they were discovered. They survived without the need to eat, sleep, or even breathe. They were also known to have no lifespan making them ageless creatures, but were able to reproduce like regular humanoids. This caused them to tirelessly work on techniques and obtaining knowledge. They were an honorable species that held honor above all else and did not do anything to tarnish it. They were well known for dueling anyone who challenged them and were ruthless in the battlefield. There were no best ways to deal with a Draugr as they were masters of every weapon and whichever combat style they chose, while still being well trained in most other types of combat.


    The ninth layer was called the Sanctum, the Eternal Lord¡¯s personal area. Little was known about the Eternal Lord outside of the fact he was the king of the demons and had attempted to ascend, but failed. He was rarely seen and never personally attacked, instead sending his demons out in his stead. He had complete control over the demons and could do as he wished without repercussions within his domain. It was believed that the reason he began a war was to conquer the world to gain more power. As for his ascension, little is known about what happened, but his failure was somehow confirmed. His failed attempt to ascend was believed to be connected to his failure to conquer the world.


    This information was told to them over the course of few hours as the party asked questions and tried to get clarification on the things they didn¡¯t understand. A lot of the information was vague and didn¡¯t have any in depth description for the layers and instead focused on the demons, which was helpful, but wasn¡¯t as useful since there was no guarantee they would have to deal with the demons like on the second floor. If they did the information would be extremely important, but for all they knew the third floor could just have numerous plant monsters that acted individually. Even then, they would have to uncover the puzzle or mechanism to continue downwards which could have nothing to do with the demons that lived on that layer.


    The way to open the path down was different on the two floors they¡¯d already completed, which was likely an indication they¡¯d be different for each floor. With the new information and the possibilities for its usefulness being questionable due to the differences they¡¯d already discovered, Fauna went back to the inn. The explanation and following question and answer session lasted for quite a while and it was now quite late. As they approached the inn they saw the overnight watch eating their lunch, meaning it was likely after midnight. They quickly moved to their respective rooms and went to sleep.


    The next few days were relatively uneventful with only a few large monster attacks. The most interesting one was by a creature that no one could physically see and the only reason they realized it was attacking was due to Gaia. The creature was odd. It didn¡¯t seem to have a set form and it undulated like a blob, but seemed to solidify into a quadrupedal animal regularly. It wasn¡¯t until Gaia told the others about it and Fergus fired an arrow where she noticed it that she finally got a sense of its actual form. This was also when it¡¯s invisibility ended and the others could actually see it.


    The monster was a large ferret. It could veil itself in mana to make it invisible to the naked eye, but when sensed using mana, it stood out. Its mana veil also wasn¡¯t perfect as Gaia could sense its true form randomly as it moved. After it had its veil dropped it was swiftly dealt with by Fergus and Stephanie pelting it with bullets and arrows. The incident did cause the defenders to post a mage to each wall to periodically sense mana for such beings going forward.


    It wasn¡¯t until their first regular day off for the week that they saw Legion again and they discovered that the Sinew Horror dropped an item, just like the statue from the first floor. Legion hadn¡¯t done anything with it since they couldn¡¯t identify it and it was quite sinister. When Gaia asked them about it they hesitated for a moment before showing it to her to analyze. The item was a thin strip made from bone and muscle with an unnatural chill to it. She quickly pushed some mana into it, but was rebuffed and instead pushed some miasma into it, which worked.


    Horror¡¯s Guard ¨C Bonding Item. A choker created from the spine bones and muscle of a Sinew Horror. Creates the Sinewweaver¡¯s Breastplate when infused with Miasma. The Sinewweaver¡¯s Breastplate creates Miasmic bursts whenever struck with an attack dealing Miasmic damage to the attacker. When the infused miasma is used up by bursts, it reverts to the Horror¡¯s Guard until infused again.


    Gaia just giggled at the text on the screen for a moment before telling everyone what it did. Legion was a bit disappointed since it was an item they wouldn¡¯t be able to use and likely not one anyone, but Gaia or Griff could use. They decided to give it to Fauna, they tried to give it to them for free, but Fauna insisted they paid them at least a little bit for it. They finally came to an agreement of twenty stone cores for it, after both sides argued over the price. Fauna wanted to pay more, but Legion refused to take anymore. The way Legion saw it, the better equipped Fauna was the less likely it was for them, or more importantly, their daughter, to get hurt or killed.


    After leaving Legion with their new item, which was given to Griff as he didn¡¯t have any strong chest armor, the party made their way to the ruins at a leisurely pace. They weren¡¯t planning on sprinting through and trying to search the third floor in any case. They were planning to travel down and find the way down. They¡¯d take a look at the third floor but weren¡¯t planning on tackling it in any meaningful way. They just wanted to see what it would likely contain from a cursory glance without actually entering it yet.


    They reached the second floor around noon after picking up their pace a bit on the first floor when monsters continuously attacked them. If just got annoying so they hopped on Malachite¡¯s shell and he moved through the first floor quickly. After reaching the second floor, they found the way down quite quickly. It was in the meadow by a large pillar that stretched from the floor to the ceiling that hadn¡¯t been there when they had first entered the floor. When they approached the path down, they saw a tunnel reaching into the pillar and when they entered it they saw it led to the massive hole from the surface. It also now had stairs going down to the second floor. They took note of this and went to the entrance to the third floor. This would their first glance at what awaited them, so they made their way downwards.

 Chapter Thirty-Two

    The path downward was a long staircase that extended further than they could see and took much longer than they expected. The stairs to the first floor only took about five minutes as did the travel from the first to the second floor by the magical longboats. They had expected the path to take a similar amount of time, but they didn¡¯t see or sense any differences in the path until thirty minutes had passed. This was when they started to notice roots covering small areas of the steps and it wasn¡¯t until another half hour had passed that they could feel a breeze from ahead.


    The entire staircase after the roots started was slowly dominated by plants and roots until the entirety from floor to ceiling was covered by roots and vines. The party could tell the end was near as they saw a source of light that was bright through a wall of plant life. The breeze continued to get stronger as they reached the shroud of leaves and vines. Gaia couldn¡¯t sense anything beyond the wall which was odd, but she guessed it had to do with the fact it was the entrance to a floor.


    Griff moved to the front and pushed some of the vines out of the way after activating all of his armor and gauntlets. Nothing happened and the party got a view on the other side. Gaia¡¯s field could pass through now that the wall had been moved, so she got an idea for how it looked.


    The area just inside the entrance was a clearing with a small spring bubbling at its center from a stone. The stone was only about three feet high with water bubbling at the top into a very small natural basin and flowed down the sides creating a small pond. The pond extended for a dozen feet before ending with a single creek flowing languidly from it, away from the entrance. The clearing was about a hundred feet in diameter had short grass with a couple bushes dotted throughout and was surrounded by enormous trees. The trees lined the perimeter of the clearing with vines hanging to the floor and smaller trees within the shaded overgrowth. The clearing seemed to be the only place not overgrown with everything surrounding it fighting to grow higher or over growing filling the spaces between trees completely. It was almost like a wall of vegetation surrounded the clearing without encroaching on it.


    The party stayed behind the curtain of plants, while Griff stepped out to check its safety. He took a few wary steps before walking normally around the clearing a few times. He even sent a ranged kick at the wall of plants surrounding it to test for lurking monsters. After not getting a reaction, he motioned for the others to join him. They moved into the clearing and Gaia could feel the warmth of a light that seemed to be as bright as regular sunlight. She could also feel the grass which was soft to the touch and moved slightly with a constant breeze.


    The clearing seemed to be a kind of safe area for lack of a better term. She didn¡¯t believe it to be completely safe since they were in a set of ruins, but that was the feeling she got from the area. The breeze was constant keeping it cool, but not cold. The grass was soft and she wanted to lay down in it, but kept herself from doing so, at least for now. The pond was shallow only around a foot deep with the stone being on a small shelf just above the pond¡¯s surface. Malachite, upon seeing the pond, dashed towards it and shrunk down before splashing into and swimming around it in his small form. Gaia moved that way and took a couple steps into the water. It was refreshingly cool and she went to check out the stone that the spring stemmed from.


    She reached it and realized the shelf it was on was actually just the floor of the ruins, which had curved up to make it flat. This made the small pond similar to a donut around the shelf. She dipped her hand in the water and brought it to her lips for a drink. It was just natural spring water with nothing added. Her companions were nearby in case the water was tainted in anyway so they could rush back for healing, but were relieved when they saw that nothing happened.


    ¡°It¡¯s just regular spring water guys. No need to be so tense. I feel like this spot is oddly calm, almost like the monsters on this floor can¡¯t enter it. I don¡¯t know why, but that¡¯s just the feeling it gives me.¡± Gaia stated.


    ¡°It does seem weirdly tranquil. I still don¡¯t trust that it¡¯s completely safe so we should still keep our guards up.¡± Griff replied.


    ¡°Yeah, but I get the same feeling that it¡¯s pretty safe.¡± Fergus added.


    ¡°Well, I say we stop here rest for a bit then head back. We got our first look at the third floor like we planned, right?¡± Stephanie asked.


    The others agreed and they rested for about half an hour. They were still on alert just in case the area wasn¡¯t safe, but nothing happened during the entire break. Then they travelled back up the long staircase and reached the second floor. They decided to take the new shortcut that appeared after clearing the floor and returned to the camp in about a third of the time it took when having to go through the first floor. As they returned, they stopped by the Guild Master¡¯s house to inform her about the possible safe zone.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve already sent some scouts into the third floor, but we think the entrance to the floor is a safe zone. We only stayed there for about a half hour, but nothing attacked us or moved into the area. There¡¯s also a clean water source in it as well.¡± Griff explained.


    ¡°We have sent some scouts in, but we haven¡¯t heard from them since they entered. I was going to send a rescue team in there in the morning. It¡¯s only been a day since they entered so I don¡¯t think they¡¯re dead. If it truly is a safe zone we can make a small encampment to resupply the rescue teams more easily. Did you go in enough to encounter any monsters?¡± She asked.


    ¡°No. We just went to the entrance to get a look at the floor. We noticed there wasn¡¯t anything in the area just inside, so we checked it out. We didn¡¯t go any further, but Griff did launch a couple attacks at the plants around it and didn¡¯t get a response. We were planning to try and go in a bit further tomorrow.¡± Stephanie replied.


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll start setting up a test for the safe area tonight. We should have an encampment and the rescue teams searching by midnight tonight, so we¡¯ll probably have a bit more information for you in the morning. Thank you for the information.¡± Delilah finished as Fauna left to continue their day.


    The party split up to do their own things as usual and met back up at dinner time. They enjoyed a meal and began to plan for their first true excursion into the third floor. They initially planned to cut their way into the plants, but Gaia asked if they should try her poison. If the plants were monsters or being controlled she guessed her poison might work. She wasn¡¯t completely sure if it would work on the plants unless they were monsters, but figured at worst it would just delay them a bit. At best it could allow them to travel through the jungle a lot easier. They agreed to at least try it first and planned to only search a small area around the safe zone to ensure they didn¡¯t get lost.


    After the discussion ended, they all headed to bed planning to get up early to begin their exploration. They awoke early the next morning and started heading to the ruins. They stopped by the Guild Master¡¯s house but couldn¡¯t find her so they continued on their way. The travel was relaxing as they didn¡¯t come across any monsters and went straight to the second floor. They immediately made their down the long passage leading to the third floor. The closer they got, the less they talked so they could be prepared in case anything had changed. They found the curtain of plants at the end of the passage and moved it aside to find the clearing very different than they had left it.


    Firstly, there were a couple groups of people within it. Secondly, there was a large tent to one side with a table inside. Finally, there was an area of the plant wall around the clearing that had been cut out. They approached the tent since Gaia could sense an iron rank was there, assuming it was the Guild Master. Her assumption was proven correct when she heard Delilah¡¯s voice from the area.


    ¡°What do you mean you can¡¯t find any trace of them? There were three groups of scouts sent in here, and we can¡¯t find any clue indicating that they were here?¡± She yelled angrily. There were a few moments of silence before she spoke again.


    ¡°Sorry. Didn¡¯t mean to take my anger out on you. Keep searching. We need to find our scouts.¡± She finished.


    The other person left immediately after and Delilah saw the party approaching.


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing the scouts are still missing? Do we have any info on the floor yet?¡± Griff asked.


    ¡°Yeah, sadly they¡¯re still missing. We have a bit of information for you though. The plants are all either monsters or being controlled by one. Some can blend in with the regular vegetation and attack using the element of surprise. We haven¡¯t found anything to indicate how to open the path to the fourth floor though, and we haven¡¯t searched very far. The plants continuously grow at an almost visible pace.¡± Delilah explained.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s more that we knew before. Is there a direction you haven¡¯t searched yet?¡± Fergus asked.


    ¡°Pick one. We¡¯ve really only been able search the direction our cut tunnel is in. If we don¡¯t constantly maintain it, it¡¯ll grow back cutting the search party off from us.¡± She replied.


    ¡°Alright. Which direction do we want to try?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try this way. Do we want to start by testing if Gaia¡¯s mana field works to clear the way, first?¡± Fergus asked as he gestured in a direction.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try it first and resort to cutting our way if it doesn¡¯t.¡± Griff replied.


    Fauna moved in the direction Fergus indicated and sat down around twenty feet from the clearings edge. Gaia pushed her mana field out to its full area covering a little over a hundred feet. She then focused on the field and tried to sense any monsters within. There were a couple, but none that were close to the clearing. She then tried to poison everything with her field aside from the people. She¡¯d never tried this before as there was never a need to do so before now.


    It was difficult to pull off and took her around two hours to figure out how to do so. Her companions were getting bored and had already started cutting a small tunnel into the plants. She¡¯d let them know she was trying something so when they noticed the plants start to slightly wither they knew she¡¯d succeeded at whatever she was trying. She had figured out a way for her mana field to poison things even if they weren¡¯t monsters.


    It was easy to do now that she had it figured out. All she had to do was create a list of what the poison should effect. Like if she wanted plants to be effected she added it to the list and her poison would start stacking on all of the plant life within the field. She could also remove things from the list with a thought meaning she could add and remove things whenever she wanted. She also discovered she can choose to have the poison effect anything that held ill will towards her. Like if someone was about to attack her without her knowledge, her poison would start stacking on them the moment her instincts labeled them as a threat. It was almost overpowered since her poison could start effecting a monster before it even attacked from stealth.


    Her poison took a bit to work, but was still much faster than trying to cut a tunnel. It took about half an hour for everything within her field to wither, leaving a large area the party could cut and search through. As her companions searched the area she created she moved in and started the process again. The plants killed by her poison regrew extremely slowly even after she¡¯d moved past it making the area explorable with minimal effort.


    The difference in time wasn¡¯t massive, but they didn¡¯t need to worry about continuously maintaining a tunnel. Since their idea worked, they decided to slowly progress through the floor and have Gaia sit by the edge of her current clearing and ramp up her poison. This meant they needed to wait about a quarter hour before moving again. It seemed her poison was very effective against the plant life as it worked quicker on them than most monsters. Her poison usually grew stronger much slower and didn¡¯t cause the enemies to show any signs of it, but the plants showed signs almost immediately. The only reason it took so long was the sheer number of them, making the process take longer due to the sheer volume.


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    The plants would usually regrow within a couple minutes, requiring constant maintenance for the tunnels, but the plants affected by her poison didn¡¯t fully regrow even after an hour had passed. They had definitely grown back a bit, but to a much lesser extent. They continued this way for the rest of the day without much progress. They had to stop a few times since poisoning so many things constantly required a lot of mental energy and put a strain on Gaia.


    The day passed by quickly and soon it was time for Fauna to head back to the camp. They talked to the Guild Master for a bit relaying what they discovered which she was excited to hear. She was especially happy to find out how well Gaia¡¯s poison worked in the plants. It had worked so well that the other groups had eventually asked if they could search the areas that Gaia had cleared. Fauna wasn¡¯t being overly observant in the areas they cleared, instead focusing on keeping Gaia safe as she had to stay in a small area for short periods. She focused on poisoning everything while her companions searched the area for anything that could give them a clue in the way downward.


    They weren¡¯t really looking for the scouts, but kept an eye out in case they found something. They didn¡¯t focus on that though so they likely had missed something without realizing. They left the other groups to focus on the rescue and researching how long it took for the plants to completely regrow. They returned to the camp around two hours later. They hadn¡¯t been rushing and instead took a slow pace since Gaia was exhausted. They wanted her to relax and not overdo it so they leisurely walked back to the camp. They didn¡¯t come across any monsters and thankfully didn¡¯t hear the warning bells from the camp.


    After returning to camp and Gaia checking in on her garden. She always seemed to relax more when she was in her garden, which the others were thankful for after she had strained her brain all day. They all relaxed for a bit and told some stories until dinner time. They told Flora and Legion about their exploration for the day and eventually made their way to bed.


    The next week passed by quickly. For their last day off they¡¯d spent it relaxing and doing their own things. The biggest change was that Stephanie had finally figured out how to create a magazine for her rifle. She was now able to fire much quicker than before and didn¡¯t need to reload as often, reloading was also much quicker too. Their days on watch were uneventful without any major attacks and instead just had a few stone rank monsters come close. These were quickly dealt with by Fergus and Stephanie as needed. When their next free day came up, they prepared to delve back into the third floor.


    Their first delve was fruitless, with them not discovering anything. This time they planned to move as quickly as possible while still having Gaia poison the plants for a while. They wanted to try and figure out whatever it was they needed to accomplish in order to continue to the next floor. The day passed by both quickly and slowly. The time passed slowly since they had to wait for Gaia¡¯s poison to stack enough to kill the plants, but as soon as they could move they meticulously searched the areas she cleared. Due to their enhanced senses the searching didn¡¯t take very long and they tended to finish the search of an area around the time Gaia finished clearing another area.


    This delve was almost fruitless as well, but they found some traces of the scouts. This led to the entire rescue group converging on their area and asking them to continue clearing the area. They stayed on the floor clearing areas long into the night and the next day. It wasn¡¯t until what they guessed was noon of their second day that they found one of the scouts. They were still alive, but barely. The plant life had grown around and trapped them where they were. They had also fallen unconscious at some point after being trapped. It also looked like some of the plants had grown through them that would have made the extraction extremely difficult if not for Gaia¡¯s poison. They were able to extract them and heal them soon after without much problem.


    This scout relayed what they knew after waking up from the healing causing a new slew of requests to clear different areas. Fauna did their best, but Gaia was the only one able to clear as large an area as they did. Stephanie tried her flamethrower to no avail. Fergus cut through some plants but only cleared a small tunnel about ten feet in. Griff tried his miasma which only worked a bit better than Fergus¡¯ attempt. This caused everyones hopes to fall on Gaia, making her even more stressed. The clearing of an area took a large toll on her mind and the continuous use only made the stress and strain compound. She continued clearing areas for another day before she ended up blacking out.


    Luckily, by that point all of the scouts had been found thanks to the freed scouts tracking and Gaia¡¯s clearing. They had cleared a large area allowing for extensive movement through the floor, but hadn¡¯t found any indication of how to clear it. Fauna had immediately retreated when Gaia dropped, worried for her and the healers checked on her. The healers explained she had apparently worked her brain too hard and it shut down out of exhaustion and strain. She would be fine, but needed to sleep and let her brain rest from the overexertion. They weren¡¯t sure when she¡¯d wake up though since her Mana Field wasn¡¯t an ability and they weren¡¯t sure how much it strained her brain. Their best guess was at least a day from the continued exertion over the course of almost two or three straight days.


    The rest of her party stayed by her and helped out with the exploration when they could, but one of them was always by her. Her bonds were constantly by her, on guard like usually were when she was out of commission due to something. Gaia awoke two days later with a massive migraine, but was otherwise alright. Her party relaxed after seeing her awake and they rested for the day. The next day they continued clearing areas, but went much slower and took a multitude of breaks throughout to let Gaia rest so she didn¡¯t over exert herself again.


    Fauna had been pulled from their watches by the Guild Master since they were indispensable for this floor¡¯s exploration. Usually, the Guild Master would have the scouts search the floor for any clues, but due to the environment of this floor they couldn¡¯t do so. At least not without taking months to cut and search. This was why Fauna was essentially required to help with the search. They spent nearly a week down in the floor poisoning and clearing the way for everyone. After the last time she¡¯d passed out, they were required to take breaks more often, even if they already did so.


    It wasn¡¯t until almost the entire week passed that Gaia noticed something odd. The demon associated with the floor was called the Verdant Colossus, so why was it that it felt like the plants weren¡¯t all one monster. She could sense multiple monsters in her field, but none of them seemed to be connected. They all attacked together whenever someone got close to the area they were in, when it wasn¡¯t already poisoned or dead. This mainly happened when one of the search parties got over zealous and searched right on the boundary of the cleared area. They were usually killed quickly so there weren¡¯t many injuries.


    The plants all seemed to be controlled by the monsters or at least that¡¯s how it seemed. So why couldn¡¯t they find the Verdant Colossus for the floor or at least find a mechanism yet. Based off the last two floors, there was either a guardian monster or a mechanism to open the way down, but they hadn¡¯t found any indication of either possibility yet. Could the guardian monster be hiding or could there just be a tunnel down hidden somewhere on the floor? It was when she thought of these questions that she sensed something.


    The monsters on the floor so far had been vines, trees, and moss. She hadn¡¯t found a single monster that had differed from these three. They were all different sizes and shapes, but there hadn¡¯t been any other monsters aside from those three plants. Now she sensed a tiny flower with mana like a monster. The main reason this caught her attention was the fact that the mana it had far exceeded anything the other monsters had. She focused on clearing the area towards it with her poison. She tried poisoning it, but it didn¡¯t seem to affect the flower. When her poison finally killed off everything else in the area, she called for her party to come to her. They were always nearby, so they quickly came over.


    ¡°What¡¯s up? Did you sense something?¡± Stephanie asked.


    ¡°Yeah. There¡¯s a tiny flower up ahead. It seems like a strong monster and is different from all of the other monsters I¡¯ve sensed so far. I just wanted to let y¡¯all know to be careful. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s the guardian or not.¡± Gaia replied.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the demon called the Verdant Colossus? Why would it be a tiny flower if it has Colossus in its name?¡± Fergus asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe it controls plants around it to take its form, thus making it huge. Let¡¯s just be cautious. If you think it¡¯s a strong monster, we¡¯ll trust your judgement and be careful.¡± Griff stated.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Gaia replied.


    The party moved cautiously into the area with the flower and warned the other explorers to be careful. They slowly approached the flower, which seemed smaller and smaller the closer they got. They were right in front of it when they finally got a better view of it. To Gaia, the flower was around the size of her palm on a thin stalk only about six inches long. There were twelve petals, six still clumped together as if it wasn¡¯t quite flowering yet with another six already out. Each petal was rounded and had a little protrusion in the middle of the curve. The protrusion stuck straight out like a needle. The smell of the flower was almost intoxicating in its sweetness.


    For the others, they were able to see the vibrant colors of the petals. The petals were multicolored with small triangular shapes of bright blue that almost seemed to give off a faint light. The more the party stared at the flower the more hypnotic it became. Gaia could barely stand the flower¡¯s aroma due to its sheer strength. She noticed her friends just staring at the flower and doing nothing.


    When she went to get closer, she felt a slight tremble from the ground and tackled her friends out of the way. Just as the moved roots emerged from where they were standing spearing straight upwards. Once her friends had been knocked out of the hypnosis she quickly dived for the flower. The flower seemed to notice, and a root shot out of the ground and curled around it. Then, it shifted from where it was. The ground barely seemed affected, with only a small line in the dirt indicating the flower had moved. Gaia didn¡¯t know what to do. The flower seemed to be able to sense what was happening through the ground.


    She also seemed to be the only one unaffected by the flower¡¯s hypnosis. She chased after the flower for a few minutes before she thought of something. She had Malachite grow so she could sit in his shell and then use telekinesis to hover off the ground. As he did, she had him move towards the flower so she try and grab it without it noticing. The idea worked and she was able to dive off him to grab the flower. As she did she pulled up in it, only to find it securely rooted in its place.


    She pulled on it to no avail, until Malachite grabbed her armor and pulled. Then Shadow joined in and her party members. She didn¡¯t have to try and uproot it alone, she had friends and family to help her. With her bonds and companions help she was able to slowly pull the flower and its roots free. The endeavor took around five minutes as she realized the flower was tiny, but the roots of the flower were thick, sturdy, and deep. When the entire flower, including its roots, was removed it measured around ten feet long, from flower to the ends of the roots. Each root was at least nine feet long and around two inches thick.


    When the flower was pulled, there was an almost inaudible screech and Fergus shot it with an arrow just to be safe. After around ten minutes had passed, the flower dissolved. It left four small sections of its roots behind and Gaia analyzed them after Griff asked.


    Verdant Roots - A section of the main roots of a Budding Verdant Colossus that was used to absorbed nutrients and mana. Can be used to implant or upgrade a bound item. Bound item must be of a Floral type. Must be implanted in the arms.


    Flexible Root ¨C A portion of the offensive root of a Budding Verdant Colossus that was used for attacking and movement. Can be used to implant or upgrade a bound item. Bound item must be of a Floral type. Must be implanted in the hand.


    Colossal Root ¨C The end of the defensive root of a Budding Verdant Colossus that was used for protection. Can be used to implant or upgrade a bound item. Bound item must be of a Floral type. Must be implanted in the forearm.


    Leeching Root ¨C The tip of the vampiric root of a Budding Verdant Colossus that was used for leeching mana and blood from a victim. Can be used to implant or upgrade a bound item. Bound item must be of a Floral type. Must be implanted in the arm.


    After Gaia analyzed the roots she relayed the information to everyone. The flower actually was a Verdant Colossus. It¡¯s such a misleading name, after seeing the form of it. The explorers celebrated for a bit after hearing the Verdant Colossus was killed. Then it was back to clearing and exploring the floor. The roots were Fauna¡¯s to do with since they had dealt with the monster and had been the main reason the exploration had progressed as fast as it had for the floor.


    The exploration continued for another week before they discovered the way down. It was in the side wall of the floor almost directly behind the floors entrance. Had Gaia not been there to clear the area with her poison they guessed they would have been stuck on the floor for an extremely long time before ever finding the path down. With the path found, Fauna bid their farewell and made their way back to the camp.


    They returned to their inn and discussed what they wanted to do with the roots. The roots were all different. The Verdant roots were a pair that were each about four inches long and around an inch thick. The Flexible root was thin at only about half an inch thick, but around a foot long. The Colossal root was the thickest at around three inches thick and about a foot and a half long. The Leeching root was thin at about a quarter inch thick and around six inches long, but felt withered.


    It was decided that each of them would get one and they let Gaia choose first. She chose the Leeching Root, Fergus got the Flexible Root, Stephanie got the Colossal Root, and Griff got the Verdant Root. They decided to wait a bit before implanting them though. Since they needed to return to their watches the following day, they chose to wait until their next free day.

 Chapter Thirty-Three

    Fauna¡¯s days on watch passed quickly with a few monster attacks. All of them were by monsters they¡¯d already dealt with before and with Gaia¡¯s senses they could call a bronze rank group over almost immediately. When their free day arrived, they woke up early to use their new items from the Verdant Colossus. They weren¡¯t entirely sure how to use the roots to upgrade their already implanted items so it was more experimentation than when they¡¯d implanted the seeds before. Stephanie went first since hers just needed to be implanted.


    ¡°So I just need to make a cut on my arm and put the root in it? Does it hurt a lot?¡± Stephanie asked as the others explained how they implanted their seeds.


    ¡°It depends. Mine hurt a lot, but I also had two. Also, now that I think about it, do we know if the root will upgrade both of my vines?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Griff replied before continuing. ¡°As for if it hurts, mine hurt a lot too. I also had two, but the pain for me came from how mine worked the first time. After the initial use, it was painless.¡±


    ¡°Mine didn¡¯t hurt a lot. I just had one like you, but mine was just in my hand. My hand had an ache to it for a day or two, but I didn¡¯t have any pain using it the first time. I think it may be different based on the item and where it needs to go.¡± Fergus added.


    ¡°Ok. I guess I just need to implant it to find out.¡± She started before continuing a few moments later. ¡°Well, here we go.¡±


    Stephanie made a big cut in her forearm and started to push the root inside her arm. This took a while due to the size of the root and from the grunts Gaia heard, was also extremely painful. After about three minutes of intense pain and exertion the root was fully implanted. Gaia healed Stephanie a bit as soon as it was fully implanted to stop most of the bleeding but left a three inch gash in case the root would have an external part. It wasn¡¯t even a minute later that Stephanie dropped to the floor writhing in pain. This lasted for a couple minutes before she was able to get up. When she did Gaia quickly checked her arm. What she felt was similar to her vines. Stephanie had roots covering her entire arm, from shoulder to fingertips, that all met at a small swirl where the cut had been. Stephanie then pushed some mana into it and more roots grew to create a massive shield. The shield was akin to a tower shield being about six feet tall and around three feet wide in a large rectangular shape. It also had the ability to create small slots where she could put a smaller gun or weapon through. The oddest thing was it seemed to weigh nothing to Stephanie who could move it around like a buckler shield, outside of its size. Its name was the Colossal Buckler.


    ¡°That hurt like hell. The dang thing grew inside my arm all the way through my shoulder. Like literally inside my muscle. The outside part didn¡¯t hurt and seems to act like armor naturally. It also doesn¡¯t hurt anymore. I guess it was worth the short period of pain. Now, it¡¯s y¡¯all¡¯s turn.¡± Stephanie said as she grew and withdrew the shield while waving it around.


    The group experimented on how to upgrade their items since it didn¡¯t specify how to do so, and they didn¡¯t know anyone with a Floral type bound item. They tried many things from placing the roots on the bound items, to just implanting them where it said they should go, but none of them worked. Eventually, they went to ask Flora, Legion and the Guild Master. None of them knew either but did give them some more ideas to try. This was how they found out what to do. It depended on what the item was. For Gaia¡¯s she needed to implant it inside her vine. For Fergus he needed to use it as the string for his Vine bow. For Griff he had to have Gaia cast some growth magic on it to graft them to his gauntlets. This caused their items to each gain a new ability.


    Griff¡¯s new Gauntlets were called the Verdant Gauntlets. They absorbed mana from the environment and stored it. Then he could use it to deal more damage with his attacks. He could choose whether to expend it all at once or use small bits with each punch. It also allowed him to gain a boost to healing while in bright light or sunlight. Fergus¡¯ new bow was called the Root Bow. It gave all of his arrows more speed and force due to the heavier yet flexible string. It also allowed him to gain a boost to movement while in contact with the ground.


    Gaia¡¯s root only upgraded one of her vines, the one not changed by the miasma. It changed her vine into a Vampiric Vine. It gave her the ability to leech minute amounts of mana and health from her enemies as long as they were under the bleed condition. It also allowed her to use some of her blood to cause an enemy to bleed slightly when slashed, whether they naturally could or not. As for her other vine she still didn¡¯t have a clue of how to upgrade it. This was when something extremely unexpected happened, it started writhing and moving around, without her input, towards her space bag. This was the first time her vines had moved by themselves for anything other than to wrap back around her arms. She didn¡¯t know what it wanted, but she let it access the bag and it dropped something in her hand. When she felt it, she was surprised, it was the seed she¡¯d gotten from the item dealer Trevor. She was even more surprised when she analyzed it.


    Seed of Blight ¨C A seed tainted by a force making it impossible to grow. Will corrupt the land around it if planted. Cannot hold mana aside from Miasma and will corrupt all mana surrounding it. Miasma slowly is released until empty.


    After reading the description she finally realized the reason she hadn¡¯t been able to analyze it before. She had tried to force mana inside it, which it can¡¯t hold. The only reason she could now was that she had Miasma. The reason it didn¡¯t show up in her mana field was that it had no mana in it and since it could only hold miasma her mana had passed right through it. Now that she knew it was tied to miasma she understood why the vine was acting up. It wanted the seed and could possibly upgrade itself with it. She obliged and let the vine guide her in what to do.


    Her vine started to move her hand towards where it sprouted from her arm. She wasn¡¯t sure exactly what it wanted, but guessed it wanted her to implant the seed in that spot. She had to get some assistance to make a cut there, since it was in an awkward spot and she would just have to guess she was correct when cutting. Fergus was the one to do so and he placed the seed in the cut. Gaia had noticed when he cut that it wasn¡¯t her arm that was cut but instead the vine, since she hadn¡¯t felt any pain.


    After the seed was implanted they waited for a few minutes for something to happen, but nothing did. After around ten minutes of nothing happening, Gaia was going to suggest that maybe they tried to implant it incorrectly, when something finally happened. She could feel something growing from the spot where her vines grew. It took it about half a minute to fully grow and when it finished she reached to touch it. What had grown was a large flower about four inches in diameter.


    It had many petals that spread out in a bowl shape when she felt the petals she felt that there were pointed ends that curved inward. Each of the points was sharp and felt more akin to blades than the rest of the petal. She also noticed small flowers similar to the large ones growing along the length of it. At the tip of the vine was now a larger flower matching the one from its base. The main difference was the one at the tips of the vine was twice as large and its petals curled inward almost similar to a mouth.


    When she analyzed it, she noticed that its name changed as well from the upgrade. It was now called a Tainted Flower this gave it a new way to attack. The Tainted Flower could bite something with the flower at the end of the vine. It also gave her the ability to taint the mana of whatever the flower bit with Miasma. This also gave it the ability to taint the immediate surrounding mana with Miasma and store it for the attack. It also seemed to gain a spirit from the upgrade. It could only indicate basic feelings from what she could interpret, and it mainly complained that it was hungry.


    She was stunned by the changes to her vine, as it was a major change when compared to her Leeching vine. It took Gaia a while to fully interpret what the Flower wanted, but eventually figured out it wanted food of any kind. It didn¡¯t seem to care what the food was as long it could bite and eat it. She gave it some jerky she had and it calmed down for a while.


    The party went their separate ways to familiarize themselves with their new items and abilities. They met back up around dinner time and had a discussion. Would they go to explore the fourth floor tomorrow or practice with their new items on the first floor? This was the question they needed to answer.


    ¡°So, what do we want to do tomorrow? Do we want to check out and possibly explore part of the fourth floor or practice with our items tomorrow?¡± Griff asked.


    ¡°I want to practice with my item for at least part of the day. I want to see each of our items in action so we can know how they work and how we can use them together.¡± Stephanie replied.


    ¡°I agree with Stephanie. I want to practice with you guys for a bit. I think we should practice with our items for part of the day and then go take a look at the fourth floor.¡± Fergus added.


    ¡°Yeah. I think just taking a look will be enough for tomorrow. We can always explore a bit if we finish practicing earlier than we plan.¡± Gaia stated.


    ¡°Alright. Then tomorrow, we¡¯ll focus on practicing and understanding our new items. Then we¡¯ll take a peek at the fourth floor and decide whether to explore more or leave it for another day.¡± Griff finished.


    Fauna went back to the inn for the night and relaxed in the main room. There they saw Legion and talked for a while. Gaia and Fergus were together in a small loveseat while everyone else talked. Ever since the operation on the second floor she¡¯d had a single thought that she couldn¡¯t get out of her head. Which was, of course, about Fergus and the fact they¡¯d only technically kissed during it. Even after it finally happened, he hadn¡¯t done it since. It had been around a month, so she finally got the courage to do something about it. As everyone else was talking about a monster attack or whatever happened that day she turned towards Fergus, which he noticed. He turned and before she lost her nerve, she kissed him in front of everyone.


    There was a brief moment of silence before there were a couple cheers from their little group. Stephanie and Griff chuckled as they saw the embarrassment on Fergus¡¯ face, along with him going beet red from blushing. Gaia stopped a moment after hearing the cheers and laughs.


    ¡°Dang it, Fergus.¡± Griff stated as he passed Stephanie five cores.


    ¡°I told you she would be the one to initiate it. He seems a bit too embarrassed for public displays.¡± Stephanie stated.


    Gaia ignored them and focused on Fergus for a moment. ¡°Now, next time you need to initiate it. And it better be much sooner than a month.¡± She stated as she got up and grabbed Stephanie¡¯s hand before going to their room.


    Fergus just kinda sat there for a while dumbfounded. Legion and Griff had started their discussion back up a minute later. They paid him no mind while the conversation continued. He didn¡¯t speak until about five minutes later.


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    ¡°Has it really been a month? It felt like just yesterday.¡± Fergus mumbled.


    ¡°Yeah, it has and honestly, it has seemed like she wanted you to do that since then. You can be really dense sometimes, but now you just need to do it. She has put the ball in your court.¡± Griff replied.


    This was when he got up and dragged Fergus back to their room for the night. Meanwhile, in the girls room, Stephanie was laughing as Gaia¡¯s face was redder than a tomato. She had been extremely nervous when she decided to do that and now that she was back in her room it all hit her. Her face went redder than Fergus¡¯ had been, which was quite a feat considering her skin was stone, and she cuddled up with Shadow trying to hide her embarrassment. That was probably the most assertive thing she¡¯d ever done and had essentially demanded he do something similar soon.


    Stephanie laughed at Gaia for a while before laying down and cuddling with Gaia¡¯s bonds. Griff read his book for a bit, while Fergus tried to figure out what he could do. Needless to say, Fergus didn¡¯t get to sleep much if at all that night.


    The next morning the party woke up and met at breakfast where they saw a very sleep deprived Fergus. Stephanie laughed at him while Griff explained that he might not have slept at all. Gaia was worried, but he tended to glance at her before looking away so she guessed he was probably alright. They all ate breakfast together and went back to the inn to grab their equipment.


    They then swiftly made their way to Xerios¡¯ first floor and practiced with their new items. Stephanie acted as a vanguard with her new shield. She could make it form and disappear almost instantly so she tended to keep it in its armor form unless she planned to block or couldn¡¯t dodge an attack. She also discovered that she could form it with a small slot for her to place her rifle through. She could now fire from the cover of her shield allowing for her to pick off enemies that could attack from range without needing to drop behind something.


    Fergus was a rearguard, so he fired arrows that shot much faster and pierced through armor he hadn¡¯t been able to penetrate before. The movement enhancement was extremely useful as well. It allowed him to swiftly change location to dodge attacks and change the trajectory of his attacks to catch enemies off guard. He also discovered that he could fire while moving much easier now. The increased movement also affected his reload and fire time making each attack quicker.


    Griff was a vanguard that focused on dealing damage to nearby enemies. He used his gauntlets to increase his damage slightly for each attack. This made each of his attacks stronger and deal slight miasma damage. He expended all of the mana during one attack to see the effect and the monster ended up with a large hole where his fist struck and the monster started to melt as the large amount of miasma caused it to decay near instantly.


    Gaia used her Vampiric vine to bleed the monsters that Stephanie had blocked or injured. As the monsters bled she felt a small trickle of mana and health flowing from the vine into her, replenishing her mana reserves and health. As it did, she could sense a small portion being absorbed by the vine. When she attacked with her Tainted Flower, it lashed out slicing a small cut that started to bleed, before the flower at its tip bit into a creature and the monster started to melt. As it did, the flower seemed to consume the tainted flesh it bit off.


    After a couple hours of training like this Fauna moved towards the fourth floor to take a look at it. If they remembered correctly the next floor should coincide with the Spectre, which was a ghost like creature. It was resistant to physical attacks unless augmented by magic. This would make the monster troublesome alone, but it also had the ability to command ghosts and spirits which it could create from any enemy it killed. This meant there were likely hundreds of spirits or ghosts even if it wasn¡¯t the same Spectre as the myth it likely had quite a few spirits under its command.


    They arrived at the fourth floor after about an hour of traveling. The central staircase made travel much quicker as they went to the third floor and entered the tunnel to the fourth. The tunnel was unadorned smooth stone that continued down towards the fourth floor, Nufnerbeld. The temperature got colder the deeper they went into the tunnel until it was cold enough that they were shivering. When they entered the fourth floor they noticed nothing around them. It was a wasteland devoid of life and structures.


    From what Gaia could sense, as her mana fields range was extremely shortened to around a fifth of what it usually was, the area around the floors entrance was a barren wasteland with hard stone for the floor. The floor wasn¡¯t flat either it seemed to odd natural formations that caused parts to rise a few feet or make a pit a few feet deep. The floor was almost entirely covered with these small plateaus and pits. There wasn¡¯t any form of water on the floor from what she could sense or hear, and it was extremely cold, to the point she almost started shivering.


    The floor seemed to truly be a wasteland with no living things on it. There wasn¡¯t anything she could hear, sense, or smell to indicate something could survive here for long, if at all. They moved into the floor a slight bit to scout the area within about five minutes of the entrance. There didn¡¯t seem to be any monsters, or anything at all for that matter, within the area they searched. Gaia had heard Griff and Stephanie complain about the floor being almost pitch black, even with some kind of bright white light shining from above. The only reason they could see at all was that their eyesight had drastically improved since reaching stone rank.


    After they concluded their search of the immediate area, they returned to camp. They stopped by the Guild Master¡¯s house on their way in and let her know what they found. It wasn¡¯t any new information for her since she had scouts searching the floor, but still thanked them for reporting. They then split up for a couple hours where Gaia went and checked on her garden.


    While she was there, she took a nap while relaxing. Griff was off training and Stephanie was working in her forge. Fergus, however, was still trying to figure out what to do about Gaia¡¯s statement the night before. He ended up talking to Titania who smacked him before offering suggestions.


    The party met back up for dinner and enjoyed the meal before returning to the inn to relax. They spent the night talking with their friends and passing the time. The next day was their last free day before their watches began again. It passed by quickly with Fergus and Gaia going on a date and he finally got the courage to take the initiative.


    Their watches began the next day and the week passed quickly with monster attacks almost constantly. Most were quickly dealt with and only one had been dangerous. This had been by a high level bronze rank monster that attacked a different side of the wall and had managed to heavily injure one of the bronze ranks from the Journeyman¡¯s Guild. He wasn¡¯t killed, but had his arm bitten off by the monster.


    The monster had been a type of fox. It was small and extremely agile, but lacked defenses. It could easily dodge attacks, but would die with a single strong hit. It had managed to dodge all of the attacks from the hunter¡¯s party before biting and ripping his arm off. This was when an arrow fired from the wall managed to pierce its skull, as it was slowed down by the appendage. Luckily, the camp had many healers one of which was bronze rank so his arm was able to be reattached, as they still had the appendage.


    When it was time for their first free day they all met up at breakfast and moved to the Guild Master¡¯s house to get as much information about the fourth floor as they could. When they arrived they noticed Edrahni exiting the building and guessed he¡¯d just reported the results of their current search. They arrived and the Guild Master told them what they knew.


    The fourth floor is a massive wasteland. There are no true structures or buildings aside from broken and demolished foundations. It is nearly pitch black and most forms of light don¡¯t work to light up the area, outside of skills that create sunlight. The large light in the sky while being extraordinarily bright does not give any heat or light. The floor is freezing and any outside source of heat is destroyed making the floor perilous to explore for long periods of time. There haven¡¯t been any sightings of monsters, or at least any hostile ones.


    There have been a few sightings of ghosts or wraiths, but most swiftly disappeared after being spotted. Most scouts didn¡¯t search the areas where a wraith or ghost was spotted either. There haven¡¯t been any clues as to how to clear the floor at this time.


    This was all of the information the scouts had discovered, aside from the fact that every floor has gotten slightly smaller than the last. This was welcome news as it meant the floors should be able to explored faster and faster the deeper they went. With the information the Guild Master gave them the party went to the shops to grab some cold weather gear since the floor was exceeding cold.


    They were able find a few coats and pants that would help them keep warm. It took them a while to find the gear they wanted and needed with each of their choices being different. Fergus got a thin fur lined amber coat and matching jeans with boots. Griff got the same as Fergus but in a light blue color. Stephanie got a pinkish red set that was thicker than the guy¡¯s set, but fit under her armor comfortably. Gaia¡¯s was more of robe or dress that was all fur lined while being dark purple and blue which her living silk armor was able to cover completely.


    With their gear and armor prepared they made their way to the fourth floor. This time when they entered the stairs went all the way to the third floor making the trip extremely fast. The tunnel to the fourth floor was around a half hour walk so they arrived at the fourth floor a few hours before noon. When they entered the floor, they realized their new gear would only slightly mitigate the freezing temperature. They decided to move quickly and immediately moved from the entrance towards the center of the floor.


    The entrance was in the wall of the floor making following the wall less useful. From their experiences with the higher floors, they noticed that if the entrance was in the wall, the way down was likely in the center of the floor and vice versa. They were hoping the same would be true for this floor and were moving under that assumption. They moved inwards, but didn¡¯t take a straight line. They zigzagged around searching for anything they could find that might be relevant to clearing the floor. After moving around in this fashion and not finding anything they made a beeline towards the center of the floor.


    As they got close to where they imagined the floors center point was, they started to find more indications of a civilization. Where the entrance area had sparse indications such as foundations and broken walls spread far apart, the area they were entering had foundations similarly spaced. They found one foundation around a hundred feet from the last and this pattern continued with slight deviations, like the area between being slightly longer or shorter than the last.


    This was also when they started to spot wraiths in the distance. They continued moving forward until Gaia sensed something off within her field. There was a small spot where the mana was congealed. It was similar to how a portal felt, but was much less cohesive and weak. It almost felt like a small ball that pulsated and was flickering in and out. She relayed this to her companions and they moved towards it.


    The odd thing was within a crumbling structure beside them. The structure couldn¡¯t be called a building as while it still had a semblance of all four walls, the roof had caved in and disintegrated. The walls weren¡¯t in a much better state with portions missing and parts breaking off when touched or nudged in any way. When they entered, they finally saw what it was, a nearly transparent and flickering amoeba of light. They couldn¡¯t hear anything from it, but their best guess for what it was, was a ghost of some sort. When Gaia entered, she could barely hear the faintest of whispers coming from the light¡¯s direction.


    ¡°He. Me. Elp. Me. Help Me!¡± The light whispered.


    Gaia couldn¡¯t hear the full words until she was directly beside it. ¡°How can we help you?¡± She asked.


    When the ghost realized someone had found it, it shivered and floated backwards as if afraid. Just as it was about to reach the wall it stopped as if realizing the party was different from what it expected. It slowly moved back towards Gaia until it was inches from her face.


    ¡°Help me? Find¡­ Body¡­ Burn. Not¡­ Long left.¡± The mass whispered before shrinking and dimming drastically.


    Gaia turned towards her friends. ¡°Could you guys hear any of that?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Nope. Just what you said.¡± Stephanie replied.


    ¡°Okay. It seems to want us to find its body and burn it maybe? It also said there wasn¡¯t long left.¡± She said.


    ¡°Great. So we¡¯re helping ghosts burn bodies now. What¡¯s next? Stabbing an immortal?¡± Griff asked incredulously.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. All I know is we should try and help it. Since it¡¯s stayed here, its body may be buried nearby.¡± Fergus stated.


    They searched the area and found a small grave behind the structure. Fergus and Griff dug it up and found a skeleton. Stephanie immediately brought out her flamethrower and burned the bones. They immediately went up in flames and turned to ash. When this happened, the light appeared above it.


    The light was different this time. To Gaia, it was still like a congealed blob of mana that was barely cohesive, but she could sense it had a humanoid shape this time. The others saw a transparent young man wearing a soldiers armor.


    ¡°Thank you. If you find others like me, release them. The ruler of this realm has trapped us here to empower itself. You saved me before it claimed my soul for eternity. Please kill it, do what we failed to do.¡± The ghost stated before evaporating and disappearing.


    ¡°Well, I think we figured out the way to clear the floor.¡± Griff stated a moment later.