[Congratulations you have leveled up: Class advancement available]
As the fight ended Luna plopped down on the ground with a sigh of relief. As she stared at the notification though she couldn't stop a smile spreading on her lips. "I leveled up Violet I can now get a new class!"
"Congratulations! I also leveled up and got a new skill! It's called Void Step sounds fun. What did you get?"
"Not sure yet. Can you watch over me whilst I check my options?" Violet obviously shredded that that request and so Luna promptly opened up the advancement options.
[Class advancement available:]
Arctic Dragon Companion
Ice Manipulator
Wild Companion of the Arctic ice
Lone Survivor
Warrior of the Arctic Ice
'Okay so a few good options, I can either keep my current class which I would not exactly be opposed to as it seems to have worked for me so far. It's a no for ice manipulator as that sounds more of a mage class than one for me. The wild companion seems to still be related to Violet but puts a stronger emphasis on my speciality than my bond with her, I think I prefer that to my current class. Lone survivor is an instant rejection! And then warrior of the Arctic ice, also sounds quite tempting but lacks any mention of my bond with Violet.'
As Luna debated which option she should pick in this situation and actually giving things due consideration, or at least more consideration than a handful of seconds like some… Violet was testing out her new ability Void Step, when she activated the ability the void on her scales would suddenly expand in an instant and swollow her entire body before vanishing, then she would reappear around 3 meters away. She did understand that as it leveled up she would be able to 'Step' further away.
It was a great skill for Violet who tended to stick in the back as it would allow her to quickly avoid any foe that decided to rush her like that snake. Speaking off Violet decided to start having a snack in case Luna took a while. So she hopped over to the corpse and dug right in, all she could think after her first bite was one simple word. "Delicious!"
Back to Luna however, she had finally made her decision and upon completing her choose she felt something within her shift, it was an odd sensation but not unpleasant. Then her status screen popped up before her.
[Status]
Name - Luna
Species - Arctic Leopard Beastkin
Speciality - Arctic Ice (+1 Agi, Str, Int)
Class - Wild Companion of the Arctic ice
Level - 20-40
HP - 300
Mana - 180
Agility - 35+5
Strength - 31+5
Constitution - 25+5
Intelligence - 18
Wisdom - 15+5
Skills:
Martial arts lvl 7
Evasive Footwork lvl 5
Dash lvl 6
Stealth lvl 4
Leopard Claws lvl 2
Multi Strike lvl 5
Body of the Arctic Warrior lvl 5
Ice Strike lvl 5
Companion Bond with Violet lvl 5
Arctic Ice Manipulation lvl 1
Spear Proficiency lvl 1
Luna decided to go with Wild Companion of the Arctic ice for 2 reasons, first it better fit her speciality which was always a good idea as it would just boost any skills related to it. And secondly because she still wanted to maintain some connection to Violet, she felt that she owed the little dragon basically everything. She had saved her life, brought her back from the brink of depression, allowed her to evolve into a legendary race and most recently had offered her aid in getting revenge for her clan.
Whilst she knew that Violet wouldn't see it that way and would just say something along the lines of 'we are companions we stick together' or some other variation, Luna still felt that she owed her and was determined to pay her respects that that perceived debt, and what better way to do so than tie her self in via her class.
When Luna finally opened her eyes once she had completed the advancement the first thing she spotted was Violet with her head quite literally inside of the snakes corpse accompanied by the sounds of chewing and the feeling of deep satisfaction comming through the bond.
She couldn't help but laugh out loud at both the sight. This caught violets attention and she extracted herself from the body and turned to look at Luna. "Oh are you done? Did you get anything good? I saw our bond has increased!"
Luna smiled at her companion and replied in a happy tone. "Yeah I'd say it was a good advancement, I got a nice new skill! I should be able to better manipulate my ice now, so potentially I can unlock some ranged attacks now, I also got spear proficiency!"
"Ohh that is good! Congratulations! Now on to more important things, you need to make a fire ! This snake is super tasty but I want to try it cooked!" Snorting at the gluttonous dragon, Luna shook her head but did get up and begin to create a fire, telling Violet to prepare some cuts of the flesh for her to cook.
And so the two companions settled down and started to make dinner, seeing as it was already well into evening now and the sun would disappear soon they decided that they should settle down for the night nearby. So after eating their fill and once Luna stored away the rest of the snakes body they looked around for a good spot to make camp.
Finding a thicket of bushes with a space in the middle of them Luna pulled out their bed furs and the two settled down together and soon fell asleep.
Thankfully the night was peaceful and they awoke with the first rays of sunlight streaking through the canopy overhead. Going through their usual morning ritual they suddenly realised that they were beginning to get quite thirsty so decided that finding a spot to get water from would be a priority as they continued tracking the orcs.
And so the companions returned to the last spot they had the orcs scent and began to follow the trail. The day passed by fairly uneventfully, they ran into a couple of weak beasts but they hardly counted as a fight as they would be quickly killed by either a void bolt or a swift stab with a spear.
They did manage to find a small stream after a couple of hours and they quickly drank their fill from it and Violet filled up a waterskin that she realised was in her necklace, it wouldn't be able to keep them watered for long but it would do in a pinch.
Another thing that they had noticed was the steady increase in the mana density the longer they traveled. Thanks to Luna explaining it to Violet she now knew what this would likely result in.
Mana density was an odd thing, because whilst yes it did improve mana regeneration in areas of higher density. That wasn't the main reason that beats congregated in these areas, no that was for a couple of different reasons.
In high mana areas plant life grew at a considerably higher rate than low density spots, this in turn attracted herbivores who fed in the plants and this then resulted in more predators. But this was only the initial impetus, their was actually a number of benefits to be had. From improved health and fertility for beats allowing them to raise their young easier. To arguably the greatest reason. When the man's density was high enough beasts could slowly cultivate it to steadily advance in levels, it would never be as fast as hunting but for high leveled beasts who got very little experience from killing weaker beasts it was one of the easiest ways to progress.
So thanks to all of this when in higher mana zones you should expect to see more beasts and at a generally higher level.
And as time passed and they moved into evening they finally began to notice this. Hearing loud noises approaching the two paused and violet quickly coated them in void and they moved off the hide in the roots of a large nearby tree.
A sound of rapid and many hooves hitting the floor reached the pair, quickly conversing through the bind to stay silent they agreed to stay hidden unless they were attacked. And it was a wise choice to make indeed, for not much after than they managed to make out the first form approaching.
It was a deer like creature, but scaled up several times. Easily 2 meters tall at the shoulders they had brown fur and large antlers crowing their head. These antlers added to their height making them almost 3 meters in height, or at least the first one they saw was. For behind this colloidal deer a herd of smaller but still quite large deer followed. Their was easily 40 of the giants and they moved swiftly through the woods passing right by the two companions.
Both girls huddled together and held their breath and hoped that they wouldn't be spotted, for as powerful as they might believe they were it was unlikely that they would survive an encounter against that many foes.
This theory was proven to be the correct one as from the trees above a giant snake similar if not bigger in size to the one that Violet and Luna fought the previous day leapt down at the leading stag. Hardly even slowing down the stag simply tilted its antlers which rapidly flashed with light before a beam of light shot out from between the tines and lances right at the snake.
ZVIP. THUD.
A truly odd sound reached the two when that lance of light shot out and it's passed straight through the snake leaving a 2ft wide hole running right through the best.
This act solidified their decision to stay hidden as from such a casual act the stag had defeated a foe that would likely prove to be quite the foe for our girls.
And so they remained hidden till long after the herd had passed them by, only relaxing once it had been a solid 5 minutes since the last one left their hearing range.