Imperious 011 - Back to the Forest

Anna snatched up yet another torch from the wall in the lobby of the dungeon and hurried back into the maze. The reek in the air she now recognized as ambient mana making her nose wrinkle a little. She glanced up at the ceiling, scanning it briefly before moving forward. That thing, whatever it was, I didn’t see it even with my wraithsight. That means it was out of my line of sight somehow, she thought as she hurried to the first bend and took the first right. She glanced back over her shoulder. I don’t know if there are more of those things but I should play it safe. Get in, grab my weapon, and get the hell out. I can come back once I’m better prepared.

She followed her previous route, keeping an eye out for any signs of the mist-stuff that signified a living creature before stopping in the long hallway. She looked down into the pit she’d nearly drowned in. Empty and dry as a bone. She knelt down and held her torch out, squinting into the darkness before spotting a dark shape in one of the corners. She pushed off the side and hopped down, landing on her feet with far more ease than she’d expected. Damn! Those higher stats really do make a difference.

She walked over to the corner and looked down at her trusty crowbar. It was bent and twisted, a faint glow coming off of it. She clicked her tongue and cursed, Damn it. I don’t have any other weapons. 

She thought about the mending spell she’d dismissed and groaned, Fucking hell. She knelt down and tried to pick it up but it singed her fingers. She grimaced, Can’t even touch it. Is there another way to fix it? She frowned and plucked the upgrade token from her pocket and glanced over her shoulder to check for attackers. She looked back at the Token again and frowned. This seems like a gamble but my choices are try it or not have a weapon.

She shook her head and crushed the token over the crowbar. The token turned into a thin powder that coated the entire weapon.

Would you like to upgrade Crowbar of the Tutorial [Irradiated] to Uncommon? Yes/No

I don’t like that extra tag, she thought but selected yes anyway.

Please select an Upgrade Route for this item: Damage or Utility

I get to pick! That’s nice at least, it’s not throwing up any errors either which is a definite plus, she mulled it over before picking Damage. No point in hamstringing herself. An instant later light flared within the weapon and it rose into the air, creaking and twisting as its body straightened out. She started to smile until her eyes widened as one end of the crowbar straightened and expanded. The hook was lost in favor of becoming a heavy club-like blunt instrument. The other end maintained the flat claw-like shape of a crowbar but appeared to have grown sharper and narrower than before.

With a clatter the weapon landed on the ground, the light fading from within.

That was dramatic, she thought wryly and picked it up. It didn’t burn her this time.

Crow’s Flawed Bludgeon - (Mortal-Uncommon)
This heavy metal club possesses the handle of a crowbar. It can be used as both a weapon and prying implement. This weapon is flawed and will produce illumination when its wielder utilizes mana.

She pursed her lips, “Dunno if I should be happy or sad with the result,” she muttered and tested her grip on it, Hm… I’ll wrap some bandages around the handle. Grip doesn’t feel right, she thought and looked up to the rim of the pit. Time to get out of here.

Her return to the lobby was uneventful and the first thing she did was pull some of the bandages out of her backpack and bind a length of the crowbar so that it fit a little better in her hand. When that was done she gave it a few practice swings. It was clearly top-heavy and as much as she hated to admit it, looking at it in clear light reminded her of her last day before the integration. She shook off the memory and focused on figuring out how to properly hold it before remembering she had a proficiency.

Right! So do I just focus on it like my stealth skill or something? 

Nothing.

She tried again but this time she gave the weapon a swing. That resulted in an uncomfortable feeling spreading through several muscles in her body. Her legs, her shoulders, everything felt wrong, incorrect. Okay, she shifted her feet a little and felt the sensation ease a bit. She kept adjusting her stance until the sensation passed from her legs. She tried the swing again and this time only her upper body and arm felt odd, her hand felt wrong too. She gave it a few more swings, adjusting here and there to see what felt better. At times new muscles tightened while others relaxed. She must have swung almost fifty times before she brought the weapon down with a rush of air, the feeling was just right.

“Nice!” she gasped, straightening up a little, “That one felt good.”

She wiped a bit of sweat off her upper lip and nodded appreciatively, I don’t think this is something I can do while fighting monsters. I should spend some time practicing. It’s not like I have anywhere to be.

She set her new weapon down and went to refill her canteen, setting that aside as well to cool before going back to the corner of the lobby that had become her camping spot. She rolled out her bedroll from her backpack while she was at it and sat down. She checked her resources and confirmed that her mana tolerance had returned to zero while she’d been swinging. Let’s try magic next.

She held out her hand and concentrated on the spell. A lot of things happened at that moment. The first thing that happened was she felt the slightly unsettling sensation of herself opening up. That was the only way to describe it, like she was allowing something in. Then came the fire. It was like magma suddenly appeared in her veins, entering her body right below her navel and then spreading out in a wave until it reached her hand, at the same time a strange circular diagram popped unbidden into her mind.

With a rush of sensation the heat vanished, leaving only a few smoldering kernels behind, those little platelets of heat. Mana Taint. The result was a small glowing blue-violet sheet of glass floating in front of her palm. It was about a foot square and an inch thick. The sensation had been… incredible. It wasn’t like when she’d had mana burning against her skin trying to destroy her from the inside out. She’d controlled it and turned it to her own use. For that one second of casting time she felt limitless. It was the only word she had to describe it.

She let out a shuddering breath, “Woah.”

Anna felt her fingers tremble, her breath coming a bit faster than it had been before. A bead of sweat went down her brow as she stared in awe at the simple manifestation of magic. She reached out and tried to touch it. Her hand ran down the smooth surface. It didn’t move from the spot where it had been created, only hanging there for a few seconds before it began to dissolve, the energy dispersing into the air. She looked down at her trembling hand, “That was… a lot.”

She pulled up her resources.

Resources:
HP: 60/60 | SP: 30/30 | MT: 5/60

The spell hit her mana tolerance for five points, it wasn’t nearly as impactful as she thought it would have been. Maybe it’s just a feeling I need to get used to, I don’t wanna get knocked breathless by it in the middle of a fight, she thought and tried the spell again. The same rush came but it was a bit less intense than before. Not by much, but she knew what to expect now.

That was how she spent the next two days. Cycling between practicing her spell at different poses and postures, forcing herself to get used to the feeling of magic going through her. When she wasn’t doing that she practiced with her newly upgraded weapon, getting a feel for the weight and going through as many swings as possible until she was confident she could make those swings without the guidance of her proficiency.

Her signal to stop and change priorities was the thrum of hunger in her gut as the food pill finally wore off. She popped the third one of the first pack into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully while she sipped at her water. That’s my third pill, so its been six days since the beginning of the integration. She stretched her arms up and rolled her shoulders a little, working a bit of feeling into them. I think that’s enough preparation, I won’t make much more progress until I level up again and I want to get out of this fuckin’ place.

She glanced at the door to the room she hadn’t checked yet and shook her head, Not yet.

A few moments later she was standing in the grass at the entry of the Forest of Blood. The massive trees hadn’t changed all that much and the air was still fresh and cool compared to the humid warmth of the lobby. She looked herself over. The chainmail jacket was in fair condition though it had a few breaks in the chains here and there. Her pants were torn and ragged, filthy too. She grumbled, I haven’t showered in days, she thought irritably as she scanned the treeline. Did that plunge in the pool of mana count? 

Her lip twitched when she saw a pair of small tufts of white hanging out in the trees. One of them darted away. You’ve been waiting for me, huh? Her expression fell, I’m afraid I’m not going to stick around long enough for you to track me. I’ll find you on my own time and crush you for playing games with me, she clenched her fist around the handle of her weapon and started walking, her eyes fixed on the hidden creature in the trees.

Come on down, I know you’re there.

The prowler only waited a few more heartbeats before springing at her with a snarl, its claws extended and fangs at the ready. She raised her hand and cast Mana Barrier over her palm just as it grew close, its face colliding with the solid object. She heard something crack as she sidestepped and swung down, aiming at the base of the creature’s neck. Another sickening crack followed as the beast collapsed with a whine before staggering to its feet. She popped her neck, As strong as I feel, it seems like HP is HP. There’s still a level difference.

It started to turn away to escape.

She tilted her head.

“Where do you think you’re going?” she growled.

She finished it with the next few blows, the corpse falling to the ground in a heap. She kicked it absently and looted it.

You have received: 6 Iron Coins and 34 Essence Points

Stage 1 Bonus Condition: Slay 10 Creatures (3/10)

Cast 100 spells in combat. (2/100)

She pursed her lips, Less than before. Guess it scales with level, she thought while she stepped over the pile of dust left behind and slipped into the trees, taking a winding route in the opposite direction of where the fleeing prowler had gone. She didn’t make the mistake of going too far into the darker parts of the forest, there was no point in going there given the nature of the quest. She was confident in handling the outer reaches beasts on her own one on one, but she had no idea if the alpha she’d seen earlier was one of a kind or commonplace further in.

She slowed when she spotted another cluster of mist through the trees. It’s really unfair that those skeletons can just see like this. Maybe I’m missing something, she shrugged and concentrated on her stealth skill and her presence reduction mantra. She’d changed its name in her head following her realization about what she was doing. Also I’m not actually invisible, so it’s kind of childish, she thought, stepping over the root of one of the larger trees and peering around it.

Two bucks stood together, they didn’t have the dramatic horns of their mature variant. They were both eating quietly and occasionally glancing up, their ears flicking left and right attentively. 

Young Stygian Buck - Level 2

Young Stygian Buck - Level 2

A bit tougher than the first little guy I saw before, two opponents at once. They might run away if I just pop out but I don’t think I’m going to get much closer, she thought. She remembered how the alpha prowler had fooled her into thinking she’d been hidden from it and wondered just how ineffective her stealth actually was. She shook her head, there was no point in dwelling on it. Let’s see what they do.

She stepped out from around the tree and made straight for them, keeping her steps steady at first. Neither of them looked up right away. My presence reduction thing does work. They won’t notice me until- one of them raised its head to scan the area and its eyes fell on her. It let out a whooping sound and turned fully to face her as its comrade did the same, their hooves tramping on the ground in warning. Were they trying to scare her off?

She hefted her club and let it hang at her side, clutched tightly in one hand. The two beasts charged and she was momentarily caught off guard by how fast they were. One slid to a stop and turned its whole body to snap out a kick in her direction while the other dipped its head low to try to tackle her. Her brows furrowed and she held out a hand to block the kick with a mana barrier as she hopped back a step to avoid the charge. The charging buck turned its head and whipped it at her, the small spokes along its head and neck slamming into her shoulder.

Tch! She grunted and retaliated with a snap of her elbow, driving the chain armor into the side of its head. It staggered in surprise as the one that had tried to kick her turned around and charged as well. This time she was ready. Anna swung up hard with an uppercut and caught the beast in the chin with the heavy end of her weapon. As she did, she tried out another new trick. Power Strike.

She felt the mana race into her navel and up into her arm as her swing suddenly increased in force. The result was… messy. The buck’s head snapped back and its jaw collapsed, its body dropping to the ground in a twitching heap. She barely had enough time to acknowledge the brutal kill as the other buck let out a cry that was unmistakably furious and whipped its legs around to kick her. She blocked again with a mana barrier and snapped out a kick of her own, her foot colliding with one of its thin knees.

The crunch was enough to tell her that it wouldn’t be getting away.

She made short work of them after that, looting them for a grand total of 2 Iron Coins and 28 Essence. Not a lot but it was a good experience regardless.

Stage 1 Bonus Condition: Slay 10 Creatures (5/10)

Cast 100 spells in combat. (4/100)

Alright, find a place to refine some of this essence and then back to it. It’s time for a rampage.