Chương 90: Chapter 95: Cross punch

I thought some more about it, I came to the conclusion the yes, it was probably my trait. The fact that any curse I encountered and was affected by left a trace in my aura made it somewhat evil to experience for others, but in the end it is the way you use something. I knew my aura wasn't inherently evil, but that didn't change the way others would perceive it, so I will keep it contained for now. But if the need arose, I could use this.

Actually, it was something quite useful in the right circumstances, maybe another weapon to apply in combat too.

"I won't look at you with that anymore, don't worry," I said while squeezing her arm gently. She looked at me in the eyes for a moment, then turned around. We were flying just above the canopy, it looked like a sea of green below us, but the thing was that we had finally arrived at our destination. The mountain range was finished on our right, it remained only to curve a bit and see what awaited us. As we proceeded forward I rose even higher in the air, I wanted a good view of whatever awaited us.

"Oh careful, it's really high," Rhea said as I went up.

"Don't worry, I won't let you fall." Then, as we finally had a clear view of the other side, I saw something that made my heart beat faster.

"Is that…?"

"Yeah…" I enhanced my eyes with aura again, the world became monochrome but I could clearly see it. The forest continued for some more, maybe four or five miles beyond the mountain. After that, the trees grew less and less, until a sea of wooden stumps surrounded what clearly was a small town constructed entirely of the same wood that had been cut down around it. Beyond the town, the light pillar showed itself clearly against the sky, completely white to my eyes against the grey surroundings.

A town meant people, and people in this place meant answers, maybe safety, but most of all, I was hoping it meant a safe zone. I wanted to proceed so badly, but my curse demanded that I turn back, to bring the group to possible safety. I will, but I will make them march like there was no tomorrow. I wanted to reach it as soon as possible.

"Let's go back, it's nearly midday, and the news will light a fire under the asses of everyone."

"Mmm… I just hope that town will not be infested with monsters, that will be more than bad, it will kill everyone's morale for good." That was certain, the group got a bit better but they were still not all fit for this place. If it was up to me, I wouldn't have trouble with that, they could just fend for themselves, but as long as I was forced to stay with them, I would have to consider morale and fatigue and their opinions too. Soon… soon I will be free of everything and everybody, then things will change.

"I hope not, but it was clearly built recently given the state of the forest. It should have people. If they are from Earth or aliens though, that I have no idea. Still, aliens beat spiders, no?"

"I suppose you're right, but anything beats spiders, really… I think the stench from the eggs won't go away any time soon from my hair…" Women… what that has to do with anything in this tutorial I have no idea. Not that I like to smell, but given the circumstances, I will take becoming smelly for another round of achievements any day. I turned around our flying disk.

Now that the flying monsters didn't attack us anymore and the ground monsters were, well, stuck on the ground and unable to attack us up here, we would make great time going back. Still, I wouldn't be able to fly the entire group. It was already getting hard with just Rhea as extra, and she was light. I would probably be forced to land halfway through even with just her. My aura reserves were getting steadily eroded by my wanton use of it, but at least my mana was pretty much full.

The upkeep for this skill was not mana intensive, just aura and focus. My will too suffered the more I used it, the more I pushed, the harder it became to push further. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. But for now it had been good. I managed to reach my objective and more, I gained a couple more achievements and a ton of tutorial points. Rhea got an enormous boost too, and her cooperation in helping with my curse will surely prove valuable.

All in all, this morning was extremely productive, I really couldn't complain. In a great mood we made our way back. I saw in the distance the entrance to the spider's cave, so I brought us down and reabsorbed the hardened aura. Not feeling the wind on my skin felt like a slap to the face. The flight made me tired, yes, but it was so good that touching the ground again was nearly painful.

Man wasn't created to fly, but between all the magic in my possession, that was the thing that I enjoyed being able to do the most. Not the strength or speed, not even shooting darts and using aura, the curses even less. I knew I had a kind of talent for that, but flying was decidedly on top of the list.

"You spoiled me with that," Rhea said with a forlorn look at the sky, "I need to figure out a ritual or something to do it too."

"It's something else, yes, but it will be good to stretch our legs a little. You still are not used to your stats, we can jog back to camp, it shouldn't take long, and please, if you could ask me something sometimes to keep my curse in check, something actually useful, I will be most thankful."

"Absolutely, I didn't forget about that, don't worry, you're in great hands! I will think of something good while we go back." I could only hope that she did, but given her personality she wasn't going to ask something that would go contrary to my will, and even if she did, I could resist it much better now compared to before.

"Then let's go, and stay sharp. While you are way more resistant than before, getting gutted by an eldir would still kill you."

"I should be the one full of doom and gloom, you know? Are you sure you are not a bit goth inside too?" she asked while laughing aloud.

"I passed my emo phase a long time ago, thank you, I've no intention to go there again, too many memories."

"Whaaat? No Eli! Come back here! Hey, c'mon tell me more!" I started running away as Rhea pestered me with questions, following the trail we left before. We ran through the trees while exploring our physical capabilities. At one point she took a swing at a tree and her glancing blow splintered it, leaving a furrow where her fist passed. Her knuckles were barely reddened by the contact.

I tried out my running, jumping and overall movement too, and it was awesome, but my pure strength, that was something I hadn't tested until now. When I tried to break the mandible of that spider with just my physical power alone I failed, but the thing was so durable it didn't make for a really good test. So I followed Rhea's example and ran toward a tree large enough that three people were needed to hug it. I was no boxer, but I knew how to throw a punch.

I pushed my speed even higher to use my momentum in the strike, then as I reached the tree I led with my left foot and went for a cross with my right hand, rotating hips and shoulders to deliver as much power as I was capable of. I was sure my technique could use some improvements, but the effect was great to see, and to feel. My fist pierced through the wood nearly up to the elbow, creating a little crater while splinters and bark flew around me. That was more power than I thought…

a normal person would die many times over if hit with this kind of force. Granted, now there were no more normal people, but I didn't think many would be able to resist such a hit, except those who specialized in physical combat like Alya. I should help her find a good Baron to face against. It's a pity that she evolved her class already, I will have to ask her if she is still level 25, we could give her a great boost too.

I didn't know about the others, but I was sure they could manage somehow, especially Quinn and Marcus, they were scary in their own right. Still, I would have to plan with them how to give them the boost they needed to stay relevant in our future fights. It was sad to admit, but without the boost the achievements would give them, they wouldn't be that useful in the team. Quinn was the exception in terms of his scouting and infiltration abilities, but the others, not much.

Marco though, there was no way I was going to keep that guy around if I could help it, and given his personality, as soon as he saw everyone becoming stronger than him, he would go out in search of a Baron to face and would die on his own. Maybe that would be for the best.