by Jakob Tanner
+245 EXP!
Congratulations you have leveled up!
You gain +4 HP
You gain +1 MP
You have (3) unused attribute points that can be applied to any of your five base stats.
This forest was driving me mental but at least I got good leveling and grinding from it. I quickly put all three attribute points into Magic Attack Power and did a quick scan of the mushroom monster, acquiring a “Batch of Mushrooms (x1) to add to my inventory and crafting supplies.
I marched through the forest.
“Hello!” I yelled.
I passed more mushrooms. I left them alone and they did the same for me. I was done with the grinding. I’d been attacked by baby dinosaurs and mushroom creatures and I was sick of it. When it came to battling creatures in this forest, there was no end in sight. I was ready to continue my quest. Find the Aeri.
Off in the darkness of the trees, a flicker of light appeared. Somebody giggled. It pierced my ears. The tiny hint of laughter made my ears twitch like a bug buzzing right in the lobe. Out of nowhere appeared a tiny green girl with clear butterfly wings. She waved at me and then planted herself right on the bridge of my nose.
My HUD read her caption:
Forest Pixy
Level 9
It wasn’t antagonistic. I didn’t want to attack it if I didn’t have to.
The pixy giggled as it wagged its feet. It then pulled something out of its pouch. What was it doing? It pulled out a handful of powder and threw a whole pile of it straight into my eyes.
I screamed as the pixy blinded me with its magic dust. Jerk. I’d kill it. I unsheathed my sword ready to do battle. I swung it manically, hoping to hit something. The giggling disappeared. Had I killed it? But it didn’t make sense as I hadn’t received a notification for the experience bonus. What was going on?
When my sight returned, I was surrounded by cloaked figures from all sides. Each and every one of them held a bow with arrows nocked, ready to penetrate my skull.
18
“Explain yourself intruder,” spoke one of the cloaked rangers. She had a rough feminine voice.
I gently put down my sword, then stood and held my hands above my head.
“I seek the Aeri of this forest,” I said. “I need help learning the innate skills of our people.”
The bowmen pointed their weapons to the ground but the woman ranger—clearly the leader of this pack—wasn’t so easily convinced. She kept her arrow pulled back between her fingers, the tight string of the bow ready to release.
“I don’t trust you,” said the woman. “What kind of Aeri doesn’t know the skills he is born with?”
She had a good point. What excuses did I have? I was one of the Chosen? I didn’t want to make the situation more confusing. I then had an idea straight out of Shade’s charm playbook.
“I was told to come here by Theobold the Rorn,” I said. “From what I know Rorn are not known as great practitioners of magic. Yet, for whatever reason, he is. If someone such as he can exist, is it so hard to believe there is an Aeri who’s never learned his powers?”
The cloaked female ranger removed her hood, revealing a silver haired Aeri woman with pale skin and purple eyes like my own. Her ears angled into sharp points passing through her hair. She walked towards me and said: “You speak wise words. Perhaps you aren’t an imposter after all. Any friend of Theobold’s is a friend to the Eldra Aeri of the Forgotten Forest.”
Barter (Level Two) Success
You increased your bartering skills by 0.3
I assumed bartering would mostly be useful in terms of dealing with merchants, but negotiating your own survival was good too.
“My name is Kendara,” said the female ranger. “Come with us. I must show you to my grandmother—the eldest of our clan. Follow me.”
The ranger threw her hood back over her head and walked between the trees. The other rangers jumped in the air with a quick magical lightness reaching the high branches above. They followed Kendara, leaping from branch to branch, watching her every step, keeping an eye on the dangers of the forest below. I jogged to catch up with the ranger, stumbling over a large oak root in the process. As we trudged forward, this strange sensation overtook me: it was the clarity and relief of heading in a constant direction after the madness of wandering in circles for far too long.
“Is there a spell in this forest which keeps people from entering too deep?”
Kendara smiled beneath her hood. “You figured that out, huh? The Eldra Aeri of the Forgotten Forest don’t interact very much with the rest of Laergard. We leave outsiders to their concerns, we stick to ours.”
Kendara’s words confused me.
“You keep saying you’re Eldra Aeri—but I thought they all lived on the continent of Orenspar?”
“All of the first Aeri were born in Orenspar—but that was a long time ago. Before the great rupture separated us all apart. The Eldra Aeri are those Aeri who stick to the old ways and traditions of the forest and the mother tree Gaia. No matter what continent they may live on.”
There were so many blurred lines between the different races and factions, it was hard to keep track. At my next spare moment, I had serious research to do on the Wiki.
“But as you were saying about the forest’s spell,” said Kendara, as I followed behind her through a large shadowy crack in a tree. “Without one of us as a guide, you’d never be able to find Florentis.”
“What the heck is Flor—”
Kendara stepped through a crack at the bottom of an ancient tree and disappeared. I followed behind and, like a portal, the forested doorway led to a magnificent town made of tree forts and humongous flowers. We stood on a tree root the size of a normal road which led to the center of the town. There large orange and purple petals rolled out like tongues, offering stairways to different buildings and sections of the town. Everything in the place had a glow to it, from the flowers, to the vines and roots we walked on. I guess this was an alternative form of lighting from the manatech I’d seen back in Arondale.
The Aeri walked to and fro throughout the city. There were all sorts of craftsmen busy at work: carving bows out of elder wood, reigniting the innate mana in dulled magic stones, inscribing swords with powerful scripts. I imagined the Eldra Aeri’s economy here was mostly self-sufficient, but I bet they also imported a lot of basic goods and sold them back to the Haeren and other races after being magically inscribed and improved upon. Aeri children ran about, sliding down flower petals, laughing with glee.
What a beautiful place.
You’ve discovered Florentis! +100 EXP!
“Come with me odd Aeri man,” said Kendara. “I must take you to my grandmother. The rest of you are dismissed.”
The cloaked group of rangers nodded and all walked away. A group of them headed to a flower petal where there was a fountain of bright green liquid. Other Aeri sipped on the drink from wooden tankards. An Aeri tavern.
Kendara walked down the large root road to the center of the city where a long green stem shot out of the ground and through the canopy of the trees. A vine staircase wound around the stem. Kendara walked up and, after a few steps, paused to glare at me waiting at the bottom, hesitancy written across my face.
“Don’t tell me you’ve spent so long in the Haeren realms you’re weary of our architecture? Does everything really need to be stone and concrete to make you feel comfortable?”
This elf girl was throwing me pretty hardcore shade so I played it cool and said, “Sorry, my mind slipped. I got no problem with flower stairs.”
She rolled her eyes. She knew I was bullshitting but I think she enjoyed my failed attempt at coolness.
I followed behind her until we were atop all the flower buildings and the glowing Aeri town laid below. It was stunning and so different from the industrial and polluted Arondale. We passed through the branches and trees until we were above the entire forest. The bright blue sky surrounded us. Theobold’s windmill and the sha
dowy silhouette of Arondale stood in the distance like tiny specks. The vine staircase led us to a yellow tulip the size of a house.
“Hang on a second,” I said. “I didn’t see this tower when I approached the forest.”
“Of course you didn’t. Just like you were unable to find your way around the place until we approached you. Old and powerful magic courses through this forest. How else would we protect ourselves from those who seek to exploit the forest’s magic?”
Kendara shook her head. The thought of outsiders really did bother her.
She continued forward. The vine led us directly inside the flower, where the large petals acted like walls. Light from the late morning sky floated through the slivers between the petal walls. An old Aeri woman sat cross-legged in the center of the room, her eyes were closed.
The old Aeri opened her eyes. They were faded and lavender in color. She had wrinkled skin and silver hair braided into a weaving pony-tail far longer than her.
“Grandma,” said Kendara. “I found a stranger in the woods. He appears Aeri like you or me but—”
“He doesn’t act like an Aeri at all,” the old woman finished her granddaughter’s sentence.
“Exactly!” Kendara said, excitedly. “Grandma—how did you know?”
“The forest speaks to me child,” said the old woman. “It speaks, and I listen. There will be more like them soon. The Gaia-Rentha is at hand.”
I stepped forward. “Are you talking about the Chosen?”
The old woman shook her head and smiled. “The Haeren—so arrogant. Everything is about me, me, me. Yes—we are talking about the Chosen. Or as we call it, Gaia-Rentha: Gaia gives birth. New beings are entering our world, marking a new age. Gaia tells us it is so.”
“So you’ll accept me as an Aeri like you guys?”
Both women laughed. “You are a Haeren dressed up as an Aeri. Everyone can see.”
Geeze—these guys were perceptive beyond belief. I worried they’d start talking about Earth and Taco Bell in a minute.
“Okay, but will you teach me our innate abilities,” I asked. I created an energy ball in my hand. “I can already do this one.”
The two woman made a face at one another, impressed.
“Kendara here can teach you what you wish to learn,” said the elder Aeri woman. “But on one condition. A certain set of mushrooms have become plagued and threaten to poison the whole forest. If you help Kendara eradicate the pest, you will learn the full set of innate skills. Are you up to the task?”
Quest Update: The Magic Inside of You
You have successfully met the Eldra Aeri of the Forgotten Forest. Help them in clearing the woods of the plagued mushroom creatures and discover the innate abilities currently locked within you. Learn your main innate racial abilities (1/3). Destroy the mushroom plague threatening the forest
Quest Type: Uncommon
Quest Difficulty: Hard
Reward: 100 EXP + ?
Accept: Yes/No ?
I accepted the quest straightaway, though I shivered at the thought of going back into the forest full of dangerous dinosaurs and haunted mushrooms.
19
A message appeared in my HUD: Kendara has joined your party. Underneath my status bars and debuff icons, a picture of Kendara’s face appeared. I focused on her image to get all of her stats.
Kendara
Level 8
Race: Aeri (Eldra)
Class: Ranger
HP: 118
MP: 24
ATKP: 22
MTKP: 3
TGH: 14
SPIRIT: 18
LUCK: 7 (+2)
I pored over her stats to take in her build. She was a nice mix of all the base stats except when it came to magic attack power which surprised me given how so much of the Eldra Aeri skill set involved one’s innate mana flow. I was curious to see her in battle.
We said goodbye to the Aeri elder and headed back down the vine to the main level of Florentis. I headed for the exit when Kendara frowned at me.
“You always go into battle like this?”
There were ripped holes and tears in my dirty coat. I called up the stats and saw the durability was close to 0.
“You’re right, I better get this repaired before we head off and deal with those mushroom monsters.”
Kendara motioned with her hands, telling me to follow her. We walked up a petal of a glowing green flower, leading to a hall of Aeri, busy working at different crafting stations from forges to tanning racks. The ranger led me to one man, specifically. He was a young Aeri with blonde hair and he was sewing together a cloth. Faint light emanated from his fingertips onto the needle and thread as he infused it with internal mana.
“Clarex—can you repair this for us quickly?”
I took my coat off and handed it to the young boy. He picked it up in his hands and smiled as he stitched it using the same mana-infused sewing he had done earlier. Within a minute, the coat was as good as new.
I donned my newly repaired coat and Kendara was back to business. “Time to get going. The forest plague grows stronger every minute we waste.”
Kendara led the way and we exited Florentis back through the forest portal, appearing outside the ancient tree.
“Which way?” I asked.
“We’ll travel faster and see more if we travel by tree branch,” said Kendara.
“Wait, what?”
Kendara jumped off the ground and—rather than falling back down—she simply jumped in the air again. She did this three times and then landed onto the branches of the gnarled trees.
“Um,” I said. “I don’t think I can do that.”
Kendara shook her head. “Of course you can. Try it.”
I felt like an idiot because I knew I wasn’t going to be able to do it. Not on the first try anyway. I jumped and kicked my feet higher in the air but all I did was fall on my ass. Kendara laughed from the branches.
“No, not like that,” she said, holding her stomach in laughter. “You’re going to make me fall off this branch.” She wiped a tear out of her eye. “Think about it like this. When you summon the energy ball, you’re focusing all the mana inside of you into your palm. Now when you try to jump, try focusing the mana on the bottom of your feet. Use the energy as a momentary platform to jump again.”
I kind of understood what Kendara meant but not entirely. To fully comprehend her words, I needed to try. I bent my knees and jumped in the air. As I came back down, I focused on my feet, pushing the mana inside me downwards. An odd thick puddle platform rested beneath my feet, which wasn’t quite the forest floor. I jumped again in excitement, straight into the bushes.
A window appeared in my HUD:
Innate Racial Ability Unlocked: Power Jump (Level One)
Manipulate the mana coursing inside of you to create platforms through which you jump higher and higher.
MP Cost: 7
“I’ve learnt the ability,” I yelled up to Kendara, excitedly.
“You’ve learnt it when you’re up here on this branch with me. Focus your mana to your feet as soon as you jump. It’s too late once you’re already falling back down.”
Okay. This was it. I would do it right this time. I had to focus. It was a split-second thing. I had to be powering up my feet as soon as I jumped—not quite before and not even a second after. It had to be immediate.
I crouched down, wanting to put all my strength in my knees for this. I lunged my body forward, my feet pushing off the ground. I let the mana course through them and, sensing the platform below, I jumped again. I was in the middle of the air—between the forest floor and the branches above. It was like flying until I fell—oh no. I created another energy puddle and jumped and did it once more until I clung to the branch.
Kendara held her hand out for me and pulled me up.
Standing upright on the branch, I wiped the sweat off my forehead. Close call. If I hadn’t made it to the branch in those last two hops, I would’ve been out of MP an
d would’ve fallen back to the ground.
Note to self: at full MP I had enough for four power jumps. Otherwise, splat. I’m sure if I used it enough, I would level up the skill and the MP cost would go down.
“Well done,” she said. “With enough practice, you’ll fool me into believing you're a normal Aeri.” She then turned her head and pointed in the direction of other branches. “Follow me. We’ll hop between the branches, scouring the forest for these plagued mushroom monsters.”
Kendara moved forward and jumped into open space, creating a platform of energy at her feet, and jumped to the next branch. I followed behind her. We took time between branches scouting the forest floor, letting our MP recharge.
After about ten minutes of branch hopping, Kendara stopped and fell into a stealthy crouch. She put her hand out to stop me from moving.
“Down there,” she whispered. “Big enough patch to spread the plague.”
Below us was a cluster of five purple mushrooms. They appeared innocuous like the red mushrooms I’d fought earlier. But of course, it was their disguise.
“What should we do?” I asked. At five versus two, the odds were in their favor. We did have an advantage of height though.
