Return to Jorgaldur Volume IV: Reunion

Unexpected suffering

"It's... I'm fine..." Goldmi gasped. She was sweating profusely. "It's just... Argh! Again..."

"Goldmi!" the vampiress looked at her worriedly, not knowing what to do.

"It's okay... I'm more worried about Eldi... He's hurt..." she pointed to their companion with her gaze.

"I'm fine... Well... It hurts if I move... A few cures would be welcome... I didn't know it was going to be so... intense... Ha, ha... Ouch! It hurts if I laugh..." he answered.

Diknsa continued to heal him, although, more than worried, she was puzzled.

"What's all this?" Gjaki's mother asked.

"My experiment has worked too well... Ouch..." he explained.

"Experiment?" Gjaki asked, completely confused.

It wasn't until a couple of seconds later that she noticed something and understood. After all, something similar had happened to her with the dragon, after absorbing his power.

"You're leveling up!" she exclaimed, as surprised at her discovery as she was excited.

The fire had burned the oxygen, and had also caused the accumulation of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. Without knowing exactly what was happening, and unable to leave their position as bodyguard, one by one, the ants had been dying. The last one had been the queen ant.

Since all of them were between level 90 and 93, it had been a huge gain in experience. It had raised their levels to 82 almost at once, which had severely disrupted their bodies and mana. Although it was by no means comparable to what Gjaki had suffered in the past.

They both nodded, while slowly catching their breath, as Diknsa sat exhausted. She was many levels below them, so she had spent all of her mana to partially heal Eldi.

"Thank you, Diknsa," he thanked, as he sat on the ground.

Shortly after, Goldmi and himself finished healing his wounds. It had been very dangerous, but it had been worth it.

The first spell Goldmi had retrieved, at 73, had been Self-Destruct. It was similar to Eldi's and Gjaki's spells, though the trap's element was wind. It's pretty much only useful for destroying gate marks when they're discovered, which is why it was barely at 4.

The next two were Light and Wind Walls. The first had barely been useful to glowing up, and was at 3. The second hadn't been used excessively either. To protect a point, the Nature Wall was more useful, while to damage her enemies from afar, it was easier for her to use Abyss or her arrows. However, sometimes, she hadn't had any plants at her disposal, so it had reached 6.

At 76, there was a curious wind trap called Trampoline, which compresses the air to launch whoever falls into it. In the past, they had often used it to jump over an obstacle, to practice flying, or just to play. Therefore, she had it at 10.

Laser is an exception among light spells. The trap emits strongly concentrated beams of light, which can do real damage even to non-darkness beings. It has the particularity that the different beams can be pointed at the direction that is required, thus making it possible to create spectacular effects. Because of that, she had it at 8, and she had been invited to various festivals in the game, along with others with similar abilities.

Allure uses the scent of flowers and wind to lure targets to a certain point. It is very useful for leveling up, as it groups enemies to attack them at the same time.

At 79, Curses at me? removes a curse. It was the same spell that Gjaki had, but more expensive to execute since she wasn't an expert in curses. It was at 10, because her vampiress friend had forced her to level it up, whether she wanted it or not.

Decompression consists of expelling compressed air. This allows to boost in the air if Hovering, or can be used offensively. She had it at 9 as it was fun to fly with it.

Highlight is a curious light spell whose main objective is to hide things or beings behind the light that highlights other targets. At the same time, it causes the attention to focus on what is highlighted, and hides behind what should be hidden. It was also very useful in exhibitions, the main reason why it was at 6.

Finally, there was Mattress, which is used to cushion a fall, although it can also be used simply as an elastic bed. She had it at 8, and she was looking forward to trying it with her daughters with the excuse of leveling it up.

About skills, at 73, there was All Alike. It is an skill useless and shared by all players, which allows cutting something into identical pieces. However, in her case, she had used it sometimes in the kitchen, so it was at 6. She was somewhat relieved to get it back. Now, she could give portions exactly identical to her twins. That way, they wouldn't fight over them, so she was sure to level it up at home.

Symmetrical was just as useless as the previous one. The skill is used to create symmetrical holes with dagger or sword, at the same distance. For her, now it had some use to decorate desserts. By now, it was at 2.

Thousand Eyes is a very useful passive skill. It helps to listen to the whispers of the plants. That way, it is possible to find out if something is moving in the surroundings. Although not accurate, it is a good hint to use Life Detection.

The next one was Sharing, which allows the sisters to share a skill, as long as it's simple and they're compatible. For example, the feline's Shred wasn't very useful to the elf, but it could be used by the goshawk. It was at 10.

Pierce is a skill that Gjaki also had, and it doubles the strength of the sword or dagger. It was at 8.

The next skill, One with Nature, completely hides the presence, as if the caster is just another plant. Obviously, it can only be used where there is vegetation.

At 79, Naughty Arrow is about causing enemies to trip over the projectile. It has a higher range than Obstacles, although it is individual. It is very useful when chasing your teammates for whatever reason, so it was at 8.

Comprehension is a passive skill that allows understanding the nature stimulus, such as the smells of each plant, and thus recognize them with great ease. It is something innate in dryads.

Trust consists of wrapping oneself in an aura that shows the link with nature. Said aura unconsciously causes greater trust and closeness in most living beings, although it can have the opposite effect in some beings of darkness. Gjaki loved it.

Finally, at 82, there was the Intercept skill, which allows precisely intercepting another attack through arrows, daggers, or swords. Although she could do it manually, the skill made it easy, especially when she had to deal with multiple attacks at once. It was at 10, since she had had many occasions to use it, too many.