Syl: Chapter 93 - 97 (Patreon)

Chapter 93: Catching Up

"Okay, okay. Jokes aside, [Ice Magic] is impressive, and you're close to your next ascension point." Dewi said, faking an apology over his terrible pun.

"Yes. If I'm lucky, I hope to get [Lightning Magic] next."

Dewi whistled through his teeth, "You and me both... Probably one of the few ones that matches my fiery personality. Although I'll probably pick up [Water Magic] if [Lightning Magic] isn't on my list and hope it's there if I ever get to thirty."

I nodded along. I had already pieced this together from prior conversations without asking it directly, and this confirmed my theory that you couldn't control your choice of ascension perks. On one hand, it made sense; otherwise, you'd have everyone picking something crazy like Lightning affinity as soon as they reached level ten. While I could understand the Gods wanting to add an element of randomness to it, it only further dissuaded humans from picking race levels as they weren't even sure if they'd get what they wanted reaching those ascension milestones.

'I wonder if I should take notes of my thoughts to give to Gramp next time, although perhaps he's already reading them.'

"Please, no magic talk at the table," Whitney grumbled.

We continued to catch up and conversed about my promotion to Gold.

"It sucks we are seen as your sponsors. Otherwise, we could have done a dungeon together." Whitney lamented.

"Yeah, that would have been fun. Although no reason we can't do one together afterward." Roderick added, "But the guild needs proof that you can work on an impromptu team. There are huge expectations for Golds, such as getting recruited to repel nation-level threats."

"Makes sense, and I'd gladly do some dungeons with you guys," I replied.

"Are you going as a caster or a rogue?" Whitney asked.

"Caster, surely. You'd greatly impress your evaluators if you can get your [Ice Magic] up to a decent level beforehand." Dewi said.

"Lisa suggested I go as both, truly flexing my hybrid role."

"That's good advice, although I think you're leaning more heavily on magic right now, right?" Roderick asked.

"I bought some locks and puzzles to level up [Rogue Expertise], and I've also banked quite a lot of skill points."

"Good girl." Whitney grinned, "Perhaps we could do some [Perception] training. Hell, if your [Stealth] skill is high enough, you could even help me get some valuable experience."

"We've got to do some magic practice as well. I want to see what you've been tinkering with to have earned [Mana Conception] already."

"You're making me feel left out. The best I could offer is some first-aid training since you don't have a Holy affinity." The usually quiet Evan said with a chuckle.

"You can join me in feeling left out." Roderick laughed, "The best I could offer is some basic cooking or party leadership, and the latter could get her in trouble with whichever party she joins if she questions the party leader's judgment with my sensibilities."

"And the former could lead to her giving them food poisoning if she doesn't invest the points in it." Dewi joked.

"Yeah, I prefer eating rather than cooking. Also, I'm already potentially fulfilling two roles; adding more to my plate would make me stand out even more than I already am."

"Why wouldn't you want to stand out?" Dewi asked.

"All the attention can be a little grating... Especially all the stares."

"Right..." Evan nodded, "Elves are basically a mystery to most of us; I can't even imagine all the unwanted attention."

"And it's not like you can just hide your ears, that's gotta suck," Whitney said.

"Well, assuming you ever go to the capital, it should tone down a lot."

"I'll add it to my list of places to visit. Right after visiting the Dwarves and then Keld."

"That's quite the list of holiday destinations. It sounds like the adventurer life suits you well," Roderick said.

"Definitely!" I cheered, raising my mug.

After finally retiring to my room, I wasn't ready for bed yet, so I pulled out all the puzzles and locks I had purchased and worked through them. I put the ones I couldn't solve aside and marked them while I devoured the ones I solved without issue. I'd planned to keep the hardest ones for repeated practice. Creating mimicked tools worked out spectacularly for lockpicking, as I could feel the sensation of the lock, and it gave an unforeseen bonus that real tools wouldn't.

When I woke up and finished my standard routine, I traveled downstairs and sat at a table, continuing my practice while waiting for Whitney to rise. The first-time bonus was no joke; I had even gained a level when Whitney finally came down. I theorized I was likely even getting some perfection bonuses thanks to the advantage of my unique tools.

<Proficiency gained. [Rogue Expertise LV 2] improved to [Rogue Expertise LV 3].>

Whitney nodded in approval of my technique after slowly recovering from her hangover with some food. The rest of the gang eventually came down, and Dewi grumbled about my choice of roguery over wizardry. I promised him some of my time tomorrow, which caused him to relent.

Before we started our training, Whitney took me to a few of the smiths outside the guild, where I could purchase a few extra locks and puzzles. Then she explained how we would be training, which sounded like a more intense game of hide and seek. We would be using rooftops and alleyways to sneak up on one another and try to steal a small bell tied to the back of our belts. As a handicap, Whitney had to steal two bells from me. The goal was to train [Perception], [Vanish], and [Rogue Expertise] all at once.

While Whitney wouldn't gain much experience in [Stealth] due to my low level in [Perception], my high levels in [Vanish] would help her with [Perception], which was her real goal. It was becoming challenging for her to train it reliably in this region, as she would need to seek out more dangerous monsters.

Our rogue battle was undoubtedly interesting, and I had to admit I was finding it fun. Although Whitney had a mischievous streak that was making itself apparent in her flaunting skills, she would often poke my side or give me small pinches before absolutely vanishing. When I finally caught her unaware, I returned this cheeky endeavor by giving her a poke with a cold but not dangerous level of [Cryo Slime]. She yelped in surprise, causing a bunch of unaware civilians to stare at her outburst, and her face flushed red. My prank had clearly gone too far as she chased me with a malevolent glare.

<Proficiency gained. [Perception LV 2] improved to [Perception LV 3].>

"That armor is very nice. It's actually making me have to work to notice you." During our lunch break, Whitney commented, "I might need to consider getting myself something with the enchantment."

"With how hard it already is for me to detect you, I can't say I think you need the extra help," I replied honestly.

"Yeah, but some monsters have some weird, extraordinary senses. It never hurts to be extra careful; I actually have a skill to minimize my smell, as it's one of the most common ways for monsters to detect you."

"Let me guess, air affinity?"

"Yeah. Otherwise, I would have recommended it to you, although, to be honest, if not for your armor, I would swear you have no scent at all, and even that's extremely hard for me to pick out unless I'm right up against you."

'We slimes are probably the cleanest things ever, and since I can spotlessly clean my armor by giving it a dissolving slime bath, I bet nothing could be cleaner,' I thought to myself.

We continued our training game until late into the evening when I suddenly failed to spot Whitney a single time. Even trying to use [Thermal Vision] gave me nothing; it was like she didn't exist at all. After numerous defeats, she finally revealed that she had been hiding her cards a little and that, like me, she also had an upgraded version of [Stealth] called [Shadow Stealth].

"It's a bit more conditional than yours. As long as I'm in shadows or the cover of darkness, I get massive boosts to stealth, and it practically eliminates my presence."

"Eliminating your presence is certainly a good way to describe it."

"Unfortunately, I can't turn it off now, so let's finish this with some traps," Whitney suggested, and I nodded.

This was where I learned that Whitney had some trapmaking skills. She set up some relatively harmless traps for me to train with in disarming and spotting. Once she was satisfied with my progress, she led me to her room, where she pulled out a large storage bag and an ornate gilded chest.

"This is the reason most dungeon groups fail," Whitney said while gesturing to the chest.

"Is this a metaphor for greed or something?" I asked.

"Ha! That's a good one. Why don't you examine this one closely? But do not open it."

I carefully examined it, and after some intense concentration, I finally noticed some oddities along the chest opening and hinges.

"I think it's trapped?" I asked expectantly, pointing out my two observations.

"Correct, and this is how we Rogues earn our keep in dungeons." Whitney said with a smile, "The dungeons will prey on our natural greed and expectation of riches and often trap chests; it's your duty to identify them and either disarm them or determine if it is safe to bring the chest along with if it's too difficult to disarm yourself."

"Rather nasty and insidious," I commented.

"They really can be, so it pays to be safe rather than sorry. This one used to release poison gas, but I've removed the canister, so it's good for practice since it rearms itself upon closing." She explained, giving a pat on the chest lid, "I've unfortunately long outgrown it, so I'm probably going to donate it to the guild so Tabitha can have any aspiring rogues train with it."

Whitney was a great person, willing to share knowledge and help her fellow adventurers. I hoped I'd be able to find a monster with the [Eagle Vision] trait she wanted on the floating island, then show it to her and hopefully repay some of her generosity. I at least offered to buy her dinner and drinks for now; it was the least I could do for such a kind person.

She spent the last moments of the evening giving me a thorough rundown on spotting and disarming the traps for the chest. While I didn't gain any skill levels despite her tutoring bonus, I felt I was on the verge of achieving another in both very shortly.

Today was a great day.

Chapter 94: Combust

"You created a spell that makes things easier to burn?" Dewi exclaimed in shock.

We were seated at the inn enjoying brunch after he had demanded some of my time to talk magic. I had been discussing with him some of my progress since we last spoke and all my spell tinkering. The rest of his party had vacated long ago.

"I think it can even overcome fire resistance with enough level and effort," I answered.

"Prove it," Dewi's voice was firm, his demand clear.

"On what?"

"On me."

I stared at him dumbfounded, "You want me to cast a debuff on you?"

He simply nodded and stared at me, unblinking. I sighed and reluctantly started casting the spell. As the spell was constructed, I saw him trying his utmost to glean as much knowledge as possible. His eyes were focused with deadly intensity as if he was trying to get the spell to break under the pressure and reveal its secrets. I even held it for a while to give him some more time with it before finally unleashing it upon him.

"Flammable! I'm flammable, Syl! This is amazing!" he cried joyfully, causing the other patrons to look at him with concern or annoyance.

He immediately cast [Kindle], thrust his other hand into it, and retreated it shortly after.

"That burnt me! I can't believe it." He replied, chuckling like a lunatic.

"Yes... Fire burns." I replied deadpan.

"Of course, my beautiful protegee, but I have [Fire Resistance] after numerous cases of self-immolation." He explained, "Now, with enough power, you can overcome resistances, but this... this is elegant, something I didn't even know was possible."

"So far, only one thing has resisted it initially: the salamander. But after some trial and error, it eventually took the debuff."

Dewi pondered momentarily before responding, "The salamander probably had [Fire Immunity]... That's brilliant. I swear I could kiss you right now."

"No thanks." I immediately rejected his offer. "I also created a sort of poison... fire... It keeps telling me to name it when I cast it."

"That means your spell was truly unique!" Dewi smiled, then frowned, "You haven't named it yet... Then how do you keep casting it?"

"What do you mean? I just replicate the same constructed form."

Dewi facepalmed and groaned, "I don't know whether to call you brilliant or stupid. You're casting your spell completely unaided by the system. If you name the spell, it will be like any other you've learned through levels, and you should be able to call upon it through its name effortlessly."

"So that's why sometimes people call out their spells. I had wondered what the reason was. Originally, I had thought it was a requirement to cast a spell, but I've never had to shout [Water Orb] or anything like that."

Dewi looked distraught and sat in silence while he mentally recovered. "Okay." After taking a deep breath, he continued, "Firstly, saying your spell aloud can help your mental recollection of the spell and call upon the system to aid you. This is especially useful for custom spells."

He paused, staring at me expectantly, and only continued when I nodded.

"Saying it mentally works as well, but if you haven't been doing even that, I can only assume you have amazing processing power between those pointy ears of yours.." He took a deep drink before continuing, "The second reason is for party dynamics, which I can understand you not knowing due to being solo. Kurt was rather lucky you didn't have any devastating spells when you partied up with him. Now imagine Roderick is in a group of enemies, and I just fling a [Fireball] out of nowhere. He's likely to get caught in the blast, but if I call out my spell, he knows it's coming and can raise his shield to protect his handsome mug."

"That makes sense." I nodded, "Although it would ruin my [Sneak Attack] and [Subtle Afflictions], not to mention likely break my [Vanish]."

Dewi paused to scratch his head, "Well, that would definitely suck. But it should be fine if you aren't casting giant spells that explode. Just let your party know that you cast silently so they don't panic when magic arrows of fire and acid are flung around."

"Well, I'm unlikely to cast [Nova]. I guess [Torrent] is my only real concern until I gain another level and unlock [Fireball]."

"Once you get it, you'll wonder how you got by without it. Your previous spells will feel like wet paper." Dewi said, grinning, "You'll likely unlock Pyromancer with it, which is a great option to swap if you want to specialize more."

"What's the benefit of it over Sorcerer or Shadowcaster? I already have [Fire Magic], so it's not like I'd be receiving a new revelation."

"Now that is a good question. I'm surprised you didn't notice a difference when you swapped Sorcerer, but perhaps it's a little harder to notice with rogue skills."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when you are not the preferred class, your other skills are slightly less effective. The most notable difference is if you pick a specialized class like Pyromancer - you receive massive boosts to all Fire spells; they are faster, cheaper, and stronger. However, anything unrelated receives small penalties, so my Air spells are slightly downgraded. I overcome this by combining Air and Fire, which makes the system treat it as if it were still my preferred spell type."

"I didn't know this... I certainly didn't notice any difference in my rogue skills. Although, I can't say I was paying particular attention. Are there any other things I should know about with classes?"

"Swapping away from a caster role entirely can negatively impact your mana capacity and regeneration, and you'd be losing some of the spell potency bonuses. Let's say a spell does ten damage; as a Mage, it would deal twelve damage; as a Sorcerer, it would deal fifteen. So it's not really a penalty, but losing a bonus." Dewi paused briefly before continuing. "It's hard to confirm, but it feels like skills are easier to upgrade and earn if you are in the correct class. However, the benefit is so small that most people don't believe it's more than a gut feeling."

I was about to thank him for explaining before he continued, "There is one other benefit, which you've already taken advantage of. It can lead to unlocking a class progression early. Since I specialize in [Fire Magic], I will likely unlock Arch Pyromancer earlier than normal."

"I see... Thanks, Dewi. After I get Sorcerer to ten, I'll likely stick to Shadowcaster and whatever it progresses. I don't think I'd want to specialize in one element when I can access multiple."

"That's unfortunately true. While I would have loved for you to have followed the path of Pyromancy, you'll have to spread your flames in other ways." He abruptly stood up. "Now, let's go outside so you can cast your Fire spell on me. I want to experience it now that this flammable debuff has expired."

"What? The debuff is one thing, but I'm not casting a damage spell on you!"

"Pff. I've got so much [Fire Resistance] that it won't be much of a tickle. I've even got multiple health potions in case of emergencies."

"No way. Everyone will kill me if something happens to you, and it's my fault."

"I'll even detonate a [Fireball] in my face to prove it. How else do you think I trained my [Fire Resistance] so high?"

"You seriously cast spells on yourself to raise your resistance? That sounds-"

"Brilliant? Ingenious? Innovative?" Dewi interrupted.

"Insane."

"Bah! I'm hardly the only one who does it. Otherwise, you have to spend so many trait points." Dewi said, shaking his head, "Come now, let's go to the training ground so I can [Fireball] myself, and then you can show me your unique spell, and then you need to name it!"

I was dragged straight to the training ground, where we ended up in one of the unoccupied shielded areas. Dewi told me to stand back, and then he cast [Fireball], which was point blank, right at the ground where he stood. I could only stare in shock and awe as the area erupted into a fiery explosion. When the smoke cleared, there was a grinning Dewi with slightly singed hair and slight smoldering.

"See! I'm basically fireproof at this point. Hell, my clothes are actually fireproof. It was the best investment I ever made," Dewi said, laughing maniacally.

"You've got to be joking..." I said, shaking my head.

"No jokes. The public indecency fines were getting out of hand." Dewi laughed again, "Now cast your custom spell on me."

I cast the spell with extreme reluctance, ensuring it was completely unempowered.

"Are you absolutely sure?" I asked again.

"Yes!" Dewi shouted.

I sighed, finalized the casting, and saw the burning affliction appear on Dewi's profile.

<Unnamed custom spell has been cast repeatedly. Please name spell.>

"Combust."

<[Combust] spell has been registered.>

"That's a good name!" Dewi said, grinning despite being visibly on fire. "This is a very interesting spell. It's a bit of a slow burn, but this duration would be amazing for boss fights."

"Aren't you in pain?" I asked, concerned.

"It's not comfortable, but I wouldn't say pain exactly. It's sort of like rubbing nettles against your skin." Dewi uncorked a potion bottle and took a small sip. "Now, I just feel uncomfortably warm, like being trapped in a sauna."

I could only sigh. I was starting to question all the previous advice he had given me. I knew he was a pyromaniac, but this was surely beyond reason. The worst part is that some of me wondered if I could do something similar to level up my [Magic Resistance (Lesser)] trait, and unlike him, I could borrow [Pain Suppression].

We then spent a large portion of the day going over the spells. Unfortunately for Dewi, none of his affinities gave him the concepts required to create the effect. From his knowledge, he would need to get access to Corrosion or Dark Affinity himself if he wanted to replicate the spell.

For all my effort, he gave me some personal tutoring in [Fire Magic]. He gave some pointers on increasing the efficiency of my empowered spells and suggested adding the [Heat] spell to all my existing fire spells to increase their damage.

"Raising the temperature of your Fire spells is a quick and dirty way to give them more bang." He explained, "I'm sure the opposite will be true when you get deeper into [Ice Magic]."

I didn't gain any direct skill-ups, but I was sure I had made a good chunk towards them. While the day didn't feel as fruitful as my activities with Whitney, it was still an interesting experience.

Before I left the guild, I asked if I could withdraw some money to keep on hand. I still wasn't entirely sure about the currency. Beyond that, it went from copper to silver to gold. To keep it simple, I just asked to withdraw a hundred gold. It sounded like a good round number to me.

"Are you sure, Miss?" The receptionist asked. She seemed a bit confused, and unfortunately, Luke wasn't available.

"Yes. Do I not have enough?" I asked, presenting my guild tag.

She seemed to be looking at something visible only to her when her eyes went wide. "Ah! No, you have more than enough. I'm terribly sorry, Miss Syl. Please tap right here, and I'll get your gold immediately!"

When she returned, I thanked her and deposited it promptly. Her expression visibly relaxed when she saw I was securely storing it.

'I guess she was worried about me walking around with cash on hand.' I thought curiously.

I thanked her for her help and wished her well before leaving.

Chapter 95: Forest Stampede

The next few days felt like a blur as my time was split between Whitney and Dewi. The downside was that I wasn't gaining experience towards my next level up, a fact that nagged at me. But on the other hand, my skills were receiving much-needed attention, and I couldn't deny the value of that.

<Proficiency gained. [Rogue Expertise LV 3] improved to [Rogue Expertise LV 4].>

<Proficiency gained. [Perception LV 3] improved to [Perception LV 4].>

Thanks to Whitney's direct tutelage, I made leaps and bounds of progress with my Rogue skills. I also felt like my [Vanish] was so close to a breakthrough that I could taste it.

<Proficiency gained. [Magic Efficiency LV 1] improved to [Magic Efficiency LV 2].>

<[Multicast] has been integrated into [Multitasking LV 2].>

In my time with Dewi, I finally unlocked the elusive [Multicast], which was an integrated upgrade into the [Multitasking] skill as I predicted. I was frustrated at how long it took for me to get this, and I still wondered if I'd even use it, as my [Sub Cores] could do the job for me with far greater efficiency.

I was also on the verge of a breakthrough with [Fire Magic], and Dewi was practically bouncing with anticipation for the day he could witness me casting my first [Fireball] spell. I had always thought [Water Magic] would get to five first, but Dewi had other plans with tutoring boosts.

While I didn't get as much numeric evidence of progress while training [Fire Magic], I did, however, get experience with adding the [Heat] property to all my current fire spells, raising their temperature and thus their damage significantly. I knew I could add it to my future spells with a little effort and without Dewi's guidance. In private, I tested out fully empowering one of my newly modified spells with the aid of my [Sub-Cores] and was startled when the flames started to turn blue!

<Proficiency gained. [Ice Magic LV 1] improved to [Ice Magic LV 2].>

<[Ice Magic LV 2] spell [Ice Patch] learned.>

And, in my own time, I managed to unlock the next level of [Ice Magic] and complete my Ice weakness debuff, called [Frigid]. The new spell seemed simple in that it would create a patch of clear frozen ice, a deceptive trap to cause an enemy to slip up, but it also revealed to me a brand new spell component of placing a sustained magical effect on the terrain. I immediately wonder about applications such as creating a patch of fire or acid.

'Or maybe frozen acid? Would that work? Would you slip, make more contact with the acid, and then melt? I have no idea, but it's worth exploring eventually!'

I had also decided to see if Dewi's crazy training method had any merit in an effort to raise my [Magic Resistance (Lesser)] trait. Unfortunately, the magic I had access to I had gained from consuming other types of slimes, meaning that I was inherently resistant to my own spells. While I could pick and choose between turning on [Acid Slime] or raising and lowering my temperature through [Blaze Slime] and [Cryo Slime], respectively, the resistances those traits gave my core weren't optional. The most effective and restrained method I found was exposing my core and then keeping a sustained [Kindle] spell directly under it.

'I mean... It makes sense. Why would you want to suddenly become weaker to fire? Even without [Pain Suppression], it feels more like a slightly uncomfortable tickle, and it takes ages before my health drops at all. Gone are the days where I nearly boiled to death.'

While the slower change of pace felt a little odd to me, I knew that from their perspective, there was a good chance that we wouldn't meet again for a long time since their group was disbanding and going their separate ways. Whitney was staying for another month or two before moving to the capital, and Roderick would be settling down, eager to spend quieter days with his future wife. Meanwhile, Evan and Dewi would return home, grab their things, leave for the capital together, and go to the church and Mage's Guild, respectively, marking the end of their shared adventures.

Also, I received word from Lisa through Luke that they had found the underground tunnel complex built by the orcs and killed the few stragglers who tried returning to it before ultimately destroying the entire thing with the help of a Geomancer.

Close to their day of departure, Roderick burst into the room with a grin on his face. "There's a monster stampede in the forest, and I snagged us the quest to dispatch the cause."

Whitney and Dewi cheered while I looked at him questioningly. "Monster stampede?"

"Monsters are fleeing the southern forest; remember we encountered a lot of fresh spawns? All the recent deaths in there must have caused a bottleneck in the essence, which collated into spawning a higher-tier monster," Roderick explained.

"So all the low-rank and low-leveled monsters start fleeing. Multiple adventurer groups usually get dispatched to control the stampede until the source is killed." Whitney continued.

"And Roderick snagged us the position! So we get to blow up some big nasty, a perfect final adventure." Dewi cheered with a grin.

"And I'd like to invite you to join us, Syl," Roderick said, "Think of it as a trial run for your future dungeon run, not to mention a fun farewell before you disappear into the world and get up to all sorts of crazy adventures I can only imagine."

"You had me at the big nasty monster," I chuckled.

It was a short rush to grab supplies and head out as soon as possible, as the quicker we dealt with the monster, the sooner the stampede of monsters would end. It would potentially be a multiday expedition as we needed to travel south and then into the forest, retreading our previous steps. However, this time, at a much faster pace since we didn't need to protect a trade caravan.

The road south was highly trafficked by all manner of adventuring teams, although none surpassed our group in levels. These teams would be culling the monsters that emerged from the forest, an important duty to prevent civilian casualties. While Roderick was the party leader, Whitney was in charge of directions and scouting, and it wasn't long before she directed us into the forest.

I thought we would need to fight monsters to travel deeper, but most monsters seemed more interested in fleeing than confronting us. That certainly didn't stop us from taking potshots at them, and the level difference between us and them meant that we did end up killing a few of the beasts. Any we took out meant the adventurers guarding the forest edge had an easier job. It felt oddly nostalgic, killing forest monsters again.

"It's a pain when they flee because when they finally decide to stop, they could be deep within civilized territory," Roderick muttered.

"It's strange how many are leaving the forest entirely. Usually, they'd flee towards a leader of their species. I can understand the wolves fleeing since Syl killed the Blade Wolf, so they likely don't have a new leader yet."

"Oh..." I murmured, "That... Might be my fault."

"Ah. You did mention hunting throughout the forest." Whitney commented.

"Don't worry; nobody will ever fault you for reducing the monster population," Roderick said with a reassuring grin.

We continued trudging through the forest, although the source of the stampede was still not found despite Whitney doing her best. I tried to help with my [Tracking] skill, but it was pretty much useless at level one without shifting a wolf nose to track scents.

'Well, I can't expect a skill I've neglected and forgotten for so long to be suddenly useful.'

"It's too bad we can't just ask the monsters for directions," Evan commented offhand while we sat around the fire for our first night in the forest.

While everyone chuckled at the comment, I raised my hand, "Actually... That might be possible."

"I didn't know you suddenly added Monster Tamer to your repertoire. You were really busy while we were after the smugglers," Roderick laughed.

"I haven't." I corrected him, "It's an elf trait. Although I can't guarantee success."

"Works for me. It's better than running around the forest for days and hoping we find whatever the cause is. No offense, Whitney," Dewi said.

"I'm sorry. I don't see your beloved fireball finding the monster for us." Whitney said sarcastically.

"Well..." Dewi said, scratching his head, "I could set the forest on fire, and if it burns down, we should be able to find the monster easier, assuming it survives."

Evan slapped Dewi on the head, "No. Stop trying to solve everything with fire."

"Five gold, he tries to solve his application to the Mage's Guild by setting the paper on fire," Whitney said with a cheeky grin.

"Ha! You'd be robbing me with such an unfair bet like that." Roderick responded with a bellow of a laugh.

The next day, we attempted our plan. Although Whitney had an idea, the hardest part was capturing a low-level beast without killing it. When we encountered a small pack of wolves fleeing, Whitney disappeared in a blur, appearing behind the wolf and striking it with the pommel of her dagger. The monster's body practically crumpled to the ground, and the others scampered away, yelping in terror.

"Shit, Whitney, did you kill it in one blow," Dewi said in shock.

"I'm pretty sure it's still alive; now we can tie up its limbs and have Evan heal it." She replied.

"Great. Now I'm healing monsters. What's next?" Evan said with a sigh. I chuckled mentally as, unbeknownst to him, he'd already healed one twice.

Once the wolf was secured, Evan cast his healing spell, and when it finally awoke, I attempted to communicate with it. I had mimicked the trait at its maximum level, hoping to overpower the monster through sheer trait levels. When I tried to mentally reach out to the wolf, it shockingly didn't respond with a voice but with vague images and feelings. I could feel its terror and question why I had captured it.

'Why can plants communicate with words, but this wolf can only communicate in pictures and feelings? Is this wolf dumber than corn, or is this the trait just being stupid?' I grumbled. This was not at all what I expected.

Chapter 96: Follow the Wolf

I tried communicating with the wolf verbally, and while it seemed to understand me somewhat, it wasn't until I attempted thinking in images and feelings that it fully comprehended me. I gave it the picture of it helping us track the monster, to which it responded with horror, and I saw flashes of massive tusks and trees. It seemed the wolf doubted I could beat the monster, to which I responded by mentally giving it images of the monsters I had killed - starting with the salamander, which was easily my most impressive kill.

I could feel the wolf's uncaring for the salamander; it didn't understand its power, so I continued showing it images of foes. It seemed a little impressed with my killing the bear and badger. Even my mental image of Krutz and Oday wasn't enough for this stubborn canine. I was getting frustrated at how the wolf seemed uncaring; it was too stupid to realize the threats I had faced.

I had thought showing it the wolf I killed would be detrimental, but now I was pissed off. I showed it the Blade Wolf and proudly expressed my feeling of victory over defeating it. I was expecting the wolf to be outraged over me, killing one of its own kind, but surprisingly, it instead sent back feelings of shock and awe. Suddenly, the wolf was sending me images of it declaring me its new alpha, and it was thoroughly impressed. Finally, I requested its aid to find the monster so that I could kill it, and it frantically agreed, and I could feel its sense of pride through the strange communication bond formed from the trait.

When I finally looked up from my intense, silent stare-match with the wolf, the others stared at me with unbridled anticipation. "Well?" Dewi asked.

"It's agreed to help lead us to the monster. Also, I got brief flashes of what I think was the monster; I saw trees and tusks."

"That's half helpful. Tusks probably means a boar-type monster. As for trees... I mean, we are surrounded by them," Roderick replied.

"Well, I'm certainly not afraid of any trees. Trees fear me." Dewi cackled.

Despite their trust in me and the trait, everyone was cautious before we released the wolf. If it so much as snapped at someone aggressively, Whitney was prepared to end it with an instant [Sneak Attack]. Behind the scenes, I had convinced the wolf that the others were part of my pack, and it seemed eager for us to kill the threat in the forest. As the tension mounted, I could see the relief wash over their faces when the wolf flopped onto its legs and shook itself like a wet dog.

"I can't believe this is working," Evan said, shaking his head.

The wolf sent me images of running and following, and I told the group. Then we started running after it deeper into the forest. I felt bad for Roderick, whose armor was clanking with every step, but despite it all, he had a cheesy grin plastered on his face.

"Wait till Harris hears about this." I overheard him chuckling to himself.

'Those extra levels in [Perception] have certainly made a difference.'

We were moving well until the wolf abruptly stopped and started growling. Images of danger and enemies flooded my mind, and I quickly warned the group.

"The wolf senses danger; I'm unsure if it's our target."

Everyone drew their weapons, and Whitney and I activated our respective stealth skills. Meanwhile, Roderick stood in front, directing attention towards himself as he rattled his mace against his shield. Then we spotted what the wolf was snarling at—a giant walking tree!

"Oh, it's a treant!" Dewi cheered. "Syl, debuff it with [Flammable], please!"

I followed through with his request, landing a solid sixty percent fire weakness debuff on the target thanks to [Subtle Afflictions]. If I had empowered it, it would have been almost one hundred!

'I wonder if it goes above one hundred. I hope so; otherwise, I'll have reached the limit at the next level of [Fire Magic].'

"[Fireball]!" Dewi cast, and an explosion of flame erupted from where the walking tree was.

<Treant LV 5 defeated. Experience shared with the party.>

"One shot!" Dewi exclaimed, cackling with delight.

"Talk about overkill..." Whitney muttered, emerging from the shadows.

"I told you trees fear me! But man, that [Flammable] debuff sure is something else," Dewi said, basking in the smoldering remains of the treant.

"There's a reason some parties have a dedicated support role outside of a healer. The right buffs or debuffs can mean that your five other party members combined far outweigh the potential lost slot," Roderick said.

"Yes, but unfortunately, it can sometimes be a tough sell." Evan pointed out, "Some of the people I've partied up with in the past tried to refuse to split loot with me because I wasn't killing monsters. Killing a monster with a spell has tangible proof, whereas trying to measure the benefit of a buff can be a bit more vague."

"Good thing Syl can do both then!" Dewi said, chuckling, "Although it's a good thing you won't run into that type of shit unless you're partying up with the rust ranks."

"Indeed. Before I joined the guild, a party member refused to pay me because he didn't get injured. He truly believed I would follow him around unpaid until he took a wound."

"Let me guess. You stopped casting shield spells." Whitney said with a giggle.

"You bet. Earned a lot of money healing all his injuries then."

"Never piss off the healer. I wish more people would learn that lesson." Roderick said with a hearty chuckle.

"I certainly will make an effort not to, although I'm glad I got to skip the beginner ranks if it's as bad as you all make it out to be," I replied.

"So, is that quest complete?" Dewi asked.

"Surely one treant didn't cause a stampede," Whitney said, looking around.

I turned to the wolf and questioned it, but it replied that these were part of the monster's pack.

"Nope. The wolf says the treants are part of the true monster's pack."

"Well, that's ominous. Did a dryad spawn? I can't think of much else that could create treants." Evan asked.

"No way. This area has way too little essence flow, even if there was a bottleneck spawn." Dewi pointed out.

"Well, no use wondering; let's follow Syl's pet to the true enemy," Whitney said.

I nodded and gave the order to the wolf, and we resumed heading deeper into the forest. Whitney was the first to notice it and point out that the vegetation was growing more... Untamed. While it was a forest, this level of wilderness was more akin to an ancient forest left completely alone for centuries. Poor Roderick kept getting his armor stuck in branches and vines and nearly tripped over protruding roots.

Shortly after, the wolf warned me of danger, and I could feel its fear. Our target was ahead. I gave it mental feelings of thanks and reassured it that we would be dealing with the monster. It howled and darted off into the forest, and I held out my hand to stop my comrades from following.

"The monster is ahead. I sent the wolf away."

"Thank the Gods, this last leg of the journey hasn't been fun." Roderick sighed before drinking from his canteen.

"It wasn't that bad." Whitney shrugged, looking no worse for wear.

"So. What's the plan?" Evan asked.

"I'm fine with anything, but combining my spells and Syl's debuff seems like a recipe for success." Dewi grinned.

"Right. We ran into one treant, so we can assume more. Dewi and Syl, your first priority will be to take out any treants while I grab the target's attention." Roderick started explaining. "Whitney will deal damage safely from behind while I hold aggro; as soon as you two are done clearing out the minions, you can join us in hopefully finishing the monster."

"I'll give us all a general buff and then focus on avoiding attacks and preventing or healing damage from the target. I'm assuming you two won't need any help with treants," Evan said.

"Nope. We should be able to make short work of them." Dewi said confidently.

"Agreed. Focus on the true threat. I'll also be sure to land at least one debuff on the target; it should help." I said.

"Excellent!" Roderick said with a toothy smile.

Roderick took the front position while Whitney and I faded into the background with our stealth skills. Dewi took the rear, with Evan placed in between. Much to Roderick's relief, the forest suddenly opened up into a spare clearing without a single rooted tree, and the reason became apparent when we gazed in and spotted a platoon of treants guarding an extremely large boar monster.

<Nature's Wrath (Boar) LV 1.>

The boar monster had bark for skin and was a fearsome sight to behold. Its rough, brown exterior resembled an age-worn tree, making it blend in seamlessly with the forest surroundings. Its razor-sharp tusks protruded from its snout, glinting dangerously in the sunlight. The creature was massive, on par with the Bear Matriarch I had fought with the goblins. The boar's bark-like skin looked surprisingly resilient, offering protection against most mundane attacks. Its size, strength, and bizarre appearance made it an intimidating opponent.

"A unique monster," Roderick said in a hushed breath.

"Unique?" I whispered softly.

"It's a pretty rare phenomenon outside of dungeons," Dewi answered. "The buildup of essence has spawned a fully formed monster of a higher tier than normally possible. Usually, monsters follow evolution paths or gain a mutation, but in cases like this, they've crafted a unique being from scratch."

"We're lucky it spawned in such a low-level area; it's had no chance to gain any additional levels since spawning." Evan pointed out.

"True. But just because it's level one, don't underestimate it. It's spawned in with skills and traits at a certain level." Dewi cautioned. "Although another benefit is that it won't have had much time to practice and understand its abilities, it will likely be fueled entirely by instinct, which obviously has its own unpredictability, but at least we won't need to worry about a scheming monster that can plot and deceive."

"Everyone's going to be so jealous," Whitney said happily.

"Aye. This will be a lovely feather in my cap before becoming a Guild Master. I can't wait to rub it in Harris' face." Roderick chuckled.

I was also very excited, and [Dissection] quivered in anticipation; a unique monster meant lots of unique and rare resources, and I couldn't wait to harvest them. The profile would also be tantalizing, although I suspected Nature Affinity would be required judging by the creature's pronounced name.

Chapter 97: Fireball

"Give me a few minutes' headstart to cast my debuffs. Everything goes undetected, and I get a bonus if I do it from stealth." I requested.

"Sounds like a good idea," Roderick said, turning towards Whitney.

Whitney nodded, "I agree, and I vouch for her stealth skills; no way that monster is detecting her."

"Start with the treants, then I'll open with a [Fireball] to drag them away," Dewi said.

"And I'll taunt the boar," Roderick added, gesturing to his massive tower shield.

"Before you go, let me cast my buff," Evan said, and we gathered in a tight circle around him. We were all enveloped in a brief light, and I saw a new condition added to my profile.

<[Fortune's Favor] 50%: 15min remaining.>

"It's a luck bonus; it helps with accuracy and evasion." He explained.

"Thanks. It won't take long. Then we can get this fight started." I said and stealthily maneuvered into position.

When I had a good line of sight of all the monsters, I started weaving my spells, landing [Flammable] one by one on each treant. Then I started casting an empowered [Erode] on the boar, hoping to debuff its physical defense for Whitney and Roderick.

'It should be an exciting thing to see. I hope they appreciate it.'

It all landed successfully, and our foes were none the wiser. I was in the middle of empowering [Flammable] to cast on the boar when the group erupted from the clearing, and I heard Dewi and Roderick shout out in tandem.

"[Fireball]!"

"[Taunt]!"

'Shit. I should have cast [Flammable] on the boar first.'

The fireball crashed against the boar's head and erupted in an explosion of flame; it was a notably larger explosion, but from how I witnessed the mana flowing, Dewi must have sacrificed some damage for a wider area of effect. Both immediately darted in the opposite direction, and then I successfully cast my spell.

<[Flammable] 80%: 7min remaining.>

<Proficiency gained. [Affliction Mastery LV 3] improved to [Affliction Mastery LV 4].>

'Of course, now you have decided to level up. Well, not like an extra minute duration would matter in the grand scheme of things.'

As expected, the treants rushed towards Dewi, unhappy about being partially on fire. The boar let out a guttural roar as it charged towards Roderick. It clashed against his giant shield, and his feet dug into the ground, being slightly pushed backward. Appearing from nowhere, Whitney abruptly appeared above the boar's head, dual-wielding her two daggers and plummeting down, stabbing them into the back of its head before retracting them and disappearing again with a skill I recognized.

'[Wind Step]. I'm so jealous.'

I changed position to chase after the treants, shambling towards Dewi, leaving the other three to deal with the boar while we cleaned up the angry trees.

Dewi raised his palm and launched another spell, "[Fireball]!" which again detonated in a larger explosion.

The tree directly hit seemed to falter after being caught in two explosions, but Dewi must have continued to prioritize the area of effect over direct damage as it wasn't dead yet.

'Or perhaps he's conserving mana to deal with the boar since these are only minions.'

I joined the fray and cast two of my improved [Fire Arrow] spells from behind at two treants in the rear, both only slightly empowered to prevent going into blue flame territory. [Sneak Attack], [Flammability], and being weakened by two [Fireball] spells meant two dead treants.

<Treant LV 5 defeated. Experience shared with the party.> x2

<Proficiency gained. [Fire Magic LV 4] improved to [Fire Magic LV 5].>

<[Fire Magic LV 5] spell [Fireball] learned.>

Dewi grinned and gave me a thumbs-up before responding with three of his own [Fire Arrow] spells. One targeted the severely weakened treant and killed it, while the other two converged on a single treant and also killed it.

<Treant LV 5 defeated. Experience shared with the party.> x2

"Dewi!" I exclaimed excitedly.

"What?" He shouted back.

I raised my hand and grinned, "[Fireball]!"

I didn't have the time to tinker with it beyond giving it a quick empowerment with my [Sub-Cores]. I would have loved to have added the extra heat and, thus, damage, but I didn't have the time to tinker mid-battle with a spell I had only just installed into my core. The spell formed quickly, and I launched it at the group, a blossoming burst of flame erupting amongst the lumbering trees.

<Treant LV 5 defeated. Experience shared with the party.> x3

He seemed confused at first, but then it rapidly turned into joy. "Yes! That's the stuff!"

"Oh Gods... Now there's two of them." I heard Evan mutter, clearly half in jest, as he was chuckling shortly after.

I wanted to celebrate, but I had more notifications that I couldn't ignore.

<Class Experience threshold reached. Sorcerer is now LV 9.>

<12 Skill Points are now available.>

<Class Pyromancer has been unlocked.
Would you like to swap classes?>.

'No.'

<Class Monster Tamer has been unlocked.
Would you like to swap classes?>.

'No.'

While I was happy that I unlocked new things, I wasn't pleased that the prompts were not dismissible. The class change prompts wanted you to decide right then and there or constantly have a mental box in your vision throughout a fight.

"Let's finish these guys off, Syl!" Dewi said, extending his hands outwards and forming two balls of flame above his palms.

I mirrored his gesture and formed two of my own, and I swear I could hear him squealing in delight. I had to admit, this spell seemed damn fun.

Right before I launched my spells, Dewi shouted, "Be sure to spread them out! We'll kill these guys in one giant explosion!"

With an unspoken agreement and coordination, we let our spells fly, causing a cascade of fiery explosions upon the remaining treants.

<Treant LV 5 defeated. Experience shared with the party.> x6

"Jeez! Talk about overkill, you two." Evan shouted, "You trying to burn down the entire forest?"

"We had to get the spell out of our system; can't exactly use it against the boar!" Dewi chuckled.

"You're a terrible influence, Dewi!" Evan argued, "Now hurry up and help with the boar."

The boar was covered in various stab and cut wounds as Whitney danced around it. Every time she cut or stabbed at it, the boar tried to retaliate, and Whitney would evade and disappear into the wind. I thought Whitney would have had a good chance to kill the monster by herself, but then I noticed that a vine would grow from the bark skin and patch up any wounds with an impromptu herbal salve.

She appeared next to Dewi and me, a little out of breath. "I don't know what you did to it, but my blades are sharper than ever. However, it keeps closing up the wounds, and unfortunately, I don't think we can win with a death by a thousand cuts. Roderick and I will be out of stamina before it dies."

"Physical defense debuff." I explained in a hurry, not wanting to leave Roderick to fight it alone, "I'll give it a few more debuffs and start attacking. I already gave it [Flammable], Dewi."

"Great. I'll stick to [Fire Arrow] for now, then."

While I doubted I'd use any ice or water spells against a monster so clearly weak to fire, I still wanted the debuffs present when I tried out the [Decay] spell. I was quick to apply both [Permeable] and [Frigid] to the monster, and then I rushed in close to cast [Combust].

In retaliation, a series of roots burst from the ground and tried to impale me, but I effortlessly dodged them. Afterward, the roots kept trying to grab at me, and I got a sense of reverse déjà vu as it reminded me of when I tried to kill the Blade Wolf with my tendrils.

"How the hell is it targetting me so well with these roots while clearly focusing on Roderick?" I asked aloud.

"It's a root monster!" Roderick answered before blocking another blow and smashing his mace against the boar with a resounding clang.

<Strangler Root LV 5.>

"Well, that's annoying," I said, waving my hand and casting both [Fire Arrow] and [Combust]. The roots writhed in pain as they burnt, but I was happy to keep dodging while they burnt to death.

Whitney had swapped her strategy to go for the boar's limbs to reduce movement, cutting huge gashes against its tendons. Root monsters also spawned to try to grab her, but she was gone before they even emerged. Her hit-and-run tactics were remarkable, although very energy-intensive.

I tried casting [Poison Mist] a few times for another affliction, but it seemed that unless I targeted its face, it wouldn't apply. An open wound might have also worked, but it patched those up so abruptly I didn't have a chance. With five empowered afflictions on it, I decided to finally cast [Decay]. I tried empowering the spell, but it refused any additional mana in a way I had never seen before.

'I guess that makes sense? It does a set amount of damage by purging all afflictions on the target, ' I thought before casting the spell. From my perspective, a swirl of purple mana surrounded the monster before vanishing. The boar suddenly screamed in pain and partially collapsed from the unexpected damage it took.

"Holy shit! It just lost a crapton of life out of nowhere!" Evan exclaimed suddenly.

"It must have been a lot to cause you to swear. What happened?" Roderick chuckled, releasing another solid blow that let out a resounding crunch. "The hell, did it just get tougher? I used a skill but did less damage."

"Ah! I'm sorry I purged its debuffs. I'll cast them again!" I apologized and immediately worked on casting [Erode] again.

"What? Why?" Whitney shouted, looking disgruntled as her blade didn't penetrate as deep.

"The spell deals damage based on the number of afflictions on the target. I'd never cast it before, but it seemed appropriate." I explained, casting my spell, "[Erode] is up again! [Flammable] is coming up next!"

"Good to know!" Roderick shouted, repeating his previous action and grinning in satisfaction.

"That's probably a spell you should call out," Dewi suggested, forming multiple [Fire Arrow] spells and holding them back until [Flammable] was applied again.

The boar was struggling to stand up, so I handed over the [Flammable] spell to my [Sub-Cores] to complete while I rapidly cast [Ice Patch] under it. The ground beneath it was coated in a slick layer of ice, and it fell over itself again. Roderick laughed joyously and began rapidly pounding at the boar with his mace.

"[Flammable] is back up! Also, I froze the ground under its feet; It should stop it from moving around for a bit." I exclaimed after my [Sub Cores] finished casting the debuff.

Dewi wasted no time and flung all his flaming arrows at the boar, each causing wails of pain and rage.

"Good job, lass, you're learning on the job!" Roderick said proudly.

"It's close to death. If you can repeat that spell from earlier, I think it will finish it off!" Evan shouted.

"I will do that. But how can you tell it's close to death?" I asked while preparing to cast the debuffs again after quickly casting another [Combust] and setting the oversized pig on fire again.

"I have a trait that lets me see lifeforce. It's meant to be used for healing, but it can also be used like this."

"Please show me that trait!" I begged.

"Sure? It's your trait point to waste." Evan replied, confused at the sudden request. "But please focus on the giant boar trying to kill us first!"

"Ha! And you were upset that you were the only one not teaching her anything. Looks like you got your wish." Dewi teased.