Chapter 15: Halfway There (1/2)

The two quickly got dressed, Katrin in her starter Scribe's gear and Agni in her Beginner's gear. In the short time that Agni had been a woman she still hadn't quite gotten used to baring her skin. The other women seemed to do so effortlessly, naturally especially around each other. Agni still had reservations which is why when she placed on the gear she felt exposed.

In order to remedy this thinking Agni simply told herself it would help her with magic (which was true). The chest plate essentially only covered her breasts and a few centimetres downward of her rib cage. Her abdomen was largely exposed as were her thighs and arms. There was no helmet to speak of, Agni assumed because of her horns.

”You look great Agni!” Katrin commented as she glanced from head to toe. Agni could feel the sensation of bashfulness come over her but she was genuinely happy in the same breath.

”Thanks!” Agni replied, beaming.

”This must be the power of compliments…” Agni thought to herself. She'd most likely have never reacted that way as a man, still it was nice.

Having gotten dressed the two turned and glanced back at the Tabernacle area. They had only been there for a short time but it was the first place they had come to know. They felt somewhat of an attachment to it--and Wayla.

Agni's mind spiraled as she thought back to the incident in the hut. As she thought back to the stinging sensation of slaps against her skin Agni couldn't help but feel her pussy quiver.

”Did I really like it that much?” She thought to herself as she followed Katrin out of the Tabernacle. The path leading out was always known to them, in fact Wayla made sure to explain it on the first day. They also knew that once they left, they wouldn't be able to return. This wasn't due to Wayla being a hard ass, rather the Tabernacle was warded by a barrier spell. It kept anyone from entering, but people could freely leave. The only person who could persist in the Tabernacle longer than 48 hours was the Tabernacle guardian, in this case Wayla.

A few minutes after setting out down the southern path leaving out of the Wilderness Tabernacle the pair could feel the air around them shift. It was a strange sensation as Agni noted, things simply no longer felt ”holy”. This was the moment they stepped out of the barrier.

”Wait.” Katrin said suddenly as she turned around and extended her hand. Eventually her finger tips bumped into something which caused the air to ripple. It looked like transparent silk paired with rippling on the surface of water.

”So this is the Tabernacle Warding Barrier. Interesting.” Katrin said before turning to face Agni with a smile.

”Okay, let's go!”

Katrin was in very high spirits. Agni on the other hand couldn't help but worry. It was around five in the afternoon at this point. Within three hours max darkness would be upon them. How far could they actually get in the dark and didn't the forest get more dangerous after sunset? She couldn't help worrying about the ”what ifs” of the situation.

It seemed Katrin picked up on Agni's worry because she started to talk about various things related to the forest.

”For the most part, Grimlock only inhabit areas where humanoids do not dwell. They are like normal animals in that sense. This only holds true for the outside world, however.”

”Outside world?” Agni was somewhat confused.

”Mhm. In Adventia, there are portals to 'inner' worlds. These are the worlds where Grimlock mainly exist as a dominant force. The 'outer world' refers to the place we are in now and though Grimlock exist here, they aren't nearly as powerful or numerous as one would find in the inner worlds.”

”That's good..” Agni said to herself as she thought, ”Maybe I should read the Lore menu a bit more..”

”Oh! Before I forget!” Katrin said as she stopped and opened her Systema. Agni stood watching her, puzzled, until a prompt appeared before her eyes.

[Katrin, Level 3 Scribe has invited you to join her party. Do you accept? Y/N]

After accepting Katrin's invite Agni was pleased to discover that some of Katrin's info appeared in her HUD -- namely her health and mana bar.

”How are you already at level 3?” Agni asked.

”He he he.” Katrin chuckled proudly before she added, ”Some of the other girls were at level five before they left.”

”What? No way.” Agni said. Suddenly she felt as if she was only skating by.

”Yea. It turns out that as you gain levels your Systema upgrades as well. At level three you can unlock the party feature. This lets you share any experience gained with your party members as long as they are within twenty five levels of difference.”

At this point Agni was beginning to wonder what she'd do without Katrin. She seemed so much more knowledgeable about the world despite having just arrived a couple of days ago. By comparison Agni was lacking on all accounts.

Katrin continued explaining various things as they walked for the next hour and a half. Judging by the distance they'd covered and their location on the map they had only made it one sixth of the way to Grenvale. This put the distance estimated at around 28 kilometers from the Tabernacle to Grenvale.

Agni wasn't really feeling the fact that she might need to sleep out in the open. In fact the later in the day it got, the more apprehension filled her. She had a general sense of unease that perhaps something bad would happen though she couldn't rightly place this thought. It was a feeling more than anything, thus she decided to push the idea out of her mind.

Instead Agni decided to check out her Status since leveling up--something she'd neglected to do earlier in the day.

[Agni Heartfyre]

[Age : 18]