We moved on again, deeper into the forest, with Jerome guiding us by instinct more than sight. I could still feel them.

  At least twenty presences tracked us from all sides, drifting through the trees like predators testing a perimeter. They never came close enough for me to comfortably engage. Never bunched up. They never provided me with a clear opening to engage, every time I thought I could take one down, it slipped back, replaced by another.

  It had learned.

  That thought settled heavily in my mind, though. The thing behind the roots had watched me work, it knew now that throwing bodies at us would only weaken it. So it waited, patient, letting its pawns encircle us while we walked exactly where it wanted us to go.

  Fine. If it wanted to play slow, I could play slow too. Because the situation was working to my advantage. I was regaining mana fast thanks to my cloak, and the others too, especially Melissa, were nearly back to full.

  Less than half an hour later, the forest changed.

  The light didn’t fade so much as vanish. One moment it was dim and overgrown; the next it felt like night had been dropped on us without warning. The canopy above thickened until only a few sickly shafts of grey filtered through. The ground dipped slightly, roots clawing up from the soil like exposed bones.

  “What the hell…?” Melissa murmured, squinting ahead.

  Rhea stopped for a second, blinking hard, clearly trying to force her eyes to adjust. Mary instinctively drifted closer to me, her grip tightening on her spear.

  “It’s too dark,” she whispered.

  “It is,” I said quietly. “If you have any energy sensing skill, it’s time to use it.”

  For me, it wasn’t a problem at all. Arcane Sense painted the world in layered impressions. Life signatures overlapped everywhere; roots threaded through everything. Not just creatures. The forest itself felt infected.

  Still, I slowed us down.

  “Let’s give it a minute,” I said. “Our eyes need to adjust.”

  We stood there in uneasy silence, the forest pressing in around us. While they adjusted, I took stock of myself.

  Multicasting no longer felt like juggling knives. The strain was still there, but muted, manageable. Compared to a few hours ago, I felt that I wasn’t using my stats properly, and this was just one of the many things I could now do thanks to my high mental attributes. Arcane Sense hummed steadily in the background, no longer demanding my full attention. My barrier had become what I’d wanted it to be from the start. A thin, nearly invisible shell that moved with me, ready to protect me from unseen danger.

  This was what practice did, not the mere levels. How much more could I improve without anything changing in my status?

  I tested the barrier’s shape, shifting its curve slightly, no more flickering or instability... good.

  Around us, the presences kept circling. There were possibly even more now. They stayed just out of reach, watching, waiting. But I slipped a couple of curses in the shadows of the monsters... trying Marionette of Regrets for the first time, I needed to know how the skill worked for using it properly in battle, there was only a tiny little, nearly inconsequential problem.

  It wasn't working.

  I constantly checked the monsters I managed to use the skill about, and from what I saw, the skill was totally stealthy, The only sign that something was happening was a sliver of my own shadow detaching and flowing to another shadows, but other than that nothing more. I had a feeling though, I could feel that sliver, that little curse, and it seemed to be slowly growing, pervading the monsters shadows, but not fast enough to be usable in combat. I will have to practice more, not something new in the end.

  “They’re herding us,” I muttered to the group as I refocused on my surrounding.

  Jerome shivered, wrapping his arms around himself. “We’re close,” he said. “They brought me through here the first time; it won’t be long anymore.”

  I looked ahead. The forest there felt even worse here. The air was damp and stale, like a sealed room that hadn’t been opened for too long.

  Whatever monster waited for us, it wasn’t subtle, not at all. No one sane will come here for a stroll; if you were here, it was for two reasons: either to fight like we planned to, or because you lost the fight already.

  I turned slightly so the others could see me. “Stay close,” I said evenly. “Don’t chase anything. Don’t break formation.”

  “If they show themselves,” I continued, looking at Melissa and Mary, “you protect. I attack.”

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  I rolled my shoulders once, settling into the familiar rhythm of my spells, letting the hum of magic steady me.

  “Rhea”, I added, “if you can manage to cast some rituals to help, this is the moment before we start.”

  She nodded to me. “Yeah, I can provide some small boost to control.”

  That was interesting; she started drawing her rituals on the ground, using some blood from the eldir she collected earlier. A boost to control was not something to scoff at, no matter how little; I saw the difference in managing to control my spells just after some practice, and it will be especially useful to Melissa with her many barriers.

  “Very good. If you have some last-minute preparations to do before meeting the master of the roots, now is the time.”

  Jerome went to find a big stick that he liked nearby, I have the feeling that the guy had a grudge to settle with the monster despite the primordial fear clearly still affecting him. While Rhea still prepared her ritual and the other two checked their status I decided to do the same, while keeping my Arcane Sense active of course. There was something I wanted to know.

  Yes! Like I suspected, I got different options for my evolutions, nothing new for Hex, but it’s not like I focused on using the spell differently than before, this meant that accepting the first things that pops up it’s really not the beast idea… I’ll have to talk to the others about this too later, though.

  Should I take these evolutions? It is something I would need to think about, because what is the point of taking an evolution if I could already do what the new skill will do by myself? It seemed counterproductive, if I learned to do this on my own maybe I should focus on what I couldn’t manage to do… I’m sure there was more about this than I knew or I could possibly infer from the scant information I had. Now, still, at least now I knew that I could influence the evolution with my actions.

  Arcane weave, Tethered Profanation, Veiled Aegis… The new options were tempting me, but the idea of settling for a mediocre evolution grated on me. What would have happened if I had waited before choosing Arcane Dart? Would I have been offered something like Arcane Ballista or Arcane Spear? Something more esoteric: if I just waited to evolve my skill? The possibility was gnawing at me. I need to find a new safe zone ASAP, and whatever the cost, gather information about how to proceed.

  My musings were interrupted by a flicker of movement from my periphery. I launched an Arcane Dart to the giant freaking spider that was skittering in our direction, I tore off two of its right legs, but the monster avoided a fatal hit and disappeared behind the trees, after a second it was out of my perception again. Someone was getting impatient, uh? Maybe I shouldn’t let this bastard wait, I will come for you soon you’ll see…

  “Tell me it wasn’t a spider…” Said an unusually pale Rhea; well, she was pale, but now she was looking sick.

  Mary looked at her with incredulity. “Weren’t you the one obsessed with demons spirits and all that scary stuff?”

  “That’s totally different than a freaking spider!” The girl looked like she was on the verge of a panic attack. “I’m arachnophobic!”

  Oh god, spare me… “Rhea”, I said with the most reassuring tone I could muster. “Did anything manage to touch you until now?”

  “No…” She said with a quizzical look. “Then why do you think that we’ll let any kind of monster, spider or not, come close to us? Give your teammates some trust; no spider will touch you. "Ok?"

  The girl looked at me, then at Mary and Melissa, who nodded encouragingly. “You promise?” She asked.

  “I promise.” I told her with all the confidence I could put in my voice. I was honestly pretty confident already, but I had to be extra careful here; I couldn’t risk anyone acting out of fear right now. And I didn’t want to lose someone like Rhea; I had a feeling her potential for rituals and magic was at genius level. It would be a pity if she perished here.

  After she took a couple of deep breaths, I addressed the team.

  “Is everybody ready? The more time we waste the more time our enemy have to prepare.”

  “Let’s do it.” Said Melissa, the girl had spine.

  Mary looked up after casting a spell on Rhea, “I’m ready.”

  “I primed the ritual; whenever you want, I can activate it.” Rhea was regaining colour fast; good.

  “Then let’s go, Jerome, lead the way.”

  20 chapters ahead!