《Ember Abiss: Rot Mage》 Shit-ake The first light of the sun began to break through the vibrant green canopy of the pine forest. The beams of light and thin shadows of the pine needles danced across the shut eyelids of a young woman sleeping under a strung up tarp and wrapped up warmly in a brown and green mummy bag. As the crisp cool mountain wind blew, wisps of light shifted across her eyelids once again causing her to stir. With a small yawn and a big stretch inside her sleeping bag Ember started squirming, slowly seeking the zipper while basking in the last moments of this warm cocoon of happiness. A few minutes later Ember was out of her sleeping bag and started to dismantle her makeshift campsite. Wrapping up the tarp and sleeping bag as tightly as possible then binding them with the rope used to support the tarp tent that she had put together. She then stored it all in her backpack while pulling out a bag of assorted nuts and berries for breakfast. ¡°Alright Em, month one is now behind me.¡± Ember said while looking back down the path she''s already walked. ¡°Only four to six left to go and I think I''m making pretty good progress.¡± She then pulled her phone out and powered it back on to check her location on GPS. ¡°Looking good, I''ve managed to get three states behind me in the course of a month. By the end of today I should be out of Tennessee and entering Virginia.¡± Later that afternoon, on a more rocky section of the trail, Ember notices a set of interesting animal tracks. She approached the tracks carefully so she wouldn''t miss any others she may have overlooked the first time. The footprints in the dirt appear to be that of a paw, fairly large but without any claw imprints in front of the toes. ¡°No claw marks rules out coyotes. Only four toes instead five rules out bears. There''s no way.¡± Ember thought to herself, backing up in surprise from what appeared in front of her. In a hushed whisper she gasped, ¡°M¡­mountain lion.¡± Ember snapped to attention. She examined the tracks again, noting which direction they were going, and where they came from. From the path the prints took, the mountain lion came down from higher up mountain from the crags and crevasses. ¡°Maybe it lives in a cave or Crack up there?¡± She thought to herself. After taking a few more minutes to check if the area was safe she continued along the trail. ¡°Hopefully it''s still out hunting, or even better if it''s back home asleep.¡± After another hour of walking and not seeing any more tracks Ember finally lowered her guard and relaxed. She set up another makeshift tent using a stick and a big rock to attach the rope to support the tarp. Fifteen minutes went by and the tent was assembled and ready. Before the sun starts setting she prepares some dinner. Dumping out the canned food she brought along on the ground she started picking out good meat for tonight. ¡°That''s it!¡± she exclaimed. She picked up the can containing roast beef in gravy and set it to the side. She went outside to light a fire to cook on. While she waits for the embers to build up she stows the remaining cans back into her pack.¡°I really wish I had a magic bag, like Santa or something. I just want to carry everything and not feel the weight.¡± She thought, complaining to herself internally. When she walked out the tent carrying her open can of roast beef she got the biggest surprise of her life. Standing only twelve to fifteen feet away from her was a big tan and brown cat, the only problem being that it appeared to be seven feet long and one hundred pounds of pure muscle. ¡°Fuuuahhhh!!!¡± She dropped her food and immediately started backing away. Not wanting to take her eyes off the creature she stumbled backwards, nearly tripping over her tent on the way, to get back on the path. When she got three feet from her original position the mountain lion let out a low growl ending in a hiss. She continued to walk backwards, every attempt to approach the trail again being blocked by the ferocious looking mountain lion. Usually by lurching at her or swatting at her with its large front paw. The mountain lion kept pressure on Ember, forcing her closer and closer to the wall of rock being her. After getting pushed back for over twenty minutes Ember finds a Crack in the Cliffside just small enough for her to squeeze into if she takes off her bag. Her fingers fumble to unfasten her pack, and as soon as it is free she drops it. Sacrificing her food and gear for a chance at safety. The moment her backpack hit the ground she turned, and darted for the opening in the wall. She squeezed herself in the small opening, ripping her clothes and getting scraped in the process. She kept backing up into the dark cavern the Crack led her to while she watched the mountain lion''s futile attempts to reach her with its outstretched paw. A few more minutes go by with the mountain lion trying different ways to get in. Once it seemed to be giving up and backed away Ember¡¯s heart slowed back down to a normal pace. She started to relax and wondered if there was another exit she could use to avoid any contact with the overgrown kitty. She attempted to take another step back along the path she was on but to her surprise there wasn''t anything below her foot. With nothing to catch herself on, she fell into a cavernous void in the middle of the mountain. ¡°AAAHHHHH!!!¡± She screamed as she fell tucking herself into a ball to protect her head. The temperature around her started to drop drastically as she went deeper and deeper. After falling for what seemed like 10 minutes and still not hitting the ground her panic rose even higher, the only thoughts facing through her mind being ¡°I don''t want to die! I just escaped, I can''t die! Please, just let me survive.¡± Another ten minutes pass by and the world goes silent, no wind passing by, not even the sound of her screams can be heard. Stolen story; please report. In the frigid inky black void Ember''s body tumbled head over heels or at least that''s what she assumed. She has been falling so long she has lost all track of time, she can only say it''s been more than three hours but less than a day. All of her senses are wacky here, she can''t hear anything, not even the hum or vibration of her voice. Sight is obviously a no go, and the strangest of all are her senses of touch, taste, and smell are absent as well. If not for the voices in her head she would doubt her own existence at this point. Days, weeks, maybe even months have passed. Only one phrase repeated through her mind, ¡°Please, save me?¡± until her mind felt an explosive cacophony of voices flooded every inch of her consciousness. ¡°What do you need?¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Fuck off!¡± ¡°Use your imagination, young one, to guide you through the void.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Evolving! I''M EVOLVING! MUAHAHA!!!¡± ¡°LEFT!¡± ¡°Why do you enter our home?¡± ¡°Why have you come to this plane?¡± ¡°Can I have it?¡± ¡°No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!!!!!¡± ¡°Food?¡± ¡°Devour?¡± ¡°Consume.¡± ¡°You should not be here, you mind can''t handle what you''re experiancing.¡± ¡°Nothing¡­¡± ¡°Everything.¡± ¡°Everyone!¡± ¡°No one.¡± ¡°We?¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHhhhhhhh¡­¡­..¡± ¡°Shhh¡­.¡± ¡°Leave!¡± ¡°Stay. Please. It''s so lonely here¡­.¡± ¡°Ashlee, Ash, Lee, Bashlee? Bash me? BASH ME!?! You dare!¡± ¡°Sleep.¡± ¡°Stay.¡± ¡°There is no exit.¡± ¡°There is no here¡± ¡°Ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha.¡± ¡°Fufufufufuffufufufufu!¡± ¡°Kekekekekekekeke¡± ¡°Bitch!¡± ¡°Run! RUN!¡± ¡°HELP ME!¡± ¡°Please, this is the void, THE VOID! The nothingness between the Planes, dimensions, world.¡± ¡°We are everywhere and nowhere.¡± ¡°everything and nothing.¡± ¡°Everyone, no one, me, us, only you are.¡± ¡°We are not.¡± ¡°After the initial sauce layer, add a layer of pasta sheets, ricotta mixture or bechamel, sauce, and cheese. Then repeat the layers. Top the last layer of your lasagna with sauce and cheese. You can also alternate layers of sauce and ricotta cheese.¡± ¡°Our upgraded model now offers quality third-generation options.¡± ¡°Who, how many? Too loud. It hurts¡± she struggled to say, even in her own mind. ¡°Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!¡± She screamed out in her mind, anything to silence the noise. ¡°Save me! Help me! I don''t deserve this torture, please? PLEASE!?¡± "Hey, do you hear that?" "What? I can''t hear anything over all this noise!" "Noise? What noise? I hear music!" "Music? Nah, it''s just the wind howling." "Wind? More like the rumbling of a thousand beasts!" "Beasts? Don''t be ridiculous, it''s just the sound of civilization!" "Civilization? Ha! This is chaos!" "Chaos? I thought it was a party!" "Party? I smell burning!" "Burning? That''s the scent of victory!" "Victory? No, it''s the taste of defeat!" "Defeat? I haven''t even started fighting yet!" "Fighting? Let''s dance instead!" "Dance? My feet are too heavy!" "Heavy? Like the weight of the world!" "World? It''s all just a dream!" "Dream? Wake up, fool!" "Fool? I''m the wisest of them all!" "All? No, I''m the one with the answers!" "Answers? They''re all lies!" "Lies? Nah, just different perspectives!" "Perspectives? More like illusions!" "Illusions? But they feel so real!" "Real? What does that even mean?" "Mean? It''s all about interpretation!" "Interpretation? I prefer action!" "Action? But words speak louder!" "Louder? Like a symphony of voices!" "Voices? They echo in my mind!" "Mind? It''s a labyrinth of thoughts!" "Thoughts? They''re like butterflies!" "Butterflies? Nah, they''re fleeting like shadows!" "Shadows? They hide the truth!" "Truth? It''s buried beneath layers of lies!" "Lies? I can see through them!" "Through? Like a tunnel to the unknown!" "Unknown? It''s where adventure awaits!" "Adventure? But danger lurks around every corner!" "Danger? I laugh in its face!" "Face? It''s a mask we all wear!" "Wear? I prefer to go naked!" "Naked? Embrace your vulnerability!" "Vulnerability? It''s where strength lies!" "Lies? They''re the fabric of society!" "Society? It''s a construct of our making!" "Making? We''re all creators in this universe!" "Universe? It''s vast and infinite!" "Infinite? Like the possibilities of existence!" "Existence? It''s a puzzle waiting to be solved!" "Solved? But some mysteries are meant to remain!" "Remain? Like whispers in the wind!" "Wind? It carries secrets from distant lands!" "Lands? They''re the stage for our stories!" "Stories? They weave the tapestry of time!" "Time? It''s a river flowing endlessly!" "Endlessly? Until it reaches the sea of eternity!" "Eternity? It''s where souls find peace!" "Peace? It''s what we all long for!" "Long for? But chaos fuels our desires!" "Desires? They drive us forward into the unknown!" "Unknown? It''s where we find ourselves!" "Ourselves? We''re but fragments of a greater whole!" "Whole? Like pieces of a shattered mirror!" "Mirror? It reflects our innermost selves!" "Selves? They''re constantly evolving!" "Evolving? Like stars in the night sky!" "Sky? It''s a canvas painted with dreams!" "Dreams? They''re the whispers of our souls!" "Souls? They''re eternal flames burning bright!" "Bright? Like the dawn of a new day!" "Day? It''s a gift to be cherished!" "Cherished? But fleeting like a shooting star!" "Shooting star? It grants wishes to those who believe!" "Believe? In the magic of the universe!" "Universe? It''s a playground for the imagination!" "Imagination? It knows no bounds!" "Bounds? They''re meant to be broken!" "Broken? Like shattered dreams!" "Dreams? They''re the seeds of possibility!" "Possibility? It''s what drives us forward!" "Forward? Into the great unknown!" "Unknown? It''s where adventure awaits!" "Adventure? It''s the spice of life!" "Life? It''s a journey worth taking!" "Taking? But sometimes we must let go!" "Let go? Of attachments that bind us!" "Bind us? They''re the chains of our own making!" "Making? We''re all creators in this universe!" "Universe? It''s vast and infinite!" "Infinite? Like the possibilities of existence!" "Existence? It''s a puzzle waiting to be solved!" "Solved? But some mysteries are meant to remain!" "Remain? Like whispers in the wind!" "Wind? It carries secrets from distant lands!" "Lands? They''re the stage for our stories!" "Stories? They weave the tapestry of time!" "Time? It''s a river flowing endlessly!" "Endlessly? Until it reaches the sea of eternity!" "Eternity? It''s where souls find peace!" "Peace? It''s what we all long for!¡°LEAVE!¡± ¡°_______¡± All the voices stopped, all that was left to be heard were screams, screams so distant she doubted she heard anything but over time the screams grew louder, harsher, and more painful? Charades Ember''s eyes shot open as she felt something touch her shoulder, her eyes darting around unfocused. While searching her senses slowly started returning to her, first was her vision. She saw a young man kneeling beside her, his mid length silver white hair blowing across his face revealing flickers of his crystal blue eyes. With her mind finally catching up to her situation she put together that the man was asking her a question, but the language he spoke was like no other language she had ever heard before. ¡°Hell-ack¡­¡± Ember attempted speaking, but when the first vibration moved in her throat it seized on her. The pain in her throat was horrible, it felt like she tried swallowing sand and glass shards. Ember looked up at the man covering her throat then mouth while shaking her head, hoping he could interpret her attempt at charades. The man let out a sigh of understanding and nodded to her. He started talking to her but once again she had no idea what language he spoke. Her closest comparison would be the Elven spoken in a movie she watched a few years back. She looked up at him and shook her head. She pulled herself up into a sitting position and using her finger wrote in the dirt around her, ¡°Hello I am Ember.¡± She then looked up at him to see if he understood. He tilted his head and arched an eyebrow in confusion, then he too wrote something in the dirt she couldn''t interpret. His writing looked like a combination of lines, squiggles, and dots but she couldn''t make heads or tales of the script. Ember grabbed the canteen on her hip and took a few swigs of water before attempting to speak again. The cool liquid burned at first before spreading relief along her tortured vocal chords. She looked back to the man and pointed at herself, ¡°Ember.¡± She then pointed at him and waited. It didn''t take long for the man to put together what she said was her name, he then pointed at himself and spoke, ¡°Thorn Vyne.¡± Ember nodded in understanding and repeated it back. Pointing at him, ¡°Thorn Vyne,¡± then to herself, ¡°Ember Abiss.¡± Ember then thought to herself that a game of charades may be her best chance to find out where she was. There was no doubt she was somewhere completely different from where she was hiking. The biggest clue was the complete lack of mountains around her and the field of grass currently in its place. She then started a labor intensive back and forth game of charades with the man. About an hour later Ember came to understand she was in the county or region of Vynewood, the man was heading to a city some distance away, and he wanted her to follow him. He then mimed wrapping his head. She decided to follow him, mostly due to the fact that if he wanted to hurt her he had plenty of time to do it before she woke up. He led her from the spot where she woke up and after a short walk they made it to a rough looking dirt path running through the grassland. While they walked she began pointing at the various things they passed asking for their names. Ember pointed at a big rock on the side of the road and attempted to use the word Thorn taught her. She said with a little effort to not hurt her sore throat, ¡°Rock?¡± Thorn nodded and replied back to her ¡°Rock.¡± putting emphasis on the proper pronunciation. He chuckled lightly at her and continued pointing out various objects. After a few hours of walking and attempts at conversation Ember¡¯s stomach let out a loud growl, reminding her that she hadn''t eaten since she woke up. Thorn looked back at her curiously and slowly said, ¡°You¡­ something? You, me stop and something?¡± Ember looked back at him with her head slightly tilted as she pondered the meaning of the new word he just threw at her. Seeing the confusion on Ember¡¯s face he mimed what looked like eating a chicken leg. ¡°Oh! You mean eat.¡± she shouted in English, as it clicked for her. ¡°Yes, you, me, eat.¡± They began to make their way closer to the tree line. What started out as sparse trees and saplings started growing more dense as they got farther away from where they began. When they made it around thirty feet into the woods Thorn threw up his hand motioning for Ember to stop. She looked at him, about to ask why they stopped so suddenly, when he pressed a finger to his lips. Ember nodded in understanding and went on guard. She drew out her knife and started searching the trees around her. Seeing her knife Thorn lifted an eyebrow but said nothing about it. He motioned for her to look at a spot in his line of sight, directing her to notice the big bunny foraging around a tree. She nodded that she could see it and then lifted her knife and shook her head from the distance. Thorn smiled and pointed his finger at the rabbit and said another new word she hadn''t heard yet. The next moment Ember jumped back and let out a startled yelp when she saw a bolt of electricity shoot from Thorn''s finger tip, striking the rabbit. The rabbit let out a scream before falling over twitching. ¡°What in the hell was that!?!¡¯¡± Ember yelled at him while taking another step back from him and hiding halfway behind a close tree. Thorn threw up his hands to show he meant no harm to her. ¡°Thorn, friend.¡± He said smiling at her, trying to calm her nerves. He then pointed at the rabbit ¡°Something something, eat.¡± and with a smile he started walking off to the bunny. Ember followed him, knife still in hand, as they approached the supposedly dead animal. Once they got close to it Ember noticed a horn protruding from the rabbit¡¯s forehead. She gave the rabbit a quick once over to check if it was dead or just unconscious. After checking a few different ways she came to the conclusion that the electricity stopped the little guy¡¯s heart and the twitching was just residual electricity discharging in its muscles. Thorn knelt down by the rabbits'' other side and began skinning and cleaning it. Seeing this Ember took it upon herself to go around and gather firewood. She didn''t stray too far from Thorn and was able to gather a decent amount of dry limbs and branches to start a campfire. Periodically she would turn and check on Thorn''s progress while she was getting the fire ready. She stacked the wood in a way to produce a good bed of coals once the fire burned for a bit. After shaving some bark and wood fiber from a stick She used it as a bed of tinder to catch the spark from her flint and steel. Thorn brought the meat over wrapped in a leaf and the skin wrapped into a bundle. Ember reached for her backpack before remembering she left it behind at her campsite. She looked over to Thorn with her head slightly tilted in hopes that he would have something to cook the meat on. With a small laugh he pulled two metal skewers out of his shoulder pack and stabbed them into the meat. He then Steadied the skewers with stones and sat back to let the fire work it''s magic. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°I¡­ is that all? No seasoning?¡± Ember said and looked at Thorn, slightly puzzled. ¡°I don''t know the words. Oh I have some on me!¡± She reached in her cargo pockets for her travel spices. She pulled out a baggy of mixed seasoning packets and started pulling out the ones she wanted to use. She settled on simple salt and a Cajun seasoning pack. After sprinkling the contents onto the meat the smell of the Cajun spices filled the air. Looking over to Thorn Ember saw he was sniffing the air curiously and doing a poor job at hiding his desire to taste the seasoned Rabbit. A few minutes later Ember watched as Thorn comically tore into his portion of rabbit. After one bite he lost interest in everything else around him, not even looking up when Ember tried asking a question. Giving up, she started eating her portion as well. Once they both finished eating Ember once again tried speaking to Thorn. ¡°Name?¡± she asked, pointing at the skin of the animal. Thorn looked at the bundle of skin and replied back to her, ¡°Rabbit.¡± satisfied with the new word she put out the fire and covered the coals with dirt. ¡°Go?¡± she asked, pointing back to the path. Thorn nodded and gathered up his belongings. As they continued their way to town she started back up the game of pointing at objects and having Thorn give her the words for them. Around the time she could make out the first building over the horizon she felt she could introduce herself and ask for a name. ¡°It''s not much but hopefully it''ll get me through until I can find a Library.¡± She thought to herself. As they enter the small town Ember was Dumbstruck by the old world style housing and architecture. Before she knew it Thorn had stopped in front of a gated house and she walked right into him. ¡°I''m sorry!¡± She blurted out embarrassed. Thorn chuckled and pointed at the house before them, ¡°This, Thorn''s home.¡± Looking up, she noticed the notably larger house Thorn gestured to. The Two story building dwarfed the neighboring single story buildings throughout the town. Thorn opened the gate and led her into the house, bringing her to what appeared to be a small Library or a large study. He then led her to a chair and asked for her to wait while he left. Not wanting to offend the hospitality of her host she sat and waited, only gazing around the room trying to read the titles written on the spines of some of the books with no success. After what felt to be twenty minutes Thorn returned to the room he left Ember in, only this time he was accompanied by an old white haired woman dressed in a gray robe. ¡°Hello¡­ I mean hello.¡± Ember caught herself starting in English before correcting herself. The woman gave a kind smile before replying, ¡°Hello, Young Ember. My name is Willow, Master Thorn here has stated you didn''t speak the language But I had no idea it would be something so¡­ different.¡± Willow replied nonchalantly. Ember''s eyes grew wide, ¡°You ¡­ You can speak English? Where are we? Is this still America?¡± Ember asked, with excitement growing in her voice. ¡°Not exactly, no.¡± Willow said apologetically, ¡°I do not know your language or your writing system. What I am doing is using a skill deary. I''m using translate, you may not know it. It is a rare skill that no one really takes. I only took this skill in the past because I made my living mostly off escort quests and those often take you to other territories. As for your other questions, this is the city of Vynewood under the kingdom of Ash. As for this America you speak of¡­ I''ve never heard of it before today. Is that the name of your hometown? Or possibly a kingdom?¡± ¡°What?¡± Ember asked with a confused look on her face. ¡°No, no, no. North America is the continent I''m from, the country is the United States of America. I grew up in the mountains of Georgia, that''s the name of the state I live in, in the city of Suches. Do any of those names sound familiar? Also what do you mean you don''t know the language? We are speaking it right now aren''t we? You are even fluent enough that your accent would make me assume you were from the same area I''m from. Like¡­ I almost want to call you granny and fetch you a pitcher of sweet tea.¡± She said with a laugh. Willow looked at Ember with a mix of confusion and concern. ¡°I''m not sure of the location of any of those. I have not heard of them at the very least. I''m not sure how else to explain my comprehension of your language other than telling you it''s a skill I have. It''s a jobless skill, called language comprehension. It will eat up a skill slot but you will be able to understand any language, written or spoken, by anyone connected to the system. You look to be over sixteen so you should at the very least have 2 or 3 jobless skills yourself. Actually, what level are you if you don''t mind my asking?¡± ¡°What are you talking about? Levels? Skills? Does this look funny to you or like a video game!?¡± Ember started shouting. ¡°I''m lost, I don''t know the language, and I don''t know anyone here. You are the first person to even understand what I''m saying, so please, help me and don''t play games?¡± She begged, looking willow in her eyes, with her own starting to tear up due to the overwhelming swirl of emotion bubbling up inside her. Willow reached out and held Ember¡¯s hands, a slight look of confusion written on her face. ¡°Deary, I''m not playing a joke. Were you raised sheltered from the system? I''ve never met anyone that wasn''t aware of it that wasn''t purposefully kept that way. Are you on the run from someone?¡± Willow asked, Eyes filled with concern. ¡°No, I¡­ I''m not. I''m lost and I''m scared but not because I''m being chased or anything like that. I was just out hiking on my own when a cougar came across my campsite.¡± Ember took a shaky breath, ¡°It chased me into a small crevasse where I fell¡­ fell¡­ fell into ¡­ a void¡­.¡± Ember''s voice trailed off at the end with her eyes growing wide and skin going pale and clammy. ¡°Dear?¡± Willow questioned, ¡°How about we change the topic for a bit? Let''s check your affinity.¡± Ember gave a nod and started trying to focus back on willow. She had gotten up to scour the drawers in the room for something. After making her third attempt, Willow brought out a large green and orange metallic sphere. ¡°This is it.¡± She said, placing the orb in front of Ember. ¡°Place your hand on the ball and you will receive the system''s blessing.¡± Ember placed the palm of her hands on the top of the orb, it was cold to the touch but right after she made contact a feeling of warmth started growing in her palm. ¡°Umm¡­ is it supposed to warm up like this?¡± Ember asked nervously. ¡°Eeek!¡± She jumped slightly as the warmth then shot up her arm straight to her chest. The feeling was reminiscent of a strong shock she felt as a child; the electric tingling and numbness coursing through her body from fingers to her toes. ¡°That is perfectly normal. What you are feeling is the mana in your body being awoken and synchronized with the core of the system. It shouldn''t hurt, but it may get uncomfortable as your internal mana settles into its new state.¡± Willow gave a reassuring smile before continuing. ¡°If this is truly your first time opening your status be prepared. You will be given some choices at the start, first will be Stat point allocation and second will be skill choice. Both of these decisions will have drastic and long lasting results on what path your life takes.¡± Willow stopped and placed her hand on Ember''s shoulder, ¡°So before making any decisions I suggest reading the details of every skill available to you. Not just the ones that catch your eye first, or you''ll end up with a skill like hard light.¡± she said, giving a quick glare to Thorn with the mention of the skill name. ¡°To do so just focus on the skill in question and think or say details.¡± ¡°O-okay¡­ umm¡­. How long will the numbness and tingling last?¡± Ember asked with slight concern. ¡°Oh, that should pass in a minute or so. You''ll only feel a lasting change if your affinity is strong enough to affect the world around you. For example, a strong ice affinity may lower the temperature in your immediate vicinity while fire or heat affinities would do the opposite.¡± Willow explained. ¡°You will see your affinity on your personal information page in your status. It isn''t the biggest factor in what you are able to do in life but certain affinities are seeked out. Whether it is good or bad is determined by the effect and strength of the affinity, and the identity of the person funding the search.¡± ¡°Okay, I''ll give it a shot.¡± Ember said dubiously, ¡°Status¡­?¡± Stats, Skills, and Affinities [Notice] [New Host Identified] [Synchronization of Soul, Spirit, and Body Initializing] [1%] [5%] [17%] [45%] [97%] [Error] [Non-Native Spiritual Energy Detected] [Initializing Isolation] [Error] [Isolation Will Cause Permanent Spirit Damage] [Contacting Administrator] [Error] [0/4 Administrators Available] [Error] [Error] [Requesting Upgrade] [Upgrade Approved] [Initializing System Upgrade] [1%] [3%] [7%] [15%] [39%] [74%] [99%] [100%] [Upgrade Successfully Installed] [System Upgrade From Oracle To Metatron Successful] [Non-Native Spiritual Energy Detected] [Isolation Unsuccessful, Determining Optimal Solution] [Fuse Native And Non-Native Spiritual Energies?] [Y/N?] ¡®Uh¡­ yes¡­?¡¯ Ember thought as she was being bombarded and overwhelmed by the explosion of boxes and text that appeared in front of her. Each like a translucent yellow brown box with vibrant orange text. [Fusion in progress] ¡°Arughhh!¡± Ember groaned. She felt a deep aching burn in the pit of her stomach. It felt like the worst food poisoning she could imagine, while also getting punched in the stomach, but to top it off it came with the same disconnected dropping feeling from a free fall. [Fusion successful] [Notice The Fusion of Non-Native Energies With User''s Native Spiritual Energy Has Modified Your Original Affinities] [Synchronization of Soul, Spirit, and Body Re-Initializing] [Synchronization Successful] Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. [Name: Ember Abiss Title: None Race:Human Age:23 Level:1 Class: ¡°Locked¡± Affinities: Rot, Nature, Void Lifeforce: 50 Mana: 50 ki: 50 Alacrity: 5 Acuity: 5 Vitality: 5 Vigor: 5 Tenacity: 5 Fortitude: 5 Free points: 5 Active Skills: 0/5 Passive Skill: 0/5 Classless Skills:0/5] [5 Free Points Available] [Please Allocate Points Before Continuing] ¡®What the hell was that?!¡¯ Ember screamed in her mind. ¡®I barely recognize some of those words¡­. How am I supposed to know where to put them if I don''t understand the stat.¡¯ ¡°Urgh¡± she groaned, ¡®What is alacrity?¡¯ [Alacrity: Representative Of the body''s ability to move, bend, or flex to the will of the user, also controls Ki regeneration.] ¡®O¡­Okay, Well that''s useful.¡¯ she thought to herself. ¡®Umm¡­ define all other Stat terms.¡¯ [Acuity: Representative Of the speed and processing power of the user''s mind, also controls mana regeneration. Vitality: Representative Of The body''s ability to heal and regenerate, also Controls Lifeforce regeneration. Vigor: Representative Of the body''s baseline Lifeforce, strength, and speed. Tenacity: Representative Of the minds will, influences the strength of magic and skills also controls mana pool. Fortitude: Representative Of the body and minds ability to resist the influence of outside forces, also controls ki pool.] ¡®Great, much easier to understand. Now I want to know how much they influence me. I know I''m not at the peak of physical fitness but I''d consider myself above a decent amount of people. Seeing as most people just sit around watching TV or anything else to be inactive¡­¡¯ Realizing she was getting off track she smacked her cheeks and refocused. ¡®Focus¡­ I have 5 points to set. I need to make it count because I have no idea when I''ll get more, or how it will affect me realistically. I know magic is real here, and honestly that sounds way cooler than being strong or fast. I''m strong enough for anything I''ve needed to do so far and my speed isn''t terrible. Okay I think I''ve decided. Umm¡­ system? Oh wait if I remember correctly one of the notifications I read earlier called it metatron.¡¯ ¡®Metatron put 3 points into Tenacity and 2 into Acuity.¡¯ [Understood] [Name: Ember Abiss Title: None Race:Human Age:23 Level:1 Class: ¡°Locked¡± Affinities: Rot, Nature, Void Lifeforce: 50 Mana: 80 ki: 50 Alacrity: 5 Acuity: 7 Vitality: 5 Vigor: 5 Tenacity: 8 Fortitude: 5 ] [New Classless Skills Unlocked] [Please Select 1 Of The Following: Aura, Identify Plant, Void Pocket, Translation.] ¡®Metatron, define each available skill.¡¯ [Aura: mana generation above the body''s mana cap will be excreted as an Aura of the user''s strongest affinity. User can choose to push mana from their mana pool into the Aura to keep it active.] [Identify Plant: user can pull up basic system information on plant life.] [Void Pocket: user is able to open a small rift to the void, allowing you to store non-living items.] [Translation: user is able to read, write, and speak any language connected to the system.] ¡®Urgh¡­¡¯ she groaned internally, ¡®Those all sound super useful or cool, but what would be immediately useful and not bite me in the end.¡¯ Ember leaned forward resting her chin on her palm with a contemplative look. ¡®I think I''ll be fine without translation, I made it to town with Thorn in one piece and I think I could get Willow to give me directions and maybe a few language lessons if I''m lucky¡­ or can work out a deal with her. Okay, that''s one down and three to go. Identify Plant sounds useful but it also seems pretty situational¡­ I think I''ll pass on that one as well. So I''m down to two¡­ a clearly utility skill or a possibly offensive one. If even the bunnies I saw here have horns that is probably a good indicator that the world here is more dangerous than I''m used to. I guess it would be best to have a way to defend myself with magic, since I chose to take the magic stats¡­¡¯ ¡®Metatron¡­ I will choose Aura as my Classless Skill.¡¯ She thought to the system, confident in her choice. [Understood] [Name: Ember Abiss Title: None Race:Human Age:23 Level:1 Class: ¡°Locked¡± Affinities: Rot, Nature, Void Lifeforce: 50 Mana: 80 ki: 50 Alacrity: 5 Acuity: 7 Vitality: 5 Vigor: 5 Tenacity: 8 Fortitude: 5 Active Skills: 0/5 Passive Skill: 0/5 Classless Skills:1/5 Rot Aura - lvl 1 ] ¡®Awesome.¡¯ Ember thought, ¡®now that that''s done I''m curious. Metatron, what are Affinities?¡¯ [Affinities represent the nature of mana generated by the user. Affinities are listed in descending order from most produced to least.] ¡®Cool, cool, although I''m a little concerned by my skill choice now¡­ does that mean I''m going to cause everything around me to immediately decompose?¡¯ Ember wondered curiously and with a bit of concern. [Incorrect] [User Ember Abiss''s Rot Aura while in passive mode will slowly decompose anything within range based on the excess mana generated. While in active mode the rate of decomposition is determined by the amount of mana supplied] ¡®Okay, that''s at least a bit better. I won''t destroy my house just by living in it¡­ although I guess I would need a home to begin with.¡¯ With that thought all the excitement coursing through Ember plummeted into a pit of depression. ¡®I don''t have a home here, I don''t even know where here is¡­ apparently it''s a different universe or something, because I don''t think mana or ki existed where I came from. I''m sure that announcement would have made headlines. Unless it''s dark energy? But isn''t that just the force of space expanding or something?¡¯ Ember smacked her cheeks, ¡®Focus.¡¯ She mentally scrolled back through her notifications for the description of her Rot Aura. ¡®Okay, so¡­ brightside. It seems like it is not always running. It will only activate passively once I hit full mana. The passive rate is as slow as my regen¡­ which I''m not certain of either. Lastly I can keep it turned off if I consciously maintain a mana balance below full. I think I can safely live near people again. Ehehe¡­ although it''s not like I''ve lived near anyone since I left home to hike the Appalachian trail.¡¯ A few minutes pass by as Ember drifts into daydreams of the time she spent in the mountains. Ember, once again, smacked her cheeks and then looked up, swiping the H.U.D. out of her sight and focused on Willow. ¡°Umm¡­ I have questions.¡± Fungus! ¡°Okay, so I don''t even know where to start.¡± Ember said to Willow, looking overwhelmed and confused. ¡°How do I know if I chose a good skill? What determines what skills I have to choose through? Are there always 4 options? Will the three options I didn''t take stay available? Oh! And what about affinities, what even is an affinity?¡± ¡°Slow down dear.¡± Willow interrupted, ¡°I can only answer so fast. Hahaha.¡± She chuckled. ¡°Now for the first question¡­ what was it again? Ah that''s right you asked how do you know if your skill choice was good, correct?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah that was first.¡± Ember answered. ¡°Okay, well this has a simple answer and a more difficult one. Simply put if the skill resonates with your soul and you are able to utilize it, it was a good choice. Now the more difficult answer, the skills you are offered are all skills that you will be able to use in some form or fashion. Not all skills can be found useful in all situations or even most. Take Thorn for example, his first skill was hard light. Yes he is getting utility out of it, but as an aspiring adventurer I don''t see him getting much use out of it. Unless he were to level it high enough to evolve or use a skill fusion request to combine it with another skill, his best contribution to a team would be a walking torch.¡± Willow informed Ember, growing more and more frustrated as she spoke of Thorn''s skill. She let out a long sigh before continuing. ¡°Sorry, the boy is smart but he can be a little dumb sometimes. Hehe. Now, the reason I brought that up was to help demonstrate the concept of the right skill for the right role. Your role is, put simply, what you plan to do in life. Say you want to be an adventurer like Thorn, as an adventurer would you want to travel alone or with a group? As a solo adventurer you would be solely reliant on yourself on all occasions. So you would want well rounded skills to keep yourself alive while still offensively powerful enough to hold your own against your enemies. Now, on the other hand if you were to join a party you would want to focus on a specific role in said party. Take Thorn again, he wants to be a mid to rear line caster that dabbles in support. His hard light covers the support side fairly well but he won''t be doing any actual damage with it. If I were him I would have taken his level three skill spark as my level one instead of hard light. Most likely he chose it due to light being his main affinity and lightning being secondary or tertiary.¡± Willow paused, seeing a question in Ember''s expression. ¡°Are you following so far?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ I think so, but it also brings up more questions.¡± Ember answered honestly. ¡°Firstly, what''s an adventurer? Are they like the people in video games and anime? Taking jobs to collect plants, escort merchants, or kill monsters? If so, what are roles? Like D.P.S., tank, healer, and support? ¡°Ah, that''s pretty much correct.¡± Willow answered with a smile. ¡°I don''t understand that last bit though. What is a D.P.S. and tank? I understand healer and support but I''ve not heard of the other two.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Ember exclaimed, a little excited to not be the one lost for a moment. ¡°Umm the first one explains itself once you know the acronym. D.P.S. stands for damage per second. It would be the person or people dishing out the most damage in an encounter. A tank on the other hand is the person at the front, taking all the damage and agro for the squishy types.¡± Willow cocked an eyebrow at Ember, ¡°Squishy?¡± ¡°HA! Ehehehe.¡± Ember burst into laughter, ¡°ha, yeah, hehe, squishy. The magic types stamina types that don''t focus on defense and turn themselves into a glass cannon. Big boom, but a small rock could shatter it.¡± ¡°Ah, that does make sense, It is just that I have never heard anyone refer to casters, stalkers, and support classes like that.¡± Willow stated. It is an interesting description but I wouldn''t recommend saying that to anyone else. Especially if they happen to be an adventurer, I doubt anyone that''s put their life on the line would appreciate such a¡­ weak description.¡± ¡°O¡­oh. I''ll keep that in mind.¡± Ember replied sheepishly. Willow just gave a smile back in confirmation. ¡°Now that last one, you called a tank, that is a near perfect description of what we refer to as a turtle. Nine times out of ten a turtle wears plate mail or some other heavy slow armor while utilizing a shield of some shape. A lot of knights will take on that path, as well as some paladins and warriors. It''s much less likely to see a lightly equipped front liner so turtle became the go to blanket term for most defensive builds.¡± Ember rubbed her temples while taking in everything so far. ¡°Okay, I can understand all of that, but how do we unlock the right skills for the right roles? I didn''t see any prerequisites for my four options but I doubt everyone gets the same choices. I didn''t see hard light or spark on my list.¡± ¡°Ah, that is a very good question.¡± Willow said wryly, scratching the side of her head. ¡°No one really knows for sure what unlocks skills but the consensus so far states that skills are unlocked through various achievements, having an affinity that aligns with the skill in question, and reaching a certain level in any skill clearly connected to the desired skill. For example, the likelihood of unlocking a beast taming skill without any other animal or beast related skill would be little to none, the recommended first step is to take menagerie tongues, soul link, or telepathy. The first gives the best chance. If you don''t have any skill or affinity already in the path you''re after you can always work for it. The more effort put into a task the higher the chance of getting a skill related. If you practice the spear daily you will eventually unlock a spear based skill or even a spearman class.¡± Ember gave Willow a dubious look, ¡°So I level my skills I want more of, and if I don''t have the skill just try really really hard?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Willow said flatly. ¡°Effort is the key to everything. Without it you wouldn''t gain experience in anything you do except for that which you are naturally gifted in. Now for the last two questions, yes once an option is unlocked it will remain unlocked. You can only unlock new skills every other level until you reach the first milestone. After which you can choose a class, and classes will grant an active or passive every five levels, alternating between which each time. You should be offered an active skill first in most cases, but a few support and focused classes may offer passives first.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°Milestone?¡± Ember asked with her head tilted. ¡°Ah, a milestone is a point in your life where you are given a challenge. Completing the milestone successfully will allow you to progress past your current point. The first milestone is at level nine. You will have to complete a system given challenge the better you do the better rewards you will be offered. Like rarer classes, fusion requests, and possibly greater. Although if you fail to complete the challenges you will no longer be able to progress through the system.¡± Willow Explained. ¡°I hope all of this has clarified your questions deary.¡± ¡°Yes, it''s answered a lot but I''m still confused by affinities. Like what does it mean to have an affinity to something? I''m just more likely to get those skills or¡­?¡± Ember asked. ¡°Oh, I guess I did glance over that part in my explanation earlier. So, to have an affinity with something means that your body, spirit, and soul all resonate with the mana signature of the aforementioned element, energy, or concept. So to give an example, I have two affinities, my primary is paper and my secondary is knowledge. In simple terms I am most compatible with paper magic as eighty percent of my mana production is paper mana with the remaining embodying the concept of knowledge.¡± Willow answered, with the patients of a parent teaching their child. ¡°Wait¡­¡± Ember looked back perplexed. ¡°How can you have an energy representing a concept? I don''t understand.¡± Ember placed her elbows on her knees and cradled her head in her palms. ¡°How does energy, something you physically interact with, affect a concept or idea? It''s an idea right, just something in your head? Does it mean you have an Aura that let''s people learn faster if they stand close?¡± ¡°Yes and no¡­¡± Willow replied. ¡°Conceptual mana generally does exactly as it seems it would. Simply because it is what it is. To answer the last question, no. I do not have an Aura skill nor have I unlocked one. Auras are fairly rare at lower levels and nearly unheard of before unlocking a class. How do you know of the Aura skill? Was it popular in your homeland?¡± ¡°Oh¡­ umm¡­ no, before coming here no one I knew had a system, skills, or magic. Just normal level less humans. I just saw Aura as an option for one of my skills.¡± Ember replied nervously. ¡°...¡± Willow stared at Ember for a moment in disbelief. ¡°Wha¡­ how? That''s amazing, I''m curious which Aura skill you have, but don''t tell me unless you feel comfortable doing so. It is considered rude to ask about someone''s skills or stats if you''re not family, close friends, or at least working together in a party.¡± ¡°No, no! It''s fine!¡± Ember interrupted, waving her hands back and forth. ¡°Honestly I don''t mind at all. I could use some confirmation on my thoughts about how it works.¡± ¡°I would be happy to help. Which Aura skill do you have? Fear? Calm?¡± Willow asked, curiosity clear in her gaze. ¡°Oh it was just called Aura and it is a passive skill I can turn active.¡± Ember stated, while opening the description for her aura skill. ¡°It says it is an Aura produced from my excess mana regeneration and it is tuned to my main affinity. It also said I can pump mana into it to actively power it. So I guess my assumptions are that it won''t stay on constantly as long as I remain below max mana, if it''s attuned to my main affinity it''s destructive to everything, and if I put more mana into it, it will either work faster or farther away.¡± Willow stared at Ember as if she were a gem among rocks. ¡°Do you mind if I ask about your main affinity? Only to help me understand the effect for your final statement. From what I understand it sounds like you are correct with the activation and mana depletion theories. You will most likely need to test the skill somewhere to discover the true extent of its uses.¡± ¡°I don''t mind.¡± Ember said with a smile. ¡°It''s a little odd though¡­ at least I think so. It says Rot is my main affinity and I have a Rot Aura. So I guess I''m wondering I''d It will rot faster or just farther away.¡± ¡°Hmm, intriguing.¡± Willow said, scrunching her eyebrow in thought. ¡°I''ve never heard of a Rot affinity, it sounds like it would be closely related to death magic or maybe a branch of nature magic. I won''t inquire any deeper into your status but if you want to know more I highly suggest testing out your new skill.¡± Willow glanced around at all of the expensive furniture and books around her. ¡°Outside of course. I suggest the Forest edge for weak critters but if you''re unsure against them you can rent time at the training field behind the guild house.¡± Ember froze, thinking back to the horned bunny Thorn killed on the way here. ¡®I don''t know if I want to kill a little bunny if I''m not going to be eating it.¡¯ At that moment the image of a rotting rabbit carcass popped into her mind. ¡°Blehg!¡± she gagged ¡®Nope, no, never, not happening. That''s disgusting.¡¯ ¡°I don''t want to try hunting yet¡­¡± Ember said shakily after swallowing back her repulsion. ¡°How much is the training area? Or food?¡± Her eyes grew wide, ¡°Fungus! How much is rent? Or an inn?¡± Willow walked over and placed a hand on Ember''s shoulder to calm the panicking girl. ¡°Slow down. Take a deep breath and I''ll explain.¡± Ember looked up to Willow meeting her gaze, Eyes filled with concern. ¡°For today don''t fret. I will talk with Thorn about him bringing you along tomorrow to get registered at the guild and join him with training. I think group training could do good for both of you. Plus he can help fill out the registration form for you, seeing as you didn''t take translation as a skill. Heh.¡± Willow said with a laugh. ¡°Umm¡­ speaking of¡­ could I bother you for lessons?¡± Ember asked nervously. ¡°I''ll pay of course! I can clean, cook, and I''ll be getting registered soon so I''m certain I''ll find something I can do there to make money. What do you even use for money anyways?¡± Ember spouted frantically. ¡°Heh. Ehehehehe! Yes, yes you can take lessons. I work at the library, it''s not the biggest you''ll find, but I take pride in my establishment.¡± Willow said glowing with pride. ¡°Once you get settled into town, come and see me. I will work out an affordable payment for you then. I won''t overcharge you so make sure you have food and somewhere to stay. Safe to stay¡­ not camping in the woods with the beasts and animals.¡± Ember looked down to her feet. ¡®I love camping though.¡¯ ¡°Y¡­yes ma''am.¡± She said sullenly. ¡°I''m just worried about not being able to communicate again once I go.¡± Willow raised an eyebrow. ¡°Go? Where are you planning to go? It will be getting late soon, so you can spend tonight and tomorrow in my daughter''s old room. It hasn''t had much use since she left to move to the capital two years ago so I don''t mind and I know she won''t.¡± ¡°Th¡­ thank you! I really appreciate it. I promise to pay you back.¡± Ember said happily, turning to hold Willow''s hand. ¡°Then you can clean up after dinner.¡± Willow said with a smile. ¡°If you will excuse me I''m going to explain your situation to Lord Brindle, Thorn''s father, he runs this territory and owns this house. He was made aware of your arrival around the time I was brought over I believe. Thorn informed him that you didn''t speak the language so I was asked to meet you.¡± She smiled before turning to exit the room. ¡°Thorn, lead her to my place if you''re free. Ember dear, make yourself at home and I will meet you shortly. Stew is on the fire cooking, if it seems low could You add a log as well?¡± ¡°Oh, umm¡­ yes ma''am not a problem. I''m happy to help.¡± Ember gave a smile. ¡°Something Willow''s home.¡± Thorn said nervously, gesturing to the door. ¡°Yes. Thank you.¡± Ember smiled and followed Thorn''s lead to Willow''s place. ¡°I''ll see you tomorrow Thorn. Bye!¡± she said, waving. ¡°Tomorrow!¡± Thorn shouted back happily as he made his way back home. Training Day 1 ¡®What A weird dream.¡¯ Ember thought to herself as she wrapped herself in a warm cocoon of comfiness. ¡®I''ll just stay in bed for a few more minutes. I have a lot of mountains to cross.¡¯ Ember shot up straight to a sitting position in bed. ¡®I''m in a bed, why am I in a bed and not in my tent¡­ no¡­ no, no, no.¡¯ She stood up examining the old style wood walls and flooring, anxiety growing each passing moment. ¡®No lights¡­ no outlets¡­¡¯ She continued to examine her room. ¡®It''s true¡­ I''m really gone¡­¡¯ she sank back into the bed, Eyes growing blurry as a tear ran down her cheek. ¡®Mom¡­¡¯ Ember spent the next ten minutes crying in bed, trying to get a grip on her situation and emotions. Ember jolted when she heard a knocking at her bedroom door. ¡°Dear, take your time getting ready. I left some breakfast for you on the table, but I must head off to the library we will be opening soon. There is no rush for you to do anything this morning, but when you''re ready to practice just head over to see Thorn. He volunteered to stay at home today and tomorrow waiting for you to feel up to learning.¡± Willow said in her best soothing, motherly voice. ¡°Also I left you a gift on the table next to your plate. I wish you well, and have a pleasant day dear.¡± With that said Ember listened to the sound of Willow''s footsteps grow distant until she finally heard the door open and shut. ¡°Hmph¡± Ember sighed, burying her head in her pillow. ¡®Ugh¡­ I need to get up. Wallowing around in self pity is only going to make me start to feel depressed again. That''s the whole reason I left the house and started this crazy endeavor. Hiking, living in nature, and taking care of myself on the trail is what kicked it before, I hope it''ll stay dealt with if I keep myself distracted with this training.¡¯ Ember threw the blanket off of herself and rolled out of bed. ¡®Might as well keep up my good habits.¡¯ She thought to herself as she began her morning stretches. Later that morning, once completing her stretches and getting dressed was taken care of she finally made her way to the breakfast table. ¡°Yum!¡± She exclaimed. ¡®This smells so good, I haven''t had scrambled eggs in over a month!¡¯ ¡°Ehehe¡­¡± she chuckled to herself before tearing into her meal. It was a simple breakfast altogether, a large helping of scrambled eggs, a piece of toast, and what she assumed to be salt cured ham. Ten minutes later she had her head laying on the table with a pained grin on her face. ¡®I ate way too much¡­ but it was so good.¡¯ After cleaning up her mess and taking care of the dishes Ember decided to make her way to see Thorn. ¡®Putting this off won''t do me any good. If I want to find my way home I''ll need to survive in this seemingly more dangerous world and that means learning my new skills and how my affinity is going to affect my surroundings.¡¯ On that thought she stood and made her way out the door. ¡®Oh¡­ how do I lock up? She didn''t explain that part and I don''t see any locking mechanism on the outside, and I only Saw the space for a beam on the opposite¡­. Honestly I can''t remember Thorn unlocking the door when he brought me over last night. Does she only lock up when at home? I guess this place is small enough that everyone probably knows everyone. Bah! I''ll try to ask Thorn before we head to the training place.¡¯ After admitting defeat she turned, with her head slightly downcast, to head to Thorn''s home. Finally arriving at Thorn''s gate Ember paused. ¡®Is it okay to just open it and walk up? I don''t see any gate guards or an intercom¡­¡¯ ¡°Eheh.¡± she chuckled to herself, ¡®like they''d have an intercom without power¡­ screw it, I''m going.¡¯ Ember pushed against the bars of the metal gate blocking her path. Her push caused the gate to groan and creak as if it were going to move before a sharp clicking sound from a latch forced her to stop. ¡°Fungus!¡± She exclaimed, taking a step back to check the gate for a latch she didn''t notice. Not seeing anything she would assume to be a handle, lever, or latch she tried again. ¡®Maybe I''m just not pushing hard enough.¡¯ She thought to herself before leaning all one hundred pounds of body weight into it. The gate creaked and ground against itself but never relented. ¡°Ha shh shh¡­¡± Ember heard a muffled, cut off laugh, coming from someone trying to hide their laughter on the other side of the gate. She looked up glaring at Thorn as he covered his mouth, chest still raising in amusement. ¡°Shut up and open it!¡± She huffed, crossing her arms in indignation. ¡°Humph.¡± ¡°Sorry.¡± Thorn said, raising his hands placatingly. ¡°Something something something understand.¡± He chuckled, scratching the side of his cheek. ¡°Uhh¡­ register?¡± Ember nodded sheepishly, realizing Thorn didn''t understand most of what she just yelled at him. ¡®Thank goodness Willow helped me make a cheat sheet for some written words last night. I should have Thorn read them to me so I can write it out phonetically under the English translation.¡¯ Ember fell in line behind Thorn to follow him into town. ¡°Hey Thorn, read this slow please?¡± She asked, pulling out the page of common words Willow and her came up with. He nodded before looking at the sheet and beginning to read them off to her. By the time they made it to the guild hall Ember felt that she had a decent grasp on the written and spoken forms of the keywords given to her. ¡°Here.¡± Thorn pointed out the sign board hanging above the entrance. The sign had the image of a shield with a sword and staff crossing before it. Beneath the image it read Vynewood Guild Hall written in the common language. ¡®So far so good.¡¯ she thought to herself. ¡°Shall we?¡± She asked Thorn while reaching to push the door open. ¡°Yes.¡± He said, leading her to the shortest line. He spoke to the attendant for a few minutes Occasionally gesturing to Ember who just gave a smile and nod. After speaking the girl behind the desk turned around and entered another room just behind the employee side of the counter. She then returned with two forms in hand, one was given to me and the other to Thorn. ¡®I wonder what he''s filling out, does he have to vouch for me or something?¡¯ Ember took out her cheat sheet and began to fill out the form. Name? Ember Abiss. Age? Twenty-three. Race? Human. Class if past the first milestone? ¡®I think I''ll just leave that one blank.¡¯ role? ¡®Hmm¡­ I put some thought into this last night and I think I''d be a support or caster type. I''ll just put both.¡¯ Support caster. Level? One. Home town? Suches. Once complete Ember handed the filled out form back to the guild girl. Seeing the confusion on her face Ember realized she wrote her age in Arabic numerals not this worlds common. ¡°Sorry.¡± She said to the girl behind the counter, reaching her hand for the sheet to make the correction. After double checking her cheat sheet she wrote the correct twenty-three for the attendant to understand. She handed back the registration form with a slight look of embarrassment written across her face. The guild girl accepted the form from Ember with a smile. She then turned to face Thorn, waiting for him to complete the rental form for the training ground and equipment. He appeared to be stuck on a certain section that Ember could understand. Ember tapped on Thorn''s shoulder. ¡°Can I help?¡± She attempted to speak in common. ¡°Yes!¡± He look up at her, ¡°Umm¡­ which something for you?¡± Ember tilted her head in confusion. ¡°Something? Something means?¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Thorn exclaimed, ¡°Hmm¡­¡± He then began to swap through a few gestures. He first imitated swinging a sword, next a bow, staff, stabbing with a dagger, and as he went to start another he felt Ember grab his arm giggling at his attempts. ¡°Hehe, which weapon for me?¡± Ember clarified. ¡°Yes.¡± Thorn verified. Ember took a moment to think. ¡®Hmm, I''ve only really used a gun as a weapon before. My knife was more of a tool than a weapon. I guess I''d be most comfortable with a staff, I could even double it as a hiking stick.¡¯ ¡°Staff¡­ umm¡­¡± Ember tried to mime staff swing and jab. ¡°Staff?¡± Thorn asked while pointing at a staff resting against the table a man dressed in brown robes sat at. ¡°Yes, a staff.¡± She smiled and nodded in confirmation. Thorn completed filling out the information on the form and handed it back to the girl along with eight copper colored coins. The attendant led the two through the back of the guild hall to a door leading to a fenced in backyard that resembled a scene from a gladiatorial movie¡¯s training segment. The guild girl held open the door for the two before handing their form over to an older gentleman behind a desk covered in wooden training weapons. He looked to be around Fifty or so with a long, well groomed, brown and gray beard. His hair was trimmed short, just long enough for nickel sized curls to spring up. His skin bore a natural tan, likely from his job on the training grounds. ¡°Hello girl, something something know how To use the something?¡± The man asked with a surprisingly deep voice. The words felt like they were resonating in Ember''s bones. ¡°No.¡± Ember replied, shaking her head before looking up at him with a determined smile. ¡°I want to learn.¡± She said with a heavy accent on the newer words she''s learned. ¡°Something, something something something something? ¡° The man behind the desk asked, this time speaking a different language from common. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Ember tilted her head and lifted an eyebrow. ¡°Umm¡­ I¡¯m learning common.¡± She held up her right hand with her thumb and pointer finger separated by about an inch. ¡°Few words.¡± The man ran his fingers through his beard in thought. ¡°Okay. Thorn, teach her well.¡± He said with a glance directed to Thorn. ¡°I''m Quin.¡± He said while reaching out a hand to Ember. Ember reached out to shake his hand with a big grin. ¡°I''m Ember Abiss.¡± She spoke her name slowly and precisely for the man, knowing English was a much less tonal language. ¡°Ember Abiss?¡± He asked in clarification. Ember nodded and accepted the well used wooden staff handed to her. Ember gave the staff a few spins and before failing a single handed twirl, dropping the staff with a clack. The sound caught Thorns attention while he was accepting a wooden club causing him to turn and catch Ember scrambling to pick up the staff she just dropped. Thorn gave a light chuckle before turning Back to finish his conversation with Quin. ¡®Come on Thorn. I don''t know what goes into the checking out and approval process for us to use this place but I''m getting a little impatient.¡¯ ¡®I wonder how Rot even works. Is my mana causing stuff to break down? Or does it somehow influence the natural process of decay? Maybe boosting decomposers? At least that kind of makes sense.¡¯ Ember jumped when Thorn tapped her on the shoulder, jolting her back to reality. She nodded and followed Thorn around the training area until they made it to an area with four wooden training dummies. Thorn gestured to the dummy farthest to the left, ¡°Yours.¡± Then he pointed to the one next to it. ¡°Mine. Try your skill.¡± Ember did as she was asked and approached the wood dummy given to her. ¡®Try my skill¡­ Thanks. Because I definitely know how to do that.¡¯ Looking at it closer she could notice dings and dents all over. Some small chunks missing in the body left splinters jutting out randomly. ¡°Eheheh¡± She chuckled to herself. ¡®So glad I didn''t say I wanted to punch things. But seriously. How do I activate Rot Aura?¡¯ [Turning On Active Consumption Mode] [Current Usage Rate: 1MP/S] ¡®Oh, that was easier than I thought it would be, and only one mana per second seems pretty cheap. Status.¡¯ [Name: Ember Abiss Title: None Race:Human Age:23 Level:1 Class: ¡°Locked¡± Affinities: Rot, Nature, Void Lifeforce: 50 Mana: 78/80 Ki: 50 Alacrity: 5 Acuity: 7 Vitality: 5 Vigor: 5 Tenacity: 8 Fortitude: 5 Active Skills: 0/5 Passive Skill: 0/5 Classless Skills:1/5 Rot Aura - lvl 1 ] ¡®Neat. I''ve used two mana but I don''t see any difference yet. I''ll let it run for ten seconds then stop it.¡¯ Eight seconds later she canceled her skill and started to examine the dummy for any notable difference. ¡®I don''t see any changes¡­ Time to boost it.¡¯ She thought to herself excited to see the result. ¡®Activate Rot Aura at two mana per second.¡¯ [Rot Aura 2Mp/s] ¡®Alright, I''ll run this one for another ten seconds and check again.¡¯ Ten seconds pass with no visible changes to the dummy. ¡®Stop¡¯ [Rot Aura: Passive] Ember examined the dummy up close, picking at the splinters and ridges for weaknesses. ¡®Nothing again? Ugh. I want to see something now. Status¡­ vitals?] [Name: Ember Abiss Title: None Race:Human Age:23 Level:1 Class: ¡°Locked¡± Affinities: Rot, Nature, Void Lifeforce: 50 Mana: 50/80 Ki: 50] ¡®Great, Rot Aura ten Mp/S for five seconds.¡¯ [Error] [Exceeds Skill Level Maximum Input] ¡®FINE! Five Mp/S for ten seconds¡¯ [Rot Aura 5Mp/S] Immediately after activation Ember noticed a big difference. The skill seemed to be draining her mana quick enough for her to physically notice a difference in her body. She could feel coldness seeping into here where the mana left her skin and formed her aura. After 7 seconds past Ember stumbled, barely catching her balance with the aid of her staff. ¡®STOP! Cancel.¡¯ [Rot Aura: Passive] Ember lowered herself to a cross-legged sitting position cradling her head. ¡°Mother Fungus that sucked! Status!¡± [Name: Ember Abiss Title: None Race:Human Age:23 Level:1 Class: ¡°Locked¡± Affinities: Rot, Nature, Void Lifeforce: 50 Mana: 15/80 Ki: 50 Buff/De-Buff: Mana Depletion] ¡®Metatron please explain mana depletion.¡¯ [Mana Depletion: user suffers from mild to severe headaches, nausea, and mental fatigue. Status condition activated when mana pool reaches 20%. Reaching 0 mana will cause user to blackout until a safe minimum level is reached] ¡®Ugh! Please¡­ how long until this fades? What do I need to do to remove the De-Buff?¡¯ [Bring current mana values about 25% maximum capacity] ¡°"Urgh!¡± Ember groaned while flopping forward laying across her own lap. ¡®No math¡­ yes naps¡­¡¯ ¡°Ember? You well?¡± Thorn asked with concern in his voice. ¡°No¡­ Yes. Mana depletion.¡± Ember replied, saying depletion in English. ¡° I don''t know the word. Umm me¡­ no mana?¡± ¡°Ah! Mana Depletion¡± Thorn answered her from beside. He squatted down so that he was at eye level with the tired girl. ¡°Be careful¡­¡± ¡°Yes,¡± she replied slowly. She then lowered her head a bit. ¡°I thank you Thorn. For this.¡± She gestured her hands around over her head. But now I think I need a nap. Or lunch and a nap.¡± She struggled to pull herself back up off the floor after relaxing here for a while. Thorn gave her a hand righting herself as she stood. She then handed Thorn the staff , and bowed. ¡°Please return this for me? I need sleep. Going to Willow''s to sleep the pain away¡­¡± Thorn grabbed the staff and promptly returned all the rental equipment. When complete he guided Ember back out of the guild hall and back to Willow''s house. ¡°Tomorrow?¡± Ember asked. ¡°Yes! But tomorrow the forest.¡± Thorne replied with a smirk. ¡°Bye¡± he waved and turned to head home. Ember raced back to her borrowed room and climbed in bed. She buried her head in the pillows to block out all the ambient light seeping in around her window curtain. ¡®Goodbye headache, Hello fluffy warm.¡¯ With a big yawn and stretch Ember fell asleep. To the library ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Ember groaned. ¡®I don''t want to experience another headache like that ever again.¡¯ Ember stretched under her blankets letting out a small yawn. After giving herself a few seconds to allow her eyes to adjust to the light in her room she finally dragged herself out of bed and back to the world of the awake. ¡®I wonder how long it''s been? I dont think ive been out for too long seeing how the sun is still up. Plus I''m not starving so I didn''t somehow sleep through the night to the next day.¡¯ Ember walked over to the window in her room and looked out to observe the village around her. The streets were busy, filled with people walking around shopping or gathering in areas to chat. The largest gathering of people that she could see were gathering around a fountain in what she could only assume to be the food district with how many people were carrying something to eat, and the ones without were in line for one of the many food stalls. ¡®Okay, that looks delicious. I''m pretty sure that one guy was carrying a huge turkey leg. That¡¯s so cool, I haven''t had one of those since I was little and momma took me to the ren fair.¡¯ Ember thought to herself hungrily. ¡®I hope it doesn''t cost too much. I''m still not certain the actual value of these coins¡¯ she thought while pulling the few coins out of her side zip pocket willow had given to her. She held out 4 silver quarter sized coins and ten nickel sized copper coins. I know it goes ten copper, 0r Bits, to make one Shill, or a silver, and one hundred Shill to make one Crown. I wonder what a crown looks like? Willow said it was a gold coin with a crown stamped on it, but it is also not likely for me to see one here, let alone need one. Ember¡¯s train of thought was broken by a loud grumble rumbling from her stomach. ¡®Okay you win. I''ll go buy something.¡¯ She giggled to herself. Ember made her way through the crowds, following her nose and the mental map she made from her window, heading straight for the little food district she saw. On her way, Ember began feeling a little awkward from the looks and glances people kept giving her whenever she would walk past them. To make things worse she could hear them whispering to each other as well, but she could only pick out a single word or two out of each sentence. ¡®I really wish I knew what these people were saying about me.¡¯ she thought to herself, her eyes drifting down to watch the street while she pulled her hood up over her head. ¡®Just ignore them Em.¡¯ she thought. About ten minutes later she found herself in an open area with a pretty white stone fountain in the center. The fountain looked to be shaped like a tree with vines growing up the trunk and drooping down from the branches. The water from the fountain drizzled down from underneath the canopy bringing back memories from Ember¡¯s past. ¡®That¡¯s awesome and sooo pretty! It reminds me of the vacation to the Hoh rainforest in Washington.¡¯ she giggled to herself. ¡®Mom and I got caught in the rain and thought, Oh we¡¯ll be safe under a tree, before getting drenched and walking back to the car soaked.¡¯ Ember continued giggling to herself as she approached the stall selling the turkey legs. ¡°Hello!¡± The man behind the stall greeted cheerfully. ¡°Hello.¡± Ember replied nervously. ¡°Umm¡­ one please.¡± ¡°Something something!¡± He said again cheerfully, ¡°Five bits.¡± He placed a palm out and Ember counted out the five of the small copper coins from her pocket. The man took the payment and handed her a large leg with an even larger grin on his face. ¡°Enjoy!¡± Ember made her way to the fountain and took a seat on the lip of the pool. She enjoyed the smoky grilled flavor of the meat while listening to the conversations going on around her. She wasn''t able to understand much at all but the longer she listened the more words she was able to start pulling out and piecing together. She spent a while sitting there enjoying the scenery slowly finishing her meal. ¡®Now that i have some food in my belly I''m feeling so much better.¡¯ Ember thought to herself with a smile. ¡®My headache is completely gone now, I wonder what percent my manas is at. Status.¡¯ [Name: Ember Abiss Title: None Race: Human Age:23 Level:1 Class: ¡°Locked¡± Affinities: Rot, Nature, Void Lifeforce: 50 Mana: 50/80 ki: 50 Alacrity: 5 Acuity: 7 Vitality: 5 Vigor: 5 Tenacity: 8 Fortitude: 5 Active Skills: 0/5 If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Passive Skill: 0/5 Classless Skills:1/5 Rot Aura - level 1 ] ¡®Nice! I''m above half.¡¯ She thought, giving a small fist pump. ¡®I should ask willow or thorn how I get more stat points. I really wish I boosted my tenacity more than acuity now. I know it affects regen but i think i''d rather not run out in the first place then fill up from empty faster. I don¡¯t know where thorn might have gone after our short training experience today. So I guess I''ll stop by the library and see willow. Maybe I can find some kids books on the language.¡¯ she thought downcast. ¡®I really hate not being able to talk easily with people. Maybe I should have taken that skill instead of my aura skill. At least I''d be able to understand what''s going on around me better.¡¯ Ember made her way to the library, this time though she walked closer to the buildings and avoided the center crown as much as possible. The looks and whispers continued to happen until she was able to make her way into the building and out of sight. ¡°Oh, hello deary. I expected you and thorn to still be out training your magic or taking a simple request.¡± Willow greeted Ember cheerfully when she entered. ¡°Did the two of you split for a lunch break?¡± ¡®Finally. I can understand everything again¡¯ Ember thought. ¡°Oh, No. I¡­ Umm¡­ was a little dumb.¡± She said scratching the side of her face. ¡°I gave myself mana depletion¡­ and had to go take a nap before my brain imploded.¡± ¡°Oh my. You need to pay closer attention to your remaining mana. Weren''t you told not to let your resource pools drop below a quarter of max?¡± Willow said with slight shock in her tone. ¡°Mana depletion can cause you to black out. Ki depletion will make it harder and harder to move your body with zero equaling paralysis. The most obvious is Lifeforce. No Life means death.¡± Ember gulped at the thought. ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am!¡± she replied hurriedly. ¡°I actually wanted to ask you how I can get more stat points? I want to increase my mana pool so I never run out again. If that''s possible.¡± Willow gave a gentle laugh. ¡°Of course it''s possible. You will need to level up and that will aid you with all of your concerns.¡± ¡°Level up. I remember you talking about that yesterday but how does that even work?¡± Ember asked. ¡°To level up you need to gather essence.¡± Willow said, then noticing the confusion in Ember''s gaze continued. ¡°Essence is released when a magic beast or awakened person dies. Essence is essentially a concentration of all your life experiences, skills, and levels. Everything left behind by the soul as it leaves to begin its next journey.¡± ¡°Okay¡­ so my first fear is confirmed. I will have to kill things to level. Is there any other way to gather experience?¡± Ember asked. ¡°Not until you pass your first trial.¡± Willow answered. ¡°At that point you will be given options for a class. Most crafting classes don¡¯t require combat to level. Some need to produce a certain amount of product, some it''s based on quality. It really boils down to what classes are available to you after the trial.¡± Willow took a moment to consider something before speaking again. ¡°Ember, if you have a class in mind you would like i can direct you to the books that can guide you.¡± ¡°I¡­ I would really appreciate that. Although I think it would do me much better to try and learn the language better. Then I can read about anything I don''t understand.¡± Ember said with a smile growing. ¡°Oh! Do you happen to know why everyone seems to be talking about me, and giving me odd looks?¡± ¡°I''m sorry dear, it is partially because of our small village. The closest city or town to us would take a three day journey. So it isn''t often that we get outsiders in town.¡± Willow informed her. ¡°The other reasons are two parts, first and most likely to be drawing everyone''s attention would be your clothing. Most of what is worn out here is made locally, so it isn¡¯t often people splurge on bright color dyes. Your orange hooded coat is very eye-catching and it doesn''t appear to be made out of any wool or cotton based fabric I''ve seen before. The second reason, and the reason you have probably noticed people talking is because you, is because a cute new girl from outside the village was brought not only to town but directly to the house of young Thorn.¡± Willow took a moment to allow Ember time to process what she said. ¡°Wait. Why is it odd for Thorn to bring someone to his house? I''m sure he has other friends around our age.¡± Ember asked. Willow took a moment to think over her words before replying. ¡°You see, Thorn is a part of a noble family. He may not act the part often enough or come across as a bit childish but his father owns the land we all live on. His family¡¯s title is the lowest title given to a noble family, that of a count, but even so his family is held to noble standards. I say all that so you can understand that as a noble, the fact that he has invited a woman into his house directly and has been seen around town with her has most likely led to rumors spreading of his future engagement.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Ember said, before her eyes grew wide with understanding. ¡°OH! No. No. No. How can I stop that from spreading? I just met the guy. How could they think anyone would jump straight to marriage before even getting to know them or dating?!¡± She spat out, growing more flustered as she spoke. Willow gave a light chuckle and spoke to Ember in a calming voice. ¡°Do not worry about this. It is just a rumor and rumors fade. Give it time, when there is no marriage announcement they will start to forget and put it behind them. Besides, once you''re comfortable and settle in as an adventurer you can spend more time out of town or even visit new ones.¡± Ember looked to be appeased by that answer so Willow continued on. ¡°You said you are interested in language books. I have a few I can think of to help get you started. I''ll bring them over to you shortly. Make yourself comfortable at one of the tables or desks and I''ll be back shortly.¡± Willow said cheerfully as she meandered away through the maze of bookshelves. Ember found a single person desk and sat down. ¡®I can''t believe people are jumping to conclusions of marriage that quickly. I need to find a way back home so I don''t have to worry about setting someone off because I don''t understand some strange custom or societal standard. To do that though¡­ I have no idea.¡¯ Ember dropped her head to the desk with a light thud from her forehead hitting the wood. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± A few minutes pass by with Ember lost in her thoughts before Willow returns carrying three books, one fairly small one and two normal looking books. She placed the set in front of Ember and pointed out what each book was. ¡°First you should start with this one.¡± Willow pointed to the thin book. ¡°This one contains the alphabet. It is mostly pictures with simple words included for clarification. It is a go to for parents when starting to teach their children. Next I present to you a two parter, first is a dictionary with all the words in alphabetical order. Second is also a dictionary,¡± Willow chuckled, ¡°but the words are ordered by sound rather than spelling. It helps with confusing words like knight and knife that have a silent letter thrown on to the beginning of the word. Ember began flipping through the little picture book, ¡°Thank you so much for all the help. Seriously, I don''t know how I''ll be able to repay you but if you need anything from me just ask.¡± Willow smiled at Ember¡¯s honest response. ¡°Thank you but it was nothing. I''m happy to help you out, and it''s very nice having someone to keep me company during dinner again. Now I''ll leave you to read. If you need anything you come ask or if you don''t see me there is a small bell sitting on my desk by the front door. If you''ll excuse me then, I need to get back to sorting and cataloging.¡± Willow gave a small nod before turning to disappear in the rows of books. ¡®Wow¡­ how does she just disappear like that?¡¯ Ember wondered. ¡®Nevermind that now. I need to memorize all of this today and tonight so I can try practicing with Thorn in the forest tomorrow.¡¯ Ember looked at the three books in front of her with a hint of dismay. ¡®The sooner it''s done, the sooner I can talk to people freely again¡­ Let¡¯s Go!¡¯ Gutrot? The following morning Ember met up with Thorn outside the guild hall. When she arrived she noticed that thorn was carrying a canvas bag and had two staves propped against the wall beside him. Feeling excited with her new found knowledge Ember did her best to greet Thorn in common. ¡°Hello Thorn, thank you for train¡­ing¡­ me again today.¡± She said, a slight blush of embarrassment creeping into her cheeks from stumbling over one of her words. Thorn cocked an eyebrow to her as he looked up to see her addressing him in his language, his surprise written on his face. ¡°You spoke very well.¡± ¡®Her accent is fairly heavy but that is to be expected from someone new to the language.¡¯ He thought to himself. ¡°I am surprised you picked that much up so fast.¡± Ember looked up to catch Thorns gaze and with a hint of pride in her voice replied. ¡°I studied all night with Willow. She is a great teacher. I still need practice and hope to do so today while we are training.¡± ¡°That is great, Willow is well respected in town for her ability to help people. She knows so much about everything¡­ sometimes I think she must have written half of the books in her something herself.¡± Thorn replied. Ember tilted her head slightly in confusion. ¡°Something?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ umm¡­ Something is¡­ the house of books? House for books? Books can be borrowed too.¡± He replied with slight hesitation trying to think up a good description for a library. Ember¡¯s eyes grew wide in understanding. ¡°Oh! Library! Thank you!¡± She then paused as she began to understand Thorn¡¯s statement. ¡°That is too much. How could anyone know that much?¡± ¡°Ha. Having a higher level makes everything easier. Yes your stats affect you just as they are described but they each have hidden traits most people overlook.¡± Thorn Explained. ¡°For Willow I would assume she has a crazy acuity skill. Acuity not only gives your thought process a speed boost but you also increase your understanding.¡± ¡®Okay¡¯ Ember thought to herself, ¡®so my increase in acuity helped me learn faster, not just thinking speed.¡¯ ¡°Very cool!¡± ¡°Yes. Now are you ready to begin?¡± Thorn sprung forward off the wall he was leaning against. ¡°I think we should take a job as well. We can make a little coin for you and level you up at the same time.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Ember spouted energetically, ¡°Sorry I got excited¡­ Yes, I think that is a good idea.¡± ¡°Here¡± Thorn handed Ember the extra staff that was propped up beside his own. ¡°This is for you. It is a good starter staff. Learn with this one and once you break it or it becomes too weak for you, you can upgrade to a nicer one like mine.¡± Ember took the outstretched staff happily. She turned it over in her hand and gave it a quick twirl in front of her, taking in the weight and reach of the staff. ¡°Thank you! I really like it.¡± She replied joyfully. She then took a moment to observe Thorn¡¯s Staff. It looked to be made out of the same type of wood as hers but the head had a bluish crystal embedded in it. With a closer examination she saw that around the top of the staff there were hundreds of swirling and interlocking characters engraved in the wood around the gem. It was so well crafted that even if the marking had no meaning they would make for a pretty scroll design. ¡°Your staff is very pretty. I love the scrolling design around the top.¡± Thorn looked puzzled for a moment before looking at what she was talking about. ¡°This?¡± he asked, pointing to the writing on his staff. ¡°Yes¡± she replied ¡°Ha. No this is not a pattern for looks it is magic. It is something¡­.¡± seeing the confusion appear on Ember¡¯s face with the last word he started explaining. ¡°There is magic in the words. The words go on to the staff too give the staff that magic.¡± ¡°Oh! Enchanted.¡± Her eyes popped wide. ¡°YOUR STAFF IS MAGIC!?!¡± ¡°Shhhh¡­.¡± Thorn placed a finger in front of his lips. ¡°That isn''t something you freely tell people. Friends, party, and family are fine but a stranger may try to steal it from you. Some even by force¡­¡± He trailed off at the end not wanting to scare her away from meeting the nicer people around as well. ¡°Most people are nice enough. It''s just bandits and criminals to look out for.¡± ¡®I had really hoped that bandits and the like were just in stories and anime. How am I ever going to feel comfortable going anywhere without a car? Maybe a wagon? Carriage? Buggy? I don''t even know the difference between them. I think it''s just size or capacity that determines the name.¡¯ Ember thought to herself. ¡®Why am I even thinking about traveling? The only travel I want to go on is back home.¡¯ Ember smacked her cheeks, realizing she was getting lost in thought again. ¡°Sorry. I got stuck in my head.¡± Thorn chuckled at her response. ¡° No worries. Wait here and I will go fetch us a good job to do.¡± With that Thorn turned to enter the guild and Ember pulled up her skill description again. [Rot Aura: mana generation above the body''s mana cap will be excreted as an Aura of the user''s strongest affinity. User can choose to push mana from their mana pool into the Aura to keep it active.] ¡®I didn¡¯t notice any notable change from my aura yesterday with the training dummies¡­ other than the horrible headache and nausea from mana depletion.¡¯ ¡°Ugh.¡± She groaned out of annoyance. ¡®Mana depletion is the worst. I need to boost my mana pool as soon as I can. I really hope it isnt to hard to level up.¡¯ ¡°Ready?¡± Thorn asked, snapping Ember out of her thoughts. ¡°Yes!¡± She said with a start. ¡°Yes¡­¡±
A short walk later Ember found herself staring at an odd orange, yellow spotted, mushroom growing on a fallen log right on the border of the forest and plain. The Mushroom stood about sixteen inches tall with an eight inch circumference cap. It caught her attention originally because of its bright coloration, but soon after she saw that it started pulsing and swelling in a rhythm. ¡°Thorn! What is this?¡± she asked while pointing out the oddly moving mushy. ¡°Careful! It is poison!¡± He alerted her. ¡°That type is called Gutrot. It does exactly as its name suggests.¡± A chill ran through him just thinking about it. ¡°Th¡­ that sounds horrific.¡± She said with a shudder. ¡®Note to self don''t eat wild mushrooms from another world.¡¯ She Shook her body to rid herself of the thought. ¡°Why is it pulsing? Is that a normal thing for this type of mushroom to do?¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°No. It is not normal and I have no idea why. You should ask Willow about it tonight, she should know why it does it.¡± Thorn stated. ¡°Okay!¡± Ember agreed. She stood and began to walk away when Thorn stopped her. ¡°Walk to the clearing and back please?¡± He asked her. ¡°I think I noticed something.¡± ¡°Okay?¡± Ember replied curiously but proceeded to do as she was asked. After making it to the cleaning she turned back to Thorn and approached again. ¡°Any help?¡± She asked. ¡°Yes!¡± He said excitedly. ¡°It is reacting to you.¡± ¡°What?!?¡± She asked in surprise, not catching her slip into English. ¡°How is is reacting to me¡± ¡°It pulses when you get close. I wonder if it has to do with your nature affinity? That typically affects plant life more than mushrooms though.¡± Thorn answered. ¡®Something to do with my affinity huh? Well maybe it''s a blend of rot and nature? I mean fungus is nature¡¯s decomposer.¡¯ Ember thought to herself. ¡°Hey, I have an idea¡­ but I don''t know what it will do. Can you stand back? I''m going to activate my Rot Aura and see how it reacts.¡± ¡°Oh! Good Idea!¡± He replied. Once thorn made it a few feet away from her she began pouring mana into her skill. ¡®Okay I''ll start off slow with 1 Mana per second.¡¯ She thought as she activated her skill. [Rot Aura 1Mp/s] As soon as her skill went active she noticed the mushroom begin pulsing faster, almost quivering. ¡®Okay, so my Rot Aura is doing something to it. I just have no idea what it is yet, so I guess it''s time to up the ante. [Rot Aura 2Mp/s] The Change was immediate. As soon as the mana consumption on the skill increased the shaking and quivering stopped and the mushroom started to pulse again, but this time slower but each time it swelled in size it would keep some of the growth. After a few seconds of running at two mana per second she boosted it one last time to five. ¡®I just want to see what happens¡­¡¯ [Rot Aura 5Mp/s] The mushroom shot up another four or five inches before it stopped growing and pulsing entirely. With one last shudder of growth the mushroom began to glow dimly while it simultaneously released a dimly glowing brownish yellow fog from under its cap. The glow and haze released by the mushroom held Ember¡¯s attention as if it had put her in a trance. Her attention only being broken by the twinge of pain slowly forming behind her eyes, growing in intensity with each mana spent. ¡®STOP ROT AURA!¡¯ She yelled in her mind in panic, not wanting to experience that pain all over again. [Rot Aura: Passive] ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Ember groaned, placing her hand over her left eye. ¡°Spores! Mother fungus! Why does it feel like a cold knife being slid into my brain through my eye!?!¡± She Exclaimed, yelling to know one in particular. [Notice] ¡®Not now¡¯ She thought, swiping the message away with a swish of her hand. ¡®The pain is already starting to fade. This time is much quicker than the last time. I wonder what the difference is. Status, Vitals.¡¯ [Name: Ember Abiss Title: None Race:Human Age:23 Level:1 Class: ¡°Locked¡± Affinities: Rot, Nature, Void Lifeforce: 50 Mana: 40/80 Ki: 50] ¡®Okay, so the first thing is that i only used half of my mana pool this time instead of almost all of it. I¡¯m going to assume that to be the reason my headache settled so quickly, but it doesn''t explain the intensity of the pain though. Did I drain it too fast?¡¯ Ember thought to herself, rubbing her temples. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± she groaned. ¡°I''ll have to do more testing. More science¡­ yay!¡± she said sarcastically. ¡°Science?¡± Thorn asked using the English word he heard. ¡°Oh, I Don¡¯t know the word in common. Hold on.¡± Ember said, quickly delving into her old memories from high school chemistry class. ¡°Uhhh¡­ it is like studying, but it''s the study of everything, not just one field. Oh and it isn''t just reading about it but you re¡­re¡­research? Yeah. You research, test, and observe the results. Ah! One more thing¡­ it has to be repeatedly tested too! Or at least repeatable.¡± ¡°So what are you going to Science? He asked, putting the same amount of sarcasm on the word as Ember did in the beginning. ¡°Ehehe¡± she scratched the side of her head nervously. ¡°Mana Depletion¡­ or more exactly what made it feel worse now when depleting less mana than i did yesterday.¡± ¡°I can answer that one.¡± Thorn replied happily. ¡°Willow told me that the rate you spend mana causes the intensity to grow while the amount of depletion is affected by the amount of mana consumed. Simply put, if you force more mana out of your body than your mana channels can handle it hurts. Slow and steady rate to empty and you will have no issues to minor irritability. Push your skill to its maximum output and it is like swallowing too much water at once. It hurts going down as your throat stretches, well depletion is like that, it hurts going out when your mana channels stretch as well.¡± ¡°Thank you. I can understand it when you put it like that.¡± Ember replied. ¡°Can you explain what happened with the gutrot? She said pointing over at a pile of rich black soil where a large gutrot rot stood surrounded by smaller freshly sprouted Gutrots. ¡°Wait¡­¡± She looked around again, still not seeing the log and one big mushroom. ¡®It can be? Can it? Did I¡­ rot a log? Or did my aura cause the mushroom to rot the log?¡¯ Thorn started laughing when he saw the confusion on Ember''s face while she searched for the disappearing log. ¡°Very useful. Waste disposal. Magic.¡± He forced out between laughs. Ember looked at the pile of freshly decomposed soil and then back to Thorn. ¡°Stop laughing. I might not have combat use but I''m sure I could at least make a profit selling fertilizers.¡± She said with a smirk. ¡°Seriously though, do you think I caused that or do you think I forced the mushrooms to do it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure but I think we should test it again later. We still need to find three more life dew flowers.¡± Thorn reminded her. ¡°Let''s go a little deeper in. I¡¯m starting to think the perimeter may have been picked clean.¡± Ember looked at him nervously. ¡°Do you think it will be safe? Willow told me not to go deeper than the new growth.¡± Thorn chuckled, ¡°It will be fine! I''m level five. I''ve never run into anything over level three just inside the ring of new growth. Besides, the only beasts to watch out for in this area are slimes and bunnies.¡± Thorn reached out and took Ember¡¯s hand into his own before pulling her deeper into the woods, stopping only to pluck a few gutrots for Ember to test with later. As they ventured deeper into the woods Ember remembered the notice she got from her system earlier and decided now was as good a time as any to check it out. ¡®Metatron, open notice.¡¯ [Notice] [Rot Aura level 1 has reached experience threshold] [Rot Aura Level 1 > Rot Aura Level 2] [Rot Aura: mana generation above the body''s mana cap will be excreted as an Aura of the user''s strongest affinity. User can choose to push mana from their mana pool into the Aura to keep it active. Rot Aura while in passive mode will slowly decompose anything within range based on the excess mana generated. While in active mode the rate of decomposition is determined by the amount of mana supplied.] ¡®Metatron what is the rate of decomposition? Is that like the damage per second that it can produce?¡¯ [Rot Aura Level 1: Passive - 1 point of rot damage per second per 10 mana generated. Active - 1 point of rot damage per second per 2.5 mana per second while casting.] [Rot Aura Level 2: Passive - 1 point of rot damage per second per 10 mana generated. Active - 1 point of rot damage per second per 2 mana per second while casting.] Never again! ¡°Shhh¡­¡± Thorn hushed while pointing a short distance away. ¡°Listen closely. It sounds like rabbits fighting for territory.¡± Ember slowed and walked softer as she approached the area Thorn pointed out. She stealthily peaked around a tree and could see two cat sized rabbits charging each other. Each had a sharp looking curved horn growing out of their forehead that they used in an attempt to gore their opponent after a short scuffle of kicking and biting. ¡°I¡¯ll shoot the one on top, once it goes down, rush in and finish off the one on the ground.¡± Thorn whispered next to Ember before smiling and giving her a thumbs up. He stood slowly so as to not catch the attention of the squabbling rabbits and pointed at them. ¡°Now.¡± He announced firing a small bolt of electricity at the rabbit pinning the other. When the bolt made contact the rabbit let out a pained squeal before collapsing on its side convulsing. Ember stood there in shock for a moment before Thorn nudged her from the side. ¡®Right, I have a job to do too.¡¯ She thought to herself. She took a deep breath to calm herself before charging out into the clearing. As she reared back her staff to smash the rabbit she paused to turn on her rot aura. [Rot Aura: 5MP/S] She swung the end of her staff down on the skull of the fallen rabbit, ending it swiftly in one clean strike. She then watched to see if her magic was having any effect on the corpse, noticing it had begun to swell slightly like it was filling with gas. ¡®Gross, I hope it doesnt pop. I know bacteria starts to break stuff down after death but if it goes too fast will it be catastrophic?¡¯ She was pulled out of her thoughts when the convulsing rabbit started making a pained groaning noise. She looked over to see a dark blackish red foam frothing out of the creature''s mouth and nose. ¡®It did say it did damage. I wonder how I''m hurting them though?¡¯ she pondered until the rabbit coughed up meaty chunks mixed with black coagulated blood. ¡®Gross! Off off off!¡¯ [Rot Aura: Passive] Ember quickly turned away and fought back the urge of puking after seeing such a horrible sight. ¡°Spores! that''s gross.¡± She complained, unluckily she had turned just in time to see the side of the original rabbit she had hit showing signs of stretching before it popped in an explosion of decaying blood and viscera. Throwing blood spatter and chunks right at her hitting her favorite hoodie. ¡°Mother funguuuuu¡­¡± She started, but dropped to her knees facing away and emptied the contents of her stomach. ¡°NEVER!¡± She yelled. ¡°I never want to see that again, it was disgusting. I can smell it, we need to leave this area.¡± She stood up after wiping her mouth and spitting the remaining bile out. ¡°Rot is a terrible affinity.¡± She said flatly, eyes downcast and looking at her hands. ¡®I did that¡­ Thorn electrocuted the first one we met in one shot but this one seemed to be able to hold out after his first shot connected. Lightning affinity is so much cleaner¡­ and probably faster¡­ less painful¡­ and gross to watch.¡¯ ¡°Thorn¡­ i¡­is there a way to change your affinity?¡± She asked with a desperate sadness to it. ¡°No, it is a part of you, and I don''t see why you would want to change it. That was awesome.¡± Thorn replied, not hiding his excitement at witnessing a new magic. ¡°No.¡± Ember stated bluntly not bothering to translate. She let out a small growl of annoyance before switching. ¡°No, it was disgusting. The first one that I hit exploded! Blood and guts everywhere! My only clothes are going to smell like the inside of a corpse. Ahhh!¡± She ended her little tirade with a yell as she threw her arms above her head. Thorn watched as Ember paced around in a circle and shouted, doing his best to hold back his laughter at her animated frustration. ¡°I''m sorry. When we make it back to the guild and turn in our bounty you can get a new set. We have two of the six horns we need to collect now, so just four more and we can leave. Honestly I think your Rot trick on the dead one made gathering the part easier.¡± Ember glared back at Thorn. ¡°I''m not going to the guild hall like this.¡± She said while gesturing down her body at the blood spatter and grime. ¡°I want a bath first. No one wants to smell this and I don''t want to be seen as a gross foreign girl.¡± Thorn led them away from the remains, the smell already reaching the putridness of day-old roadkill, and deeper into the woods to a more densely forested area. As they walked Ember tried to focus on the sounds all around her. She heard birds chirping and singing in the treetop, a constant droning hum from the insects and bugs flitting around weaving in and out of bushes and branches. Some more daring ones dive bombed her ears and neck. ¡°Please tell me your magic world doesn''t have ticks and chiggers? I''ve been walking through here all willy nilly not paying attention to the grass and bushes I walked through.¡± Ember pleaded half heartedly after coming to the realization that it feels like spring and she''s in the woods. ¡°What are teecks and cheeggers?¡± Thorn asked back, not quite pronouncing the English correctly. ¡°ah, umm. The first are bugs that bite you, bury their heads under your skin and then drink your blood until you remove it. They carry diseases too. The second one is a super annoying bug that does the same as ticks but they itch like crazy and they are so small you have to kill them by suffocating them with a cream or something.¡± She explained loudly. ¡°Two things I don''t miss from home¡­¡± ¡°Oh! You are in luck then. I''ve never heard of anything like that. The only blood sucking bugs I know are mosquitos. Normal and beast varieties.¡± He explained. Ember¡¯s eyes grew wide when she heard him say beast mosquitos. W¡­what makes a beast mosquito a beast? She asked nervously. Thorn put his hand out in front of Ember motioning for her to stop and get quiet again. ¡°Beasts can use mana. Average animals and bugs can not.¡± He whispered, ¡°Horned rabbits use mana to jump and kick harder.¡± This time he moved a branch aside to show a single rabbit chewing a nut of some kind. ¡°Rare ones can have an affinity and cast magic from their horns. I''ve never seen one myself though, and I''ve hunted them in this area since I was sixteen.¡± Ember watched the rabbit munching on some nuts while Thorn explained the differences to her. ¡®What kind of horrible things can a magic mosquito do?!? I hope I never see one while I''m here.¡¯ she thought to herself. ¡°What do they do with affinities?¡± She asked. ¡°It depends on the specific element. I''ve heard of super fast lightning rabbits, some have nature mana to grow plants. It can really vary.¡± He replied. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Same tactics as last time?¡± He asked in a more hushed tone, starting to show sparks on his finger. ¡°Yes.¡± She replied dejected. ¡°I''m not using my aura this time.¡± She stuck her tongue out and made a gagging face. ¡°Fine, but it won''t level up that way. You will have to use it if you want to see it get stronger or change.¡± He explained. ¡°Change?¡± Ember asked with a curious head tilt. Thorn let out a small chuckle before responding. ¡°After this.¡± A sparking blue white bolt shot from Thorns finger quickly stunning the rabbit. With a chuff Ember ran out from behind the bush with her staff at the ready. [Rot Aura 5MP/S] She felt a rush flow through her as her aura kicked on, blasting her mana out in a three hundred and sixty degree dome. As she approached she could already see the Aura taking effect. The rabbit''s gut swelled and She spotted the tell tell black and red foam beginning to froth out of its mouth. The sparks had stopped coursing through the creature¡¯s body. Its front paws scratched uselessly in the dirt unable to drag its swollen decaying body anywhere. ¡®So gross! and looks like torture. I''m so sorry Mr. Bunny¡¯ With that thought she slammed the butt end of her staff into the skull of the rabbit. It''s head crushing under the force letting her feel the skin crawling sensation of the bone crackling like an eggshell through the wood. [Rot Aura: Passive] She stood there panting, feeling completely drained with a constant twinge of pain behind her eyes. ¡°Spores! I hate this freaking headache!¡± She shouted angrily, ¡°I need to boost my mana again so I don''t have to worry about feeling this again.¡± ¡®Metatron vitals.¡¯ [Name: Ember Abiss Title: None Race:Human Age:23 Level:1 Class: ¡°Locked¡± Affinities: Rot, Nature, Void Lifeforce: 50 Mana: 5 ki: 50] ¡°Ughh¡­¡± She groaned in a mix of tiredness, frustration, and pain. ¡°Break time please¡­ I''m out of mana.¡± she asked as she leaned back against the closest tree. ¡®The plants here are kinda weird¡­ It has the white bark of a birch but is as big as an oak.¡¯ Ember leaned her head back and shut her eyes in an attempt to meditate and regain mana faster. Unsuccessfully. ¡­ Three dead rabbits with only one more exploding and two puke breaks later Ember and Thorn had made their way back to town. Remembering the conversation from earlier Ember asked again. ¡°How can a skill be changed?¡± As they made their way through the streets Thorn began to explain the concept to the best of his abilities. ¡°When a skill maxes out, it has a chance to evolve based on how you have used it or tried using it. Like this.¡± He formed a baseball sized sphere of white light in the palm of his hand. ¡°This is my Hard Light skill. It''s typically used as a mobile light source while exploring but I want to use it offensively.¡± He said as he threw the ball of light at the brick wall of a building they passed. It hit the wall and immediately popped and disappeared in a flash. ¡°I''m trying to force more mana into the skill to strengthen the ball but it feels like I''m still missing something.¡± He stated, sounding a little dejected at his lack of progress. ¡°So to sum it up. Try to make it do stuff it normally doesn''t want to do while training the skill often as well.¡± ¡°Okay, I understand that. Cool orb by the way. But how can I manipulate my aura to not go gross roadkill on me?¡± Ember asked, curious on the subject. ¡°No clue.¡± Thorn said with a stupid smile on his face. ¡°We are here. Do you want to turn it in with me this time or wait out here again?¡± ¡°I''m not going to let people smell me like this if I don''t have to. I''ll wait. I¡¯d rather make a better first impression on any other staff. I''m already known as the girl that doesn''t know the language¡­ or didn¡¯t? ¡± She answered, bringing forth a cascade of her own questions crashing into her mind. ¡®Okay how can i speak so fluently already? I dont know all the words but i seem to soak up everything after having it explained to me once or twice. I thought languages were supposed to be harder than this. Maybe i should learn Elf or Draconic next.¡¯ She giggled at the thought. ¡®But for now I need to collect my share from the rabbits, then clothes, then I''ll finally get to take a bath.¡¯ She smiled at the thought of being clean again. A few minutes and some upturned noses later Thorn finally returned from the guild hall. As he came back over to her, Ember saw him smiling at her. ¡°Your first quest was a complete success!¡± He said proudly, tossing her a deceptively heavy small sack . ¡°I''m glad I could assist with your training today.¡± He smirked when he saw Ember¡¯s eyes widen as she peered into the money bag. He felt bad about her only set of clothes from her home getting stained with, hopefully, only blood. So he gave her the full reward for six jackalope, nine silver, and threw in a little of his own to help her get something nice or a backup, backup set. Same time tomorrow?¡± ¡°Yes. Same time tomorrow.¡± She replied with a smile as he turned and began heading home. ¡°Oh, ThornWait!¡± She shouted, causing him to turn around again. ¡°Yes?¡± He questioned. ¡°Where is the clothing store?¡± She asked shyly, wishing her reading was as useful as speaking. Thorn let out a few laughs before pointing down the street to her right. ¡°Shopping district. You will find clothes, weapons, armor, and anything else you need to survive over there.¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± Ember shouted back to him after turning to sprint straight to the clothing store. [Name: Ember Abiss Title: None Race:Human Age:23 Level:1 Class: ¡°Locked¡± Affinities: Rot, Nature, Void Lifeforce: 50 Mana: 25 ki: 50 Alacrity: 5 Acuity: 7 Vitality: 5 Vigor: 5 Tenacity: 8 Fortitude: 5 Active Skills: 0/5 Passive Skill: 0/5 Classless Skills:1/5 Rot Aura - lvl 2 ] New clothes and roast "beef?" ¡°Rrring-ding¡± Rang the bell attached to the top corner of the old wood door. ¡°Welcome!¡± Ember heard a cute high pitched voice call out from another room. Not seeing where the voice came from Ember approached the counter. ¡®For this to be a clothing store it''s kinda weird that I don''t see anything on display or out for sale.¡¯ giving the interior of the store a good once over she noticed an abundance of fabrics on display. The walls had rolls of fabric leaning against them the bundles of rolls seperated by color family and material, a desk and table both seemed to be suffering from a cotton catastrophe as bundles of ribbon and fabric scraps piled higher than gravity should be able to support. ¡®Hmmm¡­ I guess it''s a tailor.¡± She thought. ¡°Hello!¡± Ember heard from the room behind the counter. Her head snapped to the doorway with a jolt of surprise. Soon after calling out Ember saw something unbelievable. ¡°You''re a fox!¡± Ember shouted in surprise. Standing before her was a short girl standing around four foot eight inches at the top of her head but five foot four inches if you measure to the tips of the fluffy white tufts on the fox girl''s tall white furred fox ears. Her hair was a long silken white with deep red tips, the front flared off to the side in the front, cut short to show off the red while drawing you to her rich amber colored eyes. The back of her hair continued down past her shoulder blades to get lost behind the fluffiest tail Ember had ever laid eyes on. ¡°You''re a hooman!¡± The fox girl shot back, pointing at Ember with her eyes wide and jaw dropped in an exaggerated manner. She then giggled, dropping her arm and gave Ember an adorably cute grin. ¡°I take it I''m the first of the tribes that you have met?¡± She asked knowingly. Ember tilted her head slightly in confusion. ¡°Tribes?¡± The fox girl rotated her ears and gave Ember a curious look. ¡°Yes¡­ I''m from the kitsune tribe. Have you seriously not even heard of the tribes at all? My family is fairly rare to meet so I can understand not knowing my specific tribe¡­ but none?¡± Ember stared back at the fox girl as she tried to piece together everything being rapidly fired at her. ¡°Umm¡­ yes¡­¡± she answered sheepishly to the overly energetic intgator. ¡°I''m¡­ new?¡± she replied nervously with the last word sounding more like a question than an answer. ¡°New?¡± The kitsune asked with an eyebrow cocked. ¡°I don''t recognize you, so you''re not a local. Your clothing isn''t like anything I''ve seen, and I''ve seen a few styles and customs in my travels. Oh! And you have a funny accent¡± she giggled out. ¡°I think new is an understatement. Now come, come.¡± She rushed out from behind the counter and pulled Ember by the hand to an area behind a privacy screen. ¡°Okay!¡± She pulled a tailor''s tape measure out of her tail fluff and began to take Ember''s measurements. ¡°Don''t move or your clothes won''t fit.¡± Ember stood stock still, half due to the overwhelming positive energy radiating off the girl and half to ensure proper measurements. ¡°I¡­ I''m Ember by the way. And I''m aware of my accent. I''m new to the language and I''m actually surprised with how quickly I''m picking it up.¡± Ember said nervously. ¡°I''m sorry for pointing and staring at you earlier. Where I''m from the only people around are human. I didn''t even know about the system.¡± The fox girl dropped her tape and looked up at Ember. ¡°You didn''t get awakened at 15?¡± ¡°No?¡± Ember replied questioningly. ¡°That''s crazy! How could your parents do that to you!?! You''ve lost years of experience and skill growth!¡± the fox girl said agast. She then leaned close to Ember''s left and whispered ¡°What level are you¡­ If you don''t mind sharing.¡± the fox girl pulled back with a slight blush. ¡°Oh¡­ uhh¡­ I don''t really mind. I don''t see what the big deal is about sharing statuses anyways¡± Ember stammered out. ¡°I''m only level one, but my first skill just hit two!¡± she continued, growing excited at the end as she remembered that her skill leveled up when she was out hunting with Thorn earlier. ¡°Oh, I never caught your name.¡± The fluffy white tail of the kitsune girl grew even fluffier as her hair stood on end out of embarrassment. ¡°I''m so sorry! That was extremely rude of me. I''m Tila, a level 12 tailor. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.¡± She blurted out before giving a curt bow. ¡°Now please, tell me what you''re looking for. Function or fashion? Enchanted or boring?¡± Then with a quick glance up and down of Ember¡¯s tire she asked, ¡°did you want to stick with your yellow, orange, and gray color scheme? The brighter colors are more expensive but look amazing.¡± Ember paused for a moment to process Everything that had happened in the last few minutes before finally answering the impatient fox. ¡°It''s nice to meet you too. I Would like to get two simple shirts, a backup cargo hoodie, another pair of shorts, and ummm¡­ a few sets of underwear¡­¡± she said with a slight blush. ¡°I prefer function over fashion, I literally own one dress at home¡­ and my mom bought it for me. I don''t know what enchanting clothes does, could you explain that part.¡± Then with a soft smile she answered. ¡°And lastly, yes please, orange and yellow match my hair and eyes. And to answer your next question, yes the orange highlights in the black hair is natural. I''ve never dyed my hair before.¡± ¡°Ooo, I love a girl that knows what she wants.¡± Tila replied cheekily. ¡°I''m going to assume hoodie is a word from your native language but I do not know it.¡± ¡°Ah I¡­ uhh¡­ I don''t know the word in common. It''s what I''m wearing over my shirt.¡± Ember replied by plucking some fabric on her hoodie to emphasize it. ¡°Oh, I like that that, hoodie, it''s much shorter than saying light cloth coat with a hood and many pockets.¡± Tila took fake gasps at the end of the sentence. ¡°Much more concise.¡± An hour later Ember had finished having her measurements taken and received a small bag to carry all but the shorts and jacket back home. Those would have to be custom orders which meant she would need to return in three days to pick up the last two garments. ¡®Jeeze¡­ That was more than I expected it to cost. I guess the handmade shorts and jacket deserve the cost. I just hate that I''m broke again. Eight silver for everything. I can still afford food and I can always try for more bunny horns¡­ it feels weird just thinking that.¡¯ Ember thought to herself as she walked back home to Willow''s house. ¡®I should do something nice for Willow with the last of my first paycheck¡­ pay sack¡­ quest reward? Silver¡­ yeah my last silver. Ooo! I know I''ll make dinner tonight!¡¯ As soon as Ember set foot in the house she made a beeline for the bathroom, stripping clothes off the whole way leaving her hoodie on the floor just inside the door, her pants in the living room, shirt in the hallway, and finally socks and underwear in front of the tub. ¡®I may have been over excited¡­¡¯ she thought to herself, as she started filling the tub water from the large vase in the corner. ¡®If I remember correctly I just pour a little mana into the crystal on the side of the tub.¡¯ She did so and the water in the tub began to warm. ¡®Yesss, nice and hot.¡¯ ¡°Ahhhhh¡­¡± Ember let out a soft moan as she lowered herself into the tub, letting her body melt in the relaxing heat. ¡°Oh I needed this. I didn''t realize how sore hunting and smacking rabbits with a stick could make me.¡± After washing all the dirt, blood, and grime out of her hair and off her body she took a few minutes to review her skill upgrade from earlier today. She saw that it went up a level but never checked the details of what actually changed. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. [Name: Ember Abiss Title: None Race:Human Age:23 Level:1 Class: ¡°Locked¡± Affinities: Rot, Nature, Void Lifeforce: 50 Mana: 60 ki: 50 Alacrity: 5 Acuity: 7 Vitality: 5 Vigor: 5 Tenacity: 8 Fortitude: 5 Active Skills: 0/5 Passive Skill: 0/5 Classless Skills:1/5 Rot Aura - lvl 2 ] ¡®Metatron, what changed with the level up of rot aura?¡¯ Ember thought to her system. [Notice] [Skill Rot Aura Has Reached Experience Threshold] [Skill Rot Aura Level 1 > Rot Aura Level 2] [Rot Aura Level 2: Passive - 1 point of rot damage per second per 10 mana generated above maximum mana capacity. Active - 1 point of rot damage per second per 2 mana per second while casting.] ¡®Can I get any more details about the skill?¡¯ [Rot Aura - An Aura emitted from the user in a two meter circumference, when damage threshold\durability of target reaches 10% of maximum the target will begin to rot. Rotting begins from areas of high damage and spreads through undamaged areas. Rot Aura Encourages the natural process of decomposition in any affected materials. Examples: living tissue will decay, metals rust and tarnish,stone corrodes to sand] ¡®Wait a second¡­ Does that mean my mana is the cause of the rotting and rusting or does it fuel the processes by supercharging the bacteria or fungi doing the decomposition?¡¯ [Rot Aura - An Aura emitted from the user in a two meter circumference, when damage threshold\durability of target reaches 10% of maximum the target will begin to rot. Rotting begins from areas of high damage and spreads through undamaged areas. Rot Aura Encourages the natural process of decomposition in any affected materials. Examples: living tissue will decay, metals rust and tarnish,stone corrodes to sand] ¡°...¡± Ember sat stunned in the tub. ¡®Di¡­ did you just sass me?¡¯ ¡°...¡± ¡®Okay don''t reply then. Can you at least tell me how close I am to leveling up?¡¯ She asked hopefully. [Ember Abiss, Classless, Level 1 60%] [Rot Aura level 2 14% (Rot, Nature, Area, Damage Over Time, Acuity)] "Awesome!¡± She exclaimed, fist pumping in the water. Causing it to splash out onto the floor. ¡°Oops¡­¡± I''ll clean up after. I can work with percentages, and I''m over halfway to level two. Sweetness!¡¯ Ember Stretched out in the tub with a big smile on her face. ¡®Six rabbits got me to sixty percent. Hey, Metatron, was each rabbit worth the same amount of experience?¡¯ [Kills Log: Jackalope lvl 1 - 5exp Jackalope lvl 3 - 15 exp Jackalope lvl 3 - 15 Jackalope lvl 1 - 5 Jackalope lvl 2 - 10 Jackalope lvl 2 - 10] Ember¡¯s eyes shot open wide as she jerked up to a sitting position. ¡°I HAVE A KILL LOG!¡± She yelled, ¡°What the fungus! I don''t want to remember everything I have to kill to level up!¡± Her eyes grew wide as she came to a realization, ¡®I hope it doesnt remember people¡­¡¯ Ember climbed out of the tub with her mind racing mindlessly drying herself and brushing her hair out. ¡°Just dont think about it Em, focus on the good things. I got sixty experience from the rabbits, four of which were higher level than me.¡± Ember said to herself, growing a little smug towards the end. She then dumped out the bag of clean clothes on a side table in the corner of the bathroom. ¡®Let''s see, I got new clothes too. Two simple shirts, one black and one a soft yellow, three sets of cute matchy undies, and some plain jute colored pants. Seriously, I love the pink and yellow paisley one, but the black with orange lace is really nice too¡­ though a little spicy.¡¯ She cocked her eyebrow up looking at the pants left sitting on the side after she put on her new black and orange underwear and black shirt. ¡®I didn''t order these pants but I really appreciate the thought. I didnt think about it after I paid for my shorts but they are still being created. Ember finished getting dressed and made her way to the kitchen. She found a box with a magic crystal embedded in it for chilling items and started to search for anything she recognized a recipe for. ¡®This is really weird¡¯ She thought to herself while pulling out a large chicken leg, except the meat was a deep red like venison. ¡®I knew legs were dark meat but this is taking it to a whole nother level.¡¯ ¡°What the?¡± She pulled out a large roast sized chunk of meat, it was dark like beef but had an odd flakey texture like fish. ¡®I think I''ll just have to hope and try.¡¯ she thought to herself as she placed the flakey beef roast on the counter top. She then turned to the pantry in hopes of normal looking veggies or drygoods. ¡°Sweet!¡± she exclaimed in a whisper. ¡°Potatoes! The perfect side for any dish. Ooh I know what I''m making. I just hope this beef? Tastes right in the end.¡¯ She began to separate out a few potatoes from the sack, smaller ones to throw into the pot with the beef roast and a couple of larger ones for mashed potatoes and gravy. ¡®When I get home I''ll have to thank my mom again for teaching me granny¡¯s homemade gravy recipe. I can''t wait to share this with willow.¡¯ As the food cooked and Ember waited for Willow¡¯s return within the hour she contemplated how she would spend the next few days. She wanted to level herself up to the first trial and pick a class but she knew if she were to rush through the leveling speed her aura skill would probably lag behind. ¡®Unless I team up with Thorn again and have him paralyze all of them. Then I could just stand beside the critter until my rot aura did its thing.¡¯ Ember gave the gravy one last taste test before pulling everything from the stove to the dining table. On her second trip back from the kitchen she saw Willow had managed to sneak in without her hearing. ¡°Hello Willow! I wanted to do something for you since you have done so much for me. I know it''s not a lot but this is my best attempt to recreate a favorite dish of mine that my mother taught me. I hope you enjoy it. Please make yourself comfortable while I finish bringing everything.¡± ¡°Thank you deary, but you don''t owe me anything. Just having company has brought me more joy than you would think. But yes, I will sit and wait for your return. It truly smells immaculate, quite the heavy savory scent.¡± Willow replied with a gentle smile. Before sitting to wait. Ember soon set two plates with roast beef?, stewed potatoes, and a nice little volcano of mashed potatoes and gravy. Ember''s heartbeat increased with excitement as she watched Willow try a tentative taste of the mashed potatoes drenched with a slightly thick brown gravy. Willow¡¯s eyes grew wide, ¡°I have never tasted this combination before. This sauce, the gravy I believe you called it, is delectable.¡± She took another larger bite. ¡°Thank you, this is perfect dear.¡± Vitals please The next morning Ember woke up in a cold sweat, her heart was beating a mile a minute. Her eyes shot open and she analyzed her surroundings. ¡®Dark¡­ no¡­ I''m ¡­ I''m safe¡­¡¯ she thought before releasing her held breath. ¡®I''m at Willow''s. What was that dream?¡¯ Ember rolled over to the edge of her bed before deciding to go ahead and get up. After climbing out of bed she walked around the perimeter of the room lighting the candles placed on the walls. Ember let out a long sigh as she sat back down on the edge of her bed, her head turned to face the window. ¡®I wish I knew what the time was here. Without a clock or the sun being up in the sky there''s no way to tell what the time really is.¡¯ While pondering these thoughts she drew closer to the window, placing her forehead against the cold glass in hopes of it calming her thoughts. ¡®I miss home¡­ I miss my mom¡­ How do I even get back? How did I even get here? I remember getting chased by a mountain lion¡¯ She scrunched her eyebrows and pinched the bridge of her nose as she concentrated. ¡®I managed to get away from it by hiding in a crack or cave on the mountain side. But then there''s darkness, darkness mixed with fear and the feeling of being watched.¡¯ ¡°I fell!¡± she nearly shouted before catching herself. ¡®Did I hit my head really hard? Like, hard enough to cause hallucinations? Can head trauma cause this much detail in a hallucination though? Was there some kinda magical portal hidden in the mountain? Or D¡­did I die?¡¯ She sat back down with a hollow look in her eyes. ¡®My body could be rotting in a hole back on earth.¡¯ ¡°No.¡± She said to herself. ¡°I am alive. I am here in Willow¡¯s home.¡± She looked back out the window searching for the moon. ¡°Oh¡­ So pretty.¡± She found the moon floating close to the horizon. It probably had about an hour or so left before it would set for the night. The moon looked huge in the night sky, glowing with a soft pinkish purple light. ¡®That¡¯s like twice the size of the moon back home, and what makes it pink?¡¯ she wondered. ¡®There''s no way I would be able to make up something like this in a coma, there has been too much detail, and I can feel everything¡­ and smell everything.¡¯ her entire body shuddered at the memory of the rabbits exploding from gas build up. ¡®God¡­ why does my magic have to be so gross. It couldn''t focus on the nature side and let me grow plants. No, it has to cause everything in my aura to rot.¡¯ she huffed. ¡®Maybe if I train it up I''ll have more control over how it affects the stuff it touches. But that also means I will have to get serious about using it. I wonder if I can gain a level by just using it actively. If it does gain experience in passive mode I can only imagine it being at a snail''s pace.¡¯ ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± [Rot Aura: Active 2MP/S] ¡®Alright test time. I''ll run my mana down to ten, check on my skill for any growth and then let my mana restore itself before doing it again. [Name: Ember Abiss Title: None Race:Human Age:23 Level:1 Class: ¡°Locked¡± Affinities: Rot, Nature, Void Lifeforce: 50 Mana: 72 ki: 50 Alacrity: 5 Acuity: 7 Vitality: 5 Vigor: 5 Tenacity: 8 Fortitude: 5 Active Skills: 0/5 Passive Skill: 0/5 Classless Skills:1/5 Rot Aura - lvl 2 ] ¡®Okay, eighty mana should be forty seconds of aura. If I only want to use seventy then I have a little over half a minute of active aura at a time. Huh. Now that i think about it i cant use my skill for very long at a time. I need to boost my mana pool stat, but to do that I would need to go level myself first. But I am close, sixty percent and if my math is right I would need about forty more to level. Which could be pretty quick if we don''t encounter any more level one bunnies. Four level twos or three level threes should do. I wonder if i could take one on, on my own yet? I got fairly accurate with the end of my staff toward the end of the last hunting trip. I think full blast Aura and one or two good whacks from my whack¡¯n stick.¡¯ ¡°Eheheh.¡± She made herself giggle. ¡®Ok time to check again, Metatron vitals please?¡¯ [Name: Ember Abiss Title: None Race:Human Age:23 Level:1 Class: ¡°Locked¡± Affinities: Rot, Nature, Void Lifeforce: 50 Mana: 14 ki: 50] ¡°Stop.¡± She said aloud, not expecting so much time to have passed already. ¡®That felt a lot faster than I thought but it¡¯s close enough to ten.¡¯ she canceled the skill and let out a small sigh. ¡°I really need more mana.¡± [Rot Aura: Passive] [Name: Ember Abiss Title: None Race:Human Age:23 Level:1 Class: ¡°Locked¡± Affinities: Rot, Nature, Void Lifeforce: 50 Mana: 12 ki: 50] If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. [Ember Abiss, Classless, Level 1 60%] [Rot Aura level 2 41% (Rot, Nature, Area, Damage Over Time, Acuity)] ¡°Yes!¡± She quietly exclaimed with a fist pump. ¡®I was right, it does gain experience through active usage. Now if i just keep it active whenever i''m not in need of my mana i should be able to level it pretty quick. It feels like there should be a downside to this though. I guess I wouldn''t be able to go near anyone without harming them.¡¯ She gave another shudder, ¡®or exploding small animals¡­¡¯ Just thinking about it brought the scent back to her, so strong she could swear she could smell it again. ¡°Ugk¡­¡± She gagged. Ember opened the window in her room in hopes of the fresh air being able to clear the dead rabbit smell from her memory. A light wisp of cool moist air brushed across her face as soon as the window left the windowsill. It carried on it the scent of flowers from the surroundings and just a hint of bread. ¡®It must be closer to morning than night if someone is up cooking already.¡¯ She thought to herself, a small rumble forming in her belly. ¡®Nope it feels too early to start making breakfast. No matter how bad you want it¡¯ her thoughts directed at her stomach. Ember then laid back down in bed on top of her sheets going over all the types of food she saw when preparing dinner. ¡®I saw eggs. Eggs always taste like eggs. At least I couldn''t tell the difference when I tried duck eggs and quail eggs. I¡¯ll make eggs and toast. That should be a nice breakfast but I''ll check for bacon like meat in the fridge¡­ Ice box? Snow hole?¡¯ with the last thought she let out a small cackle. ¡°Metatron vitals please?¡± She asked the empty room. [Name: Ember Abiss Title: None Race:Human Age:23 Level:1 Class: ¡°Locked¡± Affinities: Rot, Nature, Void Lifeforce: 50 Mana: 17 ki: 50] ¡°Wow¡­¡± She let out unimpressed, ¡®This is going to take forever to recharge. My passive damage is based off of my mana regen so I should be able to gauge it¡­ or ask. Hey Metatron, can I see my regeneration rate for my mana? Or any other resource? [Baseline Regeneration Rates Lifeforce - 50/8h 6.25/H 0.10/M Mana - 70/8h 8.75/H 0.15/M Ki - 50/8h 6.25/H 0.10/M] ¡®Oh sweet, that''s straightforward and easy to follow. I didn''t think it would be broken down for me as well. I really thought I would have to do some math to get the mana per minute rate figured out. But there it is, point one five mana per minute.¡¯ Ember puts her fingers up as she counts up by fifteen. ¡®So like seven minutes for one point¡­ and another seven hours for full mana.¡¯ ¡°Ugh!¡± She groaned. ¡®Maybe I should focus on acuity for regen instead of a bigger mana pool. I''ll just fill it up faster than I can spend it.¡¯ Around thirty minutes later Ember noticed the sun starting to crest the horizon. ¡®Alright suns up, time to cook.¡¯ She thought to herself while stretching before she rolled herself out of bed. Once she made it to the kitchen she pulled out the pan she would use for the eggs and hopefully bacon. She pulled four eggs from storage and sat them to the side before sorting out the various meats. ¡®Nothing looks like bacon darn it. There is this sausage looking ground meat, I guess this will have to do. It''s only been a few days and I''m already craving food from home. Bah!¡¯ After sorting out what ingredients she would use this morning, Ember began to patty out four sausage patties. Once she finished with the shaping she tossed the meat in the pan to fry. The popping and sizzling from the raw meat hitting the hot iron filled the kitchen with a delicious scent that got her mouth watering. ¡®Alright, the sausage is cooking so I guess I''ll start warming the bread. The eggs won''t take very long after they start so they should be last.¡¯ She placed the loaf of bread, which smelled like a sourdough, into the oven to warm. Once the sausage finished cooking she used the leftover grease to cook up the eggs. Around the time she finished plating the meal she could hear stirring from Willow''s room. When Willow made her way into the kitchen Ember saw her sniffing the air and licking her lips. ¡°You''re going to spoil me with all these meals if you keep cooking for me dear. Though I must admit it smells absolutely delectable.¡± Willow said with a smile. ¡°Thank you dear, I truly appreciate it.¡± with that they sat together at the dining room table and shared a meal. Later that morning Ember made her way over to the guild hall. She had plans to find a new hunting job so she could make a little money while working on her level. She found herself standing in front of a large cork board with papers spread all across it. Each one had a different job posted on it while the top showed a symbol for quick recognition of the type. Hunting jobs had a sword and bow at the top, she saw a few herb and flower gathering jobs marked with a flower, and the two symbols with the least representation on the board were the box for local delivery and a wagon for escort missions. She looked through the various hunting jobs searching for one focused on jackalope or other low level hunts. Most of the posts were for creatures stronger than what she could handle, mostly consisting of wolf and bear culling. After reading through half the hunting posts on the board she finally came across two at the bottom of the board that caught her eye. ¡®Hmmm. The Jackalope hunt was what I planned on taking when I came in today but now I see this. I''m not sure what a crystal jelly is but the sketch looks similar to slime monsters from video games and TV shows. Should I take this one?¡¯ She thought to herself as she stood in place holding the two requests. ¡®They look to be in the same general area as one another. I''ll just need to go a little farther south to find the pond with the jelly infestation. I don''t see why I wouldn''t be able to get a few bunnies on my way there.¡¯ She made an audible giggle thinking of how simple her upcoming hunt would be. Ember made her way over to the receptionist desk to claim the two posts she had taken. As she approached she noticed the same girl that helped her out when Thorn brought her here to use the training grounds. Their eyes met and the girl gave Ember a big smile inviting her to use her line. ¡°Hello. You take two jobs?¡± The girl asked in a slow deliberate way, giving extra space between saying each word. ¡°Eheheh.¡±Ember giggled. ¡°Yes please. I would like to take these two.¡± She said while sliding the two pages across the wooden countertop. ¡°Can I ask a few questions though? I''ve never actually seen a crystal jelly before.¡± The receptionist stood slack jawed for a moment before catching herself. ¡°Oh, I, um, you¡­ you learned the language pretty fast didn''t you?¡± Ember made another small giggle before answering. ¡°Yes, Thorn and Willow think it is because I put all of my stat points in my mental attributes. To be fair though I haven''t learned everything. Some words are still tricky.¡± The receptionist hid a smile with her hand. ¡°Well you are doing very well, and you have a pretty cute accent when you speak.¡± Ember blushed a bit at the compliment. ¡°Thank you.¡± She replied with a laugh. ¡°My friends back home always said I had a strong southern belle accent. I wonder if that is carrying through to this language too?¡± ¡°I''m not exactly sure what a southern belle is. I know the words you''re using but I don''t think that phrase is a thing here.¡± The receptionist replied scratching the side of her head. ¡°Oh umm¡­ It would be hard to explain without any context.¡± Ember said while she scrunched her eyebrows in contemplation. ¡°It''s kind of like mixing a really strong accent with a very proper manner of speaking. It''s easy and hard to understand, like if you didn''t speak slow and proper the accent would make the words unrecognizable, but it usually sounds really pretty and flowy. I love when I run into another girl with the same accent, it''s really nice to hear it when I''m not the one talking.¡± She drew a hand to her mouth with a quick inhale. ¡°Oh I''m so sorry I just started ranting and went off on a tangent.¡± The receptionist waved her hands in front of her. ¡°No, no. It''s perfectly fine. I enjoyed the explanation.¡± She ended with a kind smile. She then started digging around under her desk before pulling out a fairly large book. ¡°I''ll just log your jobs under your name for our records. We will send out a search party if you don''t at least check in with us after a week. If you are found to not be in any danger then the guild may fine you based on the circumstances.¡± She said as if she''s said it hundreds of times and the words have lost all meaning to her. ¡°Name please?¡± ¡°Ember Abiss¡± Ember replied. ¡°Ember, Ember, Ember.¡± She repeated to herself while flipping through the pages. ¡°Ah ha! found you.¡± She exclaimed happily. ¡°This looks to be your first time taking on a solo job. Am I correct?¡± ¡°Yes. The last time was with Thorn and he took care of this part.¡± Ember answered. ¡°Not a problem! I only ask due to the nature of the jobs you have chosen. They are both hunting jobs. While both targets are low level crystal jellies have been seen up to level seven, and jackalopes around level five.¡± She gave Ember a once over. ¡°You look to be fairly low level. No offense meant, but are you sure you want to go alone? It''s pretty common for newcomers to join up in small groups of four or five. If you would like to join a group I can add your name to the list of solo hunters also looking to group up.¡± Ember took a moment to think it over before giving her reply. ¡°Not right now I don''t think. I want to try my hand at the simple stuff. I promise to come back and sign up if things get hairy.¡± ¡°Why would it grow hair?¡± The receptionist asked curiously. ¡°Ha. Sorry. That''s probably just a saying from home that you don''t use. It means if things look precarious.¡± Ember laughed while replying. ¡°Ah¡­ Okay. Well, you are all registered now.¡± The receptionist replied while she slid the log book back under her desk. "Once you complete the request, come back to my line and I''ll log your loot and give you your rewards.¡± She gave Ember a smile. ¡°Please excuse my rudeness earlier as well but my name is Sabel. It was a pleasure to serve you today and I wish you luck on your big hunt.¡± Ember gave one last wave and smile to Sabel before turning to leave. ¡®Wow¡­ that was a lot to take in but I think I''m ready.¡¯ she thought to herself. ¡®I have my staff, my water bottle, lucky hoodie, and my still refilling mana. Just to be safe, hey Metatron can I see my vitals please.¡± [Name: Ember Abiss Title: None Race:Human Age:23 Level:1 Class: ¡°Locked¡± Affinities: Rot, Nature, Void Lifeforce: 50 Mana: 43/80 ki: 50] ¡°Bah!¡± She exclaimed. Then looked around to see if anyone was close enough to hear her complaining to herself. ¡®Man¡­ Three hours after practice this morning and I''m still only at half mana.¡¯ She put a Grabbed her forehead in frustration. ¡®That''s it I''m boosting regen. I''ll get a bigger pool later. Like when I have the regeneration rate to make it worth it. Nine gained in an hour but ten are gone in two seconds if I go full blast.¡¯ She kicked a rock on the dirt road along her path. ¡°Stupid.¡± Now that all the registration and preparation are complete Ember continued her way down the dirt road. She was heading to the same forest where she came to hunt jackalope before with Thorn. Although now she had a plan to enter the woods at the same point she did last time, but instead of going deeper into the forest where the higher level jackalope roam she would continue south, along the tree line, until she could spot the pond where the crystal jellies seem to be gathering. Stupid, stupid, stupid ¡°Stupid, stupid, stupid!¡± Ember berated herself in frustration. She has spent the last hour and a half chasing jackalope through the forest to no avail. Each time they would find a way to out run her or lose her by running through a bush. Now she is attempting to sneak up on an unsuspecting duo of jackalopes. She caught sight of them while they were eating some purple and red cluster berries, looking similar to the black berries she loved to eat back home, off of a bush. Luckily for her she didn''t make too much noise when she came to gather some of the berries for herself and willow after she had them identified back at the guild. While she was picking berries and filling her front hoodie pocket with them she heard some rustling mixed with squeaks and chirps a few bushes away from her. She stopped collecting berries so she could be as sneaky as she was capable and began to investigate the noise. She found the two jackalopes and began to formulate a new plan. ¡®I really miss Thorn''s paralysis bolt right now, but I''m going to do this on my own so I can build my own skills. If I recall correctly Granny Willow said our actions determine our growth, and I don''t want to grow lazy or dependent on others. I want to hunt with people because I like them, not because I need them.¡¯ She took a slow deep breath and released it quietly. ¡®I''ll sneak up on them then blast them with a full powered Rot Aura. Metatron shorthand vitals please and thank you¡¯ [Lifeforce: 50 Mana: 48/80 ki: 50] ¡®Thank you¡¯ she thought while smiling. ¡®So, just over half, I can do twenty points of damage safely. I don''t know how strong a jackalope is but I bet it''s health is lower than mine. If the Aura can''t kill it out right I can still try my whack''n stick.¡¯ She smiled, tightening her grip on her staff. About twenty minutes passed before Ember found any signs of the jackalope. While she was doing her best to stay hidden she began to approach the jackalope by skipping from tree to tree. Getting closer she noticed the rabbit was eating what looked like an apple that was laying on the ground. It was about halfway through eating when she got close. Ember''s eyes grew wide as she encountered the biggest flaw in her plan. ¡®How close do I need to be? I don''t know my maximum range¡­¡¯ She pinched the bridge of her nose. ¡°Urgh,¡± she grumbled quietly. ¡®I''ll just get as close as I can.¡¯ Holding her staff tightly and crouching low to try and stay unseen, Ember managed to get behind a tree just to the side of the fallen fruit. She was no more than five feet from the Jackalope when she pulled up her vitals to make one last mana check before launching her aura. [Lifeforce: 50 Mana: 51/80 Ki: 50] ¡®Good enough.¡¯ She thought to herself. With her eyes locked on to her target she activated her rot aura at full blast. [Rot Aura: Active 5MP/S] When the aura hit the jackalope, its head shot up and it started to look around it in a panic. After its search bore no fruit it darted forward, not realizing the direction chosen was the same direction Ember was hiding. As the speeding ball of pointy fluff ran in her direction Ember¡¯s heart started to pound harder and faster in her chest. She tightened her grip on her staff so tight that her knuckles started to turn white. ¡®I can do this.¡¯ She thought to herself. ¡®Now!¡¯ She swung the staff forward in a low sweeping arc as if she was swinging a golf club. When the staff made contact it caught the rabbit in the face, the staff caught on the underside of the critter¡¯s horn which then guided it right into the bridge of the nose and eye sockets. She heard a sickening crack when the wood and bone made contact. The sensation of the rabbit''s skull cracking ran up the staff while the force from the impact nearly ripped it from her grasp. The jackalope started tumbling across the ground before coming to an abrupt stop when it crashed into another tree. Ember refastened her grip on the staff without letting the rabbits tumbling body out of her sight. She turned to chase after it when she saw the rabbit''s body collide with another tree. She hesitated for only a moment before continuing her approach. When she arrived at the scene of the crash she could see blood staining the once bright white fur on its face. The face of which looked to have caved in on itself from the impact of her strike. The jackalope look to be dead if not for the occasional twitch or spasm. She drew close while keeping her guard up, unsure if it could still fight or flee after taking the impact of the staff and tree. The closer she got to it the larger the rabbit started to grow. Seeing this the first thing that popped into Ember¡¯s mind was that the rabbit was using a rage or growth skill so she lifted her staff into the position she saw a monk use in an old kung fu movie and readied herself to strike at the first sign of movement. Luckily for her the jackalope remained still, the only movement she did see was the sight of its lifeless leg flopping over its now noticeably swollen stomach. ¡°No! No, no, no, no, no.¡± She started to scream, while doing an abrupt about face when she realized the cause of the swelling. She lifted her right leg off the ground to start running but before it could contact the ground once again she heard a stomach wrenching, wet popping sound. She wouldn¡¯t let that stop her from trying to escape so she continued to run away as she heard plops and thuds from stuff falling from the sky. ¡®Oh no¡­ I think I¡¯m going to be sick. Why is this what my aura does when something dies around me?¡¯ She questioned as she started slowing her pace and coming to a stop. ¡°Aura off! Aura off!¡± she shouted in frustration. [Rot Aura: Passive] ¡®Thank you¡¯ she thought as she exhaled a long sigh. ¡®This is stupid, the log I used my aura on turned into mush but nooo the rabbits just have to explode.¡¯ She turned around not looking forward to the sight she would find behind her. When she did the first thing to grab her attention, besides the blood spatter on everything, was the state of the body. Its head was thrown backwards from the force of the blast embedding the tip of the horn into the dirt. Everything else below the neck was much more difficult to recognize. The stomach had torn open from the pressure that had built up inside of it. The force even blew the front left leg completely off and she even noticed some fragments of what she could only assume to be bone stabbed into the bark of the tree it collided with. ¡°What the heck?!?¡± She exclaimed. ¡®Are those the rabbit¡¯s bones? Just how powerful was that boom? I should warn Thorn about that before I forget and he gets hit by bone shrapnel while we¡¯re fighting something.¡¯ Ember thought to herself as she crouched down and leaned in closer to check out the bone fragments in the bark. With a closer inspection she was able to recognize some of the bones or bone fragments. The most notable was the bone embedded the deepest in the tree. She was able to tell that the bone was a rib bone after she compared it to an exposed rib still in the body. ¡®This is getting easier to look at and be around at least, though I don''t know if that''s a good thing or a bad thing.¡¯ she pondered. ¡®At least I didn''t puke this time.¡¯ If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. While she was going over her moral dilemma in her mind she also started to remove the horn from the jackalope''s head. With only a few tugs and a good whack from the end of her staff the horn finally broke free. She then wiped the horn and her hands in the grass to clean them as much as she could until she made it to the pond. After she put away the horn she collected she started back on her way to the pond. ¡®Metatron, vitals please?¡¯ She asked in her head. [Lifeforce: 50 Mana: 26/80 Ki: 50] ¡®Okay, so it looks like I only used twenty five mana points. That''s what, five seconds?¡¯ She asked herself. ¡®I don''t know how much damage my staff did to it but my aura should have done about twelve points of damage to it.¡¯ While she was walking along the forest edge she started to grow bored without any more jackalope showing up. The path she took was void of any life but her own and a family of squirrels she spooked. Without having any luck spotting anymore movement she continued back to her line of thought from earlier. ¡®When I made it close enough to see the bun- jackalope¡¯s face after it hit the tree the thing was still twitching and squirming, so it should have still been holding on with a few points of life at that point. It just makes me wonder if the explosion is only caused by the creature dying directly from my aura or is it like I thought earlier and my aura somehow boosts the speed of decomposers? That would also explain the crazy stomach rotting mushroom¡¯s growth and the log¡¯s disintegration. But then why doesn''t the swelling start before its lifeforce hits zero?¡¯ She pondered. A few minutes later she threw her hands into the air exasperated with her inability to answer her own questions. She knew it wasn¡¯t something she would be able to work out on her own in a reasonable amount of time. ¡®I¡¯ll just ask Willow if she knows anything about how skill effects work. Maybe she can even show me a new book on skills and the theories people have come up with for them.¡¯ While she was distracted with her own thoughts she didn''t notice the obstacle growing closer on her path. Without even seeing what it was she stepped on an almost perfectly translucent blob of goo the size of a cantaloupe. ¡°Eeeek!¡± Ember let out a shocked yelp while she jumped backwards. Pulling her foot out of whatever she stepped in. when she looked down at what it was she stepped in she was stumped by what she saw. In the middle of her path lay an almost clear pile of goo. To Ember¡¯s eyes the consistency of the blob looked to be somewhere between that of a jellyfish and clear hair gel. Once she was able to look away from the glob of monster snot she stepped in she turned her attention to her own foot. ¡°Gross, gross, gross!¡± She complained. Her foot had a film of slime surrounding it that fully encased her shoe and just barely touched the ankle of her socks. She started to shake her foot around, kicking it back and forth to little help after the thickest globs slung off. She gave up on that method when no more came off of her even after she kicked a tree. She then rubbed the sides of her shoes against the tree bark to try and scrape off the slimier layer that clung to the leather and cloth of her shoe and upper sock. With that removing the majority she took her gross shoe off and shoved her hand inside of it so she could get a grip on it without touching the goop. She ran it through the grass multiple times to wipe off the last of it finally achieving a result she found suitable for her to put it back on. After what ended up being a ten minute cleaning spree she finally put her shoe back on, doing her best to ignore the slickness still remaining on it, she lifted her eyes and glared at the glob of goop that caused her this trauma. ¡°You! Stupid! Bahh!¡± she yelled at it. While she was berating it she noticed that it was begging to take on a more consistent shape. Going back to an appearance of a jellyfish that washed up on the beach. ¡°Nooo¡­¡± She whined. ¡°How are you alive, you went splat!¡± She yelled, gesturing to her soiled shoe. ¡°I¡¯m the proof.¡± At that moment all the puzzle pieces in her head fit together. She lifted her staff to point at the blob threateningly. ¡°You''re the crystal jelly!¡± A smile started to form on her face. ¡°That means that it is my job to kill you.¡± She let out a menacing chuckle while she walked closer to the slime monster. She lifted her staff up above her head extending as far as she could to get the most force behind her impact. When she brought it down it sank straight into the crystal jelly¡¯s goopy body with a wet shlurp sound. The only damage that she inflicted on it wasn¡¯t even noticeable, as only a few globs of slime splattered away from the main body with the impact. This minor detail didn¡¯t impede her onslaught in the least as she continued to strike the slime with her staff. She tried hitting it from above, jabbing it with the tip of the staff, she even tried to swing her staff at the blob like a baseball bat. None of her strikes appeared to be doing much damage to the thing, if any at all. ¡°Why¡­ Won¡¯t¡­ You¡­ Die!¡± She screamed at the monster speaking a word each time she made an attack. Soon she stopped the overhead attacks and jabbing it and focused solely on swinging at it. This method had the most effect that she could tell, every third or so swing she made on it would take a large clump of the thing¡¯s body out with it when the staff would break through the outer membrane creating a short lived exit wound before more slime would move in to fill the gaps. After about two minutes of her relentlessly swinging her staff at the crystal jelly she decided to stop and take a short breather. While she was catching her breath she tried to determine if she was even doing any real damage to the slime monster. By her best judgment the monster looked to have lost about a third of its original body mass from her constant attacks. ¡®Vitals¡¯ [Lifeforce: 50 Mana: 29/80 Ki: 35/50] ¡°Spores!¡± Ember exclaimed while stomping the ground. ¡°I only regenerated three freaking points.¡± she grumbled to herself. She then walked back up to the now grapefruit sized jello mold. ¡®Screw it, I''ll put my trust in my aura. Rot aura 2 MP!¡¯ She commanded her skill. [Rot Aura: Active 2MP/S] She felt her skill activate as it began to gently pull on her mana. Right after she noticed the mana drain stabilize its pull on her reserves she heard a gurgling and popping noise start to emanate from the blob at her feet. When she looked down to see the results of her magic attack the effect took her by surprise. The crystal jelly had drawn its body mass up into a tight ball-like form while the outer membrane started to quiver and ripple. She then noticed that the sounds were coming from small bubbles that were forming inside of the slime''s body like it was boiling alive from the inside. ¡°Ha!¡± She hollered at it. ¡°Take all twenty nine points of mana and die!¡± Even though she knew it would have zero effect on her skill she still thrusted her arms out at the blob as if she were directing her auras flow. When her arms reached their fully extended length she boosted the mana draw to five. [Rot Aura: Active 5MP/S] At the first second the bubbling in the slime sped up in its ferocity going to a slow pop pop pop to a full on roiling boil. By the second the grapefruit sized crystal jelly had swollen back up to its original cantaloupe size. Then everything turned to chaos. Right before Ember¡¯s mana hit zero the pressure building up in the crystal jelly reached its breaking point, causing the mass of slime to explode out in all directions. The area all around where the jelly monster was once squatting was now drenched in a layer of thin slimy goo. When the crystal jelly¡¯s slime was no longer connected to its host core it shifted from its usual semi solid globular mass into a much more liquid-like state similar to the consistency of school glue. Then in the third second, the last point of Ember¡¯s remaining mana was converted into fuel for her aura, which caused the world around her to shift from vibrant colors to a muffled grayscale before eventually fading to black. ¡®Please¡­ don¡¯t land¡­ in the goo¡­¡¯ Was the last thought to cross her mind before her body collapsed in a heap on the ground. [Mana Levels Critically Low] [Mana Depletion Limit Exceeded] [Shutting Down All Unnecessary Bodily Functions Until Sustainable Mana Levels Have Been Recovered] [Entering Mana Exhaustion] [Experience Values Have Reached Threshold For Advancement] [Congratulations Ember Abiss: Level 1 > Level 2] [...] Unexpected level up ¡°Ughhh¡­¡± Ember groaned, while her awareness slowly creeped back into her consciousness. As soon as she could think again her mind was bombarded by notifications. The alerts would pop up one after the other following each other so quickly that she could barely make out the first word before the next alert would take its place. The cacophony of information flooding her mana deprived brain only worsened the throbbing pain from the headache that started forming behind her eyes and the base of her skull when her mana dropped to only five points remaining. She pressed the tips of her pointer and middle fingers onto the side of her head. She started to add pressure and rub her temples in hopes of the action bringing her even the slightest form of relief. Luckily for her, her actions did slightly alleviate the pressure building up behind her eyes. After giving herself a few moments for the pain in her head to become bearable she pulled herself up into a sitting position. She sat there with her knees wrapped in her arms, using her thighs as a headrest. ¡°Jeez¡­¡± she complained while she lifted her head up to finally take in her surroundings. ¡°I hate mana depletion¡­¡± she let out followed by a sigh. She rubbed her eyes and blinked a few times to get her eyes to clear up and focus. When they did she saw that she managed to keep herself from landing in the puddle of crystal jelly slime. ¡®I couldn''t have been any luckier.¡¯ She thought to herself while observing the slop in front of her. She then spotted something small, about the size of a kernel of corn, reflecting the light back at her from a different angle than the rest of the clearish liquid mess in front of her. ¡®...¡¯ She scrunched her face up in serious compilation, her thoughts a mess of opposing ideas not helping her in the slightest to decide what to do. ¡®What is it?¡¯ ¡®Don¡¯t touch it!¡¯ ¡®Shiny¡¯ ¡®What could it be?!?¡¯ ¡°Why does it have to be in the gross, slimy goooooop.¡± She whined, then lightly punched the ground beside her. ¡°Tsk, Ouch¡± she complained after the soft underside of her fist landed on something pointy hiding in the grass next to her. ¡°Oh!¡± She exclaimed, after she saw that the pointy thing she landed on was a broken off stick from one of the trees nearby. ¡®Heheh, Genius.¡¯ She laughed to herself while she picked up the stick and used it to flick the little object until it was no longer submerged in slime. When she got it out of the putrid puddle she was perplexed by the piece of pinkish purple pyrite laying in front of her. The object was no larger than the nail on her pinkie finger, it looked like a small blocky crystal with a metallic surface that gave off a soft pink sheen when the light caught it just right. ¡®Whatever it is, it''s pretty. So I think I¡¯ll just keep it as a memento from the first victim of my soon to be devised plan for the complete eradication of all of the slimes that live within walking distance from home.¡¯ She paused. ¡®Willow¡¯s home¡­ I can¡¯t allow myself to get too comfortable here. I still have to find my way back home somehow. Which means Even if I wanted to stay I''d at least have to travel to find stronger things to fight. I don¡¯t even want to imagine how many bunnies and slimes it would take to hit higher levels.¡¯ Once she had collected the pretty piece of pyrite and stashed it in one of her zipper pockets she then wiped the residue from the stone off of her fingers with the grass. Then, after she could no longer feel the slick stickiness on her fingers, Ember made her first attempt to stand. Which promptly ended in failure. When she made it to her feet she felt the world spinning beneath her. The sudden case of vertigo coupled with intense dizziness caused her knees to buckle and her stomach to turn. Luckily she had just enough proprioception to send herself stumbling backwards to fall onto her butt and not her face. ¡°Oof¡­¡± She groaned in pain. ¡°Spores! That freaking hurt.¡± ¡®Alright Em¡­ take it slow this time. No rush.¡¯ She thought to herself in an attempt to slow her thoughts and clear her mind. ¡®Take it easy this time, instead of trying to shoot straight up from a squatting position. Oh! Even better, where¡¯s my staff?¡¯ she asked herself while she searched around for where she dropped it. ¡°Ah! Gotcha!¡± She exclaimed, noticing the staff laying on the ground behind her. She then proceeded with her plan, this time she used her staff as a support to keep her standing while she waited for her eyes, brain, and stomach to all agree which way she was facing. In an attempt to calm the nausea she felt growing in the pit of her stomach she closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against the end of her staff. With the lack of visual stimuli, coupled with the grounding feeling of having a stable object to lean her head against, Ember was able to gain enough clarity to bring her stomach back to peace. Ember stood in the same position for another three minutes before growing bored of standing still and slightly anxious from the thought of someone walking by and seeing her in her current goofy pose. She cracked one eye open to check if the world chose to stop dancing around her. She released a sigh of relief when she saw that her surroundings had finally stabilized. ¡®I don''t think I should try walking around just yet.¡¯ she thought to herself. ¡®So¡­ I''ll just lean against this tree and see how long I''ve been asleep.¡¯ She took a few slow steps over to the closest tree to her and promptly let it take over the job of supplying her stability. ¡®Metatron¡­ stat¡­¡¯ she started but then paused, as the memory of alerts firing off as she lost consciousness flooded back to her memory. ¡®Metatron what did I miss when I passed out?¡¯ [8 Pending Notifications] ¡°Oh.¡± she said, slightly taken aback by the amount. ¡®I expected to see two or three, maybe even four but that''s way too many. Seriously Metatron!¡¯ she shouted in her mind. ¡®How much worse can it get than being told you¡¯ve hit zero mana and now the next hour is going to really suck? Oh let me guess¡­ warnings I''m getting low? Just to point out my dumb decision?¡¯ [...] ¡®Fine¡­ I''m done ranting.¡¯ She thought in a huff. ¡®Show me the missed notifications.¡¯ [Mana Levels Critically Low] ¡°Yep¡­¡± [Mana Depletion Limit Exceeded] ¡°Oh?¡± She cocked an eyebrow. ¡°There¡¯s a limit?¡± [Shutting Down All Unnecessary Bodily Functions Until Sustainable Mana Levels Have Been Recovered] ¡°Okay wait¡­ shutting down unnecessary bodily functions? All body functions are necessary. What do you consider to be necessary? Huh? [Necessary Functions Are Prioritized As Such: Brain, Heart, Lungs.] [Designated As Unnecessary In Extreme Cases: Digestion, Locomotion, Consciousness] ¡°Ah¡­¡± she gave a defeated sigh. ¡®It would have still been nice to get a warning before I hit zero mana.¡¯ She thought to her system in a grumble. ¡®You know? Something that will catch my attention without distracting me too much.¡¯ [Alert Set] [Designate Capacity Limit] ¡®Uhhh¡­ five percent.¡¯ She said nervously. [Alert Set As: Blackout Imminent In (5% Maximum Mana Capacity)MP] ¡®Okay, yeah. That¡¯ll do it.¡¯ she confirmed. ¡®I¡¯ll stop interrupting you for now, please continue.¡¯ [Entering Mana Exhaustion] [Experience Values Have Reached Threshold For Advancement] [Congratulations Ember Abiss: Level 1 > Level 2] ¡°Hold up! Pause. Wait just one minute. What now?!?¡± She exclaimed in confusion. ¡®Okay hurry up. what''s next?¡¯ [+1 Acuity(Race) +1 Fortitude(Race) +3 Free Stat Points] [You Have Unlocked 1 Classless Skill Slot Please Select An Additional Skill] ¡°Yeah!!¡± She shouted out in joy while she punched the air in front of her. ¡°First level up!¡± Ember then proceeded to do a short happy dance before pulling up her status screen to divvy out her three free points. [Name: Ember Abiss Title: None Race: Human Age: 23 Level: 2 Class: ¡°Locked¡± Affinities: Rot, Nature, Void Lifeforce: 50 Mana: 24/80 ki: 60 Alacrity: 5 Acuity: 8 Vitality: 5 Vigor: 5 Tenacity: 8 Fortitude: 6 Free Points: 3 Active Skills: 0/5 Passive Skill: 0/5 Classless Skills:1(2)/5 This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Rot Aura - lvl 2 ] Ember¡¯s eyes grew wide when she saw her current mana total. ¡°How long was I out?!? I only get around eightish mana an hour¡­ So does that mean I''ve been out for three hours?!?¡± She then brought her hand up to hold the forehead of her drooping head. ¡®I could have been attacked by something or someone while I was out like that. It was a stupid idea to use all of my mana. I know how much mana depletion sucked, and that should have been enough to stop me but nooo. I just had to use all of it¡­¡¯ She berated herself. ¡®And the worst part is that if it only took fifteen mana to kill it then it only had about seven lifeforce left. I could have smacked it seven more times and been done with it most likely.¡¯ After a moment of silence she let out a deep sigh before returning to the distribution of her new points. ¡®Focus Ember, Fo-cus. I¡¯ve got three points and six attributes, I can rule out all of the non magic based ones. I am definitely going to focus on magic seeing how that''s actually a choice here. Do I want a bigger mana pool or faster regen?¡¯ In the end she went with her gut choice and put one point in Tenacity and the remaining two into Acuity so she could increase her mana regeneration rate. Her justification to herself being that she could just raise her acuity until she regenerated her mana faster than her aura could burn it. With her decision concluded she gave her status another once over before moving on to the last notification she saw. [Name: Ember Abiss Title: None Race: Human Age: 23 Level: 2 Class: ¡°Locked¡± Affinities: Rot, Nature, Void Lifeforce: 50 Mana: 24/90 ki: 60 Alacrity: 5 Acuity: 10 Vitality: 5 Vigor: 5 Tenacity: 9 Fortitude: 6 Free Points: 0 Active Skills: 0/5 Passive Skill: 0/5 Classless Skills:1(2)/5 Rot Aura - lvl 2 ] ¡®Okay Metatron.¡¯ She thought to herself. ¡®Show me my available skills please.¡¯ [Available Classless Skills] [Void Pocket: user is able to open a small rift to the void, allowing you to store non-living items.] (Void, Storage, Utility) [Skill Evolution] [Acuity of 10 or higher] [Asked someone over 100 questions about different items within 8 hours] [Has skipped sleep over 100 time in the pursuit of new Knowledge] [Skill Identify Plant > Identify] [Identify: user can pull up basic system information on people plants and items. Information loses accuracy the higher the target¡¯s level is than the user¡¯s.](Arcane, Nature, System,Utility) [New Skills Unlocked] [Used Your mana affinity to forcefully boost the growth rate of any plant/fungi/lichen] [Has Killed an immobile target] [Has been out run/maneuvered by over 10 foes] [Mana is higher than Ki] [Ensnare - Send your mana into the ground to have nature spring forth to trap and slow your enemies.] (Nature, Rot, Area) [Has caused the explosion of a corpse using only mana] [Has caused the death of an a foe with the corpse of another] [Has only used Free stat points on mental attributes] [Corpse Explosion - Cause any corpse you can see up to 100 feet away. If anything is killed by the original explosion there is a chance for the new corpse to trigger the skill again at no cost to the user.] (Rot, Death, Area) Ember was overwhelmed by all of the information flying through her mind. She used the tree as a guide to slide down into a sitting position so she could dig into the information she was presented with. One of the things that bothered her the most about it though was the individual triggers for unlocking some of these skills. She wrinkled her nose and scrunched her face in contemplation. ¡®Some of these I get, on my first day here I''m sure I asked Thorn way over one hundred questions that day, if you count charades¡­ but then, just on the next line. Even though I haven''t been here for over one hundred days and I didn''t have the system on earth, it knows that I''ve skipped sleeping over one hundred times just to study or because I got caught up in an interesting topic and hyper focused on it until the sun was up. How can it know something from when I was still in school? Does it know everything I know because it''s in my head? If so¡­ I do not like the thought of that¡­¡¯ She shook her head from side to side, her hair started flinging bits of grass and debris out of it from the motion. ¡®Focus on skill, don''t worry about how it was unlocked. For now¡­ So Identify Plants got a general purpose upgrade. That sounds really cool and is a go to in a lot of magic based games and stories or so it seems.¡¯ She scratched her head and tilted it to the side. ¡®Should I really take a utility skill this early on? I think I might pass it up again, at least this time.¡¯ She mentally flung identify to the back of her mind and continued to read down the list to see what new skills she had unlocked. ¡®Oooo new skills.¡¯ She thought excitedly, ¡®Okay this one is at least using moments from this planet and not earth to determine if it would unlock. I remember that crazy gutrot mushroom, I guess this answers my question. It was the cause of its strange reaction and rapid disintegration of the log it was on. The immobile target was one of the rab- jackalope that Thorn paralyzed for me most likely and the last point is just rubbing my nose in the fact that I can''t catch the jackalope without an ambush.¡¯ ¡°Bah!¡± She exclaimed, still feeling irritated with how many times the jackalopes would run between her legs and into a hole or through a bush. ¡°Nope, No, Don¡¯t want it.¡± By the time she read the first line of the unlock requirements for the final skill she knew it would be related to her least favorite aspect of her awesome aura skill. ¡®Making huge gross messes out of bodies is not what I want to be known for. Plus I''m like ninety percent certain that if I took that skill I would be offered some sort of evil sounding class like necromancer or warlock. I want something cool or at least not creepy sounding, but I''m getting way too far ahead of myself. I just turned level two ten is a long way away sadly.¡¯ [New Classless skill selected] [Skill Ensnare added to skill list.] With much deliberation she finally made up her mind on which skill would work best for how she wants to grow and so she went with the most useful to her current needs. Right now she wasn''t hurting for information on anything, nor did she need any more storage than what she could hold in her pockets. To her deepest disappointment the only fully offensive skill offered to her was an automatic absolute no. She absolutely hated the aftermath from an accidental corpse explosion so she had no intentions of making that a triggered skill instead of just an unlucky accident. ''There is no way in hell I''m letting my future skills and class be based around dead bodies or spreading filth from said body exploding. I''m much happier with ensnare, maybe it''ll unlock a Nature or plant based witch class for me.'' She thought to herself. ''Eheheheh I need to find a jackalope now.'' She laughed to herself maniacally. "Oh." She paused. ''Metatron can I get the details on Ensnare now that it''s unlocked?'' [Ensnare - Send your mana into the ground to have nature spring forth to trap and slow your enemies. 10 MP Per 1 square foot of area affected up to 100 square feet. Additional costs based on toughness of the terrain. EX: Soil, clay, stone, ect.] (Nature, Rot, Area) ''Uhhh... is that it? How much Additional cost? Is there an overtime cost like keeping my aura active?'' She questioned. [Ensnare - Send your mana into the ground to have nature spring forth to trap and/or slow your enemies. 10 MP Per 1 square foot of area affected up to 100 square feet. Additional costs based on toughness of the terrain (EX: Soil, clay, stone, ect.) up to an added 10MP. Highest toughness material currently able to be penetrated: sandstone.] (Nature, Rot, Area) ''Oh! Awesome, thank you.'' She said with a smile while she read over the addition to her skills description. ''I want to try it out now... but where?'' She pondered. "Ah-ha!" She exclaimed when the perfect idea hopped into her mind. "The Bunnies." She said with a devious grin. Now that she had finalized all of her selections and decided on her next target, she once again attempted to gather herself up onto her feet. In the attempt she used the tree that had served as her back rest while she finalized her level up, in concordance with her trusty staff and was successfully able to make it to her feet. She stood still for a moment while she enjoyed the cool breeze blowing by. She then took a look around spinning her head slowly so she could check that the vertigo was truly gone. A few deep breaths later she concluded that she would be able to carry on without succumbing to motion sickness just from walking. After what felt like twenty minutes of walking Ember finally spotted the pond she was seeking. When she approached it she saw that the water inside was crystal clear, she could see the rocks with algae growing on them dotting the bed of the pond. While she admired how deeply she could peer into its depths she also began to furrow her brow. What she had first thought of as a sign of a well taken care and clean body of water she was now beginning to question herself. ''This entire pond and the area around it are way to clean...'' She thought as the furrow in her brow grew deeper. ''Something is off but I can''t seem to put my finger on it. This whole place feels fishy...'' As her thoughts clicked into place she scoured the pond searching for any fish swimming or hiding in it. ''That''s what I felt was off... there is no life in the water. No fish, no turtles, frogs, or even tadpoles. Hell, I don''t even see any bugs landing on the surface now that I''m looking for them.'' Ember slowly approached the pond getting just close enough to reach it with her staff. She then tried to test the water, checking if it may be dangerous or possibly even corrosive, by sticking the tip of her staff into the water. She left it to rest in the shallows for a moment watching while small ripples danced across the surface whenever she shifted her stance or adjusted her grip. She kept this up for about five minutes before she saw what she believed to be signs of movement. It looked like little glimmers and streaks flashing through the water, reminding her of minnows catching the sun in the shallows of the lake she used to fish at, but whenever she would try to focus on the glimmering lights there was never anything there. She then tried to jab her staff in deeper to disturb the water and hopefully stir up some movement dirt as well, but when she thrusted the staff forward she felt much more resistance than she had ever imagined water could have. She then ripped her staff back out of the water slightly panicked by the unsettling sensation she felt from the jab. "No..." She said under her breath. "Please be wrong, please be wrong..." She began to plead as she backed up, putting more and more distance between herself and the pond. She only made it four or five feet back before her worst fear manifested before her. She froze when she saw the surface of the water begin to ripple and quiver, the intensity growing like the water was being churned from the inside. At that point she had already started to turn to leave but paused with a gasp before letting out a short sharp scream and booking it away as fast as she could run. When she looked back behind her she saw what looked to be twenty to thirty crystal jellies oozing their way out of the water, she could see the spreading out to search for the cause of the disturbance. Luckily she was already far from the area where they were currently oozing and rolling about in search of her. She turned away from the pond and continued in a slower yet still fast paced walk to head back in the direction of town. ''Not today... It was a slog to take down one of those things, I know I''m nowhere near strong enough to try that on my own. At least not right now.'' She thought to herself determined to grow stronger and return again when she could handle them. "Oh!" She exclaimed as a thought popped into her head. ''I''ll invite Thorn. I bet those oozing globs of liquid are weak to electricity.'' She thought while laughing to herself. ''But first I''ll find somewhere for lunch then back to collecting jackalope horns... or at least trapping some in my new skill.'' Mycelium Trap ¡®Awww they''re so cute!¡¯ Ember thought to herself while she watched two fluffy, short haired, cat sized critters that looked oddly like a mix between a chinchilla and kangaroo due to their back feet being more visually prominent and instead of the thin and curly chinchilla tail it had a thick straight tail covered from base to tip with the same dense and fluffy fur that covered the rest of its body. They were play-fighting with one another. She watched them run around the bases of trees and dart in and out of bushes until one would tackle and pin the other, a small scuffle would break out until one would break free from the tussle and shoot off back into the brambles. ¡®Best spot for a lunch break ever!¡¯ She thought happily with a cute smile on her face. She then stood up and took a glance around at her picnic grounds. ¡®I can¡¯t believe I ran across the perfect break spot out here. The fallen tree I get to use for a seat and its stump that works great as a table were good enough but the end of meal entertainment was more than a girl could have asked for.¡¯ She lifted her hands to the sky and leaned from side to side to stretch her muscles after sitting for too long. ¡®That was a good break, now, Metatron vitals please.¡¯ [Lifeforce: 50 Mana: 52/90 ki: 60] ¡®Excellent, so around two hours since I last checked I think. I¡¯m definitely boosting my regen more, on the next level up I get. With fifty two points of mana regenerated I think I can afford the mana draw to play around with a one square foot area for my new ensnare skill.¡¯ Ember thought to herself. Now that she has decided on her next task Ember started off once again in search for more jackalope to fight. After another hour of walking around in search of any signs of more jackalope Ember finally had some luck. While sneaking through a dense area of undergrowth she heard rustling and squeaking coming from a bit farther in ahead of her. To keep her approach as silent as possible she started moving even slower and more deliberately than she was before. With the extra time allotted to her she decided it would be a good idea to try and focus on the new skill in her mind and try to have it precast or on the edge of casting so when the jackalope came into view all she would need to do is release the hold on her ability. The feeling of precasting a skill was not a pleasant feeling in the least, to her best comparison it felt like if the skill was a sneeze her holding it at the ready was akin to the feeling of a sneeze on the edge of happening but never fully reaching the breaking point to cause you to actually sneeze. ¡®Hold¡­hold¡­ this freaking sucks, but hold¡­¡¯ Ember kept repeating this in her head to help her maintain concentration on her held skill. ¡®Finally!¡¯ She saw a small brown furred jackalope munching on some berries growing on the brambles spread out through the underbrush. ¡®NOW!¡¯ She yelled in her mind, finally allowing her mental mana sneeze to be released. In an instant Ember witnessed two things happen that took her by complete surprise. First, she felt her mana drain from her faster than she has ever experienced. The difference between a five mana per second drain and a ten mana instant draw was ridiculous. If a five mana draw was like a steady stream running through a creek then the ten mana pull was like the rapids found before a waterfall. The experience was so new to her that she wasn''t sure if the sensation was closer to pain or the good sore you feel after a workout, but the feeling being in her veins, or mana channels, instead of her muscles. The next oddity to catch her attention was the ground below her target. As soon as she felt the last threads of mana being drawn out of her body and into the soil she could see the ground below the jackalope begin to crack and roil as thousands of tiny thin white filament like roots shot out of the dirt to encase the rabbit in a cocoon of white threads. Once she could tell the skill had the animal trapped she walked closer to see what it was that jumped out of the ground to fight for her. ¡®It looked like a bunch of thin white worms crawling out of the dirt to crawl all over the poor thing.¡¯ She thought. ¡®I guess it''s like flower roots maybe? Maybe I¡¯ll need a high skill level to manipulate tree roots.¡¯ ¡°Nature?!? Really?!? This is a nature based skill and not a rot based skill right?¡± Ember shouted. ¡°It''s just more mushrooms!!! I was expecting roots and vines, maybe grass and weeds¡­ but no, it looks like the jackalope was caught in a spider web of mycelium growing out of the soil.¡± she complained to herself as she grew closer. ¡°At least the skill works though. I can actually walk up and hit it with my staff instead of chasing it all over the forest just to get lost, tired, and frustrated without anything to show for it.¡± She let out the rest of her aggravation on the rabbit. One good whack to the noggin and with a small crack the jackalope''s body fell limp within the mycelium cocoon. ¡®Metatron, vitals please.¡¯ [Lifeforce: 50 Mana: 52/90 ki: 60] ¡°Oh!¡± Ember exclaimed, ¡®Metatron my am I not missing any mana after I felt all that mana get drained from me?¡¯ [Baseline Regeneration Rates Hp - 50/8h 6.25/H 0.10/M Mp - 100/8h12.5/H 0.20/M Ki - 50/8h 6.25/H 0.10/M] ¡®Okay¡­ i didn''t ask about my regenera¡­ ah¡­ it''s been about an hour since i last checked. So I must have regenerated around twelve points then. But I only spent ten¡­ Metatron! How much was spent on the last skill I used? [Calculating] [Previous Mana Draw: 11MP] ¡®Eleven? Why eleven and not ten? It was only a single square foot.¡¯ She complained. [Ensnare - Send your mana into the ground to have nature spring forth to trap and/or slow your enemies. 10 MP Per 1 square foot of area affected up to 100 square feet. Additional costs based on toughness of the terrain (EX: Soil, clay, stone, ect.) up to an added 10MP. Highest toughness material currently able to be penetrated: sandstone.] (Nature, Rot, Area) Ember reread the skill information three times over before the reasoning clicked in her mind. ¡°AH!¡± she exclaimed upon realization. ¡®Additional costs for terrain.¡¯ She mused. ¡®I guess that cracking I saw below the jackalope before the skill completed meant the dirt wasn''t quite as soft as the skill would have liked it to be. Well no point in letting the parts go bad laying here lets collect the horn and¡­ Where is the horn? D¡­did I murder an innocent bunny? Uh¡­ metatron¡­ kill log please? [Kills Log: Jackalope lvl 1 - 5 exp Jackalope lvl 3 - 15 exp Jackalope lvl 3 - 15 exp Jackalope lvl 1 - 5 exp This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Jackalope lvl 2 - 10 exp Jackalope lvl 2 - 10 exp Jackalope lvl 3 - 15 exp Crystal Jelly lvl 5 -25 exp Jackalope (variant: Earth) lvl 3 - 15 exp] ¡®Wait a second. Hold up. Jackalopes have variants? Was this one an earth variant because it had brown fur and no horn? I have too many questions to try and remember all of them. I should ask about buying a notebook to keep everything written down in.¡¯ With that realization out of the way, Ember then proceeded to collect the earth variant jackalope. With the earth variant not having a horn to remove as proof of its kill she decided to bring the entire body back with her this time instead. ¡®I wonder what they would even ask for as a proof for this type of jackalope?¡¯ Ember froze in her tracks. ¡®I won''t get in trouble for killing a brown one will I?!?¡¯ She questioned herself in a panic. ¡°Bah!¡± She yelled out in complaint. ¡®I should have just asked Thorn to tag along again today. Or at least until I have a basic understanding of the do¡¯s and don''ts around here.¡¯ She continued her way back to town stopping to collect a few more jackalope horns along the way. Five out of the six additional jackalopes she hunted went down quick and easy but the last one gave her a headache. After it saw how she captured its companion in a mycelium net, every time the ground under or around it would shake or shift it would jump straight up into the air or launch itself to the side. The only reason she was able to capture the last one was due to her plan of sneaking around to the side while she kited the rabbit with her new skill and the jackalope being too occupied with avoiding her ensnare skill to notice her staff swinging through the air right at its head.
¡°Good Afternoon Ms. Ember!¡± Sable greeted Ember energetically. ¡°Was your morning hunt a good one?¡± ¡°Yes and no.¡± Ember replied. ¡°I Got a couple of jackalope kills and I even got a level up out of it. But I only took down a single slime and when I found the pond it had so many crystal jellies living in it I ran away screaming¡­¡± she said bashfully grasping the back of her neck. Sable slammed her hands onto the countertop in front of her, instantly catching Ember¡¯s attention and pulling her out of her downward spiral. ¡°You found a spawning pool?!?¡± Sable shouted, loud enough to catch the attention of the other hunters lingering around the guild hall. ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± She quickly apologized. ¡°I didn''t mean to get so excited or to shout¡­ I am very happy to see you back in one piece though. Crystal jellies are great for farming experience at lower levels, as long as you are fighting them one on one or in small groups. They may be a passive species without any active way to defend themselves but if enough of them gather and go after the same target they can overpower and kill foes much stronger than any one of them on their own.¡± ¡°Wait! First¡­ Crystal jellies don''t have any offensive skills?!? And secondly, how can they kill in large numbers if they can¡¯t fight?¡± Ember asked incredulously. ¡°Oh, okay so first yes they do not have any offensive skills at least at their common base levels. If a tamer decides to waste their time as a slime tamer they can eventually teach the crystal jelly some water based magic after it reaches a high enough level that consuming mana doesn''t consume its lifeforce.¡± Sable explained. Seeing the confusion building across Ember¡¯s face she explained. ¡°So most of the jelly species, like Crystal Jellies, Acid Jellies, and Frost Jellies don''t have a body like you and me. They are more closely related to that of an elemental. Elementals are manifestations of a specific flavor of mana, while a Jelly is a collection of unspecified, left over, or neutral mana. All of that basically boils down to this, unlike us flesh and blood lifeforms they are mana based lifeforms. So if a low level slime uses too much mana it starts to burn its own slime mass as fuel. It''s interesting but painful to watch. The only time I have ever heard a jelly monster make any form of sounds was a while back when i was still traveling with my friends, at that point i saw one used its slime mass to cast a skill, when it did its entire body shivered and started to release a hiss of steam as the membrane shook and shivered releasing a high pitched, pained, shrill screeching noise.¡± Sable shook her head in an attempt to shake those memories from the forefront of her mind. ¡°I will be happy if i never have to hear that sound again ever.¡± ¡°That¡­ That''s really good information to have, thank you.¡± Ember thanked Sable and started to unload all of the loot she had gathered on her hunt. She laid out seven jackalope horns of varying sizes, the metallic pink piece of what looks like pyrite, and lastly they corpse of the brown furred Earth variant jackalope. ¡°Ooooo¡­ Very nice! And good quality as well, most folks end up putting notches or chips in the horns when they cut them free but yours all look to have come off fairly cleanly. Almost like you just pulled them off an old rotted corpse.¡± Sable joked before breaking into a small fit of laughter at the end. ¡°Actually¡­¡± Ember started but stopped. ¡°What?¡± Sable questioned, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Well¡­ I¡­ Um¡­ maybe sort of rotted a corpse or two before harvesting them.¡± Ember replied quietly. ¡°Rotted them? Like in death magic¡¯s bone cleaning spell or its festering miasma?¡± Sable asked, looking more confused. ¡°N¡­ No. I, I um¡­ my magic¡­ or well my affinity that is¡­ its¡­ I promise it''s not bad or anything!¡± She said defensively when she noticed Sable starting to give her an odd look. ¡°I have a Rot affinity. I''m not some evil death mage or cultist. I''d show you if I knew of a way to do so.¡± Ember spouted out quickly. ¡°Calm down girl, I''m not questioning you on your moral choices or your natural born affinity. No one will judge you on that only on how you use it in the end.¡± Sable reassured Ember. ¡°Now for the last part of what you said, we can actually share our statuses with others, you just have to give permission to allow the other to view. You can''t just walk up and steal someone¡¯s information by looking at them. Well¡­ unless you have a crazy high level identify or inspect skill. But I''m starting to ramble¡­ I¡¯m sorry. For your seven jackalope horns and slime core we can offer you standard guild rates, which is one and a half shill per jackalope horn and two and a half shill for the slime core.¡± Sable paused to think for a moment before continuing. ¡°Now¡­ The variant pelt would be worth fifteen shill undamaged, but seeing as you didn''t actually do the skinning there will be a processing fee added to the payout, if you agree that is. After the processing fee you would be getting eleven and a half shill with the remaining three and a half being paid to the staff member that performs the skinning. If all of that sounds good to you I can begin to finalize the payment and have the items collected.¡± ¡°Yes! Perfect! Please begin.¡± Ember answered excitedly. ¡°Alright, please wait for a moment while I carry the goods to the back and I will return with your payment. Oh! Also if you took a job for either of the jackalope or slime parts please have your slip ready when I return to have it processed as well.¡± Sable replied with her best salesman smile. After what Ember assumed could have only been thirty seconds, Sable came dancing back out with a small twirl from the employee area behind her desk. She made her way back to the desk and before sitting herself she dropped a small sack of coins on the table for Ember to inspect. ¡°Please,¡± She said with a smile. ¡°Please count and assure that your payment is all there and completed to the agreed upon amount. If everything looks good then you may claim the coin sack and I''ll begin processing your job tickets.¡± Ember dumped the contents of the sack out on the counter and gave it a quick count to verify everything was there. Once she was happy with her results she collected all of their coins back into the sack and tied it onto her belt with the first coin sack she had. ¡°It''s all here. And these are the two jobs I took. I was only able to complete the one for the jackalope though. After one slime drained all my mana and caused me to pass out¡­ I''m sooo not going back to see that thing ever again. ¡°Understandable.¡± Sable replied cheerily. ¡°A spawning pool is no job for a level two, I would recommend being at least level 4 or 5 before trying them solo again. ¡°Oh. Most definitely. I''m planning to ask Thorn to join me tomorrow for the same thing. I figured his sparks could hurt the water balls.¡± she laughed while explaining herself. ¡°That''s a great idea! And I just know he would be happy to go with you. He came in earlier this morning asking if anyone had seen you around this morning. I told him you were in pretty early and left shortly after. He just asked that I ask you to visit him before your next job.¡± Sable explained. ¡°CRAP BASKETS!¡± Ember shouted louder than she intended. ¡° Oops¡­ Uh¡­ I just remembered I kinda promised to meet up here this morning to go hunting with him again today¡­ somedays i hate my short attention span and lack of the ability to remember things without them being in my face. Grr.¡± she growled out in complaint. ¡°But I heard you, I''ll stop by and invite him along to join me tomorrow. I bet he''ll be pumped to shock slimes.¡± ¡°I''m sure he will. That guy has always loved a good explosion or seeing any new style of magic that he has not witnessed before. Well I wish you luck on your conversation later and look forward to your visit again in the morning.¡± Sable reached a hand out with a big smile on her face and Ember took it into hers to shake. ¡°Have a great afternoon Ms. Ember and good luck.¡± With all of their business finalized Sable gathered the remaining items on her desk and cleared it before she helped her next guest. Ember, on the other hand, turned to the door to make her exit. She was planning to make a quick stop by Thorn¡¯s house to apologize for her slip up today and invite him out to the crystal jelly spawning pool tomorrow and then she can finally head home to Willow¡¯s house for a much needed bath and a full nights rest. Status Swapping ¡°Okay, you stun the one on the left and I¡¯ll lock down the one on the right. Then I¡¯ll rush in and hit them with my rot aura. While I¡¯m using my aura on both of them I¡¯ll use my staff to attack the one that you stun.¡± Ember whispered to Thorn. She was verifying the plan that they devised this morning on the walk out of town. ¡°Yes.¡± He replied with a nod. ¡°Just let me know when you''re ready. Don''t take too long though, they could dash at any point.¡± ¡°Got it. Although, are you certain you don¡¯t want to do anymore than the one attack? I appreciate the skill experience but I don''t want to hog it either. I know you''re trying to get an uncommon class when you hit level ten so don''t you need the skill experience too?¡± Ember questioned. Thorn¡¯s shoulders bounced as he stifled a laugh. ¡°Thank you for your concern, but I¡¯m going to be using two skills at once when I attack so our skill experience gain will be fairly even.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Ember replied with a shrug. She crouched into a running stance while she took aim at the jackalope on the right, it had white fur with a black spot across one eye. ¡°Countdown from three, fire on the fourth count. So, it¡¯ll go three, two, one, fire. Got it?¡± She asked. ¡°Mhmm.¡± Thorn whispered with a nod. He then lifted his enchanted staff, taking aim at his target, the red eyed white furred jackalope on the left. ¡°Three¡­¡± He started. Ember¡¯s heart rate started to increase. She saw the silverish white and blue sparks beginning to arc around the tip of Thorn¡¯s staff and used that as her cue to refocus on her own skill. ¡°Two¡­¡± Ember extended her hand forward to direct the man of her spell to her target. ¡°One¡­¡± She could feel her heart racing when she felt her mana start to drain away from her and into the ground. She Tried to sense out the feeling of the mana draining out of her while her skill started to coil, wriggle, and writhe under the jackalope¡¯s unsuspecting paws. ¡°Fire!¡± Thorn said. While at the same time his staff released a loud cracking pop and a small silver streak shot straight at his target. When Ember heard his shout and saw the crackling cacophony go careening off to his target she let her skill finalize and the thousands of threads of mycelium that waited writhing in anticipation shot out of the dirt entangling the feet of the spotted jackalope. In only a split second from being released the electric bolt struck the solid white jackalope, its pristine fur was singed in the area where it was struck while the center of the strike was a black and red hole of charred flesh. ¡°Go.¡± Thorn reminded Ember while she stood there watching their attacks hit. With Thorn¡¯s final reminder Ember shot out of the bushes, she reared her staff back in preparation of a running strike. Right when she was about to make contact with the injured jackalope it managed to roll over and kick the ground hard enough to send itself rolling just out of her reach. Her strike swished through the air and threw her slightly off balance due to the lack of resistance she had anticipated. With only a small stumble after she first changed direction she made it back to the white rabbit which was doing its best to limp hop away from the area. ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t!¡± Ember shouted at the white furred jackalope. She slid her grip down the shaft of her staff to hold it in a baseball bat style grip. She swung the staff at the jackalope right as it tried to take another hop away. Her staff collided with a deep thudding whack, she had caught it mid jump, so as the power and momentum transferred from her to the jackalope¡¯s tiny body. It then flew away from the strike and slammed hard into a tree just a few feet away. She spent a moment to watch if the jackalope would move again. When she didn¡¯t see any more movement coming from it she turned her full attention back to the one she had trapped in her mycelium web. She saw that it was still in the same spot and was continuing to struggle to break free from the mess of mycelium that grew up and entangled itself between the rabbit¡¯s limbs. ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± She hummed in curiosity as a thought popped into her head. [Rot Aura 5MP/S] Ember¡¯s eyes grew wide at the results from her little experiment. She remembered how the mushroom on the log had sped up its growth and digestion speeds when she hit it with her rot aura. So now she was curious to find out if the mycelium in her ensnare skill would get a similar boot from her aura. To her great amusement it greatly increased the effectiveness of the skill. When her aura hit the writhing mass it nearly doubled in density and even started to wrap around the torso and neck of the jackalope she had entangled within it. After only three or four seconds the little critter quit resisting, fell limp, and its body began to wriggle and squirm along with the roots that encased it. [Rot Aura: Passive] ¡°Eheheheh, excellent.¡± She laughed after she powered down her skill. She stood there and watched as the mycelium actively broke through the skin and entered into all of the open orifices of the remains. She winced when she noticed the tendrils wriggled and threaded themselves under the skin horribly shifting all of its original features. ¡®Groooossss.¡¯ "Ew, ew, ewwww!" She whined to herself before she sighed heavily. She resigned herself to dig into the mass of mycelium, flesh, and fur until she was able to dig out the jackalope''s horn. She closed her eyes so she wouldn''t have to see what it was she would be touching and reached in. She almost threw up at that moment. ''It''s only spaghetti, just spaghetti and I dropped something in it. Yeah just digging through a pile of spaget...'' Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt the horn in her fingers. ¡°I got this one!¡± Ember shouted over to Thorn. When Thorn turned to see what Ember was gesturing to by saying this one he saw her lifting the jackalope¡¯s horn into the air, except it was still attached to a skull with bits of half rotten flesh and mycelium clinging to it. He had to fight to hold back his laughter at the response he saw Ember have to the state of her prize. ¡°Gross, gross, gross, gross, gross!¡± Ember yelled as she flung the rabbit skull in Thorn¡¯s general direction. ¡°Why is it every time I start to think that I have a cool affinity, something like this happens, or a corpse explodes!¡± She flung her hand around exaggeratingly while she spoke, half out of frustration and half to get the mushroom and meat chunks off. ¡°OH! On that note when I leveled up to two I was offered CORPSE EXPLOSION! Like what the hell!?! I don''t do that shit on purpose,¡± she paused to shake her head in disgust and give a little shudder, ¡°it just happened as a side effect to the gut bacteria being kicked into overdrive or something by my weird rot aura.¡± Thorn looked at Ember with shock on his face. ¡°Y-You didn¡¯t take it did you?!?¡± He almost shouted as he jogged over to her location from the bush line. ¡°That isn''t a skill that should be offered to a classless person without some training from a necromancer or a skill shard.¡± He quickly slapped a hand over his mouth. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I did not mean to imply that you have any ties to necromancy.¡± Ember took a step back from Thorn after he stopped, he was standing a little to close for her comfort. ¡°Okay¡­ uh, to your first question, no. I didn¡¯t take corpse explosion, first off, it''s disgusting who in their right mind wants to have chunks of dead people flung at them!?! Every time a body blew up near me I got covered in blood and gore!¡± She hugged herself and shuddered. ¡°Plus,¡± she let out a sigh, ¡°I couldn¡¯t think of any good scenarios that I could put it to use. Most of the time I''ve only fought one to three things at a time. That skill sounds like it would only be good in large scale combat or tight places. Which again brings up the gross factor. If I have to be close to it I''ll never use it, so I didn¡¯t think it was any better than my mycelium trap skill.¡± She ended her tangent with a little smug grin. She felt proud of her new ensnare skill and all the work it''s done in such a short time. ¡°Good. Don¡¯t take it or anything else you think might be tied with necromancy.¡± Thorn said with a serious look on his face. ¡°While it may be true that no class is outright banned or illegal to have, there are a few classes that are highly frowned upon, shunned, or even illegally hunted. Necromancers, Cultists, bandits, and slavers are the top classes to avoid if you want to have any peace in your life.¡± His eyes burned with conviction as he explained. ¡°Sorry I got a little scared you might have negatively influenced your future class choices by taking it. But if I had used my head and thought about it for a second before jumping to conclusions I would have remembered you just used ensnare as your new skill, not corpse explosion.¡± He gave her a goofy grin and chuckled. ¡°Yeah, I did just use it, but if it is really that serious of a problem to have one of those classes I appreciate the heads up and warnings.¡± Ember replied honestly. ¡°But now that I''m done showing off my new skill, let''s collect the last horn and head to the pond down the trail. That is where the giant pool of slimes live, like I seriously think that pond is just crystal jellies, no water, at all.¡± Ember let Thorn harvest the last horn while she finished cleaning her own off. Once they finished they continued on their way to the pond of crystal jellies. While en route they encountered another seven jackalopes but they took them out carefully and tactically trying to conserve as much mana as possible. When they finished their last fight against three jackalopes Ember received a very welcome notification. [Notice] [Rot Aura level 2 has reached experience threshold] [Rot Aura Level 2 > Rot Aura Level 3] [Rot Aura - An Aura emitted from the user in a two meter circumference, when damage threshold\durability of target reaches 10% of maximum the target will begin to rot. Rotting begins from areas of high damage and spreads through undamaged areas. Rot Aura Encourages the natural process of decomposition in any affected materials. Examples: living tissue will decay, metals rust and tarnish, stone corrodes to sand] [Rot Aura Level 3: Passive - 1.5 point of rot damage per second per 10 mana generated. Active - 1.5 point of rot damage per second per 2 mana per second while casting.] [Notice] [Ensnare Level 1 Has Reached Experience Threshold] [Ensnare Level 1 > Ensnare Level 2]You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. [Ensnare Level 2: Send your mana into the ground to have nature spring forth to trap and/or slow your enemies. 9 MP Per 1 square foot of area affected up to 100 square feet. Additional costs based on toughness of the terrain (EX: Soil, clay, stone, ect.) up to an added 10MP. Highest toughness material currently able to be penetrated: sandstone.] (Nature, Rot, Area) A Cheesy smile grew larger across Ember¡¯s face as she read along with her notifications. She walked over to Thorn and started to repeatedly slap his arm in excitement. ¡°Eheheh guess who just leveled up both of her skills.¡± She paused for a moment, but when she noticed he wasn''t going to play along she let out a huff. ¡°Well you''re no fun¡­ But seriously, I leveled up both of my skills! The first time felt like it took forever but the second level of aura and first for ensnare felt a lot faster this time.¡± ¡°That''s awesome Ember. How did they progress if you don''t mind me asking? If you prefer, I can share the same about mine.¡± Thorn proposed so as to not come across as rude for asking about her status. Ember looked up at Thorn from her notification information. ¡°I don¡¯t mind. I don''t really get how it''s rude, but then again I didn''t grow up with it¡­ is there a way to show you my information or should i just tell you?¡± ¡°Yes. There is a way to share but it will be your full status not just skill information. So it will show your attributes and affinities as well. The reason you should care is because if someone saw that your mana was at two hundred and fifty but you still only had fifty lifeforce they would know the best way to kill you is ambush, or one big area attack you couldn''t dodge or block.¡± Thorn warned. ¡°How? I trust you and willow enough to share.¡± Ember replied ¡°Oh¡­ umm..¡± Thorn felt a little warm all of a sudden. ¡°You just join hands with the person you wish to share with and both of you think or say share status.¡± ¡°Okay lets do it!¡± Ember said excitedly. She then reached out and grabbed both of Thorn¡¯s hands before he could react. ¡°O¡­Okay...¡± He said as his face grew slightly red. ¡°Just think share status and you will see yours pop up before it is replaced by mine. Just please don¡¯t let anyone know what my third skill is. Are you ready?¡± He asked. ¡°Mhmm¡± Ember replied with a nod and thought to herself, ¡®share status.¡¯ [Name: Ember Abiss Title: None Race: Human Age: 23 Level: 2 Class: ¡°Locked¡± Affinities: Rot, Nature, Void Lifeforce: 50 Mana: 13 / 90 ki: 45 / 60 Alacrity: 5 Acuity: 10 Vitality: 5 Vigor: 5 Tenacity: 9 Fortitude: 6 Free Points: 0 Active Skills: 0/5 Passive Skill: 0/5 Classless Skills:2/5 Rot Aura - lvl 3 Ensnare - lvl 2 Rot Aura - An Aura emitted from the user in a two meter circumference, when damage threshold\durability of target reaches 10% of maximum the target will begin to rot. Rotting begins from areas of high damage and spreads through undamaged areas. Rot Aura Encourages the natural process of decomposition in any affected materials. Examples: living tissue will decay, metals rust and tarnish, stone corrodes to sand (Rot, Arcane, Area, Switch) Rot Aura Level 3: Passive - 1.5 point of rot damage per second per 10 mana generated. Active - 1.5 point of rot damage per second per 2 mana per second while casting. Ensnare Level 2: Send your mana into the ground to have nature spring forth to trap and/or slow your enemies. 9 MP Per 1 square foot of area affected up to 100 square feet. Additional costs based on toughness of the terrain (EX: Soil, clay, stone, ect.) up to an added 10MP. Highest toughness material currently able to be penetrated: sandstone. (Nature, Rot, Area)]
[Thorn Vyne Title: None Race: Human Age: 22 Level: 5 Class: none Affinity: Light, Lightning Lifeforce: 50 Mana: 12 / 168(+8) Ki: 83 / 90 Alacrity: 7 Acuity: 12 Vitality: 6 Vigor: 5 Tenacity: 16 Fortitude: 9 Free Points: 0 Active Skills: 0/5 Passive Skill: 0/5 Classless Skills: 3/5 Hard Light - Lvl 4 Volt - Lvl 3 Mana Manipulation - Lvl 1 Skills: Hard Light Level 4: Create Physical Manifestations of Light. Cost Based On Volume Of Object Created. 1MP Per Cubic Inch. (Light, Utility) Volt Level 3: Shoot a bolt of electricity at your enemy. 7.5% chance to Stun for 5-10 Sec. 4.5MP Per 1DMG. (Lightning, Ranged, Debuff) Mana Manipulation Level 1: Greatly Increase Your Sensitivity And Control Over Your Own Mana. Increase Maximum Mana By 5% of Base Mana (160). (Sensory, Metamagic, Buff)] Ember took her time slowly reading over Thorn¡¯s Stats and skills. Most of her interest was on his skills and their descriptions. She knew about his hard light skill but she hadn''t seen him use it very often so it surprised her that it would be his highest leveled skill. Volt was the most useful in their hunts so far and it would appear to be his only combat skill. ¡°Can I ask you about some of these?¡± Ember asked. ¡°Yeah, that''s fine, but I have some of my own as well.¡± He replied. ¡°Ok so Volt¡­ I honestly thought it was a debuff with added damage, not a damage skill with an added debuff. But when it levels, does the cost go down or does the chance to stun go up?¡± She asked. ¡°Both are good options but I think it would be good to learn about chance based effects.¡± Thorn took a moment to think back to his last skill level up. ¡°Yes.¡± He said with a nod and tried to hold back a laugh. ¡°Yes? Yes to which?¡± She asked again. Her body language started to grow more exaggerated as she asked. ¡°Just yes.¡± Thorn said matter of factly. ¡°So both?¡± She asked, frustrated. ¡°Yes¡­¡± He paused. ¡°Yes to both. The stun chance started at two and a half percent chance to trigger, at level two it jumped up to five percent, then finally at three it hit seven and a half. I was hoping it would continue with the doubling effect from the first level up though.¡± ¡°That''s still a good increase. That like one in twenty guarantees a stun. I guess it has worked so well on the jackalopes because it actually damaged them so much they were in shock. Not Shocked so bad they were stunned.¡± Ember said. The end of her comment made her start to giggle to herself. Thorn gave her a wry smile. ¡°Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. Now it''s my turn right? So my first question based on your status is this, how are you so small but older than me?!?¡± He asked her, ¡°jokes aside, I seriously thought you were between seventeen and twenty max.¡± Ember rubbed the back of her neck and let out a sigh. ¡°I have had people thinking that I am younger than I actually am my whole life. This is nothing new to me, but yeah I¡¯m twenty three. I used to hate it when I was younger, but now that I¡¯m getting older I''m starting to notice how much of a blessing it actually is. Like when other people my age look seventy I¡¯ll still be looking good like I¡¯m thirty.¡± ¡°Yeah, that''s a good way to look at it. That''s like a few of the tribes, they live longer than us and age slower.¡± Thorn stated. ¡°Oh, you haven''t met anyone from one of the tribes have you?¡± he asked. ¡°Actually I have. Her name was Tila.¡± Ember answered. ¡°She works at the tailor you sent me to the first time I made a jackalope explode. She said she was a¡­ umm¡­ kit something¡­ kitsune. She¡¯s a kitsune.¡± ¡°Okay so she is one of the tribes that have longer lifespans. The Kitsune have been seen as old as two hundred and sixtyish I believe.¡± Thorn informed her. ¡°So there''s a chance that the store belongs to her.¡± Ember shook her head. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think she''s much older than we are. At least that''s how she acted. She was very energetic and friendly and now that I look back on it, I''m like forty percent sure she was trying to flirt with me while I was there.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think too much into it. She was most likely trying to give you compliments to get you to buy more from her.¡± Thorn said. ¡°Oh, speaking of buying more, I should get some more adventuring clothes when we get back to town. Oh and have another hoodie made while I''m at it.¡± She smiled while looking down at her hoodie. ¡°That¡¯s it, I¡¯m going to see Tila, pick up my shorts and hoodie, and place another order.¡± ¡°That sounds all well and good Ember, but first we should finish what we started. We are almost to the pond. It should be less than a thirty minute walk now. How about a quick break for lunch before we head to it? I would rather flee full than hungry.¡± Thorn joked. ¡°Fine, I brought sandwiches today. Let¡¯s go a little farther though, I think we are almost where I stopped last time.¡± Ember suggested. ¡°Sounds good.¡± Thorn replied. After sharing statuses with each other the two made their way to the fallen tree where Ember had lunch the last time she was out here. Thorn took off at a quick pace, his hunger starting to get the better of him, while Ember Hummed to herself and followed behind with a smile. A Bowl of Jellies ¡°Thorn, watch out. The water is full of crystal jellies.¡± Ember warned Thorn as he approached the crystal clear pond. ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­ look.¡± Thorn said. He then used his staff to point at the water. ¡°There is nothing here. I think whatever you saw left. It''s so empty that I can see all the way to the bottom.¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± She snapped back at him. Thorn raised an eyebrow and looked at her. ¡°Are you sure you saw a crystal jelly out here?¡± Ember scrunched up her nose, frustrated by the fact Thorn is doubting her. ¡°Think about it. Why would a clean and clear, freshwater pond be completely barren? Do you see any fish? Water grasses? There aren¡¯t even any mosquitoes on the surface of it or any of their larvae swimming in it.¡± Thorn took a second to thoroughly scan the pond for any signs of life. After a moment he turned back to her. ¡° Okay, it''s a little creepy after you point out the complete lack of life. But these are crystal jellies you''re talking about here. They aren''t exactly known for their ability to fight¡­ or even defend themselves. You fought one yesterday didn''t you?¡± He asked. ¡°Yes, I killed one and then ran from a herd of like a hundred¡­ is herd right? or do jellies have a unique group name like a murder of crows? A jiggle of jellies? An ooze of jellies?¡± Ember rambled. ¡°Ember!¡± Thorn exclaimed while clapping. ¡°You¡¯re jackalope trailing, now focus. To answer your question though, because I know you won''t listen until you figure it out, yes, Jellies have a unique group name, they are called a bowl of jellies. Now let¡¯s get back on track. you fought one yesterday did it attack back? defend? or even run?¡± He questioned. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Ember thought back to her fight and to the best of her ability she could not recall the jelly ever making an attack at her. She remembered it just sitting there unmoving, as if her attacks were no more an annoyance than a gust of wind. ¡°No, it never attacked or even moved.¡± she replied. ¡°Right, because crystal jellies don¡¯t do anything actively. For example if you put a piece of meat and a crystal jelly in a pin together it is just as likely to starve to death wandering the enclosure as it is to find the meat. My father explained it to me with this,¡± he cleared his throat and did his best impersonation of his father. ¡°Jellies don''t do, they just are.¡± He gave a small laugh after quoting his dad. ¡°If it helps, think of them like rocks that eat and reproduce.¡± Ember took a moment to absorb the information she was just given. ¡°That¡¯s weird, do they not have any instincts?¡± ¡°The only things they seem to seek out are water and mana. Other than that I have no idea.¡± He answered. ¡°Well, I can''t sense mana but I do see a big puddle of water about three feet away from you.¡± Ember replied with a smirk. ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯ll test the water and show you just how empty it is.¡± Thorn quipped. With an overly exaggerated flourish Thorn spun his staff in the direction of the pond. He looked back at Ember, ¡°Don''t be shocked.¡± He said with a cheesy grin spread across his face. As soon as he finished talking he launched his attack at the surface of the pond. A blueish silver sparking streak shot out of the tip of his staff and made an impact with the water right after appearing. When it hit they heard a loud boom as the area the bolt hit exploded upward into a shower of supercharged mist. ¡°See, just water!¡± Thorn shouted over the ringing in his ears. ¡°I may have put too much mana in that demo¡­¡± he mumbled to himself. But when he looked at Ember to see what her reaction was, he didn¡¯t expect the face he received. Her face looked like it was torn between showing two emotions, her eyes were wide and eyebrows lifted out of shock or fear but she also had a smug looking grin. Ember stared at the results of the electric attack, at first she was surprised by the size and power behind the explosion, but that quickly drained away to be replaced by an odd mixture of smugness and fear. She felt smug after she saw Thorn''s poor attempt to prove her wrong actually prove her correct but the same proof also sent a spike of fear through her body. Through the shower of water droplets and mist Ember could see a roiling mass shifting and squirming through the surface. It only took that sight to bring back her memory of the mass of jellies pouring out of the pond water in a direct line to her. This time though she could see the bulging and shifting surface moving in the same direction that Thorn stood. By the time she processed everything that she saw happening in the pond she noticed Thorn had turned away from the quickly approaching mass back to face her and was giving her a weird look. Before her brain could come up with what to say or ask her body had already started to turn in preparation to flee. ¡°Run!¡± Ember finally brought herself to shout when she started sprinting. Thorn could feel the weight of her words when they hit him, and without turning to see what she saw he took off after her. After they ran for what felt like a full five minutes they finally slowed to check if anything was behind them. ¡°Jeeze!¡± Ember shouted in exasperation, ¡°What the hell was that? I thought you were going to stab it with your staff or you know, launch a REASONABLY sized attack at it. How much mana did you even pump into that attack?¡± Thorn winced back not expecting Ember''s outburst. ¡°I''m sorry¡­¡± He said meekly. ¡°That wasn''t the result I was hoping for when I launched the attack though. it was supposed to spread across the surface, shocking anything in the water. That explosion made it look like I hit something solid though.¡± He let out a sigh in defeat. ¡°But you were right, poking it with my staff would have been much safer.¡± After seeing Ember''s expression soften from his answer he tried to brighten the mood. ¡°But would it have been as fun?¡± Ember¡¯s scowl returned as she glared up at him. ¡°Fun!?! What''s fun about running away from something trying to attack you?¡± She stomped up to where he stood and pointed past him in the direction of the pond. ¡°Do you even know what we ran from? Did you see the mass start to rise out of the water? It looked bigger than any of the other crystal jellies I''ve seen.¡± Thorn let out a sigh. ¡°No, I didn''t see anything. I turned back to face you as soon as the explosion went off and then I followed you when you shouted to run.¡± ¡°Bah!¡± Ember yelled out in frustration. She then lowered her head to face the ground and started massaging her temples. Ember released a defeated sigh and dropped her arms to her sides. ¡°We have to go back again.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Thorn asked. She let out another, longer, more exaggerated sigh. ¡°I don''t want to return to Sabel and tell her that on my second job all I did was blow up a pond and run from something living in it. We should at least figure out what the bigger thing was. Do crystal jellies get larger with their level?¡± Thorn nodded in agreement. ¡°You''re right, we should at least go back and figure out what all is in the water. I''m a little worried about the bigger one you saw. yes they do grow with their level but they shouldn''t get so much bigger than the others that its super noticeable. If you saw one that was notably larger than the rest we may have a much harder foe on our hands.¡± Thorn walked over to the closest tree and placed his back against it before sliding down to a sitting position. ¡°I know you have been spending your nights studying under willow, have you learned anything about beast evolutions?¡± ¡°Evolution? Like a pokemon?¡± Ember asked, puzzled. ¡°What is a poc common?¡± Thorn asked, trying to pronounce the English word as best as he could. ¡°Is that a beast from your home?¡± Ember burst into laughter. ¡°Thank you. That helped me destress a bit. Also I''m sorry. I wasn''t laughing at your pronounciation or the fact that you don''t know what I''m talking about. I was laughing at myself for assuming you would get a reference to TV or video game. And to answer your question, no, they are monsters from a story I know. I''ll explain it one day when we aren''t in the middle of a job. It will take way too long right now. Now, this sounds weird coming from me but let''s get back on topic.¡± She giggled at her self-jab. ¡°No Willow hasn''t brought up evolution yet. We mainly talk about language and the town. Why?¡± ¡°Ah, right. I ask because I''m worried one of the crystal jellies may have evolved. When beasts get to a high enough level they go through their own trials similar to the ones us humanoids have. But the difference is that when we pass our trials we are given a class or class advancement. When a beast passes their trial they evolve into a more powerful version of themselves. Most beasts simply evolve into the next stage of their current evolutionary path, like a crystal jelly will typically evolve into a greater crystal jelly. However on rare occasions a beast may take a branching path if it has done something special to unlock it.¡± He took a deep breath then released it. ¡°That is what I''m worried about. If the pond is hiding a greater crystal jelly or something even more powerful. When we go back we should be more cautious than before.¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Ember glared at Thorn. ¡°Okay, okay.¡± He raised his hand placatingly. ¡°I need to be more cautious than before.¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± Ember said, happily accepting the apisment. ¡°But¡­ uh, what else could it turn into?¡± ¡°I''m not sure.¡± Thorn replied, shaking his head. ¡°It could be anything in the jelly family. Well¡­ almost anything. It wasn''t big enough to have become a gelatinous mass, but the pond could house a blob, ooze, or queen.¡± ¡°Wait.¡± Ember raised a hand. ¡°I need context. Can you explain what the difference is between a jelly, gelatinous mass, blob, ooze, and queen?¡± Thorn raised an eyebrow. ¡°Really? This is common knowledge though. Even the kids know around here. Was your homeland so inhospitable that not even jellies could survive?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Ember answered shyly. ¡°Really. I have never heard of any of those monsters before.¡± Thorn''s eyes grew wide. ¡°Those are no monsters. Well the gelatinous mass is close but still classified as a beast. Monsters are unique, legendary or mythical evolutionary paths that a beast can unlock. They usually spawn from disasters. The last monster I learned about was the flame dragon Sala Zaezard. It was a conflagration salamander that caused a massive wildfire that wiped out half of the cities built around the forest where it lived and everything within the tree line was turned to cinder and ash. A few days later a party of hunters went to check for survivors but only found the flame dragon and his domain of ash.¡± ¡°Okay, this place is terrifying and I want to go home now¡­¡± Ember said shakily. ¡°N-nothing that powerful could have spawned here right?¡± ¡°No, We are in a safe zone. Something would have to make it through the Red Desert, climb over the great divide, and then face her.¡± Thorn said nonchalantly. ¡°So yeah, definitely not a monster or mutation, possibly rare or unique, but most likely we will find a Greater Crystal Jelly. The standard evo.¡± Ember paid close attention to everything she was being taught. ¡°Okay. So I think I only have two more questions before we start heading back. First, what are mutations? Are they similar to evolutions? And lastly, who is Her?¡± ¡°Right, I guess I did skip over mutations. It''s pretty much the same as an evolution except a mutation will unlock a new affinity or cause a minor affinity to become the beast''s major affinity. So a mutation for a Crystal Jelly would be something like turning into an Acid Jelly. But since we didn¡¯t see any acid trails or other signs of elemental damage I''m willing to assume it''s not a mutation. Lastly, ask Willow about the zone guardians. I don¡¯t know nearly enough to explain about them. Just know the guardians are said to be somewhere between levels ninety and one hundred and twenty.¡± ¡°Holy¡­¡± Ember started. ¡°Yeah, that''s why this is considered a safe zone in our kingdom.¡± Thorn interrupted. ¡°Until you make it to the dividing wall the highest level we should see would be thirty, but this deep into the safe zone plus being as close to the town as we are we shouldn''t see anything over ten.¡± Ember held back asking all the questions popping into existence and dancing through her mind. ¡®I have so many things I need to learn now. Dang it. Zone guardians, evolutions, the other zones thorn mentioned. I wish this world had electricity and wifi so I could use my phone to look stuff up again. Ha. I don''t even want it as a communication device, just a portable search engine. hmm¡­ Back in high school my buddy Jake always called his phone his crystal ball. I wonder if there is a magic tool like that here.¡¯ Ember shook her head to clear her mind. ¡°Sorry, I got a little lost in thought. Are you ready to head back to the pond, or would you rather wait a little longer so you can regenerate all the mana you wasted?¡± She jabbed playfully. ¡°Hmm? let me check.¡± He replied. ¡°Eh, I might as well check too.¡± Ember thought out loud. ¡®Metatron how¡¯s my mana level looking?¡¯ [Lifeforce: 50 Mana: 42 / 90 ki: 49 / 60] ¡®Excellent.¡¯ Ember thought to herself. ¡®I''m almost back up to half mana, and if worse comes to worst so long as I scrimp on mana usage I should be able to keep anything from chasing us with my Ensnare skill.¡¯ Ember swiped her notification away and looked up to see Thorn. He looked like he was flipping through the pages of an invisible book. If the book was floating in front of him as if it were on a podium. She let out a chortle watching him. ¡°Thorn¡­ is¡­ is your status screen a book?¡± Thorn stopped what he was doing and shot his attention to Ember. He looked at her with his face riddled with confusion and curiosity. ¡°Is yours not?¡± He asked nonplussed, while he tried to keep his voice steady. ¡°Umm, no. Why is that weird?¡± She replied nonchalantly. ¡°What? Weird, no, it isn''t weird.¡± He said sarcastically, before yelling ¡°IT IS COMPLETELY UNHEARD OF!!!¡± ¡°W¡­what?¡± She asked slowly, feeling slightly put off from his yelling. Thorn held his head, he felt tired after trying to process everything odd Ember managed to do or ask him. ¡°Sorry, but it is a documented fact that everyone that has ever been questioned about what their status pages looked like all answered the same. A book or tombe where each page is a different section. The only differences being in the ordering of the information contained therein and the personal aesthetics of the cover or paper color or quality. Take mine for example. When I call forth my status I see a green and brown leatherbound book decorated with vines made of light that are barbed with cracking sparks of lightning. What do you see?¡± He asked while leaning forward in anticipation. ¡°Uhh. Well mine doesn''t sound nearly as cool looking as yours does.¡± Ember said feeling slightly downcast. ¡°All I see When i call up my stats are notification screens and little information pop ups. I don''t get a physical book. I have to flip through, I just think and the info pops up. There is a major downfall to mine that a book would solve though. I have to swipe away or think about closing a screen for it to go away. Speaking from experience I pulled up my full status, my skills page, the individual skill information and I already had like four pages open at once. Oooh!!! I wonder if I can make it work like a computer and combine them into tabs!?! I''m SO trying that out tonight!.¡± Thorn stood still only blinking for a moment. ¡°You have to report this! Or better yet, let me do the reporting and I can document everything while we test the differences between the standard status everyone knows and your new upgraded version.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± Ember replied. ¡°Now that that is settled, let''s head back to the pond.¡± Ember started walking in the direction of the pond. She was soon followed by Thorn, after he needed to take a few seconds to gather up all the pieces of his blown mind. After a short but quiet walk back to the pond area Ember started to notice a few oddities first was the missing water in the pond. It looked like it had over half of the water drained out of it. Next was some movement off in the distance close by the pond¡¯s edge. On a closer inspection after they approached a little bit more, she could see that the movement she noticed was what looked like almost a hundred clear blobs of crystal jelly. ¡°Hey.¡± Ember whispered while tapping on Thorn''s shoulder. ¡°Do you see them, there is a lot of movement around what should be the water¡¯s edge if the pond wasn''t missing over half of its water.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He replied quietly. ¡°This is strange though. The Crystal Jellies are acting together in a coordinated manner. That shouldn¡¯t be.¡± ¡°Do you think someone is controlling them?¡± Askd Ember. ¡°No, most beast taming skills only allow you to command one creature per Ten personal levels.¡± He replied. ¡°Is there an evolution that could command them to act as one?¡± She asked, quickly running out of ideas. ¡°Yes¡­ Technically. But if this is what I think it is, we are not enough to handle this. We would need at a minimum two more guild members to join our group. I can cover damage fairly well for my level, you are an excellent utility mage in the making with your ensnare and aura skills, so I''m thinking we need a turtle and other damage dealer. I''d suggest an ice affinity holder for the damage and an agro skill holder for the turtle. Most of the turtles are fairly solid with their biggest differences being whether or not they are Lifeforce or Ki dependent and if they are pool heavy or regeneration heavy.¡± ¡°Okay. I trust your judgment on this. you know beasts and party management much better than I do.¡± Ember answered as she spun in place. ¡°But I am curious.¡± She said as she started walking back to town. ¡°What is it you think the crystal jelly evolved into?¡± Thorn didn''t notice Ember had turned at first while he was observing the jellies, until her voice started to sound more distant as she spoke. ¡°OH¡­ Wait up!.¡± He exclaimed with a stifled shout. He caught up to Ember¡¯s walking pace with only a few running strides. ¡°A little warning next time would be appreciated. Now what were you asking?¡± Ember barely fought back a laugh before she replied. ¡°Heh, uhh, I asked what it is that you think the crystal jelly evolved into, if we can¡¯t handle it and it can command other jellies?¡± ¡°Oh.¡± thorn replied. ¡°Well I¡¯m really hoping I¡¯m wrong, because if I¡¯m right that means that there is a rare evolution jelly on the loose deep in the safe zone. But, I''m afraid we may have stumbled across the spawning pool of a Crystal Crown. A Crystal Crown is the queen evolution for a Crystal Jelly.¡± He released a shiver before continuing. ¡°Crystal Crowns have given up most of their mobility and elasticity in exchange for a much higher physical defense and the ability to lead lesser jellies.¡± ¡°That¡¯s crazy, I had a hard enough time trying to kill a regular jelly. I don''t even want to imagine how many times I''d have to whack that thing with my beat''n stick.¡± Ember said playfully. Her mood was finally returning to a high spirits now that they would be making their return to town with actual information this time. ¡°I know Sabel will be happy to have some more information to add to the job posting at the guild. But I was wondering, when we get back, did you plan to start trying to recruit new party members or should we start tomorrow?¡± ¡°Tomorrow.¡± He answered quickly. ¡°Today has been tiring to say the least.¡± ¡°Ah understood. Then after we report back with the guild I''m going to run off to the clothes store again. I need another back up hoodie and it never hurts to have a set of emergency un-¡± She stopped talking and blushed a little ¡°clothes¡­ emergency clothes.¡± After her near embarrassing slip Ember spent the remaining walk back in mostly silence just listening to thorns plans for recruitment tomorrow and party member role disbursement. A badass shadow assassin?!? ¡°Hi, I''m Ember Abiss, it''s nice to meet y¡¯all, I¡¯m not certain how much Thorn has already told you about me but, for team management purposes, y''all can consider me a utility and support mage?¡± Ember said nervously while she glanced over to Thorn for assurance on her role description. ¡°Yep, that is all I felt comfortable sharing without you being here. I know I wouldn''t want anyone talking about my skills and stats behind my back with people I don¡¯t even know.¡± Thorn replied with a smile. He then turned to the three newcomers with the same smile. ¡°Now that we are all present though, how do you all feel about starting the discussion over role coverage?¡± A taller than average tan skinned girl with long sleek black hair and vibrant sea green eyes straightened up in her chair, she shifted her focus between Ember and Thorn before she decided to level her gaze with Ember. But her focus was once again stolen by the unique lilac and grey coloration of Ember''s irises. She shook her head to regain focus. ¡°Hello¡­ Lady Abiss?¡± She said nervously, sounding more like a question than a greeting. ¡°Oh, no, no, no. Please just call me Ember. I¡¯m no Lord or Lady.¡± Ember said with a nervous laugh while trying to not break eye contact. ¡°Ah, my apologies. I assumed that you were from a noble or high ranking family.¡± The new girl said with her hands raised placatingly. Even though the rest of her body visibly relaxed with the clarification of her status. ¡°It isn''t often that you meet someone with a family name that doesn¡¯t try to flaunt their status around in some way or another.¡± She then pointed at Thorn. ¡°He doesn''t count though. Thorn has been hanging out around the guild since I joined up and is known to only be interested in unique or dangerous magic.¡± She ended with a small chortle. Ember joined with a giggle and a nod. ¡°Yeah, I''ve seen a little bit of that when I got a new weird skill on my last level up. Right after I described it to him he was ready to go start our latest quest, but I''m pretty sure he was just trying to test what my new skill did. Which, I honestly can¡¯t say I wasn''t feeling just as excited to play around with it.¡± Thorn shifted uncomfortably in his seat while the two girls talked about him as if he wasn''t sitting in the chair beside Ember¡¯s. He then cleared his throat in an attempt to bring them back on topic, or at least off of the topic of him. The new girl noticed Thorn shifting in his seat and reluctantly shifted the conversation back on topic. ¡°Ah, I''m sorry I didn''t give a proper introduction. I am Mary, light and life affinity, and I''m shooting for a non priest or cleric healing class.¡± She gave a seated bow before she then gestured to the man sitting beside her. He stood a full head above Mary even while seated. He had a strong jawline and a sharp gaze. His hair was the same black as Mary''s but unlike her relaxed straight hair his was medium length shaggy and a wild mess. His eyes were the same color as Mary¡¯s as well. ¡°This is my brother, Crag. He has a very high affinity with earth and a low life affinity as well. He¡¯s going to be the best turtle to come out of this town.¡± Mary gave Crag a light punch in the shoulder before continuing. ¡°That''s the general info about the two of us. I can''t speak for the other person joining us here though. This is my first time having a conversation with him.¡± Mary slowly shifted her gaze to land on the final newcomer. Ember and Thorn followed her eyes to the last one to introduce themselves. As soon as Ember paid attention to the final man joining them she noticed the oddity of his skin color and texture. He had a slight gray and bronze skin tone and had a texture reminiscent of the small bumpy looking scales of an iguana. She looked up to see his eye color and was greeted by his reptilian-like, amber colored, and slit pupiled gaze. After she realized she was staring at him she blushed slightly and gave him a polite nod and a sheepish wave. He gave a soft smile to Ember before speaking to the group. ¡°Hi. I am Zaz. As you can see I am halfling, my father is human and my mother is from the Naga Tribe. I have shadow affinity and I see myself as a scout but I''m hoping to lean into a more assassin or stealth damage build as I progress. System willing.¡± ¡®Oh my god, we found a snake man rogue. That¡¯s so cool!¡¯ Ember thought to herself. ¡®I wonder if his reptilian heritage or shadow affinity will give him an active camouflage or invisibility skill. Light and Life also sound like interesting affinities to use. I bet they mesh well. Bahh, now I¡¯m curious how earth and life mesh together. Wait, wouldn''t that just be nature affinity? ugh¡­ I doubt I''lll understand how affinities and mana work anytime soon.¡¯ ¡°Excellent.¡± Thorn announced with a clap of his hands. ¡°Now that we have general introductions down, I would like to discuss the job at hand. Ember and I have taken a job to hunt and eliminate a group of crystal jellies that have infested a pond to the north.¡± ¡°Wait.¡± Crag interrupted. ¡°You''re requesting a group for a couple of crystal jellies? The same jellies that will stand still and let you hack away at them without even defending themselves?¡± Thorn shot an annoyed look at Crag before he replied. ¡°Yes. We are looking for a group to help us clear out a pond filled with organized crystal jellies. When we left we were able to see them moving around the pond like a patrol checking out the perimeter. If it was just a group of wandering jellies that came out I would have stayed and cleared the pond with Ember. The only reason we are requesting help is¡­¡± Thorn looked around to see if anyone was eavesdropping on them. He lowered his voice and continued. ¡°I''m fairly certain this pond has become the spawning pool of a Crystal Crown. That is the only explanation I can come to that explains the high number of jellies that have been seen and the organized and intentional movements we witnessed.¡± The table grew quiet while the newcomers digested the information. The first to speak up was Mary. ¡°You know Crystal Crowns are first tier right. Not just first tier but a special first tier beast. It is at a minimum level ten¡­ so that¡¯s the first red flag. It is a first evolution beast which on its own is worthy of the second red flag but it is also a final evolution beast which is much stronger than a standard first tier.¡± She lowered her head and rubbed her temples. ¡°I don''t mean this to come off as rude but what level are you two? I know where my brother and I stand when it comes to a fight but I haven¡¯t seen either of you fight. Do you believe that you can take out a level ten first tier beast with the aid of only the three of us?¡± Thorn leaned over to Ember and whispered so only they could hear. ¡°Are you ok with giving out your level? I don''t really mind telling them mine. But, while I understand why you''re at your current level they will most likely assume that you are a sheltered noble acting like you''re not.¡± Ember nodded. ¡°Yeah, I don''t mind. I still find it weird that everyone hides their levels instead of seeing them walk around boasting about it.¡± Thorn shook his head at her reply. ¡°Alright. To answer your questions I am level five and Ember here is level two. I do think we can take down this Crystal Crown if we all team up. I was honestly only looking for two people to begin with, but I''m not so stupid that I would pass up on a meeting with a turtle and his pocket medic. Not to forget the shadow scout here as well. I think with the five of us working together one Crystal Crown and her baby jellies won''t be enough to stop us. We will have to use our brains and plan out how we will do this and not just run in spells blazing¡­ as much fun as that would be¡­¡± He let out a small nervous laugh. ¡°Anyways, with Crag drawing everyone''s attention as our turtle I trust myself to dish out serious damage to any target I take. I also trust that Ember will be able to control the movements of the smaller enemies while the rest of us focus on damaging the Crown Jelly. We should be able to make good time on our approach with a scout to lead the way plus with how you mentioned assassination skills I''ll assume you can target or point out weak spots on our enemies. So yes¡­ I think we will do very well on this with the correct team. Though while we are asking questions I have one I would like to ask as well. I won''t ask what your skills are but do you even have anything for healing yet? I have heard most healing skills don''t show up until after the class trial, something about healing and restoration being too advanced or mana heavy for lower level unclassed to cast correctly.¡± Mary grew red. ¡°I¡­ you see¡­ yes, but¡­¡± She stammered. ¡°Thorn.¡± Crag started. ¡°You trust your low level friend here to control the movements on the battlefield but you question the strength of my sister, who is three times your friend''s level.¡± Mary straightened in her chair and cleared her throat. ¡°To answer you, yes,¡± She paused to look around. ¡°I do have a healing skill already.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Thorns eyes grew wide with surprise. ¡°I¡­ Congratulations, that is quite the achievement for anyone to hit. I have only met one other person to be offered a class skill while still unclassed. But I won''t go into details on someone else''s background.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Mary replied with a genuine smile on her face. ¡°I know my affinities had a hand in me being offered a skill like that but I still think it was mostly luck that I was actually offered one.¡± Crag snorted, which drew everyone''s attention to him. ¡°Luck? You don''t think the years of going around playing doctor and taking care of all your sick or injured friends had anything to do with it?¡± ¡°Crag!¡± She shouted and hit his arm. ¡°They didn''t need to know any of that did they?¡± Crag shrugged and shot her a devious grin. Ember cleared her throat to get everyone''s attention. ¡°I think we have enough details for the two of you to decide if y¡¯all would like to join us or not. As for you Zaz, I personally would love it if you would join us. Based solely on what you''ve told us already I think you would be an asset for us. Plus¡­ A shadow assassin scout sounds badass.¡± She giggled at the end. Zaz''s gray bronze cheeks started to grow slightly purple as blushed from Ember''s assessment of him. ¡°I am definitely interested in seeing a Crystal Crown with my own eyes. That being said, I am also cautious. I know of the strength and resilience behind an earth turtle but,¡± Zaz¡¯s sharp gaze fell on Crag. ¡°Do you trust yourself to defend two level sixes, a level five, and a level two?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Crags answer was short but it oozed confidence. ¡°I have no doubt in my own abilities. I have defended not just myself but also my sister as we have leveled here. Now with my sister being level six and needing someone to defend her while she leveled and assist in damaging her foes for her first two levels, how much stronger do you think that would place me?¡± Crag leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms in front of his chest. ¡°I''ve recently turned level nine.¡± He paused to let it sink in while giving everyone a smirk. ¡°I plan to wait for my sister to catch up to me before I undergo my class trial though. We plan to take our trials together if the system allows it. Mary swears that since we have been a team since level one it wouldn''t split us up if we started together. I still hold to the old belief that everyone has their own trial. One made specifically for them to harness all their strengths and to understand and surpass all of your weaknesses.¡± Ember looked around the table at everyones expressions. Thorn had an excited gleam in his eyes, although he tried to mask it behind questioning eyebrows. ¡®Ha, I bet he''s excited to see how strong someone at level nine is or what kind of skills a physical combat type would get compared to our magic based skills.¡¯ Ember thought to herself. Mary had a sheepish demeanor about her but she seemed to grow more confident as her brother spoke. ¡®I''m excited to work with a healer but I do get her skepticism. I wouldn''t trust a level two and five to be able to hold their own against a level ten anything let alone a final evolution. Even if it''s slime.¡¯ Next she glanced over to Crag. He had a smug look on his face but she thought he also looked like he might be using that to cover another emotion she couldn''t quite place. ¡®Hmm¡­ He''s confident, that''s for sure. But there is something else there¡­ is he nervous about something? Maybe he¡¯s scared of something? Bah! I don''t know him well enough to tell just from his face alone.¡¯ She lightly shook her head then turned to glance at Zaz. ¡®Badass shadow assassin snake man has my vote¡­ I wonder what his scales feel like¡­ are they smooth or rough? stationary or plated?¡¯ She stopped her current train of thought when she saw that Zaz was now looking at her as well. She turned her head away while her cheeks grew warm from the embarrassment she felt after being caught staring a second time before she cleared silence with a cough. ¡°So¡­¡± Ember started. ¡°I know I''m the lowest level here but I think the five of us would make a good team. Crag is not only the highest leveled person I''ve met in the guild but I''m willing to bet if he doesn''t already his life affinity is going to give him crazy potential as a future tank. Mary, not only do you have a good head on your shoulders but you took control of the conversation when we all got started and you represented your brother to us without any complaints from him as far as i could tell. If your healing skill isn''t already great I''m sure it will be and I would be happy to help you train it while we are out on jobs. But don''t take that as if I''m going to go looking for fights to take damage. I''m not crazy enough for that but I''m sure even little cuts and scratches from the thorns and stuff would count as some skill experience.¡± She then looked at Zaz again before she gave him a small nod. ¡°Zaz, truthfully I just want you to join us because you seem interesting and you''re a badass shadow assassin scout.¡± Thorn and Crag both snickered at Ember''s final confession while Mary and Ember both grew redder. Ember from the embarrassment she was now feeling as her words registered in her head. Mary on the other hand was growing red due to the romance fantasy based around Ember and Zaz she had playing through her mind. Zaz was the first to speak up after Ember. ¡°I find this job and group to be interesting. I''m not agreeing to a full time party formation, but I am open to a Short term group hunt to test the waters and what better way to test it out than on a Crystal Crown and her spawning pool.¡± Crag then raised his hand in the air. ¡°I second that. I''m not agreeing to anything long term but I am interested in seeing what this little team up might lead us to. Not to mention I doubt I would get any good turtle classes without acting as a turtle for a full party at least once. No offense to my little sis but I think if i took my class trial now i would only get defender or guard classes. something more focused on protecting a single target not a fhull group or more.¡± ¡°No, I get it.¡± Mary agreed with her brother. ¡°I''m afraid that if I don''t work in a group more often I might get saddled with a doctor or priest class and not the combat healer class I want.¡± She then looked around the table locking eyes with everyone once. ¡°So I guess what we are saying is¡­ that we are in. If you''ll have us.¡± The smile growing on Thorn''s face was bright enough the whole room could see how happy he was from just a glance. ¡°Excellent, excellent. I''m so happy to have the three of you on board with us.¡± Thorn then stood from his seat and walked around the table to shake each of their hands before returning to his seat. ¡°One last thing I would like to discuss, now that we will be working together. I personally believe we should use a need over greed, evenly split party funds. If we come across an item that is beneficial to you specifically then it is yours but one item per rotation. So if I get an item for this job because I need it but next job there is another item I need then I would have to buy the item out of the group funds until everyone else in the group has claimed one item as well. Oh and by a group fund I mean all loot we find that isn¡¯t needed by anyone specifically will be sold to the guild when we get back and the rewards from the job plus the payout for the loot would then be split evenly amongst the group.¡± ¡°I can agree to that.¡± Crag said ¡°Sounds fair to me.¡± Mary replied. ¡°I like it, but I would like to offer an amendment. How do you feel about making the number of items each person can claim as a needed item two instead of one. For example what if we found a light essence crystal that you claim as a needed item but then at a later point we come across a unique grade lightning staff. Neither item would be worth more than the rest of the group''s loot combined so wouldn''t it be easier to be able to claim the two of them before a full rotation?¡± Added Zaz. ¡°I agree, I think that having the option for a second item would not only be helpful to everyone but it would also lower the stress from deciding if an item is worth using your one and only need for.¡± Ember stated in agreement. ¡°I can agree to that, less stress is best.¡± Mary agreed as well. ¡°Well I guess that''s that.¡± Thorn stated. ¡°Three out of five agree on the alteration of one item to two. Following the law of majority rules I hereby accept this alteration.¡± Thorn said as professional and businesslike as he could manage before a cheeky grin broke through his facade and he started to laugh. ¡°Well if everything is settled for now how does tomorrow morning sound to all of you?¡± Mary asked. ¡°Crag and I will need to go do some shopping to prepare for this job and I''m sure the rest of you would like to take some time to prepare as well.¡± ¡°Ooh yess!¡± Ember agreed vehemently. ¡°I still need to go see Tila to pick up my previous clothing order and place a new one.¡± ¡°Clothing?¡± Mary asked with an eyebrow raised. ¡°Yes!¡± Ember agreed. ¡°Tila works at a tailor shop in town. She does great work and is super nice. I''m probably going to go there as soon as we finish up here if you want to join me?¡± Mary''s eyes shone with excitement. She looked over to her brother who gave her a laugh and nodded back at her. ¡°Well, it looks like Crag can do his own shopping today so I would absolutely love to join you!¡± She replied, almost shaking with anticipation. ¡°Hah! Okay. Unless anyone else has anything they would like toadd or say I think Mary and I are going to head out to the tailor.¡± Ember asked while trying to hold back her laughter at Mary''s reaction to be invited out. With a nod or wave from the rest of the table Ember and Mary said their goodbyes before Mary drug Ember out of the guild by the arm only stopping once she made it out the door. ¡°Oh¡­ umm¡­ I don''t know where we are going.¡± Mary said with a giggle. She let go of Ember''s arm and stepped behind her. ¡°Lead the way.¡± She said with a smile and a lite push on Ember''s back to get her moving. They continued to the store in that formation laughing and getting to know one another better. Shopping with Mary ¡°Okay, I''m still having trouble with this. You are not from this town, this dutchy, or even this kingdom.¡± Mary said, her words laced with exasperation. ¡°All of my guesses have been wrong and you won¡¯t just come out with it and tell me where you are from.¡± She paused, pleading with her eyes while she hoped Ember would just butt in and sate her curiosity already, before it drove her mad. After three awkward seconds of silence passed Mary continued speaking. ¡°Unless you say it in that weird language of yours.¡± Ember gave Mary a teasing smirk and chortled quietly while they continued their march through town to see Tila. Mary gave a quick glance around to assure they weren''t being watched then threw her hands up in defeat as she finished speaking. ¡°Which I might add, I have never heard anything like that before.¡± ¡°I''m starting to think that you came from the lost continent across The Darven Sea. That or you magically teleported here from some other continent.¡± She paused once again, only this time she took a slow deep breath which she promptly exhaled in a short airy sigh. ¡°A continent that wasn¡¯t mentioned in any of the history books or religious texts that I¡¯ve read either.¡± She scratched the side of her head before a smirk grew across her face. Ember raised an eyebrow at the energetic girl when she suddenly quickened her pace and gave an over the top twirl which ended with Mary walking backwards and looking her in the eyes. Mary sped up to overtake Ember, she then gave a quick, over the top twirl, which caused the bottom of her nice dress to flare and ripple through the air. ¡°Or was it some continent that no one has discovered yet?¡± Her Grin grew even larger. ¡°Or was it a secret realm or plane?¡± Mary asked while she rolled her eyes and giggled. Her own statement was so absurd that she didn''t actually believe it could even happen, without being shown extensive proof. Ember giggled at Mary''s reaction. ¡®I had no idea that she would be so obsessed with learning the answer. I Wish i could just tell her that Suches, Georgia was on a completely different planet, but Willow said that was one thing That I should do my absolute best to keep secret as long as possible.¡¯ She thought to herself. ¡°Okay I''ll meet you in the middle, I can''t exactly tell you where I''m from but I will Confirm I''m not from this continent, and I''ll still give you the names for my city, state, and country.¡± Ember wagered. ¡®And continent and planet¡¯ she thought to herself. ¡°Although I will have to say the location names in English. Either the words don''t exist in common for them, which makes sense seeing as at least half of the names come from an American or English person''s name. That or I just haven''t had the chance to read those names or learn the words yet.¡± Mary stopped walking to show her excitement for any usable knowledge. Which almost instantly turned out to be a bad decision. Ember wasn''t paying close enough attention to Mary''s distance while they walked, and the latest rabbit trail she thought up while speaking had her contemplating the origins of the words that were used to name people. ¡®My name is easy enough to figure out with one glance. The name Ember came from the word ember which is just some part of a fire or someth-¡± Ember lost her train of thought when she found herself crashing into Mary. Mary being a whole head taller than Ember placed her in an awkward position, her face crashed square into Mary''s chest. ¡®Wow¡­ her dress really hides a lot¡­¡¯ Ember thought to herself while her vision was being gently snuffed out as she sank into Mary''s cleavage. Luckily for Mary her dress had a high neckline which rested just below her collar bone which aided in her pursuit for cute while it also protected her from lingering eyes and crumbs falling in-between them. Unluckily for Mary though the impact and resulting tumble backwards caused her dress to tear. A rip tore through the fabric from the bottom hem, which rested mid shin when she stood, up to her upper thigh or hip. The only thing Mary could be thankful for was that the tear only ran up the front of her dress to her knees. It then shifted to the side exposing the side of her thigh until it was stopped by an embroidery stitch that decorated the hip and waist line of the dress. ¡°Eeee.¡± Mary squeaked in embarrassment while she reached down with both of her hands, one to hold the torn sides of fabric together at her thigh, while the other one was used to push Ember off of her. ¡°I''m up, I''m up.¡± Ember said while she staggered back up to her feet. She dusted off her hands on her shorts before she reached down to give a hand to Mary. ¡°Here, Let me give you a hand.¡± Mary took Ember''s hand and with a bit of effort from both parties Ember was able to stand Mary back up while Mary was able to retain her decency. ¡°Oh damn¡­ That''s a lot worse than it looked from the ground. Oh! I know.¡± Ember said excited by her own thought. ¡°Here!¡± she then started squirming around to keep her shirt from coming off with her hoodie. When she finally pulled it off she quickly wrapped the arms around Mary''s waist and tied them together for her. ¡°There.¡± Ember said proudly, before she leaned in and spoke so quietly that only Mary could hear her. ¡°Part one of Get Mary to the Tailor before anyone else sees that she isn''t wearing panties today is now complete.¡± She then leaned back with a smirk and watched as multiple emotions flashed across Mary''s face while each of them lasted a mere moment before her expressions and emotions settled on beat red and embarrassment. ¡°No. You¡­ I¡­ I mean yes¡­ Y-y-yes I am!¡± Mary started shouting before dropping her voice to a whispered scream. ¡°I¡¯m wearing them. Now drop it.¡± She pleaded while tears started to form in the corners of her eyes. Ember quickly waved her hands in front of herself defensively. ¡°I''m Sorry, I''m sorry. I wasn''t trying to be mean about it or anything¡­ I was just, you know, teasing you a little.¡± She said sheepishly. ¡°Mhmm¡± was all Mary could bring hersellf to say. ¡°Hey.¡± Ember nudged Mary before giving her a friendly smile. ¡°We Are almost at Tila''s shop. Once we get there I''ll cover the cost to repair the tear since I''m fairly certain it only ripped because I fell on it too. Now come on.¡± Ember wrapped her arm behind Mary and guided her along the way until Mary pulled forward and started walking on her own. ¡°Thank you.¡± Mary said. ¡°I would have stood there frozen for another twenty minutes if you didn¡¯t motivate me to get moving.¡± ¡°No worries.¡± Ember replied with a nonchalant wave of her hand. ¡°That''s what friends are for right?¡± Mary raised an eyebrow skeptically at Ember. ¡°Yeah, friends are there to drag you to the tailors. Right?¡± Mary joked back. Ember then nodded her head in an overly exaggerated manner. ¡°Yes, exactly. Friends are there to drag you to the tailor¡­ aaaaand anywhere else that can help you solve your problems.¡± Then Ember gave Mary a cheeky wink and smile. ¡°Like Victoria''s secret.¡± Ember waited for a reaction or reply but didn''t expect the one she got. ¡°W-who''s Victoria?¡± Mary asked confusedly while tilting her head to the side. ¡°And what''s so important about her secret?¡± Ember¡¯s face fell flat and she let out a long, drawn out, loud, exasperated sigh. ¡°Just a store from back home. I forgot y''all ain''t got them around here. It was one of my favorite places to shop. It didn''t matter if you wanted something sexy, cute, or just functional. They always made them comfy to wear, even if you only intended to keep them on for an hour or so. Plus they almost always had my size in what I wanted¡­¡± ¡°That sounds really nice and all but I still have no idea what they sold.¡± Mary replied playfully. ¡°Also, did you say that Tila was from The Kitsune?¡± ¡°Oh umm¡­ I''m sorry, can you repeat that I was lost in my head.¡± Ember answered bashfully. ¡°Tila, did you say she was from the Kitsune Tribe?¡± Mary repeated. ¡°Oh. Yes, yes she is. And oh my god she looks so fluffy I could die.¡± Ember answered before thinking. Mary gave Ember a knowing look and smirked as the words she had spoken finally registered in Ember''s head. ¡°N-not what I m¨Cm-meant.¡± Ember stuttered out while her face turned almost as red as Mary''s earlier. ¡°N-not like that. I just want to touch¡­ no that sounds worse, pet? Stroke?¡± Ember grabbed her hair from the sides from stress while she racked her brain for the right words to get her out of the hole she was digging herself. ¡°I¡­ think¡­ that Tila has a fan- no¡­¡± She pulled her hair again. ¡°Ugh! Stupid brain¡­ I got it! Tila has a gorgeously fluffy tail and her hair¡­ fur? uhh¡­ hair and ears look super soft and smooth.¡± Ember looked up at Mary slightly red again. ¡°It''s not that kind of attraction, I''m just curious about how it would feel to hug her¡­¡± Her eyes moved to look up and to the right as she imagined herself doing what she was saying. ¡°or pet her soft ears¡­ or maybe shove my face in her floofy¡­¡± Her eyes grew wide. ¡°I¡­ I um¡­ I''m shutting up.¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Mary nodded and did her best to hide the laugh growing in the pit of her stomach. ¡°Probably for the best. While you were distracted with your¡­ uh¡­ descriptions? A youngish man from the Ursa Tribe over heard you and ran off blush-k ha.¡± Mary lost the fight she was waging with her laughter. ¡°He, he, he¡­¡± She took a deep breath and tried to calm her laughter. ¡°He started listening to you around gorgeous fluff but he started running away by the time you got to the face in her floofy¡­¡± She said, intentionally leaving the air in the conversation. Which she promptly filled with her questioning eyebrows and and knowing smirk. After a moment passed and Ember''s face cooled down she took a look around to see how far they had walked while she was distracted and only paying enough attention to her surroundings to avoid collisions with people or objects. ¡°Oh wow. We made good progress at least. We only have four stores to back track to. I¡­ may have been a little distracted and overlooked our stop.¡± She joked while she rubbed the back of her neck. ¡­ ¡°Ember! Your back!¡± Tila called out from her workstation on the opposite end of the room. ¡°I was starting to think I would have to keep this wonderfully crafted, super cute,¡± Tila eye''d Ember up and down once and then gave her a playful wink, ¡°Fur lined¡­ multi-pocketed, aaaaand possibly rank one hooded coat for myself.¡± Tila gave her best merchant''s smile. ¡°But now I see my favorite customer has returned.¡± She then noticed Mary standing behind and to the side of Ember. She gave her a once over as well. ¡°Nice¡­ And she brought a friend? Or a new client perhaps?¡± ¡°Hi Tila.¡± Ember answered. ¡°It''s good to see you again. Now I would normally be a bit more polite and ask you about your day, but you''ve done gone and piqued my curiosity by bringing up my new Hoodie.¡± The excited and anticipatory grin grew across her face. ¡°Ah, right you did call it a hoodie when you requested it. I knew I liked the word but,¡± Tila shrugged. ¡°I guess it slipped my mind while sewing.¡± She gave Ember an eager smile. ¡°Well? Come and check it out.¡± By the time Ember had walked over to Tila''s cutting table to give her new hoodie a good once over, her smile had grown so big her cheeks were beginning to burn and her eyes had stars swimming in them. ¡°It''s perfect! I absolutely love it!¡± Ember almost shouted while she ran around the table to hug Tila. ¡°Thank you Tila,¡± she said while she wrapped her arms around her and gave her a gentle squeeze. ¡°Your work is amaz¡­ zing.¡± Mary burst into laughter at the sight of Ember¡¯s reaction to grabbing a handful of Kitsune tail fur. She had completely frozen up and lost her ability to speak after she realized that she was hugging Tila¡¯s tail. More specifically when she noticed the warm, soft, and smooth fluff intertwined between her fingers. She couldn''t control herself and ran her fingers through Tila''s tail, fully enjoying her own lapse of judgment. Once Ember¡¯s hand broke free of the fluff she turned bright red and quickly back stepped to give Tila her personal space back. ¡°I''m fluffy!¡± Ember spat out while shaking her hand placatingly. She quickly shook her head after she noticed she had misspoken. ¡°No! I meant you''re sorry. Bah!¡± She took a deep breath and released it slowly. ¡°I''m sorry.¡± She eventually got out. ¡°I got excited and I¡¯m a bit of a hugger¡­¡± She looked back up to face Tila, doing her best to ignore Mary''s continued laughter, to see Tila standing there frozen with her ears and tail fur standing on end and she looked to be just as red as she was. ¡°You¡­ HA¡­ both¡­ wow¡­¡± Mary said between laughs and weezing. Her attempt to break the silence drew both of the blushing girls'' attention. ¡°One sec.¡± she said while holding up her pointer finger. She then took a slow breath before continuing. ¡°Okay, first off you two are hilarious. Ember, you just ran around the table, grabbed her out of the blue, and made the poor girl turn mute.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Ember said to Mary before turning to face Tila. ¡°And again, I''m sorry.¡± Tila blinked a few times before finally replying to Ember. ¡°I-it''s okay. You just caught me off guard.¡± As Tila spoke her voice evened back out and her face shifted back to that of the friendly merchant. ¡°A little warning though, next time offer to take a girl out before grabbing her tail.¡± She said with a nervous laugh while simultaneously breaking eye contact. ¡°Ah¡­ Umm¡­ Yeah, I-I''ll remember that.¡± Ember replied with the same nervous laughter. ¡°Uh-hum.¡± Mary cleared her throat. ¡°While I don''t mean to interrupt,¡± she gestured in their general direction, ¡°whatever this is.¡± She said with a playful laugh. ¡°Maybe we can move past this awkward little back and forth and check out that interesting coat Tila made for you?¡± ¡°Right!¡± Tila said a little too loudly. ¡°Uhm¡­ Your new Hoodie is a little special.¡± Tila gave off a playful air as she spoke. ¡°I figured I¡¯d throw in a little something extra for you since you let me copy your hoodie''s design and I''m fairly certain I''ll be the only supplier of them for the foreseeable future.¡± Ember raised an eyebrow. ¡°Special how?¡± Tila''s grin grew even larger. ¡°So you know I¡¯m a tailor.¡± She said, gesturing around herself. ¡°But I''m also Classed as a Threadsmith. My class has some extra benefits for me when I¡¯m creating clothing or armor out of fabric and I may have Experimented with a new class skill while I made your hoodie.¡± Tila gave Ember a teasing grin. ¡°First, thank you for the help in gaining my latest level. Working on a new coat design while simultaneously applying a successful enchantment to said coat gave me the last bit of experience I needed to finally progress. I don''t know if you are aware or not but crafting classes have a hard time progressing in levels without having a dedicated party to craft for, new and creative designs, or a massive amount of disposable income to spend on supplies for practice.¡± Ember shook her head. ¡°I had no clue.¡± ¡°Me either.¡± Mary seconded. ¡°Well, most people only come to me for everyday clothes or the occasional suit or dress for special events or high end clients. But then you came in and told me you were a newly registered hunter and a prospective magic class. So I figured you wouldn''t mind if I added a little extra protection or some utility while you were out in the wilds.¡± Tila explained. ¡°I don''t get to make much armor or enchanted clothes out here with the majority of this town being unclassed or low levels. Plus the majority of the hunters out here tend to lean into the physical classes so all their work goes to the smithy.¡± She let out a sigh. ¡°That being said, my enchanting skill is still new and low leveled itself, so I don''t have very many options on hand yet. I was only able to get one enchantment to stick, and it is only a level one armor skill but, I hope you still find it useful when you¡¯re out on the road and unable to come see me.¡± She gave Ember a playful wink. Ember was practically shaking with anticipation when Tila paused her explanation. ¡®Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!¡¯ She thought to herself. ¡®I''m getting magic clothes, I can¡¯t believe it, magic clothes. Aaahhh!¡¯ She let out an excited scream in her head and a small squeak out loud. ¡°Please, the anticipation is going to kill me¡­¡± She gave Tila pleading eyes. ¡°Hehehe¡± Tila giggled at Ember''s reaction. ¡°Okay, so first off your hoodie is now technically considered cloth armor now. It will offer an added three points of damage reduction when in top shape and no lower than one while it is still in one piece. Now for the enchantment, and, I know it isn''t the rarest or strongest added skill but in my opinion it is one of the most useful in the long run.¡± She looked down to see Ember shaking from suspense. ¡°Okay I''m just stalling now¡­ It has self repair at level one.¡± She paused expecting to see the disappointment flash across Ember''s face but it never came. ¡°Self repair? Like it will fix itself?¡± Ember asked with a bubbly excitement drenching her voice. ¡°Yep.¡± Tila agreed with a nod. ¡°That''s so cool!¡± Ember practically shouted. ¡°So if I''m out and get a tear in the sleeve from a branch or a bunny strike rips a hole open in it, it will just start to fix itself without me bringing it back in or anything?!?¡± ¡°Yes, but not immediately.¡± Tila said with a sigh. ¡°Like I said earlier, it''s a level one enchantment so at this level it will only begin to repair itself after eight hours without sustaining damage and should fully repair itself in no more than three days. That is, as long as at least a third of it remains intact.¡± Ember grabbed the warm yellow hoodie off of the table and pulled it into a hug. ¡°It''s super soft. And I love that you used the same color as my original hoodie, this is one of my favorite colors. Followed by orange, black, and purple respectively¡± Ember said with an innocent smile. ¡°Good to know, I''ll keep that in mind for your next custom piece.¡± Tila replied with a wink. ¡°Hey, Ember. You never told me your tailor friend was classed, I didn''t think his town had any classed that worked with cloth armor. My brother only ever goes to the Smithy and I would just buy comfortable robes or dresses I could move around in from the general store.¡± Mary said as she approached Ember and Tila. ¡°Ms. Tila, I am very happy to meet you. My name is Mary, I¡¯m also a magic user like Ember here¡± She said pointing over to Ember. Who she now stood beside. ¡°I would love it if you would let me place an order with you as well.¡± Tila let out a small chuckle at Mary''s nervous introduction. ¡°Of course, any friend of Ember is a friend of mine.¡± she said with a wink. ¡°First I''ll have to get your measurements, then I will get you into something premade that isn¡¯t ripped up to your hipline.¡± She gave Mary a cheeky smile. ¡°Then we can go over what material you would want it made out of, color if you have a preference, and finally the enchantment. Just be aware that an enchanted piece of armor cost significantly more than an unenchanted piece. Although¡­ with Ember being the one to introduce you and you being a first time customer I''ll make your first piece at cost if you are willing to make a trade instead. Nothing crazy or anything but with you being a mana user figure you could just charge my mana crystal with twenty five mana and call it even. How does that sound for you?¡± Tila inquired. ¡°Y-yes! I can do that!¡± Mary sputtered. ¡°Just show me to the crystal and I''ll get started right away.¡± Tila chuckled at the excitement coming from the two girls. ¡°There''s no need to rush. I still need to get your sizes so you can charge it while I take your measurements. Now, Ember, go try on your new hoodie and tell me if you need any adjustments.¡± Tila pointed at a door on the side wall of the main room. ¡°That''s the changing room over there. While you are changing I''ll get started with your friend here.¡± She made a shooing motion towards Ember and turned to give Mary her full attention. ¡°Now my first question for design¡­ is your hip high slit intentional?¡± Mary''s hand shot down to her legs and pulled the loose fabric back together to cover her exposed upper thigh and lower hip. ¡°N-no, this was from a fall on the way here. I would never show this much skin. In public.¡± Tila laughed ¡°I like you, I think we will get along well. Now hop up on the pedestal and spread your arms and legs so we can begin.¡± A jackalope den to the east ¡°We have a jackalope den to the east about ten minutes out from our current location, there are signs of jellies straight ahead but I didn''t actually see any. Oh there is also a nest of chinchero ahead as well but only the young were present when I passed by.¡± Zaz informed the group after he emerged from the treeline. ¡°do we want to go out of our way to collect the jack horns or should we continue to the pond?¡± ¡°I wouldn''t Mind the extra experience before the real fight ahead.¡± Mary interjected. ¡°I can''t Speak for the rest of you but I feel like I''m close to a level up.¡± ¡°I won''t refuse a few extra points of skill experience if the rest of you are up for it.¡± Crag added. ¡°I''m in.¡± Thorn said while raising his hand. ¡°Ember?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Ember asked with a distracted look on her face. ¡°Sorry my mind was somewhere else. What was the question?¡± ¡°No worries.¡± Mary said with a smile. ¡°We were just asking if you''re ok with a small detour to take out a jackalope den.¡± ¡°Ah. Yeah that sounds good.¡± Ember said with a forced smile. ¡°Alright, with that settled, if everyone will follow me I''ll lead us to the den.¡± Zaz said energetically. he then spun on his heels and started back into the overgrowth. Everyone fell into formation once again, Zaz led the group as the scout closely followed by Crag, who was holding a large wood and leather shield, after crag Ember and Mary stood together as support and utility types and finally Thorn took up the rear. While the newly formed team made their way through the underbrush Mary walked closer to Ember and asked her in a whisper, ¡°Hey,are you feeling alright today? You seem a bit out of it, or maybe upset by something. I don''t mean to pry if you don''t want to talk but¡­¡± Mary paused for a moment to think over her words. ¡°I would like to be someone you feel you can talk to.¡± ¡°I¡­ Uh¡­¡± Ember stumbled over her words. ¡°I¡¯m just¡­ feeling a little down today is all.¡± ¡°I can see that¡± Mary said with a small laugh. ¡°Is something bothering you today?¡± Ember took a deep breath before letting it out in a long sigh. ¡°It''s nothing, really. The hike today just brought back some old memories from a few years back.¡± ¡°Oh? Tell me about it?¡± Mary asked. ¡°My mother always told me that talking out your issues with others will get you through them stronger and wiser.¡± Ember looked around to assure she was keeping pace with the rest of their group then let out a small huff. ¡°Fine¡­ Three years ago a group of my friends came out to join me on a week-long hiking and camping trip in the mountains north of where we all went to school.¡± She looked over to see Mary with a slight look of concern growing on her face. So she threw her hands up and started to wave them in front of her. ¡°Nothing bad happened, don''t worry. I''m not down because it''s a bad memory, it''s actually one of my favorite memories. It was our first big act of freedom. We were all adults, living on our own, and just out of our parents'' houses.¡± She said with a soft smile on her face. ¡°I guess I''m just feeling a bit down because I don''t know when or if I will see them again.¡± she gave another sigh. ¡°Oh, umm, uh, I''m sure you will see them again. Nothing is impossible, if you can''t accomplish your goals now then you''re just not strong enough.¡± Mary said, punctuating the end with a fist pump. ¡°Now you''re quoting dad?¡± Crag butted in with a laugh. ¡°Shut it!¡± Mary snapped back. Which caused Zaz and Thorn to join in with his laughter. ¡°Thanks Mary.¡± Ember said with a smile. ¡°I hope you¡¯re right, that¡¯s the only reason I''m trying to level and grow stronger. So I can go home and see my friends again¡­ see my mom again¡­¡± Ember said solemnly. Mary¡¯s face scrunched up when she realized her efforts were reset with that last statement. ¡°Okay, let''s focus on growing stronger then.¡± Mary placed her hand on Ember''s shoulder. ¡°First this den of jackies, then the crystal crown and her jellies. Seriously, Think about it, a crystal crown. That''s a level ten beast minimum. I know higher level beasts give more experience, but evolved beasts are supposed to give even more.¡± ¡°Realy?¡± Ember asked, her attention thoroughly captured. ¡°Yes!¡± Mary replied. ¡°If a level ten jelly gives one hundred points a level ten crystal crown would give something between one fifty and two hundred points.¡± ¡°Why though? Is it increased just because it evolved or does the increase change based on what it evolved into?¡± Ember asked. ¡°Oh it''s based on the rarity of the evolutionary path the beat took.¡± Mary answered. ¡°That and how many evolutions the beast took to reach its current form.¡± Crag interjected. ¡°If the crystal jelly became a greater jelly before a crown it would be worth more than a jelly that evolved straight into a crystal crown from base form.¡± Ember turned to listen to Crag while he gave his explanation. ¡°Okay, that makes sense. So in simple terms, the more experienced the monster is the more experience it will give?¡± ¡°Pretty much, yes, but be careful not to mistake critters, beasts, and monsters.¡± Crag replied. ¡°Oh, right. My bad, I keep forgetting the difference between them, but is there a way to tell how much experience a beast will give you before killing it?¡± Ember asked. ¡°Technically yes, but unless you have an inspection or identification skill you won''t be able to tell.¡± Thorn answered from behind. ¡°Out of the five of us Zaz is the most likely to have a skill like that since he has scouting skills. But that still doesn''t guarantee he would be offered one.¡± Ember shot a quick glance to Zaz to see if he would interject but he remained silent and continued to lead the group forward. ¡°Oh¡­¡± Ember said thoughtfully. ¡°I knew your actions and in the future, your class determines what skills you''re offered but I didn''t think your current skills would influence it as well.¡± ¡°Everything about you influences your skill choices.¡± Zaz stated without turning around. ¡°Red scales or hair tend to get fire, small and quiet types get stealth, things like that. Now quiet, we are getting close. They will be in sight any minute now.¡± He then slowed down and crouched to aid in stealth. At the same time he used his right hand to direct the rest to follow his lead. After only a moment of silent travel Zaz stopped the group and directed their sight to a group of jackalopes. At first look Ember could see three white jackalope eating berries off of the brambles growing near the base of the trees. ¡®Jackalopes really like berries.¡¯ She thought to herself. ¡®Next time I go on a hunt for them I should just find a berry patch and wait for them to come to me. Oh there are more!¡¯ Right when her thoughts started to drift she saw a small brown jackalope shoot out of the brambles followed closely behind by a small white one. Right after the two younglings started to play Mary started to swat Ember''s arm softly but repeatedly. Ember shot a sharp look at Mary which accomplished her goal of getting her to stop smacking her arm. ¡°What?¡± Ember mouthed silently. ¡°They. Are. So. Cute.¡± Mary mouthed back. ¡°And one has an affinity.¡± She whispered, no longer able to hold her volume back any longer. ¡°Earth?¡± Ember asked. ¡°To my best guess, the brown fur should be.¡± Mary replied. ¡°Shhh¡­¡± Thorn Interjected from behind. ¡°Ember,¡± Zaz started. ¡°We¡¯ll have you lock down the group first. After your skill goes off Crag will run in and draw their attention and while he is doing that the rest of us will focus on damage. Go for the leader first, the one in the center that looks a little bigger. It is likely the highest level and could do the most damage. The young ones are old enough to care for themselves, I vote that we leave them to grow in size and level.¡± ¡°Agreed.¡± Thorn and Crag said in unison. Ember and Mary both gave a nod. ¡°Alright. Everyone ready?¡± Ember asked. She counted to five in her head before she lifted her hand to aim at the group. ¡°Ensnare!¡± The skill activated as soon as she spoke the command. thousands of thin white hairs shot out of the ground and started to entangle themselves in the fur of the three adults. The two smaller jackalopes screamed and struggled against their bindings to no effect. The larger of the three was able to break a leg free from its bindings but before it could fully free itself Crag appeared in front of the group with his shield held forward. ¡°Shield bash!¡± He yelled while he drove his shield down on to the horn of the largest of the three. Before the jackalope could free another leg the leather covered shield impacted its horn snapping the first two or three inches off from the tip. The injured one then released an ear piercing pained screech while the remaining force from the blow sent it tumbling across the ground in a ball of fur, blood, and mycelium. ¡°Thorn!¡± Crag shouted, but before he could finish his call a bolt of electricity shot past his head to impact the still rolling body of the first jackalope. ¡°Got it!¡± Thorn replied. When Crag turned his attention back to the two ensnared jackalopes he saw the roots binding them were already tearing and slipping loose. ¡°They''re breaking free, I''m launching the second one now. Shield bash!¡± He cried out as his shield impacted the next jackalope closest to him. The small ball of fur didn''t make it more than three feet away before Thorn caught it with another bolt of lightning. When the tumbling red and white ball stopped rolling it collapsed into a sprawling mess of burnt and bloodied fur with two of its legs facing directions they were never intended to face. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°Oooo¡­ ouch.¡± Mary said in a hush. ¡°Last one!¡± Crag shouted. ¡°Got it!¡± Zaz replied. Then he freed an arrow from his bow which pierced clean through the jackalope''s neck burying the head of the arrow in the dirt which pinned the struggling beast to the ground. Before it could struggle and bleed out on its own, Crag lifted his leg and brought it back down on its head, crushing it and ending its life before the creature could suffer needlessly. ¡°Nicely done.¡± Crag said with a smile as he turned around to face the group behind him. ¡°Ember, your ensnare skill worked better than I expected. I knew it would lock them down but I didn''t think it would get all three and hold them still. No offense, I expected all of our skills to be on the low end of useful, but yours almost felt like it was a higher level based solely on its staying power.¡± ¡°Agreed.¡± Mary added with a nod. ¡°Oh and don''t think I forgot about you two.¡± Crag continued, facing Thorn and Zaz now. ¡°Great aim and timing, both of you. That electric skill looks nasty, is it pure damage or does it carry an effect?¡± ¡°Oh, it''s called Volt, and yeah, it has a small chance to paralyze the target on hit.¡± Thorn answered. ¡°Nice, does the percentage go up with its level or just damage output?¡± Mary asked this time. Thorn looked a little nervous to share too much about his skill but he also continued to describe it, his pride in the skill overpowered his unwillingness to disclose its description. ¡°Yeah¡­ it is a really useful skill. The damage and chance to stun both increase with the level. It blew my mind on the first level up, I only expected to get the damage buff but to my surprise there was a small increase in the probability as well.¡± ¡°That''s going to be a very useful skill in the future.¡± Crag added. ¡°Oh Zaz, that last shot you made, was that the piercing shot skill? Or maybe trap shot?¡± Zaz released a pleased hiss, which sounded similar to the hiss of an alligator. ¡°Nope, it was my skill not a skill.¡± He said with the reptilian equivalence of a smirk. ¡°Wow...¡± Ember muttered. ¡°Right...¡± Mary agreed. Crag cleared his throat. ¡°Good to know¡­ now, uh, back to the fight. Did anyone else want to add anything?¡± ¡°Oh, yes.¡± Ember said. ¡°That shield bash seemed really strong, does it drain your mana quickly? Also how many times can you use it back to back like you did?¡± ¡°Oh, thank you.¡± He said back shyly. ¡°But uh, it doesn''t use mana at all.¡± ¡°What!?!¡± Ember nearly shouted. Crag threw his hands up defensively. ¡°Calm down.¡± He said with a laugh. ¡°It''s not like it''s free. I still have to pay to use the skill, I just use Ki instead of mana as my resource.¡± Ember released a sigh of relief. ¡°Thank goodness or I was about to get super jealous.¡± She joked. ¡°But to answer you fully, I can do it about four or five times in a single fight before I''ll need to stop and recover some ki.¡± Crag finished. ¡°Also is everyone good on ki and mana?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± Mary and Ember replied together. ¡°Yes.¡± Zaz answered. ¡°I''m a little low on mana but I''ll be in a good spot by the time we reach the pond. I probably overcharged my attacks a bit since I didn''t factor in the damage from your shield bash.¡± Thorn explained. ¡°Nothing to fret over.¡± Zaz responded. ¡°Better to overspend your resources than get ambushed by someone or something you thought you killed.¡± ¡°Someone?¡± Ember asked quietly. ¡°Yes, you won''t always fight beasts.¡± Zaz answered her. ¡°There are monster races like goblins and orcs, plus some of the cruelest monsters I''ve seen were human slave traders. One day you will cross paths with an intelligent enemy and they will kill you if you don''t kill them first.¡± Ember shook her head. ¡°No, I don''t think I could do that. I¡­¡± She looked down to her open palms. ¡°I don''t think I could end another person''s life. Beasts and critters are one thing, I need to eat them to survive. But another person, they should be able to be reasoned with, right?¡± ¡°You would hope so, but not everyone has a good heart.¡± Thorn said with his head lowered. ¡°Father works hard to keep our town safe but once you''re more than a day''s ride out from any city or town the chance of running into a bandit group jumps exponentially.¡± Ember shivered. ¡°I don''t think I''ll be traveling anytime soon then.¡± ¡°Agreed.¡± said Mary. ¡°Well, at the level both of you are currently at, I wouldn''t recommend going this far out alone, if not for bandits then for the simple fact that at level two it would only take four or five good hits from a Jacky to take you out.¡± Crag stated. Ember''s eyes grew wide. ¡°That few?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He answered earnestly. ¡°A level five jackalope can do up to something like twelve or thirteen points of damage in a single hit, and that''s only if it''s non vital. The high level ones sometimes gain skills that help them land critical blows to your weak points. I once took a horn to the back of my knee, if Mary hadn''t been there to help me heal I could have bled out that day.¡± Ember glanced at Mary before returning her gaze to Crag. ¡°That''s terrifying. I''m so glad Mary was with you when that happened.¡± She then turned to face Mary. ¡°And I''m so glad you''re here with us now too.¡± Mary could see the fear hiding in Ember¡¯s eyes as she spoke so she laid a hand on her shoulder and replied, ¡°You have nothing to worry about. First off, big bro won''t let anything get close to you. Secondly, even if it''s only a scratch or bruise I''ll heal you up.¡± She reassured Ember, while ending her sentence with a calming smile. ¡°Thanks.¡± Ember said. ¡°Both of you¡­¡± she looked around. ¡°All of you.¡± She ended with a forced smile. ¡°Anytime.¡± Zaz said with a hint of charm. ¡°But for the moment I think we should continue on. I expect this upcoming battle with the crystal crown to be a complete slog. They may not do much, if any, damage but each jelly has a massive health pool and their queen is sure to have an even larger one.¡± ¡°Tsk.¡± Ember chided. ¡®I forgot how many times I had to hit that first one with my staff before it finally went down. Bah! This is where a huge mana pool would come in handy. Just let me blast the whole pond with my rot aura. See if they survive that.¡¯ She thought to herself, which caused a small laugh to escape from her. Mary gave Ember a side eye at the sound of her chortle. ¡°It''s nothing, just wishful thinking.¡± Ember told her. ¡°Ah.¡± Mary responded. ¡°Alright! Everyone back to formation.¡± Crag announced. ¡°Zaz, lead away, if you please.¡± Zaz gave a nod in reply before turning to start back on their path to the local pond. As they made their way farther along Mary scooted closer to Ember to continue her thought from earlier. ¡°So, when you said wishful thinking earlier, what were you thinking of? And I totally get it too, I don''t even have a combat related skill.¡± ¡°Oh. Uh¡­¡± Ember started nervously. ¡°I was just thinking about how easy the fight would be if my mana pool was big enough for me to cast my strongest skill at full blast for longer than a couple seconds.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Mary raised an eyebrow. ¡°decent damage output?¡± ¡°Kinda? I think so at least.¡± Ember answered honestly. ¡°It averages to about one and a half points of damage per two points of mana spent channeling.¡± ¡°What!?!¡± Mary almost shouted before she covered her own mouth. ¡°Sorry, but how do you already have a skill giving nearly one to one damage at such a low level?¡± Ember shrugged. ¡°I''m not sure. It was my fist skill and it''s supposedly a rare skill type. So that may have something to do with it.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ rarity can play a role in how powerful a skill can be but still if you dump a full level one mana pool into it you''d dish out more than thirty points of damage in one blow. That''s ridiculous for a low level and even more so since you''re still unclassed.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I can''t do that.¡± Ember replied. ¡°Do what?¡± Mary asked. ¡°Dump my whole mana pool into the skill.¡± Ember answered. ¡°It is a channeled skill and it caps out at five mana per second for my maximum output. I''m hoping that it will increase as well as the skill levels up. But so far I haven''t noticed any change in its maximum output.¡± ¡°Okay, that makes it much less broken.¡± Mary said with a laugh. ¡°Channeling it into a damage over time type of skill with an output cap definitely makes it sound more in line with a low level classless skill.¡± ¡°Thanks?¡± Ember asked jokingly. Which led to the two girls laughing together. ¡°Good thing we don''t need stealth for this one.¡± Crag quipped. ¡°Shut it!¡± Mary retorted. ¡°If you don''t have anything interesting to add then stay out of it.¡± ¡°Fine, fine.¡± He answered before he turned to face Ember. ¡°Has she told you how broken her main skill is yet?¡± ¡°No?¡± She answered curiously. ¡°You have a broken skill?¡± She asked Mary with her head tilted. A small smile grew on Mary''s face due to Ember''s reaction. ¡°Yes and no. Yes because it works by consuming the target¡¯s resource pool as well as my own. No due to the ratio of input to output. Basically every two mana I spend one mana of yours will be used as well to provide one point of health regeneration. So on your end it would seem like a one to one while in truth It''s a three to one.¡± ¡°You''re skipping the most broken aspect of your skill.¡± Crag interjected. ¡°I was getting to it.¡± Mary answered before she immediately stuck out her tongue in his direction. She then turned back to Ember. ¡°So what he was referring to as broken is the fact that the resource used up by the target of my skill switches based on what resource is least used by them. So for Crag, he never uses mana, so it steals his mana for the heal. Now if I were to heal you I''d be willing to bet it steals from your Ki pool.¡± ¡°Yeah that''s broken.¡± Thorn agreed. ¡°Yep.¡± Zaz also agreed. ¡°Broken, but super useful.¡± Ember added. ¡°Plus it''s not that broken, it still costs three points to heal one. Right?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± Mary replied. ¡°Perfectly balanced in all ways.¡± She joked. The group marched on as they laughed together. A few light hearted conversations popped up here and there as they made their approach until finally Zaz spoke up. ¡°Clearing ahead. Pond should be coming into view any minute now. I say we stop here and set up for lunch. After we eat and regenerate our missing resources then we can gather the last bits of information we need to form a strategy and attack.¡± ¡°Oh thank God, I''m starving.¡± Ember stated. ¡°Hmm? Weird.¡± Mary said quietly. ¡°Hmmm?¡± Ember questioned. ¡°What''s weird?¡± ¡°Oh, heh, sorry, your phrasing was odd. I''m just used to hearing people say either thank the gods or they thank a specific god by name.¡± Mary answered. ¡°What? But there''s only one God, the king of kings? Lord of lords?¡± Ember replied. ¡°Okay, yeah everyone worships the creator god but only as much as he is tied into their specific minor deity''s worship. If you choose to follow one at all, that is.¡± Mary answered. ¡°Enough talk about religion.¡± Crag chimed in. ¡°Can someone magic us up a fire while Zaz and I gather wood and intel?¡± ¡°I''m on it.¡± Thorn answered. ¡°I''ll zap one up, but don''t expect me to cook anything if you want to survive the meal.¡± ¡°Ha!¡± Ember burst out a laugh. ¡°Sorry. But that was funny.¡± Thorn gave a smile in response before he made his way to a somewhat open area which he then started to clear of rocks and leaf litter until a nice fire ring was built. ¡°I guess that leaves us to cook?¡± Mary asked Ember. ¡°Guess so.¡± She replied. ¡°Good thing I always bring my travel spices.¡± She said as she pulled a baggy out of her hoodie pocket filled with small packets of various herbs and spices. ¡°I can at least make it taste good. Whatever we have.¡± ¡°Whatever we have?¡± Mary asked. ¡°Unless you brought something in one of your secret jacket pockets all we have is the jackalope we killed earlier as far as I know.¡± ¡°Ah, I guess I can make rabbit stew.¡± Ember answered. ¡°Rabbit?¡± Mary asked after she lifted an eyebrow. ¡°Uhhh¡­ well, it''s something like a hornless jackalope.¡± Ember explained. ¡°That just sounds weird. How would it even defend itself?¡± Mary asked. ¡°Oh, they didn''t. Not really. Rabbits just run away, unless you catch them. Then you''ll get bit and kicked but it doesn''t amount to much damage at all. That is only if it doesn''t carry any diseases.¡± Ember informed Mary. ¡°Still sounds weird, like it should have been hunted into extinction unless it had a speed affinity or something.¡± Mary mused. ¡°Something like that¡­ I mean, I haven''t seen a rabbit once since I arrived here so maybe they are extinct here.¡± Ember answered. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Mary started. ¡°About that, where are you from? You don''t have Tila here to distract me from getting my answers this time.¡± ¡°Fine. I told you I''d tell you where but I''m not going into any more detail than the names.¡± Ember relented. ¡°Deal, I''ve probably studied the local geography more than anyone else here.¡± Mary responded proudly. ¡°Okay.¡± Ember said with a laugh. ¡°I come from the city of Suches, in the state of Georgia, in the country called the United States of America, on the continent of North America.¡± Ember blew Mary a raspberry. ¡°Happy?¡± ¡°No!¡± Mary got loud and dropped the jackalope carcass in front of Ember. ¡°I haven''t heard of any of those. And did you say continent!?! Like the lost continent across the sea? Is the lost continent called North America?¡± ¡°Yes and no. I really can''t go into much detail for now. I''m sorry.¡± Ember said. ¡®If I understood how I got here and how to get back I''d happily explain it to all of you.¡¯ She thought to herself. ¡°Can I start cooking now?¡± ¡°Fine.¡± Mary said with a huff. ¡°I''ll be right back, Crag has the pot in his pack. Do you have enough water to spare for cooking?¡± ¡°Yeah, thanks, but I brought an extra.¡± Ember answered. With that said and done Mary ran to gather the pot for Ember while she spent the few minutes she had to wait cleaning and preparing the body to cook. Strategy Meeting ¡°Okay, Ember, I don¡¯t know who taught you how to cook but that might be the best thing I have ever eaten. Seriously, how did you even manage to make the Jackalope meat spicy?!?¡± Mary asked enthusiastically. ¡°Oh? So you like it?¡± Ember teased. ¡°Yes! It was delicious!¡± Mary yelled. ¡°Now please, tell me?!?¡± Ember¡¯s smile grew. ¡°Nope.¡± She laughed and gave Mary a raspberry. ¡°Hey!¡± She rebuked. ¡°Sure you¡¯re not as young as you look?¡± she asked with an eyebrow raised in a taunt. ¡°Like maybe fifteen or sixteen?¡± Ember puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms while her face quickly shifted from teasing to shock to frustration. ¡°You¡­¡± She started. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m an adult and I look like it!¡± She sputtered. ¡°Sure, sure.¡± Mary said with a roll of her eyes. ¡°Shorty.¡± Ember stood up and walked over to stand in front of Mary where she was sitting after lunch. Her face was red and she held her fist clenched close to her thighs. ¡°Look, Just because we aren¡¯t all born giants like you doesn''t mean I''m short! I¡¯m the same height my grandmother was and my own mom is only three inches taller than I am.¡± ¡°Please!¡± Mary laughed before continuing playfully. ¡°You can barely be over five feet tall and I doubt you¡­¡± She paused to check if Crag, Zaz, or Thorn were in ear shot. After seeing the three boys cleaning up the remains and covering the fire she decided that she was in the clear to continue. ¡°Weigh over one hundred pounds.¡± She ended in a whisper. Ember¡¯s eyes grew wide as her body was flooded by the emotions of frustration and self consciousness. ¡®She¡¯s just teasing you Em.¡¯ She thought to herself while she also turned away to hide the slight wetness forming in her eyes. ¡®Damn it, she¡¯s just playing around, don¡¯t take it to heart.¡¯ ¡°Hey, low blow¡­¡± Ember mumbled, all fire drawn out of her voice. She proceeded to throw up her hood and walk in the direction of the others. ¡°I¡¯m going to help them clean up so we can get on with the fight.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Mary called out. ¡°Are you alright? I was only teasing you a little. I''m sorry if I upset you with what I said. I got a bit carried away, I can never have a light hearted fight like this at home. Plus I did think you were playing back at first.¡± Ember stopped and took a deep breath before slowly letting it out with a sigh. She turned back around but did not lower her hood. ¡°I was.¡± She replied with her eyes glued to the grass. ¡°I know you didn¡¯t mean anything by what you said also. It¡¯s just¡­¡± She paused, biting her lip as she debated if she should tell Mary her story. ¡°Okay look. When I was in middle school all the other girls my age would tease and make fun of me for being short, or small, or flat¡­¡± She took another calming breath before continuing. ¡°I know it probably doesn''t seem like a lot to deal with, just a couple girls calling you short. Well it was a lot worse. I wasn¡¯t a once off thing it was everyday, every time they saw me, they would taunt me. They called me a flipp¡¯n kid or middle schooler whenever they would talk to me.¡±Ember dropped her hood back down and started pacing around while she ranted. Mary watched and listened without interrupting her in hopes of coming to know Ember better by the end. Once Ember finally cooled off she asked the question that had been bugging her for the last three or four minutes while Ember ranted. ¡°So¡­ first off, I hope those girls from your past run into a wandering group of goboids¡­ in the dark¡­ unarmed¡­¡± ¡°Damn Mary, what the hell did I just walk in on?¡± Crag asked as he came closer to the girls. ¡°Nothing. What¡¯s up?¡± Mary said curtly. Crag grabbed the back of his neck. ¡°Geez I didn¡¯t intend on eavesdropping on you two, you just got so loud with your threat there that I couldn''t help but overhear. But to answer you, we¡¯re leaving in five. Last chance to pack up your stuff or pee before the fight.¡± ¡°Sure, sure. We are already packed up. We were just chatting until you guys finished up with whatever you were doing.¡± Mary said, waving him off. ¡°We will be there in a minute, you can head on before us.¡± ¡°Alright, just take Ember with you when you go pee. Most Jackies are weak but with your luck and combat skills one would stab you in the butt with its horn the moment you start to pee.¡± Crag teased before he busted out in laughter at the end. ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Ember replied to Crag with a devious smile. ¡°I¡¯ll keep a close eye on her¡± she gave a suggestive eyebrow raise to Mary before giggling to herself. With a now red face Mary turned back to Crag. ¡°We heard you¡­ now GO!¡± She pointed back at Thorn who was standing by the old fire pit, which was now just a pile of dirt mulch surrounded with stones. ¡°Fine, fine. See you two shortly.¡± Crag started to head back to Thorn before he paused and turned his head back. ¡°Oh we plan to leave when Zaz gets back from scouting the pond. So the five minutes I gave was just a guess to be honest. Just stay on guard when you''re ready. It''s just a scouting trip but you never know if something might spot him and follow him back to us.¡± ¡°True.¡± Mary and Ember both agreed. They shared a look while they waited for Crag to make his way out of earshot. ¡°So¡­¡± Ember started awkwardly. ¡°Your brother has the worst timing.¡± ¡°Ha!¡± Mary burst out. ¡°You have no idea. Try growing up with someone like that. I do not recommend.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know.¡± Ember replied. ¡°I¡¯m an only child so the only time I had people my own age over was when my cousins came to visit or when my friends came to hangout. But yeah¡­ No siblings. Well¡­ I have a tiny idea, when I was like sixteen or seventeen my parents took in one of my cousins for a year and a half so she lived with us but I don''t think that''s quite the same.¡± ¡°No, not really, but that''s interesting.¡± Mary stated. ¡°I¡¯ve never met any of my cousins and I¡¯m fairly certain the only extended family I have met was my Uncle. Specifically my dad¡¯s brother, he is a traveling hunter and he wanted to say bye to my father and meet my brother and I. I was pretty young so I don''t remember much but I do remember he said he passed his second trial and had to leave the low rank zone before his reward would process.¡± ¡°Why did he have to leave?¡± Ember asked. ¡°Oh, right, you''re not from here. Was your home continent divided into zones? Rings? I¡¯ve also heard districts and blocks before?¡± Mary asked. ¡°Right, and no there weren¡¯t any zones like that. The only districts, zones we had were related to the government or politics.¡± Ember answered with a shrug. ¡°Weird, so did you just deal with the ambient mana? Or did you have detectors?¡± Mary continued. ¡°Nope, no ambient mana to deal with. I¡¯m not exactly sure how some mana in the air would affect anything anyways.¡± Ember answered. ¡°Oh, so the more mana there is the more pressure it puts on you and the environment around it.¡± Mary answered enthusiastically. ¡°If you were to get too close to the gate for the wall dividing our rank one zone from the rank two zone on the other side you would feel like you were walking through mud and had a full grown stone boar slung across your shoulders.¡± ¡°Oh that''s¡­ How? Why does it clump and pool? Why doesn''t mana disperse evenly across the planet?¡± Ember asked. ¡°Wait. Zaz should be back any minute and I have way too many questions for how little time we have. So, one last question. And it is the one that started this, why did your uncle have to leave to progress?¡± ¡°True, I love mana theory so I could go on and on about it and the speculations surrounding it.¡± Mary answered with a huge grin. ¡°But my uncle had to leave because once he broke through to the next level the amount of background excess mana his body released would increase ten fold. I¡¯m sure you know the first trial is for your class and to level above ten, but the second trial pushes you to your limits and beyond them. My dad said that once my uncle made it through the gate and accepted his reward all of his stats would increase by a multiple of ten. Imagine it, just add a zero to the end of each of your stats and think about how crazy big those resource pool numbers will look. Its hard to even imagine, my lifeforce would jump from fifty to five hundred¡­ And my mana pool¡­¡± ¡°Okay we are having a nice long chat after we turn in this crystal crown job.¡± Ember stated eagerly. ¡°But it looks like Zaz is here or close. I saw Thorn and Crag get up and now they look to be putting their packs on.¡± ¡°Ah. My bad, I can get lost in this talk.¡± Mary said bashfully. ¡°Oh, me too. Which might be why granny Willow seems to enjoy my company. I''m always asking her questions and letting her go on with her passionate, in depth explanations.¡± Ember replied, sporting a soft smile from the memory of when Willow taught her to read this world''s writing. ¡°Alright.¡± Mary spoke up and grabbed Ember by the hand. ¡°Let''s go meet the others. Also I¡¯m sorry that my teasing upset you. Earlier I didn¡¯t know how it would bring back those bad memories.¡± She gave Ember¡¯s hand a squeeze before pulling her forward into a walk. ¡°Plus if you ask me those girls were stupid. You definitely don''t look like a little kid and from what I can tell through the hoodie your figure is pretty nice too.¡± Ember blushed but continued walking in silence until the pair reached Thorn and Crag. ¡°... all that I¡¯m saying is she gave the reptile googly eyes and has a thing for fur. I don¡¯t see it going well fo¡­¡± The duo heard Crag saying to Thorn as they approached. ¡°Oh, Hey sis! You and Ember finally decide to join us?¡± Mary gave Crag an accusatory look before she answered him. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re here. Now, don¡¯t mind us¡­ please¡­ continue¡­¡± She threatened. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Yeah, no. I¡¯m good. You''re scarier than a terrorbird when you''re mad and I''m not even talking about you this time.¡± Crag spat out. Mary started to open her mouth to reply but she was cut off by Thorn this time. ¡°Hey, hey, hey look.¡± Thorn said while pointing into the distance. ¡°I can see Zaz making his return. Why don''t we meet him halfway?¡± He asked nervously. ¡°Sure.¡± Ember said. ¡°Fine.¡± Mary replied curtly. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Shouted Crag. He started moving so quickly that he nearly forgot to grab his shield that he left propped up on a tree to his side. ~~~ ¡°This is interesting.¡± Zaz started. ¡°The pond is mostly silent, but every once in a while I would see a crystal jelly leave the pond and enter the woods. I waited to see if that one would return before I needed to head back but it did not. Luckily, a new one was making its return from north east of the waterfront so I was able to get an idea of what they were doing.¡± ¡°They weren¡¯t doing anything.¡± Crag interjected. ¡°They are jellies¡­ no thoughts.¡± Zaz shot an irritated glare at Crag before he continued. ¡°As I was saying, I saw that the one returning was carrying an item inside of itself. It looked to be a coarse ore or gem of some kind but I couldn''t quite tell from my perspective without giving myself away.¡± ¡°Okay but what made you suspect an ore or gem?¡± Mary asked. ¡°Shape and coloration mostly.¡± Zaz replied. ¡°It didn''t look like the rocks around here, plus why would a crystal jelly collect dirt or rocks?¡± ¡°Hmph.¡± Crag snorted. ¡°Why would they collect pretty rocks and metals?¡± ¡°Well,¡± Thorn started after clearing his throat, ¡°certain gems and metals are conductors, resistors, or containers for all different types of mana.¡± He then pointed out the crystal adorning the crest of his staff and the metal inlay embossed in the wood. ¡°Oh¡­¡± Crag said meekly. ¡°What?¡± Mary asked with a giggle. ¡°Did you think he got that one because he thought it was pretty. Wait¡­ Why do you think I¡¯ve been saving up for that necklace we found last month?¡± ¡°Ye¡­ No I¡­¡± Crag shook his head. ¡°Look, I just thought he got that one because he liked it and picked it and also, yes, I did think that you only wanted that expensive necklace because you thought it was pretty.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Mary got loud. ¡°Did you seriously?¡± ¡°Enough.¡± Zaz hissed. ¡°They were collecting what looked like ore or gems. I don''t know why they would need them but it can''t be anything good.¡± He then turned to address Crag directly. ¡°I think when we attack you should keep an eye out for any jellies that appear to have material floating inside them. I dont know what it would do but it could go poorly for us.¡± ¡°You''re being too cautious.¡± Crag said with a wave of his hand. ¡°They are crystal jellies, the only things to watch out for are drop attacks, becoming overwhelmed, or suffocation. So Don¡¯t fight under trees, don¡¯t get surrounded, and don¡¯t sleep anywhere near a crystal jelly, or any beast on that count.¡± Zaz rubbed the scales on the bridge of his nose and then released a short sigh. ¡°Just watch out. If your skills use mana, watch for how they are working in combat. Your costs may be affected. Same for Ki skills as well but the material for ki tends to be more difficult to find than base metals and gems so that one should be less likely at least. Oh.¡± He then turned to Ember. ¡°I don¡¯t think we will need to have them locked down at all based on the numbers I could make out in the pond. Is your other skill good offensively?¡± ¡°Me?¡± Ember asked with her eyes wide and a slight redness growing on her cheeks due to the sudden attention from everyone. ¡°Yes¡­ It is. I''ve killed a couple bunnies with it but I try to not get the killing¡­ blow? Hit? Kill? Kill. I try not to get the kill when I use it though because it tends to cause corpses to¡­¡± Her eyes shifted then pointed to the ground. ¡°Go boom¡­¡± ¡°Boom?¡± Zaz, Crag, and Mary all asked. ¡°Yeah¡­ I think it''s the gas build up from the rotting organs.¡± She replied ¡°But magic is also involved so my idea could be close or completely wrong.¡± ¡°No¡­ That makes sense.¡± Mary encouraged her. ¡°Live around the forest long enough and you will see so many animal corpses that they will have been in just about every form of decomposition possible.¡± ¡°Gross¡­¡± Ember replied in disgust. ¡°As I was saying.¡± Zaz interrupted the two girls back and forth. ¡°That''s good to know but how does it function? Is it directional, area, or cone?? He asked. ¡°Oh, uh, its area. I have about two meters of reach with it.¡± She answered. ¡°That''s great, you have a good range but how does it affect us?¡± Zaz asked. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ember questioned with a tilt of her head. ¡°Does it hurt allies? Are you able to target who is injured within your area of effect?¡± He reiterated. ¡°Ooooh¡­¡± Ember said in realization. ¡°I¡­¡± She turned to look at Thorn. ¡°I don¡¯t think I''ve hurt Thorn with it before. He is the only one I¡¯ve fought around while using it. Have you noticed any damage from me?¡± ¡°Oh, Maybe a little.¡± Thorn answered. ¡°I tried to not stand too close whenever she would activate it because she told me it was an area skill. I did test it out one day though when we fought some jackalopes. I didn''t notice any drop in my lifeforce but the durability of my gear dropped faster than normal, seeing how i didnt take a single hit from the beast at the time.¡± ¡°Interesting.¡± Mary mused. ¡°Agreed.¡± Crag and Zaz said simultaneously. ¡°So, if I get this right. Your skill will damage the beasts we fight while lowering the durability of our gear if we get too close?¡± Zaz repeated back what he understood from the discussion. ¡°Yes, that''s what I have observed so far.¡± Thorn agreed. ¡°Wait!¡± Ember yelled. ¡°I''m breaking your things?!? I¡¯m sorry!¡± ¡°Hey¡± Thorn said quickly while he threw his hands up. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. You didn''t break anything and it was less wear and tear than what I would have gotten if I had taken on the fight on my own.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± Ember asked. ¡°Yeah, gear is made to take damage anyways. It should break before you do.¡± Thorn said before he broke out into laughter. ¡°Enough.¡± Zaz Spoke up. ¡°If we are doing this we need a plan. I won''t watch another ally get injured out of stupidity.¡± ¡°Hey.¡± Crag said while he placed his hand on Zaz¡¯s shoulder. ¡°While I appreciate the concern, even more so since my lil sis is involved, I still think you''re taking things too seriously. Remember, they are crystal jellies and a supposed crystal crown. The crown can lead them but as long as we dont let ourselves get tripped up or surrounded they have no offensive abilities.¡± ¡°Crag¡± Mary said admonishingly. ¡°First don¡¯t baby me, second none of us know if there have been any other evolutions or mutations in their colony. I agree with Zaz that we should have a plan, even if it''s not perfect, a general attack strategy paired with a retreat plan will only do us good.¡± Crag crossed his arms and huffed. ¡°Fine!¡± He dropped to a sitting position right where he stood. ¡°Start the talk.¡± ¡°Grow up. I thought I was the younger one?¡± Mary quipped. Crag grumbled but kept quiet otherwise. With that Mary gave him a thank you smile and turned back to Zaz. ¡°For the plan, I think Crag should go in first followed by Thorn, Ember, and myself. Since you have better stealth than the rest of us, why don¡¯t you try to circle around behind the pond when everything kicks off and go for an ambush or assassination strike?¡± Zaz did the equivalent of raising an eyebrow at Mary. ¡°That''s not half bad.¡± ¡°Hey, I don''t have any offensive power to contribute so I might as well put my brain to work between healing right?¡± Mary said happily. ¡°True, my mother used to say every role has something to offer. Be it magic, might, or intellect, if we put it to good use and work together we will all grow stronger faster.¡± Zaz quoted. ¡°I think that''s a good start for the encounter.¡± Crag stood up and held his shield at the ready. ¡°Excellent, me up front. Zaz goes around. Let¡¯s do it.¡± ¡°Stop!¡± Mary, Zaz, and Ember all yelled at once. Thorn just started laughing off to the side. ¡°Crag.¡± Mary started. ¡°Slow down, there is no rush.¡± ¡°I''m just itching for a good fight. My Ki is full and I''m bursting with energy. I''ll take the hits and keep the attention so what¡¯s the hold up?¡± Crag asked. ¡°What will Ember, Thorn, and I do?¡± Mary asked. ¡°Hit them?¡± Crag said sheepishly. Mary put her forehead into her hands and let out a heavy sigh. ¡°In the simplest terms yes¡­ but no.¡± She then turned to look at the rest of the group. ¡°Thorn, I think you should be right behind Crag and try to target the crystal crown or any other priority targets that may pop up. Your volt skill should do a lot of damage to the jellies and crag should be able to keep them off of you while you take out your targets.¡± Thorn nodded and Mary continued. ¡°Ember, if you feel safe enough I would have you target the largest gathering of jellies to dump your aura into. Just avoid getting too close to allies and give us a shout before you activate as well.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Ember said with a nod. ¡°Zaz, use us as a distraction to get as many kills in as you can. I¡¯m hoping with us fighting them off you will be able to get a clean shot at the crystal crown core.¡± Mary finished. ¡°I find all of this agreeable. I do have one question though.¡± Zaz stated. ¡°What will you be doing during all of this? If you are staying back we can have you call out any changes in the battlefield.¡± ¡°I can do that!¡± Mary agreed. ¡°I¡¯m also not completely defenseless. My dad wouldn¡¯t let me off without learning to use at least one weapon before he trusted me to go out and train on my own.¡± ¡°On your own?¡± Crag asked with an eyebrow lifted. ¡°Okay! On our own.¡± She retorted. She then proceeded to untie the chain belt she had draped around her waist to let one end fall loosely to the ground while she held the other end firmly. ¡°I have this.¡± She said with a devious grin before she then infused her mana into the chain, causing it to release a faint white glow. After letting the entire chain become infused she gave it a twirl before she used it to strike the closest tree. The chain seemed to burn and tear straight through the top layer of bark leaving a thin quarter inch wide tear across the surface. ¡°That was awesome!¡± Ember enthused. ¡°Thank you.¡± Mary replied gracefully. ¡°It isn''t the strongest attack, but it will hurt anything trying to get to close to me or our backline.¡± ¡°Well then.¡± Thorn said as he started to stand as well. ¡°I think this is a good plan. We have our turtle and snake positions filled, a strong direct damage mage, an area mage to handle the groups, and a strategizing battle healer. It''s an interesting line up but I think we have our bases covered now.¡± ¡°Yes. I would just like to add one thing.¡± Zaz said before turning to face Mary. ¡°As rear guard if anything looks like it will cut us off let us know. You are protecting our line of retreat. I trust you are strong and brave so don''t push yourself and put everyone in danger.¡± He then turned his gaze to lock eyes with everyone once. ¡°That goes for everyone, myself included. No one needs to show off for anyone.¡± Mary gave Zaz a questioning look for a moment before she decided he truly meant nothing by calling her out. ¡°Understood.¡± She then walked to stand behind Ember. ¡°Lead the way bro!¡± Crag hoisted his shield up and held it at the ready as he led the group closer to the pond. As the water came into view Zaz pointed out a small group of three crystal jellies wandering around the perimeter of the pond then directed everyone''s view to an area of forest off to the side. ¡°That is the direction I''ve seen the jellies returning from. We should stay on this side of it so we don''t get ambushed from behind. Also, I¡¯m splitting off here. I¡¯ll circle around to the back of the pond while avoiding the path I pointed out.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Mary and Ember agreed while Crag and Thorn nodded in acknowledgment. ¡°When you are in position we will start the attack. Since we won''t have a clear sight on you, do you have a way to give us a signal or should we just give it a specified amount of time before we start?¡± Mary asked. ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± Zaz pondered while scratching his chin. ¡°Nothing that wont give my position away. I''d say give me fifteen minutes to make my way there and get into position before you begin. What should the opening move be?¡± ¡°I was thinking I would launch a mid sized volt into the pond. The water will disperse the electricity through all of the jellies inside the pond. Hopefully it will draw them all out and if not it should at least alert the crown.¡± Thorn pointed out. ¡°Got it. I''ll watch for your attack. Try to avoid sending any attacks in the direction I will be in. If I see any jellies approach I¡¯ll be sure to take them out myself. No need to risk accidental friendly fire.¡± Zaz said. Thorn agreed with a nod and a thumbs up. Zaz then slipped off into the grass while he channeled his Ki into his scales activating his camouflage skill. He didn''t disappear but his scales shifted in color and texture to take on the appearance of the grass and trees in the background. As he faded into the background and disappeared from view Ember¡¯s eyes grew wide with fascination. ¡®That was so cool.¡¯ Ember thought to herself as she watched Zaz. ¡®It was like an octopus''s active camo. He just blurred and shifted right in front of my eyes¡­ Awesome!¡¯ Crystal Crown Catastrophe ¡°Thorn,¡± Crag started, ¡°We¡¯re coming up on the fifteen minute mark are you about ready to start casting?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m at full mana. I¡¯ll start charging my attack now. I''m going for a big first strike so I''ll put about a quarter of my mana pool into this one. Should do some damage to everything in the pond but I doubt it¡¯ll have enough umph to take even one out without a direct hit.¡± Thorn replied. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m excited to see a strong lightning affinity attack.¡± Mary said energetically. She then turned to face Thorn. ¡°Lightning is one of my favorite affinities. It gets so loud and flashy and makes your hair stand on edge. Don¡¯t disappoint me, kay?¡± She asked with a flirtatious wink. ¡°Oh, uh, umm, yeah¡­¡± Thorn fumbled nervously. He then gave a quick shake of his head and looked back at Mary with his best effort to conceal the nerves he felt. ¡°No problem, just don¡¯t blink.¡± With that said Thorn raised his staff to point the crystal on the tip at the center of the pond. The tip first started to glow with the blue white light of raw electricity, as the intensity grew brighter arcs of power started leaping and cracking from the crystal at the tip of his staff and looped back to connect to the inlaid enchantment running along the upper portion of the shaft. While he focused on charging the skill his face quickly shifted from being red and flustered to a much more serious and focused expression. This shift then allowed the light being cast off from the sparks and flashes to dance across Thorn¡¯s face. Mary watched Thorn¡¯s expression shift while she also got slightly distracted by the dancing lights and shadows that accentuated his stronger facial features and hid his softer ones. ¡°Oh¡­¡± Mary slipped out quietly to herself under her breath. ¡®Oh? Does Mary have a thing for Thorn?¡¯ Ember thought to herself as she wanted her friend¡¯s skill charging. ¡®I haven¡¯t seen her give anyone that look yet. Eh. Maybe.¡¯ She lightly shrugged to herself. ¡®I definitely get the attraction to lightning affinity now though. Just the act of charging his skill looks badass.¡¯ Her eyes then shifted downwards. ¡®Do any of mine look cool like that?¡¯ she pondered as Thorn charged his attack. ¡®My aura skill is invisible as far as I can tell and I only have a vague idea of the perimeter of it. I guess my newest skill looks cool¡­ well at least I think so¡­ and maybe Thorn.¡¯ She pictured the last time she cast ensnare and visualized the image of when hundreds of thousands of strands of mycelium ripped themselves out of the soil and started to wrap around the legs of the jackalope and get embedded and tangled into their fur. ¡®Okay I can see where it could be gross. It''s cool¡­ But I do see how they could be mistaken for worms.¡¯ Ember shuddered at the thought. ¡®Nope. Eww.¡¯ Crack! Ember was ripped out of her own thoughts by the sound of thunder. She instantly remembered Thorn¡¯s attack was being charged and looked up to see a steaming staff tip and a flash of blue white light about to crash against the surface of the pond. ¡°Woah!¡± She yelped in shock from the sudden sound. The group then watched the attack make impact with the water. It was less impressive than Ember expected. Instead of a large splash and water being sent everywhere when the electricity made contact with the surface it just disappeared. Other than a few ripples she could see on the surface there was no evidence of an attack ever hitting. ¡°W¡­was that it?¡± Ember asked nervously, not wanting to accidentally offend Thorn. He gave a small laugh and used his head to motion for her to look back at the water. She did. What Ember saw shocked her, it brought back the memory of when she first found this place and how the pond itself seemed to rise up after her before she ran away. The pond before her looked very similar except instead of seeing the water rise and flow out like normal she watched as the surface rose, it would ripple and break apart giving form to multiple crystal jellies all clambering out of the electrified water source. ¡°Woah¡­¡± Thorn smiled as he readied his next attack. ¡°I got them out of the water, your up next Crag.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Crag said with a grunt as he pulled his shield to his front and started to make his approach. ¡°Thorn, behind me.¡± ¡°Yep.¡± Thorn agreed. ¡°Ember, keep an eye out of the left. I¡¯ll cover the right and call out anything I see coming close.¡± Mary said as the group started to near the gathering swarm of jellies. ¡°You got it!¡± Ember replied. ¡°Do y''all think I should run ahead a bit? My aura skill has a range of about six to seven feet and I would rather not be responsible for breaking your equipment.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Said Crag. ¡°No.¡± Answered Thorn. ¡°Yes, just keep your back to us so they can''t surround you.¡± Mary interjected. ¡°Ah, yeah, what Mary said.¡± Thorn agreed. The outpour of crystal jellies started to slow down so Ember took the chance to try and count how many there were. Right as she counted her twenty fifth jelly she heard another loud crack ring out as Thorn released his volt into an approaching jelly. It hit the jelly and was absorbed into it just like when it hit the surface of the water. Only this time there wasn¡¯t nearly enough material to distribute the energy throughout to disperse the heat building up in the body of the shocked jelly but as soon as the thought of the skill failing crossed Ember¡¯s mind the jelly exploded like superheated distilled water. ¡°You exploded it!¡± Ember yelled at Thorn. ¡°I know! Wasn¡¯t it awesome!¡± He replied with the biggest grin on his face she had ever seen. ¡°Just be careful. No one wants to be splashed by super hot slime.¡± Ember rebuked. ¡°HA! That was nice.¡± Crag butted in. ¡°Think you have another¡­¡± He turned his head to get the full battlefield in sight. ¡°Thirty or so more of those in you?¡± ¡°No.¡± Thorn answered matter of factly. ¡°That had to be a lower level one because that was the same casting of my skill I used earlier, but even so I may have two more in me. I put a quarter of my mana into it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got it!¡± Mary spoke up, ¡°Thorn cast for the cheapest you can, don''t try and kill just weaken them. Your attacks will do double to quadruple damage compared to my brother and Zaz. Jellies are weak to magic and weak to lightning but have high resistance to physical damage.¡± She said quickly. ¡°If Crag hits for what would normally do twenty damage he will do ten instead, maybe even less depending on the grade of the resistance.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Ember spoke up. ¡°So if Crag swings for ten and Thorn casts for ten Crag would do around between five to two and a half damage while Thorn¡¯s ten damage would actually count for twenty to thirty damage?¡± ¡°Correct!¡± Mary answered happily. ¡°Enough talking! They are on us!¡± Crag yelled as he took a step forward to attack. ¡°Shield bash!¡± ¡°Right!¡± Ember shouted picking up on the seriousness of the situation. She then made a sprint about six feet away from the group and close to the right flank of the approaching group of five jellies. ¡°Rot aura!¡± She yelled out as the adrenaline started to course through her veins. ¡®Metatron, vitals and five mana per second please.¡¯ [Lifeforce: 50/50 Mana: 100/100 ki: 70/70] [Rot Aura - Active] [Rot Aura - 5Mp/S] Ember felt the drain on her mana as soon as the skill activated. With that she watched her group of jellies for any signs of damage. At first she didn''t notice anything happening to them and they continued to draw closer but after only two seconds of activation she noticed bubbles forming inside of the bodies of the jellies. ¡°Mary! Let me borrow your eyes.¡± She shouted across to her. ¡°What is i- oh.¡± She started before stopping to observe what was happening. ¡°Is your aura active? I don¡¯t see any visual signs that it''s on but it looks like your group is boiling.¡± She yelled back to Ember. ¡°Whatever it is you''re doing, keep it up, they are all taking the same amount of damage and dropping equally.¡± ¡®Metatron set up an alarm for when I hit fifty mana, I don¡¯t want to over-expend at the beginning.¡¯ She mentally requested. [Notice] [50Mp Alarm Set] ¡®Thank you!¡¯ She thought to her system. ¡°Volt!¡± Thorn yelled. ¡°Shield bash!¡± Roared Crag. Ember¡¯s eyes grazed the battlefield; she could see popped jelly spots across the grass from Thorn and Crag¡¯s shock and smash method of fighting. Thorn shifted from casting a few high damage attacks to casting many more low damage attacks which increased the chance for him to get off a stun on any of his targets. Whenever one of the jellies would fall victim to the stun chance of Thorn¡¯s volt skill Mary would point it out to Crag so he could in turn hit it with his shield bash skill. ¡°Ember watch out!¡± Mary yelled. ¡°Your group is going to blow!¡± Ember looked at Mary confused for a second but then an alarm chimed in Ember''s head letting her know she was at half mana now. [Notice] [50/100 Mana remaining] ¡®Dang, already at half.¡¯ She thought to herself while she was making an attempt to put some distance in between her and her group of jellies without letting them out of her area of influence. Pop!plop!splat!pop!sploosh! Ember looked horrified when the bodies of the five jellies she was fighting all popped, melted, and burst in an explosion of cold foul smelling gloop. The wet mass flew out from where it originated and spread out to cover around twenty feet of ground. She ran away from the sickening mess, while running she tried to scoop and brush off as much of the goo as she could, luckily for her it only got on her face a little bit, just a few drops across her cheeks and forehead, while most of the remaining residue ended up on the left arm sleeve of her hoodie, splatters across the side and back of her shorts and her shoes were drenched. Once Ember finally made it back into the comfort of her group she let her complaints fly. ¡°Ew ew ew ew ew!¡± ¡®Metatron aura off!¡¯ She cried in her mind. When she got back into the center of the circle she shuddered and hugged Mary. ¡°Why do they always explode?!? Bunnies, Slimes, anything my aura touches explodes into a foul pile of rotting corpse parts.¡± She complained to the girl. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Mary giggled lightly at Ember¡¯s reaction. ¡°Ember¡­ Look, you have a really good skill. You might see it as gross now but look around us.¡± Mary gestured to the field around them. ¡°You have taken down five jellies on your own while Crag and Thorn together have only just matched you.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Ember started to say before Mary cut her right back off. ¡°No, no buts. Just because your skill isn¡¯t cute doesn''t mean you''re not, and just because your skill is a little gross that doesn¡¯t mean you are. Yes your skills are a part of you but you are in control of how your skill is put to use not the other way around so don''t let the downside ruin the good.¡± Mary said encouragingly. Ember let out a huff. ¡°Fine. It¡¯s strong, but this is why I need a team. Someone else needs to get the killing blow so I don''t end up popping the corpse.¡± ¡°Have you tried hitting them with your staff when you see them start to look like they are full of bubbles and ready to burst?¡± Mary asked. ¡°It might be enough to kill them without the explosion, but it could also cause them to pop earlier¡­ maybe try it on one in the future when there isn''t a field of fifteen jellies in front of us.¡± ¡°Fifteen? It was almost thirty not too long ago!¡± Ember shouted. ¡°Yeah, you killed five, my brother and Thorn killed five, so that¡¯s ten, plus I see some popped jellies on the other side of the water so I¡¯m willing to guess Zaz has gotten a few kills in as well.¡± Mary answered confidently. ¡°Oh wow, that''s better than I had expected.¡± Ember replied. ¡°Any sign of the Crown jelly?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mary said. ¡°Look over there.¡± She pointed at a jelly that stood off to the back of all of the others with only one other foggy looking jelly beside it. ¡°The big one is the crystal crown jelly, the one beside it though I''m not sure. It''s not a crystal jelly, that I''m certain. For one, it is not clear like the crystal jellies are and that has me a bit concerned that it could be a greater jelly. On top of that is the way it looks, see how the jellies roll and scoot around; they have a fairly solid membrane. That new one is foggy and looks to be a bit saggy and droopy which I am really hoping doesn''t mean that it is what I''m afraid it is.¡± Mary answered. ¡°And what do you think it is?¡± Ember asked cautiously. Mary let out a sigh while giving the thing one more good once over. ¡°Honestly, it looks like an ooze. Which, if I''m correct, is not good for us at all. It''s a first tier beast or first evolution but if it came from a crystal jelly that would make it a mutation and not an evolution.¡± ¡°Okay but what does that mean? How is it an issue? Jellies don''t have combat skill right? So we should be fine.¡± Ember asked with an air of doubt. ¡°No, we are not fine,¡± said Mary. ¡°Yes, jellies don''t have combat skills, but Oozes, Oozes are known for their affinity attacks. It can and will fight back. It is only waiting because the crown is ordering it too probably.¡± ¡°Did you say an ooze?!?¡± Crag shouted back over his shoulder. ¡°Yes, I think I see an Ooze standing off to the side of the crown off behind the pond. See?¡± Mary asked while she pointed at the Ooze and Crystal crown jelly. ¡°Wait¡­¡± Crag said with a touch of concern in his voice. He then put a hand over his eyes and tried to focus in on the distance. ¡°Do you guys see that?¡± He asked while pointing off about twenty feet away from the crown and Ooze. ¡°If so, what is it?¡± Ember looked where Crag was pointing but couldn¡¯t really see much other than grass and the occasional splash of jelly goo. She focused harder and finally something caught her attention, she noticed a lump or hill of grass that was a different color from the rest. It appeared to be green with a touch of yellow all over except on that one mound the ends of the blades of grass looked to be shifting from yellow green to more of a gray bronze as they spoke. ¡°ZAZ!¡± Mary and Ember both yelled as they realized what or rather who it was they were seeing in the distance. Ember dropped her staff and was about to start running in his direction when Mary grabbed her by the arm. ¡°No. You shouldn¡¯t go. We don¡¯t know what hit him and the only one of us four with the defenses to get him is Crag.¡± Mary said matter of factly. ¡°She''s right.¡± Agreed Thorn. ¡°A surprise attack would take any of us three mages out but Mr. Turtle here should be fine to take a hit or two¡­ right?¡± ¡°Yes. I can take a hit way better than you could.¡± Crag said, while he looked straight into Ember¡¯s eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll run and grab Zaz, Thorn stay close enough to give me cover fire with what mana you can spare.¡± He said all this while he also started strapping his shield to his back. ¡°This will keep me safe from most sneak attacks or back stabs but a little cover never hurts.¡± ¡°No worries, I got you.¡± Thorn agreed to the plan without any argument. ¡°Now Mary and Ember, I would prefer if you two fall back to the halfway point between here and where we had lunch. Ember¡­¡± Crag looked dead serious. ¡°Watch out for my little sister. She doesn¡¯t have a single offensive skill to defend herself with.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Mary yelled. ¡°I can defend myself, I did learn to fight with my chain whip, remember?¡± ¡°Yes, chain whip.¡± Crag answered Mary as if the weapon was only as powerful as the belt she disguised it as. Then he asked Ember once again. ¡°Please. Just rot blast or fungus trap anything if it comes close.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Ember replied, nodding along. ¡°I¡¯ll watch out for her. But you need to GO! Oh, be careful too! We don''t know why Zaz is down.¡± Ember¡¯s eyes started to water as she spoke. ¡°You just need to hurry! Get him and bring him back so he can get healed.¡± In an effort to keep herself from jumping to the worst possible scenario she grabbed Mary¡¯s hand and pulled her into a run. ¡°We¡¯re off, we will see it at the safe zone. Now go!¡± she yelled over her shoulder as she and Mary retreated. ¡°Thorn.¡± Crag shouted as they ran to Zaz. ¡°To the right of his body, look.¡± ¡°Is that the Ooze?¡± Thorn asked. ¡°Looks like its trying to beat us to him. Can you slow him down?¡± Crag asked. ¡°On it!¡± He replied. ¡°Volt!¡± He shot a low power shot straight into the foggy yellowish body of the Ooze headed their way. On impact the Ooze shuddered as a hunk of it¡¯s liquid body mass where it was hit formed a skin like membrane that took the hit, charred, and then sloughed off the things body like the melted cheese falling off of a fresh pizza. ¡°Blegh.¡± They both gagged at the sight. ¡°Almost there I have an Idea!¡± Thorn stopped running and pointed his staff just in front of the Ooze. ¡°Hard light!¡± Right after he cast the skill a small two by two foot flat square sheet of light appeared before the Ooze, completely blocking its line of sight of Zaz and Crag. ¡°Go get Zaz. I have its attention.¡± ¡°Be careful and get ready to fall back!¡± Crag shouted as he ran past Thorn and shot straight at Zaz¡¯s body lying prone in the grass. When Crag shot past, Thorn lifted his staff to point at the ooze again. ¡°Are you ready for a second blast?¡± As he yelled sparks and arcs of electricity sprayed out from the tip of his staff. ¡°Volt!¡± Crag could hear Thorn taunting and attacking the Ooze behind him and when he finally made it to the spot where Zaz was he was able to notice the layer of goo coating the snake man''s face and upper torso. ¡°Thorn!¡± He started to yell out a warning for him but as soon as the words left his mouth he saw an attack get fired from the ooze straight in the direction of thorn. ¡°Watch out for its attack! It took down Zaz!¡± Thorn looked back at the ooze just in time to see what looked to be a ball of snot the size of a baked potato getting launched right at him from inside of the upper half of the Ooze. He rolled hard to the left as soon as he saw the trajectory of the mass of snot flying at him and barely made it. As his shoulders touched the ground in the beginning of his roll the blob of goop splattered across the ground right behind him. The scent that wafted off of this foul mass was worse than anything he could remember smelling in the past. The scent alone caused his eyes to water and each breath he took he had to fight back nausea and the lightheadedness behind it. ¡°Foul hells that is rank!¡± He yelled as he righted himself. He then turned to see Crag running back at him with Zaz thrown over his shoulder like a sack of flour. ¡°Quick, I can make one more barrier before I¡¯m tapped out.¡± He yelled to the returning members. ¡°Great, Lets GO!¡± Crag shouted as he caught up to Thorn¡¯s position. ¡°On it!¡± Thorn replied then with an evil grin he pointed at the Ooze one last time. ¡°Hard light¡­ Seal!¡± He turned to run beside Crag who had to throw an arm around Thorn as well to keep him from toppling over after he cast his last spell. ¡°The hell was that!¡± He complained to Thorn. ¡°Check¡­ it¡­ out¡­ yourself¡­¡± Thorn replied haggardly between breaths. Crag took a quick peek back at the ooze and saw what looked like a dome of light on the ground where the ooze was standing. ¡°Did you kill it?!?¡± ¡°No¡­ Trapped¡­¡± Thorn answered choppily. ¡°Okay we are all talking skills when we regroup. You and Ember alone hiding your abilities made this job harder than it needed to be.¡± Crag said. ¡°Fine¡­¡± Thorn answered angrily. ¡°But¡­ We¡­ Hid¡­ Nothing¡­¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Crag hot back. ¡°You said you have hard light and volt but I have never seen hard light be anything other than a ball of light used to see in the dark. Yet you''re trying to tell me that those barriers you made were hard light? Bull shit! That had to be the force shield or barrier skill! But what I saw you do was still more flexible than those two skills normally are. How in the four hells did you make it a dome?!?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll explain. Over there.¡± Thorn pointed in the direction of the girls. He could see Ember and Mary off in the distance watching them get closer. ¡°I¡¯ll tell everyone. At the same time.¡± He then took a few slow deep breaths in order to steady his breathing. ¡°But not until Zaz is awake.¡± ¡°Fine!¡± Crag spat out. ¡°Mary will take a look at him. If it''s worse than she can help with I¡¯ll run him straight to the doc. I have the most Ki out of all of us, it will just be weird using it for distance running not defense.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± Thorn replied. A few minutes later Crag and Thorn made it to where Ember and Mary stood waiting for them. Mary ran to Crag as soon as he was close enough and told him to lay Zaz down on the grass so she could take a look at him and find what the problem was. She used a piece of cloth out of her supplies to wipe the remaining goop off of him before she finally laid one hand on his forehead and the other on his chest. ¡°Medical analysis.¡± She called out as she activated her skill. Ember watched with bated breath while Mary was performing her analysis on Zaz. When she pulled her hands away from him Ember shot forward. ¡°Is he going to be ok? What happened? Do we need to go back now?¡± She asked in rapid fire. ¡°Ember¡­¡± Mary said. ¡°I can''t answer you as fast as you''re asking me. But in order yeah, he will be ok but he won''t be happy about it. For what happened, I have to make a few guesses but I think I¡¯ll be pretty close if not right on the money. From what I got back from my skill he has been afflicted with the debuff called toxin. It isn''t deadly on its own but it sure is nasty.¡± She said while she shook her head. ¡°When we get back to town he should be able to get some meds to help with the after effects but Toxin will reduce his Ki, his alacrity, his fortitude, and finally it causes fatigue and nausea. With him being sick like this, we will probably have an easier time carrying him back home than waiting around for him to wake up on his own.¡± ¡°Fine!¡± Crag said grumpily before he gently lifted Zaz back up into a carry position. ¡°I¡¯ll carry him, we will get him home, but then,¡± He turned to eye up Thorn. ¡°We are having our group chat. Rather Zaz is awake or not.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine with me. I don¡¯t have a problem with re-explaining it for him once he¡¯s feeling better.¡± Thorn answered. ¡°What chat?¡± Ember and Mary asked together. ¡°Skills.¡± Crag said flatly. ¡°Thorn hid a skill from us and,¡± He shot a look at Ember, ¡°She may have as well. We are going to talk about all we can do. Not just basics. If we knew more today we could have probably finished this fight today instead of retreating and being forced to return at a later point.¡± ¡°Even mine?¡± Mary asked. Ember raised an eyebrow at that. ¡°Your what?¡± ¡°Yes, if you like this group, fine, but I won¡¯t put you at risk for their comfort. We need to know what they can do and they will need to know what we can do too.¡± Crag informed her. ¡°Umm¡­¡± Ember said while raising her hand. ¡°What?¡± Crag said while trying not to snap at her. ¡°I did tell you about both of my skills. I only have two for now.¡± Ember said softly. ¡°Still!¡± Crag started loudly before being cut off by Mary. ¡°Still names don¡¯t give full descriptions of skills. Hell, skill descriptions don''t always tell you everything your skills can do.¡± Mary informed her. ¡°Oh, Yeah, I can see that just from my first skill.¡± Ember agreed. ¡°I¡¯m in for this talk. Should we do it at the guild hall or head to one of your places?¡± ¡°Guild hall¡± Voted Thorn. ¡°Guild hall.¡± Agreed Crag. ¡°Aww I wanted to see the house of the city Lord though!¡± Mary complained. ¡°I¡¯d rather we not disturb my father or his business. I''m free to do pretty much as I please as long as I don¡¯t cause him, the city, or miss Willow any trouble.¡± Thorn answered. ¡°Fine.¡± Mary complained. ¡°The guild hall is fine.¡± ¡°Works for me.¡± Ember said in agreement. ¡°Once we get to town Crag and I will run Zaz to see our Mom at the Doc¡¯s office. Why don''t we take a bit to eat and clean up before we all meet back at the guild hall? Say an hour after we arrive?¡± Mary asked. ¡°I Second that!¡± Ember shouted. ¡°A shower sounds amazing!¡± 21. Leveling up and swapping skills [Notice] [Experience Values Have Reached Threshold For Advancement] [Congratulations Ember Abiss: Level 2 > Level 3] [+1 Acuity (Racial) +1 Fortitude (Racial) +3 Free Stat Points] [Experience Values Have Reached Threshold For Advancement] [Congratulations Ember Abiss: Level 3 > Level 4] [+1 Acuity (Racial) +1 Fortitude (Racial) +3 Free Stat Points] ¡°Two!¡± Ember shouted before she could catch herself. ¡®How in the heck did I end up leveling twice? It doesn¡¯t feel like it¡¯s been long enough for that to happen.¡¯ Ember then slowed her pace to walk side by side with Mary. ¡°Hey¡­Mary.¡± She said quietly while she gave Mary¡¯s sleeve a series of energetic and light tugs. ¡°Yes?¡± Mary replied with a giggle. ¡°Have you checked your status or your notifications lately?¡± Ember asked quizzically. ¡°Uh¡­ hmmm¡­ I guess I haven¡¯t checked it since the time we all did before the fight at the pond started. Why do you ask?¡± A smirk formed on her lips while her eyes suddenly grew larger in realization. ¡°You got a level up, didn¡¯t you?¡± For a brief moment Mary watched as Ember¡¯s expression froze before cycling through shock, curiosity, and fear before it finally settled on confusion. ¡°How could you tell?¡± She squeaked. ¡°I¡­ what gave it away?¡± Mary covered her mouth before she gave her a small snicker. ¡°Ember, you gave it away. Or at least, your body language did. I figured if you¡¯re that excited after a big fight you either leveled up a skill or leveled up yourself. So, which is it?¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Ember¡¯s face grew red. ¡°I, uh¡­ didn¡¯t know I was that easy to read.¡± ¡°Easy to read? Em, you were pulling on my sleeve like a little kid trying to point out something they find cool.¡± Mary said sarcastically. ¡°Now answer my question, skill or you?¡± ¡°Me!¡± Ember said excitedly. ¡°I got two levels. I haven¡¯t checked my notifications at all ever since we left town and when I pulled them up, I had two level ups! I haven¡¯t even put my points into anything yet.¡± She laughed. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about where I would apply my points since the last time, I passed out from mana exhaustion. I¡¯ve pretty much decided but can I get your opinion?¡± ¡°Yeah, what are you thinking?" Mary questioned. ¡°Well in your opinion is it better to have a massive mana pool or a crazy regen speed?¡± Ember asked seriously. ¡°Mana pool.¡± Mary answered instantly. ¡°That was¡­ quick.¡± Ember pointed out. ¡°Yeah, well, that¡¯s what I focus on myself. The more mana I can spend at once the bigger the spell I can cast.¡± Mary noted. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Ember sighed. ¡°Thorn said the same thing.¡± ¡°That makes sense, most mages are taught to distribute their stats anywhere between one to three and one to five.¡± Mary told her. ¡°Oh? One to five seems like a hug discrepancy though.¡± Ember said curiously. As she pondered on it her eyebrows furrowed, and she scrunched her nose. ¡°If my math is right then they would have to put all their stat points into tenacity for the first seven levels just to get to the base ratio of five acuity to twenty-five tenacity. OH! With five acuity wouldn¡¯t it take almost two days to recover?¡± ¡°Almost?¡± Mary said with a laugh. ¡°That would only work if they didn¡¯t cast a single spell for those two days its actually closer to a full week.¡± ¡°A week?!?¡± Why would it take seven days?¡± Ember asked indignantly. ¡°Seven?¡± Mary questioned. ¡°Y¡­yeah?¡± Ember nervously replied. She then felt Mary grab her shoulder to stop her from walking. She turned her head to look at Mary face to face and was surprised by the expression of concern Mary had. ¡°We stopping?¡± Crag shouted back to them. ¡°No, we¡¯ll catch up just give us a minute!¡± Mary yelled back. ¡°Kay! Don¡¯t be long.¡± Crag replied. While this discourse was going on Ember just stood there confused as to why Mary stopped her. ¡®Did I say something I shouldn¡¯t have? The way Mary looked at me when I said seven days was concerning but are there not seven days in a week?¡¯ Ember pondered. ¡°Ember.¡± Mary said abruptly, pulling Ember back out of her own head. ¡°Where are you from?!?¡± She asked seriously. ¡°Oh, umm¡­¡± Ember started. ¡°I uh¡­¡± Mary leaned closer to Ember and quietly asked, ¡°Are you from a high mana zone?¡± ¡°I¡­ No?¡± Ember answered, honestly unsure. ¡°An off continent low mana zone?¡± Mary asked skeptically. ¡°Technically I think it¡¯s a no mana zone¡­¡± Ember answered. ¡°Or planet.¡± She mumbled. ¡°No mana?¡± Mary asked incredulously. ¡°Bullshit.¡± ¡°What?!?¡± Ember asked surprised. ¡°Mana is everywhere. If there isn¡¯t mana where you¡¯re from are you saying, there are no beasts either?¡± Mary asked skeptically. ¡°Yes?¡± Ember answered sheepishly. ¡°Baaaaahh!¡± Mary screamed in frustration. ¡°I¡¯m done.¡± She turned on the spot and started walking again, this time at a quicker pace to catch up with Crag and Thorn. ¡°Ugh.¡± Ember sighed. ¡®I¡¯ll just tell all of them that I¡¯m from another planet at the meeting later, I doubt anything bad could come from it. Hopefully¡­¡¯ She considered as she walked. ¡®For all I know one of them might even know someone with the right affinity or skill to send me back home.¡¯ After a short sprint Ember caught back up with the rest of her team and pulled her status up. ¡®Well, I might as well be productive on the walk home. Hey, Metatron, status please.¡¯ [Name: Ember Abiss Title: None Race: Human Age: 23 Level: 4 Class: ¡°Locked¡± Affinities: Rot, Nature, Void Lifeforce: 50/50 Mana: 35/90 ki: 43/80 Alacrity: 5 Acuity: 12 (+2) Vitality: 5 Vigor: 5 Tenacity: 9 Fortitude: 8 (+2) Free Points: 6 Active Skills: 0/5 Passive Skill: 0/5 Classless Skills:2(3)/5 Rot Aura - lvl 3 Ensnare - lvl 2] ¡®Six points to distribute and an open skill slot~¡¯ Ember sang in her head as she did a little walking happy dance. ¡®I¡¯m putting most of them into regeneration, but I¡¯ll still round out my tenacity to an even ten. Having a nine stare at me every time I open my stats would drive me bonkers. If I can help it, I¡¯ll keep you even or divisible by five.¡¯ She cooed to her status. [Name: Ember Abiss Title: None Race: Human Age: 23 Level: 4 Class: ¡°Locked¡± Affinities: Rot, Nature, Void Lifeforce: 50/50 Mana: 35/100 ki: 43/80 Alacrity: 5 Acuity: 17 Vitality: 5 Vigor: 5 Tenacity: 10 Fortitude: 8 Free Points: 0 Active Skills: 0/5 Passive Skill: 0/5 Classless Skills: 2(3)/5 Rot Aura - lvl 3 Ensnare - lvl 2] ¡°Tsk.¡± She clicked her tongue. ¡®Couldn¡¯t do it this time but at least but at least a seven isn¡¯t as bad as a nine.¡¯ She looked up to make sure she hadn¡¯t fallen behind or missed a turn while she was checking her status. ¡®Alright didn¡¯t lose them but I think they slowed down; I don¡¯t remember being this close when I opened my status. Meh. Metatron show me my available skills.¡¯ [Available Skills] [Void Pocket: user is able to open a small rift to the void, allowing you to store non-living items.] (Void, Storage, Utility) [Identify: user can pull up basic system information on people plants and items. Information loses accuracy the higher the target¡¯s level is than the user¡¯s.] (Arcane, Nature, System, Utility) [Corpse Explosion - Cause any corpse you can see up to 100 feet away to explode dealing Damage equal to 10% of the body¡¯s max health when living. Cost 10MP per Point of Vigor the Target had. If anything is killed by the original explosion there is a 2.5% chance for the new corpse to trigger the skill again at no cost to the user.] (Rot, Death, Area) [New Skill Unlocked] [Acuity Of 15 Or Higher] [Killed at least 5x as many enemies as the users Level using a channeled skill] [Channel mastery - Decrease the cost of channeled skills by 5% increase the maximum distance of channeled skills by 10%.] (Meta, Arcane) ¡®Sweet. I unlocked a new skill.¡¯ After reading over the new option and rereading the old options Ember found herself chewing on the inside of her lip torn over the two options that stood out to her the most. ¡®Hmm¡­ Dang it. They are both good~¡¯ She whined to herself. ¡®I¡¯ve wanted void pocket ever since I read it the first time, but whenever I¡¯ve had the option there was another skill that seemed more useful in actual combat¡­ Bah!¡¯ ¡°Thorn!¡± She called out. Thorn turned to see a frustrated yet pensive-looking Ember following closely behind everyone else. ¡°Yes?¡± With Thorn¡¯s acknowledgment she started jogging closer to him, so she didn¡¯t have to talk to loud. ¡°Hey. Uh, can I get your opinion on something?¡± She asked. ¡°Yes. How may I be of your assistance?¡± Thorn exaggerated playfully. Ember snickered at his act before she continued with her thought. ¡°I¡¯m torn between two skills. One of them I¡¯ve wanted since I first saw it, but I never took it because other skills seemed more useful at the time. The other is a new skill I just unlocked after the last fight.¡± Thorn gave her a nod to continue. ¡°Ok so the new one is a skill that will buff my other skills while the other is more of a utility or quality of life skill. Have you heard of channel mastery?¡± She asked. Thorns¡¯ eyes flashed surprise for a moment before he could respond to her. ¡°What?¡± Ember asked defensively. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me its rare like my aura skill was.¡± ¡°No, I wouldn¡¯t call it rare, but it is an uncommon skill. I don¡¯t know of anyone else that has even had it offered to them. If its anything like my mana manipulation skill, then then unlock method was probably focused on only using or having channeled skills or doing something significant with one.¡± He told her. ¡°Oh, it was probably the later. The unlock said it was because I killed at least five times my own level in monsters using only channeled skills. So probably all the jellies and jackalopes I accidentally blew up.¡± She said with a shudder at the memories. ¡°That¡¯s how I got corpse explosion offered to me the last time I leveled up.¡± ¡°Holy hells!¡± Crag blurts out. ¡°You have corpse explosion?!?¡± ¡°She what?!?¡± Mary joins. ¡°Uh¡­ No¡­ I, uh¡­ you see¡­¡± Ember fumbled over her words. ¡°No.¡± She shook her head in an attempt to clear it. ¡°I don¡¯t have corpse explosion; it was offered to me.¡± She corrected. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Crag said. ¡°My bad. Misheard ya.¡± ¡°Still.¡± Mary butted in. ¡°How did you get the system to offer you a class skill?!?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ well I can¡¯t remember everything my status said was the cause was but the point that stood out to me the most read that I blew up a certain number of corpses on my own without already owning the skill.¡± Ember informed everyone. ¡°How did you blow up dead bodies witho¡­ oh.¡± Mary started to say before she figured out the answer to her question herself. ¡°Like the jellies that you boiled alive earlier. How they popped?¡± She shuddered at the thought of being drenched by crystal jelly goo. ¡°Yeah¡­ I hate it.¡± Ember answered with a frown. ¡°I really like my aura skill, don¡¯t get me wrong, I just wish that the rot damage didn¡¯t release gasses inside the body to quickly.¡± She joined Mary with a shudder of her own. ¡°If you think the jellies were bad you should be happy you weren¡¯t there when I exploded my first jackalope.¡± ¡°Come on¡­ You may hate it, but you have to admit that it was cool blowing stuff up with a non-explosive ability.¡± Thorn interjected. ¡°Nope.¡± Ember said bluntly. ¡°Eww, I agree with Ember on this one though. That¡¯s a big no from me as well.¡± Mary agreed. ¡°Really? Where¡¯s the fun in learning magic that isn¡¯t rare or explosive?¡± Thorn questioned.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°True, true, who needs healers right?¡± Mary shot back. ¡°Sorry¡­ That¡¯s not how I meant it.¡± He replied. ¡°Sure.¡± She said while rolling her eyes. ¡°Uh...¡± Ember said after she lifted one hand up to shoulder level like she was asking a question in school. ¡°Sorry to interrupt but¡­ I¡¯m not taking corpse explosion unless I absolutely must, so, can we go back to the two I¡¯m actually debating on?¡± ¡°Oh! Sorry.¡± Mary apologized. ¡°Right.¡± Thorn started. ¡°You said one was channel mastery so what is the other one your stuck on?¡± ¡°Right so I just unlocked channel mastery and with my best skill being a channeled skill I¡¯m thinking I should just take it now. Like it makes sense to take it, and it improves my damage output too¡­ But I reeeeally want the void pocket skill too.¡± Ember complained. ¡°Then just take it dummy.¡± Mary quipped. ¡°If you don¡¯t like the first skills you pick are then you won¡¯t like your class options or new skill growth options you get down the road either.¡± ¡°Right!¡± Thorn agreed. ¡°Remember what Willow told you about how your skills, thoughts, and personality all vairy and guide your future class and skill options.¡± ¡°Yeah, I vaguely remember something like that.¡± Ember said while she rubbed her chin. ¡°So, what your saying is if I like my skills then I¡¯m more likely to like my future skill options as well?¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± Thorn agreed. Ember pulled status back up before Thorn could even reply to her last question. ¡®Metatron¡­ do it. Give me void pocket!¡¯ [Notice] [New Classless Skill Selected] [Skill Void Pocket Has Been Added To Skill List.] ¡°Sweetness!¡± Ember exclaimed. ¡°Huh?¡± Mary asked. ¡°Oh, nothing just excited about the unlock.¡± Ember said while her face glowed. ¡°I¡¯ma try it out really quick.¡± She then lifted her right hand up in front of her, pointed away from anyone in her group just to be on the safe side. ¡°Void pocket!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Uh¡­ what?¡± Ember questioned. ¡°Let me try again¡­ Void Pocket!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see anything here.¡± Thorn said. ¡°Did you read the updated description?¡± Mary suggested. ¡°Ooo, no, I¡¯ll try it.¡± She replied. ¡®Metatron, can I get a detailed description of void pocket?¡¯ [Void Pocket: You have received your own little slice of nothing. You are now able to insert or remove non-living objects into the designated void space. To do so your hand and item must be able to fit through the opening of your chosen pocket facsimile.] ¡°Ohhh¡­¡± Ember said. ¡®I think I know how to test it now at least.¡¯ ¡°I¡¯ll be right back guys! Just running over to the closest edge to look for something.¡± She yelled back as she ran. She returned about ten minutes later with her hands empty. ¡°No luck?¡± Thorn asked. Ember just gave him a smile in reply. ¡°Did you find anything or not?¡± Mary asked with growing anticipation. ¡°Maybe¡­¡± Ember said with a smirk she couldn¡¯t hide if she tried to. ¡°Just this.¡± She told them as she reached into the pocket in the front of her hoodie and handed a rock to Mary. ¡°And this.¡± She then pulled a three-foot-long branch out of the same pocket and handed it off to crag. ¡°Oh! This too.¡± This time she started digging in the little front pocket of her shorts just to pull out the tip of some old worn-out rope. After she pulled around a foot and a half of rope out of her pocket Ember busted out laughing. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± Mary asked. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ unreal¡­¡± Ember answered between gasps and giggles. ¡°Three feet¡­ three feet of rope¡­ in a¡­ what? Three-inch-deep pocket.¡± ¡°I think we¡¯ve lost her.¡± Crag joked with Thorn. ¡°If she can¡¯t stop laughing like that you might need to carry her home.¡± With that comment Thorn¡¯s face grew beat red which caused Mary and Crag to both join in with Ember¡¯s fit of laughter. ¡°Shut up.¡± Thorn said before he turned his face away from the rest. ¡°Come on, we are almost back. We should get Zaz to a doctor as soon as we can.¡± ¡°Oh yeah, that true. But he was stable enough for us to make a tiny detour.¡± Mary agreed. ¡°But if it will give you all peace of mind, I¡¯ll check him over again. Crag crouch down or take a knee so I can reach him.¡± ¡°Kay.¡± Crag stooped down to give Mary an easier time reaching Zaz. Once Zaz was at her level she placed one of her hands on his forehead to check for any sign of a fever. ¡°Oh wow¡­ He¡¯s so cold¡­¡± ¡°Cold?¡± Thorn asked. ¡°Yeah, does anyone know if his tribe runs hotter or colder than the average human?¡± Mary asked. ¡°I mean¡­ he looks reptilian so I would assume he¡¯s cold blooded.¡± Ember answered. ¡°Well, he is pretty cold so I think we should pick up our pace.¡± Mary agreed. ¡°Gladly, just keep up.¡± Crag said. He then readjusted Zaz over his shoulder to ensure he held a tight grip on him. With his hold secure he started off in the direction of town, he was now holding a steady jog not a full out run to drain the mage types but what he assumed to be an easy pace to follow. ¡­ ¡°Sorry!¡± Ember pleaded while she burst into the guild hall. She was running late for the team meeting after she lost track of time while she soaked in the tub at Willow¡¯s house. After she entered the guild proper, she shot an apologetic smile and waved to the receptionist behind the main desk for the noise and commotion she caused and then she was finally able to start searching for Thorn, Mary, and Crag. ¡°Hey guys¡­¡± Ember said. ¡°Sorry I¡¯m late. I was in the tub and lost track of time.¡± ¡°Understandable.¡± Mary assured her. ¡°Zaz!¡± Ember shouted once the half naga came into her view. ¡°You¡¯re okay!¡± She cheered. She then took a seat at the table in between Mary and Thorn and made herself comfortable. ¡°Yes.¡± Zaz answered solemnly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for being the cause of our retreat. When I took notice of the mutation standing by the Crown, I thought it pertinent to fall back and inform you all of the new enemy. Unfortunately, the mutation had a projectile ability and a strong enough toxin that I was not able to fight it off while I also attempted to run back. I assume one of you spotted me after I collapsed and carried me back to town.¡± He bowed his head to the group. ¡°Thank you all.¡± ¡°Hey, don¡¯t worry about it. We are a team and teams look out for one another.¡± Thorn added. ¡°Ah yes, and on that note, I would like to bring up the whole reason I wanted us to have this little meeting.¡± Crag began. ¡°Now even though we did talk about some skills on the walk back home I still think we need to go all in on the skill exchange. Even if you don¡¯t think that your skill is powerful enough on its own it might resonate with one of the rest of our skills. Also Knowing each other¡¯s abilities will help us plan our attacks better.¡± Crag turned to face Ember. ¡°Ember, I¡¯m bringing you up first because if you had informed us that your area skill did flat damage and not distributed damage we could have sent you up to the front behind me. I would have been able to hold off anything that got to close to you while you would have been able to get closer to the pond and catch more of them at once.¡± ¡°Okay so, I had no idea that was how it worked.¡± Ember replied with a hint of irritation wafting off her words. ¡°I don¡¯t normally go after groups all at once like that. My description doesn¡¯t specify how the damage gets distributed throughout my zone of effect. I¡¯ll read it out verbatim for you. Let me pull it up really quick.¡± ¡®Metatron,¡¯ She thought, ¡®skill description for rot aura.¡¯ [Rot Aura - An Aura emitted from the user in a two-meter circumference, when damage threshold\durability of target reaches 10% of maximum the target will begin to rot. Rotting begins from areas of high damage and spreads through undamaged areas. Rot Aura Encourages the natural process of decomposition in any affected materials. Examples: living tissue will decay, metals rust and tarnish, stone corrodes to sand] (Rot, Arcane, Area, Switch) [Rot Aura Level 4: Passive - 1 point of rot damage per second per 10 mana generated. Active - 1 point of rot damage per second per mana spent.] ¡°See? That was word for word. No mention of multiple targets.¡± Ember said matter-of-factly. Mary reached her hand over and placed it on Ember¡¯s arm. ¡°Em, don¡¯t take this the wrong way but your kind of terrifying.¡± ¡°What?!?¡± Ember asked, shocked. ¡°You start rotting things alive¡­ You practically cause necrosis to your non liquid based enemies.¡± Mary shivered and gagged at the thought of her own skin turning black and sloughing off. ¡°I think what scares me the most is how it¡¯s listed as passive and yet you never told us you could start damaging us or our stuff if we got too close to you while at full mana. What if we had to camp out and we slept too close to you? Would we wake up bloating and boiling from the inside like all of the crystal jellies you popped?¡± ¡®Do I? Oh my God¡­ It is a passive damage dealing skill.¡¯ Ember gulped and reread the skill description again. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t think that¡¯ll be a problem. Not as long as I keep myself below my maximum mana reserves, then my skill¡¯s passive effect will be inert.¡± Then she did a little mental math based off the numbers she already knew. ¡°I don¡¯t think the passive effect is anything to worry about anyways. I did a little math, and I regenerate around twenty mana per hour. So, if I keep myself around half mana, we should all be good. But if I am at max then I¡¯d be pushing about three damage every hour or so.¡± ¡®It said stuff too.¡¯ She thought to herself. ¡®Great I¡¯m slowly rotting away my clothes¡­ and Willow¡¯s bed¡­ Willow¡¯s daughter¡¯s bed¡­¡¯ She stopped herself from continuing down that spiral when she noticed that her mood had dropped, along with her grin. ¡°So, if I want to sleep peacefully at night I will need to drain off as much of my own mana as I comfortably can, or I could always sleep over two meters away from you.¡± Ember said, half to inform her friends and half to reassure herself. ¡°Okay. That sounds simple enough to deal with. We¡¯ll just need to buy sturdier gear.¡± Crag agreed. ¡°Sturdier gear?¡± Mary asked. ¡°Yeah?¡± Crag answered confused. ¡°If I wear anything heavier than defensive robes my body will start dipping into my Ki just to compensate. I would prefer not to get fatigued just walking around town. Thank you.¡± Mary complained. ¡°Fair enough.¡± Crag shrugged. ¡°With how odd Ember¡¯s coat looks she probably has a tailor she uses.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Ember barked. ¡°Its not odd.¡± She then proceeded to hug herself. ¡°Its comfy.¡± She ended with a laugh. ¡°Still.¡± Crag chuckled and returned to Mary. ¡°You could ask them if they would be able to make you some new hunting gear.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She agreed. Crag nodded then addressed the table again. ¡°Now, if we can get back on track. Ember, you¡¯ve told us about your aura skill, does your root trap have any kind of special wording? Or the new deep pockets skill?¡± He asked. ¡°No.¡± She answered immediately but then paused to think about it. ¡°Wait let me check them too. I¡¯ll just read them out loud.¡± [Ensnare Level 2: Send your mana into the ground to have nature spring forth to trap and/or slow your enemies. 9 MP Per 1 square foot of area affected up to 100 square feet. Additional costs based on toughness of the terrain (EX: Soil, clay, stone, ect.) up to an additional 10MP. Highest toughness material currently able to be penetrated: sandstone.] (Nature, Rot, Area) [Void Pocket: You have received your own little slice of nothing. You are now able to insert or remove non-living objects into the designated void space. To do so your hand and item must be able to fit through the opening of your chosen pocket facsimile. Maximum Volume of 10 Liters.] (Void, Storage, Utility) ¡°Alright that¡¯s both of the other two.¡± Ember stated once she finished reading off her skill descriptions. ¡°Any questions?¡± Mary lifted her hand into the air. ¡°How much space is in your void pocket skill? I know it says ten liters, but I mean how many physical objects can you put in there not how much liquid it can store.¡± ¡°Ah. Well, a trick I used to use back home when I was shopping for new camping packs was to imagine a one liter bottle of water then how many of those I could fit inside. So, for this, ten liters would be the same as saying I can hold ten bottles of water inside.¡± Ember explained. ¡°Oh, that actually helped a lot. Thanks.¡± Mary replied. ¡°Yep, yep. No problem. Oh, but the weirdest part that wasn¡¯t mentioned in the description is the weird sense I have now that gives me a vague feeling of how full it is. Oh! And¡­ hmm¡­ How do I explain this¡­ you know the feeling of when you¡¯ve had a song stuck in your head all day but you¡¯re also doing something important? Similar to that¡­ I¡¯m not always thinking about what¡¯s inside of my pocket but its right there.¡± She said while she held her pointer finger and thumb close together. ¡°Like as soon as I¡¯m done talking and before the next person starts my brain will just go like ¡®Boop, your holding three feet of old rope. Hey. You have three neat rocks you picked up while on the walk to the guil¡­d¡­¡± Ember started blushing after her slip of the tongue. ¡°You know¡­ like those definitely made-up examples that are in no way what I actually have inside¡­¡± When Ember looked back up, she saw that the whole table was looking at her as if they didn¡¯t believe a word of her defense. The stares ended up causing Ember to blush again and throw her hood up. ¡°Someone else¡¯s turn.¡± Crag snorted at Ember¡¯s over reaction but turned to Thorn in order to keep the conversation moving. ¡°And what about you Thorn? I saw Volt and your,¡± Finger quotes, ¡°Light wall.¡± Thorn sat up straighter in his chair and adjusted his collar before he began to speak. ¡°Yes. Like you said you have all seen me use my volt skill and most of you have seen me use my other skill, hard light. My third classless is kind of a rarer skill so before I talk about it, I would like you to agree not to mention it to anyone else.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Answered Crag, Mary, and Zaz respectively. Thorn took a deep breath and released it slowly before he leaned in closer to the center of the table. ¡°My third skill is mana manipulation.¡± He then shot a glance at Mary. ¡°And no, I don¡¯t know what you need to do to unlock it. I only know what I had to do which involves my specific set of skills.¡± ¡°Okay, Awesome but lame.¡± Mary said. ¡°I don¡¯t know of a single mage class that wouldn¡¯t benefit from knowing that skill. Lucky.¡± Thorn gave a small chuckle before he continued. ¡°Well, in order to keep everything fair ill read out my descriptions too.¡± [Hard Light Level 4: Create Physical Manifestations of Light. Cost Based On Volume Of Object Created. 1MP Per Cubic Inch.] (Light, Utility) [Volt Level 3: Shoot a bolt of electricity at your enemy. 7.5% chance to Stun for 5-10 Sec. 4.5MP Per 1DMG.] (Lightning, Ranged, Debuff) [Mana Manipulation Level 1: Greatly Increase Your Sensitivity And Control Over Your Own Mana. Increase Maximum Mana By 5% of Base Mana (160).] (Sensory, Meta, Buff) ¡°Lucky!¡± Mary complained jokingly. Thorn started rubbing the back of his neck nervously. ¡°So those are my skills, any questions? Other than how to unlock mana manipulation.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Crag said. ¡°I¡¯ve got a question about that light skill. How in the hell did you make a physical manifestation of light actually block an attack? It¡¯s light.¡± ¡°Right¡­ you had the same complaint earlier.¡± Thorn recalled. ¡°Look, don¡¯t think of it like I made a wall of light that blocked an attack.¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly what you did though.¡± Crag interrupted. Thorn cleared his throat before he started back up. ¡°As I was explaining¡­ Don¡¯t think of it as a solid wall of light. It is a much better comparison to think of it as a thin sheet of glass. Yes, it can stop or divert an attack but nine times out of ten it shatters after the first impact hits.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Crag said quietly. ¡°Still doesn¡¯t explain to me how you used a skill that¡¯s meant to create a moving ball of light to follow you in the dark to turn into a flat wa¡­ sheet of light.¡± ¡°Yeah, because that¡¯s the third skill at work. If I use mana manipulation, it¡¯s a lot easier to tweak and play around with my skill and its mana patterns.¡± Thorn explained proudly. ¡°Now, you have made Ember and I describe our skills to the group so it¡¯s only fair that you would volunteer to be next. Right Crag?¡± ¡°Yeah, whatever I¡¯ll just read mine out like y¡¯all did. Good?¡± Crag replied. This time Thorn, Ember, and Zaz all nodded in affirmation. [Turtle Up Level 5: Burn Ki to Decrease all blocked damage. 2 Dmg per 1 Ki spent.] (Fortitude, Life, Defensive) [Shield Bash Level 5: Strike your foe with your shield dealing (Skill level x 2 + Shield¡¯s armor value.) 10 Ki to activate +2 ki Per activation within 1 minute of the previous. Effect stacks, Remove one stack per minute.] (Armor, Fortitude) [Sturdy Level 3: Increase your Lifeforce regeneration by (skill level + (Fortitude/2)) [Earth Thorns Level 2: Imbue your shield or armor with Mana to grow stone spikes. 20 mana to active 5 Mana per second to maintain. Any physical attack blocked when the skill is active will deal (Skill level + 15% Damage blocked) (Earth, Retaliation, Armor) Ember tried her best to hold back the laugh she felt when Crag said his first skill was called turtle up. ¡®Ha! Turtle up. I love that this world equates tanks with turtles. Cute. Haha¡­ Turtle up.¡¯ ¡°Alright any¡­¡± Crag started to say before he was cut off mid-sentence. ¡°Oh! Question, question, question!¡± Ember interrupted. ¡°Can you combine your skills? Like what happens if you use shield bash while you have earth thorns activated?¡± Does one cancel the other or can they stack?¡± ¡°Woah, little slower with the questions. Yes, I can combine those two skills, but if I do the thorns only add their skill level to the damage because I¡¯m not technically blocking damage with a strike.¡± ¡°That makes sense to me.¡± Ember agreed while she nodded. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you got a cross-coverage skill so early on. Are those not typically class skills?¡± Thorn asked. ¡°Oh, yeah. My old man assumed I received it due to my life affinity, plus I can take a hit.¡± Crag said cheerfully. ¡®Wow.¡¯ Ember thought to herself. ¡®We have Mr. Turtle power, captain laser bolt, and a friendly fungus flinger so far. I wonder what neat skills Mary and Zaz will have.¡¯ ¡°Okay this is fun who¡¯s next?¡± Ember asked excitedly. ¡°Huh¡­ Well, I Guess I can be the next to go. I¡¯ll let Mary have a little bit more time before she has to tell us her details.¡± Zaz Informed as he slid his chair closer to the table. ¡°I will let you know ahead of time that I am not hiding a skill from you all when I only tell you three skills it is because I am unhappy with my current options and have decided to wait until my next level up to change it. I guess I start with the one I unlocked earliest.¡± [Metachrosis Level 4: Use Ki to cause your scales to change color to match your environment. Cost increases the farther away the new color is from the original. (Visual color scale with black and white added to each end. Ex. Black, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, and white.) (Racial, stealth) [Shadow walk Level 5: Coat yourself in shadow mana. When walking in the shadows your footsteps and presence are both highly obscured. Cost 1 Mana per second] (Shadow, mobility, obfuscation) [Tracking level 2: You can tell the general direction of your target is located in comparison to where the evidence of their existence was found.] (Nature, perception) ¡®So cool!¡¯ Ember fangirled to herself. ¡®I wonder if its just chromatophores, or if he has some Iridophores mixed in as too. It would be so pretty if his scales had an iridescent shimmer to them in the light. Well, I guess it could always just be magic mumbo jumbo too.¡¯ Mary let out a sigh when she looked over at Ember only to find the girl lost in thought and staring at Zaz again. She tried to clear her throat at first to snap Ember out of her head, but it was no use. ¡°Ember!¡± She called out after leaning into her face. Ember jumped in her chair. ¡°Aaah! What?!?¡± ¡°Welcome back.¡± Mary joked. ¡°You get distracted?¡± She asked while she raised her eyebrows suggestively. ¡°What? No! Well, I mean yes, but not how you mean it.¡± Ember fired out in a flustered fit. ¡°I just got lost in thought wondering if Zaz used chromatophores, Iridophores, or just some magic b.s. to change the color of his scales.¡± ¡°Ah. Well to answer your question in the simplest manner you can just think of it as some sort of magic bull shit.¡± Zaz said while he let out an odd hissing laugh. ¡°And as for the fourth skill I haven¡¯t chosen yet, I¡¯m waiting in hopes of an offensive skill. As you can see none of my skill are combat related.¡± ¡°True.¡± Mary agreed. ¡°If you focus on getting kills from stealth I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll unlock an ambush type skill soon enough.¡± ¡°True, that is my current attack method.¡± Zaz agreed. ¡°And with that I do believe it is now your turn Mary.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ so on the same note as Thorn earlier. Please don¡¯t tell anyone what your about to find out? But I have two exceedingly rare skills.¡± Mary points out. ¡°I¡­ well I guess I¡¯ll just say them too.¡± [Life sight Level 3: While channeling mana through your eyes you are able to sense the general lifeforce of those within your line of sight. Cost 3 Mana per second.] (Life, Perception, light) [Alleviate Level 2: Temporarily remove pain and discomfort from minor ailments. 30 mana per minute cast at once.] (Life, Touch, Comfort) [Forced Healing Level 4: Bypass the magical defenses of your target to drain their highest resource pool in a 2 to 1 ratio. For every 2 Mana you spend casting you will draw 1 Mana/Ki from your target. Healing is 1 to 1 (Resource to Lifeforce)] (Life, Leech, Healing) ¡°Forced what now?!?¡± Ember exclaimed. ¡°That sounds horrible. I assume it¡¯s called forced due to the bypass effect?¡± ¡°I believe so. But your passive rot is still scarier if you ask me.¡± Mary answered. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know about the rest of you but now that I know the ins and outs of all of our abilities, I¡¯m already getting some ideas on how we can finish the jelly job on the next attempt.¡± Crag declared cheerily. ¡°I agree.¡± Zaz added. ¡°I have a few ideas I¡¯d like to think about, and I will run them by you all in tomorrow.¡± ¡°Sounds good to me.¡± Crag and Thorn called out in stereo. ¡°As long as we aren¡¯t going to be going out again first thing in the morning. I¡¯m fine with that.¡± Mary interjected. ¡°I¡¯m going to follow through with your idea Crag and I¡¯ll visit go see Tila in the morning to see about getting an outfit custom tailored.¡± ¡°Buy armor, not more dresses and robes.¡± Crag complained. ¡°You have enough of those already.¡± Mary stood up and puffed out her chest defiantly. ¡°I¡¯ll never have enough dresses; I need one for each occasion. That includes hunting.¡± ¡°Whatever. Let¡¯s head back home I¡¯m getting a bit peckish and I¡¯d prefer to eat the food we already bought.¡± Crag told Mary. ¡°Yeah, plus mom will probably want my help cooking again tonight.¡± Mary complained. ¡°Well I believe this is farewell for the evening. If you¡¯ll excuse me as well.¡± Zaz said before he also started to get his stuff together to go. ¡®Darn it, now I¡¯m going to be thinking up strategies all night. Oo, maybe not¡­ I can just dump my mana into my aura outside before I climb into bed. If I drain enough, it¡¯ll knock me out too.¡¯ Ember thought to herself while laughing to herself as well. ¡°Yeah, Y¡¯all have a goodnight aight? I¡¯m going to go dump my mana so its safe to sleep¡­¡± With that over Ember stood to give Mary a hug before she too left. On her walk home to Willow¡¯s that one thought of passively rotting people kept creeping back into her mind. ¡®I¡¯m going to be paranoid about this for weeks.¡¯