Will it hurt? How much? The death of the thief and the woman looked very painful, their screams still vivid in my mind. When I thought about it, I might have been glad my legs were pretty much numb, the pain I felt reduced. Even so, I could already feel the tingling in my feet, and it went slowly up to my waist as the man-eating moss started doing its job.
My throat trembled as I took a deep breath, making the sounds of a frightened animal. That was something I didn’t want to be in my last moments. I wished I was strong in the face of my end, yet I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. I didn’t want to be terrified, but I was…
“What the hell are you talking about, girl?” asked Deckard through the link, puzzled.
“Huh?” a muddled whimper escaped my throat. What was he asking about? The message for Enola? Most likely. Realizing that, I thought quickly about how to persuade him to deliver the message while I was still able to think. “I…I know we just met. I was just hoping…”
“You were hoping to die?” he asked me sternly.
Threw off by his question, I looked up at Deckard standing over me, hands in his pockets, like he’s out for a walk and nothing was wrong here in the clearing.
“No, I don’t want to die,” I argued weakly, confused why he was asking me that when the moss was eating me. “Just…”
“Just what?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. But before I could find the right words, he squatted down next to me and poked my forehead. “Before you start crying to me about how you don’t want to die, you should use your head and see what’s really going on.”
Use my head? “What?”
“Use your skills,” he said slowly so that even my brain could understand. Still, he clarified. “Your perception skills, I’m pretty sure you have at least one.”
He poked me again, and I instinctively growled at him. Deckard just smiled at my dare. “You know Rezso spoke pretty highly of you. I, on the other hand, thought you might have quite a bit of potential as a [Slave]. I’ve met my share of them, and the few who were able to break free from what they were, what they are, from prejudice, didn’t do badly for themselves.”
He paused and looked into my eyes. “From what I can see, you’re halfway there. You have the will to break free from it all and become someone else, something more. But you still let yourself be bound by your past.”
Was he f****** with me? Did he think I wanted to end up here?! What’s more, become a slave again?!!
“Don’t get your panties in a twist, girl,” Deckard said when I started growling at him again, hurriedly adding. “Just a bad choice of words.”
Yeah, terrible. It just reminded me I didn’t have any panties on at the moment, and the remark about my past was even worse. They came for me, twice. It was my past that wouldn’t let me go, not me who was unwilling. I wanted to become something other than what Dungreen made me. That’s why I decided to risk my life in the labyrinth and not work in a brothel as a companion. All so I won’t be just a [Slave].
But putting what was done to me behind me was a lot harder when my body was a constant reminder of what I’d been through, a warning of what was out there. So, come to terms with what happened to me? I just couldn’t do that. Not yet.
“Ah, I see you get what I mean,” said Deckard, poking me in the cheek.
Without growling at him this time, I simply nodded in response. Even though I understood what he meant, it was an issue I couldn’t resolve now.
“Good. Just don’t let yourself be shackled by your own mind, don’t let your past drag you down. I’m sticking to that, and so far, it’s working for me,” he said with a shrug and poked my cheek again. “Now use your head, like you did when you fought that young mossbear.”
Use my head, use my skills, my perception. That’s what Deckard told me from the start. But what did he want me to see? My moss-eaten body? No, thank you!
Shouldn’t I be dead by now, though? Was I wrong? I wondered.
So after a brief hesitation, basically waiting to see if it just took the moss longer to eat me, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and used the domain to look. When I saw my whole body covered with moss, I shuddered, my mind screaming at me to shake it off. Only my instincts kept me from doing so.
That’s when I realized what Deckard wanted me to see, how dumb I was when I thought I was going to die. Under the delicate leaves, the moss glowed with a faint emerald light, the same light as the moss that cured the beast’s nose. I wasn’t being decomposed. I was being healed.
My body shuddered again, this time as I laughed heartily in my mind, then out loud at my own stupidity.
“You okay, girl?” Deckard asked carefully.
I smiled and nodded, lost in my emotions, not knowing what to say. “I…”
“Don’t sweat it, kid,” Deckard cut in when I tried to apologize for my behavior. “My first proper fight was even worse.”
Worse? I didn’t believe him. How could it have been worse? I faced a beast three times my level, and if Esu hadn’t stopped his offspring, I’d already been in its stomach. Then there was the moss. I was so embarrassed I didn’t even want to think about how much I was freaking out because of it. So I chalked it up to the shock of having my body crushed and the ensuing blood loss.
Now that I knew I wasn’t dissolving, I wasn’t unwilling anymore about using [Inner Perception] either. Once I did so, there was no more doubt in my heart. Esu’s skill was healing me. And it was doing it with incredible speed. Thus the tingling in my legs.
As I watched it to put my body back together, one question arose in my mind, though.
“Is it boosting my regeneration, or is it healing me?” I asked Deckard, remembering my conversation with Janina, the healer I had met under the barracks wall.
Deckard nodded thoughtfully, then shrugged. “Excellent question, but if you can’t tell, I certainly can’t. I’m not a healer. But try asking the big guy.”
I looked up at the King of the Woods, wondering if he’d think my question stupid. Deep down, I was still afraid that he would think me even more incompetent, that he would really let me eat by moss.
“Esu, may I ask how you are healing me?” I inquired as soon as I found the courage to do so. “Are you helping my regeneration or healing me with mana.”
I tried to use as simple an explanation as possible and put as much intent into my growl as I could to make him understand my question while unsure of whether the beasts even know such concepts.
“Your regeneration strong, cub. A little push, all it needs,” he grunted in reply.
Oh! His direct answer made me speechless for a second. But at least I knew he was boosting my regeneration, which meant the building blocks for repair were coming from my body. Meaning I could only hope that my own regeneration didn’t suck me dry.
“It provides nutrients too,” Esu added, almost as if he was reading my mind. His words surprised me, though. Like Deckard, I wasn’t a healer, but Janina was, and she had mentioned no skill working like that if my memory serves me well. The truth was that what I was looking at was a beast on a level where common sense may not apply.
Common sense, huh? Something I didn’t have either.
“Thank you, Esu,” I said with as much sincerity as I could put into my words.
The King of the Woods just grunted in acknowledgment, no concrete words behind it.
“So?” Deckard asked through the ring connection, seeing that our conversation was over. I retold Esu’s words to him.
“See, don’t take everything so seriously. It makes life easier,” he said, smiling as he petted my head. Then he stood up. “Take your time, gather your strength, collect your thoughts.”
I watched as he stepped aside, observing the situation in the clearing with concern on his face while I thought about what he had just said. The time of my recovery was in Esu’s hands. To regain my strength, I could do no more than lie still, and only my thoughts were within my power to control.
Yet, I didn’t think Deckard meant my thoughts or emotions but hinted that I should check my skills. At least that’s what I figured and wanted to do anyway, so I checked the system notifications.
(ding) Painless Agony reaches lvl 11
…
(ding) Swift as a Whip reaches lvl 12
…
(ding) Master’s Shield reaches lvl 10
(ding) >> Master’s Shield reaches Tier II <<
…
(ding) Perfect Equilibrium reaches lvl 10
(ding) >> Perfect Equilibrium reaches Tier II <<
…
(ding) Spatial Domain reaches lvl 12
…
(ding) Beast reaches lvl 13
…
(ding) Never-Dying reaches lvl 29
…
(ding) Tail of Poison Empress reaches lvl 10
(ding) >> Tail of Poison Empress reaches Tier II <<
I knew more tier-ups were coming, that if I survived the fight, I would gain a few levels in my skills. Yet I gulped when I saw those notifications. How long did the fight last? Judging by the fact that the beast got me before the sun fully set, that struggle of mine couldn’t have lasted that long. At least I felt like I accomplished nothing during it, like I didn’t deserve what the system was giving me.
Still, beggars can’t be choosers, right?
Master’s Shield: lvl 10
Active II
It is your duty to protect your master, since your master is what matters. Yet, in some situations, it is simply impossible to protect your master with your body alone. This is what a shield you can create around you or your master is for. The amount of mana required to create a shield depends on the distance you create the shield from you or your master, its size, and strength, its stability then on how well you hold your ground.
II – Yet, despite your best efforts, the strength of your shield may not be enough to protect your master. That’s not something you can allow, even at the cost of your own well-being.
10% of the damage done to the shield can be transferred to your own body.
Well, what to say? So far, I have found this skill to be a disappointment. This magical shield shattered on almost every attack. Though it must be said that my opponents were considerably stronger than me most of the time, and my skill underleveled relative to my class level. That anchoring thing was pretty annoying, too. I’ve been sent flying several times because of it.
Still, zorbing sounded fun, and no doubt I had to try it one day.
What didn’t sound like fun was transferring the damage to my body. Why would I do that? How did it work, anyway? Did it boost the strength of the shield by 10%? If so, I could understand. It might prevent it from shattering, and thus me getting stabbed. What about the damage, though? Am I gonna get stabbed anyway, just… less? With the ten percent? Or will the damage be redistributed over my entire body somehow? What will I feel then?
If I could, I would grab my hair in frustration and scream. It was a skill obviously designed to protect the slave master, discarding the life of the slave. But despite how many questions and doubts I had about its usefulness, I didn’t want to be hasty with my judgment. So until I ran some skill tests, it was staying.
Next!
Perfect Equilibrium: lvl 10
Passive II
Even with extra limbs, you have the potential to achieve the perfect balance, perfect coordination of the body in space. You can say goodbye to unwanted falls as you can twist like a tumbler, move like a dancer, or land with the grace of a cat.
II – Achieving perfection is not easy, and body coordination alone is not enough. The world around you is constantly in motion, shifting. You need to react to these changes in time.
Your reaction speed is increased by 10%.
I honestly wasn’t sure when I got this tier up. Was it before or after I didn’t pull back my wing in time before the beast bit into it? Were my reactions any quicker by the time the shoots caught me and dragged me under the mossbear? I don’t think so. It didn’t feel like it at the time.
But I felt a little bitter about it, lying broken beneath the moss. So, not the best time to judge this ability.
On the contrary, I was very curious about the last skill tier up.
Tail of Poison Empress: lvl 10
Active II
Death awaits everyone, but for some, it comes earlier in the form of poison. Your tail is your natural weapon excreting deadly poisonous gas. Blazing orange and with the smell of apples, this poison does not escape attention. However, this may change as more experience is gained.
II – Naturally, the more experience/levels you gain, the stronger, more effective, and faster acting your poison will be. But more is always better, especially if it’s at a lower cost.
Amount of poison produced increased by 10%
Amount of mana required to create a unit of poison reduced by 10%
Huh? Well… It wasn’t the skin-melting upgrade I was dreading, though I wasn’t overly enthusiastic about it either. Firstly, my math wasn’t at who knows what level, but if I did my calculation right, using the skill required almost the same amount of mana as before. Secondly, it was already quite unpleasant when the glands in the tail filled up. Now they were supposed to be making ten percent more poison? I didn’t like that at all.
Regardless of whether or not I liked each tier up, I couldn’t wait to try them out. Find out their limits, figure out the possibilities of their use. I mean, it was fun to me. I enjoyed that. Then I could draw the conclusions and, if I see fit, replace the skills.
“Eat, cub,” commanded Esu, in a growl that rattled my bones. It snapped me out of my thoughts so suddenly that I yelped.
“You are back?” Deckard remarked, making me even more confused.
Did I go somewhere? Looking around, I was still lying in the same spot. The only difference was that I was no longer covered in moss. No, I take it back. The biggest difference was that my body was fine, I could feel my legs, move them. I could flap my wings and wag my tail.
So I hugged Sage!
“Seriously, girl. What’s wrong with you and your tail?” Deckard paused at my behavior. Buried in the soft hair of my tail, I ignored him.
“Eat, cub. Need nutrients,” Esu said again, this time with much more emphasis.
Not daring to ignore the King of the Woods any longer, I looked around me, searching for the thing he wanted me to eat while wondering why I needed the extra nutrients. Did the healing-moss not supply enough of them?
However, whatever the reason was, I had to put it out of my mind as my imagination began to work its magic. It was hard for me not to imagine that some bloody animal carcass was about to become my dinner. The idea of eating raw meat was unsettling but the thought of it being a human or a terran body made me sick. Much to my relief, I found no such thing around me.
Just a damn big pile of fluffy moss.
“Nutrients,” Esu replied when I asked him, unsure if I was looking at the right thing. I did. So, I sat cross-legged next to a pile of moss and hesitated. Raw meat might have been unappealing to me, except for the beast Deckard had brought, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t up for trying new food. I loved sushi, seafood in general. I even tried roasted insects and fried worms. Not great, but not bad either. I’ve had my share of salads in my lifetime, yet I’ve never eaten moss in my life.
This one looked like a lettuce, though.
A weird mossy lettuce. So…Yeah, I was still hesitating and putting off the inevitable. I stared at the moss pile for a long time, coaxing myself to eat it, but when my stomach growled with hunger, reminding me that my last meal was breakfast, I reached for the moss, ripped off a handful of it, and then shoveled it into my mouth without even blinking.
Best treat it as a band-aid, right?
“Hmm…” I hummed while I chewed. It was surprisingly juicy, a little tough, and tickled the roof of my mouth. Sour taste, a bit salty? All in all, it was edible.
“Eh…if you’re that hungry, I have better things in my storage than that…” Deckard remarked when he saw me feasting on the moss. I appreciated his offer and was especially curious if he still had a piece of that fragrant carcass, but I shook my head. “Thanks, but according to Esu, it has the nutrients I need.” I didn’t even have to stop chewing when I answered him, the benefit of projecting your thoughts through the connection.
He looked at the King of the Woods and then back at me. “Your loss. Enjoy your meal!”
I smirked at his sarcastic remark. “Thanks!”
It was hard to tell if Deckard’s I don’t give a damn attitude was his nature or if it was just an act to cover his worry. It made me wonder if it was something he picked up in the army. Not to show his soldiers weakness, to give them confidence. That was the impression Deckard gave me. But despite how blithely he looked, he knew Esu had the final say-so, and even he could do nothing about it.
So I had to suck it up and chew on.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t the quiet, moonlit dinner I would have liked. There were still a handful of survivors in the clearing, giving the adult mossbears more of a hard time than the beasts anticipated. I couldn’t see much from my seated position, but I heard enough. Roaring and shouting didn’t exactly whet my appetite.
Especially when I thought of the dead around me. Worse, I imagined they would then be digested by the moss for which they become fertilizer, nutrients. The nutrients that I was now eating moss for. So, what was I eating?
