author note: I'm sorry about how long this took. This chapter was supposed to be out yesterday, but due to having a deadline for college work I couldn't finish it in time. Well I also only felt like playing video games after I finished the college work. Also I wanted to do an extra chapter, but I don't know what would be best to do. I was either going to just have a page of random character sketches and stuff, or maybe a Bestiary which would be cool. Or another characters perspective, I have a few planned for than but I feel as though they might be a bit spoilerish. Or I could just concentrate on the main story. What do you think?

~Day 26~

It stopped....

The last earthquake was the longest and loudest, but after it was over there's only... Silence.

Did we win?

It's early morning, the battle raged non stop for almost an entire day. About an hour had passed since the fighting stopped, but no one had come back yet. Should I go out and look for them? Or maybe they had to meet up with the Council of Ents that Ellephwen was talking about, or maybe something.... worse.

I have to search for them.

Is what I thought, but the door slowly opened.

"Get her to the bed!" Samora ordered as she held the door open for two Dryads who were carrying someone between their arms.

It was Ellephwen, she was covered in wounds and blood, but worse than that her right arm was completely gone from just below the shoulder.

I ran over to her panicked, but Samora held me back.

"Ellie, Ellie listen to me, Ellephwen will live, okay? She's not going to die, she'll be fine."

She'll be okay? She'll live? I hesitated for a moment then slowly nodded. A huge feeling of relief flowed over me. Thank the Gods she's alive, I don't want to lose someone else within a month.

"She won't be fine, she'll only have one arm." Gedill walked through the door grunting, he was followed closely by the large Bear like monster who squeezed through the door.

They were also covered in wounds, although none of them were as badly injured as Ellephwen.

"Seriously, she got sloppy. This is what you get when you decide to become a f*cking pacifist."

Samora shot him a sharp glance whilst tending to Ellephwens wounds. I can't blame her, I didn't like him when I first saw him and my opinion of him is only getting lower.

The bear thumped Gedill on the back of his head, Gedill winced in pain.

"This is why you can't get a wife, boy. I'll apologise on his behalf, please ignore whatever this child says." He apologised towards us and bowed slightly.

He's quite soft spoken. it's a complete contrast to his intimidating appearance. He was wearing heavy metal armour, I don't know what metal it is, but considering the dark shade of it I would guess Dragonstone as I heard that was a black metal. He had two large pauldrons that reached halfway up his head, and a chest plate that covered half of his torso. he also wore long greaves despite being a bear. On his back appeared to be a gigantic war hammer which would be impossible to lift for a trained human knight. He had a large scar that covered a quarter of his face.

"Child? I'm over two and a half thousand years old! That's a child" Gedill rubbed the back of his head pointing at me. Gedills over 2000 years old!? I know that Ellephwen said maturity doesn't necessarily come with age, but you would of thought 2000 years of knowledge and experience would have some effect.

"You're still a child to me, Gedill." The bear patted Gedills head as he walked past him towards me. So is he even older than Gedill?

He knelt down and looked me in the eye, even though he was kneeling he still towered over me.

"Hmm." He just seemed to be staring in to my eyes, it made me a little uncomfortable.

After a while he seemed to decide on something as he nodded his head. "Mmm, Indeed. There's definitely intelligence in those eyes. I do apologise, I've been rather rude haven't I? My name is Belric, it's good to finally meet you Ellena." Belric gave a kind smile which looked unfitting on his face.

Eh, ah well it's good to meet you too...

"Ah by the way Ellephwen is the only one with the ability to use telepathy here, so there's no way for us to know what you're thinking Ellie" Samora was walking over, it seems she's finished with treating Ellephwens wounds. I noticed Ellephwens arm behind Samora, but turned away quickly, t's difficult to look...

Samora noticed my gaze and a sympathetic smile appeared on her face. " I know you probably have many question little Ellie, but we can't answer them until Ellephwen wakes, so please wait until then."

"Or you could just tell her everything." Gedill gave Samora a cold glance.

"What..? That's a little..." Samora trailed off at the end... What were they on about, what do they mean tell me everything? Are they hiding something?

"FOR F*CKS SAKE ELF. IT'S HER DECISION ANYWAY!" Gedill yelled at Samora.

My decision..? My decision to do what?

"Whilst I don't agree with the way he expressed it I'm afraid I agree with Gedill. You and Ellephwen are too overprotective Samora. The young lady deserves to make her own decision." Belric calmly gave his opinion.

I looked at Samora, she looked extremely reluctant, what exactly was going on, how am I involved? I was getting a little anxious.

"...Fine." Samora replied meekly.

...

...

Everything had calmed down slightly, Ellephwen was patched up and sleeping in her bed and Belric used the kitchen to make everyone a cup of tea. I couldn't drink tea properly of course so I just had water. Samora, Gedill and I sat around the table whilst Belric leant against the wall as he was too large to use a normal seat.

Samora took a sip from her tea and sighed. "Where do we begin?"

"From the beginning." Belric looked at me with a serious expression and began to tell a story.

"I'll tell you how this all happened. To begin with King Lavias was once a powerful and wise King, he was an Ent, but had authority over all the monsters on the Central Continent. He created peace between us and the mortals and we prospered. Regrettably by this point he was also old, incredibly old, in fact he was over 200 thousand years old and unsurprisingly his mind was starting to fail with age. He created the Council of the Ents to manage in his stead whilst he waited for his young son to come of age. However at his coming of age ceremony, his son was assassinated. We later found out the assassin was sent by a usurper. Anyway, King Lavias saw his only child die in front of him, that on top of his already failing mind pushed him to insanity and hatred. Every one of us tried, but none could get through to him."

Belric paused for a moment and took a sip of tea. Giving a dejected sigh he carried on with the story.

"Lavias he... He went on a rampage killing any living being in his path, his dark aura drew many cruel and evil monsters to him creating a terrifying army. We, the people who loved him worked to gathera force to stop him, but even with the strongest members of every race we could still only slow him down. We had already lost most of our army so we had no belief that we could win, we kept on fighting hoping something would happen, some sort of miracle. Some of us held out hope that some of the Gods would choose to save us, but then King Lavias activated his most deadly unique skill... Cataclysm."

...Cataclysm? A line of cold sweat made it's way down past Gedills right brow as he trembled from hearing the name of the skill... What was this skill, what is it that Gedill fears? Belric thought for a moment then asked me a rhetorical question.

"2000 years ago the Central Continent was over double the size it is now, did you know that young miss?"

Belric looked at me. Double the size? What does he mean..? I thought for a moment, then it hit me and my eyes widened. Wait, he couldn't mean..? Belric saw my expression and nodded.

"Lavias destroyed half of the continent with a single use of Cataclysm. His power is truly on the level of the Gods."

That's... Insane, he destroyed a land mass large than the size of the current Central Continent with one attack? Isn't that even worse than the Krakens tsunami? how are you supposed to fight against something like that...? Belric carried on with his story.

"Lavias was temporarily weakened by his attack, Cataclysm takes about a month to charge and also makes him exhausted after its use. So before he had a chance to recover the Council of the Ents used this moment to seal him, they had no idea how long he would be sealed for, but they told us to train, to prepare for when he awakens. We had won for the time being, but at an incredible cost, on top of the destruction of many mortal Kingdoms and almost all of the Elven territories, hundreds of thousands of lives were lost."

Belric took another sip of tea.

"Obviously that's not where the story ended. The Elven elders told us they felt Lavias stirring over a decade ago, but they said it would take several decades to awaken. So I and a few others travelled around the known world to find those who might fight with us, including the ones we trained in preparation for the battle. Ellephwen stayed near Laviases tomb to watch over it and make sure none of Laviases dark servants would attempt to release him early. Then... the Humans found the tomb whilst digging for ore in the mountain. Ellephwen tried to stop them, but the lord in charge was arrogant and refused, believing that she was hiding some sort of treasure in there. Ellephwen went to the human queen instead as she was apparently a lot more reasonable, the queen promised to help, but perhaps we reached out to her too late or perhaps the greedy lord ignored his queens order. Either way Lavias awoke almost a decade earlier than we expected, the human lord and his men tried to fight him, but were instantly wiped out."

"Deserve it the stupid c*nts." Gedill grunted.

"I know you aren't fond of humans Gedill, but remember it was a monsters greed that caused all of this in the first place." Belric lectured the angry Treechild.

Belric is right, but it was still a humans fault that Ellephwen got this badly injured, as someone who was once human I understand that I shouldn't blame them all for an individuals actions, but I still can't help feeling anger at them.

...Hold on...

How did they beat Lavias this time around? I would be dead if he had used Cataclysm and they said themselves that it was the only reason they managed to succeed back then.

"You're probably wondering how we won, aren't you?" Belric asked me. He's quite sharp.

"The truth is little miss, we didn't. He's still alive."

What? Then why aren't they panicking!? If he's still out there then... Wait, calm down the fighting stopped and we're not dead, they must have stopped his movement or something.

"Oooh? You calmed down quite quick there little miss. A fast thinker are we? Yes, it's probably as you've guessed we managed to subdue him, for now. The Council of the Ents are currently holding Lavias frozen in time, they had to be frozen too, but it's stopping his movements for now. However they said they can only just hold him around a year. One council member stayed behind to oversee preperatiosn for one year from now. To start with she is sending out messengers to all the kingdoms of the known world to tell them the situation and ask them to gather their best warriors, they are also to look for reincarnated people."

Eh? Reincarnated people... Why them? Samora noticed my quizzical expression and patted my head.

"To be honest Ellena this is where you come in. Reincarnated people are often favoured by one of the Gods, so they often hold incredible power, regardless of which world they originated from. This includes you."

Eh? Powerful? I suppose I'm getting stronger, but-

...Wait a minute, they're gathering reincarnated people to fight Lavias... Including me?

"No one can recall a human reincarnating in to a monster before now, you're unique so we had no idea about what your potential might be when Ellephwen first told us about you. The fact is, the speed you're growing is unusual even for a reincarnated person, most of us believe this is something to do with monsters being able to fight from the first day of their birth. Although some members of the Council believe you are some sort of hero, sent to protect us.."

"Hero? Load of old sh*t." ...For once I agree with Gedill, I'm definitely not something as grand as a hero, although after hearing all that it's a bit embarrassing that my original reason for training so hard is that I wanted arms... Well I still want arms now, but I'm not telling them that.

Belric continued after giving Gedill a harsh glance.

"Ellephwen and Samora didn't want to ask you, they wanted to protect you, but with the situation we're currently in we need all the help we can get."

Just as I thought, even Samora is overprotective, huh? Belric walked over to me and knelt in front of my chair whilst looking in my eyes.

"So, we're asking that you help fight Lavias in a years time. We're not going to stop you from doing what you planned to do with your new life, in fact I personally encourage it, the chances are you're likely to die, the chances are we will all die. Because of that the choice is entirely yours, no one will force you."

...

The answer to that should be obvious shouldn't it? Of course I'll help, even if I don't the continent will probably be destroyed anyway, so what would I do then? That's what I would tell him, if I could talk. Belric grunted lightly in approval.

"Hmph. I can already tell what your decision is from the determination in your eyes." He stood up.

"Miss Samora, look after Ellephwen." Belric placed his cup on the table and headed for the door.

"It was good to meet you, little miss." With that Belric walked through the door.

Gedill left a short while after, but not before ordering me to look for powerful allies throughout the year. I really can't bring myself to like that man, what was even doing here? Does he even care about anyone... Hmm, I suppose he must care about something, he's fighting with his life on the line after all, he couldn't do that if he was entirely heartless. Is he just too scared to show affection? He really is immature.

"Ellie..." Hmm? Ah yes, Samora's still here, it seemed like she was pondering whether to tell me something.

"Um, Since we decided to tell you everything... There's something else. The Elven elders also felt... something else, they don't know what it is, but it scares them more Lavias does. Belric didn't tell you as we have the immediate danger to think about, but we have no idea what is out there, so just be careful, okay?"

Something else? That's very... Vague, what does that even mean? Why do Elves always have to be so mysterious and secretive?

Samora got up from her chair and walked over to Ellephwen, leaning down, Samora kissed Ellephwen forehead. "She saved my life yesterday, that's how she got so injured. So, look after her for me whilst I'm gone, okay Ellie?"

So that's how she got injured? I nodded, making Samora smile lightly. What? I'm not going to blame Samora for something Ellephwen chose to do, that would make me no better than Gedill. Besides she's being so serious tonight, I can't be angry at her.

"It's late, so I'm going to head back to the village now, they'll want to know how everything went anyway." Samora walked to the door and opened it suddenly stopping.

"Actually, one more thing before I go, can I sleep with you toni-"

I head butted the door closed locking her outside, then went to bed.

Still it looks like I gained a large goal...

~Day 27~

Ellephwen still wasn't awake.

Samora stopped by to check up on her and said it might take a few days for her to wake. Usually she would be able to regenerate a limb with her skills, but Laviases dark aura stops regenerative skills from working properly. So that means no one can regenerate whilst fighting him? Well I suppose that's something I have that to worry about in a year.

Anyway, today I'll finally get back to levelling, it's not as if there's anything else I can do anyway. On my way to the dungeon I walked to the edge of the cliff I first fell down and looked over the forest below. Hmm, just as I thought, in the distance I could see a huge tree that towered over the rest of the forest several times over, around it were a few trees slightly larger than the others. That must be Lavias and the Council of the Ents, Lavias is... gigantic, I don't know how else to describe him, the stillness of his body is eerie, not even the wind ruffles the leaves on his head...

I know I promised I would fight him, but how exactly do you fight something like that? Just thinking about what kind of army will we need to fight it... I smiled slightly... Really, am I really looking forward to this battle? A battle where many people will die? I suppose I can't really help it, I wonder if I would have enjoyed battle just as much in my human life?

I hurried to the dungeon, filled with a new determination to get stronger, I did as I usually do and used my Guardian aura to kill as many monsters on the way there as I could.

After walking for a while I reached where I was planning to train today, the Mollits den. I wanted to defeat all the bosses on this floor first before I go down to the next floor. So I wanted to find all the bosses before deciding which order to fight them in, I've still only found the Rat Lord so I don't even know if there are any more than that. I had gotten quite far in to the Mollits territory, it seems to be larger than the Wolves and the Rats, most likely due to their greater strength. By this point I had already killed 11 Crying Mollits and have levelled up quite a few levels.

Overall level has increased from [Level 48] to [Level 56]

[{Mushroom Helmet lvl 20}] has increased to [{Mushroom Helmet 22}]

[Unarmed Combat Journeyman lvl 3] has increased to [Unarmed Combat Journeyman lvl 4]

[Swiftfoot lvl 8] has increased to [Swiftfoot lvl 9]

[Warriors Heart lvl 11] has increased to [Warriors Heart lvl 12]

[Warriors Will lvl 8] has increased to [Warriors Will lvl 9]

[Lesser Regeneration lvl 8] has increased to [Lesser Regeneration lvl 9]

Swiftfoot is almost max level, I do use it a lot after all. I am probably faster than an adult Black Wolf by now, although that still doesn't mean I can dodge all attacks of course. Especially when facing three Crying Mollits, which I had to do earlier, they seem quite slow by now, but just one hit still deals a lot of damage.

The Mollits den is a little frustrating, it's relatively maze-like with many tunnels with dead ends around the place, but I think I've finally reached somewhere significant. It was a large open area which in dungeons seems to signify something important. It was extremely dark inside, which made sense considering the Mollits hatred of sunlight, even my Night Vision was having a bit of trouble.

[Night Vision lvl 9] has increased to [Night Vision lvl 10 (Max)]

Night Vision has reached max level.

Branch skill [Amplified Vision lvl 1] learnt.

My first max level, well that's to be expected I've been using Night Vision a lot. More importantly though is my first branch skill. A branch skill is a skill that's possible to acquire after reaching max level for a normal skill. They're related to the skill you had previously, but are difficult to acquire any other way.

So Amplified Vision is it? From the name I'm guessing it helps improve my vision in general? I'll have to check Ellephwens book when I get back... Although I can't exactly open a book properly without hands...

I'll just see if anything in my vision has changed.

Hmm, well I can at least say it's a lot brighter, but that's because of Night Vision reaching max level. The room was pretty large, not particularly tall just very wide. I can't really tell what Amplified Vision does, nothing really seems that different about my vision... Wait, somehow I can see details, details on everything quite far away. Is that what it does, gives me the ability to see further in detail? I can see the uses in that, it will help me scout the dungeon easier, so I can make better decisions and in a years time it might help to co ordinate our forces in the battle, well if it's utilised properly, but as someone with no knowledge in how to command I don't think it would be.

The room had many Mollit families scattered around, Mollits were quite solitary monsters, but they stay with their child until they become old enough to be independent at least. I still don't have any desire to kill children, so I'm not going to attack any of these families. Should I turn back? No, there are a lot of tunnels leading off from this room, I'm quite small so I could probably sneak past the Mollits and try the tunnels out. I'll search through as many as I can before I head home.

...

...

I finished exploring the fifth tunnel and it was another dead end, all of the tunnels I've searched so far seem to just be homes dug out by the Mollits. Of course being their homes there were several Mollits in each one and some had children. I tried to avoid killing any children, so I got quite injured from running away. At this point i'm too exhausted to properly explore anymore tunnels. It looked like there were about fifteen tunnels in total, so I managed to get through a third of them. I'll get through the rest tomorrow, I really want to know what the Mollit boss looks like.

I began my walk home, whilst searching the tunnels I managed to kill 9 more Mollits and on my way out of the dungeon I killed a few Grey Wolves, Horned Rats and Razbats. Obviously I gained a few more levels.

Overall level has increased from [Level 56] to [Level 62]

[{Mushroom Helmet lvl 22}] has increased to [{Mushroom Helmet 23}]

[Warriors Heart lvl 12] has increased to [Warriors Heart lvl 13]

[Warriors Will lvl 9] has increased to [Warriors Will lvl 10]

It's becoming a lot harder to level up skills as time goes on, is it just because the skills take more to level up when they're higher level, or is it harder because I'm higher level?

There's no real way to know...

I arrived home nudging the door open, Samora was in the kitchen making food, Ellephwen was still asleep, but her bandages had been changed and she looked a lot healthier.

"Ah, Ellie you're back. I'm making you dinner, you didn't eat last night with everything going on." She said turning her head.

Whilst that's true all I need to eat is moss, so I just ate plenty on the way to and from the dungeon today. Still I'm very grateful.

I sat at the table as Samora brought over a moss meal that looked quite similar to what Ellephwen might make.

"Ellephwen taught me how to cook, it's nowhere near as good as hers, but enjoy." She place it in front of me.

I happily ate the meal, even if it wasn't as good as Ellephwens, it was still tastey. Samora also finished her own meal with a satisfied look.

Obviously there wasn't going to be any sort of education today, so I decided to have an early night, maybe wake up earlier tomorrow and get more dungeon time in. I bowed towards Samora to thank her for the meal and walked over to my bed. As I closed my eyes to sleep I felt a presence standing over me, opening my eyes it was Samora.

"Um... I don't have to get back to the village tonight, so can I sleep with you this time?"

I don't understand why she wants to sleep with me so much, I can't imagine anyone is attracted to Mushmen and being a Guardian I'm not exactly as soft as a normal Mushman, so I'm not cuddly. Still, it's not like I'm against her sleeping in my bed, it'll feel less empty at the very least.

I moved over to give Samora room to get in. Her face lit up and she hurriedly blew out all the candles in the room and jumped in to my bed nuzzling me.

Samora hugged me in her arms and quickly succumbed to sleep. It reminds me of my old life, my old parents. Well Samora isn't exactly parent-like, but still it's... warm.

~Day 28~

I woke feeling a little cold, turning to the right Samora had pulled all the bedsheets around her. I was a little annoyed, so I head butted her out of bed. She writhed around on the floor a little, but stayed asleep.

She really isn't much of a morning person, is she?

Well it looks like I woke up quite early, so I can't be too annoyed at her. I suppose I should leave for the dungeon early to try and get through the rest of the Mollit tunnels. I looked over at Ellephwens bed, I hope she's awake by the time I get back...

I didn't activate Guardian today, after all I don't want to badly damage the nearby monsters total population, well I could only do so for the weaker species, but it would still upset the forest ecosystem.

I reached the main chamber of the Mollits, and ventured in to the tunnels. I reached the eleventh tunnel quite fast, there weren't any significant differences between the previous ten tunnels. Of course there were Mollits in them so I managed to achieve 14 kills, I've become quite adept at fighting Mollits now, or at least Crying Mollits I don't know how their evolutions differ.

Overall level has increased from [Level 61] to [Level 68]

[Amplified Vision lvl 1] has increased to [Amplified Vision lvl 2]

[{Mushroom Helmet lvl 23}] has increased to [{Mushroom Helmet lvl 24}]

[Unarmed Combat Journeyman lvl 4] has increased to [Unarmed Combat Journeyman lvl 5]

[Warriors Heart lvl 13] has increased to [Warriors Heart lvl 14]

[Lesser Regeneration lvl 9] has increased to [Lesser Regeneration lvl 10]

Lesser Regeneration is almost ready to evolve, I should get a huge boost to my healing speed and it might possibly begin to regenerate lost flesh.

Anyway just as I hinted at earlier, I found something different in the eleventh tunnel. Inside a large room was a lone Mollit sitting amongst a huge pile of monster corpses and mortal bones, a lot more than the Rat Lords pile. This Mollit was clearly a boss, he was about double the size of the others at about 16 ft, his fur was a darker shade of brown and he had long, sharp claws. His body was also covered in scars. He may be on his own, but that doesn't mean he'll be easier than the Rat Lord who has bodyguards. I imagine quite a lot more difficult actually. So for now I'll leave him alone, it's quite obvious I would just get killed if I attacked him now.

I can't wait until I'm strong enough to face him.

I carried on with the rest of the tunnels. They were exactly the same as the first 10, dug out homes of the Crying Mollits, although they did seem to be quite a lot larger so they took a while to explore fully. Anyway after fighting and killing an unusually large group of four Mollits something surprising happened.

[Swiftfoot lvl 9] has increased to Swiftfoot lvl 10]

... There's nothing about reaching max level... Swiftfoot is definitely not unique and it definitely wasn't a dormant skill, which means... It's an evolution skill? That means when it evolves I can go even faster than I can right now, several times in fact! This is quite interesting, I wonder if any of my other skills are actually evolution skills?

Now then, it's getting late, I did explore 10 tunnels today after all, if I didn't wake up earlier I would have had to stop at the Mollit Bosses room. So I guess I'll head home for now. I had killed another 8 Crying Mollits so on top of Swiftfoot I gained a few other levels as well.

Overall level has increased from [Level 68] to [Level 72]

[{Mushroom Helmet lvl 24}] has increased to [{Mushroom Helmet lvl 25}]

However, I've finished exploring pretty much everywhere on the first floor... What should I do from tomorrow onwards? I suppose first I should confirm whether or not the Grey Wolves also have a leader. I will have to fight through large groups of Elder Grey Wolves, but I should be able to fight them easier than before.

I arrived home to find Ellephwen sitting up in her bed being fed soup by Samora, Ellephwen smiled when she saw me. She looked mostly healthy, but there was definitely pain in her eyes, it seems like she didn't only suffer physical damage from Laviases attack. More importantly though, she's finally awake...

I walked up to them smiling, I wish I had arms to hug her with.

"Don't worry Ellena, the sentiment is enough for me." Ellephwen replied to my thoughts, I've missed being able to have a proper conversation.

Samora placed the soup bowl on the bedside Cabinet. "I'll let you two talk for a moment." She got up and walked out the door, I don't think she needed to that, I don't think either of us would've minded her being here.

"Samora is just being polite, Ellena." Ellephwen was smiling warmly.

"I heard what happened, I knew that you would accept, which is why I was so reluctant to tell you, I hope you can forgive me." Her voice seemed to hold genuine guilt.

There's nothing to feel guilt for, though. Hiding bad things from a child is an adults job after all.

Ellephwen breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Ellena, but really please think about it some more, you don't have to fight Lavias."

I know I don't, but I couldn't live with myself if I didn't. Ellephwen had a complicated expression on her face. Then she looked like she remembered something.

"Ah, I'm afraid I'm in no state to make dinner at the moment and Samora has told me to stay in bed for a few more days, so she will be staying with us to look after me and cook dinner."

Well I wasn't exactly going to ask you to make me dinner, but if Samora's staying what about the village? Will they be okay without their healer?

"Samora has a few apprentices, they can handle most light injuries and problems. If anything happens that they can't handle they can always come here to her."

Apprentices? It's hard to imagine that Elf with apprentices, it's a little scary actually.

"Samora, you can come back in now!" Ellephwen raised her voice slightly. Samora came back in and immediately carried on feeding Ellephwen the soup.

"If you don't eat it now, it will get cold." She explained.

After feeding Ellephwen the soup, Samora made dinner for us. I ate it gladly once again and thanked Samora the same way as yesterday, I think her cooking has already improve from yesterday, did Ellephwen give her some tips today? I walked over to Ellephwen to ask if there would be any education today.

"Sorry Ellena, I only woke a few hours ago. I'm still too weak to keep up such a long continued use of telepathy." She apologised looking a little dejected.

Samora came over and helped Ellephwen lie down in her bed. "It's best to let her rest for now, she'll be more active tomorrow, so you can carry on learning about the world tomorrow. Get an early night tonight Ellie." She sounded a little excited about the last part. I guess she was hoping to sleep with me again? Looking around there isn't anywhere else for her to sleep whilst she stays here, so I guess there's no other choice.

I internally sighed whilst getting in to bed. Whilst I don't mind Samora sleeping with me too much, I don't want her to steal my sheets again.

Samora climbed in to my bed after cleaning up the kitchen and putting out the candles.

"Don't do anything weird to Ellena." Ellephwen warned Samora.

"I'm just cuddling her!" Samora replied angrily.

~Day 29~

I didn't wake up cold this morning, in fact I was quite warm. Samora was wrapped around me with an iron grip. I couldn't move an inch, so It was impossible to escape until she wakes up and gets off me.

It took over an hour, but she finally woke, she wished me good morning whilst stretching, still I have to ask, when did she take her clothes off?

Ellephwen woke a few minutes after and gave Samora a menacing stare. I told her that Samora didn't actually do anything, as she didn't, she just seems to be a bad sleeper.

Since Samora was awake today she made me lunch. As I left for the day both of them wished me luck in dungeon. I made my way there quickly and immediately headed for the unexplored tunnel of the Elder Grey Wolves. I killed a few monsters on the way, but I didn't seem to gain any levels, is that how much of a difference a few levels make?

With my new skill I could see a lot further down the tunnel, there was a clear entrance to a large room further down. What is it with the monster bosses and large imposing rooms?

I slowly made my way down the tunnel, killing all the Elder Grey Wolves on the way, if I think about it they must have lived for a long time to become Elders, it's kind of sad that they're being killed by a month old Mushroom. I offered them a mental apology.

Speaking of Mushrooms, it's about time I should think about my next evolution. It should only be a few days from now, I guess I really am levelling unusually fast? Still should I stay as a Mushman? I don't really have any desire to do so though, it's just that I've grown used to being one. What about a Treechild? I should be able to choose to evolve in to one this time too, just a higher ranked one... Ah, but that means Gedill might try to marry me, so that's out of the question. Hmm, I think I might just see if I get another variant, regardless of what species it is a variant is more powerful than a normal monster, so if there is one I should choose that.

Anyway I reached the entrance to the room, I had been injured quite a lot by the large number of Elder Grey Wolves I fought, if I had fought them all at once I would have been killed. I ended up with a kill count of 23 Elder Grey Wolves. Obviously this let me grow quite a few levels.

Overall level has increased from [Level 72] to [Level 78]

[{Mushroom Helmet lvl 25}] has increased to [{Mushroom Helmet lvl 26}]

[Unarmed Combat Journeyman lvl 5] has increased to [Unarmed Combat Journeyman lvl 6]

[Warriors Heart lvl 14] has increased to [Warriors Heart lvl 15]

[Warriors Will lvl 10] has increased to [Warriors Will lvl 11]

So with that I arrived at the Grey Wolves leaders base, however I'm a little disappointed. I can't see any sign of a more powerful Grey Wolf in here, just about ten Elders. There were definitely signs that a powerful Wolf once lived here at least, the room was filled with corpses just as the other two were. A large overhanging rock that looked like an imposing pedestal in the back of the room seemed perfect for a pack leader. There was also a small crack in the wall which leaked in a pond of water from the Wolves feeding room.

So do the Wolves even have a boss, or is their pack leader just the most Powerful Elder Wolf here?

*Groooooowl*

There was a low, guttural growl behind me, slowly turning around a large one eyed Grey Wolf towered over me.

Ah, so he was just out of his house.

He lunged at me opening his mouth as he did so, he was large enough that a single bite would almost cut me in half. I dodged out the way, but wasn't quick enough and a huge chunk of my head was ripped off the rest of my body. With my high defence he struggled to bite through me properly, but that didn't stop the horrifying pain. I let out a few strained squeaks in agony. The nearby cave walls and Wolves were practically drowned in my blood. My wounds began to close quickly, but this was still a terrible situation.

[Health: 31/141]

Almost all of my health in a single bite. I had to run, I definitely wouldn't stand a chance against this giant Wolf now. I sprinted away as fast as I could, looking behind me I could just about see him behind me, but he seemed to be having trouble keeping up with me due to having to lead his large body through these tunnels. I ran until I reached the entrance to the dungeon, running out I hid behind a tree and held in my pained breath.

...

It looks like I lost him, thanks the Gods for Swiftfoot...

So I should be safe for now? First things first I need to heal, obviously I'm going to need to head back home for now. As I was thinking this my wounds carried on healing.

[Pain Resistance lvl 8] has increased to [Pain Resistance lvl 9]

[Lesser Regeneration lvl 10] has evolved into [Intermediate Regeneration lvl 1]

Finally, my Regeneration evolved. It seemed to have a large effect, my wounds were definitely healing a lot faster, they were already fully closed up, however I felt an uncomfortable sensation around my head. What is this feeling?

...Wait, could it be? I had to confirm something.

I remember there being a small pond on the way back home, I quickly ran to it and looked at my reflection in the water. I was in a terrible state, half of my upper body had been bitten off, I didn't notice whilst I was running, but one of my eyes was hanging in its socket half eaten, I don't know how I'm still alive. Still it wont be like this much longer, it would seem that evolving my Regeneration skill has given me the ability to regenerate body parts. The original chunk ripped out of my helmet was quite clearly getting smaller, it was extremely slow, but it was definitely healing.

I suppose I should thank the pack leader for trying to kill me then?

I think I'll just stay here until I heal, it looks quite safe and it's far enough away from the dungeon to not be a part of the Wolves hunting grounds, so I should be okay here.

...

...

A few hours had passed, I fell asleep at some point, but that's no wonder considering how exhausted I was from running. Speaking of running I'm surprised that Swiftfoot didn't evolve. It does seem that the final level up to evolve does take a bit more time, but still I did run a lot.

Anyway I need to check to see how the healing went. It seems whilst I slept my Regeneration grew another level, so it must have been working.

I looked at my reflection in the pond... My body was... whole, I can't believe it, even my eye was healed. Well there was some scarring including one down the side of my eye, but I can easily put up with that a lot more than actually having parts of my body missing.

It was getting dark and I was hungry, so I must have slept for quite a few hours. I decided to head home now before Samora and Ellephwen start worrying. I'm already halfway there after all.

I arrived home and they both started to greet me before noticing the changes to my body. Ellephwen was still sitting up in her bed, but her eyes looked a little brighter today, Samora was cooking dinner.

Ellephwen asked me what happened so I explained the events of today. She listened intently and looked upset at the part with the pack leader. I made sure to make it sound less horrific than it actually was, but she could read my mind so obviously she looked at my memory as well as the story I was telling her. After I finished Ellephwen summed it up for Samora who was waiting patiently.

"YOU CAN'T GO BACK THERE ELLLIE!" Samora ran up to me hugging me. Ellephwen, you could have made it sound a bit less horrific. From Ellephwens look she interpreted it as brutally as possible as punishment for me getting injured, it's not like it was my fault that the pack leader sneaked behind me. Besides if I don't go there where else will I train?

*Sigh* "Samora, as much as I don't want to put my Kin in any danger, it is her decision in the end and she has already decided to go again tomorrow, right Ellena?" Ellephwen didn't even need to read my mind.

Obviously I would be back in the dungeon tomorrow. It's an excellent place to train, so as long as I don't go to any of the boss rooms I should still be able to level up quite quickly. Once I evolve, I should be able to fight the three bosses, at least I hope.

After crying and hugging me for a little while longer, Samora eventually calmed down. She seemed to have accepted that she can't change my mind and has carried on making dinner whilst snivelling. I asked Ellephwen if she was well enough to teach me anything today. She told me she was, but it wouldn't be anything too detailed, she also said that there wasn't much else she could tell me that I couldn't learn myself.

Today she wanted to talk to me about the Great Hevenpar Empire, I noticed it on the maps, but the Empire has been around since before my life as a human. Ellephwen told me that the Empire was founded in 650cy by Talenthaw Hevenpar a human warrior who was the child of a guild leader. Talenthaw was charismatic and a prodigious warrior. His ability to command and lead others quickly led him to take his fathers position and command the guild. One day his guild was hired by the kingdom to be on the front lines of a war with their neighbouring kingdom. Whilst directly under the Kings command he realised that the King and a large number of the nobles in his country were corrupt. He loved his kingdom and couldn't stand what the current king was doing to it, however he couldn't do anything whilst they were already at war as it would destroy their country. So he bided his time making allies with the more honourable nobles and other guild leaders to kill the corrupt king.

They eventually won the war and Talenthaw had a decent backing behind him, so he declared war on the king, with the kings forces damaged by the war Talenthaws victory came quite easy. After his victory the surviving leaders insisted that he should be crowned king, Talenthaw being quite a humble man eventually hesitantly agreed and the kingdom of Hevenpar was formed. Soon a few smaller kingdoms near Hevenpar offered their vassalage fearing the new king and eventually Hevenpar became know as the Great Hevenpar Empire.

Although the Empire has been ruled by the same family since it's founding the last few rulers have been quite aggressive and the Empires been expanding. A lot of the other countries on the Central Continent have been talking about making alliances against the Empire which is the most powerful mortal country on the Continent.

Well I did know about how powerful the Empire was in my old life even the nobles on the island I lived on feared the Empire a little. I haven't heard it's origin story before though. I'm sure there was more Ellephwen wanted to tell me about it, but she was a bit tired now, besides I have no plans to go visit the Empire.

Samora had finished making dinner at this point and after being fed Ellephwen quickly fell asleep. How bad was the damage she suffered?

Once again Samora slept with me, she smiled happily as she fell asleep. I wonder how much longer she'll being staying? Maybe she should make her own bed or something...

Soon after Samora, I also fell asleep.

~Day 30~

As usual I set of for the dungeon early in the morning, only this time I had no particular goal in mind other than just kill. Which will be my goal until I evolve.

Arriving at the dungeon I got on with my hunting. I went to each of the first floors different territories. I started with the Grey Wolves, then the Horned Rats and finally the Crying Mollits. Obviously I made sure to stay clear of the boss rooms, I don't want a repeat of yesterday.

There weren't any stand out battle in particular, I've found that with my current mana I can use Mushroom Shield in quick succession and I've gotten quite adept at using it too, so that helped a lot. By the end of the days training I had killed 13 Grey Wolves, 4 Elder Grey Wolves, 21 Horned Rats, 31 Razbats and 6 Crying Mollits. Their population was replenishing quickly, but it was quite difficult finding enemies at some points. I still levelled up quite a bit from a day of non stop grinding. Usually I have a goal in mind so i'm doing something other than just killing monsters.

Overall level has increased from [Level 78] to [Level 87]

[Amplified Vision lvl 2] has increased to [Amplified Vision lvl 3]

[{Mushroom Helmet lvl 26}] has increased to [{Mushroom Helmet lvl 28}]

[Unarmed Combat Journeyman lvl 6] has increased to [Unarmed Combat Journeyman lvl 7]

[Swiftfoot lvl 10] has evolved into [Kingsfoot lvl 1]

[Warriors Heart lvl 15] has increased to [Warriors Heart lvl 16]

[Warriors Will lvl 11] has increased to [Warriors Will lvl 12]

It was a good day of training. Obviously the most important thing is that I had confirmed that Swiftfoot was indeed an evolutionary skill. Now it was Kingsfoot... When I squired it I noticed a significant increase to my speed. None of the basic monsters on this floor could touch me any more.

Since it was already about time to go home, I began walking to the exit from the Mollits territory. However I spotted something new in this dungeon.

Adventurers...

It was my first time seeing any, well it's not likes it's surprising that there were adventurers in a dungeon it's just I hadn't seen any since I started training here so I thought this dungeon wasn't well known. There were three of them in total, one human boy who looked about sixteen using two small daggers, a human girl that looked about the same age who was clearly a support mage and a Beastkin Horseman who looked to be in his mid twenties, he seemed to be the vanguard with a large tower shield and spear. They were under attack by two Crying Mollits, the Horseman was desperately trying to fend them off whilst the human girl was trying to heal the boy. They were obviously in trouble, so does that make me who can easily fight two Crying Mollits stronger than a whole party of mortals? That's surprising, I thought I was quite strong for a Mushman, but now that I thnk about it my current stats are better than when I was a human...

Anyway I should probably help them out, theres a chance that they might attack me in confusion, but I can't just sit here and watch them die. I activated Mushroom Shield and smashed the head of one of the Mollits in to the cave wall and with my new greater speed got in between the other one and the Horseman. He looked dumbfounded and let his guard down, if he let his guard down this easily then they must be new adventurers right? I quickly finished the other Mollit off and turned around, I gained another level as well so I'm not going to complain.

The Horseman quickly put up his shield towards me, a bead of sweat travelled down his face. Am I scary? Ah, of course an oddly violent and scarred Mushman just came in and beat too clearly superior opponents with ease. It only makes sense to be a little scared.

"No Iven, stop.... He saved us." the young girl grabbed the Horseman Ivens arm with a concerned look on her face. I heard that Mages were usually wiser than most their age and this girl seemed to be no exception.

Still 'he'... I'm a little miffed at that, do you just assume every monster is a male? Wait... I've been doing that too...

The Horseman had a calm, rough face, but after hesitating for a moment let his guard down, so he trusts the mages word?

The mage went back to healing the young boy, the boy was staring at me.

"He is a Mushman isn't he Ayla? I've never seen a Mushman like that before... Especially one so... Strong." The boy directed a question towards the mage whilst staring at me. He said it in a very strained voice and was losing a lot of blood, it looks like the mage wasn't skilled enough to heal him, he must have been swiped by a Mollit causing a deep wound.

"They taught us about variants at the guild remember, Terrin? I'm guessing he's one of them. Now stay quiet and stay still, this is... difficult." Ayla, the mage must have realised that she couldn't heal the boy Terrin, but she was still trying.

I can't just stand here and watch this boy die, I need to bring him to Samora. It might be a little dangerous, but I think these three are good people. They at least don't attack pointlessly.

I walked over to Ayla and bit on to the mages robe she was wearing, nudging her in the direction of the dungeon entrance. Noticing me she tilted her head in confusion I walked towards entrance and looked back at them.

"Eh, are you telling us to follow you?" She exclaimed shocked.

I nodded my head. All three of them reeled back in shock slightly.

"Um... Could it be that you understand the common tongue?" She asked hesitantly.

I nodded again.

"Just what kind of Mushman are you..?" Terrin asked bewildered.

Ayla seemed to think for a moment then told Ivan to carry Terrin, he obeyed quite easily. Ayla must be the party leader.

They closely followed me as I brought them to Ellephwen home. They looked surprised to see a door in the side of a giant tree. I nudged to door open and led them inside.

"Ah Ellena welcome ba-" Samora said whilst turning around before noticing the three mortals behind me.

"Who might you be?" Ellephwen asked calmly.

They're three adventurers I saved in the Dungeon, the boy is badly injured and the mage isn't skilled enough to save him, so I brought them here. Don't worry they don't seem to be the violent type.

"Uh, we're just thre-" Ayla began.

"It's quite alright, child. Ellena has already told me who you are through telepathy." Ellephwen interrupted.

"Eh, the Mushmans called Ellena? So it's a girl?" Terrin asked panicking.

Yes that's right I'm a girl, I know it's hard to tell on a Mushman, but it's still a bit upsetting.

" More importantly, did you say telepathy? A Dryad that can use telepathy in this part of the forest and an Lake Elf here too... You couldn't possibly be Lady Ellephwen and Lady Samora could you?" Ayla asked looking at both of them.

"That is correct child, was your guild part of the team that fought King Lavias the other day?" Ellephwen asked.

"Ye- Yes! It's an honour to meet you both! I suppose it makes sense that such a powerful Mushman is somehow related to Lady Ellephwen!" Ayla was fumbling words whilst blushing, was Ellephwen her idol or something?

"Yes, young Ellena is my kin, but that isn't why she is so strong. More importantly child, what were you doing in such a difficult dungeon?"

"Ah..." Ayla hesitated for a moment and began to tell us about the situation on the side of the mortals...

...

...

Whilst Samora healed Terrin Ayla told us about their situation.

It seemed as though the queen told her people about the threat of Lavias, the guild that these three were a part of sent it's members to the forest to train hard ready for the battle. Of course their guild already knew about Lavias because they were at the battle, but with official confirmation from the queen it meant they could concentrate on levelling instead of worrying about guild requests. The three of them discovered the dungeon whilst training today and not thinking much of it dived in, because of me killing most of the monsters they didn't encounter anything too difficult and let their guard down, so the Mollits caught them off guard getting Terrin badly injured.

We continued to talk for a while and they even had dinner with us. After Terrin was fully healed the three young adventurers left to go back to their camp. Before they left Ellephwen told them about another dungeon which should be easier for them. She also warned them that they shouldn't fight Lavias, but they seem determined to be of help... Really I hope they stay out of the battle, I don't want to see those three hurt.

It was already late, so we all headed for bed, as I fell asleep I thought about visiting the three of them when I evolved, to have a proper conversation with them.

That would be nice, I think.

[Name: Ellena]

[Age: 29 Days]

[Species: Mushman Guardian, Mushman]

[Height: 4'-4"]

[Sex: Female]

[Title: Kin of Ellephwen]

{Level: 88] + 40

[Health: 170/170] + 69

[Mana: 44/44] +16

[Stamina: 175/175] +62

[Hunger: 175/175] +62

[Attack: 138] +39

[Defence: 335] +113

[Magic Attack: 51] +19

[Magic Defence: 123] +48

[Skills: [Pain Resistance lvl 9] Up! [Night vision lvl 10 (max)] Up! [Amplified Vision lvl 3] Gain! [{Mushroom Helmet lvl 28}] Up! [tough stomach lvl 6] Up! [Unarmed Combat Journeyman lvl 7] Up! [Kingsfoot lvl 1] Up! [Warriors Heart lvl 16] Up! [Warriors Will lvl 12] Up! [Intermediate Regeneration lvl 2] Up! [Guardian lvl 6]]