A Relatively Powerful Mage

Sylvi continued her journey throughout the night, taking advantage of her Hunt of the Night bonuses. She also found the trek across the plains far easier thanks to her stat improvements. She didn’t have an exact location, but she traveled in the general direction of the first temple they had discovered.

Her travel through the stone forest was mostly uneventful, the occasional Ulfr hound giving her a wide berth, which lent credence to the notion that monsters instinctually knew how strong other creatures were. She left them alone as well, not seeing the gain in indiscriminate killing.

On the third night in the forest, she encountered her first Chixel patrol that stumbled in the dark. She was surprised to have not encountered one sooner, as she was getting close to the temple. Sylvi retreated to a better vantage point of a stone tree that overlooked the patrol. She took her time, identifying each of them, noting they were all in the single-digit levels. They moved with trepidation, moving their lights around far too quickly, only giving cursory glances in each direction, none of which was above in the trees.

Sylvi weighed the pros and cons of dealing with the patrol. On one hand, eliminating them would reduce the enemies’ scouting capabilities. Unfortunately, a group of five enemies would certainly be missed, alerting other Chixel that someone lurked nearby. She also feared the battle would last long enough to attract more attention.

Before she had decided, a flash of lightning struck amidst the patrol. The bolt killed one Chixel, and a brief second later, this was followed by a peal of thunder that reverberated through the air, shaking the tree that Sylvi was hiding in. The patrol panicked, scattering in every direction. A pair of people stepped out from behind the cover of a distant stone tree, rushing towards the befuddled Chixel.

The first was a tall, lanky man wielding an aluminum baseball bat. Near him was a slightly shorter, slender teenage girl with a dagger. They descended on the dispersing patrol with fervor, the taller man brutally battering his opponent. The girl moved fluidly, slipping her dagger into the side of the next Chixel, who was defending against the onslaught of the bat wielder.

While their surprise had been effective, the fight stalled as the remaining Chixel regained some measure of composure. They used their agility to avoid the heavy blows of the baseball bat without overcommitting and not giving the girl an easy opening to exploit. There was no sign of the mage who had caused the thunder and lightning.

With the option of stealth taken away, Sylvi began to nock an arrow, waiting for an opening where the two people weren’t in the way of her shot. As she was sighting down the arrow, she noticed motion in the distance, and moments later, another Chixel patrol came into view. This one was armed far better than the previous one, with metal armor and weapons. A glint of the signature black blade caught Sylvi’s eye as the inquisitor moved with their retinue. Judging by how quickly the other group had arrived, the smaller patrol had been bait for this ambush.

Sylvi smiled as she became the third group to spring an ambush as she used Mark of the Hunt on the Inquisitor. While taking on an Inquisitor and a unit of Blackguards was risky, she couldn’t pass up the opportunity. She aimed at the Inquisitor, infusing her attack with several MP as she unleashed a Devastation Shot. There was a resounding crack as the arrow left the bowstring, sounding closer to a gunshot than a typical arrow due to the immense force involved. The shot traveled at a speed that even Sylvi’s enhanced perception could not track. The projectile blasted through the enhanced physique of the Inquisitor, blowing right through its chest and leaving a gaping hole. The Inquisitor stared at the wound, unable to comprehend what had happened.

Sylvi didn’t hesitate, nocking and firing another arrow in the span of a breath. Unfortunately, the Blackguard didn’t hesitate to interpose themselves between the Inquisitor and the trajectory of the original arrow. The arrow struck the Blackguard, inflicting a fatal injury. The remainder of the unit grabbed the injured Inquisitor, dragging them behind the cover of a nearby stone tree. Before they all retreated, Sylvi picked off another Blackguard with an empowered Devastation Shot.

As Sylvi laid down suppression fire that was every bit as effective as a modern sniper, a dense fog began to coalesce around the other human combatants. Neither the human nor Chixel seemed keen on continuing the fight, both using the obscurement as an opportunity to disengage and retreat. Sylvi quickly gave up sniping as her vision became more obstructed. She quickly descended from her treetop vantage and followed after the retreating pair of people.

They still hadn’t noticed Sylvi when they regrouped with a third person, a taller middle-aged woman with overly tanned skin that had caused wrinkles. The middle-aged woman rubbed at her temples and took an unsteady step before stumbling as if she was intoxicated. Sylvi strongly suspected this had been the mage who had called the lightning and the fog, and she was probably suffering from extremely low mana. The man with the bat caught the woman before she could fall, giving her something to lean on.

Sylvi approached the trio as she dug through her pack for a mana potion.

“Monster,” the teenage girl said, brandishing her dagger towards Sylvi. Sylvi stared in confusion before remembering the strange appearance of her eyes and unnatural black leather armor.

“Relax, I’m human; I just went through a heritage rank-up that gave me these eyes,” Sylvi said, moving with a slow, deliberate pace to not startle the jumpy teenager. “I’m assuming she’s suffering from low mana; I have a potion that can help,” she added, holding out the shot-glass-sized vial of blue liquid.

“You hadn’t gone through all of your potions yet?” the lanky man asked.

“It’s fine, I’ve got plenty,” Sylvi said, noticing the young girl eyeing the satchel.

“Thanks for this,” the mage said with a smile as she accepted the offered vial and downed it in a quick gulp. “I’m Claire,” the woman said, extending her hand.

“Sylvi.”

“We would’ve managed,” the girl said with a huff as she folded her arms tightly.

“Don’t mind her. These are my children, Parker and Ashlyn,” Claire said, completing the introductions.

“A family back together, that’s a rare thing,” Sylvi commented.

“Where did you get all this?” Ashlyn said, gesturing to Sylvi’s armor and weapons, ignoring the part about family.

“Let's not interrogate Sylvi while we are this close to the Chixel base,” Claire said. Ashlyn rolled her eyes but didn’t argue.

They slowly moved away, Parker helping his mother walk. As they walked, Sylvi intuitively knew she could use her Mark of the Hunt skill again, meaning the Inquisitor had succumbed to their injuries. With it had come the notification that entered Sylvi’s mind.

Sylvi Vesik has reached level 20 in Twilight Huntress (2F)

Sylvi Vesik has reached level 20 in Human (1E)

Primary Stats

Agility 154 (+1)

Constitution 126 (+1)

Secondary Stats

HP 168 (+2)

FP 222 (+5)

Attack Efficiency 263 (+5)

After reviewing her notifications, Sylvi took the opportunity to use Identify on each of the three. Claire was a level 11 Stormcaller, while Parker was a level 10 Brawler. However, when she tried to Identify Ashlyn, she got no information back. This wasn’t unheard of. Imri had a trait that made him difficult to Identify, and based on how Ashlyn had fought, this seemed more likely than her being at such a high level that she couldn’t be identified.

“Why can’t I Identify you?” Ashlyn asked the same question Sylvi had been thinking.

“She’s too high level for you,” Claire said with a grin.

“How did you manage to gain so many levels? I feel like I’ve done nothing but fight since the apocalypse, and the three of us are at the highest level among our group,” Parker said.

“I hit the ground running, worked hard, and got a few lucky breaks,” Sylvi said with a shrug. “Besides, when I left Celestia, I was fourth in terms of levels.”

“There are three people with more levels than you,” Claire said with a whistle. “I would love to meet the people who managed to outgain you.”

Sylvi took the opportunity to gush about her girlfriend, mentioning how she had produced the potion Claire had consumed. She also gave a high-level overview of the heritage-rank-up elixirs. She also briefly mentioned Zhaire and Imri, though she purposefully didn’t go into the details of their capabilities.

They walked for a little over an hour at a moderate pace, discussing various things they had learned. Sylvi was especially curious about their knowledge of the Chixel, but they had very few details she hadn’t already known. The one interesting tidbit she learned was that the Chixel appeared to be losing the war against the Azala. Claire surmised that was the only reason their group hadn’t been discovered and eliminated yet.

All discussions halted as they reached their camp. While the three fighters looked like they were not in an ideal state, the rest of the camp was squalid. She couldn’t find any supplies or equipment worth mentioning. Dirty and emaciated people stared vacantly at nothing, unable to sleep through the night, many moaning or talking to themselves. They had ripped and filthy clothing that hadn’t been washed in weeks. Some had gone as far as not leaving camp to relieve themselves, causing the entire camp to reek like an unattended outhouse.

“It's gotten a lot worse recently. Things started fine; we were raiding the ruins of Minneapolis for supplies and eating well. A few weeks ago, it went from bad to worse, and no one could even get close to the city without disappearing. As crazy as it sounds, our best bet became attacking the Chixel,” Claire explained as she watched her take in the sights of the wretched camp.

Sylvi felt a pang of guilt for harshly judging the people before her. If they hadn’t formed Celestia when they had, they might be in a similar state.

“You said there was somewhere safe?” Parker asked.

“It’s not some magical fairytale land where all these problems disappear, but it is safer than being caught between the Azala and Chixel,” Sylvi said.

“You can take us there?” Parker asked hopefully.

“I can’t,” Sylvi said firmly. “I would love to help everyone and save every group like yours, but I have a mission to complete. I can give you this,” She said, taking out a compass-like device.

“What is it?” Parker asked in confusion as he accepted the device.

“It is what it looks like, a compass. However, it has a small enchantment so that it always points toward Celestia,” Sylvi explained.

“Thank you so much,” Claire said, a small tear forming.

“Don’t thank me yet. It will take you over a week to get there, probably closer to two with the state some of your people are in. On top of that, the Seagrass Plains has higher-level monsters that make the Chixel look easy by comparison,” Sylvi said.

“I’d rather die fighting an unstoppable monster than slowly wasting away here,” Parker said with a nod.

Claire and Parker began informing the others about their plan to leave. Sylvi was amazed to see what a little hope did, as those who had been vacantly staring now moved with some alacrity. It was still a far cry from where they needed to be, but it was a start.

“You said you had a mission?” Ashlyn asked.

“I did. Why does that matter?” Sylvi asked.

“I want to help,” the teenager said. Sylvi looked at the slender girl appraisingly.

“What’s your class and level?” Sylvi asked.

“Level 9 Duelist,” she said without hesitation.

“I knew a couple of people in Celestia who had the Duelist class; none of them had a trait that blocked Identify,” Sylvi pointed out.

“I may also have the Thief profession at level 2,” Ashlyn admitted.

“A Thief?” Sylvi asked, arching an eyebrow.

“It’s not like I picked the profession; I just got it,” the girl said indignantly. Sylvi just glared, and Ashlyn folded like a lawn chair. “I may have pinched a thing or two before the apocalypse, but it’s not like I’m stealing from anyone here.”

“Uh-huh,” Sylvi said, still glaring at the girl. She guiltily took out the potion vials she had swiped from Sylvi and returned them to Sylvi’s waiting hand.

“Sorry,” she said in a quiet voice. Sylvi doubted she would have heard if it hadn’t been for enhanced perception during the night.

“What’s that?” Sylvi said, cupping her ear dramatically.

“I said I’m sorry,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Can I come with you now?”

“Why would I do that?” Sylvi asked.

“You can ask anyone in the camp; I’m one of the most proficient fighters,” the girl said proudly.

“That’s not what I’m looking for. Do you have any perception or stealth skills?” Sylvi asked.

“I have Stealth at 1E,” Ashlyn said hopefully. Sylvi just sighed.

“Why do you want to go with me anyway? Don’t you want to stay with your family?” Sylvi asked.

“I want to be someone who can take care of themselves and isn’t scared. I want to do more than survive; I want to make a difference,” Ashlyn said.

“And your mom, do you think she’ll be alright with this?” Sylvi asked skeptically.

“I’ll convince her,” Ashlyn said resolutely.

“If your mom agrees, then you can come with me,” Sylvi said, eliciting a massive grin from the teenager. “On a couple of conditions. First, you do what I say when I say it, and there is no arguing. Second, we are going to scout. You only fight as a last resort and only when I say. You break either of those rules, and you’re on your own.” The girl nodded enthusiastically. Sylvi hoped she wouldn’t regret this decision.