In Loki's Honor

The lizard-folk village became like a kicked anthill. The guards started to shout and I went Miyamoto Musashi on them. "Go meet first those that attack first," he said. "Drive the enemy together as if tying a line of fishes." If they come one at a time, it is no different than fighting a single enemy. That's what I did.

I dashed toward the next pair of guards. I dodged one spear and let the other scrape my right forearm as I deflected it from my chest. I really need to train my right arm. Ambidexterity should be my aim. Enough. I reached them and ripped my claws across their sides as I barreled between them. The warmth of their blood-soaked my fur. I spun in place and clawed their shoulders in one swift motion. My next blow was to their kidneys. With three bleeding wounds, it was a matter of time for them to die. I fell on all fours and dashed to the next group.

With stealth a bygone option, I dashed to the next group, roaring, and growling. In the lizard-folk warriors' defense, they did come to meet me head-on. As I went around the village trampling the groups of warriors one-by-one and making the others chase me, I accrued a good number of nicks, stabs, and bruises. I looked behind me and saw a bunch of warriors running behind. They were no match for my speed and I could go at a comfortable pace.

Exp messages floated up but I paid them not much mind. Just like the others, I earned between five and nine thousand Exp for each kill. But they did distract me a bit and I got smug. I didn't see the huge bipedal crocodile step out between two huts and bring his club down on me.

Huge bipedal crocodile attacked with BIg Freaking Mallet. You lost 579 HP. You are stunned. You have a concussion. All mental Attributes are halved.

Now you're joking me, System. It wasn't even a critical hit. But hey, no bleeding!

I heard a whistle and a grunt. I had no idea what it was but the blow that would pulp me never came. The stun debuff wore off and I could move, but my head was spinning. The lizard-folk civilians were grunting and squeaking all around me. I looked ahead and saw the HBC clutching his arm, an arrow crushed underneath his feet. The mallet was on the ground next to him and I wasn't one to let such opportunity pass.

I jumped on his leg and bit hard. It was easy to let my feral instincts take over and put my body on autopilot. I might be immune to the rage and it wouldn't take over my consciousness, but I still felt it. I bit over and over again until the leg fell was cleanly cut, bone and all. I climbed up his body and bit the elbow next. I came up with a huge chunk of crocodile flesh for my troubles. Tasted like chicken.

I reached the head and I could see that he was bleeding from his eye socket. I couldn't understand why. I didn't bother trying. I went for the neck, biting like a sewing machine in a desperate attempt to claim his head. I hit his jugular and blood started to gush out of him. This guy could easily fill my Chrysler's tank with his blood so I didn't bet on exsanguination. No. I took a page from the Looney Toon from down under and made a whirlwind of claws out of myself. In hindsight, he wasn't from Australia but I got the continent right. Blame the concussion.

As they used to say, it ain't dead until you saw the Exp notification.

You killed level 66 Huge bipedal crocodile. You gained 2,041,875 Exp (43,560 base x 10,000 perk x 0,0001 curse x 10 size x 1.25 perk x 5 Class Rank x 0.75 participation).

I looked around while my pseudopods frantically phagocited the blood and meat from the chieftain. Dozens of elves cut a swath through the mass of lizard-folk warriors while the females and the youngsters fled for their dear lives toward the swamp. I laid down on the corpse and waited. I felt hydrated and fed after twenty minutes. Combat had ended some time ago and the rangers were securing the perimeter. I should expect that they wouldn't let me come alone but I saw not even one pointed ear during these days.

Another ten minutes and my regeneration was working on my concussion. It felt like having my head bashed in but in reverse and slow motion. I grunted and yowled in pain. "Pain is good," I told to myself. It meant that I was still alive.

I saw Taeral "Vandyke" approach. I couldn't mistake that beard even if I were missing half my brain. Out of the thousands of elves living in Fulgen, he was the only one with such facial hair. Don't quote me on that, though.

"Mission accomplished, lady Lily. I must say, you did an excellent job."

I closed one eye and stared at him with the other. Then I growled my pain.

"That's a nasty bash. But it wasn't silver so you will recover. Take a rest, you deserve it. We retrieved your pack so don't worry. If you want, Velora here can get you your clothes," He pointed at a female ranger.

I stayed there, sitting on the carcass. From my belly, millions of pseudopods took what I needed from the monster I killed. Maybe I'm a cannibal too, but I had a concussion and was beyond caring.

Three hours passed and I still had a headache. The concussion debuff still didn't disappear from my Status and I was as dumb as a doorbell. The elves were leaving me well alone and I had my fill of crocodile. All my macro and micronutrient levels were nominal, my {Chemical Sense} told me. I even had some surplus to regrow what I lost.

The elves that gave chase to the lizard-folk returned. They were piling the corpses in the middle along with the broken huts to use as kindling for a funeral pyre. The female ranger, Velora, approached me with my double-sided backpack.

She kindly asked, "Lady Lily, are you still wounded?"

I waved a paw. I didn't need healing magic, I just needed to sleep this concussion off. I tried to keep me awake, though. Sleeping with a concussion was a bad thing as far as I knew.

"Do you need help? Growl if you do."

I shook my head in the universal "no" gesture and rested my head on the cold corpse of my enemy. Velora nodded and went away. To pass the time without sleeping, I decided to go on a shopping spree. I had about three million Exp floating in my Status, so I spent it on my human levels, sending the leftovers to my professions.

You reached Human [moon-bound] level 16.

You gained 1 Attribute point.

You gained 4 Skill points.

You gained 6 HP.

You gained 0 MP.

You reached Cartographer level 5 [13]

You gained 17 Skill Points.

You reached Apothecary level 13

You gained 17 Skill Points

Because I switched from Forester to Cartographer, the Forester levels were lost - but not the Skills - and I started to accrue levels in the replacement profession from where I stopped. I still had to understand how professions worked in depth.

The influx of HP from leveling up was the key to finish healing the concussion. I didn't let my professional Skills be randomly assigned. I opened the list and purchased useful things.

You got the Land Survey (uncommon) Skill. You can grasp the lay of the land upon examination, including features and elevation.

You got the Projection Plotting (rare) Skill. You can skew the map dimensions to emphasize important natural features and enhance comprehension.

You got the Refine [Medicine] (rare) Skill. You can refine medicinal compounds to increase their potency and purity.

You got the Measuring Touch (very rare) Skill. You can weigh tiny amounts of materials with great precision.

That took me thirty-six of my thirty-eight Skill points. The last two I used to fish something to protect me from future concussions. Regarding the last Skill in the list above, I had yet to see a precision scale in this world. That would allow me to make measurements without tools.

You got the Bone Strengthening (very rare) Skill. Your bones are Rank x Endurance x 0.5% tougher (currently: Novice 1: 8.5%)

Not quite there but it was good. At novice 9, it would be either 76.5% in hybrid or kitten form or 49.5% as a human. If only I had a way to increase my Skills and Attributes beyond that roadblock. Wyxnos was correct but what did you expect from the God of Logic? I was designed to fail fast. Didn't Loki say that himself? Surviving might be a good way to spite him.

I had no idea how late it was. I must have dozed off after I healed my concussion. I opened an eye and found myself curled in a hammock, with my backpack clutched against my chest. The hammock was tied to a long dowel and two elves were carrying me. I shifted to my kitten form to ease their burden. Through the gaps in the hammock's weave, I saw a female ranger approach.

"Oh, are you awake?" Velora asked, jogging by my side.

Jogging. I was barely swinging and the elves were jogging. I meowed happily.

"You seem to be fully healed. Please rest, we'll make camp soon. It is not safe to stay near that section of the woods. Too many carcasses," Velora said. I nodded. I started to climb out of the hammock but she deftly picked me up. I hissed at her. She laughed. "You should rest."

I hissed again and deftly jumped out of her grasp. She wasn't trying. I'm sure she would be more than able to keep me from escaping. I started to run circles around her while she jogged with the rest of the rangers. I growled annoyed but they just laughed.

"You're a fast kitten if I've ever seen one," Velora giggled.

I jumped on her back and took a spot on her shoulder. With my clinging power, it would be easier to make Peter Parker fall off a building. She scratched under my chin and kept her pace.

We rested in a treehouse atop one of the forest giants. It was impossible to see the shelter from below. Those on the house, however, had a good view of the ground around. I suspected some magic was involved but I had no way to know and wasn't too keen on asking.

I wasn't sleepy. While the elves rested and exchanged watch turns, I was curled on my backpack playing with my status window. I was close to having a hundred Skills. My perk list was a distant second from the Skill list. It was still a generous amount. So I pawed these floating letters only I could see and wished they were more organized. Heck, soon I wouldn't even know what I could do. Which was a weird and creepy thought. It worked as well as one would expect it would. Nothing happened.

I took my backpack and went to the privy. Just a small room with a chamber pot that was magicked to teleport the refuse underneath the earth, or so they told me. I shifted to human form and donned my clothes. Outside, I ran into Taeral "Vandyke". I couldn't help but stare at his beard.

"Lily. Are you feeling well?"

I nodded. "Yes. Fully rested and recovered. Ready to get my skull bashed in again," I joked and winced. I didn't wish that to my worst enemy.

"Please don't. We are spending the day here, to make sure nothing comes this way from the edge of the forest. We saw some huge monsters coming to partake in the feast and we need to keep an eye on them. Our scouts saw a pride of winged lions coming from the mountains."

Mental Note. Winged lions lived in the mountains. Or maybe it was winged mountain lions.

"Taeral, the ranger that was with you when we first met, where is he?" I asked about Greengolas.

"He was called Muridan," Taeral answered with a frown. "He was one of the guards assigned to protect the archmagister during the solstice ritual. He didn't make it."

Punch my stomach, cave my head in. I've seen my fair share of death and even took a holiday slaughtering forest invaders. I wasn't ready for that revelation. When I gave him the nickname "Greengolas", I formed some sort of affective bond with him. I knew I couldn't stop people from dying. It was a stupid idea. This was a violent and brutal world. The news of Muridan's death hit too close to home.

"I'm sorry for his loss," I said. "My condolences."

"He died with honor. Killing our enemies. Defending the archmagister. I appreciate your sentiment," Taeral answered with pride.

"I'll do what I can to stop this invasion, Taeral. I appreciate your support."

He ruffled my hair. "You are strong. I can't believe you are the same scared feral girl I found at the edges of Fulgen."

"In a way I'm even more feral now,"