’s heart raced as he sprinted after Lyeneru, weaviweerees dotted around the dark cavern above the library. He was fast pared to his friends, but the Night Elf effortlessly traversed the cool forest pathways outpag him with such ease that he knew she was holding back for his be.

  Lyeneru Silverleaf. He had dreamed of meeting her so many times that he scarcely believed she was real. Yet, there she was, the living legend, in the flesh. The power she emitted alpable; it made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Even in the simple act of running, she looked deadly.

  They darted out of the cavern through the narrow passage leading into the mountains high up above Myrin’s Keep to the north; tally, the same passage had used to reach Lirasia and save her from the spectral wolves.

  Emerging into the brisk mountain air of the box yon, leaned rasping his ko catch his breath.

  “Do you have a flight skill?” Lyeneru asked, her eyes sing the mountains and trees in the distance.

  “Yes,” he answered, quickly summoning his ethereal Azrael’s Wings.

  “Good,” she said brusquely. “Try to keep up. Keep an eye on that Death Knight’s location a me know when it moves.”

  “Ok.”

  Heat rolled off her as rge wings of fire, ced with lightning sprang from her bad she took off at high speed.

  I hope she’s not upset I asked to apany her, he thought, ung himself into the air after her. ’s worries only grew as he pushed his flight speed to its limit, trying in vain to catch up. Fuck, she’s slowing down. I should have leveled my flying more, he thought, berating himself for his x discipline applied to training his skills. I hope she doesn’t send me home. As they hurtled southward, he downed a mana potion and focused his attention on s through his notifications from the battle with Alexander Gray, more as a way to distract himself than anything.

  Archer of Light has reached level 39 (+3).+30 attribute points.

  Radiant Archery has reached level 25.Arrows of Brilliance has reached level 28.Explorer has reached level 24.Blessing of the Dawn has reached level 20.Eclipse has reached level 19.Eyes of the Ar has reached level 23.Righteous Fury has reached level 12.Azrael's Wings has reached level 6.

  And with his notifications, came a flood of further disappoi. Malika got five levels for this. Even Ali and Mato had both earned four in the fight against the neancer; he had e in st with only three levels. I’m so far behind. Grimag, he dumped eight points eato dexterity, perception, and intelligence, experieng a distincrease in his flight speed as his attributes improved. He divided the remainder, pg two points eato vitality, endurance, and wisdom.

  The problem is my css. I always run out of mana. He could do enormous amounts of damage with his bow and his entments – especially when he used Righteous Fury – but he was always short on mana, and that limited his sustained damage over a long fight. As if on cue, he felt his mana sputtering and quickly spiraled downward to alight in a rocky clearing. It would do Lyeneru no good to have him crater because he ran out of mana in midair. Even his Azrael’s Wings skill ed mana faster than he could regee it despite guzzling the best mana potions he could buy.

  Lyeurned, pulled a tight circle in the air, and then nded beside him with enviable grace.

  “Your flight skill is eled?” she asked. It was not really a question, more like an observation, so he just nodded sadly.

  “I’m holding you back. I shouldn’t have e,” said. He had been so excited at the time he had failed to think it all the way through. “You have a Death Knight to hunt.”

  “Is it on the move?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

  He checked with his trag skill, finding the sense of the undead pulling him in the same dire. Unless it was moving nearer or closer oly the same line, he was certain it was holed up somewhere. “Not si time.”

  “I’ve been hunting this one for months. It will keep for a bit. Show me your status and skills,” Lyeneru said, breaking his downward thought spiral with an abrupt and rather brazen request.

  “Uh…” He just stared at her in fusion.

  “I o know how to keep you alive,” she said, finally gng at him. “That Death Knight is close to level two hundred.”

  Two… hundred? His brain stuttered over the figure. “Oh… ok,” he managed. He was really messing this up – she had explicitly told him to obey her without question if he wao e. He scrambled to share his css and skills with her, anxiously w about what was going on behind her unnerving ck of clear expression or emotion.

  Name: AveryRace: Half-Elf

  Active Buffs: Blessing of the Dawn

  Css: Archer of Light – level 39- Radiant Archery – level 25- Arrows of Brilliance – level 28- Motes of Light – level 14- Explorer – level 24- Blessing of the Dawn – level 20- Eclipse – level 19- Eyes of the Ar – level 23- Righteous Fury – level 12- Azrael's Wings – level 6- [Locked]

  General Skills- Bowcraft – level 7- Wood Carving – level 3- Cartography – level 10

  Aptitudes- Languages: ana (Affinity): Light- Perceptive (Racial): +11 to Perception- Quick (Racial): +5 to Dexterity- Timing (Css): You have an innate sense of timingPatrons & Tithes- Deity: The Wanderer

  Attributes- Vitality: 42- Strength: 12- Endurance: 28- Dexterity: 250 (+111)- Perception: 182 (+75)- Intelligence: 171 (+70)- Wisdom: 47

  Equipment- on: Hunter's Bow – level 30- Body: Leather Armor – level 20- Hands: Bracers of Accuracy – level 10- Feet: Simple Boots of Swiftness – level 15- Ring: Silver Guild Ring – level 30

  Evasion: 240Dodge: 18.01%+5% to Accuracy rating.+5% to Movement speed.

  Health: 420/420Stamina: 238/280Mana: 23/470 (94 Reserved)

  Lyeneru remained silent long enough for the tight bands of ao begin closing around ’s throat, heightening his sense of exposure and vulnerability. All his choices and decisions since earning his css y exposed before her, ready for judgment. His face grew warmer the longer she studied his status without ent.

  Eventually, she broke the silence. “Unonly smart choices for a novice. Your attribute allocation is effective for your css. My only critique is that your strength is too low. As you level up, you’ll find the best bows have a minimum strength requirement to draw. You have a high-damage css but will struggle with long, sustained fights. Light affinity is unusual, but you have a good mix of damage and utility among your skills. Your skill levels are a little bit low for your css level, and you have weak gear. You must have been fighting above your level for a while without training your skills explicitly.”

  She paused again while digested her blunt, uional feedback. He glowed at the pliment, but the implication that he’d ed his training deepened his embarrassed blush.

  Suddenly, she raised an eyebrow, and her careful trol cracked a little. “You found the Wanderer and passed her trial?”

  “I did,” he answered awkwardly, not certain if she was looking for him to eborate.

  “Well, that’s really something. I haven’t seen one of those in a very long time,” she said, pausing in thought for a few moments. “It’s a good fit. Is that where you got your trag skill?”

  “Yes, it advanced when I pleted the trial.”

  “You have two skills that look like they might be near adva, and you are one level shy of forty. Your defensive skills are ent –” she g as he made to speak, but then interrupted him “– I don’t t boosting your dexterity so you run faster. All you have is your flight skill for escape.”

  “I have a couple of recall potions too,” said, morosely. She was tearing his css and choices to shreds. It went without saying that if he were forced to recall to Myrin’s Keep, the hunt would be over for him – Lyeneru was uo want to return to town to retrieve him.

  “Good,” Lyeneru said, nodding her approval. “Regardless, we should level you up and see if you earn a det adva or skill unlock. Your Motes of Light skill is underpowered. If you don’t get something strong on the adva, I reend dropping it for a better skill. Right now, I think our best choice is to have you demonstrate your trag but step out and hide when we reach the Death Knight – your ces of surviving direbat are ent.”

  “Thank you,” managed, digesting the feedback she had given for free, his blush deepening with the shame of being found too weak to even participate itle. His Motes of Light magic was certainly not helping his damage but, sidering how terrified Ali was of stealth and Rogues, he was relut to remove it.

  “I’m going to grant you my mentorship for this hunt. It’s temporary, so don’t get used to it. It’s your best ce of getting an effective upgrade in the short time we have,” she said.

  Lyeneru Silverleaf offers her patronage.Mentor Patronage – Lyeneru SilverleafTraits: Fire, Lightning, Dexterity, Perception, Intelligence, Ranged, Haste, Stealth, Movement, Critical Damage, Evasion.Experience gain is increased for as aligned with your mentor, or uheir supervision.Gain additional skill unlocks and advances aligned with your mentor’s traits and experience.A portion of your increased experience is awarded to your mentor, increasing their reputation.Entment – TitheAccept this patronage?

  He gulped, staring at the sudden searing white text notifications appearing in his mind. Never would he have imagined he might have the patronage of Lyeneru Silverleaf herself, even for just a short while, ahe temporary arra came with a sharp pinch of disappoi. Once she removed it, he would never be able to receive it again.

  Showing no aowledgment of his iruggle, Lyeneru pointed into the shadowed forest where something rge seemed to be lurking. “Let’s see you fight, go kill that.”

  Even for a single hunt, it’s worth it. Taking so that thought, he summoned his resolve and accepted her incredible offer. Using Explorer, he identified the gia she had pointed out.

  Bristletusk Boar – Beast – Level 42

  [Explorer]A monstrous boar only found in forested regions.Category: Mohreat Level: NormalMoype: BeastDamage: Physical

  “Ok,” he said. Simple enough.

  “No flying, unless it’s an emergency,” she said as he was retrieving his bow.

  gulped as she turned a potentially easy fight into something signifitly harder.

  “Use your stealth, it looks like it might advance soon,” she said, adding a sed dition. “Hopefully, you unlock Vanish or something else that improves your survivability.”

  nodded and turoward his prey. As the massive boar snuffled around in the dirt for food, he activated Eclipse and moved forward, darting from shadow to shadow until he reached his maximum be downwind of the mohe intense scrutiny of her eyes prickled the skin down his back between his shoulder bdes. Even though he was uhe cover of his stealth skill, he knew she was watg.

  I will probably have to deal with a charge and some sort of enhanced physical attacks, he thought, f himself to focus on his quarry. Tusks, maybe? He sulted his inner mental map of the terrain he had observed from the air and picked a dehicket he could run around.

  As soon as he reached his maximum range, he raised his bow, sighting the boar by zooming in with his Eyes of the Ar skill. He could pick out the details of the monster’s matted bck fur and heavy tusks even from this far away. Wow, this one is huge. Don’t get trampled, . Drawing his bow, he released an arrow enhanced with extra range and, at the moment before it struck, he added his light magic damage. The arrow sank deep into its fnk, seeking the heart. The boar let out a squeal of pain, spun about, and charged him, making dirt and grass fly as its skill accelerated its mass to a terrifying speed.

  Most Charge or Rush abilities were fairly limited: straight lines only, because of the extreme momentum. His best ce to dodge erpendicur to the attack.

  darted sideways at the st moment like a rogue evading a spear as the nearly oo barreled past him close enough for him to feel the wind of its passage and catch a whiff of the fresh dirt on its snout.

  As the moore past him, still squealing loudly, he leaped over a fallen trunk, spinning backward in midair and unleashing his grappling shot, timing it to hit when the beast’s charge skill ehin glowing s lit up the underbrush as they ed around the boar’s fat body, pinning it to the ground and giving a few precious seds to gain distance before it broke free of the bindings. Taking the opportunity, he fired several shots into its fnk while sprinting away on the diagonal, heading towards the thicket he had picked.

  I’ll have to watch my mana. Lyeneru hadn’t given him enough time to fully regee and he was already running low.

  led the angry boar on a frantic chase around the thicket while he ted the seds in his mind. He performed his spin-jump trick several times to get in a shot without losing ground. Nothing he did seemed to sap its strength. A mier, the boar activated its charge skill again and darted sideways to dodge the high-speed thundering mass of furiously squealing pig. All too aware that one slice of those tusks would carve him open like a butcher’s cleaver, he fired his Grappling Shot once again, wing inwardly at the mana cost while sprinting for the edge of the thicket to resume his kiting strategy.

  He tio t the seds while running, and when it was close to a minute, he dodged out from the thicket early. Right ohe boar charged, diverted from the thicket by ’s fake. He ducked back towards the thicket and fired an arrow trailing his s of light, pinning the boar out in the operieved a mana potion and dow and activated Righteous Fury, a burning rush within him. His s binding the boar wouldn’t give him a whole lot more than several seds – even with the increased spell pained from his ignited mana. In the small window of time he had created, he unleashed his arrows, burning through his mana at a precipitous rate to fuel the most potent assault he could muster, aiming for the upper left fnk and shoulder. The monster was too big for his arrows to reach the heart, but pierg the lung or wounding the leg would slow it down for a safer kill. A stream of glowing arrows smashed into the struggling boar until it broke the bindings using sheer brute strength. fired three more shots, judging the distand the speed of the boar using the remaining duration hteous Fury to boost his running speed. Behind him, he heard a thunderous crash, and a soft chime, and then silence desded on the forest.

  Breathing hard, watched as Lyeneru desded, nding beside the corpse. I’m gd I practiced this strategy with Ali in the jungle.

  “Good,” Lyeneru said, produg a slender, gleaming bde and rapidly skinning and butchering the pig, st everything. She straightened up and rolled her shoulders. “Alright, let’s go.” And she took off.

  scrambled to follow her, and they repeated the pattern again and again. Whenever he ran low on mana, they would nd and, with a woefully ie amount of time to rest and recover mana, she would make him fight again.

  For the remainder of the daylight hours, she pushed him harder than he had ever been pushed before. Exhaustion and tinuous fighting burhrough his supply of mana potions at a precipitous rate, but at long st, his notification chime sounded. Anxious for something she would approve of, he checked.

  Arrows of Brilliance has reached level 29.Eclipse has reached level 2hteous Fury has reached level 13 (+2).Azrael’s Wings has reached 10 (+4)

  Requirements met for skill adva.

  Eclipse has reached level 20.Mentor: Lyeneru Silverleaf.Got the drop on more than 50 monsters, striking first unseen.Delivered critical damage ued from the cover of stealth more than 5 times.

  Eclipse gains Ambush.Eclipse – level 20Mana: You have stealth in shadowy or dark pces. (This effeds when you take an a that draws attention to yourself.)Stamina: Ambush your enemies from stealth, your first ued attack gains + [40 + skill / 2] % critical strike d + [80 + skill] % critical damage. Light, Stealth, Illusion, IntelligenceAccept this adva?

  Ambush! His heart skipped a beat as he saw the adva he had been trying to unlock for so long. But it was not the survivability adva she wanted. Still breathing heavily from the fight, he shared the details with her anyway.

  “Take it,” she said immediately.

  “But…”

  “You don’t want it?” she asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

  “I do… I really do,” he said. “But you said I need something to help with survivability against the Death Knight?”

  “You ’t pass up Ambush without hamstringing your build permaly,” she said. “Even if it doesn’t help us for this hunt, you must take it.”

  Relieved, he nodded and accepted the adva and then summoned his wings and followed her as she led the way onward, her eyes stantly sing the brush for his est.

  She’s right, just because it’s not what I need right now doesn’t mean it’s not great. He had wanted Ambush for a long time, and finally, he had it. Critical strikes were devastating attacks, and the version he had unlocked would apply to his magihas, too. If I could just find a way to use it with Righteous Fury…

  “Where did you learn that trick?” Lyeneru asked him, suddenly.

  “I read the chapter in your book about kiting, and I had a fight with Ali where I was forced to practice it because Mato and Malika were knocked unscious by Dreamcloud spores,” answered.

  “No, not the kiting. You deyed your skill till the point of impact.”

  Oh, that. “Ali told me it ossible, and then it was simply a matter of practig a whole lot,” answered. “Why?” He shut his mouth quickly, anxious that she would be upset with his presumption.

  “We teach it in one of the Pathfiraining csses at the guild,” she answered. “Typically, it’s only mastered by advarainees who have been w with us for some time.”

  His heart soared as he realized she had offered him a great pliment.

  Suddenly, his notification chime sounded again. Eh, what’s this? I’m not even doing anything? Eagerly, he sed the text.

  Requirements met for skill adva.

  Azrael’s Wings has reached level 10.Patroy: The Wanderer.Mentor: Lyeneru Silverleaf.Used flight to save your life in bat.Used more than 20 times maximum mana for flight in one day.Scouted the Lirasian Forest from the air.

  Azrael’s Wings gains Sustained Flight.Azrael’s Wings – level 10Stamina: Create ethereal wings made of light magic. You fly. Reserve: 20%Mana: Boost your flight speed. eled.Light, Movement, DexterityAccept this adva?

  Oh! Quickly, he shared his sed adva with Lyeneru, but he knew she would make him take it before she even saw it. The ge didn’t simply add to his previous ability, but it seemed to modify it.

  “Double influence adva, very nice,” she said. “That’s probably why you got such a good flight adva at such a low skill level. Now we should be able to make some ground on that Death Knight.”

  “I should take it, then?”

  “I would reend it.”

  Was that actual humor from the dour Pathfinder?

  At once, he accepted the adva and found his old method of eling his mana still allowed him the same freedom of flight. tur off and instead activated his skill with stamina. His familiar ethereal light wings appeared from his back, and he found himself flying without using mana.

  So much better! And, acc to the skill description… He pulsed mana into the sed part of the skill to boost his flight speed. Immediately, a sed set of wings appeared, and his speed accelerated dramatically. Obviously, it wasn’t sustainable, but he now could move in bursts of high speed, returning to his normal speed to recover mana while flying indefinitely.

  “There’s still light,” Lyeneru said. “Let’s put your new wings to good use.”

  Aliandra Ali’s eyes fluttered open and she rolled over to chealika, but her friend was still sleepilessly on the couch. A twitd a low groan made her heart plummet, but double-cheg only showed her friend was not awake.

  Dreaming? Or pain? I should let her sleep. It was odd to wake and not find Malika meditating, but presumably, she o sleep off whatever had caused her pain. Ali got up and crept past her sleeping friends, seating herself at the table with the small pile of books Ryn had left for her, and threw herself wholeheartedly into the task of duplig them.

  While Malika tossed and turned fitfully on the couch, Ali recalled how painful and disorienting her Are Insight had been when she had first used it. Her new skill is also a passive perception skill. She probably just ime to adjust.

  Leaving Malika to rest and recover, Ali flew herself up through the atrium and out into Lira’s Forest. There were several things she had been putting off, and now that Lyeneru had so clearly highlighted her shortings she was motivated to end her procrastination. It wasn’t like she was being zy – there just always seemed to be more important things to take care of. The Town cil, for instance. Or evil neaargeting her specifically. She sighed.

  Why ’t I just live here in peace?

  First things first, she thought, gng at the Forest Guardian she had to roam among the trees up here. It had not provided the wisdom attribute she wanted for her Empowered Summoner skill, but if she rength, it was certainly the right choice. And her skill’s hour-long recharge had long since expired.

  “What are yhest attributes?” she asked, turning to study the two Kobolds that had followed her up into the forest.

  “Intelligence, A Mistress,” answered the gruff Kobold mage. No surprises here, the highest attribute of the Fire Mage was obvious, given that she was currently using him to boost her intelligence.

  “Wisdom, Mistress.” The soft voice of her Acolyte of Azryet firmed what she had suspected. Healing magic users seemed to typically favor wisdom over intelligence for their magid although her healers were monsters, they seemed to follow simir rules to the clergy.

  “Perfect,” she replied, triggering a delighted smile on the face of her Kobold. It’s handy that the Kobolds just tell me. It wasn’t nearly so easy for her other moypes. She selected the golden-scaled Acolyte for her sed Empowered Summoarget, and her wisdom instantly jumped by eighty-six points.

  Wow! Immediately, she realized two important things. Her mana had just jumped by two thousand five hundred ay due to the wisdom increase, and the stacked effects of her Magical and Domain aptitudes. It was a dramaticrease and something she really couldn’t afford to ignore. But that brought her to the sed realization; the increase in strength she had gained from choosing the Forest Guardian had been way more than double, likely due to its signifitly higher level.

  If I find a higher-level wisdom-based monster… She decided to start a list in her notebook, eling ’s obsession with his notes. ‘Find higher-level monsters with wisdom,’ she wrote. Perhaps I ask Lira fgestions?

  Now for the defenses. She had little experien making a cavern defensible, but she flew over and checked the tunrahat led to the mountains anyway. No otivation! Ali told herself, looking it over with a doubly critical eye. She made a few minor adjustments to the roations to make it a little less obvious, but it was already quite well cealed.

  , she checked every stream or trickle of water entering the cavern through the rocky walls. She retty sure they must be overflows from the myriad Myrin River tributaries that trickled down from high up in the mountains. For each el she carefully reinforced the rock, making sure that although the water could flow in freely, there wasn’t any excess space or weakness. When she was dohe water flow had increased substantially. Oh, hmm, this must be where the fish are getting in, she thought, several fleeting fshes of sleek silvery shapes darting past.

  She sidered the problem for a moment before she flexed her domain mastery again, this time shaping a substantial hollow in the ter of the cavern. She filled the depression with her aquatic mushrooms, sprouting them iches, pausing only to replenish her mana with Inspiration. And then finally, she rerouted all the streams into the hollow ahe outflow of her newly created ke into the rger stream that flowed into her other cavern.

  That looks much better, she thought, iing her work. But although the pristine clear water retty, it wasn’t going to help defend her dungeon. Especially not if a water-type monster snu, but she had ehe is were at least limited in size. For all that Lira was enormously powerful, she had no bat skills with which to defend herself and Ali was loath to leave her to defend herself against whatever new assassins might show up. Hmm, maybe I should check the outlets also hahe extra flow I just–

  “Monster!”

  The warning shout of her Kobold Fire Mage snapped her gaze around, and she found herself staring up at the rgest bear she had ever seen, deep-set red eyes glowing as it voiced a thunderous growl. It towered over her menagly, easily half again as big as Mato, and it had heavy ridges of hide or boig out from its fur, proteg its head and shoulders.

  Dire Bear – Beast – level 57

  Her golden shield snapped into pce around her instantaneously. “e!” she said, calling for her Forest Guardian, and the bear instantly looked up at the sound of the ground shaking from her enormous elemental’s charge.

  With a surge of emerald-green mana, the tree beside her rippled and ed, and Lira stepped out from the trunk.

  “She is family,” Lira said, resting a hand on the giant monster’s shoulder.

  To Ali’s amazement, the bear stopped growling and simply s her before l its head again and turning to amble off into the forest.

  “What…” How did I miss that?

  “I’m sorry about that,” Lira said. “He is a good bear, but he didn’t know who you were.”

  “You have a bear?” When did she get a bear? I didn’t think she could summon monsters…

  “Aliandra, we o talk. I fear, in my selfishness, I have put you in grave danger.”

  “What do you mean?” Ali had no idea what Lira was getting at. The neancer was dead, and the danger was a thing of the past. Then she g the retreating bear as her own Forest Guardian hovered protectively over her and got an inkling of what Lira might mean.

  “When I made the Elder Tree, I did not anticipate it would boost your may to such a degree. Dungeon mana, in particur – but really, any domain mana when it is dense enough – is notorious for drawing in monsters from great distahat Dire Bear showed up yesterday. I was fortuo be able to charm it, but there will be more, and so we will o be better prepared.”

  “Aah, hmm… What we do?” Ali gnced back toward the library and the t pilr of dense mana that was visible like a a around the immeree. One approach was to destruct it, but she couldn’t do that to Lira. She didn’t even want to voice that suggestion aloud; it would be traumatic for her aunt – especially after all she had been through already. She had always read that dungeons attracted not only adventurers and delvers, but mooo. She had simply not ected that to the fact that she was a dungeon herself. She gnced worriedly again at the level fifty-seven Dire Bear.

  “Long term, you must simply bee stronger.”

  “Lyeneru said much the same,” Ali muttered, looking down at her feet. People and monsters would e whether she liked it or not; all she could do was be ready. “I just hoped… I had more time.”

  “There is some time, dear,” Lira said. “o look so glum. And you’re not alone.”

  Tears suddenly pricked at Ali’s eyes. What she would not have given to hear her mother say just that one word, ‘dear’. Maybe to tell her off. Lira was being so sweet, it hurt… in a good way. Having her aunt around was such a gift!

  Cautiously, she asked, “What we do now?” Ohing was certain, Lira did not have a bat css, and she had limited avenues with which to defend herself. Ali’s defenses would have to work doubly hard for both of them.

  “Perhaps you could give me some of your monsters?” she said, looking up at the Forest Guardian that still hovered protectively beside her.

  “I don’t have enough mana to fill this area with monsters,” Ali said, even with her sudden influx from choosing her Acolyte to boost her wisdom. “You ’t make any creatures of your own, you?” She had used almost her entire mana pool making the six Forest Guardians to face Alexander Gray, and now she had to divide her forces between moo protect, and ones she could take with her os and jobs.

  “No, that is not the way of my css. I influend charm some monsters – beasts and elementals of nature or pnt magic. But for any others, humanoids, undead, and the like, we need ways to defend ourselves.”

  “I leave this one here for you,” Ali said, patting the giant bark-covered leg beside her.

  “ you release it?”

  “Release it? They bee wild and aggressive when I release my mana from them,” Ali answered, not quite certain if she had uood Lira correctly. She had no idea what exactly was happening when she released her mana from her creatures, but the only time she had do so far had seemed traumatic, resulting ireme violence, and aggression b on madness from the monster.

  Exactly how dungeon-break monsters are often described, she suddenly realized. While she knew her monsters were merely summons, she was loath to cause any unnecessary suffering if she could avoid it. Yes. Not good. Don’t–

  “Yes, release it,” Lira firmed. “I will soothe its spirit.”

  Oh, she really wants it released… for taming? Anxious for what would happehe giant Elemental went berserk, she backed up aed a barrier preemptively between them and the monster.

  “Ready?” she asked. I hope this is not a bad idea. But Lira seemed calm and fident, nodding and smiling. On sed thoughts, she backed up a couple more steps and bit her lip to keep herself from saying something thoughtless at her aunt’s serene smile.

  Ali released her mana reservation, feeling it snap back with a stinging recoil, and immediately the Guardia out a deafening roar, shaking its head bad forth, and stamping the ground. It turned eyes filled with glowing madness on them as if to attack, but Lira simply stepped around the barrier aended a hand toward it, and Ali felt a heavy pressure in the surge of mana Lira was emitting. The enormous Forest Guardian stopped and lowered its head toward her.

  It's trembling! Ali stared at it in amazement. The creature dwarfed Lira, t over her. But her mere presence had quietehe monster. Lira reached out and pced her hand on its lowered broad armored head and whispered something to the creature and it began to emit a low-pitched rumbling sound from deep within its chest. Bright emerald-green mana flowed from her hand into the moaking up residen its chest as a glowing kernel, simir to the green and gold knots that still rested within her Kobolds’ chests.

  “Why don’t you help us by guarding the forest?” Lira asked it gently. Raising its head, it moved off with a purpose, a little spring in its gait.

  It looks like a puppy that just got a treat. A giant, deadly puppy that weighs several tons.

  “You just tamed it?” Ali asked incredulously. While she had seen no overt magic, what had just happened had been just as amazing as some powerful sorcery.

  “I think my magic is more like making friends,” Lira said. “It will help to protect us.”

  “How does it work?” Ali asked. “I mean, what exactly is happening when I release them?”

  “Nobody is entirely certain,” Lira answered, gazing thoughtfully at the now-freed Forest Guardian walking through the forest. She looked at Ali. “I believe that when a summoner creates a creature, they are simply creating ay living vessel. The mana you leave i is your soul or energy – obviously, the metaphysical implications of that have beeed for millennia without resolution. It’s what animates the creature.”

  “Why doesn’t it die when I release it, then?”

  “It is still a living vessel, and nature ot tolerate an imbance like that. I believe in a soul or a spirit, indepe of the will o or the physical being itself. Summoned monsters do not have that, and in many ways be sidered as aension of your own will or mana.”

  “So I’m just talking to myself when I verse with my Kobolds?” Ali asked.

  “In a manner of speaking,” Lira answered. “They still may have their own intelligend memories, but your mana is what gives them life. When you release them, they still have your mana, but it’s severed, and will eventually run out and they will die.”

  “But…” Something didn’t quite add up. “You put your mana into the Guardian,” Ali said.

  “Yes, I repced your mana with mana from my domain,” Lira said. “The Guardian is now my summoned monster, even though I do not have the skill to summoures as you do.”

  “But the bear is different?” That kernel of emerald-green had not bee – Ali would definitely have noticed it.

  “The bear and I had a chat, and he agreed to reside in my domain and protect it in exge for a home in a mana-dense enviro,” Lira answered. “He also likes it when I scratch him behind his ears.”

  Ali mimed a severe case of dangly jaw. “So he has a soul?”

  “Yes,” Lira chuckled. “If you believe in that. He has his own indepe will and chooses to be here. In that regard, my skill is simir to a Beast Tamer. I facilitate a mutually beneficial partnership with monsters and creatures that live within my forest. If a soulless vessel is supplied with mana for long enough using a skill like that, they spontaneously develop their own spirit or soul – it is the way Beast Tamers gain panions from dungeon spawns.”

  “That’s plicated,” Ali said, nodding thoughtfully. She wasn’t sure if Lira was right, but what she had said seemed to fit – her creatures did seem to be aension of her own will, and even she found it suddenly uling to have her mana ripped away. Certainly, the dungeon-spawned Goblins that had id siege to Myrin’s Keep had behaved nothing like her guildmate Havok. But there were some obvious questions – why had the undead survived the death of Alexander Gray? They were not living vessels. She put the idea to the side for now, resolving to go read her neancy book now that she had some notion of what to look for – it was the closest thing she had to a referen summoning unless Ryn could find somethier in the library.

  Her former minion, the Forest Guardian, seemed to be happily expl the forest now. He probably thinks Lira is the queen of the forest. But as she studied its behavior, she could find no trace of the trauma and aggression she had been worried about. The trao her mana seemed to have solved that problem. She remained with Lira for a while, chatting and creating a few muardians, Timber Wolves, and wyverns to popute her forest to help her defend against incursions.

  “That’s enough dear, and thank you,” Lira said after she had created a little more than a dozen monsters. “I do not have a rge enough domain to support more. I will guard this cavern for both of us.”

  At least Lira will be well protected. Ali could still hear the harsh words of the Night Elf critig her dungeon for having no creatures to protect it. But now, at least, she could see a couple of wyverns swooping among the trees and roosting on the huge oak branches. For the rest of her domain, though, she would o spend a lot of mana.

  Thinking of Lyeneru, she headed back down to the library, i oing through some of the dungeon delves in her book. She wouldn’t be caught unprepared again.

  But whe to the camp area and the couches, she immediately knew something was wrong. Malika was curled up in a tight ball, holding her head and gasping in pain, her body and face drenched with sweat. She looked, in a word, terrible – almost gray of cast, the veins openly pulsing on her neck.

  “Malika!” Ali cried as she flew over to her friend.

  “I tried to remove my skill,” Malika got out through teeth ched in agony.

  “What? Why?”

  Malika Malika jolted upright, abruptly ripped from her sleep by the sudden jolt of pain crashing through her body and mind.

  Your bloodline has bee unstable.Your bloodline has deteriorated. -3% to maximum health.

  She gasped, uo do anything other than hold her head and hope for the pain to subside. Her mind recoiled, battered by repeated jarring bolts of pain until the frequency slowed and the iy abated a bit.

  Unstable? The notification filled her with a cold fearful premonition. With her brow prig with pain-induced sweat, she pulled up her aptitudes and looked at her bloodline, desperately hoping she would not find what she knew would be there.

  Aptitudes- Bloodline (Ahn Khen): Unstable.

  As a child ba Bakahn Vilge, she had heard the horror stories of folks whose bloodli awry, tearing their souls and minds apart. Often, these unfortunate souls had to be killed by their own families after they lost trol and tried to kill everything around them. She had never uood what caused the problem, but now she knew she was fag it personally. And the pain… it felt as if someone were literally stabbing her mind and soul.

  There must be something wrong with my skill. She knew with a chilliainty that her bloodline skills were destroying her. But knowing that was no defense against the rising terror and pain.

  Malika had always dreamed of earning a skill like Soul Sight. Eye magi particur, had always inspired her, and as a child, she had demanded every story be retold tless times. There it was, the final skill on her fully unlocked skill list, staring at her.

  Killing me.

  With a heavy heart, she pulled up her discarded skills and picked o random from the list, barely able to evehe blurry descriptions.

  No free skill slots avaible, choose a skill to repce.

  Soul Sight will be repced with Flurry of Blows, all skill levels will be lost.

  She paused, looking at the choice. Maybe I’m not meant to be strong. Blinking back her tears, she firmed the choice.

  Skill rept failed. Bloodline is unstable.

  Your bloodline has deteriorated. -6% to maximum mana.Your bloodline has deteriorated. -2% to maximum health.Your bloodline has deteriorated. -3% to maximum stamina.

  What the heck? That’s s! Her vision dimmed and flickered to bck as the pain shattered through her mind once more, drivio a twitg and spasmial ball. It was all she could do to prevent herself from passing out again as she y groaning on the couch holding her head.

  “Malika!” she heard Ali’s voice cry out.

  She must be so worried. Malika ched her jaw against the agony and managed, “I tried to remove my skill.” She could vaguely make out the forms of Ali and Mato h nearby and sehe warmth of holy magic attempting to heal her while a Kobold chirped softly in the background.

  But it had no effect.

  “Something is wrong with my bloodline,” she mao rasp. Admitting the pain was not nearly as shameful as admitting her weakness.

  “I’m trying,” Mato reassured her, but his voice was full of doubt. He k was no good.

  “What we do?” Ali asked.

  “I don’t know,” Malika answered, holding back against another jolt of pain. As it subsided, she sat up. The respite seemed like pure bliss in parison to the pain. “The only people who might know are the Ahn Khen elders.”

  “Let’s go, then,” Mato said immediately.

  “Go?” Malika whispered.

  The only elder she had ever seen was the one who had lived at Bakahn, her former hometown. And Malika was certain she had not survived the devastation of that night.

  What will happen if we ’t find help? The thought filled her with a dread more powerful than her shame.

  She had to speak. Slowly, she forced words out past her ched teeth, “I doubt we find ohere aren’t ma. We would have to travel to each vilge.”

  “Then we do that,” Ali said, getting up. “Mato, you help Malika a me at the Novaspark Academy building. I’ll go find Ryn a a map and some gold – we’re going to o buy a teleport. Fast.”

  ----------

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