Killing the boss had given me ten whole levels, pushing me to level twenty, and all through the anvil crafting process, I’d left the points there. In the end, though, I needed to have a long hard think about how I wanted to take my character from here. Especially because at level 25, I’d be getting my first class evolution.

As it stood, I relied exclusively on my own skill and speed to avoid damage, which I honestly didn’t see changing. At the risk of falling into a certain racial stereotype, I decided I’d just continue to dodge everything. That meant I needed to substantially increase my Dexterity, which was currently sitting at a neglected 7.

Luckily, I had 20 points to place into my attributes after the massive experience dump from the boss. So, my dex got a healthy shot of points, nine to be exact, pushing it all the way up to 16. The physical difference in my body was a rush, too. Suddenly, I could bend over and touch my toes with zero effort whatsoever.

Then, I put four points into Strength, four into Athleticism, two into Stamina, and one into Constitution. I was pretty sure Stamina was going to need some more TLC in the near future, but until then, I was going to grind it up the old fashioned way.

As for abilities… well, a lot was going on there. At level twenty, I unlocked an ability called Larkspur Strike, which was another big flashy fast move. This one, though, required me to tear my blade out of its sheath without touching it. That was where the sword’s own level up came in handy. When I’d defeated the big boss, my sword had increased in power right alongside me, and what did I spend the resulting ability on? A perk called Minor Telekinetic Connection, which allowed me some small semblance of mind-to-sword control over my blade.

Back to the Larkspur Strike, though, the effects of the ability were… intense, to say the least, and it had a five minute cooldown. Not many abilities had cooldowns at all, and almost never to that extent. It made sense for this one, though, because this one summoned three different illusions, all identical to me, and all of them could deal damage. They would sweep through and attack anything and everything in a flurry of death, while the original strike would inflict a debilitating debuff on all those it hit with its wide, sweeping wave of energy.

It cost me five points to get, but it sounded like it would be so worth it. That left me with five ability points, one of which I used to purchase another parry ability that would send a shockwave up the enemy’s weapon. The other four were used to upgrade my other skills, and finally, I felt ready to progress.

My mission was deceptively simple: Craft a naginata. Unfortunately, the fucking Spirit Forging book was one wildly specific task after another. To smelt iron into spirit metal, I needed to start a spirit fire within the stump of an old willow, oak, or walnut tree. Then, I needed to pour the sap of a haunted oak over the ore I wished to use and smelt it into a bar. I wasn’t allowed to just buy some iron and whip out the spooky maple syrup either. Had to be iron from the earth. I really hoped the rest of the Spirit Forging process wasn’t as oddly specific as this.

So, my first port of call was to buy a little magical lighter and some oil. I did not have time to sit around rubbing two sticks of wood together. I wasn’t Ethan, after all. Sigh. He would have loved that joke.

The primary marketplace of Ardgour was near the top of the small mountain the city was built on. It was a huge circle, recessed into the ground slightly and bustling with activity. I’d call it a square, but… well, it wasn’t. It was a circle. So, it was called the market plaza, although I think it had a fancy lore name too.

The market was cut in half by a small river contained within a canal that allowed for swift movement of goods. It was a pretty cool place, and due to the enchantments in the river, much cleaner than most other cities. It was part of the reason so many Human Alliance players used it as their hub.

Crossing the river, I wove my way through the crowds based on memory, only to find that the enchanter’s stalls had moved since I was last here.

“Damn it,” I swore, glaring at the nearest tall person.

It was then that I realised I didn’t actually need to be down here. Fluttering my wings, I hopped up into the air and shrank myself. Buzzing like a hummingbird, I grinned. This was more like it! Now, to find an enchanter who specialised in everyday objects.

As I was searching, though, I heard a voice shouting out from the crowd. One that was familiar, but it didn’t immediately register in my brain. As the owner of the voice got closer, though, I realised they were calling my name.

“Keiko! Keiko!” she called, pushing through the crowd. It was Paisley, plus Ethan behind her, looking bemused by the tiny gnome mage’s antics.

Flying out of the main throng of traffic, I waited as they approached. Paisley still had her soft-goth aesthetic going, while Ethan was in a chill green and silver suit. It was a departure from his normal white and gold monk’s getup, but it looked so much better on him.

“Hi?” I asked, buzzing down to head height for Paisley. What the hell did she want?

Her cheeks were all red from the effort of pushing against the flow of the crowd, and it made her look adorable. “Hey. Sorry, I just saw you fly up into the air. Oh my god, you’re so cute like that!”

“I have to agree,” Ethan commented with a sly grin. Damn him and his sly grin.

“Same,” I preened, rather than letting his teasing have the effect he wanted. Ethan was always stirring shit. “I do like how the game generated this character, to be honest. My beauty stat must be pretty high.”

"You can say that again," Paisley said, her voice almost wistful.

Frowning now, I allowed myself to pop back to my regular height and reached out to take her hand. "Hey, don't say it like that. You're plenty pretty yourself."

Beside her, Ethan made a joking sound and glanced away, while she did a rapidfire dance with her eyes. They settled on my hand over hers, and I realized with a jolt of chagrin that I'd just touched her without any sort of permission. Oh god, what was wrong with me? Fawning over a pretty girl like some desperate dude. I was better than that, and I also was not a guy anymore.

"A-ah, sorry," I blurted, dropping her hand as embarrassment flooded my cheeks with heat. "I— um… I need to go and… buy some arson equipment. I mean, a lighter and some gasoline. For not arson stuff. I mean. Smithing. I'm going smithing. Doing, I mean. Sorta, it's—"

"Hey, yo, chill. Keiko, it's fine!" Paisley interrupted, giving me a huge, beaming smile. Not that her smiles were anything other than brilliantly bright. Like… a flashbang or something. I certainly felt like I was dazed and disoriented.

“Right,” I nodded, staring at her like a deer in headlights.

Ethan saved us by asking, “So, what are you here to buy? You mentioned a lighter and some oil?”

“Yeah…” I began, then perked up as I remembered what the hell I was actually buying them for. “I found this old skill book on Spirit Forging, and decided it looked fun. I needed the heart of a spirit, which you can only get from a spirit with a physical form, so that’s why I was fighting that big mushroom. Now I need to start a fire inside an old oak tree stump.”

“That sounds awesome,” Paisley grinned, glancing at Ethan and sharing a look that would have been private if I hadn’t known them so well. She wanted something from him. Specifically she wanted him to ask if they could come with me. At least, that was my guess.

Amused, he met my eyes and asked, “Want help finding that lighter?”

“If you could,” I nodded. “This place has shuffled since I was last here.”

“How long have you been playing Relli?” Ethan asked, nodding back into the market. “I know a stall that has what you want if you follow.”

“Since launch,” I replied, falling in behind him.

What was I doing right now? I’d been determined to go and find new friends, get out of the drama of my old guild, and yet here I was. One smile from Paisley and I was back in her pocket. Fuck.

The kind hearted girl in question raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “What was your name beforehand?”

“U-um… the same,” I lied, pretending to keep an eye on Ethan’s back as he forged a path through the crowd for us. “Different last name, but same first name.”

“Ah, I guess I never met you,” she said, staring at me with eyes that were honestly way too big.

“Probably not,” I said neutrally.

The stall was fairly mundane for an enchanting shop, but well, they sold lighters, glowing rocks, and mirrors that didn’t smudge. Not exactly the height of fantastical items, but they had a nice little ebony wood spark wand and some arcane oil. I bought both.

Paisley and Ethan waited while I paid, then we all stood in an awkward triangle while I waited to see what they wanted next.

"So… uh… what are your plans for the rest of the day?" Paisley asked, almost timidly.

I shrugged. "I was just going to fly into the forest and hunt down one of those spooky trees. I need the sap from it."

"Oh, that sounds fun!" Paisley said, excited. Her face quickly fell, though, and she mumbled, "Ah, but I can't fly. I mean, we can't fly. I guess… have fun?"

I had to fight not to roll my eyes. Classic Paisley, not having the confidence to ask for something she wanted.

"I will, thank you," I smiled, and with a nod to Ethan, I exploded into ribbons and buzzed off into the sky.

****

 

Unfortunately for me, my flight range was still pretty limited, and I had to land just outside the city. My wings might be able to carry me, but they were still fledgling wings.

Thankfully, I had a rough idea of where I needed to go, which was into the forests to the north of the city. The northern forests were a little higher level than usual, and they were full of nasty undead shit. Perfect for what I needed.

The forest wasn’t preceded by a sort of transitory woodland like other normal forests. Instead, it went from farmland, right into a dark, claustrophobic atmosphere. The trees were as you’d expect, twisted and dying, yet somehow still clinging to life. Unfortunately, what I wanted wasn’t one of those ones.

About five minutes into the eerily silent woods, I felt some sort of weird premonition and threw myself to the side, blade singing from its scabbard. The moment the blade met air, it ignited with a lavender glow, releasing a high pitched growl as it did so.

The wooden claw I blocked was as hard as steel, but the horrific tree monster that it belonged to was not. It was all twisted and gnarled, like some sort of impressionist painting of a dryad, but at least I could cut it.

My riposte took a chunk of its head off, but all that did was make it angrier. Screaming, it lunged again, and I was forced to dash out of the way, flickering an afterimage of myself in the spot I’d left with Mind Flutter. Enraged by the seemingly incorporeal enemy it had just passed through, it turned around and sighted where I’d ended up.

Its next attack I blocked with my Imbued Parry, and then lashed out, cutting through another branch on the weird-ass moving bush. That blow was quickly followed by two more in rapid succession, killing it before it could have another go at me.

Unfortunately, it had friends, who were now hellbent on revenge. Two different gnarled dryads came at me, and I dodged sideways into a Ribbon Roll. Another one leapt out of the bushes at me before I could recover from the roll, and only a panicked un-buffed parry stopped me from taking a hit.

Crying out in anger, I whipped my sword back into its sheath and leapt backwards. The beautiful pink blade didn’t stay sheathed for very long. Gripping the hilt with my mind, rather than my hand, I tore it from its home and out in a wide arc in front of me. A deceptively gentle green coloured light flashed out from my katana, sweeping over the dryads in a rush.

Moments later, three copies of me rushed past, their swords flashing in the twilight of the forest. Dryads lost limbs and heads, and one was even cut in half at the waist. It was carnage, and to top it all off, sickly black and pink tendrils held them, coiling over their bodies to sap their speed and strength.

Five, then six, then seven dryads went down, but still more rushed on, and just as I thought I was going to need to leap up into the trees and fly away, a force of nature intervened. The air split with a terrible, high pitched whistle and a tiny beam of red energy carved a path through the remaining creatures. Another followed, and another, each one stabbing and slicing the group of dryads up until they all lay on the forest floor, charred and smoking.

“Whoa, that was a lot of Twisted Dryads!” Paisley said cheerfully, jogging into view. “Do you have a taunt running or something?”