At dawn, finally, Ellena stood on the threshold. Ready and waiting by the front door, eager to get outside and prove herself. Ellephwen stood nearby, hand on the door knob, she giggled watching the tiny Mushling.
“You’re eager to go.”
Ellena nodded. If I want to get stronger, I gotta do it right? Besides I’ve been sitting in bed for like a week, mourning and sleeping and reading. I need to run. God’s I need to run, do something, anything!
“Alright, alright. I understand,” the Dryad replied playfully. “Just stick to your promises, alright?”
Her adoptive kin had left her a few strict rules in return for letting her roam the forest unattended. She had to stay within a certain distance, so that Ellephwen could still detect her, she had to only attack aggressive monsters- which she was going to do anyway and finally she had to come back in the afternoon for lessons.
Ellephwen was quite insistent on that last one. Even though the ex-human had a relatively decent education in her previous life. Well relatively decent for a poor farmer in a village anyway.
Then, the Mushling had also been given a packed lunch, sealed in a magical container that would appear when she wished for it. According to Ellephwen, even for her it was a bit of pain to produce, so the fact she did it just for Ellena’s lunch seemed a little excessive. Maybe it was a hint to hurry up and gain arms.
Still, finally, it was time for the hopeful mushroom monster to set off. Her first day of grinding, of leveling. Excitement and anxiety hit her all at once as she took her first steps out of the door. I’m gonna go! I’m going to do it! Just you watch.
A soft hand patted her head as she walked past. “I’ll be watching, so just try to have fun!” Ellephwen called after her.
Ellena did have a particular destination in mind after discussing it with her kin. The territory of the Forest Frogs, different from the ones she had seen already. Forest Frogs were oddly far more aggressive, this led them to having a variety of evolutions in their lands. They were also territorial beasts.
If she stuck to the outskirts of their territory, she would only run into the lesser varieties, making things a little easier on her. They would be stronger than a normal Mushling, but with her human intellect and unique skill, Ellephwen believed she would easily come out on top. Though the Dryad also watched ready to interfere just in case.
She wandered for an hour or so, having to look even after reaching the swampier corner of Ellephwen’s home which the Frogs claimed. Eventually though, she came across the one that would be her first opponent.
It squatted next to a tree about thirty feet from where she hid, catching bugs with its tongue. It lay on a small rock. The small beast had a large scar across its left eye and a few others along its body.
Damn. Seriously? First one I ran into is some sort of veteran. Ellena assumed. Maybe I should go look for another, this one's probably close to evolving.
Ellena turned away, stopping herself before she moved, she shook her head, which is the current context was her entire body. No. If I’m gonna become stronger, if I want to achieve my dream, I have to be braver! I cannot be a coward! The Mushling concluded, turning back to the frog.
She had made a promise, to only attack those that acted aggressively to her, so in this context a sneak attack wouldn’t work, as so far this Frog hadn’t done a single thing to her. There was a small chance it might not even when she revealed herself. What do I do if that happens? Just find another and hope? Ellena found these rules a little arbitrary, though she did understand their purpose. Guilt free grinding.
Boldly, the small Mushman strided over to the frog, a shaky yet confident look on her face. It spotted her approaching, and immediately shifted position, shifting weight to the backlegs. Before Ellena had a chance to fully respond, it leapt at her.
Huh? Wait a second I don’t have time to- Ah forget it! Ellena braced herself, tilting her head forwards and thrusting her legs. She felt the impact and then heard a rather loud thump.
Slowly, the small creature looked up. The Frog lay limp against the base of the tree. Not quite dead, but definitely not well. Blood and splinters were a clear sign of where it hit.
She had been studying her unique skill Mushroom Helmet. It seemed to give her higher than average defense over all, but especially upon her mushroom helmet. It was already as hard as leather.
The Frog stood up slowly whilst Ellena admired her work. Its body shook, but still it readied to get back into an attack position, but the Mushling wouldn’t give it the chance. She charged forwards, headfirst once again and before her foe could move, she crushed it against the tree, one last croak escaping the little beast.
“[Overall level has increased from [Level 29] to [Level 31]]”
“[Skill [Swiftfoot lvl 1 gained!]]”
Ellena smiled. Only a few levels, but still. Progress! Actual progress that I wanted to make! Also an entirely new skill? She paused, a small sense of unease hitting her. This is what monsters do right? So it’s okay for me to as well. The Mushling looked at the body laying at her feet, a little mangled and drenched in blood. Ellephwen had told her that it was alright. That it was natural, but still, there was something else this time. She kind of enjoyed it, the fight. She only hoped that was also normal.
She also wondered about how her other skills came into play in that combat. For example when her enemy lept for her, it felt as though time slowed down almost, like it was letting her think about her next move. In reality the entire battle took a few seconds, to her it felt triple that. Perhaps the effects of [Unarmed Combat Novice lvl1?]
There was also the new skill she had unlocked, [Swiftfoot lvl 1]. Sounds like it was about running or at least moving quicker, but if that was the case, why did she not unlock it when she ran from the hunter those many nights ago? Perhaps this particular battle was just what pushed it over into manifesting.
Still, two levels for one decently tough looking monster. It may have only been a Frog, but it was clearly a scarred veteran! That meant there were still a lot more monsters needed left. Not that she was aiming to evolve in one day, but the quicker the better.
She set off again, moving with a renewed confidence, seeking more frogs along the border just as she originally planned, but now with the knowledge that she could win! After the first, they seemed to just start popping up out of the forest floor. One after the other she fought them, yet none gave her as much as the first. He truly was more experienced than normal. There were also a couple of Spitting Tree Snails, but they were even less of an issue than the frogs. Their spit was acidic, but it only ever hit her head. Though, it did hurt quite a bit.
Still, that was a solid amount of experience for one outing, after a total of eight frogs, the Mushling felt satisfied. It was starting to peak past midday and she was starting to feel a little tired. Before she headed back, the little Mushling had a quick look at the results of her first day's grind.
Name: Ellena
Age: 45 days
Species: Forest Mushling, Mushman
Height: 1.5”
Sex: N/A
Level: 38 +9
Health: 12/12 +2
Mana: 2/2
Stamina: 12/22 +3
Energy: 8/22 +3
Attack: 10 +1
Defence: 24 +4
Magic Attack: 2
Magic Defence: 10+2
Titles: Kin of Ellephwen
Skills: [Pain Resistance lvl 3] [Night vision lvl 2] [{Mushroom Helmet lvl 3}]
[Tough Stomach lvl 1] [Unarmed Combat Novice lvl 2] +1 [Swiftfoot lvl 1 gained!]
It was clear to Ellena that magic was not what her body was built for. Or maybe Mushmen weren’t built for it in general. She didn’t have much mana in her past life, maybe a little more than a normal human, but not enough to really wield it.
The young Mushling arrived back at her new home tired, yet satisfied. It wouldn’t take long to get the evolution she desired, though her true goal might take just a bit longer than that.
Ellephwen waited for her, sitting on one of two chairs by the crackling fire. A table sat in between the chairs, with a bowl of fresh salad and a little moss, something that had become a favourite of Ellena’s over the recent weeks. The Dryad smiled as the Mushling entered, gesturing towards the other free chair.
“Welcome back Ellena. Eat up, we’ll begin your lesson as you eat.”
Ellena ran up and jumped onto the soft cushion, she lent over and began munching on some lettuce, keeping her eyes on her teacher. What are you teaching me?
“History, of course. We’ll start off light, something far away, but not unimportant. The current state of the Monster Continent.”
She stood up and walked towards the bed that Ellena had been sleeping in, Ellephwen had her own bed, Ellena’s was once the guest bed. She grabbed one of the maps the ex-human had been reading.
Her finger extended and she pointed at a point on the map with it, the smallest territory known as the Ironwall Kingdom.
“Ironwall was the first city built on the continent, birthed by that first ship that discovered the settleable lands. It’s small because it contains only one city, then a few outposts. It was built in joint effort with a contingency from the Dwarven states, great iron walls impenetrable. Draws a lot of adventurers to it.”
Her finger moved down to the next territory as Ellena bit into the mound of moss. “This is simply the Demon Queen's territory on the continent. She knew she’d have an easier peace between Ironwall and the solitary mages. Speaking of which. The Kingdom of Mages. They’re as the name says, no idea how they got such substantial territory though, but then I am just a hermit in the forest,” the Dryad smiled with a giggle.
Ellena found herself interested, but only really in the Ironwall kingdom thus far. She had a dear friend that was a dwarf once, so a city built in collaboration was quite interesting.
“There’s a few more, there’s the Hevenpar Empire's territory, they existed back when you were alive I believe. Finally, The Great Beastkin Kingdom. They’ve never been able to form true territory before, but since they’re naturally stronger than most other races it’s hard for the others to knock them off the Monster Continent.”
Something about that got Ellena thinking. It’s not that the Beastkin were massively reviled or anything, but due to their natural strength most of the other races were cautious about them building power. The peace on that continent must have been fragile.
Ellephwen put the map away. “Actually due to the unique situation on the continent there’s a council with a representative from each territory, they decide on matters that affect more than one territory and any expansion must be agreed upon. The council also set up an organisation to explore and expand neutral camps called the Explorers Guild. Invites all sorts of adventurers and would be heroes.”
That sounds kind of fun actually. Ellena thought. Maybe when I’m stronger I’ll go visit.
The Dryad picked up her kin's now empty plate and walked to the kitchen. “You’ve got a while to go yet,” she chuckled. “Speaking of which, if you want to wake up in time for more training tomorrow, you should head to bed soon.”
As the chair she sat on was not made for a one foot Mushling, Ellena had to hop off it. If I do this every day I’ll evolve in no time! She ran to her bed, waiting for the far taller Ellephwen to lift her.
“You shouldn’t go out every day. If you kill too much you might attract the attention of something you can’t yet handle.”
But I can still go out tomorrow?
Ellephwen tucked the small mushroom underneath the soft covers. “Tomorrow, yes. The day after? Maybe not, try and have rest days, okay?”
The young Mushling almost rolled her eyes. She was being treated like a child. Though, of course to the ancient being in front of her, she may well have been.
There was a small tap across her head. “Calling me ancient is unnecessary.”
To a wise being like Ellephwen I am very childlike I guess?
The gentle tap turned to a stroke. “I’m afraid you are a child, Ellena and you will be for some time.” She smiled. “Now. Get some sleep. You still need a lot at your age, okay?”