As I washed the blood from my body, I let my thoughts wander.

A lot has changed for me in such a short time. When I first woke up I knew just this side of nothing. I was scared and lost, well I’m still a bit lost but now I have a direction to move in. So much has been happening that I haven’t had the opportunity for much reflection. I still wish that I could find more information about my past or why I woke up where I did but learning to protect this forest has become very important to me.

Everything here seems to possess a level of wildness that just calls out to me. The wonder of seeing new things, learning new magics, and being able to help maintain the balance calls to me on a deep level. I don’t know if it was something that the heart tree did to me, the instincts given by my classes, or something deeper, but it just feels right.

Meeting the Defiler changed a lot for me. That was the first time I can remember that my life ever truly felt threatened. The fear that I felt in that situation is something that I never want to feel again. Also the way that I had to kill her… it was wrong. My feelings on the whole situation are a jumbled mess. On one hand I feel guilty for killing her in the way that I did, but another part of me realizes that there was no other option. Another piece of me is glad that she is dead and no longer able to cause harm, but I am also sad that she had to die.

I can’t let myself dwell too much on these emotions or I won’t be able to move forward. I made myself a promise and I have to stick to it. I will get stronger. I will learn more. Only by improving myself can I be able to deal with these situations in the right way. I don’t yet know what that right way is but I will find it.

Letting out a soft sigh I finish scrubbing my skin clean and turn my attention to getting the blood and grime out of my tail. Having reflected enough on my feelings my thoughts wander in a new direction.

Fighting the Defiler wasn’t all bad, I did gain a lot of experience from it. I learned a lot more about how to fight and ways that my skills can be used. My strength is still too lacking to wield it as a weapon but after getting the Ascentium of Speed and learning what felt the best during the fight I think I know the path I want to follow. If I can keep working to improve my speed I will be able to make quick small attacks while evading counterattacks.

I also learned a great deal about using magic in combat. The defiler could wield some aspect of darkness that acted like acid. Whatever it touched would just dissolve. I learned that I couldn’t use wind magic as a weapon, not yet at least, but I could use it as a support tool. Creating a protective barrier and using it to speed my movements are likely the reason that I was able to survive. I really do have a lot to learn from the natural forces of this world. If I can move like the wind does then I will be even harder to catch.

On top of learning more about wind magic I also learned that my pure mana makes a pretty good weapon. I was initially only able to make small spikes of it but during the fight I was able to change their shape. If I practice some more I can probably learn to make all manner of things from it. Already being decent at making spikes it shouldn’t be hard for me to make the step up to creating arrows. The elemental arrow skill should help me with that and as I grow stronger I should be able to make new ones. I will need to keep practicing and see what I can do.

Speaking of that new skill the levels I gained on my first class and gaining a new class have changed quite a lot. The world around me seems… different. I can sense the forest even better now and have a much deeper understanding of how things work. I can feel the vast network that the forest is connected to. I can’t hear or feel exactly what is traveling through it but I can get a general sense. Feelings of thirst or hunger are there alongside pain and fear. My desire to fix these issues has not lessened. The opposite is true. After getting the chance to see the smallest glimpse vast forest spanning network and the sacrifices of those willing to give everything to protect it, I want to do my part even more.

These are not the only sense of mine that have improved. With my new class I now have the instincts of a hunter. The desire to seek out greater threats and larger prey beats deep within me. Not only can I sense the forest but I can feel how it moves. The way the seasons push animals to different areas, the way weather affects the types of plants that grow fruit, I can feel it.

Alas I can get no cleaner than I am now and should start on the next leg of my journey.

Climbing out of the water I use a small stream of wind to quickly dry myself. Enough time was spent in this area and it is time to move on to something new. My senses call out to me from two different directions, picking one at random I set off at a run.

I make it all of five steps along my newly chosen path when I trip and fall flat on my face… again. Ah! What happened? One second I was starting to run and then I got all jumbled up and just fell over. How could I forget how to run I’ve been doing it for days! Lying on the ground I mentally curse myself and try to figure out what happened.

Wanting to forget this ever happened I slowly stand up and try to take a step forward. My leg shoots out causing me to stumble and nearly fall again. A soft pulsing chuckle of laughter comes from Melody. “Hey knock it off. This isn’t funny.” I whine while trying to right myself. “If you find it so funny why don’t you give me an idea of what’s going on!” I shout. In response she sends a hazy image of the Defiler to me. “Huu? The Defiler? She shouldn’t be responsible for this she’s dead… Ohhh I get it now.”

When I killed the Defiler I got massive increases to my stats! I had been able to feel slight improvements before but I was quickly able to adapt to them, but getting that huge increase all at once must have thrown my entire system off. “Ahhhh! I really am going to have to learn to walk again!” I whine as a deep blush of embarrassment colors my cheeks.

Luckily there is no one around to see me stumbling like an idiot. Putting a large amount of my focus into moving as slow as possible I carefully lift one leg and move it forward taking a step. Whew so I can move it’s just going to suck going this carefully. I really hope I can adjust to this soon.

I am about to take my next step when my hunter instincts give me a sharp poke. “Hu. What do you want?” It replies with an images that says move like this, if you are going to relearn how to walk do it right. “Well you are here to help me so I guess ill give it a try.” I stand still for several minutes as I watch the mental images my class is trying to show me. The motions are light and flowing, moving soundlessly through the forest leaving almost no trace of its passing. Okay that is pretty cool, I really want to move like that.

Determined to learn this new way of moving I shift my stance and try to balance my weight more evenly. Searching the ground I find a good place to set my foot and step down an a patch of soft dirt. “Ouch!” I shout and jump a little as my class gives me a small mental zap. An image of me appears in my mind a wags it finger at me before pointing back at itself and repeating the movements. I watch closely as the other me carefully sets her feet where she wont leave tracks. She avoids soft earth, and dry leaves, while stepping lightly on rocks, roots, and hard packed soil. After moving around for a little bit the other me stops and points back at me as if to say and now you try.

It takes me nearly an hour and about 100 mental zaps to move forward 20 paces. The effort is tiring I am finally starting to get used to the new way of moving. I also notice that by focusing more intently on moving in this new way I run into fewer issues with my new stat boosted speed. The next hours pass in a blur of moving one step at a time, repeatedly loosing my balance, and mental zaps. By the time the sun starts to rise I am finally able to move at a painstakingly slow pace without getting shocked.

As the sun climbs higher into the sky My vision improves and I am able to start making faster progress. Being able to see the ground clearly, I can now move at an average walking pace without getting zapped. Yay!

With my pace increasing and the proper way to move being engrained into my mind over hours of trying I am finally able to divert some of my attention to my surrounding. Things seem different. Well not really different but I am able to see so much more. Over by that tree there are tracks from a rabbit that passed by no more than a day ago, and over there that bush is getting too much sun which will lead to a lower fruit yield. The sheer amount of information around me is staggering.

Before I had just been able to see the plants and surroundings at the most basic level. I could tell what most of them were and get a general sense of their condition, but that was just the surface. Now I can see the deeper pool. I can not only tell what a plant is but the condition it is in. If it needs more water, is too hot, and when it will bloom or produce fruit. I can also see different types of surfaces. Which ones will make noise if I step on them, which ones will leave clear tracks, and which ones will allow me to pass almost unnoticed. Beyond that I can also see the signs of recent animal activity. I can tell where their tracks are and how long they’ve been there, and I can see the places where they have spent time either eating or sleeping.

I am startled out of my inspection of the environment by the arrival of a notification.

Ding!

Skill acquired – Stealth!

Stealth – You have learned the art of hiding your presence. By learning to move carefully you have learned to step without making a sound or leaving a trace. This skill is vital to both hunters and assassins. Improve your sneaking abilities and find new ways to hide your presence to increase skill level. The higher the level of your stealth skill the less likely others are to notice you when you wish to remain hidden.

Stealth has reached level 1!

Oh a new skill! So this is why my class wanted me to move this way. If I can move silently then I will be able to sneak up on things much easier. This skill is a little different than others though. The way it is worded and the feeling I get from it indicate that repetitive action will only get me so far. It says find new ways to hide my presence so there must be other ways to hide. It probably means finding a way to hide from the other senses. So to get this skill to level up I need to find a way to hide from sight and smell. Well both of those are outside my current abilities so for now I will just focus on learning to move faster and quieter.

This is how the day goes. I take in the new information around me, and focus on learning the proper way to move. As afternoon rolls around I am able to reach a light jogging pace and the movements I need to make as well as where I need to place my feet start to feel more and more natural.

I am brought to a stop as the sky suddenly darkens as if night is falling in an instant. Looking up I see thick roiling storm clouds flashing menacingly with lightning. As the first drops of freezing cold rain start to fall I begin looking for a place to wait out the storm.

Ahead of me not too far away there is some kind of large burrow and seeing no other places I start to make my slow way towards it. My slow progress is interrupted by a bright flash and the booming crack of thunder. Off to my right a huge tree explodes as lightning shreds it all the way to the ground.

Screw it not a time for stealth. Abandoning any attempt to move the proper way and focus entirely on speed as I try to reach safety. Reaching the entrance, I dive headfirst into the burrow just as a rain of lightning starts to fall from the sky. My last thought before I fall into blackness is Aw shit this is much deeper than I thought!