Chapter 1409 (Patreon)

After some work on my newest trick and a visit to check on my daughters, my towers and a few of my projects, I was back beneath the massive yew tree. Nothing here had changed; not even the air felt as if it had been disturbed while I was gone, so I readily left the underground shrine, trusting Lady Hecate’s sanctuary and the remote nature of the shrine.

If I wanted to go deeper into the forest, I would consider acting vigilant, but I only wanted to leave the shrine and take to the air as soon as I left the shadow of the tree. Well, at least that had been the plan when I left Jademoon Tower, the previous station on my little trip. 

Now that I was standing under the tree, that plan suddenly looked a lot less comfortable, as I heard the rain beat down on the canopy above me, rivulets of water dripping onto the ground all around. That alone wouldn’t be enough to stop me from taking to the air, but even in the brief moments I had stood in front of the shrine’s entrance, I had already heard three lightning strikes far too close for comfort. While I didn’t think my body would provide lightning strikes a path of lesser resistance than the air around me, I wasn’t all that eager to put that to the test. Nor did I believe I would be able to withstand a lightning strike easily, certainly not while in the air. Sure, people had survived lightning strikes in the past, before the system had Changed the world, but I had no idea about the rate of survival. Nor did I know how the system had changed natural lightning, or how it would interact with the attributes enhancing my body. There were, quite frankly, far too many unknowns for me to readily take that risk, even if a part of me would love to study natural lightning and use the information gathered that way to increase my knowledge of the element. Sadly, lightning was rather fast, making it difficult to track down a bolt, sit it down and start asking questions. 

For a moment, I considered departing the area and coming back when the weather was more conducive to my work. But then, I would be left hunting for something to do, which didn’t fit my current plan. Sure, there were projects I could pursue, anchors I could lay down or even new places I could visit by leaving from another place. I could travel through the shadows far enough to escape the thunderstorm, unless the storm was a lot bigger than I considered possible, even if a thunderstorm covering roughly half the continent would be quite impressive. 

So, instead of leaving, I simply walked forward, into the rain. Magic pulsed upwards, forming a dome above my head to keep the rain from bothering me. It was quite simple in concept, preventing all elemental water from coming within a metre of my centre of gravity. Luckily, that meant the radius just barely covered my feet, meaning I didn’t have to force all that much water through the ground beneath me, nor was I overly bothered by mud. It looked fascinating; my steps created something like a wave of water pushed ahead of me, leaving a thin layer of dry ground above the muddy mess below. The thin layer wasn’t enough to create stable footing, forcing me to pay attention to my footing, or I would risk a rather embarrassing fall. In a way, it was training, though I promised myself the moment I slipped, I would use my cloak to hover half a metre in the air, leaving the muddy mess beneath me, where it belonged. 

Similarly, the water was pushed off the leaves around me, marking the path behind me, at least for a few seconds. Then, fresh water rained down from above and erased that particular trace of my passing. But, best of all, I was kept nice and dry, without any effort to avoid anything in my path. I merely had to remain vigilant for any aggressive wildlife. Well, wild- and plant-life, I remembered that this forest had some rather aggressive flora, some of which was more dangerous than the average beast. 

My resolution to train my balance by walking across the forest’s muddy ground lasted for a little under ten minutes. Then, I decided that it was too much of a hassle. Not because it was difficult, but simply because I was getting annoyed. The lack of a proper path meant I had to avoid brambles, vines, roots and shrubs. Even if the magical barrier I was projecting dried the annoying vegetation, it didn’t make the vines less entangling, nor did it remove the brambles’ thorns. Tearing through them was easy, sure, but only if I had somewhere to leverage my strength. Otherwise, I was pushing against the mud beneath, my magic forcing the water away and creating a rather slippery situation. No, this was simply too annoying, to the point that I briefly considered destroying the entire forest, simply to get rid of all the vines. If one of the thorny brambles had ripped part of my outfit, I might have followed through with the destruction, but luckily that didn’t happen. 

So, I took to the air, using a piece of equipment I had neglected recently. My wings were the superior option for long-distance flight, but here, their size and use of aerodynamics were a hindrance. The cloak simply relied on my magical power to let me float, surrounded by a thin barrier of mist, where the pouring rain was repelled by my magic.

Like that, I continued forward, now only forced to be vigilant of danger. Luckily, the forest’s flora hadn’t become any more threatening than it had been back when I was here first. Sure, some of the aggressive shrubs had gained a few levels, but that was about it. Neither their projectiles nor the poisonous gas used by some of the local plants had undergone a fundamental change that would give them the power to threaten me. And, while the plants had gained a few levels, I had gained many more. 

However, the lack of a fundamental change in the plants meant I wasn’t challenged, at least not by the forest’s creatures. I only had to contend with the usual troubles, navigating in unfamiliar terrain I had only visited for a few days almost over two years ago. While my memory was prodigious, likely enhanced by my high Intelligence, even I wasn’t able to remember all the details, not if I hadn’t cared about them in the first place. And I hadn’t really cared about the forest’s geography, only about the beings in here that might kill me.

Or that were interesting in other ways, like the strange Waldhotel-dungeon we accidentally killed, yielding me the crystal that eventually gave my cloak its magnificent abilities. Maybe that was something I should try to investigate, if the dungeon had respawned in some way, as amusing as that idea was. Reappearing monsters, I could easily accept, especially if the monsters were in a place where it made sense, like the undead in various graveyards. But for an entire building to reappear, it would be a little odd. But definitely worth investigating at some point. 

My consideration was interrupted when I heard a strange noise. Not that hearing a noise in the forest was strange; the forest was filled with noise. The rain on the leaves above me, various critters, the distant thunder, the wind- there were countless sources of noise. But none of those sources was liable to produce the strange squeak I had heard moments before; that was something distinctly human. Or some other mammal, or maybe even a humanoid with a vastly different form of reproduction; there were quite a few options. But it certainly was something I wanted to find out, so I started to quietly float in the direction I had heard the squeak from.

For a few seconds, I simply moved forward, then I heard another loud crash of thunder, maybe the loudest I had experienced yet. Loud enough to make me flinch, though not loud enough to break my concentration. It was also loud enough to make my target squeak again, and I could now hear some panicked breathing, making it even easier to track down whatever was making these noises. 

So, I continued forward until the forest before me opened up a little, letting me finally see the target I had been looking for. And, despite my quiet approach, my target had seen me, too, looking at me with rather confused eyes. 

But then, maybe I shouldn’t overestimate the intelligence of a boar, as that was the creature making the strange squeaking noises, annoying me just a little. I had hoped it would be something sapient, though I did try to talk to the boar, just in case it was as smart as some of the dogs I knew.

But no, the boar was a total bore, absolutely no conversational skills.