The night passes without incident. That is not something we can take for granted, thus everyone is all the more grateful for it, including me. I can already smell breakfast being prepared. I sit up, yawn and blink, as a familiar divine whisper brushes my mind once again.

[*Ding!* You slept. Not bad, but not terribly well either! Health increased by 1! Mana increased by 1!]

I blink again, this time in surprise. Those are some terrible numbers. Honestly, these are quite possible the worst I have seen so far. Hopefully that isn't a bad omen for the rest of the day. I had hopes that I would be close to full health after this night, but apparently that isn't to be.

At least our morning meal turns out alright, even if it isn't anything grand. Sweetened tea and porridge again. This time the latter comes with a juicy slice of honeyed ham though. As far as I'm concerned that is enough change to make it last until evening.

There is very little lighthearted banter this morning though. We all know that we are about to join battle before long. It's time to get serious. And Pale, the scout, seems to be the most serious of us all. In fact she seems a little troubled.

I wonder why that is? Does she know something we don't?

Well if it's so, she doesn't tell. Not directly anyway. She rolls out a pretty decent map of the frontier lands and we all gather around it and her. She uses a few polished pebbles as markers, placing them down on the map as she speaks.

"We should be around here."

A first polished pebble, a white one, is placed on the map amidst an area dominated by forested hills. No surprise so far.

"And our most important target, the King Boletus, should be somewhere there."

Another pebble, this one black and considerably large is placed a few hills over from our position. The not so pale scout keeps going.

"That is an estimate only of course. It should be roughly at the center of the fungal infestation since we have not heard any roars that might indicate that something has drawn it's ire."

I nod and so do plenty of the others. It's a reasonable assumption.

"Ediva and the rest of the dancing embers, including me, will move over here. Hopefully we'll be able to spot the king without having to get too close, from that hilltop."

She pushes a smaller reddish pebbled over the map to a position atop a hill in between the other two pebbles. Then she starts assigning positions or tasks to others. Some warriors are assigned to stay close, but not too close, to the position of Ediva. Others will stay here to protect the porters at the camp.

So far it's all pretty straightforward. Then things get interesting though, as a troubled look crosses the face of Agnes. She pauses briefly to think on something. Finally she nods and assigns two rangers to move further out on the right flank. And last but not least Núira and I get to move out in a similar way on the left flank.

I tilt my head slightly to look at the map from a slightly different angle. Then it strikes me.

"You are expecting a pincer attack?"

The scout looks up at me, and for a moment it's like I can see pain in her eyes. Then she regains her composure and nods.

"Yes. Something like that. I suspect that there are more myceloid creatures and mushroom zombies about. I expect them to circle back around and converge upon us once things get serious here."

Curiously enough I can feel [Danger Sense] improve a little as the little hair at the back of my neck rise. Individually these creatures are no big problem. If a lot were to converge on us though, that might prove troublesome. Some of the others must have come to the same conclusion, I'm sure, but I speak up anyway.

"And if we encounter some, it would be best if we do so further out, before they can gather in groups too large to be easily handled. In fact, it would be best if we could pick them off individually."

The scout looks over at me again. Once again she nods. This time I'm pretty sure she is relieved.

"That would be ideal. And if you can't it would still be best to spot them as far out as possible so one of you can deliver an early warning while the other leads the mob on a merry chase."

I nod in understanding, as do some of the others, when another notification startles me.

[*Ding!* You have unlocked the Tactics general skill at Level 1!]

Well, that is unexpected. Although, to be honest, I probably should have expected it. I wonder if it will come in handy in the future. It's not like I plan to fight many large scale battles. Or even small scale ones for that matter. But maybe the skill applicable to other things too? Like brawls in dark back alleys or other similar situations. One way or another, I'm one step closer to the next level up and that on it's own is already worth something.

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Núira, my patrol partner seems to have noticed my distraction.

"Is something the matter?"

I flash her an apologetic grin.

"Nothing much. Just unlocked the [Tactics] skill."

Rami slaps me on the back at that point.

"Just she says. That's a rather sweet skill, you know. Noble knights get it at times. They and students at some of the big academies. Congratulations!"

Some of the others chime in, in agreement, adding their congratulations to the chorus.

I can't help but grin again. This time in embarrassment though.

The ever cheerful Ediva, casually lighting a long stemmed, delicate pipe with one of her trademark dancing embers, a display of magic might and fine control almost as frivolous as it is impressive, disperses the gathering eventually. She takes a drag from her pipe, claps her hands to get everyone's attention and blows a smoke ring.

"Alright! Everyone, you heard the plan! You know what needs doing and you yourself know best how to get it done! Time to get moving!"

Even as she makes her little speech her other, more heavily armored comrades Griselda and Barnim are finishing gearing up. It looks like our party of heavy hitters is ready to move out too.

I look over at Núira again while tugging at my sheathed weapons one last time to make sure they won't come loose from my belt, however unlikely that my be.

"Ready?"

She tugs at her gear again, to double check everything. Then she nods.

"Ready."

I just look up at the sky once to make sure we'll be heading in the right direction. Then I take off at a light jog. With this pace I'll be able to keep going almost indefinitely. At the same time this pace allows me to move quietly too. We are scouts after all. It's our job to notice, not to be noticed.

Núira, with her natural grace and plenty of experience, is still better at navigating the woods unseen, but I won't get jealous about that. Not now at least. Well, she is a ranger after all. I'm just a scoundrel.

I can't help but notice that her mood seems light. She seems downright excited. Is it because she gets to work with the famous Ediva Glimmersong? Well, we will see how that works out. So far I have the impression that this might just become one of the fabulous adventures that will be retold in many tales for years in taverns all over the frontier lands. What kind of role will I play in a tale like that?

I don't have to wait long for my efforts to pay off, as we move both quietly and fast through the rough terrain of the woods. My [Running] skill improves of course and so does the [Stealth] skill. They aren't the only ones though. My [Balance] skill grows a little too. There are no actual level up notifications, but I feel confident about those skills anyway. Especially the latter feels like it might level up sometime soon.

There is something else I don't have to wait long for. The first signs of the fungal infestation. It seems it's still spreading. Of course it is. It has grown completely out of control after all. There are no more natural balancing mechanisms that could keep it in check. Well, nothing short of the fungus completely exterminating all possible sources of nutrition and that kind of extinction event is something we are here to prevent.

We soon come across more and more fungal growth and the dead plants it is choking. The worst part is that we aren't even heading in the direction of the infestation's center! No, we are skirting it at a distance.

Before we can run into any actual opposition though a mighty roar announces that the main event has started in the distance. It seems the fungal monarch has taken notice of our little war party.

Núira stops nearby, looking the direction from where the mighty roar resounded.

I point in the other direction, the direction we have been heading in, instead.

"If Ediva's scout is right they'll be coming in from all around us, heading in the direction where Ediva will be channeling magical power to charge her spell."

It's almost as if my words are a magical spell of summoning. Branches are disturbed and leaves rustle. The next moment a fungal forager steps out into the open. It seems a little more surprised than we are.

I lash out with my sword without hesitation, drawing it and striking in one fluid motion. It's not a well aimed blow, but it's still good enough. My sword cuts true and it cuts deep.

[*Ding!* Hit! Myceloid Forager's Health reduced by 43!]

[*Ding!* You have defeated a Myceloid Forager!]

It drops to the ground, cut in two unequal but, and that's the important part, unmoving pieces.

Núira has an arrow drawn, but she slowly releases the string of her bow again. She looks impressed.

"Well, that was a duelist move for sure."

She winks at me.

"Let's not tell Rami."

I snort in amusement, clean the edge of my blade quickly and sheathe it again for the time being. Running with a drawn blade still is dangerous and potentially foolhardy after all. My reply is terse, but not without some humor.

"Let's focus on the job at hand first and worry about Rami's feelings later."

At the same time I can't help but feel a little proud myself. That wasn't even a critical hit and it took the forager out with ease where I needed two strikes the last time around. Sure, these foragers aren't the toughest shrooms in the woods, but this still is considerable improvement on my part. And I'm pretty sure that both my [Melee Weapon] skill and my [Blades] skill improved some more during this brief encounter.

Something is troubling me though. I step closer to our bisected opponent again and give it's club a light kick.

The elven ranger joins me shortly.

"Something up?"

I nod.

"They are improving. The last one I encountered had a rotten branch for a club. This one is still quite solid. And would you look at that! There are sharp edged stones stuck to it's top."

The ranger nods, but doesn't look all too troubled otherwise.

"It's a good thing they are still no real warriors."

I grimace a little although I agree with her in principle.

"Let's not get swarmed by them anyway. A hundred hits with a rotten branch probably won't break any bones of mine as I'm now, but this thing …"

I kick the stone spiked club again for emphasis.

"... this quacking thing is something else entirely."

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