At 12th level he had unlocked a passive mana regeneration spell, regeneration whose speed is doubled in affinity 10. In fact, it is as easy to raise its affinity as to use spells, so some players asked that they put it in 10 directly, proposal that had been ignored. There had also been complaints that, during some levels, there were only passive spells for their class, but developers hadn't paid much attention to it either.
The unlocked skill was Boomerang, an axe skill. It is easy to imagine what its effect is: the axe is thrown, it harms how many enemies it finds on the path, and it returns. Its range is ten meters at level 10 and eight meters at level 6, its current level.
And Javelin's compatibility had raised to 5, getting a range of thirty meters.
Regarding the exploration of the forest, he would soon have enough wood of level 15, in addition to increasing his supplies of plants of that level to create potions.
There had been some encounters with centipedes of levels 12 and 13, but being their levels similar and knowing their movements, he hadn't needed to climb a tree to face them one by one. However, he had hidden himself before the appearance of a level 12 ant. He didn't want to face an army again, and it wouldn't be easy to find such a convenient cave.
Caterpillars were easy to face. He just needed a tree to avoid their spines, and get them to come closer. Of course, he had to be careful not to touch their poisonous skin. For the rest, they were slow, easy to dodge and easy to hit.
He had also found a kind of level 14 mole, that was eating a centipede, but apparently it didn't like strangers and had disappeared into the hole with its prey as soon as it noticed the man.
Eldi had glimpsed some wolves in the distance too, but they seemed busy chasing or fleeing from something, and hadn't paid attention to him.
He began to worry after seeing a bear that looked badly injured and was fleeing from that direction. And more so when a cream-colored feline, of level 14, appeared relatively close to him, but went on its way, with no intention of attacking him and with a bad wound in its side.
Eldi hesitated, something was happening there. But, since there was a small hill nearby, he decided to go up, hoping to see something. So it was.
In the center of a half-cleared forest area, there was a spring. On one side of it, there were hundreds of ants from levels 12 to 16. On the other, wolves, bears, felines of different breeds, foxes, hyenas and other predators, many of larger size than can be found on Earth.
Other large insects were kicked out of there by either of the two factions, and the rest of the forest beings hadn't even come near.
Seeing an ant healing when submerged in the wellspring confirmed that it was similar to the Sacred Spring, so he wondered if that was a battle for control of a strategic place.
A couple of wolves from the group got closer to him. They were level 14 and stopped at a distance, watching him. It didn't feel like they wanted to attack, but neither did they leave him alone.
From the other side, two level 14 ants also approached. But unlike the wolves, they charged directly against him. Although they were two and a couple of levels higher, Eldi had studied ad nauseam the attack patterns of those insects, so it was easy to dodge and counterattack, sliding underneath and using several times Double Edge to cut the legs of one side of the first ant, which collapsed.
The other ant spat out a corrosive substance, a skill that the ants he had previously fought didn't possess. He didn't expect it, but was attentive to the unknown movement the ant had made, and was able to dodge it.
He used Javelin against the body of the ant and, taking advantage of its confusion, he attacked the legs with the axe again. With both on the ground and their mobility compromised, he finished them off with the hammer, which had proved quite effective for it, and ordered his assistants to collect the remains while he was watching the wolves. They decided to leave, considering that this stranger was more ally than threat, although he never stopped being observed from that faction.
More ants came to get rid of him, but always one at a time or in groups of two, and always low level. Their attention was focused on what was in front of them, and Eldi was just a nuisance they were trying to shake off, but without putting too much effort on it. And that also allowed him to practice with Boomerang, Propel or Smash Ground, which was now in 4.
And thanks to the more than thirty ants they sent, he managed to level up to 14, after which they didn't send any more. He was no longer a minor nuisance, but not threatening enough to deal with him more seriously, so the ants let him be.
He had unlocked passive spells of fire and ice, both at level 10, and which double the damage on that element. Although they didn't give him new tactical options, they highly increased his damage output.
As for skills, now Stand was available, which fixes a spear on the ground and points it in the required direction. It is difficult to use effectively, so it was at 2, but it can cause great damage to enemies who charge blindly, and several at once can be prepared. Not very useful against ants.
And he had also unlocked Frenzy, which drops all defense for fifty seconds at level 5, the one he had, to get a bonus of 50% in attack. It has a high cost in energy and can be risky in melee, but very useful if you attack at range.
At a distance, he assessed his options. The first one was to ignore it and get away from there. The second option was approaching and intervene in a war that was not his, but that perhaps could allow him to collect a lot of resources. Besides, he didn't like ants, they had managed to make them hated. And the fact that natural enemies had come together to confront a common enemy was inspiring.
However, it was dangerous, very dangerous. And he didn't even know what his supposed allies would do. In addition, his options were limited, and attacking the ants one by one from a distance wouldn't make a great effect either.
So, while deciding, he observed the fearsome confrontations between the two sides, studying in turn the skills and movements of those animals