This time I make it a group of driders, but I give one of them a bow just to test her. She pays attention this time and targets the drider with a bow first, once it is dead she has an easy time with the rest. Watching her tear through the other driders I am fairly impressed with how strong she has become.

She is definitely stronger than her mother was, I would have a hard time fighting her for real. The only thing she is missing is experience and that is why we are here, even though the soulscape isn't real experience. It is enough to let her make mistakes and learn from them, and with that in mind once she has finished the driders I create a griffin.

*DING*

Congratulations! Skill Soulscape has progressed to level 6!

Soulscape

Level: 6

Wis +30

You can create a detailed soulscape.

'Wait! Why did that level up now? I thought I could only level it up by creating the soulscape. This means I can get experience for creating things?! Why didn't the dragon tell me that?!!'

By the time I am done fuming Kechara has already killed the griffon, she did take some wounds however. Just out of curiosity I think about healing her and instantly her wounds are gone. She looks surprised but happy and then she flies over and lands next to me.

After letting her rest for a bit I ask her if she wants to fight more, when she nods I ask her if she wants harder opponents. When she nods again I create a pack of six of the bird things, she launches into the air and speeds towards them. At first she does fine, she uses a dive attack and kills one instantly, but then the others jump at her before she can fly away.

The five bird things manage to bring her to the ground and I am forced to dismiss them. One of the bird things was about to bite into Kechara's neck, I do not plan to let her die in here. While death in here doesn't kill you, it does weaken your soul, and I don't want that to happen.

Kechara picks herself up and shakes off then walks back to me with her head hanging. After healing her I sit down and tell her about almost dying the first time I met a bird thing. Then I go on to tell her why she should never underestimate an opponent or overestimate herself.

This is especially true when facing a group, even if individuals are weak they can form a strong group. Once I see that she has taken the lesson to heart I again create a pack of six and send her off to try again. I am glad that I thought to bring her here, a lesson learned with a little pain is much better than her dying.

This time Kechara is a lot more cautious when she approaches the bird things. When one jumps at her she easily dodges, but as she dodges the other five also jump at her. Luckily she is maneuverable enough to dodge them, she even kills one before it lands.

She takes her time to kill the others, it makes me happy that she has learned caution. One by one I create the beasts I have run into in the underground for her to fight. She has the most trouble with the turtle thing but she eventually beats it, now the only thing left is the t-rex.

This time I call her over and tell her about my fight with it first, I want her to be prepared so she doesn't die in one hit. After telling her the story I ask if she wants to try fighting it, at her nod I create it. Just seeing the thing again sends a shiver down my spine, but Kechara launches into the air before I can change my mind.

She almost dies right at the beginning, she wasn't expecting the t-rex to jump at her. To be honest I wasn't expecting it either, I didn't see it jump when I fought it but I tried to recreate it accurately. It isn't like I am controlling the beasts I create, I just create them from my memories and leave them to move on their own.

While I could probably control them if I wanted to, I would rather Kechara go up against the real thing, or as close as possible. Watching the fight I am fairly nervous, and I am ready to dismiss the t-rex in an instant. Kechara is staying in the air, but the t-rex doesn't even have to growl, the sound of her wings is more than enough for it to see her.

The t-rex jumps and tries to bite her again, but Kechara is way too fast, she not only dodges easily but manages to attack it. Unfortunately, she isn't able to do much damage, her attacks just aren't strong enough yet. Even her wind blade when she uses it only causes scratches, eventually she flies back to me looking sad.

After dismissing the t-rex I comfort Kechara and do what I can to cheer her up. I remind her that she still isn't fully grown, and that she will get stronger as her rank goes up. Then I tell her that she is already stronger than her mother was, which seems to cheer her up.

'End Soulscape!'

Even though it was all happening in the soulscape I can tell Kechara is mentally exhausted. After telling her to go to bed I spend an hour reading, I am almost done with the basic combat book. Tomorrow I plan to ask Kechara to fly around the mountain and search for the other barriers.

She is the only one who can sense them, and she will be able to search the mountain much faster than I can. Being able to fly is a huge advantage, and now that she has gotten some experience I am not as worried about her going alone. While I would love to ride her, unfortunately her wings don't really leave anywhere to sit.

Also while her body is long it is lean and light, I can't be sure if she could handle my weight. Another option would be to have her pick me up with her claws, she might be able to do that but probably not for long. For scouting it is better for her to be unencumbered, but I will keep it in mind.

With my mind made up I send my power into her core and then I go to sleep. When I wake up I do it again and then start making breakfast, Kechara wakes up as usual at the smell. As we eat I start explaining to her what I want her to do, and I tell her to return if she finds driders.