“Wait, has the spawn rate changed?” Silas said, as he blinked in the sudden sunlight.

He gazed around at the lush foliage of the Rift; sword poised to strike at any threats. The area around the portal was just as he remembered it – overflowing with vegetation. It was hard to see more than a dozen meters in any direction, the trees and shrubs blocking everything else from view.

“I think so… wasn’t it low before?” Katai replied uncertainly, as he too peered through the trees. “There’s nothing in range of Sense Blood though.”

Kenemen stood in the centre of the group, calm and relaxed. In spite of the plethora of warnings and safety protocols he’d insisted on before they entered, he didn’t bother unsheathing his own blade, simply standing in the middle of the group and gazing about curiously.

“Let’s see if we can get out of this forest then. We need to find a defensible position and set up camp,” he said with a chipper tone, “I’ve marked the entrance so there’s no chance of us getting lost. Pick a direction Silas and let’s go.” He was clearly in a much better mood after the previous few days of grumpiness, striding after Silas with a bounce in his step.

He must have been upset about losing the Necromancer’s trail, thought Katai. He didn’t blame him - he’d been so angry himself at the news. Perhaps defending Waycrest had tipped the Necromancer off? Or he’d somehow detected the Questor hiding near the village? After all, Katai had found the Questor, so who’s to say the Necromancer couldn’t have done the same thing. Hiding wasn’t the role of a Questor anyway; seeking was.

Perhaps that’s why he’s been so grumpy - he failed at the one thing he’s good at. That doesn’t explain his sudden mood swing though. Shrugging to himself, Katai put the curious thoughts out of his mind. There were more important things to be worried about.

The group moved slowly; Silas and Katai in the lead, the hunter Yoto in the rear, and Lariss and a nervous Emilia on either flank. Katai kept a wary eye on anything that looked remotely dangerous. He trusted his Blood senses more than he did his own eyes in the thick foliage, so he searched for dangerous plants while he scanned the area with his Sense Blood skill.

For the first couple of hours, the only threats he detected were hordes of insects and tiny bugs that seemed to infest the jungle. Far more than he’d have expected to see, or sense. Luckily, they contained a very small amount of blood and he had to concentrate to sense their positions. Otherwise he might have been overwhelmed from the feedback of hundreds of insects moving around constantly in his Blood sense. As it was, they blended into the background, producing a constant noise. It was eerily similar to how the sounds they made blended into background noise, his brain filtering out the signals constantly being sent from his ears, unless he actively concentrated on them. Later that day, they stumbled upon their first encounter with the Megasoma.

It was Yoto who heard them first. The sounds of crunching leaves and snapping branches carrying to the group, well before they appeared in Katai’s senses. The noise of the dense jungle seemed to swell as the creatures approached, as if warning the group of the oncoming danger, or perhaps welcoming the natives to their particular slice of verdant heaven. Either way, the group were forewarned. Though, still blinded by the dense and intractable wall of vines, trees and shrubs.

Katai noted it all as the group crouched, waiting with weapons drawn. They had to be careful that they didn’t hit an overhanging vine and alert the creatures – the flora was so thick, they couldn’t swing a weapon without cutting through something. They didn’t know how sensitive the creatures would be to noise or smell, but it was better to be safe and try to avoid any disturbances until they knew more.

Yoto stealthily crept away from the group, trying his best to move without disturbing the undergrowth. Lariss gripped her weapon tightly as she frowned at the approaching noise, a slight tremble in her empty hand the only sign of her nerves. Emilia on the other hand trembled like a leaf, her head whipping back and forth as she searched, wide-eyed, for the approaching creatures. Katai could see it all happening, as he wasn’t looking towards the noise. He was waiting, knowing they wouldn’t see the creatures until they were right on top of them. He waited patiently for the juvenile Megasoma to appear in his Sense.

There. Quickly, Katai gestured in the direction the creatures approached from, holding up three fingers. The size of the three in his minds eye seemed to match what they’d fought before. The only worry he’d had when the noise starting filtering through the forest, was that they’d run into something tougher. Finding other creatures in here was pretty likely, but fighting the juvenile Megasoma wouldn’t be a challenge for him alone, let alone their group. Especially for Kenemen, he thought as he glanced sidelong as the man. The man practically exuded confidence and power without even trying.

Looking back at the group, as the Megasoma slowly wandered through the forest, blissfully unaware of their impending doom, Katai caught the eye of Silas. He gave him a nervous grin, which was returned in kind, the two gradually getting used to the pre-battle adrenalin and the spike of fear that preceded a fight to the death. The shared feeling of nervous energy had encapsulated the whole group, affecting them all in different ways. Well, other than Yoto, who’d already disappeared, and Kenemen, who still seemed to be completely at ease.

Lariss and Emilia were bundles of nerves – Lariss constantly readjusting her grip on her sword and shifting uncomfortably as they waited, clearly impatient for the combat to begin. The waiting is the worst part, Katai acknowledged, empathising with her. Even with his knowledge of the creatures they were about to face, the amount of energy coursing through his body was tiring. He wanted it to start so he could finally relax.

Looking at Emilia though, he knew he had nothing to complain about - she was in a far worse state than any of them. She looked to be on the verge of a panic attack, her eyes rolling wildly as she reacted to every little sound. The forest was teeming now, the racket practically surrounding them as the Megasoma approached to within meters of them. Emilia was gasping now, the sound unheard over the forest insects, but Katai could see her reddening face and heaving chest as she gulped at the air.

She didn’t have a weapon, which was probably a good thing for her allies given how little experience she had with combat, but left her practically defenceless. She’s got some kind of offensive Mage skills though, right? Katai frowned and looked over at Kenemen. Surely the Questor wouldn’t have put her on the flank of their formation if she had no useful combat skills. Looking back at her, he almost spoke up, until he remembered the look of terror she’d given him the day before. Talking to her would probably make it worse.

Of all of them, she was the most out of her comfort zone. She’d been ripped away from her home by a group of strangers, one of whom had a confirmed Forbidden Class. Then, she’d entered a fabled Rift; something a simple village girl only heard about in stories and tall tales told by the Elders. And now, the peak of her discomfort - she was about to fight in her very first battle. It was no wonder she was on the verge of a full-blown panic attack.

Catching the Questor’s eye, Katai nodded pointedly at the woman and raised his eyebrow, as if to say, can you do something? Thankfully, the older man nodded and quickly switched places with her, murmuring some words to the panicking woman before moving her into the centre of the formation. Satisfied, Katai turned back to face the approach of the Megasoma. He didn’t see the thoughtful look cross Kenemen’s face, nor the small smile that lingered as the Megasoma practically fell onto the group.

The next few minutes were a controlled scramble, the creatures launching themselves at the group, their piercing cries echoing over the treetops. The first two were met by the blades of the two Warriors, Silas and Katai easily parrying their awkward attacks. They were still shaking off their surprise at discovering the humans in their domain, their attacks slow and ungainly. The last Megasoma didn’t even reach the group, a trio of arrows penetrating its thick green skin, making easy work of it before it could catch up to the rest of its pack.

A compact wad of dirt splattered against the carapace of the creature attacking Silas, startling both of them. Before it could react, Silas thrust forward, neatly stabbing it through the neck. The blade went in easily, Silas noting the weak spot where there was a lack of carapace. It went down with a weak gurgle, clawing at the hard steel as it tried to get at the Warrior. It’s death throes lasted for a heartbeat or two, before it slumped to the ground, dead.

Katai, realising they’d already dispatched the others, shouted a Battle Cry and stepped in close to his opponent. Activating one of his least used skills, he bashed the thing over the head, trying not to damage it too much, in case he accidentally killed it. Thankfully, he didn’t get a message, and the Megasoma was down for the count.

He took a knee and looked around, hoping it wasn’t too obvious what he was doing. Silas nodded at him, before turning away to clean his sword of the bright blood that had spattered its length, pretending to be uninterested in what was going on with Katai and the unconscious Megasoma. Closing his eyes, Katai looked inwards and focused on the weave of blood that he could vaguely see, trailing off towards his bonded friend. Without really knowing what to do, he mentally grasped at the weak tendril of blood, trying to pull it into the pool of Blood he could see within his body. He didn’t feel anything happen however. Perhaps he needed to activate the skill and concentrate on the bond at the same time? That sounded like a challenge – especially if he wanted to do it in the middle of a battle one day.

Once again, he focused inwards; this time keeping some of his attention on the creature in front of him by keeping his eyes open. It wasn’t as difficult as he’d feared. It was a bit like trying to pat his head while rubbing his belly; a children’s game that was easy enough for an adult.

Confident he could split his focus this way, he triggered Lacerate, targeting the creature while he imagined blood flowing into him from the bond. A pit of warmth seeded itself in his chest - he could actually see the bond grow as the power passed through it and entered his body. A tingle ran up his spine and entered his brain, surprising him by how good it felt. It was gone in an instant, but he could feel something remaining, some aftermath of the pleasantness, though it too was fading.

It all happened so quickly, and when he looked down at the body of the creature, he could see a couple of new wounds had appeared. It had worked!

Bond of Blood has reached level 2.

Grinning at the success, he tried again, this time without using the bond. As he’d expected, the familiar feeling of weakness and nausea came over him as his vitality dropped. It was such a difference using the bond. No bad feelings, just a pleasant sensation of warmth and his attack was done. It sure was a hell of a lot nicer than using his own health!

Looking over at Silas however, his friend looked a bit pale and stared back at him wordlessly. Of course, there were a couple of significant drawbacks with using Silas to power his Blood magic skills. Number one being that Silas had no way of stopping him from using the skill, even if he were about to die. Number two was Silas’ relatively low Constitution. It wasn’t bad for a Warrior, but for using as a Blood source? He’d probably be able to use the skill maybe two or three times before Silas collapsed. If he was in close combat, even using it once or twice might not be viable. They’d have to test it out, if they could. Unfortunately testing required Katai to use his skill on something, which meant testing had to be during a battle. Or they’d have to capture live victims to experiment on. That thought did not sit well with him, even with animals or monsters from the Rift – it would basically equate to torture. Perhaps… perhaps he could use the skill on himself?

He was pulled from his thoughts by Emilia sending another clod of hardened dirt at the creature. It stumbled backwards woozily, having gotten to its feet while Katai was distracted. The projectiles didn’t seem to harm it in the slightest, proving themselves to be a small distraction.

“Can you make them pointed, and harder?” Kenemen asked, reaching out and grabbing the Megasoma as it screamed again, it’s high-pitched squeal grating on their ears in such close proximity.

Mutely, Emilia shrugged timidly and tried again, forming a ball of earth on the ground in front of her. She started to form one side of the sphere into a point, but it collapsed onto the ground before she even formed the tip. Sighing, she shook her head, her gaze lowered.

Kenemen nodded, looking unsurprised and said, “Might as well finish it then.”

Katai nodded. He was expected to use his skills as much as possible, so he knew what he had to do. Activating Lacerate, he watched and waited for the death message to appear as the feeling of weakness washed through him. One more quick Lacerate after that and the creature was dead, mercifully put out of its misery.

You have defeated Megasoma - Juvenile (level 21).

Juvenile must surely be the creature equivalent of a Common Class. They were too weak and stupid to be anything but the lowest tier. At least, that’s what he hoped, otherwise it was going to be a very monotonous and slow training ground.

At least with this kind of fighting, they were all getting some experience for the kills, even if they weren’t the one to get the final blow. He just needed to practice his skills as much as possible and he’d get experience just from participating. Though it would be a lot less experience than actually doing the killing himself, or battling on his own.

“Don’t beat yourself up Emilia.” The voice of Kenemen drew his attention back to the rest of the group. “Dirt Mages are known as one of the worst Mage classes when it comes to direct combat effectiveness.”

Katai blinked, nonplussed at Kenemen’s attempt at consoling the obviously dispirited Mage. Did he think that would somehow help? If anything, Emilia looked even more upset, her shoulders slumping until she was almost curling up on the spot.

“At least, not until they reach higher levels and transition to a higher Class tier. At lower levels, Dirt Mage has probably the most utility out of all the Earth magic Classes. I imagine you were planning on developing it into some sort of agricultural specialisation?”

Emilia nodded slowly, still looking down at the ground, as if she were pretending they didn’t exist.

“It’s a good plan. If you choose a good supplementary Class then you could become the Overseer to an agriculture-based village, or maybe even a Caretaker in the Imperial Gardens – though that is a hotly contested position for any type of Earth Mage.” He mused out loud, a twinkle of compassion in his eyes as he looked at the morose Mage.

”If you broadened your specialty a bit, maybe worked on your aptitude with Stone - that has great synergies with Dirt by the way – then you could join one of the Civil Construction guilds. Creating grand buildings such as the Imperial Coliseum or a castle for a Noble family is something many aspire to, but sadly lack the magical talent or dedication to developing their aptitudes. Then there’s the battle variants. Let me tell you, there’s few Warriors more formidable than the Stone Bulwark. The Class can cloak itself in a layer of Stone and then keep on fighting. It’s a long road to get to that point but a powerful option if you want to go down the combat route.”

It was the most Katai had ever heard him talk, the Questor usually terse with his conversations. Probably because most of his conversations were orders or demands.

As he talked, Emilia gradually looked up, her whole body perking up as his words seemed to get through to her. By the time he’d finished, her eyes held a considering glint that Katai recognised. He saw that look on Silas whenever he talked about interesting Classes. It was excitement and curiosity. It seemed Emilia had seen the light when it came to the possibilities of her first Class. Because Dirt Mage does not sound like the most inspiring of Classes, Katai admitted to himself. Not that he’d ever say that to Emilia, she already had enough dislike for him for his own choice of Class.

“Right, that’s enough gabbing. Let’s get moving Silas.”

They quickly left the three corpses behind, the forest returning to its former quiet buzz. Unseen by the departing humans, an eclectic mix of centipedes, beetles, flies and ants crawled onto the corpses, the background noise dying down even more as the insects feasted. In a matter of hours, there was very little left of the Megasoma, the last remnants slowly soaking into the ground.

Katai's Status

Katai D’Castro

1st Class: Warrior – level 32

2nd Class: Blood Mage – level 19

Skills

Lunge (Expert) – level 7

Parry (Expert) – level 3

Bash (Proficient) – level 3

Battle Cry (Novice) – level 4

Sense Blood (Proficient) – level 4

Lacerate (Novice) – Level 8

Bond of Blood (Novice) – Level 2 (+1)

Attributes

Strength: 18

Dexterity: 19

Constitution: 29

Intelligence: 15

Wisdom: 16

Charisma: 17

Magical Aptitude

Blood (Life): 62%

Water: 9%

Resistances

Spirit: -16%

Void: 31%

Blood (Life): 62%

Wither (Life): -16%