Ch: 118.3 (Patreon)

LV: 82 Experience: 836,754/ 1,484,280

Health: 1,784.96/2,530

Stamina 1,388.34/1,697

Mana: 561.22/1,030

Vitality: 253.05

Endurance: 100.40

Strength: 156.06

Dexterity: 156.06

Senses: 62.75

Mind: 65.64

Magic: 103.42

Clarity: 79.34

Status Points: 70

Skills:

Tier 1:

Meditation (LV80), Running (LV80), Blacksmithing (LV75), Hammer Skills (LV70), Axe Skills (LV60), Cleaning (LV57), Chanting (LV52), Mining (LV51), Drawing (LV48), Trading (LV48), Cooking (LV47), Sword Skills (LV40), Acting (LV36), Dagger Skills (LV35), Wood Carving (LV32), Sewing (LV32), Dancing (LV32), Pugilist Skills (LV16), Alchemy (LV15), Spear Skills (LV2)

Tier 2:

Sense Mana (LV81), Double Step (LV68), Charm (LV50), Hammer Arts (LV50), Measurement (LV49), Axe Arts (LV39), Steady Hands (LV35), Intimidating Shout (LV34), Writing (LV32), Mathematics (LV31), Increase Price (LV22), Lower Price (LV20), Sword Arts (LV17), Gourmet (LV15), Dagger Arts (LV13), Marching (LV5), Shout of Valor (LV3), Pugilist Arts (LV1)

Tier 3:

Mana Manipulation (LV67), Expel Mana (LV64), Weighted Strike (LV47), Double Strike (LV46), Precise Strike (LV45), Flash Step (LV39), Contract (LV22), Poison Resistance (LV12), Enchanting (LV10)

Tier 4:

Mental Resistance (LV63), Mana Skin (LV60), Inject Mana (LV56), Extract Mana (LV40), Magic Blacksmithing (LV36), Magic Threads (LV32), Air Walk (LV24), Empowered Spell (LV20), Ironclad Agreement (LV8), Multi-Strike (LV7), Appealing Deal (LV3),

Tier 5:

Sense Soul (LV41), Soul Manipulation (LV22)

Tier 6:

Soul Devourer (LV17), Experience Transfer (LV3)

Increased Skill Levels

Running (LV80) 4,000exp

Cleaning (LV54-57) 11,100exp

Chanting (LV52) 2,600exp

Dancing (LV31-32) 3,150exp

Pugilist Skills (LV12-16) 3,500exp

Sense Mana (LV81) 8,100exp

Double Step (LV68) 6,800exp

Steady Hands (LV35) 3,500exp

Pugilist Arts (LV1) 100exp

Mana Manipulation (LV66-67) 19,650exp

Expel Mana (LV64) 9,600exp

Double Strike (LV46) 6,900exp

Weighted Strike (LV46-47) 13,950exp

Precise Strike (LV45) 6,750exp

Flash Step (LV38-39) 11,550exp

Poison Resistance (LV6-12) 15,750exp

Mental Resistance (LV63) 15,750exp

Inject Mana (LV55-56) 27,750exp

Magic Threads (LV29-32) 30,500exp

Empowered Spell (LV18-20) 14,250exp

Multi-Strike (LV6-7) 3,250exp

Sense Soul (LV41) 20,500exp

Soul Manipulation (LV20-22) 31,500exp

Soul Devourer (LV11-17) 98,000exp

Experience Transfer (LV1-3) 6,000exp

Skill Experience: 374,500exp

Crafting Experience: 1,491exp

Fighting Experience: 8,409,773exp

Total experience Gained: 8,785,764exp

Okay, now I feel bad for giving Tabitha such a hard time reacting as she did when she saw her updated status page. I only earned a fraction of the experience she did, and it was taking everything I had not to shout or do something embarrassing to celebrate.

Was it a coincidence we both gained seven levels? Probably, but then again, if I could’ve handled all the experience, I'd have gained another ten levels on top of what I did—maybe more.

But wait, something wasn’t right; the numbers felt off. Tabitha said she got around twenty-seven million experience, over three times what I got. Still, I thought I transferred over something like eighty percent of all the experience I gathered. So by my math, Tabitha should've gotten something like thirty-four million, not twenty-seven. What gives?

And wasn’t forty million a little low overall? Tabitha said that soul horrors were only formed from people above level 140. Some of the experience dissipated after I absorbed most of it, but not enough to equal that much. What was going on here?

“Is something wrong? It’s unusual for you to be this quiet,” Tabitha’s concerned voice echoes throughout the dark room. “Is it possible you did not level?”

“No, I got seven levels too,” I inform her in a soft voice so she stops worrying.

“You don’t sound that excited,” Tabitha observes.

"I am; I'm just wondering why we got so little experience," I frown in confusion.

“We gained fourteen levels between us, and you think that isn’t enough? Were you expecting to reach level 100 in one go?” Tabitha laughs mockingly.

“That would’ve been nice. If that were the case, we'd have a better chance against the winged serpent," I sigh. “It's just; you said soul horrors were formed from high-leveled individuals who passed away under extreme conditions. I thought we might get something like ten times the amount of experience we did. But we got less than forty.”

Hearing me toss out such a large number, Tabitha's breath catches, and her laughter turns into a coughing fit. “I see,” Tabitha wheezes after she catches her breath. “I could see how that might bother you.”

Tabitha is quite good at hiding her emotions, but I know not even she can easily write off that much exp. “What do you think?” I ask Tabitha for her expert opinion.

Tabitha hums softly in thought. “Honestly, I'm of the opposite mind. We were lucky to get as much experience as we did.” I’m about to ask why, but Tabitha predicts that and explains her reasoning before I can say anything.

“Yes, soul horrors are made from high leveled individuals, and if what you say about them being made out of experience is true, they should consist of tens of millions of experience points. But you forget, unless they have a steady source of souls to feed from, they’ll slowly fade away. If we encountered them thousands of years ago when they were first formed, you might have gotten that much exp. But then again, they would’ve been much stronger back then,” Tabitha points out.

I feel a chill up my spine. From what Tabitha is suggesting, the soul horrors were on their last legs, and they still almost killed us. “Oh,” I mumble.

“I’m not trying to downplay your accomplishment,” Tabitha clarifies, hearing the disappointment in my voice. "I am merely trying to help you reign in your expectations.” Tabitha’s voice turns heavy. “I doubt I’ll ever be able to repay you for what you did for me, for not only my arms but for the levels as well. It would've taken me over a decade of hard work to get to level 105, and even that might not have been enough. You say you wish we got more, but this is already too much.”

"But you really shouldn't," I tried to tell Tabitha, but she didn't have it.

“But I do,” Tabitha says firmly. “I’ll find some way to pay you back, even if it costs me my life.”

Sighing, I give up on trying to convince Tabitha, she doesn’t owe me anything, as it wasn’t getting us anywhere. We both believed we owed the other and were too stubborn to admit otherwise. “I look forward to the day,” I say with a hint of sarcasm. “Maybe we should talk about something more upbeat,” I try to shift the conversation.

“You were the one unhappy with the experience you got,” Tabitha smugly reminds me. “But if you want to change the subject, I suppose I can humor you. So what are your skills looking like? Anything good?"

“Good would be an understatement,” I preen. “So many of my skills leveled, I don’t know where to start. I wish to test everything out, but I’m still tired."

“How is your Health, Stamina, and Mana doing?” Tabitha inquires.

“My Health has recovered to 70%, but it’s recovering slowly." After two days of rest, you would think it would be higher.

“Your body is probably still flushing out the winged serpent’s poison. It will likely take a few more days for you to recover fully, but distributing your status points will help. What about your Stamina and Mana? I assume both are similarly reduced,” Tabitha hits the nail on the head.

“Stamina is better at 82%, but my Mana is the worst of the three,” I tell Tabitha. “I used almost everything I had to save your arms, and what little I had left was further exhausted while fighting the soul horrors. I don’t know what it was like before I passed out, but it was probably below 10%. It's been two days, and I’ve only recovered a little more than half my mana back.”

I didn't want to, as I was steadily raising my Mana stat through hard work, but if I wanted it to recover anytime soon, I would have to waste a few points manually raising it.

“That makes sense,” I sense Tabitha nodding her head in the dark. “I wasn’t aware you used so much mana on me. Most mages would’ve collapsed if their mana dropped below 20%. So for you to fight in that state, it’s certainly impressive.”

“Well, I had good reason to,” I blush in the dark.

"Thank you again," Tabitha repeats.

“Poison Resistance went up seven levels. It’s at level 12 now; do you think it will go any higher?’ I ask, trying to brush past Tabitha's thanks, as it would just lead us in a circle of thanking each other again.

"It's possible," Tabitha tells me. "Though your body should've processed most of the poison by now.

It's just the bit left that's hindering your healing."

"Are you sure? I don't want to doubt you, but that poison was powerful stuff. Even with my increased skill levels, I don't think my skill’s strong enough to overcome it.”

"But it's not just your skill,' Tabitha reminds me. "The anti-toxin potion you drank did most of the work. So even if your Poison Resistance were only level 1 or you didn't have the skill at all, your body still would've eventually broken the toxin down. It just would've taken a lot longer."

“Is it the same for you?” I ask.

"Not exactly; I had an easier time purging the poison because my Poison Resistance is much higher than yours."

"Really, what level is it?" I ask in the heat of the moment, forgetting that it wasn't normal for teachers to share their exact skill levels.

But, surprise, Tabitha answers me. "My Poison Resistance has been stuck at level 60 for a long time, but thanks to our winged friend up there, I’ve finally broken through. It only cost me a fortune and almost dying to do so,” Tabitha darkly jokes.

"Almost dying seems to have that effect," I chuckle with Tabitha. "We almost died, but at least twenty-three of my skills leveled, and I gained two new ones."

"Oh, two new skills?" Tabitha sounds interested.

Damn, I got caught up in the moment, but then again, it wasn't exactly that much of a secret. "Yeah, I unlocked Pugilist Arts and the second one," I pause to find the right words. "The second one was the skill I got for transferring you the exp.” I purposely leave out how the skill works, not that Tabitha couldn't infer with how much I've already disclosed to her. I also don't mention that it's tier 6, as that would be another can of worms to deal with.

“Probably from using your hands to fight off the soul horrors,” Tabitha guesses. She also tactfully glosses over the more interesting skill, sensing I didn't want to talk about it. "Did your Hammer Skills or Dancing level up? It's good that you unlocked another skill, but you should still focus on those two."

“Dancing went up two levels, but I didn’t have the chance to use my hammer against the snake,” I hang my head. “It’s still over there in the corner covered in poison.”

"Don't try touching it until you properly clean it with your magic," Tabitha reminds me. "The potions we drank neutralized what was in our systems; it won't help us against anything new.”

“And we don’t have a third,” I frown bitterly. “Fighting the snake will be hard without them.”

“That’s true, but at least we know it can spit poison," Tabitha points out. “And knowing is half the battle. Because we know what the lesser dragon is capable of, we can devise a plan suited to our strengths and not his. But before that, we must heal. So, take some time and distribute your status points; I’ll do the same.”

"But will seven levels each be enough?" I can't help but ask.

“You’d be surprised what seven levels can do,” weirdly, Tabitha sounds quite positive.

“It sounds like you have an idea. Is it any good?" I lean in anxiously.

“It’s not really a plan,” Tabitha bursts my bubble before it can get too big. “I merely already know how I’m going to distribute my status points.”

“Can I get a hint?” I ask.

Tabitha hums in thought. "I suppose I can tell you. I'm forgoing putting many points into Vitality and putting the majority of them into Strength. I couldn’t do much against the winged serpent's tough hide with my current Strength, so I’m focusing on that.”

“But isn’t that against your build? Can you afford to do that?” Unlike me, Tabitha was highly specialized like her Master; shouldn't she focus on her Dexterity?

“I think you misunderstand me,” Tabitha corrects me. “I’m still placing points into Dexterity as that will always be my priority. I’m just using points I would’ve placed into Vitality into Strength instead.”

“But my parents and Master always tell me I’m supposed to place a percentage of my status points into Vitality, as it will help me live longer. Are you sure you’re okay with that?”

Tabitha laughs so hard; she groans in pain. “That’s good advice. As humans, we live relatively short lives, so it’s natural that we try to stave off aging as much as possible. But some things are more important. For example, I already have a relatively high Vitality. The only reason I still put points into it is to extend my peak training years. But since you effectively cut out a decade of harsh battles, I can afford to distribute my points differently. Does that make any sense?”

“It does,” I nod along, even though the gesture is meaningless in the dark.

“I’m glad you understand,” Tabitha sounds pleased. “Now I’m going to distribute my points and rest some more. I suggest you do the same.”

"Do you need any water or some of the jerky?" I offer Tabitha some of our remaining supplies, as she might need them to recover.

“I can hold out another day. You have some if you need it,” Tabitha flips my question back on me before going silent.

In the dark, I reach for my water skin. It’s still contaminated with toad eggs, but after emptying it and refilling it the last few days, they’ve lost most of their toxic properties. There’s still a slight numbing sensation when I swallow a mouthful of the tainted water, but other than that, there are no other symptoms. I want to drink more as I'm pretty thirsty, but I only allow myself a single mouthful to conserve what we have.

Closing the water skin, I set it aside with the rest of my gear and lay back down, close to Tabitha so that I can react if something happens, but far enough away that it isn't awkward between us. Tabitha and I had only been talking for twenty minutes, but it felt longer than that, and even though my Stamina was relatively full, I still felt tired.

However, before I fall asleep, I pull up a smaller version of my status page and distribute my points like Tabitha suggested.

LV: 82 Experience: 836,754/ 1,484,280

Health: 1,955.42/2,700

Stamina 1,577.84/1,836

Mana: 591.22/1,060

Vitality: 270.00

Endurance: 100.40

Strength: 181.00

Dexterity: 181.00

Senses: 62.75

Mind: 65.64

Magic: 106.00

Clarity: 79.34

Status Points: 0

The relief I feel from distributing my points is almost instant. The 17 points into Vitality jumpstarts my recovery, and the more minor aches and pains I felt melted away. Of course, I still had a lot of recovering to do, but it was a start.

Similarly, the three points into Magic help my struggling to recuperate mana pool, though not to the same degree as my Health. I had to put a few points into it to increase my recovery speed, but as I couldn't waste much, I only put a few points into it.

The bulk of my points went into Strength and Dexterity, as I would need them the most against the winged serpent. Whether we fight the beast or run, I couldn’t fall behind Tabitha, as that would be a death sentence for her. She has made it abundantly clear she would sacrifice herself for me, so if I can’t at least pull my weight, she’ll likely throw herself in front of me to buy time.

I'm unsure if I'll be able to outrun the lesser dragon with my new stats, but I can try.

I need to heal faster, I tell myself as I start to drift off to sleep again because as soon as I was, it was strategizing time.

The winged serpent will find the hard way we aren't as weak as we were a few days ago, that I could guarantee.

**********

2,700 words.

A little late in the day, but I’m trying hard to stick to a chapter every other day. That said, I might make mistakes, so it's your guys' job to point out anything wrong, as you did in the last chapter.

I went back and slightly edited chapter 118.2. Much of it is the same, so you don't have to reread it if you don't want to. I simply changed some of the dialog as people pointed out Tabitha wouldn't yell with them being in a dangerous place, and I toned down her distaste of Sense Soul as some people thought it was childish of her, and I had to agree to an extent. Other than that, the chapter is the same.

Please continue to give me your opinions, as they mean the world to me, even if you think others might not agree. Thanks for reading, and as always, stay safe.

P.S. Here's a little something extra. I haven't built Tabitha's status page out all the way yet, but here's her stat distribution, at least. It's slightly different than a few chapters ago when Aaliyah estimated her values, as she shouldn't be able to judge all of them accurately and will continue to be oblivious. I just thought you guys would enjoy seeing how Tabitha distributes her stats.

Tabitha’s Stat Distribution:

LV: 98-> 105 Experience:

Health: 3,790-> 3,800 Stamina: 2,013-> 2,163 Mana: 870-> 900

Vitality: 379-> 380

Endurance: 84-> 89

Strength: 141-> 180

Dexterity: 238-> 260

Senses: 81

Mind: 48

Magic: 87-> 90

Clarity: 42