The group still moved cautiously as they approached the haste flower. They were only 20 feet away when Lily stopped them once again.
Raj and Dagon looked at her, confusion on their faces. Lily only pointed at the tree above the flowers.
Dagon quickly searched the tree to find what she was pointing at. It took him a second to notice it. Hidden behind the branches was a large white beast. It looked to be the size of a tiger, or another large cat. He couldn't make out its features while it hid behind the branches, but it looked to be sleeping.
Dagon didn't want to fight such a creature, but he couldn't risk collecting the flowers with it laying in the tree above him.
He slowly pulled out his bow and notched an arrow, imbuing it with magic as he did so. His best bet was to hit it with one clean shot while it wasn't expecting it. The magic was needed to ensure the arrow struck its target with high power and speed. A beast of this caliber surely had tough hide to protect itself from normal arrows.
Dagon lined up his shot, and readied himself for the ensuing battle.
He let the arrow fly.
—Whoooshh!
The arrow zipped towards its target. At only 20 feet, the arrow would arrive in a second.
The beast was quicker than any of them imagined. After hearing the sound of the arrow, it did its best to dodge the strike. It feared its head back, quickly getting to its feet, but the arrow was faster.
—Pwish!
The arrow sliced through its nose as it traveled beyond its pray. It barely grazed the tiger, but the power behind that shot was enough cut off its nose and knock the beast off the tree.
Dagon quickly readied another arrow as Raj stepped up ready for battle.
Dagon let the second arrow loose as the beast hit the ground.
—Whooosh!
The arrow flew towards the head of the beast once again, but it was ready this time.
As soon as it hit the ground, it jumped aside from the incoming arrow.
The beast was now in full view of the party. It was a tiger. A very large, all white tiger. It stared angrily at the group in front of it as blood covered its face, and dripped onto the forest floor below.
The tiger only stared for a moment before turning tail and running away. It seemed this fight wasn't worth the trouble for the beast.
Dagon and his party quickly released the breath they hadn't realized they'd been holding.
That tiger was enough to kill the three of them easily, it seemed the previous injury scared it just enough to convince it otherwise.
They quickly collected the flowers, making sure to pull them out root and all as the guide informed them.
Once all the flowers were collected, they made their way out of the third layer at a fast pace. Only stopping once they'd reached the second layer. They only stopped for a short breath before continuing on. After today's encounter, they realized this forest contained more danger than they expected. They'd only feel safe in the outer layer, where the worst threat was a pack of wolves.
They made camp an hour later at the edge of the second layer. Dagon pulled the flowers out of his storage ring before laying them on the ground to count.
They had a total of 22 flowers. A small amount compared to the dextria roots they'd collected so far, but enough for today. Haste flowers could only be consumed every 5 days anyway, so they had time to find more.
Dagon wasn't in the mood to hunt today after the events of earlier, so he pulled some food out of the ring for everyone.
After they ate, he got started on the preparation of the haste flowers. According to the guide, the stems needed to be boiled, the same as the dextria root, while the peddles were to be consumed raw. The whole flower had to be eaten for the full effect.
Unlike the dextria root, it only took Dagon 2 flowers before a familiar message popped up in his head.
[Agility has risen to 9]
One more and he'd finally reach level 2.
Raj and Lily both consumed only 2 flowers as well before they'd received an increase in agility.
Dagon put away the haste flowers, and pulled out the dextria roots. Although it was his last day taking them, Raj and Lily could take it at least 2 more times before reaching their limit.
After preparations were complete, they went to work.
Raj consumed 8 before stopping, while Lily only needed 5. It seemed she'd be able to receive the most growth out of the dextria roots.
Dagon consumed 56 before reaching his limit for the night. His stamina had now reached 19.
They packed up the food and herbs before heading to bed, Dagon keeping watch to start again. He had a lot on his mind anyway.
Only 2 days into the adventure, and he'd already risen 2 levels in stamina and 1 in agility. If their luck continued, the group would would be able to level up exponentially by the end of this journey.
The adventure he had planned out would last a couple months he assumed, so we wondered just how far he could go in that time.
It was time to switch by the time his mind settled. Dagon fell right asleep, excited to continue this adventure.
When morning arrived, the group packed up before heading out of the forest. They had 5 days until the could consume any more of the haste flower, so it was better to wait and use their time wisely.
Raj, Dagon, and Lily spent time on their own training. Raj and Dagon worked out and practiced their swordsmanship, while Lily circulated her magic.
When midday arrived, Dagon went off on a hunt. He came back an hour later with 2 wolves in his storage ring.
The group ate lunch before resuming their training. This time, Dagon pulled out the wooden swords for him and Raj to spar. Lily casted healing spells on them from time to time when they'd hit each other too hard.
They spent 2 days following this routine. When the third day arrived, they went back into the forest, heading for the inner layer. Instead of following the same path they were used to, they went towards a new direction.
After meeting the white tiger, they needed to be cautious by sticking to the edge as much as possible.
Before starting around the edge, they stuck an arrow in a tree to signal their starting point, then proceeded to walk the edge of the inner layer.
It took them all day to circle the inner layer, and they found no signs of the white tiger or the haste flower. They still had 2 days before they could consume the haste flower again, so there was plenty of time.
On the 4th day the group moved another 50 feet deeper before trying the same routine. Again, they were met with no results.
Anxious to find more haste flower before the time was up, the group decided to get risky on the last day. Dagon kept his bow out at all times with an arrow notched. He didn't want to be caught off guard.
This time, they were a little over 150 feet deep into the inner layer. Anymore than this could spell trouble, and as anxious as they were to find more, their lives were more important.
It was only a couple hours later that they spotted their first signs of the haste flower. A large patch, seemingly bigger than the first, was up ahead. It was deeper into the forest, probably another 50ft.
Instead of rushing over like last time, they searched the area first.
No animal or monster could be spotted within 50 ft of the flower, but they still stayed their distance.
Dagon noticed that something felt off, alarm bells were ringing in his head. Ignoring what he felt, Dagon inched is way towards the haste flower.
He knew the surrounding area was safe, but he still felt suspicious. When he arrived within 20 feet, he stopped.
Something caught his eye in the patch of flowers.
"No wonder the patch seemed so large," Dagon whispered to his comrades as he pointed at the tail sticking outwards.
The white tiger was lying inside if the patch.
Dagon didn't believe it was just sleeping. The intelligence it had shown last time led him to believe it was waiting for them.
The party slowly backed up, not taking their eyes off of the tail, the only part of the tiger visible to their eye.
After moving back 10ft, 30ft away from the patch, they heard a deep growl.
The hairs on all of their necks stood up.
Dagon was right, and he'd just ruined the tigers surprise attack.
The figure of the white tiger slowly rose above the patch of flowers, as it stared them down.
Dagon pulled back his bow, ready to fire at a moments notice. He wasn't confident he could hit his mark at this range with how fast the beast was, and the magic imbued into the bow would surely destroy any flower it touched. It was a delicate situation.
The beast seemed to understand this as it didn't move the patch.
Neither group moved, as a state down ensued. It was a good 5 minutes before the white tiger dashed forwards.
It's speed was impeccable. It zigzagged along the ground, making a shot difficult.
The tiger would reach them in seconds, and he'd only get one shot, so Dagon waited for the perfect moment.