“How far are we from the labyrinth?” I asked. Daylight was fading and we have been walking since afternoon.

“Hmm... I would say another two days,” she said.

Two days! “Two days!?” I exclaimed.

“Yes. Unless we run into trouble. As we get closer, we will run into more and more monsters, beasts, and whatnot.”

How did I forget? Everything here takes days. I bent over and rested my palms on my knees before exhaling.

“Tired already?” She said. I could sense a tinge of mockery.

“Yeah. My stamina hasn’t been the same since the injury.”

“Right. Sorry.” Good to know she isn’t afraid to correct herself. “Let’s camp for the night then?”

I stood back up and looked around. There was thick foliage all around us and as far as my eyes could see. “Here? We might need to clear a spot.”

“No need,” she said. She looked up at the trees and began to wander around. She stopped before one and said, “Here.”

I walked up to it and looked up. It was a really tall tree, appearing to touch the sky. But its branches spread out wide and in all directions. “This one?”

“I hope you are a good climber,” she said with a sly smile. She immediately pounced onto the tree, grabbing onto its sides before scurrying up the tree trunk like a squirrel. I watched her reach the top in a flash.

Okay... my turn. The trunk looked bare, with no visible nooks to grab hold of. How the hell did she climb up?

Suddenly, an idea flashed in my mind. I reached into my inventory and pulled out the dagger. I hope this works, if not, I am sleeping on the ground.

***

It was nearly dark by the time I managed to climb up the tree. I grabbed hold of a branch before pulling the dagger out from the trunk. With both my hands firmly on the branch, I hoisted myself up and onto it.

A few paces away, Kaya laid on another branch, her left leg swinging freely off it. She turned towards me and said, “Not bad for a first time... I assume it is your first time?”

I settled in on my branch, which appeared to be thick and steady. “You could have helped me climb.”

“Sorry. Didn’t bring any rope.”

I sighed.

“Point for using the dagger. Though the blade would have been ruined by now,” she said.

I looked at the blade, its edge looked unfazed and just as sharp as when Darin gifted it to me. “No... looks fine to me,” I replied.

She looked at it in awe. “Where did you get that?”

“It was a gift. From a merchant. Why? What is so special about it?” I asked.

“Its blade shines like moonlight. Only one metal is known to do that, Tharnium.”

Tharnium? Never heard of that before. “I am guessing it is rare?”

“Incredibly rare. Blades made of it from a thousand years ago, cut like they were made yesterday.”

I held it up and looked at the glow in awe. “That is truly incredible!”

 

I struggled a little as I tried to get comfortable on a tree branch. Kaya, meanwhile, was wide awake. Her iris had a silver glow to them, like a predator in the dark. They stared into the distance, seemingly lost in deep thought.

“You haven’t eaten anything since morning, have you?” I asked.

“I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday.”

Oh wow! “How are you not fainting already?” I asked.

“I have gone days without eating anything. So, I can last a good while before I need to eat.”

“Well, there is no need for it,” I said. I reached into my inventory and picked out some rations. Urvi gave them to me just before I left. She was gifted these by Sierra’s mother. I held one out for Kaya, who looked at it stunned. “You said there was going to be a lot of danger, didn’t you? You will need to keep your strength then.”

“Huh... Thanks...” She humbly took it before feasting on it slowly. She didn’t show a lot of emotions, but she was a simple person. I liked that about her.

***

The tremors of the earthquake shook me awake. I snapped my eyes open to see Kaya squatting down on the branch, looking down at the forest floor. Her eyes looked focused and there was a seriousness in her face, while her hand was ready for action with the bow.

I squeezed my eyes to adjust to the morning sunlight as I tried to push myself up, without rolling over to my death. “What’s happening?”

Kaya placed her index finger on her lips before pointing down at the surface. I looked down to see a gigantic green Orc walking past us. “That’s it? Another Orc?” I asked.

“This is an old one...” Kaya whispered.

I observed the Orc closer. It was slow and it seemed to have a limp in its walk. “Perhaps too old. I feel like it is struggling to walk,” I said.

Kaya quietly observed for a few seconds. “Hmm... I guess you are right. It seems like I worried for no reason.”

“What do we do? We just let it pass?” I asked.

“We could wait for it to pass...”

For a minute I had forgotten that I was supposed to kill these things. An old Orc must not be worth a lot of XP, but it just might be what I need to get myself moving again. “Hold on. This is perfect. I can use this to get back into the groove.” I stood up, trying to balance myself on the branch.

“Are you sure? He may be old, but he looks tough,” Kaya said.

“We will find out.” I pulled out my dagger and prepared myself with a deep inhale. “I had an idea for an attack, but never got an opportunity to use it. This looks like the perfect spot to try it out.”

“What is it?” Kaya asked.

“You will see it in a second.” My eyes locked on my target below. I felt the well fill up and overflow, flooding my body with mana. I redirected the flow onto the blade, concentrating on the tip. A double decimation blow. I grabbed the dagger with both my hands and leapt into the air.

Falling through the air, I tried to maintain my direction, straight as an arrow. The decimation ball on the tip of the blade continued to balloon. And just as I reached the Orc, I brought down the blade onto it, slamming the ball onto its shoulder blade.

A huge explosion rocked the forest, throwing me into the air and away from the Orc. I crashed into the forest floor; my fall softened by the thick foliage. Debris and smoke filled the air, blocking my vision and burning my nostrils. I coughed out the smoke that reached my throat as I patiently waited for the smoke to clear.

Kaya watched from above with bated breath but then suddenly screamed, “Karna! He is not dead!”

The cloud of smoke broke as a giant tree trunk came hurling towards me. I immediately leapt to my right, barely missing the trunk by inches. A loud roar rocked the forest, sending flocks of birds fleeing into the orange-lit sky. I could feel the Orc approach me as the ground shook with each step.

I got back on my feet, ready to face the monster who stood before me with a giant wooden club sitting on its now exposed shoulder. I quickly examined it, looking for signs of damage. But it looked like the armor that once covered half its body, had taken most of the damage. Fuck.

It put its right leg forward before bringing down its club onto me. I dodged it with ease by rolling to my right. I expected it to sweep next and try to hit me, but the narrow space between the trees prevented it from making any area-of-effect attacks. Instead, it dragged the club in my direction like a baseball strike. The club smashed into the trees before me, sending one of them crashing into the ground.

I pondered for a moment if I should use my fire spell, but the fear of setting the forest ablaze overwhelmed me. As it pulled the club back, preparing to strike again, I hit it with my tranquil spell. The old orc stopped mid-motion, dropping its hand and the club down. It swayed back and forth while its eyes wandered aimlessly.

I ran back into the opening it had created and quickly began to prepare a decimation spell. The Orc shook its head, freeing itself from my spell. Its face looked a lot more ferocious after that spell as it began to charge towards me. I fired the ball right at its face, forcing it to stop and try to move out of the spell’s path. The ball grazed its head, causing it to lose its balance. It leaned right, trying to stay on its feet before falling against a tree that didn’t buckle under its weight.

By the time the orc could recover, I had prepared my second decimation spell ready. It pushed itself off the tree and got back on its two feet, only to be met by another ball of blazing fury. The ball struck the monster right in the chest, exploding with a bright flash. Just as my eyes recovered from the blinding light, I saw the Orc lean back and fall to the ground like a brick. It was perhaps the most satisfying thud I had heard in my life.

The body faded into light before the light gathered itself into an orb. Kaya leapt off the tree and landed just next to the floating orb. She looked at it in awe as she held onto it. “Not bad. Not bad at all.” She tossed the orb over to me.

“It was old. My spells don’t have oomph like before.” I checked my XP band and saw that I finally leveled up to 12. The band continued to grow by about twenty percent. Finally some progress.

---

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