Leo leaned his back against the soft bark of a large pine, trying to catch his breath as he stared up at the walls of the canyon looming before him. It seemed to stretch from one end of the island to the other, forming a natural barrier with the only way forward through a darkened pass that cut in between the cliffs.

His eyes traced the flow of the small stream he was following as it disappeared into the maw of the pass. The dim light from the two moons as they descended on either side of the island wasn’t enough to stave off the inky darkness that draped the entrance. If he was to heed Zeld’s advice and continue following the river, he would have to try his luck with whatever dangers lurked within.

He let out a sigh before trudging warily toward the opening. The old man wouldn’t send him somewhere that could get him killed, right? He chuckled darkly at the thought. He hadn’t even known the crazed old hermit for a full day, and even he knew that was hopeless thinking. Zeld had outfitted him with all the tools he needed to survive, but it was still up to him to make that a reality. Tools after all were dependent on the one who wielded them.

As he approached the entrance, the occasional sound of falling gravel could be heard over the soft trickle of the stream beside him. The sound rebounded off the pass’s steep walls from somewhere within the void. His stomach tightened as fear of the unknown caused his heart to quicken its pace.

It was a cruel irony that he had to risk his life now for a better chance at surviving in the future.

Stepping into the pass felt like he had stepped out into another world. The steep walls blocked the wind and light while keeping every sound confined within. The falling of rocks and soft scuttling of movement echoed around him while the thick blanket of shadow made even the faintest details of anything several feet in front of him impossible to see.

He continued his slow march inwards, consistently stubbing his toe on the edges of rocks sharp enough to prod his feet even through the thick sole of his boots. The heavy darkness thickened with every step he took, and he quickly lost sight of the stream beside him. Without sight, all that remained was sound. With growing tension, he kept up his march, the soft noise of water flowing over rock helping to quell his growing anxiety.

The lack of sight meant it was easy to get turned around, and the stream helped guide him forward in the darkness, letting him know he wasn’t just running in circles or about to step off the island.

The nearby sound of gravel tumbling off to his left caused his heart to jump. Leo froze as the noise from its passage reverberated off the walls around him. He turned his head up, straining his eyes to see what might have toppled the stones over the edge, but he was barely able to make out the shadowed tops of the cliff where the moonlight was brightest.

Not seeing or hearing any further signs of danger, he trudged on, his breathing shaky. It only took a few more steps forward for the exact same scenario to quickly play out again, this time on his right.

The loss of sight was waging a psychological war inside his head, etching away at his resolve to continue forward. His mind was screaming at him that he was walking into the heart of an ambush, one he wouldn’t be able to walk away from, and with every pebble that fell, the claim seemed to be gaining ground.

Just as the enclosure of darkness started to become too much for him to bear, he remembered the Night’s Shadow he had gathered when he had first entered the garden. He opened his pouch, hoping the plants hadn’t been ruined in his death. Picking at random, he placed one of his ingredients in his mouth. There was a flaky bitter taste and the muscles in his body seemed to quiver and tighten, letting him know he had chosen the wrong one. He felt around the few different types of plants until he finally came across what he thought was the right one.

Placing the fuzzy leathery stem inside his mouth, he quickly chewed and swallowed the flora. As soon as he had, the ingredient took effect. The scant amount of light around him blurred and shifted in his sight, sketching the outlines of the dark world. Different shades of grey and black quickly formed in a large bubble around him before teetering off into pure blackness once more. His new vision didn’t define his surroundings enough for him to make out anything more than vague shapes, but at least he finally had his sight back.

Red Mountain Rose grants +15 health. Duration: 4 minutes.

Night’s Shadow grants weak Darkvision. Duration: 7 minutes

Covering the ground rested large boulders and fragments of rocks. The stream he had been following had shifted several feet to his left while he was stumbling around in the dark. He looked up at the cliff's edge, finally catching sight of the creatures causing the minute landslides. Darker shadows which he took to be holes dotted along the upper regions of the cliff walls, and as he watched, a large black form with the general shape of a centipede scuttled out of one hole and squirmed its way into an adjacent one, causing gravel to trickle down with its exit.

Leo was so distracted by the arthropod monsters that he didn’t hear the flapping of wings above him until it was too late. A high-pitched cry pierced his world, devouring all noise and sending a sharp, searing pain twisting its way through his head!

He threw his hands over his ears in a vain attempt to dampen the horrible sound, and just as it began to dissipate, another shriek mirrored the first. The onslaught of sound sent him crumbling to his knees as the pain flared up anew.

It took several grueling seconds for the noise to mercifully come to an end. He slowly brought his hands down; they were shaking with dark patches of blood covering them. Either the shrieking had stopped or he had just blown out his eardrums.

The sonic attack had made him jittery, and he rose shakily to his feet, legs barely able to support his weight. Right as he managed to gain control of his wobbly body, something slammed into his back. The weight sent him skidding across the ground, sharp rocks cutting into his palms and face as he slid several feet.

Leo lay there for a moment, dazed. In his head, he could practically hear the old man shouting at him to guard himself. Obeying the mental image, he rolled to his right just as a cascade of dirt and stone exploded from the impact of something hitting the spot he had just vacated. He lifted his hand and cast Arc Bolt at the grey shape fumbling next to him. Sparks raced along his body in a white glow, quickly condensing at the tips of his fingers before jumping out at his target. The surrounding area flashed white momentarily as his lightning flew away from him and crashed into his attacker.

The brief light completely illuminated the dark outline of his foe, burning the image of a grotesque scaled bird into his mind. It was featherless, and the rotted skin covering its body made it look more like the decaying corpse of a bird than a live one. It stood at over half his height and stared at him with a single enormous eye directly above a sharp hooked beak, but the feature that frightened him the most was the long reptilian tail that sprouted from the bird’s back. The tail had sharp spikes protruding along every section of its length and ended in a wicked half-moon blade which it had jabbed into the ground right where his neck had been.

Leo fumbled to draw his sword from his scabbard. He needed to put an end to this creature before it managed to get airborne beyond his reach. A quick check let him know he had dropped to half his health from the two screeches alone. He lunged with Aveth at the stunned beast right when another heavy weight sliced into his back, throwing his strike off-target.

His armor gave way to the crescent blade of a second bird as its tail bit deeply into his skin. Leo jabbed Aveth into the ground and clutched the hilt to hold himself upright as the bird on his back used its sharp talons to tear open his armor so that it could reach the vulnerable flesh of its prey beneath.

With his health redlining amidst the mass of pain, Leo desperately used the last of his mana to conjure another Arc Bolt, using the creature’s tail embedded in him as a focal point. With no dissipation in the air the lightning bolt struck the bird with full force, flinging it off his back. He clawed open his sword pouch, fighting to remain conscious from the combination of blood loss and mana headache as he pulled out the small glass vial Zeld had given him.

His fingers grasped desperately at the stopper, struggling to pull it free with a soft pop before he fervently chugged down the contents within. Ignoring the vile taste, he threw back the healing solution, knowing there were only precious seconds left before the birds managed to reorient themselves.

The same euphoric sensation he had felt in leveling up against the wolves, spread out from the pit of his stomach to the tips of his fingers and toes. The blissful energy washed over his internal injuries, knitting together organs and flesh before rising to the surface of his skin to repair the damage there as well. His hearing came back to him in a flood, infusing his muted world with an influx of sound. His breathing was still strained and the mana-migraine hadn’t lessened but at least he wasn’t on the verge of bleeding out anytime soon.

Leo pivoted around, searching for the dark outline of the birds. The first one he had shot was still stunned but stirring slowly, the second one had righted itself and began flapping its massive wings in an attempt to return to the sky. It was too far away to reach before the beast took flight, so he brought his blade behind him in the only option he had left.

“Aveth!” he shouted, the sword responding to his call and unfurling as he arced it at the monster. It curved through the air like a whip, the jagged ends gleefully rushing forward as they quickly grew for the desired distance.

The bird let out a final piercing cry as the strike tore diagonally into the center of its body, splitting apart its torso. He called the sword’s name again and it rushed back toward him, causing the eviscerated beast to explode as the barbed edges ripped apart the center of its body again and again. The joints made a clicking sound as the weapon realigned itself back to its original form.

Leo turned and ran at his other target, leaping at the dark form of the other beast still struggling to overcome its stunned state. He brought Aveth down in a vicious overhead swing. The creature made a pathetic attempt to stumble away from the deadly strike but failed as the blade cleaved cleanly through its neck, severing the dark outline of its head.

The creature’s body slumped lifelessly against the rocks, its detached head beginning to roll back down the pass. Light from the monster corpses exploded around him, infusing him and causing a pleasant chime to resound. A soft groan of relief fell from his lips as his migraine and injuries melted away, leaving him feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. He sat down on a nearby boulder and checked his notifications.

Skill Level up! Arc Bolt: Novice Level 2! Fire a small electric bolt. 12 MP, 11-13 Lightning damage with a chance to stun your opponent.

Skill Level up! Swords: Novice Level 4! (6 -> 8)% increase in attack speed while wielding a sword.

You have killed a Hook-tail Vermwing (Level 2). You gain 212 Exp.

You have killed a Hook-tail Vermwing (Level 3). You gain 468 Exp.

DING!

Congratulations! You have reached level 3! You have gained +3 attribute points. Kill or be killed!

Leo sighed; he had finally accomplished his goal for the evening. Judging from the experience he received, the Hook-tails had probably been in the same hindrance class as the Shadow Cat. He shivered as the cold night air glided across the exposed skin on his back from where the Vermwing had pierced him. He had come far too close to returning to that hell they called the Abyss.

A smirk rose to his lips as Leo checked the condition of his gear. His chest piece had a mere 8 points left. It had done its job, without it, the Vermwing’s tail would have stabbed straight through his gut. If it had gone for his neck like the other one had…he shook away the thought, he didn’t want to dwell on it. He had survived and grown stronger because of the fight, and that was all that mattered.

Leo turned his attention to his stats, trying to decide what he should spend his attribute points on. The increased mana cost of Arc Bolt meant he could only cast the skill once before needing to wait for it to recharge. He bumped his Origin by a point, knowing how much he relied on that skill. The next choice was also easy to make and he added a point in Constitution; if he hadn’t accidentally taken the Red Mountain Rose he would’ve died in this fight. The last point he added to Strength, since the original purpose of this expedition was to increase the sturdiness of the mana-channels connected with his Swords skill.

Leo looked over his changes once more before accepting his selection. The myriad of effects took place all at once. A small lance of pain dug through his head, while he felt his skin tighten and the insides of his body start to heat up. The visible effects on his body were disturbing to watch. His figure seemed to fill out just a smidge more as his muscles shifted to gain a slight definition to them.

The uncomfortable sensations stopped almost as soon as they had started, the pain in his head lingering just a few seconds longer than the rest and leaving him with yet another minor headache. He grumpily rubbed at his temples before dismissing the distraction and bringing up his character sheet.

He was mulling over what to increase next when a slight vibration caused the ground beneath him to quake. An earthquake? He almost laughed out loud from the panicked thought. He was on a floating island—how could there possibly be an earthquake!

The vibrations grew stronger, leaving Leo to get up with a curse; he had hoped for a bit of downtime before his next fight. Does this confirm my hypothesis with the Shadow Cat blood? The curious thought swept through his mind as the duration of his weak darkvision faded, allowing the heavy blackness to engulf his vision once more.

He was debating whether to use the other harvested ingredient when a sea of glowing yellow lights flooded out of the forest. At this distance, he couldn’t make out any details of what the lights were as they broke away from the tree line and headed toward the canyon entrance.

A bead of cold sweat ran down his cheek and he mindlessly patted it away with the torn sleeve of his shirt. The light stretched for at least the length of a football field and he could almost make out movement beneath its harsh glow. If this was one massive creature, he would have to run fast, hell he should probably flee right now but his curiosity about the source of the light made him pause.

He tried casting Observation on the yellow blob, but it was either not a creature or too far away for his skill to work. Remembering what Zeld had told him about the flow of mana through channels being responsible for powering his skills, he wondered if he could overload a channel to make the skill temporarily stronger.

He closed his eyes and focused on finding the channel that ran from his conduit to his eyes. After roughly a minute of fruitlessly searching, he tried another approach, looking for the conduit itself. As it was the source of all the mana channels in his body, he might be able to trail it down to the channel he currently needed. He probed his mind for anything out of place.

After a bit of searching he felt something, the headache that he had dismissed earlier. He followed the throbbing pain like a thread, pinpointing to a small area near the back of his skull. Reaching out with his senses, he focused on that region.

It might’ve just been his imagination, but he thought he could feel the familiar sensation of mana slowly leaking into his body before it divided into different directions. The feeling was so tentative that any slight distraction made him lose it, forcing him to find it again. There just wasn’t enough mana circulating inside him to accurately follow.

After his tenth failed attempt, this time from a vibration large enough to make him stumble, Leo gave up with a curse and opened his eyes. The soft glow had turned into a blinding glare and he could finally make out the creature, or rather creatures, giving it off.

Thunder Rocs were charging their way in a swarm up the pass. The bright light coming from the glow of their yellow feathers as electricity bounced between them like a series of tesla coils. The horde playfully slung the terrifying lightning against one another, occasionally missing and striking the canyon walls. When another Roc was hit, they’d produce an indignant squawk before firing back a blast of their own.

He watched in a daze as the one in front gave a quick peck on the head of its neighbor who tried to pull ahead of it. This resulted in a rapid pecking war between the two until the neighbor puffed up its feathers and pulled back a step, letting the other bird remain in the lead. With a feeling of dread, he cast Observation on the leading bird, already knowing what to expect.

As if sensing the skill, Sparky looked up at Leo and gave out a loud cry of recognition before increasing her pace a bit more, and consequently that of the rest of the horde. The crazed bird had grown since Leo had last “played” with her and was now standing at his height if not a bit taller.

“Not like this!” Leo screamed as he threw himself up the canyon, the constant flashes of electricity behind him illuminating his path. He tripped over a loose rock that rolled out from underneath his foot and rolled onto his back. There was just enough time for a very unmanly scream as Sparky’s beak shot forward to meet him.