Ch: 117.2 (Patreon)

There was a pep in my step as I stood at the crater's edge, looking out at the dead spot in the distance. The training was fun, but exploring was way more exciting. And since the dead zone was our last target, there was an added sense of anticipation.

Scaling down the crater's edge would be easy; we'd done it so many times now I could almost do it with my eyes closed. The trick was to avoid the grey bricks. Even though they made for accessible spots to land on and cling to, it was far easier to move around them. Add Air Walk into the mix, and I could reach the bottom of the crater's outer rim in under five minutes.

Following Tabitha over the edge, it takes us almost no time to reach the bottom. Tabitha and I were in perfect sync as we moved, likely due to all the dancing training she’s been giving me. As long as she wasn’t going all out, I could follow her movements and act accordingly. And after getting the chance to watch her fight up close, I think I’ve gained a handle on Tabitha’s point distribution. Or at least a general outline of it.

Health-wise, I know from watching Tabitha recover from the arch-goblin and the elemental's attacks that she has a significantly higher Vitality than I do. However, I was unsure of what her Endurance looked like. It was likely over 50, but I wasn't sure since Tabitha’s armor was her main form of protection.

Her Strength stat was the easiest to determine, as after countless sparring sessions with her, I knew Tabitha was slightly weaker than me in pure physical strength, though not by much. She never had to hold back on that front, and if I had to venture a guess, I'd put her Strength stat around 135. That didn't sound very high, but combined with Tabitha's monstrous Dexterity stat and various skills, I’ve seen her slice through countless tough magic beast hides. And I can’t forget how she can cut through Mana Skin and my kaglese armor, either.

Tabitha’s entire fighting style was centered around her Dexterity stat. In close-quarter combat, she's almost untouchable. It took everything I had to avoid the magic eel we ran into, and Tabitha could fight it up close without taking any significant damage. She also reached me in time to save me from the shark, which required a crazy amount of speed and agility.

Tabitha’s other stats weren’t as impressive as her physical ones, but they did contribute to her overall strength. Her Senses stat was higher than mine, though not by much, as she could see and hear better than me. But if there was one aspect I trumped her at, it was the more esoteric stats.

There was no way to determine Tabitha’s Mind stat, but I could easily determine how much mana she had. I’ve probed Tabitha countless times with Sense Mana, so I knew her mana compacity was roughly 85% of my own. Admittedly, it wasn't much, but considering she only used mana to charge her armor and power specific skills, it was more than enough for a physical fighter. The same went for her Clarity; based on how well she manipulated her mana, I'd put it below 50, but that was more than enough to suit her needs.

Overall, Tabitha was a force to be reckoned with, but I wouldn't expect anything else from someone close to reaching level 100.

“Something the matter?” Tabitha asks me, noticing I was stealing glances at her more than usual.

“Just thinking about things,” I casually reply.

“Anything of importance?” Tabitha raises a questioning eyebrow at me.

“Not really; I was mostly thinking about how I stack up to you,” I honestly respond.

That earns a chuckle out of Tabitha. "Big girl thinks she's tough enough to take on her senior sister now," Tabitha grins challengingly.

I scoff, “Hardly. I was just curious how I would match up to you if we were at the same level.”

"I would still crush you," Tabitha instantly retorts without hesitation. "You seem to forget levels aren’t everything. A group can defeat a stronger opponent, and skill levels play a big role in battle. For example, General Pitz was able to harm Master, and their level difference is close to yours and mine. Stats are your foundation, but it's your skills and battle experience that are the most important," she reminds me.

“So, you’re saying I’ll never catch up to you?” I roll my eyes as we reenter the forest surrounding the crater.

"Not necessarily; you're quite talented," Tabitha praises me. "I can say this; you're closer to me than we entered the magic-dense region."

I was happy to receive such a compliment from Tabitha, but part of me couldn't accept it. Too many things went wrong during our trip, exposing many weaknesses I need to work on. Although I'll admit, I improved, it just didn't feel like that much.

Sighing, I only allow myself to feel depressed for a second before I shake away those thoughts. Everyone was allowed to mess up, it's people who give up that are the worst, and I’ll never give up. I’ll keep improving until I reach Tabitha’s level and beyond. I still haven't forgotten about my goal of one day kicking Pacore’s ass.

As we put distance between us and the crater, I regain full use of Sense Mana. My skill didn’t level despite constantly using it the last few days in a high mana environment, but there was some change. My overall range had increased by another 48 feet, meaning when I’m not boosting it with Meditation, I can see all the mana within 754 feet of me. That’s 14% of a mile, and when I do boost it with Meditation, I can reach out to 2,265 feet, over half a mile.

I'd like to know what ranges I’ll be able to reach once Sense Mana reaches level 81. After level 75, Sense Mana has become extremely difficult to level, but when it does, I’ve seen significant growth each time that it has.

Along with Running and Meditation, Sense Mana was one of the skills I wanted most to reach level 100, even though I had no idea what happened when they did.

"Gosh, I can be stupid sometimes," I verbally berate myself, drawing Tabitha's attention. There was someone next to me who I could ask.

“What now? is there something dangerous nearby?" She asks me before looking around for a hidden enemy.

“No, sorry,” I apologize for giving Tabitha the wrong idea. "I was just curious about something and realized I could ask you. That's why I called myself stupid," I sheepishly smile. "What happens when a skill reaches level 100?"

“Oh,” Tabitha visibly relaxes. "You're just curious about that? Why; don't you tell me you're close to reaching level 100 in one of your skills?”

"No, nothing like that," I wave my hands erratically. "None of my skills are there yet; I was just curious. I tried asking my parents a while ago, and they had no idea,” I tell her.

Tabitha nods in understanding. “Makes sense; it's rare for the average person to get a skill to level 100, let alone know what happens after,” Tabitha replies cryptically.

“And what’s that?’ I ask. “You said you reached level 100 in Sword Skills, didn’t you?”

“I did,” Tabitha confirms proudly with a smile. “Master said I was one of the youngest he’d ever seen do so.”

“Really; how old were you, and how did you do it?” I run a little closer to Tabitha to better hear her response.

“I accomplished it when I was thirty-four," she boasts, but I have no reference for whether that was good. Seeing my muted reaction, Tabitha gives me a sour look. "It’s impressive,” she says defensively.

“I’m sure it is," I try to soothe her before she gets mad at me.

Tabitha huffs. “For context, I learned to hold a sword before I turned ten. It took me twenty-six years to get Sword Skills to level 100. The first 75 levels were easy; I reached that point when I was eighteen. It was the last twenty levels that were the hardest. It took me a full year of intensive training to break through Sword Skill's level 99 test.”

“And what happened when you did?” I ask excitingly.

“I unlocked a new skill, of course," Tabitha tells me to my excitement.

“Was it tier 5?” I exclaim.

Tabitha’s smile slips for just a second. “As if tier 5 skills were that easy to obtain,” she chuckles ruefully. “No, the skill I unlocked was tier 4, Sword Mastery.”

"That's a skill? A little bit of a bummer, don't you think?" I deadpan. Will I get similar skills for Running and Sense Mana? I was expecting something more.

“Says someone who has no idea how important such a skill is,” Tabitha berates me. “A weapon mastery skill is crucial for any high-level warrior and usually takes over 40 years of intensive training to obtain. Once you unlock one, fighting people without a similar skill is child's play. A person with a weapon mastery skill can fight someone twenty levels above them if their opponent doesn’t have one. Obtaining one is extremely rare when you're still under level 100!”

Tabitha was so worked up; she was breathing heavily. I know I shouldn't push further, but I wanted to understand what she was talking about. "But it's only a tier 4 skill," I point out to her. I don’t say it outright, but currently, I have eleven tier 4 skills. They were all super strong, but why would one more make that big difference?

Tabitha stops running, and I need to skid to a stop so as not to leave her in the dust. She takes a deep breath as I slowly approach her. It's rare to see her so emotional.

“Sorry, I must not be explaining myself correctly," she says in an eerily emotionless voice as I stop before her.

In a flash of movement, Tabitha draws her sword and points it at me before I can even twitch.

I’m caught off guard but don't cringe back, even with Tabitha’s sword in my face. I knew her well enough to know she would never harm me without good reason.

“When you unlock a weapon mastery skill or any item mastery skill," she monologues. “Using said item never feels the same again. To me, my sword is a part of my body," Tabitha takes a lunging stance and thrusts the point of her sword at my face.

My life flashes before my eyes, but at the last second, the blade does something impossible. Right before the tip of her sword is about to puncture my left eye and skewer me, her usually rigid sword bends unnaturally and curves around my head. Then, at inhumanly fast speeds, Tabitha pulls her sword back, and I fear I might need to change my pants.

“Do you understand now?” Tabitha asks me as she makes a show of slowly sheathing her sword.

I nervously swallow a lump in my throat. It takes me a minute, but I eventually find my voice again. “How was the arch-goblin able to contend with that?”

Tabitha grins. "He could keep up with me due to his specific skills and physically stronger body, but if our fight had not been interrupted, I would've eventually been the winner."

“Wouldn’t a skill like that make you invincible against weaker opponents?” I stammer.

"To an extent," Tabitha shrugs. "Just like everything else in the world, there are limits. One-on-one, I'm strong, but what do you think would happen if I was facing two arch-goblins at once?"

“You would still win?" That wasn't the correct answer; I just wanted to score some brownie points from the woman who pointed a sword at me.

Tabitha chuckles, “It’s possible but unlikely. There are always extenuating circumstances, even more so against magic beasts. It doesn't matter if you've mastered a weapon if you can’t harm your opponent. But against humans, so long as too many higher leveled individuals do not gang up on me, I'll almost always win,” she says confidently.

“I see,” I nod along to her explanation. “If I can ask, what level is your Sword Mastery at?” I gently pry.

Tabitha hesitates but surprisingly answers me. "I unlocked Sword Mastery almost four years ago and have yet to break past the first bottleneck. Like some skills, Sword Mastery is closer to tier 5 in difficulty to train. Master assured me I would succeed soon, but then again, he started telling me that over a year ago.”

“So absolutely worth it,” I force a smile.

Tabitha boastfully laughs as she waves me to continue following her. As we weren’t heading for the center of the forest, I no longer needed to lead us, and after what happened in the crater, I was okay with Tabitha taking the lead.

“Sword Mastery might not be tier 5, but because it’s connected directly with a level 100 skill, it's stronger than usual," Tabitha adds as we continue running.

“You know, you could’ve just said that instead of scaring me with your sword,” I frown.

“I could’ve, but would you have listened as closely if I did?” Tabitha smirks at me.

Regardless of how she did it, Tabitha's display was more than enough to make me want to max out my highest-leveled skills. Meditation, Running, Blacksmithing, Hammer Skills, Sense Mana; I needed them all to level faster. Blacksmithing and Hammer Skills are more recent additions, but I spent fifteen years getting my skills to their current levels. By Tabitha’s standards, I would need another thirteen years to master any of them, let alone all.

That was simply too long.

We run silently for a bit, and while we do, I try to think of ways to improve my various skills. But after a while, I'm pulled out of my thoughts by weird fluctuations in the mana off in the distance. We had been moving relatively quickly after Tabitha stopped us, and by my estimations, we should be coming upon the dead zone any minute; that's probably what I'm sensing. But just to be sure, I run alongside Tabitha and wordlessly signal her to stop.

She does and looks at me, asking if it is okay to talk.

“I think so,” I say quietly.

“What do you sense?” She asks me.

"I think the dead zone is just ahead,” I inform her.

“I thought we might be getting close. Are you ready?” Tabitha asks me.

With a resolved look, I nodded affirmatively—what better chance to level my skills than by exploring the unknown?

I'm coming for you, skill mastery!

**********

2,400 words.

Sorry that there isn't much action in this chapter, but I didn't want to skip directly to the dead zone. And writing they walked for a few hours with little happening would be boring.

What do you think? Did I do a good job expanding the lore? I wanted to make sure I did it right without creating plot holes.

What do you guys think? Please tell me below, and as always, stay safe.