If only something interesting happened those days, I would excitedly regale them to you—alas though every moment may build up to the future, it would sound like naught but filler. For several days we traversed the forest unhindered. A combination of wary pathfinding and the undead present in the distance. Perhaps if I let up on their patrols it would be more likely for us to come across an encounter, but that would be too forced; I didn't want to drive us into danger, it would just be an entertaining diversion. The safety of my companions was paramount and would not be intentionally compromised.

At least before anything of note happened, they settled during our travels, albeit resulting in a less vibrant tone than desired. Instead of adventure it would be more apt to call it a nature hike. The plots and contingencies to let our group remain at peace were simply too effective.

Lacking in action wasn't all bad of course. Verdant foliage dappled with sunlight accompanied a peaceful journey, and I had plenty of time to teach Tagalong Girl in the ways of the woods. Low-tech civilizations were more in tune with nature than a modern society in general, but they still couldn’t match a mature hobbyist with access to the internet.

My pupil wasn't slow, and only needed to be reminded a few times before fully correcting her habits, but neither did she pick up on the methods quickly. Indeed, between the lapses in her vigilance towards the surroundings and undeveloped form, even a small encounter would have been too much for we to handle. I spent the nights alone, keeping watch while the two slept.

That may have been the first step towards encountering problems. In the new world I spent two days awake to better match my old sleep schedule, but on the sixth day of our journey staying up all night, things started to feel a bit trying.

It may not have been very long objectively, but the dead time felt especially arduous. Tagalong Girl slept lightly, prone to waking up in the night. Blearily shambling out from her covers to relieve herself—a habit I hoped to break until she could manage herself—Clavi and his siblings couldn't come out to play in case she woke. The only magic practiced to its full extent happened to be conducting the motions of the distant grave shadows.

Without being truly linked to their experiences, reading the console instead of a graphical interface, the process did feel much more natural over time. However like gazing out a passenger window, scenery quickly blurred and was put out of mind after leaving the field of vision. Soon I could push my grave shadows to the soft cap with full control, but began paying less attention beyond short term results.

Six days of vague sensory input and a lack of disruption lured me into a state of relative satisfaction. It should have been clear that a few dozen spirits were not enough to patrol an area a kilometer in diameter in a static manner.

Holding onto Ria, her foggy consciousness decided to lean back onto me, fairly resigned to the situation. My hands tied up making sure she didn't fall, Tagalong Girl’s lectures while riding lacked illustrative gestures.

Which was unfortunate, because the child direly needed extra levity injected into the routine. Though more proactive in accepting the trials of the journey, her adjustment in the new environment left something to be desired. Unsettled, Tagalong Girl sat slightly too far back trying to create more room between us. After the first day she picked up some independence-minded patterns, not all of which were the most utilitarian.

For example, despite trying not to grab onto me for support and reducing contact between us, the way Tagalong Girl positioned her legs meant I had to be more careful about my own lest I disturb her partially precarious position.

My mind, arms, and legs were all occupied, so I could only speak. Luckily even in the forest I could find plenty to teach Tagalong Girl about.

“See that flowering vine over there? It's either a Green Oldhar, or Pannas vine. Either one is edible in case you need to forage, but too much Pannas can lead to dehydration. Like many plants, they are isometric in general level concoctions, but the more ingredients the less true this tends to be. One of the most relevant uses for Pannas is…” Cutting myself off, I noticed the sound of several birds behind us stop chirping. Turning, I activated and turned my head, adjusting my grip on Ria.

That slight moment of recognition was enough to break the peace, and I only had a glance before a beast with a bloody aura charged out from behind us.

Breaking through the bushes, as soon as it leapt I took action. Rolling off the horse to one side, I fell while rotating to keep myself between the ground and Ria. As I went over my legs grabbed on to Tagalong Girl and dragged her down with us, using two s to steady her fall and stabilize her neck.

Ria’s impact sent me coughing, and loosening the grip of my legs on Tagalong Girl I continued rolling, dropping Ria on the ground after one rotation. It took by a moment, but the beast from the woods already was savaging my poor magical horse.

It took a breath of time to pass, but it takes a while to describe all that I took in about my opponent. About seven feet long, the predator resembled a mottled brown tiger. Generally lithe and feline in shape with a striped coat, and sabres for claws, which rent the flesh of the horse with ease. As exemplified in its surprise attack, it had muscular hind legs built for pouncing.

Though from its current position sinking numerous piercing fangs into the horse, it became apparent that there needed to be steady footing to make use of those muscles. Legs dangling over one side, the Forest Tiger flailed trying to grapple the flank of the horse. A combination of hesitation and rapid reflexes belied confusion—it looked to be a predator that intended to take its prey in one strike. However the average looking horse summoned from only happened to be average in Underworld of Armok.

Despite stats not directly existing for my creations or summons, it still had an analogous level of power. Fearfully braying, the steed still bucked under the weight with vigor, heedless of wounds it suffered. Able to hold three humans and proceed as normal, only limited by its rider’s endurance, what should have been a sure kill hit did not bring it down.

While the tiger would soon recover from the strange turn of events, I only needed that small amount of time to make sure Ria and Tagalong Girl were out of the way. After quickly looking over to make sure that they both landed safely, I let out a sigh of relief. To be sure, I quickly glanced about our position, but seeing that the forest tiger came at us alone I didn't need to worry.

Glancing over my target, I noted the mana field did not look very promising. Only about the level of a strong warg, while I could expect some experience it wouldn't be much. It troubled me such a weakling could pose a threat to the party, but at the same time I did feel a measure of happiness.

Idly casting a , the impact was damaging, though dampened by the furry hide, so I upgraded my next shot to a —the corrosive effect aided in penetrating the natural defense. The damage only resulted in a limited patch of bloody hide, but that alone indicated I was a threat that needed to be dealt with.

Rear legs scrabbling for a more natural position, it prepared to push off the fatally wounded horse, only for me to dismiss in a timely manner. Thrown further off balance, it twisted midair trying to right itself before hitting the ground. Expending stamina to dash forward, I caught on to it, unleashing .

A layer of hoarfrost quickly condensed, causing a momentary pass of shivers before locking up the muscles in shock. The effect wasn't as openly destructive as that of despite having a higher listed damage. However under proper circumstances it exhibited a superior utility.

It is important to remember that I happened to be intimately familiar with the numerics of Underworld of Armok—at least with those related to various classes I played. Most of them are omitted in my retelling of events because while in some instances it may help in understanding my thought process, conflating those numbers with reality would be a disservice to what actually happened. ‘Damage’ in Underworld rendered as something closer to a magical inertia. No matter how high damaging, a would be unable to kill someone in Derriad if only striking an arm.

The abstraction of ‘damage’ didn't exist, but as the power still increased I didn't mind. I just had to adjust my mindset to another style of magic use, which wasn't difficult. only had marginally higher damage, and lacked in relative structural destruction. However unlike which focused on a single point, spread its effect over an area.

Though it may not have caused as much damage to the tiger, it was a crippling strike. An attack intended to upset the muscles, the creature shuddered and collapsed to the ground. Attempting to flex its limbs, it could move little more than a few inches with erratic shakes.

“*Threat Eliminated.*” Taking it into a grapple, I flipped the tiger prone, looking for a location to make a clean kill. Shifting it around, the beast was a heavy sucker despite a lithe build. Occasionally applying pressure to keep it incapacitated, I looked back over my shoulder.

Ria sat awkwardly sprawled out along the dirt, attempting to set herself upright but dissociated from the scene. Tagalong Girl crouched back against a tree, watching on with wide eyes and a heaving chest.

“Hey, no need to worry there, you get used to this sort of stuff. Work on keeping a cool head and rolling higher on initiative in the future, but no shame in backing off in your first ambush.” I tried consoling her independent nature—internal locii of control were good. Besides, I didn't expect a child to react perfectly the first time. Rattling the forest tiger’s skull with a solid kick, I beckoned for her to come over. “Come on, time to apply some knowledge. Show me what you know.”

Through our few days together, I’d gotten used to Tagalong’s momentary hesitations. However she protracted longer than usual.

“Well, come along then, why don't you? I'm not a member of *PETA* but this guy still alive. Best time to examine it, but shouldn't really drag it out.” It was just an animal, but people might start wiggin’ out if I pulled a Peter.

“What are we doing?” Tagalong Girl still wavered, but stepped forward.

“Analyzing the muscle structure. Not only will this likely not be the last tiger we encounter, but doing this helps familiarize you with the general case. Now step on up and try guessing where its heart is.”

Still reticent, Tagalong Girl cautiously stepped forward and began to be quizzed on anatomy. Learning vital points an integral part of dealing critical strikes, and so I passed my knowledge down to her.

Outside my initial moment of panic, I soon felt quite relieved that I took Tagalong Girl along with me. Even if she only accumulated bits and pieces of my knowledge and showed hesitance at times, there was no doubt she still intended to travel despite the hardships. She would have set out without me if I left her behind, and though she may have found some of the tasks unpleasant, Tagalong Girl likely would not have gotten far without my help, or a similarly adept character.

Finishing our anatomical analysis, I displayed my skills at dismantling the tiger. Not all of it could be taken with us, but Tagalong Girl got a good view as to how to extract resources. Again, the little one wore a blank expression, but that was fine.

So long as I kept the two of them safe, all would come in time. We just needed to march steadily onward.