The lizard-like druvis surrounded them. It was like their scales were reflecting the sunlight and trying to blind them. They didn't look too threatening, but their numbers might tilt the difference.

Leenai huddled close behind the prince. Meera worried the most for her. Unless she had some hidden fighting abilities, she was totally defenseless. The prince looked like he had been aching for this fight. There was a strange grin on his face. One that she wouldn't have expected on the face of the mild-mannered prince, but then again, he came to a druvis-infested jungle to train.

"Why do I think you wanted to come here?" Meera asked.

He grinned. "I must confess, Reverent Lady. I did. These things almost killed me the last time I wandered in here by accident. Their sheer numbers overtook me, and it was only thanks to Leenai's quick thinking that we were able to get away."

Meera glanced at Leenai. "Oh, so you do come with some hidden abilities."

"I have teleportation skills," she smiled. "I can get us all to safety if things take a turn for the worse."

"I'm sorry, My Lady," Manazhar said. "I would never have come here if I weren't so confident in your abilities. After seeing you take down the last two druvis, I was sure that you could more than handle yourself."

You have no idea, buddy.

"What are they waiting for?" Meera asked.

"They don't make the first move," he replied. "They like to overwhelm with their sheer numbers and hope that whoever has wandered into their territory leaves without a fight."

"And let me guess, last time, you did make the first move."

He snorted. "Yes, My Lady."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Meera said. "Make sure you get more than one with your first strike."

"Your will, my hands."

He stepped forward, and the Lumnerax tensed. It was like a ripple went through them as they all stood straighter. Manazhar's grip tightened on his sword, and he swung it in an arc, and as he did, the blade elongated to more than twenty feet and cut down half a dozen of the first row of the lizards.

Then they went mad.

But Meera was ready for them. She blasted tiny mirror shards out of her armor and immediately used Mirror's Wrath. The bulk of the druvises died on the spot, as they were blown to smithereens. It was a rather gruesome sight, and quite blinding as well.

The light emitted from her attack was magnified by the shimmering scales of the Lumneraxes, and she almost had to turn off her Mirrorbound Sight. But she knew if she did that, she might as well have been blind, in the wake of an angry horde. She kept her vision on, suffering from numerous white spots.

She wasn't the only one. The prince had an arm over his eyes as well to protect his eyes, but that was a mistake.

A couple of the Lumneraxes lunged for him, mouths open wide, ready to take a chunk out of him. Meera reacted fast. She extended a hand and unleashed a Mirror Shard Fury into them both. A barrage of sharp mirror shards ripped through the ribcage of one to travel through the second's stomach and rip it open as well.

The druvises fell dead on the spot. The prince recovered and nodded his thanks to her and got to work. He was a swordsman through and through. He was like a dancer who slashed into his enemies and killed them in one or two blows, before moving on.

Meera began to wonder if he needed her at all. All his skills were geared towards his sword. To make it an extension of himself and make it as lethal as possible.

His sword didn't just elongate, but it also became thicker, shorter, and then needle-like. It was honestly amazing, but that was not all. He blitzed across the clearing like a blur. His Agility must've been sky high. She was almost jealous of how fast he moved.

"Reverent Lady!" Leenai cried out, thinking she hadn't noticed the Lumneraxes that were converging on her position.

Without even looking, Meera raised a hand towards them and activated Frigid Wave, freezing them on the spot. Then she hurled a chakram and smashed the ice wave. The druvis were smashed to pieces.

With one hand, she swung her chakram across the battlefield and cut down the lizards one after another. They didn't even stand a chance, after all, they were just half her level. She could've done this by herself.

She slowed down to let Manazhar get most of the kills. After all, it was nice to watch him work and mow down his enemies like a crazed buzzsaw, while focused on making sure none of the Lumneraxes got close to her or Leenai. The healer was uncharacteristically calm for someone who didn't fight, but then again, she did accompany Manazhar on these expeditions a lot. She must've been used to this by now.

The last of the Lumneraxes were dead within the next few minutes, with Manazhar getting most of the kills.

"That wasn't so hard," Meera said.

Manazhar huffed and stared at her. He was covered with black blood from head to toe. It wasn't his, of course, but he still looked like a demon belched from hell.

"Reverent Lady, please don't take offense, but you don't have a spot of blood on you."

Mera made a show of looking about. "That's right. I don't."

"How?" He asked. "I noticed you barely fought. You just stood there and not even a single druvis was able to get close to you."

"Also correct." Meera shrugged. "You've seen me fight, and now, you've seen my skills, and you still need to ask."

He nodded. "I suppose so, but these things must've had fifty to sixty level on you. How could you take them down so easily?"

"My skills are geared towards taking down my foes with extreme prejudice."

He nodded as he took a water canteen from Leenai and washed his face, but did not take his eyes off her.

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Meera raised an eyebrow. "Anything else you want to say, Prince?"

"I think we should check our notifications now. We're bound to gain a few levels from that skirmish."

Meera smiled as if she didn't know what he was implying. But she was eager to see what she could've gained from all these druvises, and the other two she had killed.

*ding!*

[You have killed 1 Kyldar Thresher – Level 321]

*ding!*

[You have killed 1 Exarion – Level 331]

*ding!*

[You have killed 11 Lumnerax – Level 248 – Level 274]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. The Mirrorborn Slayer has gained 4 levels and reached Level 604. You have been awarded 12 stat points.]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Mirror's Affinity (III) has gained 2 levels and reached Level 83. All of your mirror-based attacks will get a 498% boost.]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Frigid Wave (II) has gained 1 level and reached Level 46]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Mirror's Wrath (II) has gained 2 levels and reached Level 77]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Mirrorbound Sight (III) has gained 1 level and reached Level 44]

That was all the levels she had gained. She sorely missed training in Akhessai's heart, where she was gaining level left, right, and center. But this place felt that it was rich in raw essence, nowhere as close as Akhessai, but still a little more potent than any other place she had been to since.

Now came her favorite part, and she couldn't wait to see what skills a T Rex would have.

*ding!*

[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill Blood Recovery – Level 102. Blood Recovery – Type: Passive. Affinity: Life Affinity. You can restore your health after a kill by drinking the blood of your prey. Cuts will seal, and broken bones will be mended as you feast on your foes. Would you like to acquire this skill?]

*ding!*

[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill Bonecrusher Bite – Level 125. Bonecrusher Bite – Type: Active. Affinity: Power Affinity. You can bite your enemies with devastating force, ignoring most armor and defenses, dealing massive bleed and crushing their bones to dust. Would you like to acquire this skill?]

Yeah…no, thank you.

She didn't want either of the skills for obvious reasons. The first, for two reasons—she already had a healing skill and didn't fancy drinking blood. Maybe if she turned into a vampire, then it would fancy her, but for now, she was okay. As for the second, she didn't want to go around biting people when she could just kill them from afar with her trusty chakrams.

*ding!*

[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill Tail Axe – Level 134. Tail Axe – Type: Active. Affinity: Power Affinity. You can whip your massive tail with devastating force, striking like a living axe. The blow cleaves through armor, sever limbs, or break bones on impact. Would you like to acquire this skill?]

*ding!*

[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill Bone Spike Rain – Level 97. Bone Spike Rain – Type: Active. Affinity: Bone Affinity. You can unleash a rain of sharp, bone spikes from your back. The spikes rain down on a wide area, impaling your enemies to the ground, and leaving them bloodied and broken. Would you like to acquire this skill?]

Both of these skills were awesome, if she had a tail or if she had spikes sticking out of her back. Since she had neither, she was doubtful that she would even be able to acquire these skills. She let them go and moved on.

*ding!*

[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill Gleaming Trail – Level 87. Gleaming Trail – Type: Active. Affinity: Light Affinity. You can leave behind a glowing trail as you run to confuse predators or to be used by your herd to track you or rally to your position. Would you like to acquire this skill?]

*ding!*

[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill Radiant Pulse – Level 78. Radiant Pulse – Type: Active. Affinity: Light Affinity. You can channel bio-luminescence from your shimmering scales to calm allies and boost your allies' morale. Your glowing skin, in combination with your herd, can disorient your enemies. Would you like to acquire this skill?]

Meera knew right away that she didn't want either of the skills. They didn't match her fighting style at all, and besides, she didn't have to run from predators actively. At least, not anymore. Though she sure could've used it on Gethys, where she was on the run from half the world.

She moved on to the next set of skills, hoping it was something better.

*ding!*

[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill Glow Call – Level 107. Glow Call – Type: Active. Affinity: Light Affinity. You can emit a glow pulse and a harmonic chitter that will be taken up by the others of the herd who hear it, signifying the approach of an enemy. Herd members who hear this call will be compelled to come to your aid. Would you like to acquire this skill?]

*ding!*

[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill Harmony Echo – Level 119. Harmony Echo – Type: Active. Affinity: Sound Affinity. You can synchronize with another herd member's glow and duplicate their next skill in reduced effect, though the Mana cost will remain the same. It helps create a chain of similar attacks that will annihilate your foes. Would you like to acquire this skill?]

Meera raised an eyebrow. Will all their skills be herd-related?

Then she answered her own question. It was going to be all herd skill as these small lizard-like druvis lived in a herd, so it would be all related to protecting the herd. This meant that all these subsequent skills would be utterly useless to her.

To test her theory, she opened up the next set of stolen skills.

Sure enough, she was right. There was not a single skill that was useful for Meera, save for Light Affinity. She took that skill just to say that she got something from all these druvis. So, they didn't go entirely to waste.

*ding!*

[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the general skill Light Affinity – Level 96. Light Affinity will provide a boost of 2% for every level henceforth for all your Light Affinity skills.]

*ding!*

[You have acquired the skill Light Affinity (I) – Level 96]

"Who would've thought that these lizards were a herd of prey animals?" Meera muttered, failing to keep the bitterness out of her voice.

"Herd animals?" Leenai frowned. "What makes you say that?"

She almost blurted out that their skills said so. "Well, for one, they were in such a big herd. Predators don't tend to bunch in small groups. Secondly, they hardly put up a fight."

"My Lady speaks true," Manazhar said. "I'm sorry, Reverent Lady, but I couldn't help but notice that your level did not increase. Did you truly gain nothing?"

"Oh, that's cause I was fiddling around with my stats to check my notifications," she replied quickly. "I'll check it now."

She quickly reactivated Misidentify and adjusted her level to 302, hoping that would be sufficient. After all, she did kill more than a dozen druvises that were equal to or higher than her level. She hoped a sixteen-level jump would be enough for the prince.

As for her stat points, she dumped them all into Essence once more. Immediately, she felt something. She didn't know how to interpret it, but she felt something from the prince, like he was destined for either greatness or extreme tragedy.

That wasn't the only thing she felt. She felt raw essence emanating from deep within the jungle, like she had before. But now she could see the threads more clearly, and she had to investigate them. After all, it could be another place to power level her way to the next class upgrade.

"All done now." Meera smiled. "Let's keep on going now."

There was a look of consideration on the prince's face, which meant he was undoubtedly scanning her. Satisfied, he passed her a smile.

"As you command, Reverent Lady."

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