Staring at a forest of monsters, I came to a sudden realization that I wasn’t trained to fight monsters. I exchanged an uneasy glance with Kalli as we both tried to come to grips with what we were dealing with. I took a quick look at the treants to see what we were up against.

Name

Mahogany Treant

Class

Monster (Protected Class)

Level

25

Affection Level

Territorial

I shrank back and informed the group.

Those are level 25. There’s no way we can take them.

Shara marched a few feet in front of me and rounded on me with her hands on her hips. Just watch. The regular ones are only C rank. Even at relatively high levels, they are pretty easy to defeat. The higher the level the better experience they give though. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum will make short work of them. Show them how it's done, guys.

The bodyguards nodded to one another and began rummaging through their rucksacks for items. Sebastian equipped a pair of knuckle dusters covered with jagged spikes. I squinted to see a faint green glow coming from the weapons. Enrique pulled a pair of handguns out of his bag. I excepted him to holster them, but he held both up, barrels pointed at the sky.

What do you want us to do?

The little kid beamed at us, her perfect teeth glimmering. That’s the best part. You don’t have to do anything. Watch them go.

As if on cue, the two bodyguards took off at a light jog toward the throng of treants.

FWISH

FWISH

FWISH

Flashes of blue light shot out of Enrique’s guns when he was halfway to the treants. The magical bullets erupted in a radiant blue shower of sparks each time they struck. A group of treants closest to the bodyguards began shimmying over to meet them, their roots crawling across the surface like large wooden tentacles.

The first treant fell just as the cluster made it to the bodyguards. It had been overwhelmed by the hail of bullets. I was amazed at how much quieter magical guns were compared to regular ones. Kalli pointed at the blue bursts and asked. What are those contraptions?

They look like guns, but they appear to shoot magic of some kind.

Shara corrected me. Those are energy guns. Enrique infuses his energy into the gun which transforms it into those shiny blue bullets. They explode when they hit monsters.

Kalli looked amazed. So that’s what a gun is. It's much smaller than a crossbow.

Kind of. Normal guns use gun powder and bullets. This one is similar to infusing mana into your legs to run faster.

I was careful to mention a non-essential organ. I worried that if I mentioned my heart or lungs that they might tell me it wasn’t allowed. Kalli gave me a suspicious glance and Shara replied. Self infusion is a high-level technique that can be dangerous if you do it wrong. Not even Enrique uses it.

Kalliphae’s eyes bulged as she gave me a hard stare. With our private communication method invaded by group members, we couldn’t talk privately without everybody hearing. I tried to change the subject.

Is there anything we can do to help?

Shara shook her head. What for? You get full experience for this whether or not you participate. The only reason you would need to fight is if you wanted to practice your skills or attempt to raise your stat caps.

How many of these monsters does it typically take to level up?

Shara frowned at me. Then she suddenly seemed to get it and she informed me. Oh, that’s right. You’re only level 3. Every day, your accomplishments are tallied when you sleep. If you’ve crossed a threshold then you level up. Haven’t you had the dream yet?

I shrugged, trying to recall a recent dream that felt like it was hovering just outside of memory.

What happens if I can’t remember my dreams?

Shara and Kalli both laughed. Kalliphae was the one to inform me. Relax, silly. You still level up whether you can remember the dream or not. It’s nothing fancy. It's just a voice informing you that you leveled up.

I turned my attention to the battle to see how the bodyguards were faring. The treants towered over them. From up close, it was obvious that the brawler was significantly more effective than the marksman. Bark splintered off in violent explosions as the muscular bodyguard delivered blow after blow to their trunks.

The treants attempted to crush the men with their branches, but Sebastian parried the blows with arms that glowed green while Enrique was forced to roll out of the way. They made quick work of the initial group of monsters that had attacked after Enrique got their attention by shooting them.

As they worked on pulling a second group, Kalli asked. Would it be okay if I practice my fireball spell? I still don’t have experience with it yet.

While Shara acted like she was in charge, she cast a furtive glance at Sebastian. He gave the kid a thumbs up and she replied. Sure, you can practice. Just be careful not to hit my guards. Melvin, do you want to practice? Can you summon anything useful?

I was too distracted to answer at first. The last time I had watched Kalliphae use her fireball spell was when we fought the griffon, and that hadn’t turned out so well. This time she remembered to take out her new wand. Using her second hand to contain the fire, she channeled flames through the wand to form a fireball. The fire sputtered and swirled, forming a miniature sun. Sweat formed on her brow as she concentrated.

By the time she was finished preparing, a basketball-sized globe of fire hovered between her hands gently rotating in a clockwise motion. She directed her spell at the canopy of the closest treant and used the words of magic.

“Bvoomzt”

The fireball sailed across the field in a flash of motion before striking a wounded treant, causing it to combust. Another blow from Sebastian sent it toppling into two more unfortunate treants that happened to be standing too close.

Kalliphae prepared to fire again as I got a tap on the shoulder from Shara. I said, can you summon anything useful? Stop making googly eyes at your girlfriend and answer me.

My mouth fell open at the cheekiness of the brat. Kalli, her face still scrunched up in concentration, sent an all too familiar thought into the group. He is not my boyfriend.

Not wanting to continue that particular topic, I quickly answered.

What do you want me to summon?

Shara grinned maliciously at me. I get a choice? Summon a dragon. That would be so cool.

I sighed. I had opened myself up to that request.

I don’t think I can summon anything living.

The kid groaned. What kind of a summoner are you? Oh, I know. You just haven’t made any pacts with anything yet right? Maybe I can get daddy to let you look at some restricted books.

As much as I wanted to see some cool books, I wasn’t too sure I wanted to meet this daddy person. He sounded scary. Everyone else was fighting. I needed to try something. This was a rare opportunity to be able to practice safely after all. I realized I wasn’t the only one not fighting.

Aren’t you going to do anything, Shara?

The kid sulked. I’m not allowed. That’s why this is normally so boring. I have to sit here while they do all the work.

That does sound pretty boring. What if you got a special class like Wizard or Supergirl or something?

Her frown deepened. Daddy doesn’t want me getting any fancy classes until I hit puberty and they can start my official training. He says it's too random otherwise and the experience transfers better if I’m a prodigy.

How does that work? If someone gets a class they get less experience when they come of age?

Shara shook her head. The prodigy class comes with a bonus that allows me to gain experience faster. I’m one of the highest-level 10-year-olds in the world. At least I think I am.

Is there a list of high-level 10 years olds?

She giggled out loud. No, silly. That's why I think I am the highest. Now, are you going to do something or are you just going to stand there? If I was allowed to do something, I totally would.

I groaned as I racked my brain, trying to come up with an idea. I still remembered the wind spell, so I gave it a try.

“Sviszt”

I blew a kiss toward the treants. I felt the breeze kick up as my spell raced across the distance between me and the monsters. Unfortunately, it dissipated in the distance and only caused the leaves to rustle gently. Shara laughed and asked, What was that? Did you just blow them a kiss? I hope you got something better up your sleeve.

I saw Kalli watching me out of the corner of my eye between fireballs. I wanted to be useful too. I reached into my bag and pulled out the Mega-Utility Knife. It took me a while to work out how to summon the various blades. Shara was unimpressed and pretended to pick her nose to show her disdain. I flipped through the various blades, eventually holding a sword in my hands.

Not wanting to get too close to the lumbering treants, I looked for something else. Anything else. I was about to give up when I discovered that one of the functions was a slingshot.

This knife really is made for Boy Scouts.

Shara raised an eyebrow showing her doubt that I could do anything useful with the toy-like weapon. I rustled around on the forest floor for a pebble of some sort to use and examined it.

Item:

Tiny Rock

Components

Stone

Item Rank:

F

Item Level:

1

Item Owner:

Murphy

So that’s what they mean by finders keepers.

“Bvoomzt”

Kalli let loose another fireball and asked. What are you talking about?

I didn’t bother to reply and shot my newly acquired rock high in the sky above the last treant that the bodyguards were fighting.The monster was already on fire and a few more good hits should have been enough to finish it off.When my pebble was above the treant, I quickly edited its name and called out to the bodyguards.

Get back.

I confirmed the edit once I was sure that the two men were clear.

Item:

100-ton boulder (Edited)

Components

Stone

Item Rank:

B

Item Level:

1

Item Owner:

Murphy

The pebble exploded into a massive boulder, emerging above the treant like a meteor had suddenly appeared in the sky. The only problem was, I miscalculated. I expected the boulder to drop straight down on the treant and crush it. What actually happened surprised me. The boulder still had forward momentum from the slingshot. It added its newfound mass to its forward trajectory which caused it to sail over the top of my target and directly into the remaining treants.

The boulder smashed into the monsters in a cloud of kicked-up dust and leaves as it flattened everything beneath it. We all looked on in horror as my actions attracted the attention of every treant left alive.

The bodyguards wasted no time. Sebastian delivered a thunderous roundhouse to the dying treant while Enrique retreated and scooped Shara up off of the ground causing the girl to squeal. They both then retreated down the path, leaving Kalli and I staring in shock at the enraged treants.

What we didn’t see until then was a massive treant in the middle of the herd that was suddenly towering over the aggravated forest.

Name

Bark-King of the Forest

Class

Monster (Protected Class)

Level

40

Affection Level

Enraged

We were still frozen in shock when the earth around us began to rumble. The treants, who had been running toward us, stopped in their tracks. We looked around for a moment trying to figure out what was causing everything to shake. Kalliphae spotted it first. Avalanche!

The white peak that had once made for a beautiful backdrop atop the mountain was now sliding down the side kicking up clouds of debris in its wake. We suddenly found ourselves running down the path, followed by much slower treants that had to rely on roots that weren’t meant for mobility.

I could hear the snow swallowing treants in its path behind us as we desperately tried to outrun nature. Kalli was running beside me, breathing heavily. She whimpered in my head. We aren’t going to make it.

I was desperate for any solution that wouldn’t get us killed. Did I remember to share regeneration with Kalli this time? Would that even help if we were obliterated by snow? We needed to go faster.

I sought out the mana inside of me again and infused my heart, trying to slow the world down as I had once before. It sort of worked. The sounds of snow behind me slowed to a dull roar but echoed more loudly in my ears which were also pounding to the magical beat of my heart. I sucked in cool air through my magic-infused lungs, willing oxygen to mix with the mana coursing through my blood. I wasn’t sure how any of what I was doing made sense, but it felt like instinct.

I skidded to a halt when I noticed that Kalliphae had fallen behind. I had to actively make an effort to run back to the girl as she looked at me in horror. I didn’t bother with an explanation as I scooped her off of the ground and hefted her over my shoulder in a fireman’s carry.

The snow was almost on us at that point. I could feel flecks of snow kicked up by the raging flood or debris nipping at my heels. I willed even more mana into my legs which were now burning from the exertion. The last barricade before the parking lot was a winding staircase leading down to the parking lot. I leapt over it and plummeted into the parking lot.

I was worried that Kalliphae might be hurt by the impact so I twisted sharply in the air so that I would land on my back. The impact knocked the wind out of me and sent a sharp jolt of pain through my ribs.

The avalanche, which was right behind us, smashed into the rails at the top of the stairs. A rain of dirty snow and debris pelted us for a full minute before the roaring thankfully stopped. We were buried under a foot of snow, but we had survived somehow.

Kalli lay atop me with her eyes squeezed shut. I wasn’t too worried because she had her arms wrapped around me in a death grip. I dramatically choked out, “Can’t breathe.”

The girl's eyes fluttered open and her voice flooded my mind. Oh, sorry.

She pushed herself off of me and climbed to her feet, shaking off the snow. She climbed to her feet and offered me her hand to help me up. I was forced to sit down for a minute as my entire body burned and my chest felt like it wanted to come apart. I focused on breathing while Kalli looked on in concern. Are you hurt?

I’ll live.

Shara and the two bodyguards were barricaded in the escalade. It appeared that the guards had enhanced speed as well but were only concerned with Shara’s welfare. Shara got out of the car and made her way over to us. That trick nearly got us all killed. You didn’t tell me you could summon a comet or whatever that was. Why did you attack the boss anyways?

I wasn’t trying to. I wanted to drop it on the one they were fighting. Wait a second. That big one was a boss?

The kid nodded enthusiastically, her anger suddenly gone. Big groups of monsters like that usually have a boss. That one was probably A ranked, so we weren’t going to pull it. Then you went and attacked the main pack.

Getting back to the mountain was a challenge with all of the snow in the way. Unfortunately, to finish the quest, we had to loot the treants we killed. The plan had been to kill 10 and go. We ended up killing 50 of them and a boss to boot.

Sebastian and Enrique scooped Shara up and let her ride piggyback as they clambered their way over the snow. This left Kalli and I to fend for ourselves. We laughed and I waited while Kalliphae summoned the phoenix.

Flying over the devastation, it soon became apparent that all of the treants had been killed by the avalanche.

By the time the rest of our group got there, Kalli and I had already looted half of the treants. I had thought that harvesting the magical creatures was going to be difficult, but the corpses of the treants had vanished, leaving behind tiny sacks on the ground which seemed to have risen out of the snow.

Shara made her way over to a large sack ahead of us which most likely came from the boss and whistled appreciatively. Wow, there’s a lot of petrified wood in this bag.

What does that do?

She rolled her eyes at me. It’s a magical crafting component. It’s worth quite a bit too. There's enough for all of us. You can have my share. I don't need money. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum get a cut though. It's part of their pay for power leveling us.

She handed Kalli 10 gold crests. This is for the quest reward. I don’t need this either. We will turn in the quest for you guys so you don't have to go back. Don’t worry. You’ll still get the guild faction and the experience for completing the quest. Are you going to go questing again this weekend? If so, can I tag along again?

Kalli gave me an inquisitive look. I chuckled that she thought she was the one tagging along with us and nodded my approval. She smiled at Shara. Sure. We would love to. How do we get in contact with you?

Shara handed Kalliphae a business card. This is my phone number. Call me anytime you want.

Kalliphae flipped the card over in her hand and looked up curiously. What’s a phone? How do I use this parchment to contact you?

I wanted to tell her to ask me later, but the cat was already out of the bag. Shara and both of the guards gaped at Kalli. How do you not know what a phone is? You know. Telephone. Well, everybody uses a cell phone nowadays.

I interjected.

I know what a phone is. We will call you for sure.

She seemed placated, so she asked, Do you two need a ride home? Or are you going to use that phoenix again?

Kalli, relieved not to be on the spot, replied. We’ll be fine. I’ll fly Mel home.

Shara and her bodyguards left the group as they drove away.

It was pretty late when we landed in the field near my house. Kalli looked me over again as I hopped off of the Pheonix. Are you sure you are okay? I can walk you home. You landed pretty hard back there.

I pounded my chest. The action caused me to wince slightly, but nowhere near as bad as when it first happened.

I’m good. It will probably just leave a bruise.

I didn’t know why I said that. I couldn’t remember the last time I got a bruise. I looked in my shirt, expecting to find one. Kalli giggled. Is it?

Is it what?

She stared at me expectantly. Bruised.

I can’t tell. It’s too dark.

She grinned malevolently in the moonlight. Really?

I started to back away as she inched closer to me. My back hit a wall and, suddenly, she was in my face. She then spoke the familiar words.

“Pvruzth”