"Is it me," Finn huffs, breathing heavily. "Or are the attacks… getting more frequent… the further in… we're going?"

Sara has been preparing him for an adventurer's life for how long, and he's this out of breath? Or is my comparison unfair because I've been doing this sort of thing since I was little? We have been fighting almost nonstop for the last hour, now, and we're both even Level 7 – higher than I'd expected to get before lunch!

Finn is red in the face and as soaked through with sweat as I am, his hair stuck to his head and tunic stuck to his body. Or at least, it was. When did he take it off? Probably in an effort to cool off some, the cool spring air and the lower temperature as a result of the forest shade does help with that.

"After we leave…" he tells me. "I'm… going to exercise… more."

"I can help you!" I tell him, then cut down a viper that tried to bite me. "And yeah! They're getting more frequent!"

How could he not tell that? We're fighting almost nonstop now. Case in point, I [Warp] to a deer and run it through with my sword before it can do anything, and Finn uses a [Wind Slash] on a squirrel that was trying to throw little spiky balls at him. The squirrel dodges, but dies when I cut through it with my sword.

To be honest, I'm wearing out, too. We've been traveling on this island for almost three hours now, and the constant battling is taking its toll on me. Finn probably isn't as out-of-shape as he seems if he's managed to last this long, especially after an hour of nonstop battle as we slowly advance.

No, he just doesn't have nearly the reserves of stamina that I do.

"I need… a break."

Finn goes to sit down on a rock, and I cut off the rock's head as it attempts to bite him.

"That's a turtle," I examine the severed head. "Well, was a turtle. Now it's a headless turtle."

I pivot, cutting through a giant hornet, then slash down another one.

"You just rest for a few minutes," I say. "I'll handle what's here."

"Thanks."

A quartet of foxes that reach up to Finn's knees in height (when he's standing) approach. Each of them has green-and-grey mottled fur that makes them blend in a fair bit. It mimics shadows in a forest, even the movement of leaves and branches and stuff in the wind, when the foxes move.

I haven't seen these before! Finally getting to new monsters! It's a shame I'm exhausted, but Finn really does need time to rest and he's much less used to this than me. He tried fighting with his knives and fists and feet, but he gets a bit too jumpy if something gets too close.

Melee combat really isn't his thing, so he needs to stick to magic. However, his current Mana and Mana Regen aren't that great. At the rate we're going, though, he'll probably be Level 10 by the time we leave. That will help him a little bit more.

Why is Kyle still such a low Level?

Eh. That's not really relevant, he's probably not actually doing big hunts, just hunting things people could use. After a bit, he'd start to gain pretty much no Experience.

Speaking of that, these camouflaged foxes are getting closer. I should probably take care of them so that Finn can rest without worry.

The two outer ones take off to the sides, probably to attack from the sides, while the two center ones continue forward. As long as they leave Finn alone and focus on me, since I'm the main damage-dealer here, I'll be fine.

I just need to make sure they know I'm the main damage-dealer.

I cast my gaze up.

"[WARP]!"

Space warps and I barely pass between branches, twisting in the air. I twist around and aim myself at one of the foxes, allowing gravity to take me down. That turns out to be a few moments too slow, so I use Warp to go the rest of the way.

The fox dodges my attack, only the tip of the blade actually cutting into it, performing only a small slice against its side. As I spring back to my feet, another fox lunges at me, biting. It manages to bite onto the bracer of my right wrist, so I twist, slamming it into another that's attacked me. At the same time, I stab with my sword, attempting to skewer the pair of foxes.

My sword meets resistance, and I click my tongue in annoyance. I have 17 Strength, and that attack didn't do much. Finn's Wind Slashes would probably barely scratch it.

Fortunately, the slam-and-slash causes the fox to release my arm, and I take advantage of the moment to avoid being bitten in the ass by another fox, which I promptly attempt to skewer, only to get reminded that they're tougher than other things I've fought.

Well, tougher than other things I've beaten. That won't stop me, though! There's a cutie to protect!

Get your priorities straight, Skyler. You also need to survive this. If you die, then Finn dies, too. Also, stop talking to yourself, you're in the middle of a fight.

"Okay!"

"What?"

I jump over one of the foxes, only to be bitten in the leg by another that jumped to intercept me. I stab it with my sword, but it doesn't let go of me. Another bites onto my left arm, on the bracer. Great, now I can't use my sword.

"[WARP]!"

We zoom upwards, and the one holding onto my leg slams into a tree. That causes my leg to twist a little, which is not a pleasant feeling.

"GAH!" I exclaim in pain. "THAT HURT!"

I twist my body and move my limbs into the right position as we begin to fall.

"[WARP]!"

We slam into the ground, the two foxes gripping me hitting the ground first, breaking my fall. Mostly. The impact causes the teeth of the one gripping my leg to tear into it worse, while both my leg and my arm jar from the impact. At least my bracer is holding up, but I'm pretty sure they're getting close to their limits with how long I've had them and how many attacks they've suffered today

"[Wind Slash]," Finn's voice is barely audible, and I doubt the attack actually did anything.

Wait.

Is he under attack?

I look over to find that he's attacked another that was coming after me, but it's turning around. I need to get rid of these two. Well, I need to get rid of all of them, but these two first because they're actually hurting me!

"ARGH!" I exclaim as another bites my right bicep. "Hey! Two at a time!"

What's worse is that Finn's about to get attacked, too, and he's too exhausted to do anything, even if he was powerful enough and had enough Mana. Alright! Time for Plan C!

The bite to my upper arm has reduced the strength in my right hand, so I access a few menus and switch the Inventory drop hand to my left, then close that and pull up my Inventory as I do my best to shove my sword into the fox biting my leg. It actually manages to go in a little bit, so I flick my way to the right item in my Inventory.

When the small, sealed ceramic bottle appears in my hand, I flick my wrist, sending it flying in the direction of Finn and the fourth fox. At least this arm still has strength, though only being able to throw with my wrist is weakening the throw.

"EARS! EYES! COVER AND CLOSE! LOOK AWAY! BREATH! HOLD!"

I squeeze my eyes shut tight as I inhale deeply, then hold it. I can't cover my ears, but I look in the direction opposite of the item I threw. Hopefully, Finn listens to what I said.

The sound of the bottle breaking catches my ears, and the next moment, there's an explosion that rocks the land. Dust fills the air as we're thrown about, the sound of trees cracking filling the air. Even as we're tumbled about, the foxes manages to hold on tight, tearing into me more. It takes a lot of effort not to scream from the pain, to keep my breath held in.

That was a lot more potent than I'd thought. What I was told was that it would create a flash and a really loud noise, maybe kick up some dust. If I ever find the dwarf I bought it from, we're going to have some serious words.

No Experience notification, despite the burst. I probably took more damage than the foxes did.

A sudden wind rushes over me, and I dare a peek. The dust is blowing away, gathering towards a central point. Strange. I've never encountered anything like that before.

Well! Time to retrieve my sword! I try to grab it, only to find the fox in my arm has dug its claws into the ground and my arm hurting a lot more than I remember. My movement is a lot more limited. When I try to pull my left leg up, I find that it's not moving as well as it should, even with a weight on it. The fox is light enough that I should be able to move it, but it's dug its own claws into the ground. Then there's the damage it's dealt to me to take in.

"Oi! Let go of me!" I tell the one holding my arm. "I need to grab my sword so I can try stabbing you again!"

A spear of light pierces into the fox's body, and a notification appears in my vision.

+87% Experience! Level acquired! Stats have been increased.

"THAT WORKS!"

The fox is still gripping my bracer even as the spear fades away. I shift my arm, bashing its head into the ground as another notification appears in my vision. Since neither of the foxes gripping me have been skewered, so I'll assume it was the one that went chasing after. If they want to die of their own accord-wait.

"WHO'S KILLING MY KILLS?"

Another pair of slight spears skewer the last two foxes at the same time, and I still try to get them to let go. They really won't, and this really hurts. Time for Plan C!

"Skyler, stop," a somewhat familiar female voice speaks from above. "You're only going to make those wounds worse."

"ONLY THE GREAT CRYSTAL CAN COMMAND ME!" I call back to whoever that is. "AND MY MOM!"

I try to shake off the fox holding my leg, only for its locked-in jaw to cause more damage.

"Fine, mysterious voice."

Right after I say that, Sara lands beside me.

"Ooh!" I exclaim. "That's why the voice was familiar! My second-favorite female!"

"Second-favorite female?" Sara asks as she begins pulling the foxes' jaws apart.

"My mom's my favorite female," I nod. "Finn's my second-favorite male, but he might becomes my favorite male if we spend more time together."

"Who's your favorite male?" Sara asks, managing to pull off the fox holding my right arm.

"His name's Kyron," I answer as she continues freeing me from these beasts. "He's twenty-two, I think? The skybeast he lives on crosses paths with ours every eighteen months. Saw him half a year ago, got another year to see him, I stay here. I always take him out to the islands and we have a lot of fun. Since he's only here for three days a time, we have a lot to cram in. Neat hunting tricks, a form of martial arts I didn't know, how to make really cool jewelry using items I found, and a bunch of other things. Thanks for freeing me."

I sit up and try to stand, only to groan in pain as my leg starts to give out. Back to the ground I go, it seems

"Sara," I look at her. "Do you think you can escort us back? I dunno how much longer I can try to get us back to the beach now that I'm wounded like this, especially with all the fighting we've done. The monsters are spawning really heavily now, and I think it'll only continue to get worse, once they start coming after us again after that blast."

"What was that you did?" She asks as I do my best to crawl over to my sword and pull it out of the fox, hissing in pain. "I was trying to locate the two of you when it happened, and it blew this clearing apart."

"Oh, well," I look over to the point of impact, where a very battered and bruised Finn is examining the crater in the ground. "I was told it's a flashy-flashy bang-bang – don't give me that look, I had to ask for clarification myself – and it apparently was just 'boom'."

"Flashy-flashy bang-bang?"

"That's what the dwarf called it," I shrug. "Ow, that hurts. It was supposed to make a bright light and a loud noise, maybe kick up some dust. It wasn't supposed to go 'boom' like that."

"You bought a flashbang, but received a force grenade instead," Sara says.

"Stay," Finn says as I try standing.

He puts a hand on my left shoulder and gently pushes me back down.

"Finn?" I ask.

"[Heal]," he speaks softly, but with focus.

Finn begins to glow with a pale green light, one that begins to flow around me as well. There's a soothing sensation in my wounds as the light seeps into it, yet continues to flow around me. His third Crystal was a White Magic Skill Crystal.

[Heal] mends damage over time, with its efficiency based on the caster's Magic Stat, consuming 1 Mana per second it's active. At 13 Magic, it's not that great of a benefit, but Finn lets all of his Mana run out, more than a minute's worth of healing for me.

"You should have used it on yourself first," I tell him as he sits down beside me. "My wounds are much worse than yours, you just have some cuts and scrapes."

"I'll be fine," he tells me quietly. "Just give me a bit and I can do more."

"Thanks," I look at Sara. "Would you… mind keeping the monsters away while we recover?"

"I can do one better," she says, then walks over and places her hands on our shoulders. "[Fly]."

The three of us rise up into the air, flying up over the trees. Sara takes us all the way to the beach at a gentle pace so as to avoid jostling my leg too much. There was enough of that in the battle and when Sara raised us up into the air.

She starts to touch us down on the beach.

"No, no," I tell her. "The monsters attack on the beach, too. It's also spawn-based, and I'm guessing it's based on how many you've killed so far in that trip because I've never had this issue before. How long can you fly for?"

"Depends on how much I'm carrying with me," she answers, pulling us back up. "And if I'm over something solid or not. How far were you thinking?"

"The closest island that way," I point, the groan in pain. "Is relatively safe. Doesn't have absurd spawns. They're manageable. The island I was planning on taking Finn to after we finished training is… that way."

I point in the direction of the island, which would actually take us back over this island. Maybe I'm a bit more dazed than I realized, I should have told her that before we flew in this direction so she could decide.

"How far is it?" Sara asks.

"Two hours of rowing."

"You planned on rowing for two hours after a day of training?" She asks.

"I once spent forty-two hours straight hunting and fighting monsters, then rowed six hours to a safe island to rest. Had to fight a few monsters on the way there, too."

Sara looks in the direction of the nearby island, then the direction of the rest island, then the island that Finn and I slept on last night. She takes a few moments to do that, then decides to fly us in the direction to the island closest to us.

"Sara," I say. "Do you have anything that can help me with the pain? Especially my leg? It's gotten the worst of this and is a whole lot more difficult to keep from jostling around than my arm."

"I have some bandages," she says. "But that's it. Depending on how bad the full injuries are, you may be out of fighting for a few days."

"What?" I ask.

"We can check once we land," she tells me. "I'll assess your injuries there. How much Magic do you have, Finn?"

"Fourteen," he answers. "I gained a Level from the kills."

"It will take about two hours' worth of healing," Sara says. "To fix up the wounds that Heal itself can mend. If there is any damage to your bones, however, you won't be able to. Heal doesn't affect those, you need Bone Heal to do that. More severe injuries can't be healed with Heal, either, though what determines what's too severe is how much Magic you have."

How easy will it be for me to continue hunting until my bones have healed? I use my left hand as my primary fighting hand, and I can shift my weight to my left leg. Shifting my weight that much might not be a good idea, though, especially if it's more than a few days.

"How long do bones take to heal?" I ask.

"Depends," Sara answers. "How bad the injury is, your Vitality, factors like that."

"And you don't have any Skill Crystals that can help?" I ask. "Or magic potions or salves?"

"I'm afraid I don't," Sara tells me. "The healing arts aren't much my thing, and I was planning on retiring once Finn took off on his adventurers. Even if I'll live for centuries, I'm done with adventures. Once Finn sets off on his own, I'm retiring. I was planning on continuing to travel around, selling my Crystals, occasionally catching word of Finn's adventures. The vision I had told me he would become a great adventurer, greater than any I had ever heard of before."

"A vision?" I ask.

"Yes," Sara answers. "When I received the Crystals from the skybeast, a vision came to me. A wolfkin of the white wolf variety, slaying monsters no party of adventurers ever has. Alone."

He is going to be a badass, and that is awesome. Does her vision mean he'll be one alone? That we won't be together for that? Am I losing my adventuring buddy? Or is her vision just her being delusional?

Even as a party, I doubt Finn and I could handle the Great Beasts as a team in our lives, much less him doing it alone. I've never heard of people having visions before. Not real ones, anyway. Visions while on special juice?

Now that is another story! Kyron uses this fruit that's really good, and that's irrelevant to the current topic.

"You think it's Finn?" I ask Sara.

Please don't, he's my newest friend and seems like a fun adventuring partner.

"Yes," Sara answers. "I've trained a fair few wolfkin of the white wolf variety over the last few decades, and upon meeting Finn, I could tell it was him. I can't quite explain it, but it feels like he's the one from the vision."

I don't understand this whole vision thing, but if Finn and I are separating at some point in the future, I still want to make the most of our time together.

"Finn, after we land and you heal me some more, want to kiss?"

"I won't hesitate to drop you," Sara tells me.

"We're over the sea right now," I tell her. "And I'm serious, so don't be the overprotective mama elf."

"Skyler-"

"Master," Finn's voice is quiet.

Sara looks at Finn, whose face is crimson, his gaze cast down. He's really cute, but really shy. It results in the rest of the flight being quiet. The flight itself takes about ten more minutes, which makes it really awkward. I won't to poke him about the kiss, since he didn't answer, but if he's considering it, poking him might make him reject me.

When we do land, Finn goes straight to healing me, then Sara checks my arm and my leg. First she gently washes them using fresh water she pulls from her Inventory (I never thought about keeping water there), then gingerly probing and turning them as she examines them, a small frown on her face.

"Curious," she murmurs. "Must be something to do with golden eyes. The guy I met a few years ago had something similar."

"You've met another guy with golden eyes?" I ask.

"I've met a few," she tells me. "There was one in another town on the skybeast I grew up on, and I ran into one a few months before meeting Finn. Despite being as tough as bones, his healed as fast and well as his flesh. Yours seems to be doing the same."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Finn's [Heal]s haven't affected them," Sara tells me. "As the Skill doesn't do. However, I can already tell that they're healing faster than they should, and you'll be recovered in the next few days. Normally, that would mean a Vitality that would have healed your wounds in seconds."

"When I was six," I tell her. "I broke my arm jumping out of a tree. It healed in about three days. I thought Dad's potions were for more than pain. You can see my bones?"

"I could," she says as she pulls out bandages and gets to work wrapping. "When I was inspecting your wounds. You jumped out of a tree when you were six?"

"From eighty feet up," I nod. "I was trying to jump into the sea. I jumped in the wrong direction and hit the ground instead."

"Eighty feet up is pretty dangerous," Sara says. "Your dad let you do that?"

"I jumped because he started climbing up the tree to try to get me out of it."

"You were insane, even as a little kid," Finn comments.

"Yeah," Sara says. "All done, Skyler. How do you feel?"

"Addled and hungry."

"[Heal]," Finn says, and a green glow surrounds me.

It's been that long already, huh? I look over at him, and he's staring at me intensely, focused on healing me. His face doesn't tell me anything about how he's feeling about my question anymore, so I can't get a read on what he wants.

When he finishes healing me, he takes a seat beside me and lets out a heavy breath, seeming exhausted. That doesn't surprise me, though. After all, fifteen minutes isn't really a lot of time to recover from heavy physical exertion like we went through on that island and he's still covered in scrapes and bruises.

"You should heal yourself next," I tell Finn. "I've suffered worse and didn't have a healer going on. I still don't understand 'bout the bones, but whatever. The more severe injuries aren't that bad, either. I think Sara stitched a couple, but her movements were too swift."

"I did," Sara tells me. "He's not powerful enough to heal those ones, so that will help them heal better."

"Thanks," I tell her.

"You're welcome," she says. "I think it's best if you two finish your hunting trip for now. Once you've both rested for a bit, I can take you back home, then come and retrieve your boat and bring it back."

"That sounds nice," I say. "I need to get used to working on one leg before I go hunting again, though if what you said is true, then I'll only be out for a few days. I reached Level 10 because of the fight, you know. Those things gave me quite a bit of Experience, even though I did so little to actually kill them. Power to me! Though we need to get Finn some more Levels now, so either you're taking him out hunting, or I will once I can walk normally again. Oooh! Finn can go hunting and try to gain Levels, and then once I'm back to it, I can try to catch up to him! Want to race for that, Finn?"

"Uh-"

"Since you seem stable," Sara interrupts. Let the guy answer, would you? "I'm actually going to go and fly over to grab the boat. I'll stick it in my Inventory, then return here. After I return, I'll fly us back to town."

"You can stick something that big in it?" I ask.

"Yes," she answers. "Though it's due to something special."

"That explains why I never could."

I'm going to assume it's a Title that grants her the ability to put larger objects into her Inventory.

Sara flies off, and Finn and I watch as she leaves. Once she's out of sight, I turn to ask Finn how he thinks Mom will react, only for him to lean forward and kiss me.

Whoa.