He finally decided not to level in higher areas. In addition, maybe, they wouldn't have allowed it, since from 67 generals could be found, and they could even appear in level 66. Therefore, it was much slower to level up to 66, although it was useful for him, in order to become acquainted with his enemies, and with the elves and their culture.
It took about two weeks to raise to 65, and more than a month to reach 66. It was perhaps a bit slow for him, but incredible for others. It was then that he moved to an area level 66, deciding that he would consider trying to reach higher areas when he checked the situation. He was in a hurry to level up, but he couldn't be reckless.
In 65, he had regained the spell Your Magic is Mine, which, once applied to a weapon, allows enemy's mana to be absorbed, just as Vampiric Touch absorbs life. Of course, you need to be close, so it doesn't work with arrows, nor with skills like Javelin or Boomerang. He had it at 10, since it was extremely useful in the game. However, the initial mana cost is high, so it should only be used if you are going to use the same weapon continuously.
In 66, there was Your Energy is Mine, analogous to the previous one, but that absorbs energy instead of mana, and that he also had in 10.
In terms of skills, in 65 he unlocked Two is Better Than One, which allows two-handed weapons to be wielded using one hand per weapon. It consumes a lot of energy per second, and the cost of skills is multiplied by four, so it can only be used for a short time. He had it at 6, because in the game he liked his image while using both weapons, but it was expensive to train.
And in 66, the spear skill Stumble, which helps to deftly put the weapon between the enemy's legs and bring it down, even those who walk on all fours. Although it is useless against a centipede, and ineffective against a spider. He had raised it in the game to 10, because it was very useful against certain types of enemies, its cost was low, and had great synergy with Tearing Sting.
In addition to that, by protecting wizards or archers from their attackers, Duel had risen to 5. Since they used to stay in the Area of Attack, it had also risen to 9. And by granting blessings to their allies, several had improved their affinity, like Magic Mirror at 8, and Physical Mirror, Projectiles against me? and Magic against me? to 9.
Finally, due to continued use, Sharpening Senses was at 7. Attacks at range from the losts had helped bring Mill to 8, Balance had reached 6 thanks to underground attacks, and Band-Aid for Everyone at 8, from healing the complete group on many occasions, usually minor injuries.
He had been in the 66 zone for a week. The main change was that they roamed in large groups, because they could also find enemies in large groups, mainly due to the close presence of a general. However, the encounters were less frequent, which reduced the speed of leveling up. Even so, he had decided to remain there until he reached the next level. After all that he had been told, it seemed an excessive risk to try to level up faster in higher-level areas.
He had left some friends in the previous areas, but had also made new ones there. It is true that not all elves are friendly, and especially when we talk about the toughness of the battlefield, but fighting side by side help a lot to smooth things over.
Interestingly, he got along especially well with a young couple of stone giants, beings of almost four meters tall and great physical skills, although few magical. At first, they had seemed somewhat distant, perhaps because of their size, or because the others used to keep their distance to avoid accidents. But after interacting with them and sharing the battlefield, he had established camaraderie first and friendship later.
Inhabitants of the mountains that border the forest, they had lost family and friends long time ago because of the corruption. There were others of their race fighting along the border, but at a higher level, since this couple didn't even reach two hundred years of age. They were there partly as revenge, partly for responsibility, partly to return to the stone their lost kin, and partly to recover the area of the mountain that was under the influence of miasma.
They were cheerful and honest, very direct, and virtually unable to lie or cheat. Their biggest problem is that they had trouble being aware of the difference in strength and size, something Eldi had suffered with a friendly blow to the shoulder that had almost broken some bones, in addition to sinking him a few centimeters into the ground.
Dakgror, the giant, had apologized several times, worried about having screwed up again, in addition to exasperating Dafkra, his wife, somewhat more careful than him, although not free from all guilt.
Yes, it had hurt, but it had healed quickly, so he hadn't given it much importance. Although, from that moment, he had remained vigilant near his new acquaintances, without having it prevented him from becoming friends with them. Of course, if he drank too much, he let his wife to take care of him. And, if they both drank, they were immobilized by the others before they caused major damage.
Again, they left in a group of almost one hundred members. There were warriors of different classes, like archers, varied mages, as well as explorers. Eldi was granting blessings, always keeping 80% of his reserves, and making sure that they were in some specific members, such as the archers who had the highest rank, the fastest warriors and the giants. While he wasn't the only one who could grant blessings, no other mastered some of them.
The reason was simple: some were the first to take action, while the giants were able to hold by themselves a part of the defensive line, which would have required a dozen or more of the other warriors.
They had been walking along the edge of the Lost Forest for an hour, attacking trees and some small skirmishes, when, suddenly, they heard a sound behind them, like a small earthquake.