“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” Hebrews 12:1
The Bible has some really beautiful verses in it. Reading about Hecate and Morrigan got me interested in religion and mythology. I decided to start looking into the modern ones first. I figure if I can understand those the older ones will be easier. Funny enough Hecate has or maybe had worshipers before the integration but there was a big period of time when she didn’t. She got a bunch in the last century when the occult and witchcraft became trendy in western countries instead of something that might get you set on fire.
Of course being American I start with the Bible. I at least know a little about it. I started with the New Testament though, especially given how forums describe the old. I could use some peace and love and being good to each other. That’s when I ran across this verse. I’m starting to get how ideas can ‘speak’ to you. My life, getting better, even getting stronger is a marathon.
That’s the long goal.
Right now it’s time to do some sprinting. I’m going to focus on metallurgy for my homework. Religion and mythology is for fun, something to read over breakfast or before bed. I need to do that I think. Trying to be Robot Marie definitely didn’t work. I dragged some big rocks from the river, which is a good 20 minute walk by the way, down to the stream near this treehouse. I’m using mana to make clamps to hold it still. My fire is still not hot enough to really melt this so I can’t make ingots or anything but it’s softened enough that if I keep hammering it I can break pieces off. Right now that’s most of what I’m trying to do.
I’ve decided a pit trap for the bear is a good idea but instead of mana I’m going to make spikes out of this spider. I really want to make a sword but this isn’t something intelligence or wisdom stats will really help me with. I need experience. I also need someone to teach me the right way to do this, cause I don’t know what I’m doing even with online videos. It seems not everything can be done just because you can understand it. That’s ok though. I’m doing well enough that I think I can make some sharp pieces of metal. And one more thing. It’s sitting to the side right now, not quite round but not as far off as it could be. I’m making a frying pan. Well kind of, it doesn’t have a handle but with mana manipulation it doesn’t need one. I’m working on blunting the edges so I don’t cut myself. Again.
I get to a good stopping place and it’s hunting time. All the things I’ve overlooked, the enemies that I decided didn’t have to die. I didn’t understand I was choosing them over me. I’m still not sure that’s exactly right but it’s not completely wrong. I definitely would rather fight bugs though.
I wrap some small pieces of metal up to bring with me in case I need something that isn’t magic to shoot from my blaster. I need 3 levels before I’ll even think about fighting a bear and that means I either need enemies that are higher level than me or a bunch of enemies that I can take out fast. They also have to at least be level 20 but that’s less of an issue every day. The question is do I want to go back over places I’ve already been or somewhere new?
I decide it’s time for something new and get ready to head towards the stream's source. I haven’t worked on my perimeter in a while so I basically just have a little more than a half circle that manages to stay near the stream that breaks off from the river. The cool thing is that the issue I was starting to have carving out of the wood disappeared after I started leveling over 20. I think I’ll make a hideout on the other side of the river so I stuff the metal spider body and big pieces into the treehouse before setting out.
The walk there is pretty boring even Mana Walking and Burden of Atlas is starting to just feel normal. My aura let me increase the weight magic slightly but it’ll probably be at least a day before I get more stats at this weight. That’s just a guess, but my guesses are starting to be pretty good. Walking over the river is neat. I stay pretty high up, kind of expecting fish to jump out and try to eat me or something but I’m surprised by the fish I see. Levels 5-10. Wow, I should go fishing. At least with fish I don’t have to worry about them having feelings or something.
The other side of the river looks pretty similar to the side I came from. The trees are a little further back, leaving some tall grass around a huge rock near the banks. Wait. This is the second time I’ve thought an animal was a rock and I catch on quicker this time. That’s no boulder. It’s an enormous frog. Like as big as a small car. Do I even want to know what level it is?
Level 30 Stone Bull Frog
Hey, that’s not too bad! Actually this thing might be perfect. I’m maybe 50 feet in the air or a little less. You could stack 12 of me up and reach around this high. One day I will make something to measure with. The frog is like twice that far away. It’s not moving and its eyes are actually closed. This could be a really good chance to try to upgrade Identify. It has to be close to upgrading as much as I’ve used it. This is another guessing thing, but I think my wisdom stat actually makes me a better guesser. Or my intelligence stat. Or I’m imagining things.
I stare down the frog, trying to keep Identify active. Blaster up, and fire! THWACK ZAP THWACK ZAP THWACK ZAP THWACK ZAP. I shoot four off and watch the frog. Come on… The frog doesn’t even move. OK fine. I pull my bag pack around and using some mana gloves I take out 4 small pieces of metal. I put everything back in order and fire the metal keeping my eye on the frog. Come on, I use this stupid skill all the time just upgrade! THUMP the metal sinks a little ways into the frog and it opens its eyes. I’m sorry Mr. Frog but I’m pretty sure this is my best bet. I aim at its eye and fire.
My blaster isn’t a real rail gun, but it shoots really fast. It uses a similar concept but with mana. That said, the barrel is kind of short and I think the System is doing a lot of work. Still though, it’s real fast. That’s why I’m surprised when something big and pink comes flying to knock it out of the air. That’s crazy enough, but nothing like my surprise when the metal shatters into pebbles and dust. Did that frog just change my metal in rock with its tongue?
There’s no time to think about it as the tongue flies towards me and I put up a shield out of panic. The shield stops the tongue but crumbles into dust in front of me. What? It can turn mana into stone too? That’s crazy! I back up, while keeping a shield in front of me but it’s tongue stays in its mouth. It still has an eye on me though, and I still have Identify up. And it still hasn’t upgraded.
I see something interesting though. That first piece of the metal is still there and still metal. I shoot a couple of blasts at it. DING ZAP DING ZAP. Oh that made it move. The whole frog starts rumbling. It makes a sound like one of those big trucks that used to make my dad so mad. VROOOOM. It would be cool if I could see how much damage I’m doing. Tongues out again and another shield turns to dust. How long is that tongue? I back up some more when the frog decides to make me feel stupid. It hops towards me. Once.
It’s actually really slow, but that was a big hop. I get out of range again and realize I either have to do something new or run away. I’m not ready to run away yet. All that grass gives me a terrible idea but with Waterfall it should be ok. I shoot firecrackers all around the frog, This becomes more difficult as about half of them get knocked out of the air by its tongue. I finally get enough of them around him to go with my plan. I let go of Identify so I’m not too distracted and start fires all around it. I should be really careful if I ever do this again because the grass starts burning fast and the frog is really upset now. VROOOOOM VUUUUUUURP. It takes a hop towards the river but I’m already on the next part of the plan.
I hit the frog with Burden of Atlas and a lump forms in my throat. I really don’t like burning things alive. The thing is so heavy and slow already this should work great. I shoot two fireworks a dozen Maries to either side of myself and form blasters from them. Seconds tick by while my mana comes back, I’m only down a little below half but I’m actively keeping stuff up so it’s really slow. The frog is pitiful. It keeps trying to hop but instead it’s kind of digging a hole with its back legs. This is putting the fire behind it out though so I need to do something fast. I shoot a shell at it from the blaster on my right and out comes the tongue. This is my chance! As quick as I can I shoot the two pieces of metal I still have into its left eye. VUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURP. I don’t even hear the impact over its yelling. Its tongue is now rubbing over the injured eye over and over again. Here’s my shot. ZAP ZAP ZAP directly in its mouth. Identify is back on as I stop feeding mana into the fire. The frog kind of lays down and puts a front leg over its eye weakly. It’s back is bubbling and actually catching fire now. The tongue falls out and just kind of lays their as the System message arrives.
*DING*
Level 30 Stone Bull Frog Defeated
Experience Rewarded
Level 15 Field Mouse Defeated
Level 18 Grasshopper Defeated
Level 8 Ant Defeated
Level 8 Ant Defeated
Ok Skipping through all of those. Wow, that's a lot of ants.
Level 20 Aphid Defeated
Level Up
Stat Points Awarded
Identify Upgraded
Advanced Identify
What is that? Obtain system knowledge about items and entities. Upgradeable, information available dependent on intelligence stat. Current information: Class, Species, Health, Distance.
Are you kidding? Now you upgrade? I guess I wasn’t imagining things though. I don’t have time to worry about it just this second. I start using Waterfall to put the fire out, moving it while it’s on is actually a little difficult and a few times I just cast it again instead of trying to move it too far. I’m starting to get really low on mana now so I run to the nearest tree and use it to get into my tent for a quick break. Just long enough to recover my mana and eat some leftover pork loin from this morning.
On the one hand, I hope I can find some more tough slow enemies. On the other hand I really need a way to kill them faster. I don’t know how I feel about killing it because I’m too sick about how I killed it. Ugh, that was nasty. Maybe if I can get better at making them die without suffering? It's something I should think about, and I’ll try to plan better next time. That’s right I’m not stopping just because this upset me. I can’t do that every time something bad happens. Finishing my snack I go out and there in the burnt ground, eating the bull frogs is something I absolutely have to kill.
Level 25 Master Alloy Praying Mantis
HP: 412
Distance: 506 feet
Ok this is terrible. I know this is awful. I want those arms. It’s not quite twice as tall as me. The blades on its arms are like half my size. They look like someone made a sword out of a hand saw but thicker and sharper. Where they go into the arm of the mantis though, it’s almost the perfect size to hold onto. Maybe a little big? I think I can fix that though. It’s lower level than me which is always good but it looks like it has a good class (or species?) like me. I still don’t quite get how animals work when they level up but I have a few ideas. My best guess is they don’t have classes so they get to upgrade their species every 20 levels. I think that means they end up with more stats but not as many skills as me. At least that’s what I’m guessing. I really want to ask someone all this stuff. Why didn’t I think to ask Morrigan all of this when she showed up? Next time I guess.
Identify almost seems like it’s mocking me, but having the ability to measure stuff is great. Even if it is only distance. I wonder if there’s a tape measure skill, I have a skill point so I could check later. Although I think I’m going to wait till I have two and spend it on something good. I don’t even think I need the distance every time. I look at the mantis again and try only thinking about its HP.
Level 25 Master Alloy Praying Mantis
HP: 412
Oh, so I can change it. The description of the skill still kind of bugs me though. I have high intelligence, right? Shouldn’t the System give me something? I focus on the name for a second, not really expecting anything.
Master Alloy Praying Mantis
Don’t lose your head. Mantid that has fused its body with metal, this ambush predator uses extreme speed and cunning to kill its prey.
I actually tsk. I didn’t know I made that sound. How long has that been available? I try to study other parts of it, maybe find out how much mana it has or how fast it is. Nothing. Maybe I’m expecting too much here. I did just level it up, maybe that made it better and I haven’t only been using half the skill the whole time.
Might as well go ahead and take this thing since it was nice enough to show up. And it’s an ambush predator, if this is anything like the spider fight I just need to hit it fast and hard. Remembering that flying tackle I only stand 20 feet in the air. That’s right, using Identify on the ground tells me how far away it is. If that was the only thing I got from the upgrade I think I’d still be happy. No more measuring in Marie.
Blaster out I line up my shot and fire three rounds straight at it. I even overcharge them, no use holding back. The second my first shot leaves the mantis’ head shoots up and its blades turn into a blur. SHINK SHINK SHINK It slices through all three shells faster than I can see. I’m sure that would be a good way to block a lot of attacks. Like if it ran into one of those earth animals that throws rocks that move would basically stop any range attacks. Too bad for it, slicing my shells just makes them go off. ZACRACK, the sound of all three going off at the exact same time is super loud.
Level 25 Master Alloy Praying Mantis
HP: 189/412
WOW! I hit hard! Does that mean the other stuff I fight has way more HP? I’ll have to check out a bear when I get a chance. Dammit, Shield! How is it so fast? It turns into a blur and within 3 seconds it’s jumping and swinging those arm swords down on me. 68 mana gets pulled into the shield when it hits and I let go of Mana Walking only to cast it again after I fall below the Mantis’ feet. Not bothering to overcharge I shoot off three more shells straight up at it. It’s close enough that I can almost grab it. It dodges every single one of them.
I barely get another shield up but this time it’s under the things feet so I run and jump, letting that shield burst as soon as it gets hit. I change directions and jump again, trying to make it hard for the mantis to jump right at me. When it does I get a shield up over its head but it takes a slice out of my leg before falling. It’s just the tip, and I’m more scared than hurt as I keep trying to get higher. It stops and looks at me. It’s on the ground so maybe I can get it now? I shoot a shell and it takes off before it hits the ground. No good.
It’s still just looking at me when its wings come out and it starts flying straight up. It’s actually kind of slow. It’s almost comical how it rises. I shoot another shell and it steals my move, dropping before starting to fly up again. Ugh. It's not even flying towards me, just up. I want to take it out fast but this is a good chance to recover mana. If I ever have to fight one of these things again I’m definitely going to trap it somehow first. Might as well try Burden of Atlas. It doesn’t even slow it down, maybe it’s not that heavy, even though it’s made of metal.
Again, I can’t think about it for long because as soon as it got above me it started gliding way faster than it was flying right at my face. Uh oh. I set a shield while jumping back and the thing blurs right through it, shattering it. UH OH. I drop and catch myself again and throw another shield above me. It breaks and I fall again. This time the blades actually poke through without breaking the shield. 83 points of mana gone. I have to do something, I’m getting really close to the ground. I reach up and grab the back of the blades while letting the shield go. Maybe I can let it push me away. Pyrrhic Shock!
The Mantis starts trying to pull the blades back and the shield shatters. It starts pulling me up but I make some boots around Mana Walking and hold on tight. I think I’m actually stronger than it is. I am stronger. It’s jerking back one blade then the other then both. Our health is draining but other than my leg it hasn’t really hurt me. My mana is an issue though and quick math tells me I might actually run out before it dies. Come on, if you’re gonna shock yourself then shock yourself. I dump the rest of my mana into Pyrrhic Shock and get a System message as my hands start to go numb.
*DING*
Pyrrhic Shock Upgraded
Pyrrhic Circuit
Like playing chicken with a live wire. Enemies are unable to break away from you and take double damage, damage to yourself is further reduced by vitality.
Mana Walking fails first and we fall to the ground close enough that we’re both standing. Its head snaps forward towards mine and I sling it down, not letting go of its arms. It grazes my shoulder and neck but I don’t let go. It being so much taller than me is actually helping here.It’s head rattles to the side and I do the only thing I can think of. I headbutt it. Marie. Do not ever headbut metal again. The pain makes me let go and it actually gets knocked on its back. We’ve been on the ground for 3 seconds and I barely have enough for a mana sword. It’s having a hard time getting up, almost flopping on the ground, I don’t think it’s been on its back before. It gets a blade in the ground and starts pulling itself up and I pretend this is t-ball and try to knock its head over the fence.I slice right though its neck as its other arm catches me from the back side in the chest hard enough to make me almost throw up.
*DING*
Level 25 Master Alloy Praying Mantis Defeated
Experience Rewarded
YES! That was a fight. A real fight. Something I think I can feel good about. That thing could have gotten away from me anytime it wanted to but it thought it could eat me. Well guess what? You can’t. I stand back up and immediately take a seat. Oh my head. That was so stupid. I guess the other side of the river is better though, a level up and two skill upgrades, that’s the most improvement I’ve had I think. Ouch though. I manage to walk over to a tree and pull out the tent zipper. I gotta lay down for a while.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
*****
My headache goes away and I’m feeling a lot better before I get thrown out of the tent. That’s good because I hate having to stay up late waiting for it to charge. My health isn’t completely back but I have around 90%. My forehead is still pretty sore though.
I leave the tent and take a look around. Maybe the System will be nice and bring me something else? Nah, I don’t have that kind of luck. I go over and pick up the mantis. It's only something like an hour or two after noon, so I have plenty of time to keep going but I want to see if I can get one of these blades. Maybe even both of them, I don’t know about trying to fight with two of them at the same time but it can’t hurt to have a back up.
Walking back gives me time to change my mind. I go ahead and clean out the body as best I can but I don’t want to ruin the blades because I’m impatient. No matter how impatient I am. I’m dragging it to the stream when I have a terrible thought. I took this thing’s head clean off, I might be wasting my time. What if this metal sucks? I got so excited I didn’t really think about how good it was.
Several minutes later I discover a different problem. I didn’t cut through the metal at all, the neck piece looks like it was wider than the actual neck underneath. I just got my mana blade between that and its head. My mana blade won’t cut through the metal, it won’t even scratch it. Going over the body I realize this is not that big of a deal for cleaning it. There are gaps anywhere that could move. I just have to cut under them. It’s not even a couple of hours of work cleaning it so it’s still not too late in the afternoon when I finish. I make a closet at the bottom of the tree and end up putting it and the spider inside. I’ll work on getting that blade tomorrow. Time for more hunting.
Given my luck on the other side of the river today I decided to go back across. There are some different bears at the river now, one of them only being level 30. I go ahead and take a closer look.
Level 30 Tough Brown Bear
HP: 1786
What? That’s so much HP. Also it’s the same kind of bear as the other one and the one I saw before. Do bears not ever become anything else? My brain is trying to tell me something but I’m not really getting it. This is annoying. I have high stats can’t I just like, get the answer? OK I can get this. The other animals are changing to survive. Nothing is good enough to take the bears yet so they all stay kind of the same?
That’s kind of scary though. I don’t think that frog had anywhere near this much health. Could it take a bear in a few levels? I really want to see these things fight something. They have to fight sometimes, right? How else would they be this strong? I’ll try to think of something but for now I leave them alone. I take one more look to see if I can get any more information.
Tough Brown Bear
Lay Down. Apex predator. This Bruin hunts anything it can get its claws on.
I feel like the mantis had more useful information. I know one thing though, when I’m done the System is going to have change that description. Apex hunters have no predators. One day that’ll be me. Even if I never hunt again afterwards and live off of lettuce and daffodils one day there won’t be anything that hunts me.
There’s nothing in the field but ashes and a half eaten frog so I keep walking. There are fewer trees on this side. I thought it was just the river bank but there’s a big field on the other side of this little clump of trees. The grass is just high and I’m not coming down to walk through it. There are definitely wild animals in tall grass. I learned that fighting the mantis.
It’s a good thing I put out that fire in time. Well, maybe. I scold myself for the thought, I don’t like burning things alive. I still think about it though. Starting a fire in a circle around the field and then just letting it go. Or maybe pushing mana into it to make it burn hotter. I should. Well no I shouldn’t, but looking at it just as a means to get stronger it seems almost stupid not to do it.
Sometimes Mom and dad would leave change on the bathroom counter. I remember I wanted this silly troll thing that went on the eraser of your pencil. It had crazy hair and Cindi had one with green hair and I wanted one with purple hair. It wasn’t much, just like $3.50. I remembered thinking if I just took a little bit every once in a while they wouldn’t notice. I could blame internet videos or tv or whatever but I think everyone has thoughts like that sometimes. I didn’t do it. I knew. I KNEW it was wrong. I asked them for the money and they said no that was too much for something that would be a distraction. And then Benji went and bought it for me, which is maybe the nicest thing he ever did for me. He just handed it to me at school and put a finger up to his mouth. I felt like I was getting a reward for doing something right. I know I’ve made some mistakes since the System showed up, but I didn’t do it on purpose. This was different. If I do this I’m doing something bad.
Nope, not doing it. It was bad enough when I was fighting that frog, and I really thought it was the only thing there. That was bad but maybe necessary. This isn’t that. With that thought my head turns away from the field. I don’t even mean to do it, it’s just like my brain said “I’m not even gonna look at it.” I swear for a second it feels like Hecate is there patting my head. Good job Marie.
Wisdom +1
For once it doesn’t feel like the System is making fun of me. While I’m enjoying being praised I see some movement in a tree across the field. It’s a bird. A lot of birds. Why are they hanging upside down? It takes my brain a minute to catch up. Those are bats. Like, a whole lot of bats. I check out the one that just moved, forgetting to mess with the features.
Level 21 Vampire Brown Bat
HP: 156
Distance: 878 ft.
Is it just a vampire bat? There have to be almost a hundred in the tree. That’s a lot of experience. They have almost no health too. This seems like another fungal colony thing if I do it right. I start inspecting the other ones and realize they’re almost all over level 20. I haven’t fought anything flying yet, well not real flying. That Mantis was so slow going up I don’t even want to count it. I walk closer watching to see if any of them react. When I get about 200 feet from the tree I stop. A couple of the bats repositioned themselves to look at me.
I make my blaster and raise it to shoot fire crackers and then stop. Why am I going so fast? If I’m going to do this right I need to plan for it going wrong. I take a walk around the tree, getting a little further away and the bats kind of ignore me. It makes sense, this is during their bed time. I get to a tree nearby and cut out a cubby big enough to stand in and hold out my arm. No reason to make a door or anything I can just use a shield. I’m betting these things are fast like the mantis but haven’t leveled enough to be as tough or dangerous. I’m still kind of surprised by how much my stats have gone up. Hopefully I’ll be checking them after leveling up if this works.
I back into the cubby and get to work. I spread my mana around their tree slowly, not setting off any firecrackers that might make them jumpy. After I make a circle all the way around I start summoning blasters. My plan was that I would summon like 20 of them one at a time and let my mana come back before shooting all of them. Unfortunately I can only summon 6 of them before I start losing control over them. They’re still there because my class makes mana constructs stick around longer, but I shouldn’t push my luck. I give each blaster an overloaded shell and try to cover as much of the tree as possible with my 6 blasters. I wait for my mana to come completely back and fire all of them, then I shoot 4 more quick blasts from my cubby before I cover myself with my shield.
Just like with the mantis the sound of multiple shells exploding drowns out everything else. CONK ZACRACK the tree is covered in electricity and the bats start falling while the System rings in my ear Ding Ding DIng. It keeps going and I wonder if there’s a way to make it silent and the noise stops. I ignore the messages from now as I watch for any bats I missed. There’s really only a few left and they’re all screeching while flying right at me. They’re fast but I was actually expecting a lot more. I drop my shield and fire at them before casting it again.
OK they’re really fast for a second. I don’t even see them move, they’re just not where the shell is anymore and instead a few feet away. I really need something like that. I just wait for them to get to me, I already had an idea in case this happened. There’s only five of them and I just let down the shield and cast Pyrrhic Circuit. They all get caught biting or trying to bite me. They all die almost immediately.
*Ding*
Level 22 Vampire Brown Bat Defeated
Experience Rewarded
…
Seventy three of them. I killed sixty eight bats in one attack. I might be kinda strong already. Sorry guys, you’re all honestly kind of cute but I need that experience. My face kind of twists up for a minute. Was this any better than setting the field on fire? Stop it Marie, you can’t choose them over you. Yeah I answer, but I don’t have to enjoy killing them. Or maybe it’s not killing them. Maybe I’m like that study in my psychology homework. Pavlov. I get happy when the System goes ding and my numbers go up. It feels like more than that though. Like I can get strong enough that no one can keep taking things away from me. Enough, I can work through this when I have someone to help me. Speaking of getting stronger, at the end of all those kill notifications is another one.
Level Up
Stat Points Awarded
Just one? I know it was easy but come on. I got so many of them and that was after the mantis. Each of those bats was as strong as the waterwolf I think. Does level really matter that much? Something to think about I guess. Let me look at my stats, I haven’t done that in a while, and I just leveled up.
Name Marie
Species Human LVL 0
Class Master Autological Mage LVL 29
Stats
Strength 151
Dexterity 139
Intelligence 280
Wisdom 272
Vitality 188
Health 376
Mana 561
Skills
Natural Linguist
Class Quick Learner
Greater Mana Manipulation
Basic Space Magic (Gravity)
Free Form Advanced Identify
Mana Sense
Basic Hexagon Shield
Water Magic
Pyrrhic Circuit
Mana Walking
Flame Magic
Basic Air Magic
Basic Earth Magic
Voltaic Railblaster
Psychokinesis
Basic Mana Firecracker
Burden of Atlas
Poor Electromagic Aura
Waterfall
Blessings
Permanent Disciple of Hecate
Touch of the Fae Queen
Temporary Boon of the Newly Integrated
Titles World's Weakest
Child Prodigy
Over Achiever
My stats are so much higher than when I fought the wolf. Like almost three times for intelligence and Wisdom. Strength and Dexterity grew even more. Does this mean I could kill that wolf in one or two hits now? Well now I get why stuff below level 20 doesn’t even give experience. I can’t even imagine what I’ll be like at level 40. Or 100.
I shake off the feeling, literally. I’m still uncomfortable but this time it’s not my head messing with me. My bat bite marks are starting to hurt, why didn’t I notice before? Oh wow, I’m bleeding a lot. I pull some rags that used to be my old clothes out and start wrapping them around two bites on my arm and just pressing them over the ones on my shoulder and neck. The bites start throbbing after a few minutes and I think this must be a skill or something. I get up to walk back to the treehouse and get really light headed.
I hate to use the tent like this twice in a day but I think I should. I’ll either be staying up late or sleeping outside tonight. I walk in, not really dizzy enough to fall even though I feel like I might. I lay down on the bed on top of the covers. I definitely have to wash them after this.
*DING*
Disease Resisted
Disease? Do bats make you sick? I open up the archive and start checking articles on vampire bats. I don’t feel like sleeping or anything just don’t want to walk around. Oh my goddess. Did those stupid bats give me rabies? Or I guess try to? I try to focus on the word disease in the System message but nothing happens. There’s more, they have an anticoagulant drug called Draculin that stops blood from clotting. I have to keep looking through articles before I find it can take hours for the wounds to stop bleeding. That was pre-System though. Maybe me being stronger will make it stop sooner. Or maybe them being stronger makes it last longer. I guess I can listen to music and use the time of the songs to check every 30 minutes.
I actually use this time to discover some new music. It turns out a lot of people who listen to metal are really friendly, or at least the forums seem that way. Somehow I end up listening to Korn and Tallah for most of an hour. Definitely different from what I’d heard so far, but also something I plan to exercise and practice mana manipulation to in the future. It kinda gets me pumped up. Mom and Dad were pretty much just into pop music. I like some of it, but it was always just kind of background noise. Benji liked hip hop but that was mostly wearing air pods so I didn’t hear a lot of it unless he shared. Maybe I’ll look into that sometime. I never just sat around listening to music before. I think I’ll start trying to do it more, I actually feel relaxed right now. That could be the blood loss though. Never let things bite you Marie.
There is some good news though. I had a little time to look over available skills while laying there. Thanks to Morrigan’s homework I knew what I was looking for was called a movement skill. There are a couple that I expect, starting at poor quality. Just one more level and I’ll have 2 skill points so I ignore those. Basic Shadow Step, do I really want to start focusing on a different type of magic? I am kind of sneaky so that’s a maybe. Basic Spatial Shift, I do want to learn more space magic so that’s a maybe too. Poor Haste, I thought I already turned off the junk? No this actually costs 2 skill points. What does it do?
Poor Haste
Gotta pull quick. Move at 1 ? times your normal movement speed. Cognition and skill usage will be increased to compensate. Upgradeable.
So the faster I am, the faster it makes me, got it. Maybe? I guess if I can keep increasing my strength and dexterity this could be good. Or maybe just to shoot faster? I bet the basic and regular versions are really good. Basic Fire Boost, nah, I’m trying to set less things on fire. Poor Ground Canon, I stay in the air most of the time and also don’t like the idea of getting shot at things. Plus it’s another poor skill for 2 points. Basic Wind Burst, I’m ok with wind magic I guess, as often as I’m in the air this might be a good idea. I keep scrolling for a while and I feel like I’m not getting anywhere. Then I find it. Forget those other skills, they suck and they should feel bad. This is the one.
Basic Spark Step
It’s electric, boogie woogie woogie. Briefly turn into electricity and move a short distance. Damage anything in your path based on intelligence. Upgradeable.
I want it so bad. I don’t know if I’m trying to talk myself out of or into something stupid. I leveled up once, but I gotta be pretty close to another, right? If I fight a bear I could probably make it to 30. But also if I make it to 30 first the bear fight would be easier. That bat fight was so easy and boring and I feel kind of bad about it because they didn’t stand a chance. The mantis fight was hard but I still feel pretty good about it. Does the System mess with my emotions or do I actually like fighting? Like real fighting though, not just destroying things that don’t stand a chance. Nah, I don’t feel bad about the fungal colony and that wasn’t a hard fight. Enough Marie, you can’t keep trying to figure out what you have to feel bad about.
I’m gonna do it though. I’m gonna fight the bear now. Well ok, not right this second, but next. About an hour and a half has passed when I leave the tent. That’s not too bad. I’ll have to stay up a little today but I need to get ready anyway. I make my way back across the river and start looking for a good place to put a trap.
I’m kind of a fan of pit traps. I know there are plenty of other kinds but most of them wouldn’t work against stuff in the System. A rope trap would get torn up, anything made to hurt or kill stuff would barely do any damage. But a pit trap, where I use gravity to make the victim heavier? That can do some damage. Plus it actually traps them if I do it right. That means I can just keep shooting until they’re dead. It doesn’t usually work like that though so I’m trying to think of some back up plans while I work.
The bears have gone wherever the bears go at this point so I pick a spot close enough to the river that I think I can get one’s attention but far enough away that I hopefully won’t piss off more than one. I make a mana shovel that’s more like one of those scoop truck thingies and start pulling out dirt and taking it to the river. This is gonna be a deep one. 30 feet feels like far enough so I go ahead and make it 35. I cut limbs to stand up in the corners, pushing them further down into the dirt at the bottom and then pack them in with a mana hammer. I cut and slide long strips of bark all the way around, so it’ll be hard to just dig out of. It’s too easy which worries me. If I can cut it the bear might be able to get through it easier. I start making thin holes on each side behind the bark and packing them full of rocks.
Having something useful to do makes the time go by fast. I go get the spider parts and make a dangerous bottom for the bear. Listening to music the whole time helps too. Maybe I need a battle playlist? That stops me for a minute. I want to do it. Movies make music during fights cool. But this isn’t a movie and I shouldn’t have any distractions. I keep working, eventually covering the top with thin limbs, leaves and grass. I’m heading back to the treehouse when I get the System message.
*DING*
Strength +1
Dexterity +1
Wow, that was faster than expected. I guess hard work pays off. I honestly kind of forgot gravity magic was on. Actually I never turned it off before fighting the bats. Oops. I’ll make sure I do before I fight a bear though. With that I check my tent charge and realize it’ll be another hour. I walk back to the tree house and spend some time reading the Illiad, which is the closest I could find to an ancient Greek religious text. I found it beautiful too. “Be strong, saith my heart; I am a soldier;I have seen worse sights than this.” I start nodding off before the charge is complete and have to pinch myself a few times to stay awake. I’ve been through a lot, I can survive whatever happens next. It’s the best sleep I’ve had since the System started.
*****
I wake up feeling pretty good and it’s not even hard to get up. I’m excited. Something makes my face twist up and I realize my clothes, blankets and me are starting to smell. I’m not going to rush today, I only have one thing I want to do so I can take some time to do what I need to. I get myself and my stuff washed pretty easily and use fire magic to dry everything off. I wear my leather armor while I wash and dry my clothes so I have something clean to change into, then I wash those too and let them air dry. They need some love, after they’re dry I’ll try to repair them but I might be able to replace them with bear hide soon.
My excitement is a little confusing, but I’m not questioning it right now. It got me out of bed and I’m doing things I’ve been putting off. That’s gotta be a good thing. While I’m doing good things I cook some breakfast and remember I have mushrooms. Om nom nom delicious mushrooms. I wonder how hard it will be to get some spices one day? Is soy sauce still a thing? Do the Fae know about soy sauce?
I spend my breakfast researching food I can find in the wild. I’ve kind of looked into this before but only for certain things like mushrooms and berries. Apparently I should have been looking for roots and leaves the whole time. Garlic, onion, even wild carrots. I’ve seen all this stuff. Maybe I should go do some gathering and just pick some animals off on the way instead of fighting the bear for level 30.
No way, trap is set and I can do this. It’s big and probably slow compared to me. It doesn’t have an element so if I stay in the air it might not even be able to get me. Even if it does get into the air I should be able to use gravity magic to get it back down. I should be perfect for this fight. At worst I can probably get away by going over the river. Yeah, I can do this. I’m ready. I’m ready for a real fight.
The walk towards the river is nice. The sun is warm but not too hot, and there’s a nice breeze. I’m about to be one step closer to bringing over the Fae or die trying. That thought is kind of surprising but I realize I mean it. I can’t be alone like this much longer. I need someone to talk to bad. I don’t care if they hate me and yell at me. Actually no, I don’t want that. Do I exaggerate too much? I bet if I had someone to talk to they’d tell me.
When I get to my trap I find an absolute mess. Something fell in and then destroyed one of the walls getting out. Ugh, I worked so hard on this. I walk over to the edge and look down, making sure there isn’t still something down there. Nope, just rocks and broken bark. They completely covered the metal spikes. I guess if I make a trap at night for a fight I should leave it uncovered or something until it’s almost time to use it. This isn’t too bad. I should be able to fix it in a couple of hours which leaves plenty of time to-
“Ahhhhhh!” I scream as hot pain streaks down my back. I’m thrown forward and fall into my own pit. I hit the rocks at the bottom hard and my right shoulder comes out of place. Struggling to catch my breath I throw a shield behind me and flip over. I pull on my arm and see white when it pops back into place. My back is on fire, and I can feel the blood seeping out of it. OK bear, point for you but I’m not giving up.
I look up at the top of my pit and realize it isn’t a bear. The tufts on the ears make me think it’s an owl for a second but no, it’s a big grey cat. It might actually be a little smaller than me but that’s still a big cat. A cat! That’s something else I needed. That means I can complete the list and summon the Fae. OK kitty cat, you wanna fight? My face turns into a scowl as I stand up I start walking up on mana sideways so I can keep an eye on the cat. Unfortunately it doesn’t sit still and disappears from the top. I put a shield on my hand and keep it above me like an umbrella.
When I get near the top I try to look around to see where the cat went. I don’t see it. I check the trees that I can see, still nothing. OK I have to get out of this hole. I attach another shield to my back and take a running jump. Landing at the top nothing happens. I get away from the hole but stay on the ground. Dammit, what do I do here? This thing is fast and strong enough to knock me down and I have no idea where it went.
A twig breaks and I look up and over my shoulder to see fur flying at my face. I don’t have time to do anything but swing at it with the shield on my hand. It manages to move its body to land feet first on the shield and jump off. It lands on the ground and takes off but I’m watching it this time. It starts running up a tree and I fire four shells in a row, one below it, one above and one on either side. I guess it can’t feel mana because the top one hits in the back of the head and the other three go off on the tree. CONK CONK CONK ZACRACK the shells go off into one long zap and I finally get a chance to use Advanced Identify on it.
Level 27 Advanced Cunning Winter Lynx
HP: 202/356
Distance: 26 feet
I don’t even have to think about it before it’s bounced off the tree and running at me. Its fur is smoking and I swear it's looking at me like I’m already dead. I shoot a shell and it dodges it easily. BOMP ZAP it explodes on the ground. Useless. I get a shield up but it ducks around it and jumps at my face. I panic and hold up my left hand casting Pyrrhic Circuit as it bites onto my pinkie and ring finger. “Ahhhh, oww,” I cry. It hurts so much but I don’t let go. Something snaps and the cat starts falling. I grab it with my other hand and keep pouring mana into the skill. I don’t even feel the electricity as my hand throbs. I’m choking the cat and crying and trying not to look at my hand. I know what I’ll see.
*DING*
Level 27 Advanced Cunning Winter Lynx Defeated
Stats Rewarded
Level up
Stats Awarded
“What did you do? What did you do? What did you do?” I sob and hold my left hand. My left hand with two missing fingers. “You stupid fucking cat! You goddamn piece of shit!” I exhaust all the bad words I’ve never said, even here in the System. Nothing is good enough. Or bad enough. I take a mana knife and cut the cat open. I find my fingers and try holding them to my hand but I know there’s nothing I can do. Even if I could sew them back on, that's not how this works. I can’t stand to throw them away though so I wrap them in brown paper and put them in my bag. Maybe the Fae can help me. Please can they help me?
