CH: 115.1 (Patreon)

The mana around me was like a physical weight on my shoulders, constantly pushing me down and hampering my slightest movement. It almost felt like I was underwater, only the water was mana. Mana Skin did its best to insulate me from it, but there was just so much to contend with.

It was our thirteenth day in the Endless Forest, and including the time it took for us to reach the mana-dense region, it was over two weeks since Tabitha and I left the village. I don’t think either of us imagined our adventure would last this long, but Tabitha and I had a goal in mind, and neither of us was keen on giving up just because it was getting a little rough.

We were deep in the Core region of the Endless Forest, heading for the heart. The leader of the hunting party we ran into, Clarkson, made it sound like a different world, but things were much the same between the inner and core regions of the forest. Though I will admit, everything was larger now.

The trees had continued to grow in size the deeper we traveled and now were topping out at over 1,000 feet each, practically dwarfing the biggest trees back on Earth, and they were only getting bigger. As a result, I could no longer casually scan the canopy with Sense Mana, meaning we had to be extra careful of what was above us, especially with the quality of magic beasts living this deep in the forest.

The magic beasts hadn't been getting bigger, mostly, thank the gods, but they had been steadily increasing in level. Hence the battle taking place in front of me.

Tabitha hadn’t even let me try to help her, saying this one was all hers. She was extremely picky about what she would let me fight, and for a good reason.

Currently, she was facing off against a bird that looked like a combination of an owl and a vulture. It sported a vibrant blue plumage, and it was pretty big, like most of the birds we've run into up until now. Admittedly, it wasn't as large as the silent falcons we've grown accustomed to seeing, but it was close to matching Tabitha in size, so it was still enormous by bird standards.

But even though it wasn't the biggest bird we've encountered, it was the highest-leveled one. It was hard to gauge people and creatures that had a higher level than myself, but using Tabitha as a baseline, I put the bird between level 95 and 100. I wish this were the first magic beast we’ve encountered at this level, but that would be me lying.

When we were in the inner region of the Endless Forest, the average magic beast was between levels 40 and 50. There were outliers, of course, but that was the average. Now that we were pretty far into the core area of the magic-dense region, it was rare for a magic beast to be below level 70, with most magic beasts we encounter sporting a level higher than myself.

Tabitha was still training me, but it was to the point we were now avoiding more beasts than anything else. Surprisingly, she wasn’t pushing me to take on any higher-level beasts. Instead, Tabitha was very understanding when I told her we needed to divert our course to circle around anything particularly strong. That was until she saw the bird she was currently fighting swoop down from the canopy and dispatch a snake.

She wasn't open about her reasons, but apparently, the bird called to Tabitha. Whether it was because it was around her level or because her being from Scholl meant she had a fondness for anything with feathers, she asked me to scan the area to see if anything else might get in the way of her fighting the avian. As soon as I informed her there wasn’t anything as far as I could tell, she told me to stay hidden where I was while she charged the bird.

Tabitha had attacked while it was in the middle of eating. The bird probably thought she was challenging it for its food, so it didn't fly away when she had.

While Tabitha’s fight with the arch-goblin had been flashy due to his outrageous strength, her fight so far had been just as flashy, though in a different way. Tabitha was a Dexterity fighter, boosted by her Strength and Vitality. She also had a bit of magic, but her magnificent armor shored up most of her weaknesses.

The bird was much the same; it was obviously a Dexterity-based beast. It could turn on a dime and dodge most of Tabitha's attacks by a hair's length without losing any of its speed. It also benefited from its magic beast physique, which meant it had sharp talons for attacking, feathers tougher than iron for defending, and, worst of all, magic at its disposal.

There was a mist constantly coming off the bird’s plumage, and if its tough feathers weren’t enough for defense, it had the ability to liquefy itself at will.

I watch from under a bush down on the ground as the bird takes another dive at Tabitha up in the treetops. While standing on a tree branch, Tabitha raises her shield in defense, but the bird turns into literal water and washes over her shield. The water pushes against Tabitha, trying to knock her off her feet while simultaneously slipping in between her armor.

The water droplets rip into her skin wherever it passes like miny razorblades. Blood and water mix, and it all flows in a single direction, where the water condenses and the bird reforms with part of its feathers now sporting a slightly redder hue.

Tabitha was bleeding, but only slightly, and didn't let the bird get off its attack without retaliating. She twirls in place with little to stand on and launches a barrage of beautiful slashes at the newly formed bird. It can dodge most of her attacks but not all of them. Tabitha’s magic sword cleaves into the bird’s left wing, drawing, of all things, blue blood. However, it isn’t enough to take the beast down.

This was the fourth time Tabitha had been able to wound the bird, just to have the wing she hit quickly liquify and reharden, leaving an unblemished wing in its place. Many would think the bird was invincible after healing itself as it did, but watching from my hiding spot, I could tell that wasn't the case.

Outwardly, the bird was the same as when Tabitha first charged it, but looking deeper, I could see it was running on fumes. Each time it liquified itself, it used up massive amounts of mana, even more so when it did so to heal part of its body. Soon the bird wouldn't be able to liquefy any longer, and Tabitha would be the winner.

On some level, the bird was aware of this. It was charging her less and less, and if Tabitha wasn’t keeping up the pressure, it might have tried to run. But that would be a death sentence for it. The bird could only dodge Tabitha because it was chaining its attacks; if it turned its back now, Tabitha would cleave it in two before getting very far.

I didn't see her fight like this against the arch-goblin because they were both on the ground, but Tabitha could move amazingly well in any direction. It was how she was keeping up with a magical beast with wings. I'd seen her easily scale the trees, but now she was bounding effortlessly from tree branch to tree branch, sometimes jumping without looking, all while keeping up her perfect footwork like a choreographed dance routine.

Tabitha didn’t seem the least perturbed by the mana in the air or that it was even impacting her movements in any way, as she managed to keep up with a bird mid-flight. Tabitha was dancing up and down the canopy, never more than a few feet away from the now terrified magic beast.

The bird uses the last of its considerable magic pool to liquefy itself, but it isn't trying to attack Tabitha this time. The bird-shaped water ball sores straight up, melding through countless tree branches, trying to put as much distance between it and a smiling Tabitha. Well, in my head, I knew she was smiling; I could only see their outlines from where I was down on the ground, but I was 99% sure she was grinning ear to ear.

In its elemental form, the bird gains elevation at an absurd speed. I doubt I could keep up with it using Air Walk. So, to see Tabitha keeping pace with it by dancing ever higher after it leaves me to ponder how she can move that fast.

It had to be all the tight turns she was making. Of course, I can easily outrun Tabitha with my skills when I have the open space, but I couldn't hold a candle to her in short-distance maneuvers.

I watch as Tabitha and the bird disappear out of sight. The battle was finishing above me, but it was beyond what I could see or sense. But it didn't matter if I could see the battle; I knew Tabitha would emerge victorious.

Over the last few days, I've seen her fight off dozens of high leveled magic beasts. Most ran after realizing they couldn’t match Tabitha, but a few required more persuasion. The beetles were especially thick-headed, both metaphorically and physically. We knew the little ones were delicious, the big ones, not so much.

All the beetles this deep in the forest were the size of bison, had indestructible exoskeletons and were so hard to kill they weren’t worth the hassle. Tabitha and I had such a hard time killing one that we just incapacitated it and ended up cooking it alive, and even that took entirely too long. Especially considering the meat contained within was rubbery and tough to chew. The meat still had the same flavor as the smaller ones, only infinitely tougher.

Sighing, I reach for my waterskin and pause as I uncork it. Scowling, I quickly hold it up to my mouth, throw it back and try not to vomit as a gelatinous orb plops into my mouth and sickeningly slides down my throat. My whole body breaks into goosebumps as I try to shake off the awful feeling.

Sitting down, I meditate, waiting for the toad spawn to start affecting me. Poison Resistance training was by far the worst experience I’ve ever had leveling a skill. I refused to think about the things I said to Tabitha while I was loopy the first few times I ingested the toad eggs.

It took me over a dozen attempts to unlock the skill. Each time was more humiliating than the last, so much so that I often wished I was drinking deadlier poison rather than the paralyzing loopy eggs I was regularly ingesting. But, at least Meditation was coming in clutch as usual.

Around my eighth attempt to unlock Poison Resistance, I discovered that Meditation helped my body purge the toxins quicker. I think it was because I was in a relaxed state, but that was only my best guess.

As my limbs start to feel heavy, I scan my surroundings. Poison Resistance was only level 3 at this point, but with my superior stats, I could shrug off the parallelizing effects should I need to. Tabitha had trained me to move while impaired, and even if I wasn’t mentally all there, I could still dodge should I need to.... and man was everything around me beautiful.

I smile at the leaves of the bush I was concealed under. Such a vibrant green; I just wanted to reach out and touch them. This forest was terrific; I wish I could stay here forever. Screw society; I could be Tarzan.

Lazily shaking my head, I try to push past those thoughts, as Poison Resistance helped me to overcome the toad spawn toxin running rampant through my system. Concentrating on things was difficult after drinking it, but overcoming it was what let my skill level.

As I’m forcing myself down from my toad high, I sense something plummeting from the treetops. Groggily, I crane my neck and watch a bird's corpse fall from the sky. “He-he, thud,” I giggle as it crashes down.

Slowly, I force myself up; stumbling, I approach the downed beast as Tabitha takes her time descending the nearest tree. She was bleeding from between her armor, but her Vitality would stop that soon.

Even in my drunk-like state, I could see the experience wafting from the dead beast, so I knew it was already dead and safe to approach. A voice in my head whispers to activate Soul Devourer, but even in my clouded state, I know not to use my skill without proper mental preparation.

The fog in my mind was slowly fading, and as it did, I could better appreciate the bird in front of me. The feathers were absolutely beautiful to look at, and I was going to take my time picking out the best ones to take back with me. Of course, Tabitha would get the first pick. I'm sure she'll want one to add to her hair. Speaking of Tabitha, what was she doing?

Knowing where she was, thanks to my skill, I turned to face a petrified Tabitha staring off into space at the base of a nearby tree. What was she…. Oh, I quickly realize what she's doing; she's checking her status page. I never remember her doing so before, not even once.

Wait a minute, did she!?

Taking a quick glance with Sense Soul, I confirm my suspicions. "Congratulations on the level-up," I say with a smile as I approach her. There was a visible change in her soul, and I could tell it had grown.

Tabitha blinks and looks away from the air directly in front of her. “So, you noticed,” she lightly comments, trying to project an air of aloofness, but her eyes gave away her true emotions. She might as well be jumping around in excitement.

"Happy to hear you reached….?" I had to pause because I just realized I had no clue what Tabitha's level was. I had never asked her what her exact level was. "What level are you?" I ask curiously

Tabitha briefly pretends not to hear me, so I stare at her wide-eyed until she gives in and tells me.

"You know it's disrespectful to ask somebody their level, right?” She admonishes me.

However, she knows most of my status page, so I feel no shame in asking her for just her level. “I’m not asking for your entire status page,” I roll my eyes, but then I get an idea. “Besides, I need to know your level.”

“And why’s that?” Tabita gives me a look that says whatever I’m about to say better be good, or she’d up my training regimen.

Jokes on her because I do have a good reason. "I use your level to judge magic beasts’ levels. So if I know your exact level, I can better scout for us."

Tabitha narrows her eyes at me. “The skill you use to determine an opponent’s level is weird," she comments, and now it was my turn to pretend I didn't hear her. "Fine," Tabitha lets out a sigh. “But you aren’t to tell anybody.”

“Even Pacore,” I jokingly smirk.

“Even Pacore,” Tabitha admonishes. “Master will recognize my level for what it is; you don't need to say anything."

“Fare point,” I raise my hands in surrender.

Tabitha nods, “Just now, I reached level 98.”

"Wow, that's amazing," I show my support for her growth. “We’ll have to celebrate,” I look around for anything we can do to commemorate the moment, and my eyes fall on the bird Tabitha just killed. "How bout we take a break for you to heal up while I cook us the bird you killed?"

My mouth watered, thinking about how the high leveled magic beast must taste.

Tabitha must be thinking the same because she smiles at me. "I would like that."

Even in a deadly forest, you had to enjoy the little things.

*********

2,750 words.

Sorry for the late release; my little sister went into labor yesterday, and we welcomed my new nephew to the family last night. I also got sidetracked by the two outstanding chapters released for the Wandering Inn, so busy night.

Thanks to those who reminded me what level Tabitha was supposed to be around, and if anyone knows if there was a chapter where I explicitly stated it, please tell me, and I'll adjust should I need to.

Thanks for reading, and as always, stay safe.