Max didn’t have to wait long to get the experience the System had banked for him. The next fight after they left the elves, against a group of blue-colored monster snakes that were apparently different races, judging by the System’s naming, Regina reached level 6 as well.

Max reported that he leveled up right away and gained the associated stat point, this time in Str, before she even checked her own status sheet. The System put her own point into Int again.

They kept going, staying about a hundred meters away from the river, close enough to hear it but far enough to stay out of sight. None of them wanted to risk meeting any water monsters, and the open space meant flying creatures might be more of a danger there, as well.

The sun wandered across the sky and started to descend towards the western horizon as they traveled. Regina was forced to have them take more frequent breaks, but she estimated that they still made good time. All of them had gained levels, including the Workers, and their higher Endurance stats were coming in useful. Max and Tim were actually struggling more than the girls.

The monsters of the forest avoided them more and more, but their numbers didn’t dwindle. If anything, she felt like there were more monsters around. So, even when the sun started to set and it grew darker, they pressed on. She would have preferred to stop for the night, but she didn’t want to risk getting woken up by being chewed on by a monster horde. It would be rather hard to reach civilization then.

Regina sighed and glanced at the small knife Max was clutching. Made of metal, it was their best weapon, even if it seemed more like a utility or camping knife than a proper weapon. It had been in the bag the elves had given them, along with some rations and a flask of water made of a milky translucent material that reminded her vaguely of plastic, although it obviously wasn’t. Blotches of dried blood decorated the knife now.

She was seriously considering the idea of trying to make some kind of boat or raft to move faster when the forest finally started lightening for real. Regina let out a long breath and glanced around. The song of the birds and even the calls of monsters were slightly louder in the direction they came from. That indicated they really were reaching the end of the forest.

“Alright, guys, keep your eyes open,” she said. “It seems like we’re finally approaching the end of this damned forest, but we still need to stay vigilant and prepared to deal with whatever we find there.”

“After today, I don’t think we have any problems understanding the need for vigilance, my queen,” Mia said.

Regina glanced at her and gave her a small grin. It was true that they’d only barely escaped an ambush from monsters several times. Their coordination and ability to work together, to plan and notice patterns in their surroundings, was one of the things that helped her hive the most. She didn’t think there was a team of experienced combat troops that she’d rather have following her for this trip. To be fair, their better than human senses helped, too.

They’d stopped for a short snack a few times, when they’d defeated a monster that provided easy meat. She’d been considering a short trip to the river as well, to get some water, but now it was probably better to press on.

A crunching sound and a familiar scent greeted them as they stepped into the next clearing. Regina didn’t need the System to tell her what monster they faced this time, since they’d encountered it before. A Hull Turtle, a big rocky creature that was pretty fast for its size and even tougher than it seemed. She considered for a moment, then stepped sideways into the undergrowth.

“Let’s just avoid this one,” she said quietly to the others as they followed her.

They continued on their way, but circled around the turtle. They’d gone almost halfway around when the monster raised its head. It must have caught their scent or heard something.

Regina suppressed a curse and quickened her steps. She didn’t turn around, but she could hear the monster turning to follow them. Its scent moved closer.

Max broke into a run and she followed. They rushed along the forest, trying not to lose their footing on the low incline of the terrain, with the occasional rocks and twigs on the ground. They made far too much noise, and the turtle had obviously started chasing them. But they ran faster than it could follow, and its sounds fell behind as they started to outpace it.

Then another scent moved closer and Regina cursed, swerving around a thicket of bushes to try and get out of the sight of any monster coming from that side. They were closer here than before, she realized. Sounds and scents came from the other side, too. Some of them withdrew from the barreling Hull Turtle, but not all.

The ground fell away beneath her as they crested a low hill and started down a slope. Regina skittered down it, noticing from the corner of her eye that Mia, behind her, was using her additional arms to help her keep her balance. She almost crashed into a tree once, but managed to avoid it and keep her feet.

Then the slope leveled out and Regina kept running forward, bleeding off her momentum. It took her a moment to notice that the trees had grown scarcer. Just a few steps further, they completely stopped. She emerged from the treeline.

Regina surveyed her surroundings for a moment. They stood in a grassy, slightly uneven meadow. There was another forest or maybe a part of this one further to the left, though the plain seemed to continue beyond that. To the right, the river wound its way out of the forest and curved to the east. Hills rose directly in front of them, making it hard to see very far.

She took a deep breath and checked on her hive. They were all accounted for. Like her, they stepped out of the forest hesitantly, looking around, and kept close to each other. There was no one else in sight and no sign of any manmade structures. The village was probably either behind the hills or the forest, or maybe further along the river.

The cry of some large bird of prey emerged from the forest behind them, and Regina winced. She looked at the drones and cleared her throat. “Alright, that’s enough staring. We’re not safe yet. I don’t know why the monsters don’t seem to like leaving the forest, but they still might. So let’s go.”

They set off into the meadow. It was easier to walk here than in the forest, even if the grass was high and scraggly. Dirt of a healthy, brown color could be seen in the small spots where it didn’t grow. Regina suspected that this was a fertile region people would have been happy to settle. She headed towards the river at an angle. Most likely, a settlement would be built close to that, right? It provided an easy source of water and transportation.

They had walked maybe a hundred meters when Regina felt something through her new sense for mana. She slowed down and looked at the ground.

There was a line in the earth which she was just stepping over. Several lines, actually, interwoven and spaced out around a central one. They weren’t visible with mundane senses, except perhaps for the oddly straight and lush grass that grew marking out the line if you paid close attention. But there was power in it, thrumming with a low hum and almost crackling in the space just above the ground. Regina felt a prickle going down her spine. She felt like something was flaying her shell back, but it didn’t hurt.

Then she was past, and she took a deep breath. She turned to watch the others. They all seemed fidgety and she saw Max shiver, even though she doubted any of them were able to sense this like she did.

Regina turned around to continue walking, intending to keep close to this line to see if something might change about it, or if it led somewhere. This had to be the defensive line the elf had mentioned. She’d expected something more along the lines of trenches, palisades and garrisons. Still, there were probably military bases here, to monitor the area, if nothing else.

She’d only taken a few steps before she felt the prickle of someone using magic again. Wincing at the sensation, she looked up. There was a dark spot in the sky, which was growing rapidly closer.

Regina heard one of the others draw in a sharp breath as it resolved itself more clearly. She clutched her spear tightly, but didn’t react otherwise. They’d all come to a stop now. It was better to face this calmly.

A wyvern much like the one they’d seen in the forest circled in the sky, losing altitude and approaching them. But this one had a rider on his back. It was a figure in dark clothing holding something bright. Regina took a deep breath and shot her drones a reassuring smile, before she relaxed her grip on her weapon and leaned it against her shoulder.

“It’s alright,” she told the others. “Be polite.”

The wyvern landed in front of them with a thump, its rider jumping down right away. Now that she got a closer look at him, she saw that he was a middle-aged human with brown hair and a short black beard. He wore a dark robe that looked like it had armor padding in some places, and a wand with a glowing crystal on its tip stuck in his belt.

Regina took a step forward and bowed her head. “Hello.”

The man approached closer, stopping just far enough to be out of weapon range. He looked at them and grunted. “Hello to you, too. Not to be rude, but what are you supposed to be?”

Regina gave him a quick smile. It was better than the alternative. “My name is Regina. Beyond that, I’m afraid I can’t tell you much. These are my companions.” She gestured at the forest. “We were chased out by the monster horde and are hoping to find shelter.”

The mage crossed his arms and frowned at them for a moment, but he didn’t seem particularly upset. “Alright. Truth be told, I have too much to do to waste time with pointless details.”

Her smile widened. That sounded promising.

“You’ll need to accompany me to our base,” he continued. “That’s not optional. We don’t have the resources or time to deal with this during the horde. Don’t worry, you’ll be safe there. You can leave once it’s over and you’re checked out and cleared.”

Regina grimaced. She didn’t like the idea of being brought to some military base. Are we being deported or put into quarantine? She shook her head. Intellectually, she couldn’t blame them much for not letting people wander around unsupervised during a monster horde attack. All the same, it was only the knowledge of the coming monsters and the fact that he was obviously stronger than them that stopped her from refusing out of hand.

Her claws dug into her palms and she made herself take a deep breath. No matter how much the thought of being in anyone’s power made her want to retch, it didn’t change the situation.

“Alright,” she finally replied, shooting the others a stern glance. They clearly didn’t like it any more than she did, but they’d just have to deal. “Point the way. How long do you expect this horde to last?”

He grunted. “Maybe another few days.”

She’d have to keep her eyes open. This time, she’d watched his face while he spoke and seen that how he moved his mouth lined up perfectly with his words. He even had a bit of an accent. Nothing she could place, just a way to draw out some syllables and a more lilting melody to his speech.

As he turned to mount his wyvern again, she shared a glance with Max.

“This is weird,” she muttered. “He’s definitely speaking Global.”