When their natural enemy attacked them, she had no choice but to send her child to a safe place and confront him.
The most common would have been a battle of resistance, of days or weeks, where she would have defended herself and dodged while the hunter tried to catch her. If she managed to escape, fatigue would make his enemy's defenses go down and be vulnerable to her magic, giving her the opportunity to counterattack.
But she had a sense of urgency. She was feeling that her child was in danger, something she couldn't ignore. And therefore she took a risk, as that elf had taught her long ago. She knew that her enemy didn't expect it, because there was no point in trying something like that. And, precisely because of that, it made sense.
She had been dodging it for a long time, looking for the right moment. She activated her power again to teleport when it jumped on her. But this time, instead of using it to flee, she used it to find a more advantageous position. She concentrated her power on her horn, and, while coping with the pain of the claws tearing her skin and the fangs over non-vital points of her body, she nailed it to the stomach of her enemy, discharging her power over the flesh that didn't have the skin's innate magical protection.
It didn't die immediately, but her powerful hooves were enough to finish it off. And with her enemy dead at her feet and her own wounds to heal, she teleported where the magical imprint of her child was.
It only took her a moment to get a glimpse of the surroundings. Centipedes dead, or at a distance. Her son next to her, wounded and exhausted. A panther that was recoiling. A man in a tree, which looked totally out of place.
She confirmed with her child telepathically while healing him, and her fury went to those who had attacked him. In a few moments, the centipedes and the panther suffered the wrath of a being of immense power. Then she approached the tree and lifted the man on the branch up with her mind, posing him gently on the ground, and touching him with her horn, whose tip shone an instant.
And then she waited patiently for her baby to say goodbye to his savior, healing herself in the meantime. Then she took him back to the now safe meadow.
Eldi was still stunned by the appearance of the unicorn's mother and her show of power, though the caresses of the little unicorn's tongue on his cheek had calmed his heart, giving him a sweet warmth.
He was sorry to say goodbye. He would have wanted to spend a little more time with him, to caress his soft fur, to pamper him, but he understood that his place was next to her mother, whose eyes expressed gratitude, and love for her little one. And seeing her, maternally rubbing her head against his, was an image as endearing as it was hard to forget.
Suddenly he felt something, something that didn't make sense. But when reviewing his data sheet, he found that, in fact, he had leveled up again, in addition to recovering his energy and mana. And next to the unlocked skills and spells, there was a line that read: "Unicorn's Blessing."
He understood then what the mother had done, although not what was the effect of that blessing, the reason of his recovery or of the rise in level. He planned to try to get information from the Oracle, something that it was impossible to know if it would work. But that had to wait, so he climbed back into the tree through an Earthen Wall and Kangaroo Power, to review from the branch his parameters. Meanwhile, his assistants were collecting weapons and remains, including those of a level 100 lion.
At level 10, he had unlocked Fraternize, that more than a spell is the knowledge to apply spells, such as blessings and healings, to others. At level 10 of compatibility, his level, the expense in mana is the same as applying it to oneself.
At level 11, he had unlocked the Regenerate spell, also at level 10, which can fully recover one's health after ten minutes. It is useful by complementing the effect of Vampiric Touch or for non-urgent cures.
And the skill at level 11, Propel, launch an enemy with a hammer blow. Up to twenty meters away at level 10 compatibility. Fourteen at level 4, his.
He heard a sound and glimpsed some movement, to discover that more centipedes had arrived at the place. And, without their original prey, they went to his tree. In total, there were about fifteen, of levels between 11 and 13.
Eldi started shooting arrows, some with fire or electricity, and used up to four Javelin when they came closer. Then, he wielded the level 10 axe, hiding behind the branch when they wanted to electrify him, and protecting himself with Magic against me?, just in case.
He attacked them from the distance of the two-handed axe, taking advantage of their disorder while climbing the tree, many times ones in top of others. From their disadvantageous position they couldn't use Whip, because they would fall to the ground, and it wasn't easy for them to cast their electric attack, either by not having a clear vision of their target or by having another insect on top. Meanwhile, the man could easily shift between bow and axe.
It was relatively easy to dispose of them, because they neither retreated nor changed tactics, and he didn't even have to spend too many resources in it. And the most surprising thing was, not only that he went up to level 12, but that he advanced quite a bit towards the next level, more than he had calculated.
It is true that a low level 10 is not the same as a high level 10, because the latter is almost the same as a low 11, unlike the game. And if everyone were at the top of their levels, they would have given him more experience, but even so it was strange. On the other hand, the speed at which his mana and energy recovered looked fine for him, because he hadn't realized that the effect of the regeneration potions was over.
Finally, and while his tireless fairies did the harvesting work, he decided to go deeper into the forest, looking for level 15 wood. At this rate, he would soon need it. And he felt confident in his strength and that there wouldn't be two high level hunters in the same forest.