She flailed desperately for a hand-hold, entangling her right arm in a vine just moments before her body rolled into empty air. Li Mei's small body dropped four meters before the vine tightened, nearly yanking her arm out of its socket in the process of halting her fall. The thing that hit her face screeched horribly and skittered up the vine, where Bao's sharp claws were waiting.

Li Mei dangled hundreds of meters in the air supported only by a vine around her arm, too shocked and horrified to actually care about the information she Scanned about her a.s.sailant. Gritting her teeth and ignoring the pain in her right arm, she swung her left arm up to grip the vine, and dragged herself up one centimeter at a time. Bao whimpered and chirped, dancing nervously in place until she pulled herself back onto the bough.

Li Mei wiped cold sweat off her face, her entire body shaking as the terror of the situation finally caught up to her. The labyrinth of tree branches seemed safer than the ground but it came with its own unique dangers! She glanced at the corpse of the creature that attacked with a feeling of dread squirming in her belly.

It had a mouth on its stomach, tendril-like legs, and way too many eyes decorating a small body that seemed to be compiled of mottled leaves and flowers. The darn thing was torn open by a very upset fera, who was b.u.t.ting his head against Li Mei's shoulder in obvious concern.

-----

[Sense]

Hostile detected!

Threat level: High

-----

She dismissed the redundant threat warning and glanced instead at the Scan result.

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[Vine Crawler]

Rank 0 (9%)

Like many creatures lurking in the forest canopy, the vine crawler's real danger lies not in its base combat ability but in its skilled ambush of prey. It launches itself at its prey's head, blocking its vision and knocking it from the tree tops. The vine crawler itself has a light body highly resistant to fall damage, so it rides the ambushed prey all the way to the forest floor. When the prey is crushed by the fall, the vine crawler consumes its flesh and makes its way back into the canopy.

If the ambush fails the vine crawler will immediately try to escape rather than engage in combat. It is very fast and exceptionally quiet, making it difficult to detect until the moment of ambush.

-----

"I think I hate this place, Bao." Li Mei inhaled deeply, clenching her hands into fists. She rolled her right shoulder until it popped oddly and stopped aching as much. Everything was so dangerous, yet it was all the low end of Rank 0! How scary was Rank 1? Rank 2? How many Ranks were there and how terrifying were the creatures holding those Ranks?

So many notifications and Quests kept insisting Elysium was dangerous. She only understood on a superficial level until the moment she dangled hundreds of meters above the ground with her arm caught in a vine. If she wanted to survive another day, or even another second...

She had to get stronger! Much, much stronger!

"We have to get strong, Bao. So strong that nothing will scare us again! How about it?"

The fera's eyes sparkled, and he made a noise similar to a bark while his long fluffy tail wagged furiously. He was a Cerynitis fera, a breed predisposed toward combat. Of course he'd want to get stronger! She guessed it was probably why he agreed to come with her into the forest in the first place.

Li Mei climbed onto Bao's back, both of them on high alert for any more vine crawlers. When nothing took the opportunity to attack, Bao charged off once more along the road of branches.

They agreed during one of their breaks to find a place both comfortable and defensible. Settling for some random hole in a tree wouldn't be a good idea if it turned out to be the den of something nasty! If they found a nice place to occupy they'd have to spend a day or two a.n.a.lyzing the surroundings and keeping watch for anything scary. Only then would they move in and start making a den a home.

With that in mind, the pair focused instead on expanding Li Mei's map. At night they'd descend to the forest floor, tunnel into some tree roots, crush up some pest-repelling herbs, and sleep for a few hours. Then they'd resume exploration. After four days of such routine, Li Mei drew one conclusion:

The forest was HUGE!

Gargantuan huge! For three days they moved in basically a straight line from their starting point, with very little deviation. She kept checking the map just to make sure. Trees only got bigger and bigger, root networks more expansive and deep. There were countless meadows, areas with only bushes and gra.s.s and ferns and flowers, often with a pond or stream running through them. There were hills, cliffs, waterfalls, rivers.

On the fourth day they found some mountains. Not very big ones, only about twice the height of the trees themselves. Li Mei clung to Bao's back with practiced determination - after so much time as a pa.s.senger on the fera's back she was adjusting well to the nuances of natural riding. The pair ascended the mountain with little difficulty, even when Bao had to use his claws to traverse sheer cliff faces one meter at a time.

Of course, the strong vines she used to tie their waists together certainly helped her peace of mind. If they could prevent her falling to her doom from a tree top, they could keep her secure on a fera's back!

Standing atop the flat mountain peak, the air felt thin and clear. Cl.u.s.ters of glowing crystals spotted the area, ranging in size from just a few centimeters wide to several meters high, giving off light in every color of the rainbow that seemed to sparkle in the faint mist permeating the air.

The forest stretched endlessly in all directions, disappearing into a haze on the horizon. There were more mountains spread out here and there, but they were just a few stone peaks cl.u.s.tered together and nothing resembling an impressive mountain range.

Li Mei somehow felt invigorated even if it was a bit more difficult to breathe and her ears were popping from the change in pressure. Energy seemed to thrum in her veins, filling her with a desire to run, to fight, to exercise until she collapsed! Her fingertips tingled, and she had to repress the urge to do some boxing exercises.

There were no signs of any creatures living on the peaks, aside from small flying herbivores feeding on st.u.r.dy plants clinging to cracks between the rocks. Bao and Li Mei searched the entire peak and found no bones, feces, nests, or any other signs of animal habitation.

The closest thing to a cave was a little alcove below the edge of the peak, accessible only by a narrow path hugging the rock face. Li Mei glanced at Bao, who anch.o.r.ed himself with his claws sunk deep into the stone, and grinned.

"Hey, Bao ol' buddy. What do you think about staying here? Isn't this a nice place?"

Bao glanced around, sniffed the air, and nodded.

"It's such a good location, with a great view, and the air is so refres.h.i.+ng!"

Bao nodded again.

"And there's plenty of room for us to train, too!"

Bao nodded a third time, his tail starting to wag.

"Then you'll volunteer to dig into and widen that alcove with your sharp claws so we have a safe shelter to sleep in up here, right?"

The fera gave her a look like he'd somehow been tricked in a way he couldn't quite figure out, but nodded reluctantly all the same.

"Okay, we'll keep watch on this place for a few days to make sure nothing big stops by. But if we're in the clear... I think we've found a new home!" Li Mei rubbed her hands together and grinned, a training schedule already formulating in her mind.