Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Grinding

Reaching out my hand I imagined the desired effect of [Weaken Vitality]. Heat coursed through my veins, and escaped out the tips of my fingers. The wolf prowling through the brush beneath me yelped, and staggered. “Dova, now!” 

Like a leopard Dova lept out of a nearby bush, driving the blade of her dagger deep in the wolf’s neck, killing it instantly. 

[Common Wolf Defeated, +15xp]

[Congratulations! Rikara is now level 3!] 

[Strength +1; Endurance +1]

[New Class Ability: Rot] 

“That did it!” I shouted, pumping my fist in the air. After only four days in this world, I was finally getting the hang of things. I owed my success to Dova, of course. The young catgirl stuck to me like glue since learning we were both former humans from Earth. Her exuberant displays of affection were apparently so out of character, that both Elrich and Thomas believed I had some sort of brainwashing power, and started keeping their distance. 

For me, our knight allies keeping clear of Dova and I was a blessing. It meant we could speak freely with one another, and train up my abysmal level. Once we reached the coast, I’d be trapped on a ship for a month at least. Assuming nothing attacked us en route, that meant I wouldn’t get any stronger than I was when we arrived. For the sake of self preservation, I wanted to ensure I was at least level five, which Dova stated was common for non-combatants. 

People in this world gained experience slowly over time, even if they did nothing. Which meant even someone who spent their life bedridden would grow their level. Thankfully, being a spirit came with it’s perks. My [Spirit] attribute was insanely high for my level, causing even my basic abilities to be far more effective than they should be. Still, I needed endurance badly, and so far it seemed like it would go up with every level. 

“Did you get anything, for leveling?” Dova asked, while I carefully climbed down from the tree limb I was perched on. 

“Yeah,” I grinned. “I unlocked [Rot]. I can finally do some damage on my own.” 

Technically I already had a damaged dealing spell, via my Abyssal Spirit summon. Sadly, Dova begged me not to use it. Apparently demon summoning was a lost art in this world. Those who could make use of it were often acused of being diabolists and killed. 

“Dark mage abilities are terrifying.” 

“They are. And hey, your lisp is getting a little better. Guess you just needed to talk more, huh?” 

“Before you, I had no one to talk to.” 

“You couldn’t speak with Elrich and Thomas?” I said motioning to our two knights off in the distance with my eyes. They stayed close enough to see, but far enough away that we couldn’t hear one another.  

“They are kind, but nothing like me. I never know, what to say.” 

“Ah, I guess I should’ve expected that.” While Dova hadn’t gone into detail about her time as a slave, she’d informed me she’d been taken from her mother at a young age. Growing up as property with no one to show her any love would’ve broken her if not for her happy memories from her time on Earth. The knights on the other hand both had wealth, and families they wanted to protect. Thomas had apprently welcomed his first grandchild into the world only a few months before coming to save me. 

“Take this too, I found it while waiting.” 

“A… onion?” 

“No, it is, Atumae. Break it open, and drink the sap. To deal with, cramps.” 

“Oh! Got it!” 

Now that I was a woman, I’d asked Dova about one of my biggest obsticles: menstration. Sadly, she didn’t have a whole lot to share with me. The catfolk of this world went into heat, and she’d died before her first period on Earth. Thankfully, despite her lack of personal experience, she’d mentioned knowing of a few herbs human women liked to gather, and Atumae was apparently one of them. 

Cleaning the atumae, which looked strikingly like an oversized spring onion, I placed it in a small satchel Elrich had provided me. I wasn’t welcoming the dreadful aunt flo just yet, but I wanted to be prepared. That said, I wasn’t even sure if I would menstrate. I was after all, a spirit possessing a human corpse. It was possible some of my body’s functions had ceased when the original owner died. So far, my body seemed perfectly normal to me, but I hoped for some salvation from sabatage from within. 

“You’re stalling too much,” Elrich noted, making his way to us. “We’re running out of daylight.” 

“Sorry. It’s my fault, I’ve been trying to regain some of the magic skill I let atrophy in capitivity. We’ll start now.” 

As far as Dova knew, while this world worked like a game to us, the regular folk didn’t have it so easy. There was no status screens for normal people, they had classes, and could learn magic and martial abilities, but had no way of seeing it. To Elrich, the idea of slaughtering forest animals to gain levels was a concept as foriegn as a computer. 

Elrich paled a bit waiting for Dova and I to gain some distance from him before following. Thomas not far behind him. 

“Do Dark Mages, get a brainwash ability?” Dova asked as we walked. 

“Not naturally. They’re more about necromancy and chaos magic, than charm spells. At level seventy they used to gain [Spirit Eater] which allowed them to claim the abilities of spirits as their own. Before it was patched out, I used to use [Call the Dead] to ressurect fallen allies as wraiths, then I’d use [Spirit Eater] to steal their class abilities. If I can duplicate that, I could do anything I wanted. But if this system mimics the modern game, well, [Spirit Eater] was patched out completely, and [Call the Dead] got nerfed hard.” 

“You were, the worst kind of player.” 

“For the record, I didn’t go looking for ways to make myself overpowered. I simply wanted to multiclass and the game didn’t allow it. Abusing this system was the only way I could make myself the magic knight I always dreamed of being.” 

“Why not, just make a spellsword?” 

“Spellsword is one of the worst classes in the game. It had no area of effect magic, no recovery, limited support, and had extended cooldowns for all of its best spells. I was better off playing a Dark Mage and using a scroll to gain the sword training skill. At least then I could use spells to weaken my opponent before striking them with my sword.” 

“Oh…” 

“Don’t tell me,” I grinned mischeviously. “You played spellsword Dova?” 

Dova’s cheeks reddened, “I was a child, do not, make fun of me.” 

“Even an infant could’ve seen how terrible Spellsword was. Guess poor little Dova was just as unsocialized in her last life, as she is in this one.” 

“I don’t, want to hear it from you! You… you… ow!” 

“Did you just bite your tongue? That’s adorable.” 

“Bully.” 

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“Yeah, thanks Dova.” I wrapped an arm around Dova, ruffling her hair. 

“Do you mean, sorry?” 

“No, I meant what I said. Thanks. Talking to you has really helped keep my mind off of, well, everything. There’s still so much for me to process, and when I’m left to my thoughts for too long, my mind can’t help but spiral out of control. Having you around is keeping me sane, ya know?” 

Her face now a bright shade of scarlet, Dova turned away from me, muttering something under her breath. 

“What was that?” 

“Nothing.”

“Come on, kitty, tell me!”

“No, it nothing.” 

“It had to be something. You have to speak up, I don’t have a pair of massive furry sattilite dishes like you.” 

Sighing, Dova glared at me. “I said: you keep me, sane too!”

“Aww, was that a love confession?” 

“As if. You’re too old, for me.” 

“Now now, if we count total time lived, you’re older than me. You can’t just pick and choose whichever age is convienent in the moment. Either you’re nineteen, or you’re thirty-two, pick one and stick with it.” 

Huffing under her breath, Dova stormed ahead. Given how limber and athletic she was, I quickly fell behind. While I didn’t mind watching her little tail swishing back and forth under her cloak, her lack of caution concerned me. We were after all, still in a forest surrounded by beasts. If she were paying attention, none of them stood a chance. If something got the jump on her, it could be a fatal mistake. 

“Hold up Dova!” I ran, as a feeling of forboding bubbled up in my chest. I was far from a fortune-teller, but I knew to trust my gut when something felt off. Especially in a world where magic phenomena were consider normal. 

Either too far away, or too stubborn to listen to me, Dova kept barreling on ahead. Soon she’d be completely out of sight. I was at a loss for what to do. She was crazy high-leveled compared to me, I couldn’t even say for sure if there was anyting in the forest strong enough to hurt her. Still, we didn’t have the luxury of ressurecting at a temple, death was permenant.

Shadows quivered ahead of me, steeling my resolve. “Dovarla, jump backward, now!” 

Dova’s body jerked, kicking off the ground the moment I finished my command. At the same time, a massive creature, bearing only passing resemblence to a wolf landed right where she would’ve been. 

Racing forward I held out my hand, once again willing [Weaken Vitality] to work. The monsterous wolf was unfazed and once again lept for Dova who rolled to the side, just barly avoiding it’s teeth. 

Corrupted Hunt Spirit
Threat: Deadly

“Shit.” Though they were fast for humans in full armor, Thomas and Elrich weren’t going to reach Dova fast enough. And I was far too under-leveled to be of much assitance. 

I needed the beast to target me, to get it close enough the knights could catch it. Holding my palm toward it I activated [Hex]. A sickening warmth, like urine flowing through my veins surged forth, as a faint black mist appeared around my fingers. The Hunt Spirit remained unfazed, leaping after Dova once again. Desperate I used [Hex] over and over, faster than the game’s cooldown’s would’ve allowed. I felt dizy, a viscous fluid which I assumed to be blood poored from my nose down over my lips. Finally the beast turned, a wrathful aura palpable in the air. 

The Hunt Spirit charged, only to meet both Elrich and Thomas’s blades, glowing with martial energy, mid-lunge. A hateful howl echoed from its throat, and then the beast vanished, leaving nothing behind. 

[Corrupted Hunt Spirit Defeated, +400xp]

[Congratulations! Rikara is now level 4!] 

[Spirit +1; Faith +1]

[Class Ability Rot is now [skilled]]

[Congratulations! Rikara is now level 5!]

[Spirit +1; Endurance +1; Luck +1]

[New Class Ability: Speak with Dead]

[New Class Ability: Dissolve Spell]

[New Godslayer Ability: Overchannel] 

[New Skill: Transmute Blood to Mana]

The world spun as I staggered into a tree to keep myself upright. My throat burned, my arms ached, and my vision blurred. Panic welled up inside me, as the fear of death crawled to the front of my mind. With all the willpower I could muster I stared at the ground and breathed as deeply as I could manage. 

“Rika!” Dova was beside me, hugging me. It probably only took her a matter of seconds to arrive, but it felt like an eternity. 

“She’s so pale,” Elrich’s voice quivered. 

“She’s burned up all her magic. Go collect some firewood, we’ll be camping here tonight.” Thomas said, placing his hand on my shoulder. “You did good lass, now let yourself rest. Your body can’t heal while you’re awake.” 

“Is she, going to die?”

“No. If this was going to kill her, she’d already be dead. I’ve seen a few mages do this to themselves during the war. Some rest is all she needs.”

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