Collapsing toward the ground she felt the intensity of the winds mounting at her back. Gazing back at her windy for left her with a sinking feeling of an inevitable clash, one which saw her the loser.

I don't think I'm gonna be able to outrun it, maybe i'll awaken to a hidden power just in time?!

She stopped and stood for a long moment trying to look proud. Her small figure neatly swept from the ground as she held onto her fork for dear life.

Come on power!! I'm the main character right? Right? No, don't tell me, I'm just a side character after all?!

Her heart sank at the possibility. She had no choice but to bank on her overleveled strength. The winds picked up, painfully flourishing the beautiful flower petals atop her head. She had nearly lost one when a grizzly sound took her focus. The sound of her fork unburying with each twist and turn of the wind.

The tornado's first half had came and went, leaving her with an uneasy moment to prepare for the second round. It was a battle of moments, and yet felt like a war of attrition. There was one glaring fault that made her doubt, in the back of her mind, if she could hold out through the second round. AP.

It was an attribute that, up until now, she had misunderstood as sustenance alone. She glanced at her stats to confirm her suspicion.

{Name: Dita}

{Lvl 6. Nightgloom}

HP: 44/72

MP:70/95

SP: 1/3

AP: 3/31

Not good! I think I was right! But what happens if I run out? Wait! That's it!

She locked her leafy arms around the half buried fork. Her root legs wrapping around the exposed spaces between the prongs of her tool.

Is this gonna be enough? I guess there isn't any other way to know for sure. Bring it on twister!

The wind began with a howl, raging like a rabid beast around her here to finish it's prey. She gripped close, refusing to submit to the ravaging gust. She felt much more steady for a moment, her body tied taught against her weapon. This time, no sign of movement came over her, instead she felt victory was within her grasp!

Come on! We've got this forky! That stupid wind can't take us on!

The ground beneath her fork began to quiver with a strange vibration.

Umm.. forky?

The fork began ascending upward, inch by inch.

I was only kidding! I repent! I repent. Twisters are cool! I didn't mean it!

Despite her pleas the fork had lost its grip with the ground. For a moment that seemed more like a small eternity, she slowly ascended in an almost surreal, peaceful manner. However, the next moment came, and it came with a terrible blast of air that swept her and the fork up into it's washing machine like cycle.

Try as she might, there was little to no way to control her direction among the endless encirclement. Her body quite literally adrift like a leaf in the wind, well, a leaf with a fork thrice her size at least.

Time became a strange fascet of passing, it was as unhinged as her jaw would have been if she had happened to have one in that very moment. The cascading levels of the tornado followed a sort of bizarre order that, from her point of view, might as well have been pure chaos.

The speed of the winds changed in temperature abruptly, her mind wondering in vain of the reason. A moment later and the tornado had met its match, the climate change had turned it's once bellowing spiral into a dying beast. It's howl was more pitiable by the moment as her altitude began to plummet.

It's stopping! Woo it's stopping! Wait, falling! Too high! Way too high!!

Her wobbling form fell much quicker due to the weight of the hefty fork. The instrument that had nearly prevented the ordeal was now causing her downfall quite literally.

No!! Forky let go! I don't want to fall quick!

Her foot remained entwined, as she raced to free it before the quick approaching ground would have a chance to meet her. Breaking free she watched the fork disappear into the stirred up dust, the likes of which blinded her as she fell quite slower than before. Despite her vision being mildly obstructed she could make out shapes forming in the distance. Glistening lights that pierced the dust like fire, and the great looming shape of a gigantic mountain, or at least, what she supposed could only be a mountain.

Looks like I can't die from heights at my current weight! Who knew terminal velocity could be handy for once?

Her decidedly lacking statement caused her to drift into the recluses of her mind, to look at skill descriptions of course.

As exciting as almost dying is, I think I'd rather like to avoid it, thank you.

The piqued interest into the skills and attributes was something sparked to the forefront of her mind in the wake of the discovery of AP and it's duality of importance.

Let's start with HP! I'm sure it's pretty simple right? No, no, it's gotta be!

HP:

The measure of one's sentience, it is directly tied to the soul's bond with the body. If this value reaches zero, the soul will be damaged, causing irrevocable damage.

HP which was originally thought to be vitality incarnate was later linked to soul by the curse of mortality.

She gazed a bit wide eyed at the idea, was it not certain death to reach zero? Either way she definitely didn't want to find out.

Next! MP! You're sort of normal right? Right?

MP:

A measure of the brilliance of a creature as well as a catalyst to bring magic into existence from the realm of the subconscious. MP also functions as a defense against some skills.

MP used to be limitless in the land before memories, a realm of possibilities that forgot it's place and thus was forgotten by all who live.

Yes! Magic! Now we're talking! It has a romantic feel to it doesn't it? What about you SP?

SP:

A measure of potential in its purest form. It is used to represent a brutal measure of one's growth potential. It is also used for especially taxing skills. SP is very limited and high amounts of it are considered to be a sign of Gods and Devils.

SP's use is often misunderstood as simplistic in nature, in truth it holds the truth of creation. A map of the soul laid bare for none to see.

Eh? Another overly fancy one, hey that's no fair! I don't have a lot of it but I'm a special plant even if you called me common! Stupid decrypt doesn't know what he's talking about! Wait, that raises the question…

AP:

A measure of agility and speed. The stat works as both physical well being as well as endurance beyond normal means.

AP is the definitive measure of a great warrior or athlete, but also a terrible limitation if ever underestimated. A doubled edged blade that even those who seek magic should be wary of.

And of course lastly…

Decrypt

A skill to discern the world and its function. It is considered a simple skill learned by almost anything of intellect. However, in order to see the status of others, the user must have a high enough magic attribute.

Decrypt was, at first, considered to be a blessing of the gods given in fruition to dedication and devotion. In reality it is nothing more than a simple manifestation of a basic spell, Useful all the same.

Aww come on! I was expecting it to be a super rare skill that only I had or something. Hmph. Then again with the attitude it had earlier, maybe it's best it's just a common skill. Heh.

Abruptly a text box appeared as her feet now collided gently with the ground.

That wasn't what you said last time!!

Anyways, last but definitely not least!

Her fuming was interrupted by the dust coming to a settling point. First, she noticed her fork, which she happily reunited with.

Oh Forky I knew you wouldn't go far!

Her eyes began to drift toward what lie in the distance. A grand tower as big as a mountain laid out before her. It was equal parts breathtaking as it was terrifying. It had to have been tens of kilometers to the top, suffering a sort of warping look, perhaps due to the bend of gravity or perhaps the planet itself.

Who would build something so massive? Hey wait a second isn't this underground?

This particular parody of logic meant, one of two things. Either the place by which she stood was so far beneath the ground that it had miles upward that it could climb, or it was some sort of optical illusion.

There was no sun, but the crystals that lit the area shined easily with the brightness of a small sun. Her tiny legs moving with her curiosity ever toward the towering cityscape.

There was one tiny detail that set off red alerts in her head. It was quiet, so much so that it was deafening beyond anything she had heard before. This was a common trait in places where uncontested predators resided as even the flying creatures dared not enter the domain. Yet there she stood, stoic and alone, with a growing apprehension building with each step.

I'm lost, so I don't really have a choice right? Maybe if I climb up a bit I can see my way back to slime town?

Her logic granted her no panacea despite her efforts to reach a calmer state. Instead it only lead her mind to wander what lay beyond the hulking gate that was so disturbingly large she could fit easily between it's rungs, followed handedly by her dear companion-fork.

Awaiting her was a mist covered lining of houses and hovels with no sign of movement. They were unkempt and, from what she could tell, abandoned. Though the nagging feeling of being watched grew by the moment. Her subtle instincts grew into a monsterous feeling of apprehension all at once as she saw a shadow dart across her vision.

Not good! I made a big mistake, I should have turned back! Gotta run before they can-

The shadowed beings had surrounded her in a pentagram like shape.

Surround me…

[What the hell is a living plant doing all the way out here? Axel? You got any idea?]

[I can't say I've ever seen anything of the sort. By looks of it, completely sentient too.]

Gotta draw! Draw Dita! It's the only way! Maybe they'll understand!

Her swift stroke of the fork began a picture of her waving and another depicting her lost and looking for her way home.

Their expressions remained hazen by the fog, leaving an eerie poker face gazing down on her.

[Aww, how cute! The little guy drew a picture. Can we keep him? I'll call him peke!]

A shrill and childish voice resounded behind her before being silenced by a stoic and brutal sounding second voice.

[No.]

[Come on Dek, don't be that way.]

This isn't good, I don't have any intention of being their pet! But it might be better than what the other guy has in mind.

[You two, quit goofing off, kill the little beast already. A monster is a monster and it might give us something useful.]

[So sad, but I guess it's a bad idea after all, sorry little guy, you heard Axy, I can't keep you after all.]

She couldn't see the expressions of the humans, but she could feel their bloodlust mounting. It was a chilling mix of curiosity and blatant madness, at least from her perspective.

No choice, I think the only way I'm getting out of this is using Moonlight Burst!

She concentrated, focusing all of her remaining might into channeling the skill.

Please work. Please work. I'll never call you useless again it's a promise.

The bright white light exploded into all directions giving her a brief glimpse of her would be killers. Several beautiful humans and elves and possibly a demon as well. She didn't waste time ogling as she scurried off toward the massive gate, at first, assuming it would take them a lot longer to make it through than the tiny sprout she was.

[Damn it! The little shit blinded me!]

[That hurt! I'll kill you!]

[I liked you! But now I don't feel bad for what I'm gonna do!]

Come on, just a little longer. Don't notice me, just let it be easy for once!

She sped up as fast as she could, given her lack of AP, each step felt more and more sluggish.

[There it is! Toward the gate!]

Come on roots don't fail me now!

The last few steps came the slowest as she tossed forky through before jumping through herself.

Safe!

She realized quickly how ironic her previous thought had been. A complex ring of symbols fulminated into existence against the gate, the rest of the group save the caster herself, sprinted toward it like clockwork.

I don't like the looks of this! There's gotta be a place to hide!

She darted about toward the distance, the sands of the desert fading into a beautiful field of pure white flowers glowing like the moon. In the opposite side there was a dungeon looking crevice that seemed to go downward into a slope.

I've gotta make a choice! Hurry Dita hurry!