Congratulations! You have reached level 31. As a reward for leveling up, you have been granted three stat points!

My level came shortly after. As I traveled deeper in, the amount of monster sightings increased. I had yet to encounter any elites, though.

Current EXP: 500/101000 LEVEL: 31 Soul Harvester Formidable

HP: 1654/1654 MP: 327/584

STR: 27

AGI: 21

DEX: 35 +5

VIT: 30 +5

INT: 54 +24

Available: 3

There was something completely unexpected on my new character sheet. My HP and MP level per scaling was completely gone. I guessed this was the world’s way of balancing my class? In the past, I would have gained at least gain 30 HP and 8 MP for a level.

My combat style was rapidly changing as I morphed from a caster to something of a hybrid. I was torn between AGI and INT at the moment. The ideal scenario was one in which I would not get hit by anything, and therefore not lose any HP or MP through Energy Shield.

In the long term, I needed to increase my MP enough to where I could take hits and still have MP to spare. In the short term, however, when I was likely to be hit sometimes, AGI seemed to be the better option.

I ended up putting 1 point into INT and then 2 into AGI.

Current EXP: 500/101000 LEVEL: 31 Soul Harvester Formidable

HP: 1658/1658 MP: 335/594

STR: 27

AGI: 23

DEX: 35 +5

VIT: 30 +5

INT: 55 +24

Available: 0

I was relieved to see that I still gained 6 MP per point of INT. If somehow I had lost my scaling altogether, I’d have questioned if this class was simply a nerf to my abilities across the board. The good news was my HP was steadily climbing as I leveled.

Right now Soul Harvester definitely didn’t seem great. Yet later, when it was much harder to level up, I would constantly be increasing my strength regardless if I leveled or not. How many classes could claim that?

Harvest Soul: 8 HP: 8 MP:8

As I continued my level grind, I found that the amount of HP and MP per monster harvested stayed steady at 1HP, 1MP. My mind drifted towards the possibilities. Could I go to an easier area and kill level 20 monsters and still gain 1HP and 1MP? Surely there was some form of restriction?

I had to stop in my tracks as I felt something lock its attention onto me. This was a peculiar feeling, different to that of the Chameleon from before. There was also something else going on too.

Every time I harvested a soul I could feel my surroundings even better. It was like I could sense the presence of every living creature: anything with a soul. I couldn’t even describe the sensation if I tried.

The monster that had turned its attention onto me came out of the trees a moment later. It was the first elite I’d encountered since returning to the Hidden Jungle. Funny enough, it was something I had neglected while walking past it.

Spiny Moth* LEVEL: 33 INSECT NEUTRAL

HP: 15331 MP: 10

STR: 37

AGI: 30

DEX: 10

VIT: 45

INT: 5

A giant moth. The dust along its body is grainy and incredibly sharp.

The moth was entirely brown and had melded against a tree trunk I passed by. The body was covered in a spiny moth dust that looked incredibly sharp. If I hadn’t felt the hostility it emitted I would never have suspected anything was there

I wasn’t sure how this fight was going to go at all. There was no obvious route of attack for the Spiny Moth. Besides its antennae, which seemed completely harmless, I didn’t see anything threatening.

The moth started to flap its wings as I rushed in its direction. It almost seemed like it was going to flee when something brushed past my face. I felt a stinging sensation and reached up to my cheek.

There was a gash that was leaking blood, and yet I hadn’t seen any attack. It almost felt like the wind brushed past my face. Scariest of all, Energy Shield didn’t even flicker. Did that mean it didn’t recognize the blow as an attack?

My biggest defense disappeared just like that. The gash was only a minor wound and didn’t do much damage, but that was only because it scratched my face. I didn’t know the full extent of its potential damage.

I couldn’t hesitate and decided to cast Patient Reaper immediately. The shrouded reaper hovered over the Moth and gave it an ominous look. I rushed forward immediately. The damage from the wound on my face was healing at a rapid pace.

The moth’s wings began to flutter again and I slashed out. My eyes couldn’t see anything at all, but the Mana Scythe struck something in the air. A new gash opened up on my left arm that did even more damage.

How could I avoid an attack I couldn’t see? My mind drew a blank and I decided to push forward regardless of the fact that the last blow of my scythe had been deflected. This wasn’t the brightest idea.

My shoulder struck into the Spiny Moth and a burning sensation spread through my right shoulder. The moth dust covering its body was absolutely no joke.

You have been affected by Poison.

It had been too good to be true. There was no reason the Moth would allow itself to be rammed into except for this passive counter-attack. My HP started to rapidly drop. Fortunately, Patient Reaper was constantly replenishing my HP and helping to counteract the poison.

While it seemed like a long time had passed, the reality was our first exchange was merely three or four seconds long. I jumped backwards and pulled out a panacea and swallowed it whole: a costly 5k mistake that I wouldn’t commit again.

I couldn’t touch the Moth’s body with any part of my own. Not only that, I couldn’t see the wind scythes it was throwing at me. The only indication that the attack was coming was the fluttering of its wings. There was an upside for me to this attack, which was that the moth was immobile while conjuring them.

My HP was just a bit above half from this brief interaction. It became clear an Elite which was higher level than me was still too much to handle. The decision was easy to make, I needed to flee.

The Spiny Moth began to flutter once again and I instinctually slashed out with my Scythe. I managed to deflect one blade while the other cut across my hip. The gash was even deeper than previous one and my HP total was dipping dangerously low.

This was my chance to escape. I cast a Cremation in the space between us and span around to haul ass into the dense jungle. Patient Reaper was still ticking as I ran and constantly restoring to me a bit of HP.

I pulled a white potion from my inventory and chugged it down while running. It provided immediate relief for the wounds on my arm and hip. The Spiny Moth was still chasing and I ran harder and harder for several minutes.

By the time the monster gave up my throat was dry and my legs were burning. It was a solid defeat, but definitely one I could learn from. I had a long way to go still. If I was more agile, tankier, more experienced, maybe I could have found a solution. A few new skills wouldn’t hurt either.

I took a break to catch my breath. My HP total was around 80% and my MP was low. Tomorrow… I assured myself by tomorrow I would be dealing with any elite that came my way.

***

The jungle was growing more alive all around me with each step. I couldn’t be sure how far in I had walked, but it was definitely several miles.

I suddenly heard voices in the distance, and then the sound of fighting. There was a battle up ahead of me, maybe forty or fifty feet into the underbrush. My distrust of people was high and I struggled to make a decision.

“There’s too many!”

“Keep moving back!”

Whoever it was, they were in trouble, and their opponents were not another group of adventurers. That information provided me with a bit of relief. I snaked forward as carefully as possible to observe the situation.

It was a party of five, three women and two men. They were huddled together and slowly backing away from a group of humanoid creatures. If I had to guess, their enemies looked similar to small, Amazonian warriors. Their bodies were marked in striped paint and different bird feathers adorned their head and ankles.

The Adventurers were greatly outnumbered. The party of five had to contend with 15 or 20 of these indigenous types. It was obvious the small humanoids were smart as well. They didn’t rush in blindly but were slowly enclosing the party.

If they turned to run as fast as they could, they would be hacked from behind. If they tried to retreat slowly and carefully they would soon be surrounded and completely cut off. There was a conflict building inside of me. Am I obligated to help them?

The answer was clearly ‘no’. I didn’t have to help them, but the thought of leaving them when I could assist left a bad taste in my mouth. That would make me the type of person I hated the most: a Tyrant type.

All the same, even though I did want to help, it wasn’t the right time to intervene yet. I didn’t know these mobs. Putting myself out there too early could be disastrous. I might end up as the target of the jungle warriors while the Adventurers rushed to safety without a care in the world.

“This isn’t good…”

“What do we do? We can’t run and we can’t fight…” They were starting to panic as a group and the Amazonians noticed. The short warriors started to laugh and make mocking bird and animal hoots that grew louder and louder. Their frenzied behavior was ominous and creepy.

The humanoids suddenly made a mad dash at the Adventurers and, stabbing fast with their short spears. It took everything the party of five could do to hold them off. Despite that, they were doing quite well.

It was clear at a glance the party had some experience. They focused all their attention on the closest and most vulnerable of the humanoids and were dispatching them one at a time. For a moment I thought I could stay out of it: that the party would handle the fight on their own.

Only a moment, though. A spear tip managed to slip past the tank’s guard and stab into his gut. He let out a loud growl in pain and almost stumbled backwards. Their formation was crumbling.

The Amazonians recognized the warrior’s pain and grew more frenzied. They started to push forward with no regards for their own defense. This was my chance.

I rushed from the trees and directly towards the middle of the pack. My Mana Scythe was silent as it sliced out. There was absolutely no resistance at all. Blood splattered as an unsuspecting warrior was bisected cleanly in half.

Their power rested in their numbers, not their physical abilities. They were on the smaller side: merely half my height. I managed to cut down two or three before they even realized a predator had infiltrated their pack.

My appearance gave the party new-found strength. They started to push forward. There was a light at the end of the tunnel for them. They only needed to grasp it.

Our combined counter-attack sent the Amazonians into disarray and we quickly hacked our way through their numbers. The remaining five or six let out angry shouts and shook their spears as they retreated into the dense jungle.

This was what I was most afraid of: the moment when it was only me and this party of five. My hands grew clammy and sweat crept up my back. There was no lack of shameless people on Earth or Yetera. Would they blame me for ‘stealing’ their prey instead of thanking me for helping?

We both stared at each other curiously for a moment before one of the women of the group came forward. “Thank you so much! You really saved us.”

I almost wanted to run away, but her tone was so sincere I felt bad not responding, “It was no problem.” I awkwardly scratched my head.

“Why are you alone?” One of the men asked. It wasn’t normal to run into someone without a party.

“I don’t have a party.” I confessed. There was no point lying to these people I wouldn’t be seeing again.

“I’ve never seen a necromancer before.” One of the other women spoke up. I couldn’t help but look down at my caster like attire and the bluish and menacing scythe in my hands. “But where are your summons?”

Their tank said, “Stay away from him. Only bounty hunters and madmen travel alone.”

And I couldn’t refute his claim. I was definitely a madman.

She seemed displeased at his command but still backed away. I started to affirm in my head once again… That’s how it is, no good deed goes unpunished.

The atmosphere was awkward now and I opted to ignore her questioning. “I was just passing through and saw you needed help, that’s all.” I looked at the humanoid on the ground and realized I had struck jackpot. “Is there somewhere I can hunt these nearby?”

It was an odd question to them, but for me it was a gold mine. These mobs were incredibly weak in combat. I could cut them down like cutting the jungle underbrush. The EXP wasn’t bad either. A single Amazonian was still 750 EXP.

The tank seemed content with sending me on my way as soon as possible, he pointed his finger, “If you head ten minutes that way you’ll come upon their camp.” He paused. “I’ll warn you though, there are too many for you to handle alone. It would be better to call it an entire tribe.”

My hands were itching, not to go fight, but because of the five Amazonian corpses in front of me. I had yet to cast Harvest Soul on them, but was too afraid to. Maybe I could pass it off as a necromancer ability?

I decided to not take the chance and started walking away. My feet moved for a minute or two before I stopped and looked back through the underbrush. Their party remained in place for several minutes before they disappeared.

That was my cue to rush back. I stood there and cast Harvest Soul, but nothing happened. An ominous feeling washed over me. Were these humanoids too weak to grant a soul? I refused to believe that to be the case.

I headed in my original direction until noticing signs of the Amazonian tribe. These were set paths carved in the jungle floor: intricate designs made by bending plants and adding leaves and twigs that gave directions.

My mind was so preoccupied with how to leverage Harvest Soul that the moment I saw my first humanoid I rushed it immediately. He was so shocked he barely had time to scream out before I lopped him in two.

I cast Harvest Soul and was pleased to see a small cloud of mist rise from the body and into my hand. Unfortunately, it wasn’t 1HP and 1MP. I only gained 0.5HP and 0.5MP for this single Amazonian.

The fact that the spell worked at all taught me that Harvest Soul needed to be used within a certain time frame after a mob’s death. There was also the discrepancy in HP and MP gain. These Amazonians were arguably weaker mobs and that must have affected the reward.

Probably, the stronger a mob was, the more HP and MP it provided, whether that was a static figure or one that changed relative to my own strength, I couldn’t be sure yet. Regardless, it was good news.

This was the perfect area for me to grind EXP. I could dispatch an Amazonian in record time. It was definitely easier for me to kill two of these and gain the same effect from Harvest Soul than it was for me to kill a single mob.

Of course, all of this rested on the fact I could fight them in relatively small numbers. Every extra humanoid was more pressure. They may have been weaker in terms of overall physique and HP, but they could still do considerable damage.

A spear to the gut was still a spear to the gut, regardless of who stabbed you. With that in mind, I began lurking around the outskirts of their encampment. It became clear the man from before was not lying.