[@Zeroth] [@Stabby]

Femus was patient.  He disciplined himself every time he felt the urge to despair or hurry.  He had such hope that he could grasp something great, that his thinking was correct, that the ridiculously potent benefits of altering a region could be his with this little bit of work.  But, he was disappointed.

Dead hope tastes like ash… and blood.  It was good that he hadn't invested more heavily in this experiment.

He had overreached himself and had gained nothing like what he had sought.  But, he had not come away without a reward.  He had gained three new skills-in-the-making along with a level.  But his enthusiasm for these rewards was limited.  He had also received a warning message.  It seemed that he couldn’t put off evolving for very long at all.  He would have to choose and it seemed extremely unlikely that there would be a way to go back.  But, the warning message gave him an idea.  If the system could send warnings… perhaps it could receive requests.

Still, it had been a long and very active day.  Femus collected the last bud, wilted though it was, and settled in for the night without further concern, doing what he could to dim his natural glow as he did so.

--- Day 6 ---

Femus awoke to the sound of goblin chatter and a sense of unease in his body.  His evolution was a pressing concern… with a time limit.  He turned his attention to the goblin gathering first.  They were forming a raiding party… diverse combat styles were being chosen but only the best candidates from each type.  It was basic strategy but functional.  However, these gobs didn’t usually form groups like this to hunt.  They would need to respect their opponent to do this.  Respect… didn’t easily come to goblins, from what little Femus had seen.

It was probably another tribe.  That’s what his gut told him.  Tribal conflict could disrupt the forest for a day or a decade with humans.  Goblins probably lived shorter lives but their war could still take months if it dragged on.  Femus had no intention of being collateral damage in another war.  This time, he wasn’t tied down by a home and a business.

He felt a sudden surge of relief that he had failed to create a formation.  It would have been tempting to hunker down if he had.  But, he had his skills and a companion who learned well and had good goals.  And, they could both fly.

He was going to look for Nira and wake her so they could decide what to do next but he realized something first and stayed silent.  He was level 6 because he had gained experience… without killing.  Developing his skills had earned him a level and he now had 10 points to distribute.  But, the list wasn’t in front of him anymore.  Still, he could remember a few of the things that were on it.

He formed his will into words within his mind, seeking to communicate with the system without making any sound.  “System, I wish to distribute the points I have been given.  I wish to place three points into Growth, three into Mana Drain, and four into Crafting.  Please display my current Skill List and Evolution options.”  He could have used the points to complete the skill development but with his new knowledge that skill development granted experience it seemed like an ungrateful waste to do something so lazy.  Instead, he would simply shorten the distance he needed to go before earning them himself.  He took a few moments to study what he saw.

The next part would be more challenging.  He would have to decide between the options available for his Evolution.  He had wanted to wait, but with so many skills close to being completed and the experience bonus he would earn from them combined with the warning that he received from the system upon gaining level six… it was possible that his next level could compel an unwilling evolution.  He wasn’t willing to risk that.

With the goblins moving in numbers, it was likely that the predators would be cautious and less likely to hunt aggressively for a time.  This could be the best opportunity to evolve in relative safety.  But, he would need to bring Nira up to speed before making his decision and looked toward where she had been to check on her condition.