A great amount of relief filled his chest, at the same time as fear left his body and he sagged forward as much as the root would let him. But he wasn’t done just yet, and neither were the people who were rescuing him.

From behind the otter came a giant blur of movement, so fast that Trevor only got a glimpse of gray fur. Some more roots moved and formed a wall, but the figure jumped over it. That was when he fully saw the person was another wolf leaping through the air. They stood over 200 centimeters (6’7”), and held a giant polearm axe in both paws. They didn’t wear anything over their chest, and only had a loincloth and short pair of pants over their legs.

The otter ran past, and a clash started from behind. Trevor was momentarily confused until he heard heavy stomping coming towards him and looked up to see the most massive person he has ever seen. They were almost 3 meters tall (9’10”), and wore the same set of clothing as the beastkin wolf. Also, instead of fur they had scales of red, orange, and dark brown colors, as well as a huge pair of wings poking from their back. Trevor used Analyzing Sight on them.

Name: Xardabran / Species: Demi-Wyrm / Level 347

He almost choked as he gasped upon seeing the level. He knew they could be high, but that is ridiculous. He heard a deep and throaty chuckle coming from the Demi-Wyrm above him.

“Slow down, kid. Don’ ye know it’s rude ta look at a person’s profile?”

The laughter continued for a moment longer, their chest and crown of horns bobbing up and down. The man looked down and smiled at Trevor in a non-malicious but salacious way, forcing him to repress a shiver. He’s starting to have some doubts about these people.

“Sorry, sir. Most of this is new to me.” The Demi-Wyrm raised a ridged eyebrow inquisitively at him, but they seemed to put it aside for now.

“No worries, kid. I’ll have ya out of there quickly.”

Trevor was confused and worried by what they meant, before they grabbed onto one of the roots holding him and pulling. Their immensely huge muscles bulged and tightened, and within seconds the root twisted and broke apart, freeing Trevor’s hand. He was about to remark on this, but the Demi-Wyrm continued on like it was nothing and soon freed him completely. Trevor rubbed his neck and wrists to get blood flowing through them again.

“Thank you.” Trevor gasped as he breathed out.

“It was a pleasure, one I expect ye ta repay later.” the Dem-, Xardabran, grinned teasingly.

“Right, sure.” He didn’t give any emotional reaction as a response.

Trevor knew that people like this existed, but he never met nor tried to meet them before. He also didn’t expect them to be so brazen and open, or more likely arrogant.

While he was lost in his own thoughts, Xardabran pushed a pile of glass bottles into Trevor’s arms. He inspected the five bottles, two with a bluish tint to them and the other three with a reddish tint. He held one up to his face and looked at it confused, which the dragon-man seemed to take notice of.

“Those are health and mana potions, the good kind as well. Drink ‘em up ta replenish yerself.”

Trevor eyed them suspiciously before unstopping one of the ‘health potions’ and drinking it. He gagged and almost spit it out, but he was able to keep it in. It wasn’t terrible, but the taste and texture was like he was swallowing down mud. But, the effects were immediate, as he noticed his health bar filling up quicker and the scrapes and cuts he had were healing at a slow but miraculous rate. The deeper and bigger injuries were still there, but they weren’t as bad as before. He drank a second and then went for the third but was gently stopped.

“Stop, kid. Ye can’t drink that many without side effects. No more than two each hour, but ye can still drink the mana potions.”

He nodded and, with a bit of hesitation, drank the first mana potion. He didn’t need to worry since this one tasted a lot better. It was sweet, but with a refreshing taste that kept the sweetness from being overpowering. He was also excited to see his mana go up by 100 points with each bottle he drank, bringing him almost to 300 out of his current 800.

He didn’t have anywhere to hold the last bottle so he tried to give it back, but the dragon-man pushed it back to him.

“Keep it, yer gonna need it eventually.”

Trevor nodded but set the health potion down next to a root. He turned around to watch how the fight progressed, and was happy to see the Ember-Root getting its ass beat by the other two. While the otter and wolf had some small scrapes on them, their opponent was much worse. Cuts, gashes, and some arrows were seen all over its body, with an arrow stuck in its eye and one of its back legs completely limp. Yet, it was still fighting as shown by the many roots and even burning plants that littered the ground.

He had experienced those flames for himself while he was continuously dodging the Ember-Root. It had almost cost him his life the first time the Ember-Root had spewed those flames from its mouth, but he was able to both dodge and block it with a Mana Shield. He privately looked to the dragon-man, thinking that he wouldn’t be surprised if they could do that as well.

Out of curiosity, and despite their words, he used Analyzing Sight on the two other newcomers. He found out that the otter’s name was Nyles Korx, and that the wolf was named Culon Blackclaw. They were Levels 41 and 43, respectively. Each was almost double what the Ember-Root was, and it caused him to wonder why it’s taking so long for them to finish the monster off. Trevor walked up to try and help them, but was immediately stopped by a massive scaled and clawed hand on his shoulder.

“Nope, yer not going back in there. Ye might have a lot of magic, but yer not ready for that fight.”

Trevor knew that the words didn’t have any pity to them, but he still felt indignant. How they knew about his magic, he can only guess that the group was watching him before they decided to save him. He pushed off the hand from his shoulder, and the other man allowed him to.

“Sorry, and thanks. But I think I can handle it now.” he explained softly, before transporting himself to the area of the river nearest the battle.

He activated his Mana Sense Skill, focusing it on the water behind. He had only just gained the ECE Skill for water, and he needed to bring it up for his former plan to work. The two beastkin kept on fighting the Ember-Root, while Xardabran mysteriously stayed back and looked directly at Trevor, curiosity and annoyance written on his muzzled face. Trevor didn’t care for that, and focused on quickly raising his Skill levels before the fight ended.

“Keep distractin’ that thing!” He shouted to the two beastkin, who looked at him for a split-second in bewilderment and confusion but continued fighting.

He did a quick review of what he’d learned about each element over the past day. Each element had its own essence, its own ‘want’ of what to do. Fire ‘wants’ to consume and bring heat, no matter whether it’s through destruction or through taming of outside forces.

Skill Level Gained!

Element Control Efficiency: Fire Increased by 2!

Earth is different, as it doesn’t want to create. It simply ‘wants’ to stay put, to endure even when outside forces would make it wither and crumble to dust. It is durability and endurance, but it is not timeless.

Skill Level Gained!

Element Control Efficiency: Earth Increased by 2!

Air is the element of freedom. Unlike Earth, it does not have a set path. It ‘wants’ to move wherever it can, wherever something isn’t blocking its path. And when something is, it does two things; either find another path around it, or forcefully push it aside.

Skill Level Gained!

Element Control Efficiency: Air Increased by 4!

Wood is the element of the forests and nature. Like fire, it ‘wants’ to grow and consume its surroundings, but not in a destructive way. It is the giver and protector of life, providing for all that seek it out. But it also doesn’t give its rewards freely, and will take back its gifts eventually.

Skill Level Gained!

Element Control Efficiency: Wood Increased by 5!

Water is similar to both Wood and Air. It is a giver of life, but it also creates its own pathways to go down. It is more forceful than Air, but also not as patient as it creates the pathways. It can provide a sense of calm and relief, or fear and doom.

Skill Level Gained!

Element Control Efficiency: Water Increased by 5!

Element Control Efficiency: Air Increased by 1!

Finally, the element of mana. Mana is a tricky element, both to see and to use. It is a hidden force best reserved to be in the background, but is also the glue that holds and creates everything around it. It has no beginning, it has no end, it is a fundamental force that proves that energy can never be created nor destroyed, just changed into a separate element before it is changed back to mana. Into power itself.

Skill Level Gained!

Element Control Efficiency: Mana Increased by 11!

Mana Sense Increased by 5!

Putting the philosophical thinking to the side, this review was good. It built a solid foundation for him to build upon all of his magic. Each ECE Skill may be different at first glance, but they each have some overlap that can be used to propel another higher.

Looking back, the Ember-Root was in horrible shape. One of the next hits will bring it down, and Trevor wanted to be the one to deal the killing blow.

The mana around him flowed directly into the river behind him. It merged with the water element, and Trevor directed his senses to the essence of water. He attempted to reforge and reconstrue his understanding and control, combining it with both its opposing and synonymous elements. In turn, he saw even more massive gains to his Skill levels.

When he thought that he was ready, Trevor coalesced the water into a giant ball that was twice the size of himself. Xardabran and the occupants of the battle stopped for a moment and gawked at the show Trevor was putting on. The Ember-Root, however, was turned away and barely standing. Its chest was heaving heavily, and it looked like a light wind could blow it over. That was perfect for Trevor.

“Now! Get out of the way!” he yelled.

Whether it was by surprise or by actually listening to him, the beastkin rushed backwards away from the Ember-Root, and Trevor. The Ember-Root looked back with its remaining eye, before it went wide at the sight of the giant ball of water. Briefly, Trevor felt the fear effect try to take hold of him, but he immediately resisted and gained 2 levels in Fear Resistance.

“Sorry, but yer dyin’ today you fecking mutt!”

The water spewed forth as the Geyser Skill was activated. The Ember-Root didn’t have the time, energy, nor mana to dodge or block and was hit directly by the blast of water. It shot off into the edge of the forest, its mass and weight causing it to break the first row of trees and stopping at the second. It lay down on the ground, unmoving but still breathing, so he decided to remedy that.

The water ball was still there, a lot smaller but still usable. Trevor had to get closer, though, and started running towards the fallen monster wolf. To the side, he saw that Culon was running at a much faster pace. They must’ve had the same idea as him and wanted the glory of landing the final strike. Trevor didn’t care much if the wolf beastkin got it, but he was also a competitive person and wanted revenge.

He took complete control of the water ball, morphing and forging it to become thinner and sharper. He was able to create a razor-thin blade of water, and gained both a Skill and personal level for it. The Water Blade was launched, its speed equal to Culon’s and going faster. In response, the wolf beastkin quickened his own pace to try and match the blade’s.

Both were getting closer to the Ember-Root, they were neck-and-neck to each other. And then Culon went directly into the path of the Water Blade, forcing Trevor to divert its path to prevent the beastkin from accidentally dying. Culon jumped, axe held up high before slamming down into the Ember-Root’s neck, and the Water Blade sliced open its stomach. Its blood and entrails fell from the vertical cut, leaking onto the grass and bushes.

Culon raised both fists into the air and shouted in victory. Trevor didn’t notice his ears droop at first as he frowned at the loss. The messages helped to lighten his mood a bit, but he couldn’t help the nagging feeling that he could’ve gotten more if he had made the killing blow. He heard footsteps coming from behind as the last two of the group walked up to him. One of them, Nyles, softly patted his shoulder, while the other roughly hit his back and caused him to fall over.

Xardabran laughed uproariously as Trevor got back up.

“I underestimate ye, kid. Better luck next time if ye want ta beat Culon in a race. Also, that’s a very nice ass and hips ye got.”

“At least try to save it inside the tents. You’ll scare him away if you keep talking to him like that.” Nyles argued.

“Well, if ye want ta invite me…”

Nyles groaned while Xardabran just laughed even harder. Trevor just ignored the idiot, assigning his Attribute Points and looking over the changes.

Name: Trevor MacFerris

Age: 19

Species: Beastkin (Fox)

Level 17 (22/170)

Strength: 35

Agility: 50

Constitution: 50

Mind: 65

Perception: 45

Charisma: 45

Attribute Points: 0

Abilities:

Mana Attunement: Level 2 - Major - Your body and mind have attuned to the very essence of mana itself, allowing you to control and shape it. The amount you can control is determined by your Mind attribute and the level of this ability. You also gain 10% resistance to Mana-based attacks and damage from Mana environments.

Mana Conversion: Level 2 - Supreme - Divine Blessing - You have reached the epitome of mana manipulation. You can transmute mana into any other element. The element you change the mana into gains 15% to all damage.

Analyzing Sight: Level 1 - Minor - Divine Blessing - You have the ability to see things that you normally shouldn’t. You gain the power to see the name, level, and species of any other living being.

Forest Pathfinder: Level 3 - Major - Racial: Divine Blessing - You have been a great gift only available to your species through the benevolence of Baz. Through a deep connection with nature, you may travel between trees and other plants by touching them. The distance you may travel is determined by your Perception attribute and the level of this ability. Once per day, you may also increase one of your attributes by 30%.

Enhanced Memory Retention: Level 5 - Major - Through dedication and practice, you are able to remember things more clearly. Gain a 50% bonus to learning and improving all skills. Level 5 Improvement: You can use half of your bonus and give it to someone else when you teach them or help them improve a skill or ability. You must have the skill or ability yourself and it must be a higher level than the person you are helping for this to take effect.

Skills:

Climbing - Level 23

Dodging Proficiency - Level 39

Dust Whirl - Level 11

Earth Grasp - Level 5

Earth Spike - Level 8

Element Control Efficiency: Air - Level 35

Element Control Efficiency: Earth - Level 25

Element Control Efficiency: Fire - Level 20

Element Control Efficiency: Mana - Level 36

Element Control Efficiency: Water - Level 25

Element Control Efficiency: Wood - Level 30

Fear Resistance - Level 20

Field Medicine - Level 3

Foraging - Level 37

Gale Blast - Level 10

Geyser - Level 11

Gun (Rifle) Proficiency - Level 30

Gunsmithing - Level 12

Ignition - Level 20

Knife Proficiency - Level 20

Knowledge: Biology - Level 75

Knowledge: Chemistry - Level 44

Knowledge: Computers - Level 22

Knowledge: Geography (Aldara) - Level 3

Knowledge: Geography (Earth) - Level 26

Knowledge: Geology - Level 34

Knowledge: History (Earth) - Level 25

Knowledge: Math - Level 81

Knowledge: Physics - Level 75

Knowledge: Politics - Level 31

Mana Sense - Level 35

Mana Shield - Level 15

Mana Sphere - Level 8

Mana Weapon - Level 5

Mana Weaving - Level 5

Natural Weapon Proficiency - Level 10

Navigation - Level 42

Negotiation - Level 15

Root Grasp - Level 4

Root Whip - Level 5

Running - Level 33

Sewing - Level 18

Skinning - Level 32

Spear Combat Proficiency - Level 7

Stealth - Level 45

Swimming - Level 28

Tailoring - Level 2

Tracking - Level 76

Trapmaking - Level 28

Unarmed Blocking - Level 15

Unarmed Combat Proficiency - Level 41

Unarmed Parrying - Level 11

Water Blade - Level 10

Water Whip - Level 3

Weaving - Level 4

Wind Blade - Level 14

Woodcarving - Level 9