Daniel and Madi were waiting for Orrin inside the gate. Brandt and Jude were talking with the guards, probably getting permission to bypass customs completely. A slow-moving line of people entered and exited after answering a bored guard’s questions.

“You get what you need?” Daniel asked as Orrin waved to Madi.

“Yes, I did.” Orrin moved his cloak to the side and showed off his new belt with vials of murky potion sloshing about.

“That looks disgusting,” Daniel recoiled. “Shouldn’t they be blue?”

Madi chimed in, “Why would they be blue?”

“Mana potions are always blue in video games,” Daniel answered. “Do health potions look the same? Like sewer water?”

“They look basically the same,” Orrin responded. “But health potions have a green stopper. These are white.”

Orrin unclipped a white-topped mana potion from his belt and handed it to Daniel. Daniel held it up against the sun and tried to peer through it.

“I’m glad I don’t have to drink these too much." Daniel shivered.

“They really do not taste like much,” Madi said. “But I do know a person or two who always plug their nose when drinking a potion.”

“I did that one time,” Brandt interjected as he joined the group. “When I was still a squire. Are we ready to go? We are going to take horses down the road a ways, then leave them picketed. We’ll have to hike for the last few miles. Reports coming in say at least one litter of cloudsabers but we’ve also been getting word of people hearing screams from deeper in the forest. A tree-lurker shows up and we all run, understand?”

“What’s a tree-lurker?” Daniel asked.

“Nasty monster that sits in trees and grabs you with its vine arms as you walk by. They don’t kill you right away though. They pin you, cut you up, then when you open your mouth to scream, they shov-“

“That’s enough,” Madi stomped her foot. “We do not need to tell horror stories before going into the woods. It is bad luck, anyways.”

Madi strode away quickly, joining Jude on the other side of the gate.

“What do they do?” Orrin asked quietly.

“They grow more lurkers inside you. Keep you alive with some sort of milk for a few weeks. Then the offspring rip you apart as they hatch. Nobody survives meeting one. They’re too damn smart and impossible to evade. Huge rewards for killing one though. They were bumped up to five star monsters a few years back.”

Orrin pulled his trusty bestiary book out and looked up Tree-Lurkers as they joined the rest.

He nudged Daniel and showed him the rough sketch next to the small paragraph describing its tactics.

“Fuck,” Daniel drawled. “That’s what almost got me, huh?”

“It seems like it. Look at how much they will pay for a body of one of these,” Orrin pointed.

“I would be happy never to see one of those things again,” Daniel shivered at the memory. “To think I could have been used as a live breeding factory.”

They got closer to the group.

“You do realize we are going to have to ride horses again?” Orrin asked.

Daniel smirked. "I’ve been getting better. Not everybody spent a week lazing about.”

Orrin groaned when he realized he would be the slow member in the group today.

Despite a few accidental gallops and only two falls off the horse, the party set a good pace and kept Orrin in the middle. He got pushed back on his saddle as many times as he almost fell, but his horse simply kept pace with the other surrounding equines.

Daniel had added Jude and Brandt to the party, rounding out their five-person group. Jude had agreed to try Madi and Orrin’s strategy, and even gave a few extra tips, including one important topic they’d forgotten to consider.

“What will you do if we need to run?”

Retreat was such an obvious thing to plan for, and Orrin had completely missed it. Madi had looked a little ashamed too.

“Don’t beat yourselves up,” Jude said, as he stood tall in his saddle, looking around the tall grass. “Every plan can be improved, every strategy made better. But you will always forget something. That is the thing the enemy will spot first.”

“What about just a few black bursts around everyone. You see darkness around you: run,” Daniel suggested.

“Would work until we found something that uses darkness to attack,” Brandt responded. Jude nodded in agreement.

As they group continued to discuss the merits of different colors for different actions, Orrin found a good purchase on his horse and finally felt comfortable enough to look up cloudsabers in his book.

[Cloudsabers]- lithe felines the size of a small horse, these monsters use magic to ‘walk’ on air. They can not fly, but can turn on the spot by creating small puffs of clouds that allow quick turns, swift ascents, and brutal attacks from above. While their claws are sharp and deadly, the bite of a cloudsaber can mean death (****).

“So how do you kill a cloudsaber?” Orrin asked.

Brandt had ridden ahead to check out a wagon that was sitting on the side of the road. Jude answered.

“You need to get it on the ground and then crush or take off a foot or two. It is harder for them to be as agile when they can’t create their little air cushions."

“Air cushions?” Orrin watched as Brandt waved from a distance and a small man waved back from the side of the wagon. A broken wheel sitting on the ground next to him.

“Yeah, they use a small air spell on each paw that gives them a moveable wall to run on. It only supports their weight for a moment, but they are already naturally quick.” Jude was watching Brandt too.

Please don’t let this be a bandit attack, Orrin thought. I just want to get some normal levels.

Orrin suddenly thought back to the man he’d killed. Tears threatened to spill over.

“You okay?” Madi asked.

Orrin grunted and nodded. She looked at him with pity.

Brandt was heading back and signaled all clear.

“Folks hit a rut and snapped a wagon spoke right off,” he explained as he got near. “Nothing to worry about.”

Orrin very much worried as they passed by, but to his surprise, nothing happened. They continued down the road for almost two hours before heading off into the tall grass to the south. The forest Orrin and Daniel had appeared in could be seen in the distance.

“We’ll bring the horses off the road a bit, just to be safe,” Brandt explained. “The forest is only a mile or two over there, but we might have to cut in for a bit to get where the runners have reported the saber sightings.”

“Runners?” Orrin could not wait to get off the horse. His inner legs were feeling chafed and it was taking all he had to not cast a [Heal Small Wounds] on himself.

“[Pathfinders], [Trackers], or even the occasional [Druid],” Brandt continued. “They get paid by the guild to keep an eye out for dangerous monsters. Anything that the Lords would pay to exterminate for the safety of the people.”

They found a clump of large bushes and tied the horses together and then to the brush. Jude got down and hobbled the horses’ legs as well.

“They’ll be able to make it to the road if they smell anything approaching, but won’t wander unless there is danger this way,” he explained as he finished tying everything off.

“So, I think we should all stay close,” Orrin suggested. “I have a skill that lets me boost all four main stats as long as you stay within 50 feet of me, but it doesn’t say how long it lasts.”

“Is it like your other increase spells? How long do those last?” Madi asked.

“At level one, those last five minutes,” he answered.

“It’s probably better to use that before battle then,” Brandt suggested. “If it only lasts five minutes, better to not waste the mana now. Does it cost a lot?”

“Nearly my entire mana pool,” Orrin checked the spell.

[Utility Ward]- maximum possible Level 1 Strength, Dexteriy, Will, and Intelligence increase to yourself and your party within 50 feet. 100 MP.

“Definitely save it then,” Brandt said. “And then get a potion down your throat as soon as possible. If shit goes sideways, then take Lady Madeleine and [Teleport] to this location. Priority one is everyone’s safety. Priority two is getting Daniel to level ten. Priority three is clearing any monsters we can from the surrounding area. There are a few small towns out this way that will appreciate the help.”

Jude stayed in the back, as Brandt and Daniel took point. Madi and Orrin stayed in the middle as they crossed the grasslands to enter the forest.

Oh, I should use [Map], Orrin thought. He pulled up the small interface and saw the other four party members appear as blue dots. The horses behind him were white and still clumped up together but were nearing the edge of his one mile radius map.

The forest was empty.

“Um, guys. I have [Map] and the forest seems clear.”

Brandt quirked his head as he looked back. “You are a multi-tool, aren’t you?”

Madi stepped closer to Orrin and asked, “How far have you progressed your [Map]?”

“I have got party, monster, and trap view.” Orrin saw no reason to hide the skill. They would all figure it out once he started being a radar machine in the forest. “Do you know a lot about [Map]? I haven’t had time to research it too much yet.”

“You are the strangest person I have ever met,” Madi admitted. “Most adventurers do not purchase a spell or skill unless they have their entire path plotted out. Not to mention you can pick up abilities from completely different builds.”

She shook her head as the trees started growing closer together. “As far as I know, [Map] will let you see anything you want to search for. Mining communities use a [Mapper] to target different veins of precious metals or parents might hire a [Tracker] to search for the smallest traces of a lost child. I don’t know all the particular sub-skills, but [Map] is one of the largest skill sets available.”

“That’s enough talking, you two,” Jude whispered from behind them. “We’re in it now.”

Orrin focused back on his [Map]. Despite it only giving him sight to within a mile, being able to see through the trees gave him a view better than the rest of the party.

I wonder if I can share the view, he tried to toss the blue box to Madi but nothing happened. She raise an eyebrow at his hand motion.

“I was trying to share my [Map] with you,” he whispered and shrugged.

They moved slowly through the forest. Orrin saw red dots appear at times on the periphery of his sphere of vision but whatever monster had crept out of the darkness quickly turned and ran at picking up the scent of all five of them.

An hour into their slow crawl through the forest, Brandt held up a hand. They all gathered to him.

“Cat scratches,” he mouthed and pointed at the tree nearest him. Large furrows had been dug out of the tree. Orrin noticed several trees in the area were also scratched bare of their bark.

Orrin saw a red dot appear and then move fast towards the party.

“Incoming,” he whispered and pointed in the direction of the moving monster.

A light blue cat appeared between the trees ahead of them. It looked more like a panther but had the bulk of a tiger. Muscles rippled beneath its short-hair as it charged along the forest floor.

Orrin used [Identify]:

[Cloudsaber] HP 95/95

Brandt and Daniel drew their swords, while Jude twirled his hammer once. The three of them stepped in front of Madi and Orrin.

Madi splashed a green firework in the saber’s face. The spell didn’t do much damage, only a point or two. The cat’s eyes flashed as it lunged towards her. Daniel let out a yell to catch the cat’s attention. It turned with all of its momentum not slowing a bit. Orrin caught the smallest puff of air where the big cat’s paws hit an invisible wall a few feet up.

It creates air walls to jump in different directions.Orrin cast [Utility Ward] at level one and immediately popped a vial off his hip. He flicked the wax top off with his thumb and drained the liquid down his throat.

The potion tasted like a day old green juice. Grassy but not disgusting like he had feared. Orrin felt his mana fill back up rapidly.

The cat got close enough for Daniel to swing at it. He held his stance until the last second and swung from the right.

The cat barrel-rolled and the sword tickled the monster’s whiskers. Daniel had missed.

Brandt did not.

As Daniel’s sword whiffed, Brandt struck with a piercing attack. His sword dug into the cat’s shoulder and dug a long furrow along its left side. The blue feline sprang off another burst of air and landed in a tree above, hissing down as drops of blood fell.

Orrin tapped it with a [Lightstrike] so he would get the experience and tried to see if he could do anything else.

[Cloudsaber] HP 73/95

“It’s at seventy-three of ninety-five health,” he yelled.

The cloudsaber eyed him and then dove. The speed of a two-hundred pound cat falling from two stories above him should not be that quick.

Jude appeared from the side and smashed his hammer into the saber’s side. It was close enough that Orrin and Madi heard the cracking of ribs. The cat twirled in the air, hitting a tree with its back hip. A snarl and yelp of pain echoed as it hit the ground.

Daniel used a burst of speed to glide across the forest floor and stuck his sword into the cat’s head. The back legs twitched once and the fight was over.

Experience Gained: 160 XP

Orrin looked at his status

Level 7: 450/700 XP

The fight had been harder than fighting a dire rat but for that much experience split across five of them... Orrin did the math. 800 XP for one monster? That would level him if he were able to kill one alone.

“Orrin, check your map.” Daniel wiped the blood off his sword using the saber’s fur.

Orrin looked back at the map. He’d never closed it.

Six red dots were traveling fast, with a seventh appearing as he watched. Three from the same direction as the one they had killed and four from a bit more south.

“Seven more, three from there and four from over there.”

Brandt and Jude shared a look and moved a bit closer to Madi.

“No, stick to the plan,” she ordered.

“But-“ Brandt began.

“We will do this right,” she demanded. “Do not embarrass me in front of the hero.”

Brandt and Jude set back up next to Orrin.

“You’ll need to try and hit a few with [Shimmersight],” Orrin suggested. “I’m going to boost up your Intelligence and Will with my level two spells. It will only help a little but...” he trailed off. He felt useless without more than [Lightstrike] to do damage.

“Sounds good.” Madi breathed heavily as she prepared, obviously nervous.

Orrin cast [Increase Will] and [Increase Intelligence] five times each on Madi at level two. With his boosted stats, the cost wasn’t quite at one hundred, but he went ahead and downed a second potion.

This is going to be expensive, he thought as he felt his mana filling up again. His stomach fluttered as the potion worked. Then it settled back down. Orrin felt he should be able to take one more potion today. I really don’t want to turn to cycling. I might have to call it after this fight.

The first two sabers appeared from the secondary direction, with another two close behind them. Moments later, the other three toppled over each other as they ran along the footprints of their fallen brother. They used air puffs on their feet to run upside down and balance back out.

Madi tossed a red firework at the three on the right and green towards the four on the left.

Orrin waited. The sabers were getting closer and closer.

“Madi?”

Nothing happened.

“MADI?” Orrin prepared to jump forward and [Teleport] the two of them out of danger.

Madi cast three [Shimmersight] back to back to back. Three perfect casts. Orrin watched as one hit the lead cloudsaber between the eyes, the second splashed across another’s nose, and the third tried to bite the glimmering ball of light only for it to encompass its face.

Three sabers were blinded and fell into each other scratching and biting. Orrin threw out three [Lightstrikes]

The three melee fighters had stood against the racing four remaining cloudsabers. Daniel yelled something Orrin could not hear and dashed into the middle of the four monsters.

He activated his [Wind Blades] skill.

Orrin realized how much Daniel had grown in the past week. While that first time using this skill against a few rats, the monsters had been shredded but Orrin had also taken a small hit from the blastwave. Daniel had been working on control.

The four sabers were thrown hard, hitting trees and rolling across the ground. Large slices of fur and meat had been sheared off and lay in bloody chunks around a heavy breathing Daniel. The sabers were slow to get back up.

Jude and Brandt took the initiative and finished off two of the sabers before Orrin remembered he had not hit these four yet. He cast two more [Lightstrike] spells on the struggling cloudsabers. A small burst of light that looked like a laser hit each one a second later, burning a small hole into their brains. Orrin looked over at Madi and gave her a thumbs up.

She was pulling a potion from a bracelet on her wrist. She drank it and sighed, “We still have three left over here guys.”

Finishing the three remaining sabers was quick work without their sight. Although they could smell the party easily enough, they were more likely to hit a tree or each other when they tried to strike. Madi and Orrin let the other guys take turns whittling them down. Daniel and Brandt cut off limbs, while Jude used his hammer to make bloody pancakes out of feet.

Experience Gained: 800 XP (160 XP x 5)

Level 8 obtained!

+10 AP

Orrin looked at his status again

Level 8: 550/800 XP

I’m almost to level nine too! These things are totally worth the extra headache. Orrin thought.

“Orrin?” Daniel called out as he sat back on his knees. He waved frantically.

“Daniel, that was amazing,” Orrin gushed. “I’m level eight now. Did you get to level ten? Did you choose your moniker?”

“I hit level ten but shut up. I got a prompt that I had ten minutes to select my moniker. That’s all it says. It has a list of suggested shit below, but it is all fire and wind and stuff like that. I tried to enter Dimensional in this prompt and it said ‘Not Accepted’ and my time went down to five minutes.”

“That’s fine, you still have time to-“ Orrin started.

“I put in Time next. The system declined that option too and now I have two minutes left,” Daniel looked panicked. “Orrin what do I do?”