Chương 16: A Bit of Hunting

"<Fireball>" The spell gathers at the tip of Vik's staff. Then, with a woosh, it launches towards the monster that is currently trying to get past my guard. I jump back at the last possible moment, feeling the surge of heat just centimeters away from burning me. But, the accompanying notification makes the near-burns worth it.

'Ding', You have slain [Shadeling Shambler - Lvl 21]. Experience split amongst group.

"Hell yeah! Take that you worthless creature!" Vik cheers and wastes no time rushing in to loot the corpse of the shambler. He pulls a knife out and starts caving into it, moments later he pulls out a small mana crystal.

"How do you know where the loot is?" I ask. Vik looks confused.

"You just identify the corpse? Seriously old man, where did you come from? First you don't know how to form a party, and now you don't even know how to loot monsters…" I clench my teeth as he basically calls me a dumbass. I shrug.

"That is a long story, perhaps I can tell it over ale sometime."

"You've got yerself a deal, then." Vik pats me on the back then leans against a nearby tree.

"My mana's dead, can't imagine you're doing any better with those fancy attacks."

"I got about nothing. Well, aside from all those sweet levels." I too sit down and sink into Meditation. It is quite a useful skill, and it seems like everyone has it. Guess that makes sense, as it is basically just focusing the bodies' energies to recover faster or something. While I Meditate, I check my notifications from the past day or so of hunting. The two of us have been quite prolific. Also it seems the notifications have a handy summary mode, quite nice that I don't have to check every one right away.

'Ding', You have slain [Shade Wolf - Lvl 14]. Experience split amongst group. … expand for 25 more notifications.

'Ding', You have slain [Shadeling Shambler - Lvl 21]. Experience split amongst group.

'Ding', Magic Smith has advanced to level 11. Stat points distributed. …

'Ding', Magic Smith has advanced to level 16. Stat points distributed.

'Ding', Luma has advanced to level 7. Stat points distributed. …

'Ding', Luma has advanced to level 15. Stat points distributed.

'Ding', Luma has gained a new ability, [Healing Nuzzle]'Ding', Spirit Mage has advanced to level 8. Stat points distributed.

'Ding', Spirit Mage has advanced to level 9. Stat points distributed.

'Ding', Spirit Mage has advanced to level 10. Stat points distributed.

'Ding' New skill unlocked, [Plane Step (Common)] I can now see why Calder said hunting alone was best. There seems to be a massive experience penalty for fighting in groups, not to mention that it is also shared. But I can see why people would do it. Fighting in groups is just more fun. Plus it is nice to not feel like you are literally about to die every second. The danger is still there of course, but just knowing someone is at your back helps to take some of the weight off.

"Yip." Luma sounds hurt. Oh right, I guess I always have Luma at my back! The moment I think that, her spirit brightens and then she nuzzles my side where I took a blow earlier. On another note, she has leveled quite fast just from her aura helping to heal both of us at the same time. She even got a new ability, a quite awesome one at that. Her Healing Nuzzle goes right into action, and damn is it nice. I would read the description, but the name is quite self explanatory.

Speaking of new things, I also got a new Spirit Mage skill. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. [Plane Step (Common)] Become one with your spirit, and use it to travel through the spiritual realm to a destination. The skill is limited to any location you can perceive. Legends say that true masters of the spirit can cross entire realms with only a single step. But whether legends hold truth cannot be known.

I am already on my feet by the time I finish reading the description. Vik smiles and shares my excitement. So without even a moment of waiting, I walk into the center of the clearing. Activating the skill, I feel my body go sort of intangible. It is quite strange, I feel like I am still vulnerable though, so it's probably just an illusion. The feeling fades within an instant and I go back to normal. Oh right, I probably have to take an actual step, like the description says.

But the window seems quite short, I will have to time it well. Trying again, I activate the skill and immediately take a step. I get really dizzy and stumble into a nearby tree. Wait, I wasn't near any trees before. Once my vision focuses, I realize that I crossed about ten meters in a single step. It cost about five percent of my current spirit energy reserves though, and my body is really out of whack. So much so that I end up losing my lunch. Vik laughs from the other side of the clearing.

"Damn, you managed to stay standing after your first teleportation? Bloody mad, you are, sir. Most people would be down for the count, and definitely wouldn't experiment with such a skill in the wilds. But I guess you are also doing most of the work killing these ridiculously strong monsters… what the hell even are you?" Acting as if my eyes aren't red and my throat isn't burning, I scowl at Vik.

"Some warning of such things would be helpful. As for that, I said I would tell you over some ale." I have been trying to like, not show my heroness. But it would seem that the fact we are killing monsters several levels above us is an anomaly. Vik says that even in parties, most only try to fight those several levels below. He does go along with it though, guess the temptation of levels is enough to override his sense of risk. He throws up his hands in surrender.

"I would've warned you, but it was too late once I realized what you were about to do. My older brother used to have a similar skill, but it wasn't nearly as fast as yours. Nor did it have that strange glowiness." I sigh.

"Well, it gets easier, right? I will just have to practice more. Though not today, it is getting quite late. We should head back to the town, I am not excited about finding out what appears in this forest at night." Vik has no arguments, and we start making our way back towards the town. It turns out that he comes from a long line of carpenters that happen to also be mages. You know, as one does in this world. As a treat for his recent birthday, his uncle decided to take him out on his first hunt.

It was going well, and Vik got up to a good level. But then the elk came out of nowhere and got a lucky hit with its antlers on uncle before he could fight back. I gotta admire the kid's composure though. To just keep going on like that isn't something most people can do. If I didn't catch him shedding a tear while we ate lunch, I would've thought he was a cold-blooded monster or something. Of course, the more Vik tells about himself, the more I am forced to share about myself.

It is quite tricky to talk about myself without revealing too much. Vik is especially interested in why I have rangers armor, yet fight with a hammer. Plus I had to explain away Luma's power by saying I had some sort of healing class. I don't know why, but I get the sense that revealing that I am a spirit mage might be dangerous. Not as much as being a hero, but still not something to casually do. Unfortunately, my explanation raises a lot of questions.

Turns out that ranger and healer are not a very common combination. But thankfully, Vik drops the topic as we begin walking again. Calder was very stern in me not revealing my hero-nes or anything related to it. Given that the first time I did that landed me in the dungeon of a sadistic bastard, I will do my best to keep myself hidden. Though I somehow doubt I will be able to do it forever. We make it back to the city just as the sun is starting to set.

We cut it a bit close, and only arrive minutes before the gates close. Apparently, all sorts of horrors tend to come out at night, seeking the warmth of the city. This world just keeps getting better.

"Well, this is where we part ways. Ma is gonna be so worried about me coming back so late…" Vik says and reaches out his hand. I grab his hand, and to his surprise, I pull him into a bear-hug.

"Good luck, and who knows, perhaps we shall meet again someday." Vik smiles and returns the hug. Once we separate, he steps away.

"Something strange is about you, so no offense, but I hope not." He says and then promptly leaves. I can't fault him, I must seem quite strange. And in this world, strange equates to dangerous, goddess knows how much danger I am in store for. Thankfully, I have a cozy inn room to settle down in. As I lay back in the bed, Luma hops right on my chest and proceeds to fall asleep. Good thing I wasn't planning to go anywhere else today. I consult my stats real quick.

Stats Vitality: 88 Endurance: 38 Strength: 45 Agility: 33 Intelligence: 31 Wisdom: 30 Spirit: 95 Unallocated Points: 22 Twenty two points is quite a few. It also seems that my stats are quite heavily biased towards spirit and vitality. Which makes sense, as I get those bonuses from when Luma levels up. Now, I am not complaining, but having a great spirit seems quite powerful. In order to balance my stats a bit more, I put five into agility, intelligence, wisdom and endurance.

Then I throw the last two into strength, just to get a bit more oomph to my attacks. The feeling of my entire self getting stronger and smarter is quite strange. I am still the same as mere moments ago, yet I am somehow just better. I don't think it's a good idea to waste time questioning it at the moment. Sleep is far more important with what I plan to do tomorrow.