It happened so suddenly I flinched.

We had just been chatting, making small talk, when all of the rocs around us flooded towards the Yanir tree. They were so tightly packed that there was no room on any of the branches—many birds were flying in circles in the air, waiting to claim the slightest amount of space. There were so many birds in the air that our main light source—the green moss on all of the trees—was barely visible, except for the one tree that we had claimed as our own.

In addition to the furious cawing from the rocs, I could also make out the sound of screeching bats, and the deeper, more powerful sound of the occasional griffin’s roar.

“That’s our cue,” River said, glancing at Kris.

Kris moved towards the tree trunk we were next to, and started climbing. River followed Kris, and Darrel followed River.

“Good luck,” River said to Bradson, as she disappeared towards the next level above us.

“Follow me. Jarek, you’ve got the rear,” Bradson said, drawing his axe and rushing along the one branch that led directly towards the Yanir tree.

Bradson took the brunt of the attacks as he cleared our path.

The main thing I had to look out for were dive-bombing rocs.

I focused on following Samantha’s combat shadow, dodging, slashing, and hacking, all the while keeping my balance.

After advancing slowly, inch by inch, for about a minute, we found our first flower. We were standing on a branch of the Yanir tree, judging from the darker shade of red bark at our feet.

The flower was pure white, and there was a glowing light surrounding it. Its petals looked like a lotus, folding open from a vertical point.

“Woah, I feel something!” One of Bradson’s boys—the person directly behind Bradson, closest to the flower—said.

Samantha suggested.

“Bradson! We need to keep moving forward!” I shouted over the cawing of the rocs, as I continued to kill the numerous birds that charged at me.

Bradson shook his head. “We’ll stay here. They can barely keep up,” he said, gesturing to his crew. “We’ll take turns standing next to the flower.”

Samantha said immediately.

“I’m going to move towards the trunk!” I called. “You are welcome to follow if you’d like.”

“We need you here, Jarek!” Bradson shouted.

It was hard, and awkward, passing everybody on the branch. It was like passing someone on a balance beam. It took some increased Agility, but I figured it out.

“Good luck,” I said, slapping Bradson’s shoulder, and rushing towards the flocks of rocs.

I let myself fully focus on following the combat shadow.

As I fought, I tried to process the little tricks that Samantha would use. Against hundreds of enemies, fighting on a single line, she made sure that my head was always turning—shooting quick glances to either side, or behind me. My gaze was never focused in any one place, even though I was moving towards the Yanir tree at a steady pace.

Perhaps because I had no sideways mobility, Samantha made sure I was fighting using my height as an additional dimension. Half the time, I was either crouching or jumping.

Perhaps the most impressive part was that Samantha could factor in incoming attacks so I could use the rocs to help me keep my balance.

As I moved forward, the flowers dotting the Yanir tree started growing in denser patterns, just as Samantha had predicted. Samantha was careful to make sure I didn’t touch them, though.

Once I was just ten feet away from the trunk, I could properly see the Yanir tree.

The trunk of the Yanir tree was a weird mix of colors. The bark itself was red, following the same hexagonal beehive-type pattern that the other tree trunks had. Growing on the bark was the bioluminescent, green moss, which provided some of the light. Finally, there were dozens of white, glowing flowers sprouting from the trunk and branches of the Yanir tree.

Aesthetically, it was fairly off-putting.

But not as aesthetically off-putting as Ethan, who stood in my path. His sword and dagger were raised, but it wasn’t clear whether they were raised at me, or at the rocs that were swarming both of us. He looked a mess—blood dripping down his—my—goblin armor, and a long gash along his left arm, and I thought I could see a bone from a knuckle on his right hand.

Most concerning of all was the manic glint in his eyes.

“Blood begets pain!” he shouted, slashing a nearby roc that tried to unbalance him. It didn’t actually seem like he was talking to me. “Pain begets power!”

“We can help each other!” I said. “Let me pass, and I can defend the—“

“Power begets life!” Ethan continued, yelling over the din of hundreds of creatures.

Samantha said.

I put some mana into Strength and Agility, and then jumped from our branch to a nearby branch. Then I jumped again.

As I circled around the tree, I saw that there were giant bats fighting the rocs. The bats had a torso the length of my arm, and a wingspan that was a few feet on each side.

I had thought the rocs were tightly packed, but it was clear their density couldn’t hold a candle to the bats. I could see that many of these bats were gathered in groups, dangling upside down from branches and taking up as little space as possible, while other bats were defending them. They fought in shifts, and they would swarm the rocs—a dozen bats attacking a single roc. When they killed a roc, other bats would gather to defend the carcass while the bats that managed to kill the roc would dig their long fangs into the roc and drink the roc’s blood.

A quick survey showed me that these vampire bats were also around level 25.

It seemed I was directly in between the territory of the vampire bats and the rocs, which meant now, I was being attacked by both creatures.

The vampire bats were faster, more agile, and more annoying. But their health was also incredibly low, so it didn’t take much for me to fight them off.

I was surprised to find I was able to make it towards the trunk. The bats and rocs were fighting each other viciously. Of course, I was constantly bombarded by flying enemies, but the bats’ primary focus was holding back the rocs, and vice versa.

I slew bats and rocs alike as I advanced, trusting Samantha as I took heavier and heavier wounds from the vampire bats that were attacking from all sides, as well as the rocs that would rush towards me disregarding their own survival.

Just as I was starting to panic from my continually decreasing health, I saw a much-needed notification:

Level up!

As my wounds healed, I put my free point into Strength. I finally was able to place my back against the Yanir tree. In addition to the stench of blood, I could feel the dense scent of the Yanir flowers all around me, and I could feel something gradually growing inside of me.

But I couldn’t concentrate on the feeling that the scent was giving me, because Ethan was shouting his three-line mantra nonstop next to me: “Blood begets pain! Pain begets power! Power begets life!”

From the way he fought, it was clear that he was laying everything on the table. However, he was at least smart enough to make sure his back was to the trunk of the Yanir tree, and he didn’t attack me.

Once I had my back against the tree, I could finally mentally relax. The biggest danger, and threat, earlier, was that attacks were coming from every direction. Now, with Ethan on one side of me, and my back to the tree, I knew I could hold this position for a while.

I let my mind unfocus, releasing any analytical thoughts and focusing solely on killing the unending stream of creatures that were charging towards me.

Level up!

I paused, surprised, mid strike. I didn’t know how much time had passed—half an hour? An hour?

Samantha said.

I did, and then I surveyed my status sheet as I continued to fight.

Name:

Jarek

Level:

11

HP:

21/21

Physical Defense:

13 (+4)

Strength:

16 (+2)

Mental Power:

11

Dexterity:

10

Agility:

10 (+4)

Perception:

11

Mana Pool:

27 (+1)

Mana Regeneration:

13 (+1)

Available Points:

0

Coins:

59,960

Class:

Mana Modulator (D-rank)

Profession:

None

Titles:

Skills and Spells:

Identify (F-rank)

Mana Modulation (D-rank Core)

Death’s Defier (A-rank)

Affinities:

Internal Mana (D-rank Low)

Equipment:

Mana-infused Knife (F-rank): +1 Mana Pool, +1 Mana regen.

Orc Helmet (F-rank): +2 Physical Defense

Orc Breastplate (F-rank): +2 Physical Defense

Orc Boots (F-rank): +2 Agility

Orlan Blade (E-rank): +2 Strength, +2 Agility

Interdimensional Pouch (E-rank):

I wasn’t going to complain, considering the other option Samantha was considering was sending me up to fight level 35 creatures.

I raised my sword, tried my best to tune out Ethan’s yelling, and readied myself to continue the battle.