“Uhhhg.” I let out a small groan. I feel like I am fighting my way through a dense fog. My muscles are sore and my thoughts are sluggish. A heavy weight rests on my chest making it hard to breath and patches of my skin feel raw and burned. I try to sift through my memories to figure out what put me in my current condition.

The process is much slower than I thought it should be. It is a little worrying but not overly so. After a little time the pieces start to fall into place. Images of my fight with the acid spraying drake and my desperate gamble for survival float to the front of my mind. Reviewing the memories causes me to wince at the many mistakes that I made.

Uhhh that was not a good fight. How could I have been so foolish. Not only did I let the stupid thing surprise me but I underestimated the effects of its acid. If I had been a little more careful I wouldn’t have taken as much damage and may have been able to get the drop on the drake instead. I also need to come up with a new way to get through thick scales for when I run into my next drake. The gravity arrows work well but perhaps there are other ways. I will need to think more on this.

Having finished going over the fight in my mind I turn my attention to the state of my body. Things are not great. Had my liquid healing matrix not had a passive ability to heal me I certainly would have died. Acid burns cover my left side, I have several broken bones, and the damage from my final lightning attack is quite extensive. When I hit the drake with the final electrical surge some of it flowed back into me leaving paths of scorched skin and fried nerves. The sensations that rise when I start feeding more power into my healing matrix are not entirely pleasant.

There is the usual relief of burns healing and skin reknitting alongside the pain that comes with the resetting and healing of bone. The most unsettling part comes from the mending of my nerves. It feels like a mix of light tingling that comes from an arm falling asleep and the sensation of small insects crawling inside my body, needles to say it was not pleasant.

Shortly after I finish healing myself the small blinking dot in the corner of my vision catches my attention and I open my notifications.

Ding!

You have defeated level 81 Acid Drake.

For Defeating an enemy more than 50 levels above you bonus experience has been awarded.

Druidic Defender has reached level 17!

Orionian Archer has reached level 8!

Liquid Healing Matrix has reached level 17!

Spellweaver has reached level 20!

You have gained enough experience to level up!

*Error* Cannot level up while soul is unstable.

Reverting to previous solution… host has reached equivalent of level 20!

Calculating attribute increases…

Strength +8

Dexterity +16

Endurance +8

8 Free stat points awarded

Well those are some nice bonuses from a single fight. I now have 13 free stat points so I might as well assign them since they don’t do any good just sitting around. I think I will distribute them into my speed and strength, that should help me to evade damage better and have a greater ability to pierce through armor.

After making my choice I distribute 7 points into dexterity and 6 points into strength. I can feel the changes flow through my body strengthening my muscles and allowing them to move quicker.

With my notifications taken care of and my healing complete I finally open my eyes. The clearing is in ruins filled with broken trees and pitted patches of ground that still steam slightly from splashes of acid. The charred body of the drake I was fighting lays next to me one of its legs resting on my chest, that must be the source of the weight I was feeling. Using my new strength and a little bit of earth magic to help me I lift the beasts remains off me and make my way to my feet.

“ Are you alright Mel? The lightning didn’t hurt you did it?” I ask as I bring a hand to my chest, gently running a finger over her surface. She responds by pulsing happily. Images of the electricity being broken down into pure mana and absorbed flow into my mind. “Ah so that’s what you did. You broke down some of the magic that was reflected into both of us. I guess you helped to save me yet again I am really starting to owe you a- hey what’s this?”

While running my finger over Mel’s surface I encounter something unexpected on the once smooth surface. Lifting Mel’s necklace up I take a closer look at her. In a small stripe along the center of the seed is a bright line of crystal. It gleams in bright shades of blue, black and purple. The color is quite mesmerizing and the transformation concerning.

“Mel what is this? Is something wrong?” I ask nervously. Mel chirps and pulses soothingly in my mind sending reassuring thoughts. “Well if you are sure that everything is fine I won’t question you on it. If that really is the case then I think we should get going, after all I am pretty sure we have several more drakes to kill and this time I don’t want to make the same mistakes as I did with this fight.”

Having made my preparations and learned from my mistakes I set out to hunt down the rest of the drakes living in the northern forest.

Over the course of the next 15 days I hunt down another 9 drakes. The fights range in difficulty from overly easy to mildly difficult. None of them were as difficult as my first battle but I did learn from my mistakes. My first improvement was in utilizing my stealth abilities to greater effect. By moving without drawing attention to myself I was able to take two of the drakes completely by surprise. Those two died instantly. I had thought it would be another tough fight but as it turns out a gravity arrow through the eye is quite lethal and… messy. Watching a fountain of blood and brain spray out of both eyes the mouth and nose was slightly unsettling.

Apart from those two I learned more about how to deal with the drakes’ breath attacks. I found that it was quite inefficient to try and block them completely but it took a lot less effort to redirect or simply dodge them. I would use small applications of water, wind, or earth magic to shunt blasts of acid, flame, and even some ice to the side. Beyond learning how to avoid the breath attacks I also learned more about how to get through their armor.

At first it seemed like a nearly impenetrable shell but there were some weak points. Most of these weak points were at joints or on the beasts underside. Between the use of my gravity arrows and exploiting these weak points I was able to bring down the other drakes without putting myself in as much danger as the first battle.

During my hunting I also gained levels to most of my skills and classes. My mana manipulation and coalescence skills increased by 4 putting them at 36 and 16 respectively. I also increased Druidic Defender to level 20 and Orionian Archer to level 17. Finally I was able to reach an equivalent of level 25 and gained some more attribute improvements. Curious to see the overall results of my hunting I opened my status and skill pages.

Status

Name:

Reiza

Classes

Druidic Defender lv 20

Level:

1

Orionian Archer lv 17

Race:

Beast-kin: Celestial Fox

-

Gender:

Female

Final Class

-

Age

14

Attributes

Strength:

71

Stamina:

887/960

Dexterity:

348

Mana:

1553/1870

Constitution:

71

Endurance:

96

Free stat points

5

Intelligence:

189

Wisdom:

187

Luck:

10

Skills

Level

Archery

14

Bow crafting

6

Coalescence

16

Elemental arrow

18

Enchanting

14

Endless song

Enhancement Matrix

3

Light Resistance

1

Liquid Healing Matrix

19

Living enchantments

Mana Channels

15

Mana Manipulation

36

Meditation

10

Mental Resistance

7

Natural Language

Pain resistance

9

Primal Senses

5

Soul Resistance

3

Speed Reading

4

Spellweaver

23

Stealth

5

Throw

18

Tireless hunt

Seeing my progress brings a happy smile to my face. I had noticed a definite improvement to my abilities over the course of my hunting. With my increased speed alone I was able to much more easily dodge and evade the attacks from the drakes.

On the subject of the drakes I believe that I have hunted all of the ones that have made their way into the northern forest but I am yet to get the notification of quest completion indicating that there is still at least one running around.

Where could they possibly be hiding? I have made my way over a large part of the northern forest and have yet to find any sign of another drake. I guess that there can be only one possible place for them to be. To finish this quest I must go to the pass. I don’t know what to expect there but the feeling I got when I had first looked at it still sits with me and makes me uneasy. Even if I am afraid of what could be in there I don’t have much of a choice.

With a growing pit of unease sitting in my chest I make my way towards the small mountain pass. Each day of travel brings me closer and closer until finally I stand inside a large clearing that surrounds the opening to the pass. The area is several hundred paces across and has nothing living inside of it. The shear force of the malevolence pouring out of that pass seems to be driving all life away.

Gritting my teeth I take several steps closer to the pass and freeze in my tracks when the entire malevolent force in the clearing concentrates on me driving me to my knees. It is almost a physical thing pressing down gazing at me and finding me lacking. After a few moments of the feeling a deep rasping laughing echoes out of the pass and rolls across the clearing. It is the sound of rock breaking mixed with the echoes of magma bubbling beneath the earth.

Out of the darkness a gleaming pair of red eyes gaze back at me. They are the color of fire and distilled hatred. With footsteps that shake the ground a drake larger than any other I have yet seen steps into the light. It has scales like soot that glow with a soft light the color of magma, claws that gleam like glassy obsidian, and a gaping maw that could easily swallow me whole. With my body trembling in fear I look upon the monster slowly emerging from the pass and my heart nearly stops when I see its information.

[Drake Broodmother – Level 237 – Mother of Ash]

L- l – level 237! Oh crap, oh crap, I can’t win this fight. I can’t even stand when it directs its full attention onto me. I should have known better. Why do I always insist upon running headfirst into every situation?

“Puny fox! I assume you are the one who is responsible for the deaths of my children. You slay them one after the other without mercy and now you have the audacity to come here and think you can face me! Your arrogance and foolishness know no bounds. By defeating my children, you have proven yourself a warrior and I shall make your death swift.”

With a sound of scales scraping over rock and bones grinding a massive pair of black wings extend from the broodmother’s back and a blast of wind propels her into the sky. Hovering above the center of the clearing she appears as a specter of death wreathed in ash. “Now small one you will die. Like the rest of this tiny forest you call home you were born from ash and to ash you shall return.”

Crushed beneath her power I can only watch as the broodmother inhales deeply, the flame and ash swirling around her. The power grows more and more and I know that I am looking at the last thing I will ever see. With a final surge of power and a blast of wind a surge of burning ash bursts forward and blacks out the sun as it descends upon me. Closing my eyes and preparing for death I am shocked into opening them at a burst of golden light and a musical cry.

Hovering in the air before me with wings spread wide is the most beautiful creature I have ever seen. Feathers the color of a gentle fire, eyes that shine like coals, and wreathed in golden flames it protects me from the storm of ash coming from the broodmother. As I stare at the massive bird a faint word echoes out of my memories. Phoenix.

When it speaks its voice is like the purest music, a song of life and hope. “Thank you for your efforts little guardian. All you have done is of great benefit to this forest, however this fight is far beyond your capabilities. Please allow me to fight this battle in your place, and to repay the great debt I owe.”

Not waiting for a response to make its way from my mouth still hung open in shock the phoenix launches itself at the drake. In a burst of ash and golden flame the two collide. The ensuing battle is nearly beyond words. The two combatants move faster than I can keep track of and the waves of heat and power nearly kill me where I sit on the ground. The musical cries of the phoenix mix with the graveling roar of the broodmother forming a wall of sound that nearly makes me deaf.

The clash grows more and more intense as the two rise higher into the sky. As the heat and noise reach a fever pitch a slow rain of scales feathers and blood start to fall across the clearing. With a growing sense of worry I watch and hope for the phoenix to come out as the victor.

A massive crash and flash of light and ash draws my attention up to the sky. The two beasts have collided and locked around each other as they start to plummet towards the ground. The broodmother claws at the phoenix’s back with leg tooth and tail while the phoenix fights back with a fury, driving claws and beak deep into the broodmother’s neck and stomach. With blood raining down the two plummet faster and faster until with a final crash that shakes the entire clearing they hit the ground disappearing in a cloud of dust.

Quest Alert: Guardian of the Forest

The heart tree is dead. You have agreed to take up its duties. This forest is now yours, but you do not control it. To carry out your new duties there is much that is required of you.

- Defeat the 4 forest queens

o Queen of illusion

o Queen of shadows

o Queen of deception

o Queen of ?????????

- Cure the blight (Complete!)

- Drive out the drakes (Complete!)

- Fix damage caused by the outsiders (Complete!)

- Grow a new heart tree

The appearance of the quest update sends a wave of relief washing through me and I start a stumbling dash forwards hoping that I will find the phoenix alive.