“They got very close before we saw them,” Tási remarked. “Maybe we should have Ridge clear some of the brush and trees.”
It was a good starting point. With a clear field of fire, I might have been able to stop the three orcs who escaped during the previous fight, but I decided to let Ridge continue his work for a while before redirecting his efforts.
“I agree,” I replied. “I’ll tell him to clear out some of the obstructions after he’s had a little time to improve the fortifications. I can place a few more traps in the area he opens up for us as well—those should slow down the orcs’ approach.”
“Do you think we should get rid of the bridge?” Tási asked. “Ridge could make the trench cover the entire length of the wall instead.”
I considered the idea for a few moments before replying.
“Perhaps, but we would need to figure out some way for our friends to cross over when they return. Let’s see how things look after Ridge has some time to work on the wall and clear out some room first.”
“Bane,” I said to the little Rhastoren as he lay perched on my shoulder. “I need you to keep scouting for us. The orcs are not the only threat we face.”
I will begin searching the forest immediately, Sintári.
With his words still echoing in my head, Bane leapt off my shoulder and into the sky. I watched him as he flew away, mesmerized by his verdant scales glistening in the sunlight. The graceful sight of his body in flight was truly a marvel to behold.
“Tási,” I said turning to face her as Bane vanished into the forest. “I need to check my notifications; can you keep an eye on things for a while?”
“Of course!” She offered willingly.
I settled down onto one of the rough rocks that served as a chair for our new campsite It was decidedly less comfortable than our prior location, but the threat of an imminent attack required us to make the most of the situation. Opening up my UI, I focused on the pending notifications and let them scroll.
Experience gained – You have gained 440 XP.
. . .
Experience gained – You have gained 440 XP.
Quest completed – You have completed the hidden quest Defender of the Realm. An attack against your lands has been successfully repelled. In addition, your forces incurred no casualties during the battle. For these feats, you have been rewarded with 5500 XP. This Quest is repeatable.
I was somewhat surprised when the notifications ended without the level-up window making an appearance. Curious about both the proficiency points I had gained and just how close I was to gaining another level, I pulled up my personal sheet.
Dreya Dae
Sintári Female
Title: Sintári
Level - 24
259379/261200
Health - 308/308 Aura - 615/715 Endurance - 308/308
Sintári – Sintári interact with their surroundings in unusual ways. The effects of these interactions can be unpredictable
Class – Warden – Wardens gain a 10% bonus to skills associated with nature or which have natural effects
Specialization – Protector
Mastery –
STR - 32 (+3)
CON - 26 (+2)
DEX - 24 (+2)
INT - 23 (+2)
WIS - 21 (+2)
CHA - 39 (+3)
Abilities
Ignore Armor – Your next arrow will ignore a portion of the target’s armor. Cost – 20 Aura. – 35%
Stun – Your next arrow has a chance to stun its target on hit. Cost – 20 Aura. – 34%
Block – You may attempt to use your bow to parry a single melee attack. Cost – 20 Endurance. – 20%
Swarm – Your next arrow duplicates itself in flight. Cost – 20 Endurance and 20 Aura.– 45%
Flurry – Perform three rapid strikes with a bladed weapon. Cost – 30 Endurance. – 24%
Parry – Chance for your blades to block next melee attack targeted at you. Cost – 20 Endurance. – 23%
Hamstring – The next arrow fired has a chance to cripple your opponent. Cost – 20 Aura. – 31%
Hilt Bash – Stun your opponent with a successful hilt strike from your bladed weapon. Cost – 30 Endurance. – 22%
Blood Price – Your arrow inflicts a damage-over-time bleed effect. Cost – 30 Aura. – 35%
Blind – Your next arrow has a chance to inflict blindness on a successful hit. Cost – 30 Aura. – 34%
Achilles Strike – Cripple your target with a slash of your bladed weapon. Cost – 30 Endurance. – 24%
Penetrator – Advanced Ability – Your arrow pierces through armor easily. With increased proficiency it may penetrate through even greater barriers. Modifier – Strength. Cost – 60 Aura. – 15%
Disable – Advanced Ability – A successful strike of your blade to an extremity renders the affected limb completely useless until healed. Modifier – Strength. Cost – 60 Endurance. – 5%
Sintári Abilities
Natural Affinity – The Sintári’s unique connection with the natural world may manifest itself in random ways at times. While these effects are generally beneficial, they are also typically outside the direct control of the Sintári. Modifier – Charisma.
Control – Effect varies, applies to all Sintári Abilities. – 27%
Protector Abilities
See Truth – Once per day, the spoken words of your target become visible to you, allowing you to see the truth held within them. Strength and duration of this effect increase with proficiency. Cost – 60 Aura. Modifier – Wisdom. – 18%
Spells
Enhanced Sight – May be cast on self or ally. Improves visual acuity of the recipient in dark or obscured conditions. Cost – 20 Aura. – 46%
Create Trap – Place a magical trap upon an area. Size, type and trigger of traps is determined by your proficiency. Cost – 40 Aura. – 50%
Elemental Arrow – Your next arrow is imbued with elemental energy and causes additional elemental damage accordingly. Cost – 30 Aura. – 27%
Bolt – Release a Bolt of pure Lightning at your target(s). Cost – 40 Aura. – 22%
Find Weakness – Highlights vulnerable points on the target. Modifier – Intelligence. Cost – 80 Aura. – 8%
Summon Elemental – Summons an Elemental creature. If you succeed in binding it to your will, the creature will serve you faithfully until the spell’s expiration. Modifier – Charisma. Cost 100 Aura. – 7%
Skills
Bow – 49%
Critical Hit – 39%
Blades – 33%
Long Sword – 35%
Short Sword – 28%
Dagger – 26%
Critical Hit – 28%
Two – Handed – 29%
Pole Arms – 14%
Spear – 23%
Armor – 29%
Medium Armor – 34%
Perception – 43%
Environmental – 45%
Identify Enemy – 42%
Identify Person – 39%
Combat Dodge – 25%
Subterfuge – 30%
Stealth – 35%
Find Trap –11%
Disarm Trap – 8%
Set Trap – 10%
Manipulation – 34%
Persuade – 46%
Barter – 30%
Survival – 24%
Tracking – 26%
Identify Creature (Beasts) –19%
Skinning –13%
Field Dress – 12%
Alchemy – 17%
Herbalism – 25%
Potion Craft – 21%
Lore – 3%
Identify Magical Item – 5%
I was so close, barely less than two thousand XP for my next level. And it was level twenty-five, a level that would grant me another Ability as well. If I could figure out some way to gain that level before the orcs returned, perhaps that new Ability might even help us in the upcoming battle.
“Tási,” I said as I closed the window. “I’m really close to gaining a
nother level. One that will grant me a new Ability. I really need to kill something.”
“Well, that’s not morbid or anything,” she replied with a look of mock disgust.
“Morbid or not, it could help us when the orcs return,” I countered.
“Why don’t you have Bane add finding potential victims for you to his scouting duties?” Tási offered sarcastically.
“That’s a great idea!”
“I was joking!” She protested.
“I know, but it’s actually a good idea. He can look for things that aren’t too powerful for us, and then we can take them out.”
“Oh, so now it’s ‘us’ that need to go on a killing spree?”
“You wouldn’t force me to go out there all alone, would you?” I replied dejectedly.
“Oh, stop it already!” Tási protested at my shameless manipulation. “Of course I’ll help you, even if you are a bloodthirsty lunatic.”
I let Tási’s comment slide and crushed her in a tight bear hug.
“We’ll have loads of fun slaughtering all kinds of horrible beasts together!”
“Alright,” she gasped. “Just let go of me, I can hardly breathe.”
“Sorry,” I apologized as I released her. “I didn’t mean to squeeze you so tight.”
“You’re much stronger than you realize,” Tási commented in response. “Far stronger than you should be.”
“I know, I just forget sometimes.”
My Deathless status alone gave me a clear advantage over this world’s natives, and I had used that advantage to pour a great deal of my stat points into Strength. On top of that, I had the Amulet boosting my Attributes by an additional ten percent. The combination of these factors made me far more powerful than my relatively low level would imply.
“Well, let’s just focus your Strength on killing things rather than suffocating me, alright?”
“It’s a deal,” I replied happily.
We tossed around a few more ideas for our defenses before Bane finally returned. He had not seen any orcs, but did manage to spot several creatures in the woods as he had flown above the trees.
“Did you see anything that Tási and I could handle on our own?” I asked him.
Most of the beasts are fairly powerful, Sintári. They must be to live in these lands. But they are all traveling alone. If you are careful, I am sure you can deal with any of them.
I had Bane lead us into the forest, tracking down our first victim for us. We followed him as he glided from tree to tree, directing us towards the closest of the creatures that he had spotted. When we closed in on the beast, Bane flew down and landed on my shoulder.
I do not know what this creature is, Sintári. It is quite tall, over ten feet high and looks like a human, but badly deformed. At the moment, he is resting in the small gully below us. Our position up here should give you quite an advantage, at least to begin with.
I peered beyond the slight cover of undergrowth we hid behind and into the depression where our target was lying. I recognized the misshapen form immediately—it was another Forest Ogre, just like the one we had defeated after meeting the Dryad. My Blind arrows had made the difference in that battle, rendering the monster unable to find any of us as we beat him down relentlessly. I drew a shaft from my Quiver, intending to repeat the tactic that had worked so well for me before.
“He is vulnerable to my blinding attack,” I whispered to Tási. “I’m going to keep him in the dark while we wear him down.”
“Are you insane?” Tási replied incredulously. “That thing is way too powerful for the two of us.”
Tási waved off Bane’s angry stare as she waited for my reply.
“We fought a Forest Ogre before, and won,” I told her. “Keeping it blinded made the beast nearly helpless. We can do this.”
“If I die, you’re never going to hear the end of it. I promise you that,” she whispered back at me.
I sighted in on the ogre and infused my arrow with Blind. The shot was a simple one, since the creature was both incredibly large and completely stationary below us. I let the shaft fly, and the enhanced arrow struck the ogre squarely in its chest. Where my former bow and lesser arrows had failed to penetrate the hide of the other Forest Ogre, my new weapon and ammunition pierced this one’s defenses with ease, and the monster bellowed loudly as the entire length of the arrow buried itself inside him.
The enraged monster lashed out all around him, wreaking havoc on the helpless vegetation that surrounded him, but doing us no harm. From above, I fired a series of devastating arrows into his body. With the tremendous power of the Bow of Impact, even my unenhanced arrows jolted the ogre’s body. As I turned the ogre into my own personal pincushion, Tási pelted him with flaming bolts. Even though his thick hide protected him from most of her damage, he was still quickly covered in scorches and burns. The ogre was soon overwhelmed by our onslaught and collapsed to the ground. His once impressive health bar was reduced to a mere sliver, and I halted our assault so that I could finish him at close range.
I cast Find Weakness and then Bolt into his helpless body as we drew near, watching as he convulsed helplessly under the effects of its electric energy. Although his body glowed soft red from Find Weakness, I ignored his vulnerabilities and focused only on utilizing as many of my talents as possible before he expired. With precious little life remaining in him, I drew the Essence Blade and my short sword and channeled every Blade skill I had as I slashed into him relentlessly. The ogre’s life ended quickly under my assault, and I backed away from him slowly when he expired.
I turned to find my companions and saw Bane perched on Tási’s shoulder. Tási stared at me with a combination of awe and barely contained disgust on her face. Although Bane’s expressions were much harder for me to read, I could tell that his own impressions were not much different from hers. Neither had seen me take advantage of a kill like this before, and I knew from past experience that observing it could be… disconcerting.
“I guess I should explain,” I offered my two stunned friends.
After a few minutes spent reminding them how my skills developed, they finally understood why I had attacked the ogre so viciously. I knew it was an unpleasant tactic, but in this dangerous world, I needed to take full advantage of every opportunity that presented itself. Tási and Bane understood this concept as well since both were native to these harsh lands and accepted my explanation with no objections.
“Bane,” I said to him when we finished our little discussion. “Scout the area and make sure were safe for the moment. Then please see if you can find us another target.”
Of course, Sintári. Oh, and I do hope that wasn’t one of Baby Ogre Girl’s relatives that you just murdered.
He hadn’t labeled Tási with that mock insult in quite some time, and his use of it then caught me by surprise. Tási looked at me questioningly as I stifled a laugh, but I just waved her off, choking down my amusement before quickly changing the subject.
“I need to see how much progress that fight gave me. Keep watch for me for a moment while I take a peek, alright?”
Tási nodded back at me and I quickly opened up the notifications tab. There was just the single alert, letting me know how much XP I had earned by defeating the Forest Ogre.
Experience gained – You have gained 1200 XP.
If I remembered correctly, it was exactly the same amount I had gotten after we had killed the first ogre, which also left me over 600 XP short of what I needed to make it to my next level. I sighed as I closed the window, knowing that we needed to survive at least one more encounter before I would reach my goal.
While we waited for Bane to return, I tried to loot the dead ogre’s body. Unfortunately, just like last time, the Forest Ogre possessed nothing of value and the loot menu came up empty.
We only had a short wait before Bane returned again. He landed on a tree branch next to us as he told me about the next creature he had found.
It is not far away, Sintári,
and I think it heard your fight here. It appears to be making its way towards us.
“Describe it for us, please,” I asked him.
It is a cat, Sintári. A very large cat with two heads. One head appears normal while the other has long fangs.
I had no idea what the creature was. I passed his description on to Tási, but she had never heard of such a beast either. With the monster rapidly approaching us, I quickly placed several traps around the dead ogre’s body, hoping to use it as bait for the feline. Once I was satisfied, we retreated back to our former position overlooking the small depression. Before we settled in to wait, I cast two more traps around us, just in case the cat was a bit more sly than we anticipated.
It approaches now, Sintári. Bane messaged to me from his perch high above.
I wanted to ask him what direction the cat was coming from, but our one-way communication system did not allow me to send my thoughts back to him. Fortunately, he knew his job well and supplied me with the much-needed information.
The cat should be visible to you soon. It approaches from directly in front of you.
I couldn’t help but smile as I realized just how lucky I was to have the little Rhastoren as my companion, but that smile vanished completely from my face as the beast came into view.
Bane’s description of the cat as ‘large” was wholly inadequate. Huge or perhaps tremendous would have been far more apt. Had I known just how big the beast was, I might have decided to retreat rather than risk the encounter. But we were here now, and there was no way we could leave without the giant feline noticing us.
One of its heads sniffed the ground just beyond the perimeter of my traps, searching the air for hints of danger while the head with the incredibly long fangs glared menacingly around the small clearing below us. The cat’s body reminded of a panther, thick and well-muscled. Its rough fur was a medium brown color, but dappled with spots of dark brown, helping it blend into the forest background. While the head on the left side of its neck seemed almost normal, the one on the right appeared to be grafted from a sabre toothed tiger, complete with long, stabbing fangs.
The cat proceeded cautiously into the clearing, hesitantly advancing on the carcass of the fallen ogre. I waited until its massive body was fully within the borders of my trap before triggering the entangling vines.
Second Skin: Unified: A litRPG Adventure (Second Skin Book 3) Page 6