《Duskbound: a Monster Hunter LitRPG》


 Chapter 1

    Blood dribbled down to the tip of Velik¡¯s spear, thick, viscous, and black ¨C monster blood. It beaded up at the edge before falling to splash on a carpet of wet autumn leaves, just another drop among the gallons already painting the forest floor. In the center of that mess was a creature of thick, knotted muscles and fur so coarse that it could peel the flesh off a classless child just by rubbing up against them. It had a mouth full of jagged teeth and black nails that scrabbled against the dirt as it tried to drag itself closer to its intended prey.


    Even with its spine severed, it was still a monster. Knowing that it was going to die, it was left with only an instinctive desire for revenge. Pain was no match for that overwhelming urge. Velik watched it carefully, though he knew he was in no real danger. This particular beast was a known entity, just one of hundreds he¡¯d slain over the past two years when they¡¯d started appearing. He knew the reach of its lunging bite. He knew the strength of its flat, lifeless black eyes. He knew how to hide, when to run, and, most importantly, when to strike.


    That was why this monster was lying on the ground, having taken a surprised spear-wound through the back while it skulked through the forest, and that was why Velik knew how to trick it into baring its throat in an attempt to reach upward and snap at his outstretched hand. The spear blade punched through fur and hide like they were a coat of mail and pinned the monster to the ground.


    [You have slain a bristle fur worg (level 14).]


    [You have been awarded 1 decarma.]


    [You have advanced to level 28. +2 Physical, +1 Mental, +2 free points.]


    Fourth one today. Why are there so many lately?


    It was a thought Velik had often pondered over the last six months. At first, he¡¯d thought it was just a slightly busier spring than normal, but as the season changed into summer, he¡¯d changed his mind. Monsters were showing up faster and in greater numbers. Even worse, the average monster was now around level 17. Last year, they¡¯d only been level 10.


    He wouldn¡¯t say he was worried about what he¡¯d do when another elite showed up, necessarily, but he understood that the risk would be far greater. Those kinds of monsters weren¡¯t meant to be killed solo, not even by someone of the same level, but it was impossible to get anyone else to cooperate with him, so he was forced to get clever every time another of the hulking brutes appeared.


    Once he was sure there were no other monsters lurking in the brush, just waiting for an opportunity to rush out at him, Velik turned to his status. In the last half a year, he¡¯d leveled five times, more than in the two years prior to that. It was yet another sign that something was wrong.


    [Name: Velik]


    [Race: Human (Duskbound)]


    [Class: The Black Fang]


    [Level: 28]


    [Physical: 87(+8)]


    [Mental: 51(+2)]


    [Mystical: 22]


    [Free Points: 2]


    [Decarma: 26]


    [Skills:]


    [Predator¡¯s Visage (Rank 7)]


    [Spear Warden (Rank 4)]


    [Stealth (Rank 6)]


    [Gear:]


    [Blood Seeker(+5Ph)]


    [Hunter¡¯s Cowl(+2Me)]


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    [Stalker¡¯s Boots(+3Ph)]


    With hardly a thought, he put both free points into physical. Over the years, he¡¯d experimented with expanding his mystical stat, but the simple truth of it was that he rarely encountered monsters with magical abilities, and his own skills relied almost entirely on his physical stat instead. [Predator¡¯s Visage] had a magical component to it that greatly enhanced his senses, but it was hardly even necessary after all these years. Even his gear barely required a hint of magic from him to be used to its full potential.


    Worgs never traveled alone, not unless Velik had already killed all but the last one. Since that wasn¡¯t the case here, he got to work following the monster¡¯s trail. The rest of its pack would be close by, probably less than a thousand feet. He¡¯d need to be careful not to let himself get surrounded. Moving swiftly and silently, he followed the rough trail his prey had blazed through the underbrush, hoping it would lead him to his next target.


    Instead, he came across a curious sight. Two men were out in the forest, both armed with bows. One was older, with thin, gray hair on his head and a thick gray beard on his face. A beak of a nose overshadowed his mustache, and his ears and cheeks were the ruddy red of a man who lived his life outdoors. He had leather armor on with matching bracers and boots, and a quiver of arrows hung off his left hip.


    His companion was a study in contrast. Only a few years older than Velik himself, the man had a handsome face with a strong jaw. He was tall and lean, clean-shaven with fine blond hair styled with some sort of product. Velik gave them a wolfish grin as he considered the scent the young one of the pair probably gave off up close. No doubt the stink alone had warned any nearby monsters of his presence.


    The two were still a hundred yards off, barely visible through the brush, but Velik kept clear of them anyway. The younger one might be a fumbling idiot, but the older one was a different matter. He pushed past branches and danced through entangling roots without so much as a stumble, all while keeping a sharp eye around him.


    If not for [Stealth] and his own years of experience hiding from monsters in this forest, Velik suspected he might have been spotted, a feat very few could claim, and none of them still alive. Whoever this hunter was, he was good.


    ¡°Six of them,¡± the older hunter hissed to his companion. ¡°They¡¯re looking for something. See how their heads keep swinging back and forth. We let ¡®em get much closer, they¡¯ll spot us, assuming they haven¡¯t already smelled that mess in your hair.¡±


    Velik¡¯s nose crinkled in amusement. I knew it.


    Before the younger man could open his mouth to defend himself, the older one raised a hand to cut him off. ¡°Just circle ahead of them. That blue-sap fir ought to be good. Soon as they come into position, you start shooting. Kill as many as you can. Prioritize the ones trying to run for cover. Remember, the job isn¡¯t complete until they¡¯re all dead.¡±


    The old man had the right mindset, and if he did let any of the worgs go free, Velik would hunt them down himself. Hopefully, the apprentice was equally competent and would save him some work. Judging by the clumsy way the man moved, not at all like the older one, Velik doubted it.


    Regardless of how gracefully he did it, the apprentice got himself into position. He produced a bow that Velik was certain was magical, even from so far away. A moment later, an arrow seemingly made entirely of some silvery metal appeared on the string, confirming his suspicions. Smoothly, the apprentice drew the bow back and shot the closest worg right between the eyes.


    That¡¯s a hard target. Slope of the skull means the arrow¡¯s probably going to skip off instead of penetrating, unless that bow is real magical.


    Even as Velik thought that, the first arrow slammed home, puncturing the worg¡¯s brain as it blasted through the relatively thin fur on its face and significantly thicker bone just behind it. The apprentice didn¡¯t hesitate to see if his shot was successful, however. He already had two more arrows in the air before the first finished its flight, both against targets on the fringe of the pack¡¯s formation.


    One worg died immediately, but the other took the shot on its shoulder. The pack scattered, smart enough to get behind cover and fan out. That was where their tactical expertise ended, however, and the old hunter immediately ambushed them with a volley of impressively rapid and precise shots that struck exposed flanks and necks.


    Between the two of them, only one worg got out of the killing field. It was wounded, though, and the trail of black blood it left behind as it limped away was easy to follow. Velik ghosted after the duo as they chased their quarry through the forest, if only to make sure they got it in the end. Once it was dead, he was satisfied with their work.


    ¡°Well done, Jensen,¡± the old hunter congratulated his apprentice. They spent a few minutes discussing the take down and the apprentice¡¯s work, as well as what was worth harvesting off a worg¡¯s corpse¡ªnothing¡ªbefore finishing up with, ¡°Let¡¯s get back to town before it gets too late to see. Trust me, navigating unfamiliar woods at night is challenge enough. Doing so with unknown monsters lurking nearby is a fool¡¯s errand.¡±


    Velik watched the pair turn toward the closest town and shook his head. He supposed it was good advice for an amateur hunter, but there were simply too many monsters roaming the woods to waste time traveling back and forth from one of the many frontier towns in the area. Nice as it was to see a few other hunters out helping to quell the increasing population, they weren¡¯t going to make a dent at the rate they were going.


    Besides, I do my best work after dark. If I took the night off, who would teach the monsters to be afraid of the shadows? They might start thinking they own the place, and we can¡¯t have that, now can we?

 Chapter 2

    Velik didn¡¯t remember much about how he¡¯d gained the racial subtype, [Duskbound]. More specifically, he didn¡¯t want to remember. It marked the start of his life unraveling at the seams, and that very few good things had happened to him since then. When it came down to it, there were only two important facts to consider: [Duskbound] had marked the advent of the rise in monster populations in the area, and it had given Velik a way to fight back.


    He ghosted through the trees, far faster and surer now than he¡¯d been just a few hours earlier. All sorts of monsters were bedding down for the night, almost as many as were just beginning to crawl out of their dens.


    Velik began his normal nightly circuit, starting down near Alnsberth and racing through the woods until he reached Dry Perch. Years ago, he¡¯d camped out there with his father many times, but that was before the monsters came. Now it was no longer safe, especially since colonies of silk weavers were constantly webbing up the whole area. No matter how many he killed, there was always another colony ready to set up home there next week.


    Fighting them was a pain since he had to do it while clinging to the sides of the buttes that littered the area. The weavers liked to spin their webs a hundred feet off the ground to catch birds, but they weren¡¯t averse to filling the nearby trees with their traps as well. As far as monsters went, they were incredibly territorial, but also rarely left those territories. If not for the fact that they kept breeding more of themselves and expanding to cover new territories, Velik might have ignored them completely.


    Instead, he swung through a few times a week, cut down their webbing¡ªa surefire way to draw them out of hiding¡ªand massacred a few dozen of the spiders. They rarely got over level 10, making them easy pickings. The worst part was how time-consuming it was climbing up and down the buttes to get the ones who¡¯d made their homes up there, but when Velik was done, there wasn¡¯t a silk weaver left alive in Dry Perch.


    There were a half-dozen similar stops on this route, each one to a gully, ravine, grove, cave, or field that a particular type of monster liked to inhabit. Whether they flew, dug, or crawled on the ground didn¡¯t matter. Velik killed them all. At night, he was unstoppable.


    It was well past midnight when he ended his run about twenty miles north of Deshir. Of all the frontier towns he worked around, that was the one he made sure to steer clear of. The folks there didn¡¯t like him, and the feeling was mutual. They¡¯d been the first town hit by the monsters, the ones to lay the blame on Velik and his subtype, like he¡¯d had any choice in the matter. It wasn¡¯t like he¡¯d asked for it.


    Regardless of his personal feelings on the town, he still hunted the monsters around it. Not everyone had been in favor of his exile, such as it was, and they deserved to be safe from the things that lurked out in the wilds just as much as the people in the next town. So he killed the monsters and restocked his supplies elsewhere when he needed to.


    Having just leveled up earlier, Velik knew he¡¯d have another month or two of nightly killing sprees before he gained another one, but he was hoping the new hunters would stick around for a bit. The old one might push [Stealth] up another rank, and Velik was hoping to merge it into [Predator¡¯s Visage] soon so he could free up the skill slot.


    A faint scream cut through the air, maybe half a mile away. Velik paused in his run and frowned. That sounded human. Young, too. Someone dumb enough to be out at night? Or someone dragged out of their home to be devoured?


    Not all of the monsters were on the same level as stupid beasts. Some of them were quite clever, human-like in their cunning, and utterly malicious. It was quite possible one of them had snuck into town and evaded the night watch to steal a meal out of its bed. If that was the case, then even as fast as Velik was under the moonlight, he probably wouldn¡¯t get there in time to save the person.


    But he¡¯d avenge them.


    The dark shadows of trees flew by in a blur as Velik rushed toward the sound. Could be a wood wraith or a flesh snipper. Either could get past the watch if they were high leveled. Might even be an elite. It¡¯s about time for another one of them to show up.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    A second scream came from ahead, this one louder and distinctly feminine. It was followed immediately by the blood-curdling screech of a monster. Even hundreds of yards away, Velik could feel the magic in that noise roll over him. Monsters like these were the reason he¡¯d invested points into mystical instead of dumping it all into physical and mental. Without those points, he¡¯d be unable to withstand their attacks, just like whoever was about to become that monster¡¯s meal.


    Two voices. A thousand feet to go. Trees thins up ahead near the hills. Probably a night screamer that found them. Idiots wandering in the woods at night. Might be quick enough to save them if they can keep it together for another thirty seconds.


    As he ran, he willed the spear curled around his arm to shift form. Like a snake, it slithered down into his hand, hardening into a solid, straight shaft that looked like wood, but was stronger than steel. Velik could, and had, stopped swords swung at him with his spear. It wasn¡¯t ideal to have the weapon drawn while crashing through the underbrush, but he knew this area well and was confident it wouldn¡¯t slow him down now that the trees were thinning out.


    Thanks in large part to [Duskbound], and also in some small part to the [Perceptive] enchantment on his [Hunter¡¯s Cowl], Velik could easily see through the dark and navigate while running at full speed. Keeping track of things while taking full advantage of his high physical stat was actually the primary reason he kept putting free points into mental, just to keep the world from turning into an unintelligible blur around him.


    So, he wasn¡¯t particularly surprised when he burst through the tree line and saw two people a hundred feet away. One was on the ground, wounded and bleeding. The other was standing over him with what looked like a thick branch, pointing it at the largest night screamer Velik had ever seen. The tip of the branch wavered as the woman¡¯s hands shook, but she kept it trained on the monstrous bat as it circled around in the air.


    That¡¯s a damn elite if I ever saw one, he thought, trying to size up its wingspan while it flapped crazily around. Got to be at least thirty feet. I bet I could ride that thing and it¡¯d stay up in the air.


    He could feel the magic building up the monster¡¯s lungs, filling its chest as it prepared to release another of its disorienting screeches. As soon as it did that, it¡¯d swoop in and gut the woman just like it had done to her friend a minute ago. Then it¡¯d be time to eat. Night screamers preferred their victims to still be alive while they feasted.


    Velik wasn¡¯t going to make it before that screech went off, and he didn¡¯t try. Even for him, a hundred feet in a single second was pushing it. Instead, he watched the woman falter under the magical attack, her mystical stat clearly too low to protect her, and timed his approach to leap out of [Stealth] just as the elite monster swooped down, rending talons extended.


    His spear slammed into its face, driven forward with all Velik¡¯s strength and the [Sharp] enchantment woven into its blade. It split the bat''s pig nose in two, sheared across the top of the monster¡¯s mouth, and kept going until it pushed out the back of the monster¡¯s skull.


    For all that Velik had beaten it in strength and speed, he lost out in sheer mass. That meant that as the two came together, he was the one who was thrown backwards to land in a tangle of limbs with a thousand pounds of monster crashing down on him. Thankfully, somewhere between hitting the ground and it landing on him, he got the system kill notification.


    [You have slain an elite night screamer (level 20).]


    [You have been awarded 2 decarma.]


    Ow.


    With a groan, he heaved the thousand-pound corpse off of him and stood up. That¡¯s not how you kill those, idiot. Should have let it kill the girl and done it right.


    Despite his internal scolding, he was still smiling. Whoever these two were, they were both still alive because of him. Though the way the man was thrashing and whimpering, he either had incredibly low physical or a class that gave no actual toughness from the stat. The pain had at least helped him snap out of the disorienting effect of the night screamer¡¯s magic, which was more than Velik could say for the woman. She was still swaying on her feet, her eyes unfocused and her makeshift club held loosely in her fingers.


    Stopping only to retrieve his spear and loop it back around his arm several times, he marched up the side of the hill to the two humans there. ¡°Hey, what are you doing out here at night?¡± he demanded. ¡°Are you trying to get yourself killed?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± the woman asked, her voice slurred.


    ¡°Oh, snap out of it already.¡± Velik grabbed her shoulder to spin her to face him, but froze. Those eyes¡­ I think¡­ It couldn¡¯t be.


    The woman¡¯s eyes came back into focus. ¡°Velik?¡± she gasped.

 Chapter 3

    Velik recoiled from the woman. ¡°You are mistaken,¡± he said harshly. ¡°Return to your homes before another monster finds you.¡±


    ¡°No, Velik, please!¡±


    He turned away from her and pulled the hood of his [Hunter¡¯s Cowl] lower. ¡°I told you, that¡¯s not me.¡±


    ¡°Of course it is. How stupid do you think I am? Please, just let me explain.¡±


    There was nothing to explain. He¡¯d shown up in town, seven years old, clothes in tatters, shoes long since lost, and the adults had seen [Duskbound]. They¡¯d already weathered three assaults and were eager to blame someone. His own family had died on the second night, well before Velik had returned. There was nobody left to speak up for him, nobody except Sildra¡¯s family. He¡¯d thought for sure that they¡¯d listen, even if no one else had.


    Even back then, [Duskbound] had given him exceptional night vision. He could clearly remember seeing her crying face in the window when her parents had closed the door on him. What could she have done? She was a child, barely a few years older than me. It wasn¡¯t her fault.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to explain,¡± he said gruffly. Glancing down at the man, someone Velik didn¡¯t recognize, he gritted his teeth in annoyance and reached into his supply pouch for one of his few healing potions. They were a thousand decarmas each at the system store, but without it, there was no way the man was going to walk back to town under his own power. With a grimace, he tossed the glass vial to Sildra. ¡°Give him this.¡±


    And then he was gone, employing all his considerable speed to reach the trees before his childhood friend could reopen any more old wounds. Once he was out of sight, he slowed down and took a deep breath. He hadn¡¯t seen Sildra in a decade, hadn¡¯t expected to ever see her again. Stop freaking out, idiot. You''re fifteen miles from getting these people to safety and there¡¯s still three hours until the sun comes up.


    He stood on a thick tree branch thirty feet off the ground and watched Sildra uncork the vial to the healing potion he¡¯d left behind. Hesitantly, she grabbed the man¡¯s head and tilted it back while she poured a trickle of liquid down his throat. The man coughed and jerked upright, grabbing at Sildra¡¯s wrist while she flinched back and spilled half the potion all over the ground.


    ¡°Oh, no!¡± she yelped. ¡°Hold still!¡±


    ¡°Come on, those things are expensive,¡± Velik muttered. He glanced around, spotted a ring-tailed giant ferret sniffing the air a few trees back. Probably smelling human blood for the first time. He¡¯d figured out a long time ago that they had freakishly powerful senses of smell, so strong that he¡¯d baited an entire infestation of them in three years ago, wiping out two hundred of the nasty little beasts in one night.


    He jumped between trees, nothing but a whisper in the night, until the ferret was right below him. Six feet long. That¡¯s almost a record. His spear slithered down into his hand, tip poised, and he dropped out of the tree onto the monster, pinning it to the ground. It spasmed in pain and let out a squeal before dying.


    [You have a slain ring-tailed giant ferret (level 12).]


    ¡°What was that?¡± the man yelled, making far more noise than necessary and probably attracting the attention of something else that Velik would now need to kill.


    On the other hand, maybe I can just follow him around all night and ambush everything he draws in. That might be even more efficient than my normal route.


    The man eventually managed to regain his feet. After a bit of searching around, he picked up a sword from where it was hidden in the knee-high grass, then peered around. ¡°This has been significantly more dangerous than expected. An elite appearing like that¡­ I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t protect you, but we should turn back before our luck runs out.¡±


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡°But I didn¡¯t get enough [Moonsilk Blossoms],¡± Sildra argued. Her eyes slid over to the corpse of the giant bat, its face split open and the side of the hill stained black in the moonlight. ¡°Maybe you¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°The Black Fang watches over us,¡± the man said, almost reverently, causing Velik to pause in his tracks a few hundred feet away. ¡°But it¡¯s best not to tempt fate.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re probably right. Maybe we¡¯ll get lucky and find a few on our way back.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t recommend going out of your way looking for them. I¡¯m not at full strength and even the normal monsters are starting to become challenging to defeat. If we were to encounter even a small group in our condition, we¡¯d be in trouble. We can¡¯t rely on the Black Fang¡¯s generosity all night.¡±


    ¡°Very well, but don¡¯t mention him when we get back to Deshir,¡± Sildra cautioned her companion.


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not well loved there, Gorm.¡±


    ¡°But¡ª¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about it.¡±


    Gorm studied her for a moment in the dark, then nodded. ¡°Very well. If it¡¯s a sensitive topic, we¡¯ll leave it alone. I think I¡¯m ready to move now.¡±


    * * *


    In the morning light, the forest looked far more peaceful. The worst of the monsters had slunk back to their burrows and dens, and the half of a healing potion Gorm had gotten down had done its work. Velik was confident that Sildra¡¯s bodyguard could keep her safe without assistance now, and he needed a few hours of sleep for himself.


    He moved through the trees, not nearly as swiftly as he¡¯d been going a few hours ago, but still far faster than anyone else in the area could have. Old, familiar trails guided him home, such as it was. Within an hour, Velik was standing on the bank of a small, clear stream, stripping down to clean himself and his clothes.


    The bloodstains weren¡¯t coming out, but that was nothing new. All of his clothes were monster-blood black now and had been for years. The only exception was his sturdy system-crafted boots, enchanted with [Mending] to keep them whole and clean. Everything else was dunked in the water and vigorously scrubbed more to get the stink out than from any real hope of returning the outfit to its original color.


    After he was done, and still wearing his spear as a band that looped around his arm several times, Velik jumped into the stream himself. A quick dip was more than enough¡ªeven with his high physical stat, the water was shockingly cold. Then he scurried back to his home, a low-ceilinged hole in the ground formed when a summer squall had partially ripped up a tree a few years ago.


    Velik had discovered the place, enlarged the hole underneath, and fortified it with planks of what could only generously be described as rough-hewn wood. There was no skill in their crafting, just a tremendous amount of system-granted strength and coordination keeping his cuts straight. The doorway itself needed to be lifted out of its groove and slid to one side to gain entry, no easy feat considering it weighed a quarter ton.


    It wouldn¡¯t stop a monster from ripping its way in, but it did prevent casual exploration from monster and animal both, and when he was inside trying to sleep, it would give him enough of a warning to prepare for a fight if something did scent him inside and attacked. That was all Velik could ask for, and it was a far sight more security than anyone else sleeping in the forest could claim.


    Lot of people out in the woods lately, he thought while slipping inside and setting his door back into place. I suppose I¡¯m not the only one who noticed how thick the monsters are getting. Something¡¯s got to give soon. Hopefully winter will slow them down in a few months.


    A decade of killing monsters had done nothing to slow the rising tide, but Velik was older, smarter, and stronger now. It had been three years since his last expedition into the deep forest to hunt for the source of the monsters, but he was planning another one now. He just needed the influx to die down, preferably after he reached level 30 and merged [Stealth] into [Predator¡¯s Visage]. That would give him two open skill slots, and he was looking at a few options to give him both range and burst damage to help deal with the next elite monster he ran into.


    A few thousand more decarmas wouldn¡¯t hurt anything either. His funds were extremely low right now and they didn¡¯t reliably appear when he killed a monster. But at the rate he was going, he expected to be ready to go hunting again soon. It was just a question of when.


    This time, he was determined to find the source. It was out there, somewhere, that thing he¡¯d accidentally unleashed as a child, the father of all monsters. It had taken everything from him, and Velik meant to return the favor.


    Soon.

 Chapter 4

    When the first settlers had shown up and founded what was now known as Celarut, they¡¯d immediately prioritized building the Raven¡¯s Nest. Two stories tall and with eight rooms for travelers to rent out, it was the town¡¯s centerpiece and probably the only reason trading caravans bothered to venture this far out into the frontier.


    Celarut was a lumber town, which was fine, in Torwin¡¯s opinion, but there were trees closer to civilization that had less monsters living in them, so he didn¡¯t really see why this particular town even existed. But he wasn¡¯t here as part of a caravan, no, he¡¯d been hired to find and kill monsters, and since the Raven¡¯s Nest had the nicest inn for a hundred miles, Celarut had become Torwin¡¯s home base.


    The seemingly limitless supply of ale had nothing to do with that decision.


    Torwin made his way down to the common room about the same time the eastern sky started brightening with pre-dawn light. He wanted to push Jensen today, see if he couldn¡¯t get the boy¡¯s physical stat to mature a point on its own with system intervention, not that Jensen would thank him for it. No, the boy would be bitching and moaning by late afternoon and wanting to take extra breaks to offset the early start.


    ¡°Morning, Torwin,¡± Induar said from the wood stove behind the bar. ¡°The usual?¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯ve got it,¡± Torwin said.


    ¡°Three eggs, slice of ham, extra large mug of ale.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± the old [Ranger] said, placing a pile of five copper hesplates on the counter in front of him. Technically, his meals were included in the price of his room, but he knew Induar was getting up early to cook for him, so he didn¡¯t mind adding a little extra. Besides, it wasn¡¯t like hesplates were worth much. A single decarma could be traded for five or six hundred of them, easily. It was only little frontier towns like Celarut or impoverished slums that even used them.


    ¡°Any luck finding your Black Fang yet?¡± Induar asked.


    ¡°Nothing, not even a footprint. I¡¯m starting to think this is some sort of prank the whole town is pulling on me.¡±


    ¡°Oh no, I assure you, he¡¯s very real,¡± the cook said with a laugh. ¡°Doesn¡¯t much like company, though, so I¡¯m not surprised you¡¯re having trouble finding him.¡±


    ¡°After two weeks, though? I¡¯ve been up and down this whole stretch of the frontier. Fifty miles in either direction. Even stayed up in Deshir one night just so I could poke around the woods up there, and let me tell you, they¡¯ve got nothing on your place.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t try to butter me up, old-timer.¡±


    ¡°I only speak the truth. Three-day-old bread and a slab of meat I couldn¡¯t even [Identify], it was so burnt. I¡¯ve eaten better foraging for food after a month out in the woods.¡±


    There were five towns in close proximity out in this corner of the world, with Celarut being somewhat centrally located. They¡¯d pooled resources together to take out a contract with the Hunters Guild, and Torwin had seized it as an opportunity to push his apprentice¡¯s levels and skills up. It wasn¡¯t until they¡¯d actually arrived in Alnsberth that he¡¯d started to suspect the extent of the problems up here had been misrepresented.


    Going out into the woods was taking his own life in his hands. A monster encounter was an absolute certainty, probably several times a day even if he went out of his way to avoid them. The monsters seemed content to pass by the towns, with only the bravest and stupidest of the farmers maintaining fields too far from the relative safety of civilization.


    But there wasn¡¯t a person in a single one of these towns who hadn¡¯t lived through a horde. If their stories were to be believed, it was incredible any of these places were still standing. Things had been bad ten years back, and then they¡¯d slowly started to get better over the next few years, but the monster problem had never quite gone away completely. In the last few months, it had gotten worse than ever, with three of the five towns having fended off attacks over the summer.


    It''s not natural. Not once in thirty years have I seen anything like this. Something¡¯s wrong here, and not a one of these supposed frontiersmen has the first clue.


    The Black Fang, on the other hand, might just have some answers. All five towns knew of him. There were plenty of rumors, though the folks up in Deshir stubbornly insisted he was the cause of all the monsters in the first place, but no one had been able to really explain who the Black Fang was or where he¡¯d come from, or even if he was actually human. Torwin had heard a few rumors claiming he was part monster.


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    It was all a big, jumbled mess. He¡¯d come here for some easy decarma and to train the apprentice the guild had foisted on him, not to untangle whatever it was that was going on out there. And yet, he was a professional, gold-ranked, and with a reputation to uphold. He couldn¡¯t just run out on the place now that he¡¯d agreed to take care of the monster problem.


    Of course, it¡¯d be a lot easier to do that if Jensen would get his ass out of bed. That kid¡¯s never going to evolve his class if he keeps sleeping in every morning, Torwin thought sourly.


    ¡°You just keep at it. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find the Black Fang eventually,¡± Induar assured him. ¡°Here, food¡¯s almost ready.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s another thing, what kind of name is that anyway? Someone told me it¡¯s his class, but I¡¯ve never heard of it.¡±


    The cook shrugged. ¡°Never met him myself and don¡¯t know much about it. The man doesn¡¯t spend much time in town. I don¡¯t think he¡¯s been in Celarut in the last few years, though I¡¯ve a friend down in Alnsberth who said he saw the Black Fang there about six months ago.¡±


    ¡°Probably dead and in some monster¡¯s belly,¡± Torwin grumbled. ¡°That¡¯d be my luck, just chasing ghosts through the woods for a month.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t all bad. The monster levels were too low to do Torwin any good, but Jensen was getting plenty of practice tracking and killing them. He¡¯d already advanced [Tracking] twice this week alone and [Marksman] was close to ranking up, too. It was too bad the man was so stubborn about not wanting to take [Survivalist] when he opened up his next skill slot. That was going to delay his class evolution by months at minimum, but Jensen¡¯s family had too much power to be ignored.


    Torwin was stuck with his apprentice for the foreseeable future. At least, he was if the lazy jerk ever showed up. It¡¯d been twenty minutes now. Breakfast had been served and eaten. The beer was gone¡ªthough Torwin was considering a second mug¡ªand sunlight streamed in through the windows.


    One more beer, then I go roll his ass out of bed so we can get started.


    Raising a hand to get Induar¡¯s attention, Torwin jiggled his empty mug and said, ¡°One for the road?¡±


    * * *


    ¡°Morgus¡¯s massive hairy balls, why are we awake right now?¡± Jensen whined.


    Doing the guildmaster a favor. Getting paid well for it. Just keep the kid alive for another six months. It¡¯s his own fault if he¡¯s still a [Tracker] then.


    Torwin wanted to reach out and smack his apprentice upside the head. Instead, he said, ¡°Because we¡¯re here on a job and we¡¯re not making any progress on it, which means we¡¯re not working hard enough.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m working plenty hard. You could have at least let me eat breakfast.¡±


    ¡°You could have if you¡¯d gotten out of bed when you were supposed to.¡±


    Torwin blocked out Jensen¡¯s complaining and glanced around curiously. It was never truly silent out in the woods, not unless something really bad was going down. There were always bugs buzzing or chirping, birds singing, and countless rustles of small animals moving through the brush. It only got quiet when predators were nearby and everything went into hiding, and even then, it didn¡¯t get this quiet.


    ¡°Jensen,¡± Torwin said, interrupting his apprentice, ¡°shut up.¡±


    Not totally useless, the old hunter thought to himself. Jensen wasn¡¯t actually that bad at his class; he just lacked the dedication needed to be truly great. Once he was focused on an issue, however, he was competent. The kid was already bringing up that fancy bow his father had bought him, the one that created steel arrows out of magic.


    ¡°I don¡¯t smell anything,¡± he said. Glancing back at Torwin, he added, ¡°Downwind, you think? Or some sort of scent-masking skill?¡±


    Cocking an eyebrow, Torwin pointed up into the sky. Jensen followed the finger and froze, the blood draining from his already pale face when he saw what was flying overhead. It was obviously using some kind of magic to keep itself aloft, there being far too much mass for those thin skin flaps to do the job on their own. It looked something like a squirrel, except thirty feet long and covered in scaly plates of dark gray. Its incisors were huge and pointed, perfect for tearing into meat, and its tail had none of a squirrel¡¯s bushiness. Instead, bony protrusions grew out of it every foot or so.


    Torwin could quite easily imagine that tail smashing through a tree just from the physical force of the strike, never mind whatever magic it had besides what was supporting its flight. This one was probably beyond Jensen¡¯s ability to tackle.


    ¡°What level is that?¡± his apprentice whispered harshly.


    [Dire Clubtail Flying Squirrel (elite)- level 22. Stats: 39ph, 22me, 29my. Skills: Wind Tamer, Shred, Massive Impact.]


    Well, he won¡¯t kill it, but it¡¯s good to experience fighting monsters stronger than you. Plus it¡¯ll keep him humble.


    ¡°If you had [Identify], you¡¯d know. Get after it, now. We can¡¯t leave something like that to just roam around the forest causing problems.¡±


    ¡°After it? Are you insane?¡± Jensen protested.


    Putting a hard look on his apprentice, Torwin said, ¡°This is the job. Sometimes the monsters are bigger than you. Deal with it. Now, move.¡±

 Chapter 5

    [Predator¡¯s Visage] had a couple of different skills mixed into it, but one of the most important aspects to Velik was that it gave him a sort of intuitive sense of where to look for prey. With the skill at rank 7, it had a nice range on it, about five hundred yards. The forest was a riot of autumn colors right now, all yellows and oranges except for a few stubborn evergreens clustered together, which made it far more difficult to spot animals than it might otherwise be.


    In another month, the trees would be filled with the grasping wooden claws of bare branches and the brilliant leaves would be nothing more than a forgotten carpet of detritus on the ground, but right now, Velik¡¯s primary class skill combined with his high mental stat did the heavy lifting when it came to finding and killing new monsters.


    Normally, he slept through the morning and got up sometime around noon. Perhaps it was something in [Duskbound] that he didn¡¯t understand, or maybe it was his class. Something the system had given to him had drastically cut down on his need for sleep, and a good day for Velik was three to four hours.


    That gave him plenty of extra hours to do things besides just kill monsters. Today, he busied himself with hunting game, which had become scarce as more and more monsters appeared in the area. There were plenty of them that had no problems eating a deer or turkey. Even aggressive game like boars often died when they challenged a monster that had wandered into their territory.


    But Velik¡¯s food reserves were running low and monster meat generally tasted awful, so he went hunting for less dangerous prey. Luck was with him, and it took less than an hour to find fresh signs of a herd of deer that frequented the stream near his home. There were a lot fewer tracks than there¡¯d been last year, the herd already decimated from the monster infestation, but they¡¯d spare one more of their number to keep Velik fed for a few more weeks.


    His movements were more deliberate in the day, slower and cautious, acutely aware of the world around him and how it might perceive him. Still, he quickly spotted the herd through the trees some fifty yards off and circled around to get downwind. It wasn¡¯t something he had to consciously think about these days, not with [Predator¡¯s Visage] coloring his behaviors. Stalking prey was second nature to him now.


    Velik didn¡¯t own a bow, not because he couldn¡¯t shoot one, but because his style of movement revolved around slipping through narrow openings that a bow would get caught on. He was hoping to get one that had the same [Shape Shifting] property as his spear, and possibly with the ability to make its own arrows like that one he¡¯d seen the younger of the two hunters using yesterday. Either it wasn¡¯t system-crafted, or it was so expensive that Velik hadn¡¯t been able to find it in the store yet.


    He was more than familiar with hunting in melee range, which was admittedly much harder to pull off, even with a rank 6 [Stealth] skill. Sneaking up on a single monster was easy compared to approaching an entire herd of skittish deer, but Velik had done it plenty of times before and he knew how to do it again today.


    He was in position on a thick tree branch hanging over the trail, spear poised and ready. All he had to do now was wait, and probably not for long. A few minutes, maybe half an hour at most, was all it would take. He already had his eyes on a nice, big doe, one that didn¡¯t have any fawns hanging around it.


    Everything was going perfectly, until something crossed the sun overhead and cast its shadow over the herd. They panicked and scattered immediately, with the majority of them running off in the wrong direction and the stragglers darting between trees instead of down the trail. Not a single one of them passed under Velik¡¯s perch, meaning he¡¯d wasted the last two hours of his life tracking down his next week¡¯s dinner and getting into position to take one.


    Maybe a bow would be worth it, just for hunting trips. It¡¯s not like I¡¯d need to carry it for killing monsters. Those don¡¯t run away.


    Velik peered up through the branches to see what had scared off his dinner, only to freeze and pull on [Stealth] for all it was worth. The monster was big, one of the biggest he¡¯d ever seen, and definitely one of the strongest. [Predator¡¯s Visage] had long since swallowed the [Identify] skill he¡¯d picked up years ago, and while it no longer functioned to give him hard numbers, it told him plenty.


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    Little bit lower level than me. Significantly lower physical, despite its size, and probably geared more toward agility and speed than raw strength. High mental for a monster; I¡¯m betting that¡¯s mostly perception and processing speed. And a lot of mystical. Is that all to keep it flying, or does it have some offense, too?


    He studied the massive scaled squirrel as it glided by on enormous skin flaps, sizing it up for exploitable weaknesses and trying to get a feel for what its magic did. The last thing he needed was to be right in its face, about to stab its eye out, only to have it breathe out shards of ice or stone on him.


    One thing he was certain about, though: it had to die.


    * * *


    ¡°It¡¯s not subtle, is it?¡± Jensen said.


    ¡°Not much tracking involved in this one, no,¡± Torwin agreed. ¡°I hope you¡¯re thinking about what you¡¯re going to do once you catch up.¡±


    ¡°I thought I might shoot it to death.¡±


    ¡°Think harder. It¡¯s got four levels on you and it¡¯s an elite. You want to be a [Ranger]. Here¡¯s your chance to prove you¡¯ve got what it takes.¡±


    If you didn¡¯t have half a million decarmas worth of system crafted gear, your skills and level would be rising a lot faster. You rely too much on the toys and not enough on your brain, Jensen.


    ¡°Tch,¡± his apprentice said. ¡°Have a little faith in me. Morgus himself has my back.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure. That¡¯s why he warned you about that root you tripped over yesterday, right?¡±


    ¡°Only because you kept prodding me to go faster! I don¡¯t have a level 50 rare class, old man! My physical is less than half what yours is.¡±


    That would have been a fair point, except that a classless child could have shown more grace than Jensen had. He¡¯d stumbled entirely because he wasn¡¯t paying attention to anything but those bracers that made magical arrows he¡¯d gotten right before they¡¯d left Cravel for the frontier.


    ¡°You¡¯d better milk it all it¡¯s worth, or we¡¯ll be chasing that elite til¡¯ nightfall,¡± he told Jensen. ¡°Damned thing is pulling away.¡±


    ¡°What? No, we¡¯re just in a rough patch of the woods. Soon as the trees thin out, we¡¯ll catch up.¡±


    They¡¯re not going to, and you should know that. We¡¯ve been through here twice this week. Unless that elite swings to the south, the woods are only going to get worse. You¡¯re going to lose it in about twenty minutes, assuming it keeps flying at the same speed and we don¡¯t run into something else before then.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got ten minutes to bring it down before I go ahead and do it myself,¡± Torwin told him.


    ¡°What?!¡± Jensen yelped. His eyes narrowed and he growled, ¡°Fine, if that¡¯s how you want to play it¡­¡±


    Magic surged through Torwin¡¯s apprentice and his speed suddenly tripled. He tore through the underbrush, snapping branches and ripping stubborn plants out by their roots. And there it is, Torwin thought to himself. You could have circled around to the south and shadowed it in parallel. You could have scaled a tree and fired a few shots at it to get its attention. If you were better at harnessing the potential of your stats, you could have just slipped through the thicker underbrush faster. But no, all problems are solved with money.


    You¡¯ll never turn [Tracker] into [Ranger], and I¡¯ll never hear the end of your failure. Maybe it¡¯s time I start thinking about retirement if this is what the new generation is like.


    Torwin sped up, easily pacing his gear-assisted apprentice¡¯s speed. It was easy to follow him; he¡¯d left a trail a blind man could walk by bodily tearing through the foliage. Trailing closely behind, he followed Jensen as the young man ran the elite monster down. They lost sight of the monster frequently, especially with the canopy getting thicker, but it was always easy to spot whenever they caught a glimpse of the sky.


    Until, unexpectedly, it wasn¡¯t. ¡°It went to ground,¡± Torwin said. ¡°Huh. Maybe it found something to eat. Either way, lucky for you, huh? Maybe you can ambush it now.¡±


    They hurried forward the last thousand feet or so, with Torwin hanging back to let Jensen take the lead. A bitter leaf hare distracted the old [Ranger] for a second, just long enough to draw an arrow and release it, taking the beast through the throat and pinning it to a tree mid-jump, then Jensen¡¯s strangled cry of mixed surprise and outrage pulled him back to the chase.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Torwin asked, rushing to catch up. ¡°What in the world¡­?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s stealing my kill!¡± Jensen sputtered, outraged.


    ¡°He¡¯s magnificent,¡± Torwin uttered, not even realizing he¡¯d spoken out loud until Jensen turned a bitter glare on him. Oops, that¡¯ll bruise his pride.

 Chapter 6

    Velik wasn¡¯t expecting an audience, let alone the hunter pair from yesterday, but he¡¯d already ambushed the elite. Too late now. Best I can do is end this quickly and disappear.


    A titanic flying squirrel was a new one, but nothing surprised him anymore. Practically every flavor of animal there was had a monstrous counterpart, and in the case of things like rodents and insects, they were almost always several times bigger. Weirdly, they were always the most aggressive breed of monsters, which had made them difficult for a younger Velik to deal with.


    Unchecked aggression was great against inexperienced and low level hunters, but it didn¡¯t work against Velik. He knew he was a higher level with better stats. The only thing the monster had on him was the typical insanely high amount of physical resilience all elites shared and several hundred pounds of mass.


    Wind tore around the two of them, manipulated by the elite monster and threatening to steal Velik¡¯s balance with each billowing gust of dead leaves. The opening was there, a tempting target as the monster spread its paws wide and bared its chest. All Velik had to do was leap forward and thrust his spear into the monster¡¯s fur. But he knew he couldn¡¯t muster up the speed to complete the strike when fighting against a headwind so strong that it ripped branches out of the trees.


    So, he didn¡¯t fight directly against it. Instead, he let it speed him on his way as the monster¡¯s paws lashed out. Crackling lines of magic trailed behind it, tracing the path its nails cut through the gale. They were too slow to catch Velik, but only because he¡¯d moved with the screaming wind instead of against it. Any other direction would have seen him wounded, at best.


    His own spear flashed forward, scoring a hit against the monster and leaving a thin trail of black blood in the air as it swept away. The squirrel-beast screeched, more in rage than in pain, and lunged forward. Its full weight slammed down where it tried to pounce on Velik, but he was already gone. Leaping high into the air, his spear whipped around like a living thing to lead his dive. Point first, it slammed down into the monster¡¯s back.


    Unlike most of the monster¡¯s Velik had killed lately, this one wasn¡¯t so easy to kill. Wind tore at Velik¡¯s arms, trying to pull him off-course, and fur hard as steel resisted the tip at impact. Without his [Duskbound] strength driving the blow, he couldn¡¯t get a clean strike in. Rather than puncturing a foot of muscle and possibly crippling the squirrel, his attack dug a deep furrow in the monster.


    Velik¡¯s feet barely touched fur before they were sliding sideways, but his balance was perfect. He slid off the monster, swinging his spear even as he tumbled through the air to keep it at bay, then twisted to land upright and facing his opponent. It wasted no time in pursuing him, but just like before, it couldn¡¯t catch him.


    This is taking too long. If it doesn¡¯t run out of magic soon, I¡¯m never going to get a clean shot in.


    Normally, Velik would have danced around it, harrying it with precision strikes and bleeding it out, but now he wanted this thing dead so he could get away from the hunters. Without the boost granted by [Duskbound], he wasn¡¯t going to be able to simply overpower it, which meant taking a risk.


    Before he could attack again, the younger of the two hunters decided to help. His bow came up, an arrow materialized out of nothing, and then he shot it into a wall of wind so strong that it was immediately ripped off-target. Velik jerked out of the way just in time to avoid being struck by the magical bolt, but he didn¡¯t have time to follow up on that.


    [Spear Warden] was an amalgamation of a few different skills related to controlling the battlefield, primarily [Serpent Strike], [Bleeding Thrust], [Shepherd¡¯s Cane], and, of course, [Spear Mastery]. His style focused on executing lightning-fast attacks designed to limit a target¡¯s movement options while he drove them into a position of vulnerability, where he then left deep, weeping wounds. Blood loss indirectly killed many of the monsters Velik hunted.


    Two more arrows came in from the apprentice hunter, both predictably missing their target. The older man said something to him, but Velik was too busy to pay attention to that. The arrows hadn¡¯t come close to hitting him this time, and that was all he cared about. He watched the squirrel move, studied the way it swayed with the breeze, and he grinned.


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    Got you, you ugly bastard.


    It was controlling the wind ripping around them, but it wasn¡¯t immune to its own magic. The only difference was that it could work with the wind, speeding up its movements or at least not slowing itself down, but that meant the monster itself served as a warning to help Velik compensate for the rapidly changing direction and speed.


    The arc of its swinging paw told him that he could take a long step to the right, that the wind would push him the last few inches he needed to get out of the way in one smooth movement instead of two stuttered ones. When it rose up in front of him, he knew to expect another billowing cloud of leaves that filled the air and blocked his vision, and he was already shifting out of the way to slash his spear at its leg.


    That didn¡¯t mean he wasn¡¯t still fighting against the elite monster¡¯s magic to deliver his blows, nor was he capable of casually slicing through its thick fur. Worse, whenever he tried to get out from directly in front of it, that long tail lashed out, proving that the thick, bony knobs on its length weren¡¯t decorative.


    This would be so much easier in twelve hours. At least it¡¯s ignoring those other two. I¡¯m not sure I could stop something this big if it decides to go after one of them.


    Of course, that was the exact moment an arrow suddenly sprouted from its eye.


    * * *


    He figured it out, Torwin thought as he watched the kid with the spear dance around a monster five times his size. Gale winds cut through the field, throwing wood, leaves, and dust everywhere, as well as spoiling Jensen¡¯s aim. A few of the arrows had come close to hitting the new hunter, but the boy had the presence of mind to dodge out of the way.


    Unlike the spear wielder, Jensen hadn¡¯t realized that he could read the sudden changes in wind direction by watching the monster¡¯s movements. Until he figured that out and compensated properly, the only way he was going to land a shot was through blind luck.


    ¡°This is impossible,¡± his apprentice growled. ¡°That thing¡¯s magic is a hard counter to us. We need to retreat.¡±


    ¡°And abandon that boy?¡± Torwin asked scathingly, not that he truly thought the kid needed help. Unless he made a drastic mistake, the fight was his to win. It¡¯d be a slog, but he¡¯d wear the monster down with a thousand cuts and claim victory.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure he knew the risks of venturing out here on his own. I can try to cover him if he retreats, but it doesn¡¯t look like that¡¯s going to happen.¡±


    ¡°Jensen, you can¡¯t just abandon someone in danger out in the wilderness. That¡¯s not what a [Ranger] does.¡±


    ¡°What am I supposed to do then?¡± Jensen demanded. He raised his bow and fired another arrow, barely even making a token effort to aim as the wind swept it away. ¡°Should I run in there and jump around like a lunatic with him?¡±


    Sighing, Torwin lifted his own bow and pulled an arrow from his quiver. Unlike his apprentice, neither of his weapons were system-crafted. They were enchanted by a guild [Enchanter], and had cost him quite a pile of decarmas, but Jensen¡¯s own equipment was obviously superior. Both of them knew that.


    Torwin sighted down his target, read the ever-shifting wind in the elite monster¡¯s movements, and shifted his bow slightly off to the side. Wordlessly, he let the shaft fly loose. They watched together as it twisted, blown off a straight course by a stream of wind that sped up the monster¡¯s lunging strike, only to land directly in the squirrel-beast¡¯s eye.


    ¡°What the fu¡ª¡± Jensen sputtered.


    ¡°You could do the same,¡± Torwin told him.


    ¡°Sure, if I had your stats.¡±


    ¡°Stats are a tool. They¡¯re worthless if you don¡¯t learn how to use them properly. Look at that boy. Look at the way he moves. He''s not faster than that monster, not with its wind controlling skill slowing him down, but it hasn¡¯t hit him even once. Do you think that boy has my stats?¡±


    Jensen scowled down at his bow, then grit his teeth and lifted it back up. Another arrow formed, but he didn¡¯t get a chance to shoot it. The boy with the spear had taken advantage of the monster¡¯s injury, stepped into its blind spot, and leaped ten feet straight up to drive his spear through the bottom of its chin.


    Did the shaft just curve slightly to get around the monster¡¯s paw?


    However the boy had done it, he¡¯d dealt a lethal blow to the squirrel-beast. The wind abruptly cut out as the monster collapsed straight down, all but burying its killer beneath its bulk.


    [You have helped slay an elite dire clubtail flying squirrel (level 22).]


    Jensen sucked air in through his teeth and flinched at the sound of the impact as the corpse hit the ground. ¡°Oh, damn. That¡¯s it for him.¡±


    ¡°Come on, help me lift it off him. It might not be too late for a healing potion,¡± Torwin shouted as he rushed forward, only to skid to a halt thirty feet from the body. The boy stood up, unharmed but missing his spear, and dusted himself off. With a glance over in their direction, he snorted and ran for the trees.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Torwin called out to him, but the boy had already disappeared.

 Chapter 7

    The hunters just would not give up. For three hours now, Velik had been listening to them clomp through the forest, chasing after him despite his best efforts to shake them loose. At one point, he¡¯d thought he¡¯d lost one of them, only to discover that the older, stronger one had split up from his apprentice. Torwin, if he¡¯d heard correctly, could move through the forest without a whisper when he wasn¡¯t leading his bumbling apprentice around.


    That wasn¡¯t enough to catch Velik, of course. He¡¯d been hunting these woods for ten years, and Torwin had only been here for a few days. He didn¡¯t know the lay of the land like Velik did, even if he did an admirable job of avoiding the worst of the environmental hazards. Velik was almost positive that Torwin was responsible for killing most of the monsters the pair ran across, Jensen being barely able to keep up.


    An hour turned into four, and then into ten. At first, Velik was mildly amused that they thought they could run him down. Then he started to get annoyed. He¡¯d done nothing to deserve this, was in fact busy trying to keep the towns from being completely overrun by a surging monster population. The pair should be out hunting their own monsters instead of killing whatever wandered into their path while they chased after him!


    Despite the unwanted complication, he did manage to kill a few hundred monsters of his own. How are there so many? This is insane, even compared to just a few weeks ago. The bright side of things was that he was building up his decarma supply quickly. It wasn¡¯t enough to buy a new piece of gear, but he¡¯d be able to replace that healing potion by the end of the week at this rate.


    Something caught his attention at the edge of his range, just a flicker of movement or the soft, muffled scuff of a foot kicking some dried leaves. He wasn¡¯t sure what exactly it was, but he trusted [Predator¡¯s Visage]. It was his oldest skill, and in all the time he¡¯d had it, it had never lied to him. The hunters had caught up to him again while he¡¯d been busy with a small pack of worgs.


    Leave me alone! I didn¡¯t do anything to you.


    Scowling in disgust, Velik fled deeper into the woods, well outside his normal trails.


    * * *


    ¡°And he¡¯s gone again,¡± Jensen said, throwing his hands up in the air. ¡°How does he keep doing that?¡±


    ¡°He knows the forest better than us. It¡¯s his home.¡±


    ¡°Some jumped-up tree chopper with a spear is not better than two members of the Hunters Guild. It¡¯s got to be some kind of a trick.¡±


    The two of them stood on the trail, Jensen balanced on a pair of roots sticking out of the mud and Torwin on a stretch of ground that didn¡¯t look nearly dry enough to hold him, but his feet somehow didn¡¯t sink. Jensen had asked him three times this week how he did that, but the bastard refused to tell him what skill it was. He just kept spouting crap like, ¡°Your stats are your tools. You must learn to master them or they¡¯ll become a crutch.¡±


    It was infuriating. For months now, he¡¯d been following this old man, supposedly a gold-ranked hunter, holder of a rare class, on the promise that he¡¯d learn what he needed to know to evolve [Tracker] into [Ranger]. He¡¯d have been better off staying at home with yet another of his father¡¯s private tutors trying to teach him how to shoot a bow like he didn¡¯t already know. At least he¡¯d have good food and a comfortable bed to sleep in.


    ¡°It¡¯s getting late,¡± Torwin finally said.


    Brilliant deduction, you crackpot.


    ¡°Back to that¡­ uh¡­ ¡®inn,¡¯ then?¡± he asked, praying the answer was yes. A lumpy bed was better than no bed, and he¡¯d learned when they¡¯d first gotten here that this forest was a nightmare once the sun went down.


    ¡°You go,¡± Torwin said. ¡°I¡¯m not ready to let this go yet.¡±


    Jensen shook his head. Whatever. If he dies out here, I can go home. ¡°Good luck tracking that devil down, sir.¡±


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    ¡°Thanks, Jensen. You¡­ You did good keeping up today. I pushed you hard, but you never slowed down.¡±


    ¡°Got to get that class evolution somehow,¡± Jensen said. And thank Morgus this shirt is enchanted with [Endless Vitality]. Best twenty thousand decarmas I ever spent.


    ¡°Keep working at it. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get it soon. In the meantime, we¡¯ll get you up to level 20 and get that third skill slot opened up, huh?¡±


    ¡°Looking forward to it,¡± Jensen said. That, at least, was true. ¡°I¡¯ll see you back at the inn.¡±


    Torwin nodded, but he was already looking past Jensen out into the deep woods. You¡¯re insane, old man. This place would tear anyone apart. Good luck. Try not to get yourself killed chasing after that wild kid.


    * * *


    Jensen was a good kid, but he was too lazy to really push himself to the edge. That was why he was having so much trouble ranking up his skills. Even if that hadn¡¯t been the case, even if his class had been legendary rarity instead of merely uncommon, it wouldn¡¯t have changed the facts. Torwin wasn¡¯t going at even a third the speed he could on his own, and as much as this whole mission¡¯s purpose was to help Jensen get stronger, they did still need to complete it.


    And I need to know who this boy is. He¡¯s way too young to be the Black Fang, but who else could even be out here? Something¡¯s off about him, either way. [Identify] came back completely blank, and there¡¯s no way his mental stat is that high. Maybe he¡¯s got some sort of shrouding item.


    With Jensen sent back to town¡ªhopefully without any incidents, but the young [Tracker] knew the dangers of the region now and had proven he could handle them¡ªTorwin was free to finally stretch his legs. He didn¡¯t know these woods as well as the spear-wielder, but he was level 51 with a rare class. This chase was as good as over.


    At least, that was what he thought at first. Things started predictably enough. He picked up the trail, a feat that was surprisingly difficult, proving once again that whoever the boy was, his woodcraft was phenomenal. Torwin was willing to put money on it that there was a skill involved, probably one at a high rank.


    Still, he was making progress. It was only a matter of time until he caught the guy. No matter how many streams the boy crossed over, or where he took to the trees and jumped from branch to branch, Torwin always found signs of his passage. Of course, it helped that the hunter he was chasing was still going out of his way to kill monsters. Those were much easier to locate, and they were plentiful enough to keep Torwin going the right direction.


    This kid is a damn ghost, though. He can¡¯t have had that class for more than a few years ¨C three at most. There¡¯s no way he¡¯s older than twenty. The mayor said this monster density is a new thing, so there¡¯s no way he¡¯s been out here hunting long enough to have really packed on the levels. How is he doing this?


    While he ran, Torwin thought up and discarded various ideas. Nothing seemed to fit, mostly because of the boy¡¯s age. If he¡¯d been older, the obvious answer would have been that he was the Black Fang himself, but that was impossible. Besides, Torwin was well-versed in the capabilities of classes that focused on wilderness survival and hunting, and he was sure half the stories the locals told about their legendary protector were the byproducts of drunken bullshittery.


    Whoever and whatever the Black Fang really was, he wasn¡¯t some kid who could barely grow enough facial hair to pretend to have a mustache. But he might be the Black Fang¡¯s own apprentice. Morgus knows he¡¯s a far sight better than mine if that¡¯s the case. Maybe I could convince Mr. Fang to trade. Sure would be nice to have one that listens to direction and relies on himself instead of his dad¡¯s money.


    He was closing in on the kid. All signs pointed to that. The sun had just gone down, which Torwin expected to make things easier. He could see in the dark, but what were the chances that this kid had a similar skill? The loss of daylight would slow the spear-wielder down, and then Torwin would find him.


    Three hours later, he was forced to admit that he¡¯d severely underestimated his prey. Not only had he not caught up with the kid, but he was forced to admit that he¡¯d lost the trail completely. Not only that, but he was running low on arrows. He only used the best, but even those broke sometimes. The unrecoverable losses were adding up, and the few that were left rattled in his quiver with every step.


    ¡°Damn kid actually beat me. That¡¯s embarrassing,¡± Torwin said, but there was a smile on his face. ¡°Maybe I am getting too old for this game after all.¡±


    He looked through the shadows one last time, but it was clear to see. He¡¯d lost the trail. With a final salute to the darkness, he turned around and started the run back to the Raven¡¯s Nest.


    * * *


    Velik grunted in satisfaction. His wide loop had circled around to the east, and right before him were clear signs that his annoyingly stubborn pursuer had finally gotten the message. Hopefully, he¡¯d keep walking until he was back in Celarut or whatever town he was calling home.


    He¡¯d keep an eye out, just in case, but Velik was confident that he could finally get to work. Those monsters weren¡¯t going to kill themselves, and dodging the old hunter had taken up far too much of his effort tonight. Now that that was over, he could double back to where he¡¯d seen those fresh blur hawk droppings twenty minutes ago.


    With a smile on his face, he raced through the dark.

 Chapter 8

    There were only three people on the streets of Beldrit when Velik reached the edge of town. He usually avoided this place, but his unwelcome guest the night before had disrupted his whole schedule. Between that and his failed hunt, he was basically out of food and in a foul mood. The only close options to resupply were Beldrit and Deshir, and there was no way he was setting foot in Deshir.


    The sun had just crested the horizon half an hour ago, leaving Velik feeling weak again. He was looking forward to the errand being done as quickly as possible and getting back to his home. It would only be a few more days to level 29, and maybe a week or two to level 30 if the monsters kept arriving in greater numbers with higher levels. Maybe I¡¯ll go straight north this time. Seems like there¡¯s a lot of movement coming from that direction.


    He slipped past one of the men on the street, a lumberjack by the look of him, though not one Velik recognized. The man sneered at him through his beard, a reaction Velik was more than used to and barely even thought about anymore. As long as the axe hanging from the jack¡¯s hip stayed sheathed, he could sneer at whatever he wanted.


    ¡°You¡¯re not dead, yet?¡± the jack almost spat out. ¡°That¡¯s a shame.¡±


    Velik ignored him, having long since heard all the possible variations of this conversation. It was pointless to argue, only made things worse when he tried. A lot of people had decided he was the cause of all their problems, and that his death was the only thing that would stop the monsters from coming. For all Velik knew, they might be right.


    His path didn¡¯t take him past the other two people, thankfully. As inured as he¡¯d grown to the treatment, he certainly didn¡¯t enjoy it. There was a reason he didn¡¯t go to any of the towns unless he had to anymore, though it had been years since anyone had gone so far as to actually attack him. He¡¯d disabused them of that idea immediately and painfully.


    The ones who hated his guts were bad enough, but Velik understood how to deal with them. It was the other kind, the people who revered him, that creeped him out. He wasn¡¯t any sort of savior or hero. He just had a class well suited to hunting monsters out in the wilds, so he did. Unlike the people who thought he was some sort of fraud or con artist, he couldn¡¯t shut down adoration just by being intimidating.


    Oh, he was sure that beating someone with the shaft of his spear would work equally well, but it felt wrong to turn a weapon on them when they weren¡¯t offering him any harm. So, he did his best to ignore them while he was here and then disappeared back into the forest as soon as possible. Occasionally, someone tried to follow him, but once he was back in the trees, they had no chance.


    Although that hunter had come close. If he¡¯d sent his apprentice off an hour or two earlier, Velik probably wouldn¡¯t have gotten away clean. It was unsettling to see someone else moving through the woods the same way he did, at least during daylight hours, and he had an uncomfortable suspicion that he¡¯d be seeing the man again, probably sooner than he¡¯d like.


    Beldrit¡¯s general store was actually one of the better ones for two very simple reasons: it was near the edge of town and it opened early. If not for the fact that it was so close to Deshir, and thus constantly had people from that town there, it would have been Velik¡¯s preferred resupply stop.


    He slipped in through the front door, the little bell attached to the top ringing only because he deliberately shook the door to set it off. The owner, a portly man whose shirt strained to hold back his belly, was standing with his back to the door, a wooden crate balanced on one hip while he pulled little glass bottles out and placed them with deceptive care onto custom shelving racks designed to hold them.


    ¡°One second,¡± he called out without looking over his shoulder. ¡°Almost finished up here. Annnnnd¡­ done. There we go.¡±


    The box, now empty, hit the floor and its bearer spun in place. He froze for an almost imperceptible moment when he saw who was standing in his shop, but then unstuck and said, ¡°Ah, my most famous customer. I haven¡¯t seen you in so long. What do you need today?¡±


    ¡°Food,¡± Velik told him.


    ¡°Just food? Surely, you¡¯ve got some decarmas to spend. I just got in a whole stock of potions from an alchemy lab down south. Each one is guaranteed to be made by a level 30 or higher alchemist. I¡¯d wager a fit young lad you could really pull the maximum benefit out of each and every one.¡±


    Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°Just food,¡± Velik said firmly. ¡°Stuff that¡¯ll last a while, and a bag of salt if you¡¯ve got it.¡±


    His supply wasn¡¯t completely out, but preserving meat took a lot of it and he was already here anyway. It wasn¡¯t like salt itself would go bad if it took him more than a month or two to use it up.


    ¡°Nothing else? Rope, perhaps, or a new wineskin? Maybe a nice tunic?¡±


    ¡°No, thank you.¡±


    ¡°How about a brush for your current outfit? Something to clean the dirt and muck off it?¡± the shopkeeper pressed, giving Velik¡¯s pants a significant look. Unlike his self-cleaning boots, his left pant leg was caked in mud from ducking under a frenzied lunge from a worg a few hours earlier.


    ¡°Just food,¡± Velik repeated again.


    The routine went on for another five minutes while the shopkeeper filled a sack with dried meat, a few apples, a wedge of cheese, and a bag of nuts. ¡°I¡¯ve got some flatbread here. It¡¯ll go stale, but it¡¯ll still be edible. You want it?¡±


    ¡°No, this will be fine,¡± Velik said. ¡°How much?¡±


    ¡°Two vitrunes for the lot.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve only got decarmas.¡±


    ¡°Of course you do,¡± the shopkeeper said with a sigh. ¡°Look, Black Fang, we go through this every time. You come in here, spend a bit of money, and then try to pay with something way too big. And you don¡¯t want change. What am I supposed to do in this situation?¡±


    A bag of metal coins clinked. Velik had tried just accepting them, but he found the sound annoying at best, and potentially deadly if it gave away his position at worst. Even just carrying them for the trip into town necessitated that the trip be directly to town, which he didn¡¯t like doing. On the other hand, I have been trying to get [Stealth] to rank up. Maybe a handicap would help.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take change this time,¡± he said, his mind made up.


    ¡°You will? Oh, well, alright then. Let me just step into the back and get it out of the lockbox.¡±


    Velik materialized a single decarma, sometimes known as systilver due to its resemblance to real silver. It was impossibly clean and almost glowed in the light, two qualities that couldn¡¯t be copied by counterfeiters. Even if they could manage it, it wouldn¡¯t matter, since decarmas would be made to vanish or appear at will.


    The shopkeeper accepted it and it disappeared to become part of a number on his status screen. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back,¡± he said.


    Velik took his sack of food and glanced around the general store while he waited. Outside, Beldrit was starting to come to life. More people were on the streets, and there was even a wagon being pulled by what sounded like a pair of horses rolling on by. With any luck, Velik wouldn¡¯t have to deal with any of those people.


    The wagon came to a stop right in front of the general store. Damn. So much for that. Sometimes people, thinking him unarmed, got a little too bold for their own good. The shop didn¡¯t have a lot of open floor space, so if it came down to a fight, the place was liable to be trashed. Please let it be someone who doesn¡¯t hate me.


    The front door opened again, this time with the bell jingling loudly, and a tall man wearing clothes that were more patches and stitches than anything else stepped in. He blinked in surprise when he spotted Velik, but did nothing more than nod his head.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right out,¡± the shopkeeper called from the back room. The creak of a lid closing followed that declaration, and he appeared in the doorway. ¡°Ah, Fender. What can I do for you?¡±


    ¡°Boss needs another three kegs,¡± the big man said.


    ¡°Already? He¡¯s going through my entire winter stock and the snow¡¯s not even here yet.¡±


    ¡°Got some client who drinks like a fish.¡±


    The shopkeeper snorted. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to raise my rates.¡±


    ¡°My money,¡± Velik said, not wanting to spend any more time in Beldrit than he had to.


    ¡°Oh, yes. I¡¯m sorry. Here you are,¡± the shopkeeper said. He handed close to three dozen small silver coins, each about a third the size of a decarma and lacking its mystical glow, to Velik, who pocketed them and hefted the food sack. ¡°Pleasure doing business with you.¡±


    ¡°Have a good day, Mr. Black Fang,¡± Fender said.


    ¡°Er¡­ Yes. Thank you.¡±


    Velik walked out the door and paused to look around. Behind him, he heard Fender say, ¡°Don¡¯t see him too often. What¡¯d he want?¡±


    ¡°Just the usual. Food that¡¯d keep for a while and a bag of salt. Couldn¡¯t upsell him on a single thing.¡±


    ¡°What? Someone was able to resist your charms? No.¡±


    ¡°Hey, watch it or I¡¯ll be increasing the price on that beer.¡±


    ¡°Easy now,¡± Fender said. ¡°I was just joking.¡±


    A vestige of a smile crept onto Velik¡¯s face. This was a surprisingly good trip.


    ¡°Hey! You! What the fuck do you think you¡¯re doing here!¡± a voice bellowed from a block away.


    The smile vanished. He glanced over and saw a familiar figure rushing toward him. I guess I spoke too soon.

 Chapter 9

    Velik didn¡¯t know the man¡¯s name, but that wasn¡¯t unusual. He looked vaguely familiar ¨C tall, lean, and muscled, with dusty tan skin and thick black hair. He stank of horses and beer, which meant he was probably part of the group standing near a produce cart with a ragged old mare hooked up to it. That was the only horse on the street aside from the wagon parked right in front of the general store, and that horse smelled better than this man.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got a lot of nerve showing your face here,¡± the man snarled as he stomped down the street. ¡°This town¡¯s full of good, honest people, just trying to survive. They don¡¯t need your trouble coming down on their heads.¡±


    ¡°I was just leaving,¡± Velik said woodenly. And this is exactly why I don¡¯t like coming to the towns on the north end.


    ¡°You do that, but drop the bag. I don¡¯t know what you stole from poor Fergus, but you¡¯re not walking off with it.¡±


    ¡°I paid for this.¡±


    The man snorted. ¡°Not enough, considering what you owe all of us for what you did. Drop the bag and get out of here before I make you.¡±


    [Predator¡¯s Visage] worked on intuition more than raw numbers, so Velik didn¡¯t know exactly what level or class this guy was, but he knew he was in no danger. The guy was strong for a local farmer, but combat classes had a different feel to them, and he didn¡¯t have one. Velik wasn¡¯t in any sort of danger, and there was nothing stopping him from walking away.


    I don¡¯t have the time or the patience for this.


    The people who hated him wouldn¡¯t change their minds no matter what he did, so the only real risk was alienating the people who didn¡¯t think he was an evil monster-summoning scourge. He doubted any of them would blame him for not sticking around. So, Velik did the only sensible thing he could.


    He turned around and walked away.


    Either the man would sputter and bluster, or he¡¯d try to do something. As long as he kept his hands to himself, Velik would be happy to leave him be. He¡¯d long since learned to ignore the insults, and that beating on some random local accomplished nothing and caused more problems later. His reputation in Deshir was all the proof that he needed.


    ¡°Hey! I told you to leave the bag.¡±


    Velik ignored the man and kept walking, but he wasn¡¯t surprised to hear feet pounding against the ground behind him. A hand reached out to grab his shoulder, but the man¡¯s physical was either pathetically low or it all went toward increasing brute strength, because it was trivially easy to dodge his grab. Velik slipped to the side and angled his trailing foot to catch on his attacker¡¯s ankle, causing the man to cry out in surprise and a little pain as he went sprawling across the street.


    Velik didn¡¯t stop to check on him or see what he¡¯d do next. He just adjusted the sack of food over his shoulder and kept walking. His attacker scrambled to his feet, but before he could lunge at Velik again, Fender interfered. The wagoner caught his arm and said, ¡°What is wrong with you? You can¡¯t just attack someone in the streets just because you don¡¯t like them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not some random person!¡± the man hissed back. ¡°That¡¯s that Darshu damned monster magnet. We¡¯re never going to have a night¡¯s peace as long as he¡¯s lurking around here.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re lucky he didn¡¯t beat you to within an inch of your life,¡± Fender told him. He stopped and sniffed. ¡°Are¡­ Are you drunk?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not drunk! I had a drink.¡±


    Velik ignored the two of them and left town. [Predator¡¯s Visage] included his old [Sharp Hearing] skill, which wasn¡¯t something he could turn off, so he was forced to listen to the conversation, but it wasn¡¯t anything he hadn¡¯t heard many times before. They don¡¯t matter. All that matters is finding the source and fixing it. This time will be different. It has to be.


    He didn¡¯t know how many more times he could keep trying before he gave up completely.


    * * *


    Torwin wasn¡¯t sure what annoyed him more, the fact that he¡¯d slept until damn near noon, or that he¡¯d still beaten Jensen out of bed. He¡¯d pushed himself harder last night than any time he could remember in the last decade, which only made it all the more galling that he¡¯d failed to catch up to that strange hunter. He hadn¡¯t been able to get an [Identify] off, but he knew the boy couldn¡¯t be anywhere near his own level.


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    He''d snoozed through breakfast, but Induar was a saint disguised as an innkeeper. He¡¯d somehow predicted how things would play out when the old [Hunter] had walked in just before dawn and had a meal hot and waiting for him when he¡¯d shuffled down the stairs five hours later.


    ¡°Rough night, huh?¡± Induar asked, sliding a plate of the usual across the bar.


    ¡°Praise Morgus,¡± Torwin replied as he licked his lips. ¡°You are a miracle worker. And yeah, spent all night chasing after some teenager out in the woods. Somehow the little devil gave me the slip.¡±


    ¡°You must have had a chance encounter with the Black Fang.¡±


    ¡°I just said he was a teenager,¡± Torwin told him. He snatched up his fork and knife and eagerly started cutting into the slab of ham.


    ¡°Yep, that¡¯s the Black Fang.¡±


    How the ever-loving fuck does that work? I thought the guy had been active for years and years, Torwin thought to himself while he chewed. Can¡¯t these people even get their stories about their local heroes straight with each other?


    ¡°He can¡¯t be the Black Fang,¡± he said. ¡°The Black Fang has been active for years. That kid can¡¯t have gone through maturation and unlocked his class more than a year or two ago.¡±


    Induar nodded along. ¡°True, if he¡¯d gone through maturation.¡±


    Torwin¡¯s fork froze half way to his mouth. ¡°No. A class orb? Seriously? How old was he?¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t rightfully tell you. It happened up near Deshir. I guess he got it from some old dungeon ruins when he was a kid. The monsters started showing up in force the next day.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me this guy¡¯s been running around since he was, what¡­ eight years old? Ten, maybe? Just killing monsters out in the woods. I don¡¯t believe it.¡±


    The innkeeper shrugged. ¡°I wasn¡¯t there. When I moved to Celarut back in ¡¯77, there were already stories about him. He¡¯s been active at least for the last six years.¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡± Torwin went quiet as he shoveled in his meal and washed it down with a mug of beer. The odds of a little kid surviving a class orb are low enough already, but for him to then go off into the woods to live by himself and kill monsters on a daily basis¡­ Must have gotten one hell of a class.


    ¡°Why is he living out in the woods though?¡± Torwin asked. He knew that the Black Fang got a mixed reception wherever he went, but the kid was keeping the frontier towns safe, or safer, at least. Usually townsfolk appreciated someone killing off monsters.


    ¡°It¡¯s never been quite clear to me what actually caused all the monsters to start showing up, you know? But those folks up in Deshir have their mind made up. Far as they¡¯re concerned, the Black Fang is just trying, and failing, to clean up his own mess.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous. A class orb has nothing to do with monsters. But then again¡­ if he really did get it in an old dungeon¡­¡±


    ¡°Then he might have woken something else up when he was there,¡± Induar finished for him. ¡°Right, that¡¯s the thinking.¡±


    ¡°Seems easy enough to check. Just go to the dungeon and see.¡±


    ¡°And a bunch of folks did, or so I heard. They didn¡¯t find anything, but that didn¡¯t make the monsters disappear. I heard the Black Fang himself confirmed there was something else in there when he was just a boy, but I couldn¡¯t tell you what.¡±


    ¡°No one knows?¡± Torwin asked.


    The innkeeper shook his head. ¡°Nah. Too many people thinking they know is the problem. Seems like every time I hear this story, it¡¯s something new. I expect he probably did see something when he was a boy, and that got the rumors started. But then people started dying, and anyone who knew the truth back then isn¡¯t around now.¡±


    ¡°Maybe I should go take a look at this old dungeon myself,¡± Torwin said. ¡°If it is active again, that¡¯d certainly explain the monsters. The job said they just started showing up in numbers about two months ago, so maybe something changed.¡±


    ¡°I heard a group went there to check a week before they decided to post the job, and that they didn¡¯t find a thing,¡± Induar told him. ¡°But then, they¡¯re not gold-ranked monster hunters, so might be you could find a few clues they missed.¡±


    Their conversation was interrupted by a voice from the back room. ¡°Hey boss, I got the kegs from Fergus. You want me to leave any up here or put them all down in the cellar?¡±


    ¡°Excuse me,¡± Induar said. ¡°I¡¯ve got to go supervise this or it¡¯ll be a giant mess to work around.¡±


    The innkeeper disappeared into the back room, leaving Torwin to eat the rest of his meal. Definitely going to have to investigate this dungeon. There might not be anything there, and a trail that¡¯s been cold for years won¡¯t be easy to follow, but it¡¯s a possible lead. I¡¯ll need to get some supplies together, enough for two people for a week, at least. A map wouldn¡¯t hurt, if I can find one around¡ª


    ¡°You¡¯ll never guess who I saw at Fergus¡¯s place,¡± Fender said. ¡°Dang old Black Fang himself. Some drunk was trying to hassle him, but I stepped in there. Probably saved the idiot¡¯s life, attacking Black Fang like that.¡±


    Torwin practically shot out of his chair. Wait, what? Where was this at?

 Chapter 10

    It took an hour or so to get used to having loose coins in his pocket, but it was easy enough to alter his gait to keep them from rattling against each other with every step. That did cause a few other problems with how he distributes his weight on the ground that Velik had to correct, but he was confident in his ability to get it all worked out, at least while he was walking around. Maintaining any sort of [Stealth] in a fight was going to be a different matter, and that was a problem.


    While it was impossible for him to disappear completely against something that was actively trying to murder him, [Stealth] helped Velik keep monsters off-balance and vulnerable simply by making it more difficult for them to keep track of where he was. Most monsters he stalked and ambushed died in a single thrust, even the weaker elites, but against a pack or something that was legitimately strong like that massive flying squirrel, the coins were a liability.


    Admittedly, they wouldn¡¯t have made a difference in that particular fight. It was hard to avoid the notice of a creature that could feel everything around it through the very air it controlled. It hadn¡¯t used anything so mundane as its eyes or ears to keep track of Velik¡¯s position, but that didn¡¯t mean the next elite would have the same abilities.


    The fact that he¡¯d encountered two elites in the span of two days was worrying. That had never happened before. It used to be months between sightings, and even with the way things had gone crazy over the last half a year, it still took a few weeks for another elite to appear. Something had obviously changed, but Velik had no idea what.


    His original plan, to reach level 30 and unlock a new skill slot, wasn¡¯t going to work. The way things were going, he didn¡¯t have a month or more. By the time he was ready, there¡¯d be two or even three times as many monsters in the forest, enough that they¡¯d form a horde and start attacking the towns again. The simple truth of the matter was that he wasn¡¯t killing them faster than they appeared anymore.


    A new skill isn¡¯t that important. I¡¯ll make do.


    With his decision made, Velik gathered his supplies, including the annoying pocket full of loose vitrunes, and started making his way north into the true wild lands. The lumberjacks and farmers thought they were at the edge of the civilized world, that they sweated and worked to push that edge just a little bit farther with every tree they cut down and every row they added to their fields. They thought they fended off the monsters that lurked out beyond the light of their lanterns and their torches.


    They didn¡¯t know what they were talking about. The forests around towns like Deshir and Celarut were tame, practically idyllic. The monsters were weak, barely even above level 10 on a bad day, and Velik could travel for miles between encounters. Even now, as bad as things had gotten in the last few months, it was nothing compared to the deep wood.


    Nobody was out there, keeping the population down, pushing the monsters back. That was where they lived, where they fought and bled and killed ¨C where they gained levels and power. There was a reason Velik had been planning to reach the next plateau before he risked another expedition.


    The back-to-back elites were too much to ignore. He had to do something now before this whole situation got completely out of hand. The problem was that he wasn¡¯t sure he was strong enough. I¡¯ll just have to gain more levels on the way.


    He shouldered his backpack, sealed off his tiny underground home, and started walking.


    * * *


    A status window didn¡¯t display how close a person was to leveling up again, but everyone could feel it. Velik was close, closer than he¡¯d expected to be, anyway. Killing two elites had really pushed him closer to his goal, the second one more than the first. Most enemies didn¡¯t feel like they did much of anything, probably because they were so weak, but that titanic squirrel had been a different story. Three or four more elites like that would be enough, but hopefully, they¡¯d be easier to fight.


    With his remaining daylight hours, he charted a course straight north. He was still inside his normal patrol routes, where the enemies were weak and predictable, but the farther out he went, the less that was true. After killing a trio of level 17 mist toads, both of which were so overgrown and bloated that they could stare him in the eye, he decided to take it easy until it got dark enough for [Duskbound] to trigger.


    As soon as it was night, he was off again, this time easily slaughtering anything and everything he came across. Velik didn¡¯t let himself get distracted, though; he had a long way to go and he needed to find a place to hole up during the daylight hours. The monsters were already up into the high teens and low twenties for levels, but he didn¡¯t encounter any elites. As long as they didn¡¯t come at him in packs, he was fine.


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    If only it could be that easy, he thought to himself as he crouched on a tree branch thirty feet off the ground. Ten worgs, all of them over level 20, prowled through the brush, their noses to the ground as they hunted for his unfamiliar scent.


    One of them crossed directly under where he was crouched, and Velik saw an opportunity. With no other monsters within fifteen feet, he let himself fall, spear leading. The worg died in a single strike, prompting a system notification to confirm the kill.


    The remaining nine worgs noticed immediately, of course, and the closest two were already on their way in before Velik even ripped the spear free. He darted to one side, just in time to avoid snapping jaws coming at him with unnatural speed. This one¡¯s got some sort of movement skill.


    Mentally marking it to be wary of its next attack, Velik pivoted in place and dragged his spear across the next worg¡¯s flank. The shaft of the weapon shortened and the tip curved to give it more of a slicing edge, allowing Velik to easily cut deep enough that the worg¡¯s back leg practically fell off at the joint.


    Then the rest of them joined in, and Velik proved why it had been a wise decision to wait for nightfall. Everything was chaos for the next three minutes, with snapping teeth and scrabbling claws coming at him from every direction while he put every single point of his physical and mental stats to work keeping ahead of the worgs. Slowly at first, and then with increasing speed as he whittled their numbers down, Velik started landing hits.


    By the time the fourth worg was laying on the ground, its chest rapidly rising and falling as it wheezed out its last breaths, he was firmly in control of the fight. Soon after, the first of the worgs tried to slink off into the shadows, only to be pinned to a tree as Velik danced past two other monsters to run it through. No one gets away, he thought grimly.


    The remnants of the pack broke when he brought their numbers down to just three. Things got trickier then. Only the closest worg failed to break away, having instead received a spear blade across the throat for its efforts. The last two went in opposite directions, and they were fast. Velik chased after the one without the injuries if for no other reason than the other one was going to leave a blood trail for him to follow later.


    It barely took two minutes to run it down and behead the monster when it broke through the brush onto an open trail. He¡¯d beaten it there by about ten seconds and perfectly predicted where it would force its way through.


    [You have slain black hallowed worg (level 23).]


    One more. Now where are you?


    He wasn¡¯t worried. It wouldn¡¯t get far before he caught up with it. Unfortunately, the first worg¡¯s frantic flight had drawn some unwanted attention. Four different monsters were closing in on Velik¡¯s position, two from the south, one just a hundred feet away from the east that would get there first, and, unless he greatly missed his guess, some type of elite that had picked up the trail when he was still chasing the worg. It wasn¡¯t fast, but it was coming straight for them.


    The closest one burst out of the trees at a height of about nine feet. Velik had just enough time to pin it as some sort of rabbit, only fifty times bigger than normal, with jagged bone spikes poking out of its fur and eyes like two puddles of blood. Then all he saw was a mouth full of needle-like teeth coming directly at his face right up until he put his spear into it and slung the monster sideways. It slid off the blade and crashed into a tree before falling limply to the ground.


    [You have slain flash maw hare (level 19).]


    The two paired monsters appeared seconds later, a set of identical black bears, each about four feet tall at the shoulder and covered in armored plates instead of fur. One of them charged in, all aggression and flashing claws, while the other circled through the brush to come at Velik from behind. His spear skipped off the bear¡¯s plating, barely drawing a scratch across its surface, but he wasn¡¯t worried.


    There were plenty of gaps to exploit, and a series of quick stabs proved that he could still draw blood from them. The problem was that these particular monsters were going to take too long to kill, and the elite he could feel approaching was almost on them.


    The cracking of trees as they gave way filled the air. One right next to the trail splintered, then pitched over to crash against its neighbor, revealing something that slunk in, close to the ground on four legs and covered in shaggy brown and black fur. It had intelligent eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth that it bared at all three of them. Is that a monster version of a wolverine?!


    [Predator¡¯s Visage] was screaming at him to be careful, that this monster was stronger than it looked, and the sudden fear in the two armored bear¡¯s behavior confirmed that belief. It studied all three of them for just a moment, then leaped at the closer of the two bears. Rising up on its back legs, it lashed out with both claws, easily tearing through metal and ripping the monster¡¯s face off.


    [You have helped slay a steel pelt bear (level 22).]


    Oh¡­ Shit. It did that quick.


    The monster turned to face Velik.

 Chapter 11

    Monsters killed each other all the time. They had to in order to level up, just like people. As far as Velik was aware, they didn¡¯t have classes, so they couldn¡¯t earn levels from doing other things like cooking or carpentry like those who possessed a crafting class could. One monster attacking another wasn¡¯t much of a surprise, especially when they were two completely different types.


    That meant that the only thing Velik really needed to do in order to bring this fight down to a one-on-one was to get out of the new monster¡¯s way and let it go through the bear all on its own. That, he could do. It was a simple matter to leap straight up into the trees and let the two monsters fight. He¡¯d take on the winner, not that he had any doubt which one that would be.


    At least, that was the plan. What actually ended up happening was that the moment his feet left the ground, the wolverine jumped on him. Velik got his spear up between them, but the spear failed to pierce the monster¡¯s fur. The only reason it didn¡¯t snap was its [Shape Shifting] enchantment, which allowed for enough give that it bent instead.


    Velik was thrown backwards from the force of the impact, while the wolverine went slightly to the side. They landed at almost the exact same moment, mere inches apart. Snarling, it scrambled to its feet and raked its claws across Velik¡¯s leg. He flinched away and flung himself off the ground with one arm, but he wasn¡¯t fast enough to fully avoid being hit. His pants tore and blood splattered into the dirt, but the hooked claws failed to drag him in.


    He flipped back up to his feet, wincing as pain shot up his leg, but confident he could still fight. Fully focused on the wolverine, he didn¡¯t realize that the armored bear monster was right behind him now. It had charged forward in the last second, and Velik honestly wasn¡¯t sure if it was targeting him in particular or if he just had the bad luck to be closer. Either way, its jaw closed around his forearm and tried to drag him back to the ground.


    Velik didn¡¯t have 97 physical for nothing, though. The bear was strong, especially considering its size, but when he flexed his leg muscle, its teeth couldn¡¯t penetrate like the wolverine¡¯s claws had. A quick chop of his shortened spear on the bear¡¯s face was all it took to get it to release him, and just in time, too.


    Wolverines weren¡¯t noted for their calm, docile behavior, so it wasn¡¯t very surprising when it didn¡¯t stand still and wait. By the time Velik was free, it was already wading in to rip everything it could reach to shreds. Fortunately, this time it overcommitted to the attack and he was able to get out from between the two monsters.


    Another notification flashed across his vision, crediting him with an assist on the second steel pelt bear, not that he felt he¡¯d done much. If anything, the bear was helping him. He circled behind the wolverine while it savaged the bear¡¯s corpse, reshaped his spear¡¯s tip into what was basically a needle, then slammed it in with all the [Duskbound] strength he could muster.


    The good news was that it slipped through the wolverine¡¯s fur and sunk into its muscled back. The bad news was that, if anything, it grew even more frenzied. Armored flesh flew in every direction as it tore the bear apart, perhaps mistakenly believing the other monster was the cause of its pain. Does it even feel pain though?


    Velik pulled the spear back out and tried to line it up for a second strike, but [Spear Warden] failed him. He couldn¡¯t control the monster¡¯s movements because it didn¡¯t care about getting hit. Its fur was too tough for anything but a direct piercing strike to get through, and it was so enraged that lining up a clean shot was almost impossible.


    I might just have to run from this one. Maybe it¡¯ll stay here and eat its kills instead of chasing.


    That was a longshot. Monsters weren¡¯t known for ignoring people, especially not ones that were running, and Velik wasn¡¯t sure he was faster than this thing, even at night. He definitely didn¡¯t think he could face it during the day. [Predator¡¯s Visage] was sure of that. If he could run, he would. If it chased him, he¡¯d have to stand his ground and fight. Leaving the wolverine alive to see the next sunrise was a terrible idea.


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    He darted down the trail, but a second later, the wolverine took off after him. Hissing and spitting the whole time, its waddling gait would have almost been funny if not for the fact that it was covered in gore from the tip of its snout to the end of its tail. It was also freakishly fast when it wanted to be, and Velik immediately abandoned the idea of running. Forget worrying about fighting it after dawn. I don¡¯t think I could actually get ahead of it!


    There was nothing for it but to stand his ground and fight. The trail wasn¡¯t big enough for him to use his spear to its full effect, but it didn¡¯t matter. The wolverine wasn¡¯t afraid to take a few hits to get to him anyway, so he shortened the shaft by two feet so that he could swing it without worrying about it getting caught in the trees.


    Then it caught up and the fight was back on. Velik ducked when it leaped at his face. He skittered backwards when it tried to rip into his calves. He jumped nine feet straight into the air and hooked an arm around a low-hanging branch when it lunged at his groin, only to immediately drop back down and skewer it with his needle-tip spear.


    Pinning it to the ground would have required him to outmuscle the monster, something he couldn¡¯t do. It snarled and spit and thrashed its way free, ripping itself open in the process as he widened the blade of his spear slightly and gave it edges. By the time it managed to break free, blood was leaking freely from its belly and matting down its back fur.


    And it was still going strong, somehow. Is this thing actually moving faster now?! This has to be some sort of skill. There¡¯s no way¡ªoh shit!


    The berserk wolverine hurled itself through the air, all four legs pointed in Velik¡¯s direction and spread wide as if it were planning to catch him no matter which way he dodged. There was only one way he could go: straight down.


    Dropping to his belly, he rolled as the wolverine soared past him. It rebounded off a tree, losing none of its momentum in the process, and leaving Velik scrambling to get back upright before it pounced on him like the world¡¯s most deranged house cat finding a mouse in the larder. He could already imagine those hooked claws slicing into his flesh again.


    The dead bear saved him. He never would have gotten out of the way on his own, but the wolverine slipped on a strand of entrails in its frenzied rush to reach Velik. It wasn¡¯t much of a slip¡ªfour-legged animals generally had excellent balance no matter how low their stats were¡ªbut it gave Velik that fraction of a second he needed to regain his feet and get his spear up.


    The next fifteen minutes of his life were among the worst he could remember. There¡¯d been hard fights in the past, especially when he was still a kid, wielding nothing but a slightly-crooked tree branch with an end he¡¯d sharpened using a pocket knife he¡¯d stolen before he¡¯d been kicked out of town. But this was something else. The wolverine was almost impossible to even hurt, and it didn¡¯t seem to care when it did take a hit. It just kept coming, no matter what.


    Considering its relatively small stature, Velik would have expected it to bleed out by now. Morgus knew he was feeling dizzy enough from his own blood loss, and he¡¯d only taken a half dozen hits compared to the fifty or more the wolverine was suffering from. Its whole body was a matted black mess of monster-blood-soaked fur.


    It kept going full tilt right up until the end, when it died mid-air while flinging its whole body at Velik¡¯s face. He saw the instant the life went out of its eyes, with its face still locked into a snarl and its body coming straight at him. He dropped to a knee and let the wolverine¡¯s body fly over his head.


    [You have slain a gloan wolverine (level 26).]


    [Spear Warden has advanced to rank 5.]


    Velik¡¯s very first action was to reach into his waist pack for a healing potion. Thankfully, system glass was near-indestructible, and the vial was intact. He tilted it back and swallowed the whole thing in one go, then sighed in relief as it went to work.


    And it wasn¡¯t even an elite! he thought as he eyed the system notification. Why was it so damn strong? Maybe I was right to think I wasn¡¯t ready for this yet. This is only the first day and I¡­ well, I don¡¯t want to say it nearly killed me, but it came a lot closer than anything else has in years. Two monsters like that could do it, especially during the day.


    But all the reasons he¡¯d had for venturing into the deep wood were still valid. He needed to figure out what had caused the sudden spike in monsters, and that wasn¡¯t going to happen if he just stuck to his normal stretch of forest and killed monsters as they appeared. With an unhappy sigh, he started walking farther north. He had a worg to hunt down, and several more hours of darkness before he needed to find a place to sleep.

 Chapter 12

    [Stealth has advanced to rank 7.]


    Guess the coins did the trick, after all. Or maybe it was just what I was up against.


    Velik no longer tried to kill every monster he could find. There were too many for that, and they were doing a fine job of attacking each other. Joining in would completely stall out his progress, so he¡¯d opted to put his skills to use and threaded a way through instead. It didn¡¯t always work, but he¡¯d avoided more fights than not.


    By his reckoning, he was about fifty miles northwest of Deshir, well into the deep wood where even normal animals were strong enough to threaten someone with a combat class. The monsters were all in the mid-twenties level bracket, with some of the standouts reaching low thirties. Thankfully, he¡¯d managed to avoid the one elite he¡¯d spotted, that being some sort of massive fifty-foot-long snake at a staggering level 38.


    It was a sobering reminder of his own weakness. Killing monsters fifteen levels below him was easy. Punching up even five levels was not. He could do it, especially if there was only one monster, but they were fights, not clean ambushes like he was used to. [Predator¡¯s Visage] gave him a bonus to damage when he struck from hiding, and he¡¯d underestimated how important that was against opponents with high enough physical to stop his normal attacks from piercing their skin.


    The silver lining was that he¡¯d seen absolutely nothing like that wolverine from the first night in the last two days. Even enemies up to level 35 were easier to kill than that thing, as long as they were alone. Velik hadn¡¯t risked pressing his luck with any pack monsters.


    It hadn¡¯t been like this a few years ago when he¡¯d tried to explore the deep wood. Everything back then had been at least ten levels lower and it had taken half the time to get this far. Now, he wasn¡¯t even sure it was going to get as far as he¡¯d gone before, let alone see anything new. He¡¯d brought enough food for a week, maybe ten days if he rationed things, and then he¡¯d be foraging to survive. Considering how dense the monster population was here, that was probably a losing proposition.


    The way he saw it, he really only had two options. He could stay in the deep wood and hunt monsters closer to his own level to increase his strength, or he could retreat back to the frontier where he could cull the population to keep the towns safe. The problem with the first idea was that it left the towns unprotected¡ªthe local watch could barely handle level 10 or 15 normal monsters, let alone elites¡ªand would most likely result in them being overrun. But his backup idea was nothing more than a stall for time.


    Or I could just find the source, destroy it, and solve this problem once and for all.


    [Stealth] might be enough to get him there, if the monsters didn¡¯t get any stronger. But he didn¡¯t have an answer after that. He had only a vague idea of what the source even was, and no clue if he could actually destroy it. Figuring that out was half the point of this expedition; finding it in the first place was the other half.


    He knew he could find it if he just got close enough, but the untamed wilderness was huge beyond imagining. The best Velik could do was keep following the now years-old trail from the dungeon and hope he was searching in the right direction. That would have to be enough, for as long as he could keep going.


    * * *


    ¡°Is this the right place?¡± Jensen asked. ¡°All these towns look the exact same.¡±


    They stood on the road, a quarter mile south of town and surrounded by fields. The houses were all built in typical frontier style, with a lot of wood, narrow windows, and rough stone paths. They had sharply pitched roofs covered in wooden shingles, unfinished floors with a number of gaps in them that let the chill of the earth up into the rooms, and doors made of wooden planks nailed together instead of being one solid piece.


    Torwin honestly couldn¡¯t tell if his apprentice couldn¡¯t spot the little differences or if he was just whining. Either way, it was a bad sign. ¡°Jensen,¡± he said with a heavy sigh, ¡°some days I can¡¯t tell if you¡¯re serious about all of this or just wasting everybody¡¯s time.¡±


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    ¡°What? Of course I want my class evolution.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I believe you want it. I just can¡¯t tell if you want it enough to put in the work that comes with it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here, aren¡¯t I? I¡¯ve been going out killing dozens of monsters every day, haven¡¯t I? What more do you want from me?¡±


    ¡°You do it, but it¡¯s always begrudgingly,¡± Torwin explained. ¡°It seems like you want the prestige of a rare class without the actual job itself. Sometimes I wonder if this is just something your father pushed you into.¡±


    Jensen snorted. ¡°My father wanted me to take a merchant class. He was quite cross with my decision to take [Tracker].¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯d you take it then?¡±


    ¡°I loved exploring the manor grounds when I was a kid,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯d find little corners tucked away in the gardens, or behind the stables, places where no one else went, where no one else could find me. I always wanted to go out into the rest of the world and find bigger versions of those places.¡±


    Torwin listened intently. He¡¯d never gotten much from his student on his history and had relied on a lot of rumors and hear-say to try to fill in the gaps. ¡°That sounds like you should be aiming for something like [Explorer] or [Traveler] then. [Ranger] has a lot of elements of protecting others in it.¡±


    Jensen looked down at his bow for a moment and shrugged. ¡°The Hunters Guild can help me reach my goals, and there¡¯s nothing wrong with having a great amount of personal power to ensure my freedom to do what I want, my father¡¯s wishes be damned.¡±


    It sounded like [Ranger] was a compromise to Jensen, a balance between what he wanted to do and the prestige of a rare class and a high rank with an esteemed guild. It would reflect well on the Alderworth house to have a powerful scion, and it would give Jensen himself a measure of authority to ensure he was more than a pawn to his family¡¯s political maneuverings.


    Still, I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll ever get the class evolution. His heart¡¯s not in it. He doesn¡¯t want to be a [Ranger]. He just wants the power to be free. Even that¡¯s tempered by the fact that he¡¯s kind of lazy. I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll ever make it to a high level in any class, let alone achieve a rare evolution.


    For all that, Torwin finally felt like he understood his student a bit better, and the truth was that he should have pushed for this talk a long time ago. He¡¯d been tiptoeing around it because he was wary of the politics surrounding Jensen¡¯s appointment as his apprentice, but that wasn¡¯t doing the boy any favors.


    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s time for some hard truths then,¡± Torwin decided. He was done handling this sham of an apprenticeship with kid gloves. ¡°I don¡¯t think [Ranger] is the right class evolution for you, but if you¡¯re determined to shoot for it, then some things are going to have to change. You show me you¡¯re serious about this, and I¡¯ll give you everything I¡¯ve got to help get you there. Deal?¡±


    ¡°What¡­ kind of things?¡± Jensen asked warily.


    Oh, kid, that was the wrong answer. You¡¯re supposed to want it so bad that the costs don¡¯t matter. Maybe your father was right about something like [Trader] or [Caravan Master] fitting you better. Actually, now that I think about it, that would be the perfect compromise class if it wasn¡¯t uncommon rarity.


    Despite his reservations, Torwin bulled ahead. ¡°Your discipline is lacking. No more sleeping in every day. You need to learn to cook your own food, and to make do with what you can forage. All that gear is helping you kill monsters, but it¡¯s doing all the heavy lifting. You need to either find stronger monsters to kill to offset it, or you need to take it off.¡±


    ¡°My gear?¡± Jensen repeated. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be dangerous to fight without it?¡±


    ¡°[Ranger] is a dangerous job,¡± Torwin said simply. He glanced at the town again. ¡°Come on, we can talk while we walk. I have a lot of questions for the people of Deshir and I suspect getting answers isn¡¯t going to be easy.¡±


    ¡°About this supposed Black Fang guy?¡± Jensen asked. ¡°What¡¯s left to learn? We heard the stories back in Celarut, and we¡¯ve seen him fight in action.¡±


    ¡°I want to know how he got his class. Hell, I want to know what his class is. I couldn¡¯t get an [Identify] off on him when we saw him, and he gave me the slip when I tried to chase him down. Why do they even call him Black Fang? Nobody seems to know.¡±


    ¡°And you think all the answers are here,¡± Jensen said, looking doubtfully at the town.


    ¡°I do.¡±


    Jensen¡¯s mouth firmed into a line and he nodded. ¡°Alright then. You¡¯re the master. Where do we start?¡±


    Attaboy. Maybe there¡¯s hope for you yet.

 Chapter 13

    Five nights into his expedition into the deep wood, Velik decided it was time to turn back. He¡¯d passed by the old dungeon without setting foot into it three days ago, killed so many monsters that he was sure he¡¯d reach level 29 before the sun rose again, and accomplished precisely nothing of his real goal beyond exploring a few more square miles of the deep wood.


    More levels, he decided. Even if he couldn¡¯t find the source, he could still go on a killing spree, thinning out the thousands and thousands of monsters here and maybe gain more than just one level. It was dangerous, but that was nothing new. Besides, it was refreshing to fight enemies that he couldn¡¯t effortlessly cut down for a change. It forced him to come up with new tactics instead of relying on his stagnating skills.


    [Predator¡¯s Visage] gained another rank on the fourth day, and [Stealth] did the same six hours later when he accidentally wandered into the hunting territory of something too big to properly fit between trees but more than strong enough to push its way through anyway. Velik hadn¡¯t seen much of it beyond that it was bipedal and had arms thicker around than his chest. It was brown and green and hunted by smell, which made hiding from it a non-starter.


    His decarma counter also rolled over to three thousand before he decided to turn back. Surprisingly, level 30 seemed to be some sort of threshold. The system almost always awarded him a decarma for each kill, and sometimes two. Once, when he killed a level 34 stone skewer boar, he got three.


    What he didn¡¯t get was the skill merger he was hoping for. [Stealth] was getting stronger, but it wasn¡¯t folding into [Predator¡¯s Visage], and he thought he knew why. He was using it to avoid fights instead of to hunt. That idea was part of what motivated him to give up on pushing deeper into the wilderness. The low food reserves certainly also contributed to that, as well.


    Truthfully, Velik wouldn¡¯t have even pushed things this far if not for the fact that he knew those two hunters were hanging around, killing monsters near the towns. For the first time in years, he felt like he could step away without a horde overwhelming a town and killing everyone, and he was determined to take advantage of that while he could. There was no telling how long the hunters would hang around before they got whatever it was they wanted and left.


    So, he made himself a secure day to sleep in during the day where the monsters didn¡¯t get up past level 25 or so, where he could pick off targets as long as he was cautious about it. At night, when [Duskbound] activated, he went farther north and started tearing through the monsters there instead.


    Level 29 came on the sixth day, and with it another four points of physical and one of mental. His skills still refused to merge, but he could feel he was getting closer. He spent the night roaming the deep wood, killing various monsters as long as they didn¡¯t live and travel in large groups, and even got an elite owl that almost managed to pick him out of a tree when it swooped down on him from behind.


    The thing didn¡¯t have the physical to stand up to his spear, though, and once its ambush failed, he quickly grounded it with a stab through its shoulder, then finished it off easily. The system awarded him five decarmas for the kill, a new personal record for Velik.


    Things were going well ¨C so well, in fact, that Velik was starting to get a bit paranoid. Something had to go wrong, and the longer it took to happen, the bigger he expected it to be. It wasn¡¯t a rational fear, but he couldn¡¯t dismiss it. He was in the deep wood. Disaster was to be expected. It was just a matter of seeing it coming from far enough away to survive.


    * * *


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    ¡°I¡­ do not know what I¡¯m looking at,¡± he admitted to himself on the afternoon of his ninth day. The food he¡¯d brought with him was almost completely gone and he¡¯d taken to supplementing what little remained with foraged berries, tubers, and, once, a regular non-monstrous pheasant he took down by throwing his spear¡ªshaped like a javelin¡ªand skewering it mid-flight. That he¡¯d cooked in a fire he¡¯d lit in a hole in the ground to block the light. The smell alone had been enough to draw no less than six different monsters in over the course of an hour, and he was quick to abandon the temporary camp as soon as he¡¯d finished eating.


    Now, he was staring at an open field, or rather a hole in the deep wood made from a fire that had presumably burned out of control and cleared out an acre of trees. The strange thing was that there were no signs of fire damage on the edge of the field, meaning it hadn¡¯t happened this season, but the ground was completely black and barren.


    At casual glance, this fire had just burned itself out in the last few days, but nothing supported that idea beyond the field itself. He was hesitant to step out past the trees, just in case whatever had done this was still lurking around, but the truth was that this was the first unusual thing he¡¯d found. It might just be a clue as to where to find the source. For all Velik knew, it might very well be the source. He doubted it, but he couldn¡¯t just walk away without investigating.


    The ground was charred and crunched under his feet, despite his [Stealth] trying to muffle the sound. Velik took a few steps in and crouched low, his spear in his hands and his eyes darting around. It was barely an hour past dusk, with a fresh moon risen overhead. Nothing was going to sneak up on him, not even another of those owls.


    When no monster appeared to challenge him, he took a few more cautious steps forward. After repeating that cycle another three times, he straightened with a frown and prodded the cracked earth with his spear. What is this place? Is it really just some spot that lightning struck and burnt out? It can¡¯t be with those clean edges, can it?


    He was a hundred feet in when the trap sprang. A wall of fire flared up in a ring all the way around the field, easily ten feet tall and rising with each passing second. By the time Velik had spun in place to make his way back, it had risen to twenty. There was no way he was getting through without getting burned, but he was prepared to accept the punishment and use a healing potion if that was what it took to escape the trap.


    Except the fire was getting thicker. It started as a wall perhaps a foot across, but he could see it rolling forward to two feet, then three. By the time he reached the flames, it was thirty feet high and he guessed at least ten feet wide. More than that, the heat rolling off it was so intense that he couldn¡¯t even get close.


    Passing through that wall was likely to kill him before he even reached the edge, and even if it didn¡¯t, a healing potion was not going to fix injuries that bad. The monsters would get him before the next dawn. He needed a different option.


    Velik backpedaled, then spun on his heel when a loud crack split the air. There, in the very center of the field, the ground had split open, and something red and black was climbing out of it. Its torso looked like it was made of black glass with fire swirling around behind it, and its limbs were charred earth with brilliant red veins cutting through the dirt.


    It pulled itself upright to an impressive twelve feet in height, vaguely humanoid in that it had a trunk, two legs, and two arms, but that was where the similarity ended. Its limbs didn¡¯t seem to have any joints, being more like tentacles than anything else. It had no head, though Velik got the brief impression of a wickedly laughing face in its chest fire before the visage disappeared.


    Fully clear of the fissure, the monster took a single step forward. The ground closed up behind it, leaving Velik in an arena of scorched earth, surrounded by a wall of incinerating flames, and facing a monster twice his height made of earth and scorched fury. [Predator¡¯s Visage] screamed in the back of his head that he was overmatched, that he had no chance at winning this fight.


    To make matters worse, the system gave him a new notification, one he¡¯d never seen personally, but which he was very much aware existed. Everyone knew about this message, even if only the most powerful monster hunters ever encountered it.


    [You have entered the domain of a champion elite: Balzarith the Living Inferno.]


    Yep, I¡¯d say I¡¯m just about fucked all the way around. Probably only got one shot at winning this one, he thought to himself, his hand straying to his hip pouch.

 Chapter 14

    Some hunters had a sort of psychological block, where they were afraid to use a powerful and irreplicable potion because there might be a better opportunity to use it later. Velik could understand that, up to a point. He certainly wasn¡¯t going to use his trump card on the first tough fight he found himself in.


    That having been said, it was a champion elite. If ever there was a time to pull out all the stops, this was that time. There were three potions in the pouch. Two were for healing, rated to restore life-threatening injuries immediately and patch him up to the point where he could function over the next few minutes. The third was something else.


    It was a dark golden color and thin like water, except it didn¡¯t move at all when he held the potion up. It wasn¡¯t until he flicked the cork off with his thumb and tilted it back that the liquid all rushed out at once, like it had taken until just that exact moment to become unstuck in time.


    There was just a bit under two hundred feet from wall to wall, and the champion elite had appeared right in the center. That left maybe seventy or eighty feet between him and Balzarith, a trivial amount of space that he was sure either of them could cross in less than a second. It even lurched forward, no doubt starting its run with whatever strange form of movement its tentacle-like limbs used.


    The golden liquid touched his tongue, and the world seemed to freeze. Velik swallowed, fully imbibing the potion, and then turned his head to watch the suddenly ponderous monster surge forward, its body undulating strangely to push against the ground. He could see the tentacles flexing in slow-motion, and easily tracked the movements.


    Completely worth five thousand decarmas, he thought with a wolfish grin.


    Then he leveled his spear and charged, his own body moving at its normal speed. To his eyes, Balzarith just stood there, waiting to take a spear to the chest. Or is it the face? Eh, who cares. I¡¯ve only got thirty seconds to demolish this thing if I want to survive.


    The potion didn¡¯t increase his strength, only his speed and perception. Fortunately, Velik had spent the last week figuring out how to punch through the armored fur and skin of all sorts of monsters, and while he hadn¡¯t encountered one made of living dirt and fire before, he was confident he could crack its shell, too. That glass looked fragile, but he was betting it was the strongest part of the champion¡¯s body.


    They impacted, spear to chest, and that was the moment Velik learned that Balzarith wasn¡¯t just big, it was heavy. Its chest repelled the spear, sending it skittering off to the side as Velik arrested his momentum on his leading foot. A spiderweb of thin cracks appeared, giving him some hope that he could break through with enough effort, but that assumed he had enough time.


    Let¡¯s see how well those limbs do.


    He widened the tip of his spear into a flat, double-edged blade and slashed downward, hacking deep into the monster¡¯s right hip where glass transitioned to red-veined dirt. The spear sunk in half way, but the veins didn¡¯t cut with the dirt. Instead, they stretched until they were pulled taut, or until there were just too many for him to push through. Either way, he failed to cut them, which meant that dismembering Balzarith probably wasn¡¯t on the table.


    That didn¡¯t mean he hadn¡¯t hurt the monster, and he was quick to spin his spear around to cut more mass off from the leg. Dirt might not be muscle, but it was obviously performing a similar role. If Balzarith couldn¡¯t support its own weight once Velik finished carving up its legs, it would be easy to finish the monster off even after the potion ran out.


    Just to be safe, though, I should probably take out the arms, too. Don¡¯t want it pulling any tricks on me.


    He raced around the champion elite, circling it over and over as his spear flashed through the air. Hundreds of pounds of blackened dirt fell from the monster¡¯s body, and without that filler material reinforcing it, the network of red, stringy veins couldn¡¯t keep it upright. It didn¡¯t just stand there and take it, of course, but with Balzarith moving in slow motion, it was trivial to avoid its attacks.


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    Thirty seconds wasn¡¯t a long time, certainly not long enough to win a fight against a champion, but Velik could¡ªand did¡ªdo his best to stack the odds in his favor. He crippled the monster, then resumed hammering on its glass chest. He wasn¡¯t sure exactly what would happen to the fire inside, but he was betting it wouldn¡¯t be good for Balzarith when it spilled out.


    Then the world snapped back to normal, sending a wave of vertigo through Velik. Worse, the monster¡¯s movements were no longer laughably slow. Even wounded, its arm lashed out like a whip, catching Velik across the chest and picking him up off his feet. He landed fifteen feet away, shook off the accompanying dizziness, and rushed back in.


    Now that he was moving in real time again, he could see something he hadn¡¯t really noticed before: Balzarith was healing. Scorched earth climbed up its leg, packing itself in between the red veins and building on what was left between them. It wasn¡¯t an instantaneous process, but it did put some pressure on Velik to end the fight before the monster got back up to full strength.


    Doesn¡¯t seem to feel pain. Can¡¯t permanently destroy a limb or cut through the veins. I managed to slow it down, but I need to break that glass. Hopefully that ends the fight, otherwise I¡¯m screwed.


    He slipped under its lashing tentacle arm and dragged his spear across the glass core, chipping it slightly at impact but otherwise doing nothing but scratching the surface. The good news was that, unlike the limbs that were pulling in new earth to replace what he¡¯d carved out, the torso didn¡¯t seem to be healing itself.


    But he was worried about just how little damage his attacks were doing. The only openings he could see were where the four limbs attached to the center, but those were just seams that were flooded with that red, squishy vein substance. He¡¯d already proven he couldn¡¯t cut through them individually or in bulk, so that didn¡¯t seem like a viable point of attack.


    He backed off when Balzarith started kicking at him, apparently having given up the idea of regaining its feet. Its limbs were spindly, barely more than the vein net with almost no mass held inside it, but the monster was still fast enough to make those whip-thin attacks draw blood if Velik wasn¡¯t careful.


    He kept his distance, deflecting the flailing tentacles with his spear while he tried to figure out what to do. Some sort of long hammer was probably the ideal weapon, but the [Shape Shifting] enchantment couldn¡¯t alter his spear¡¯s shape that far from baseline. He could make the spearhead wider or flatter, pointed or broad, everything from a needle tip to something resembling a thin shovel, but he couldn¡¯t turn it into a solid block of metal.


    Again and again, his eyes were drawn back to the seam. It was less than a quarter inch wide and completely filled with gummy red veins. They were elastic, and he could pull on them, but he couldn¡¯t cut through them. He¡¯d proven that with every strike against its tentacle limbs. If I can¡¯t cut, but I can push them aside, could a long enough and thin enough spear head slip between them?


    It was worth a shot. He shaped his spear to have a two-foot tip that tapered down to a point, then selected Balzarith¡¯s left arm as his test target. It was in the worst shape and also the easiest to access. That didn¡¯t mean there were no problems, as all four limbs could easily attack him at once, regardless of where they were anchored to the core, but Velik was at the height of his strength and agility.


    He twisted, dodged, blocked, and otherwise slipped past the attacking limbs, lined his spear up, and jabbed it straight into the seam. To his delight, his hunch was absolutely correct, and the blade sank a full foot into the champion elite¡¯s glass chest, skewering the living fire trapped inside. Nothing he¡¯d done before had gotten a reaction, but that face appeared again, this time screaming in pain.


    I¡¯ve got you now.


    The fight had taken about two minutes of total time for Velik to figure out Balzarith¡¯s weakness, and he was honestly kicking himself for wasting the haste potion earlier. Then again, crippling the monster¡¯s limbs had made it far easier to handle once he was back to moving at normal speeds, so it wasn¡¯t like he¡¯d accomplished nothing.


    With his spear embedded deep in the monster¡¯s main body, Velik heaved upward, holding the creature overhead for just an instant, then brought it down to slam its body against the ground. Clumps of blackened dirt went flying everywhere, and more cracks spread through Balzarith¡¯s glass chest.


    Velik brought it up again, then slammed it back down. Wisps of fire started leaking out as the cracks went all the way through the glass this time. A third attack was all it took for the chest to fracture completely, and the monster split into pieces as its shell shattered.


    Flames roared out in every direction, forcing Velik to leap back a full twenty feet just to avoid getting burnt. Then they started to pull themselves back into the center, and Balzarith rose back up off the ground. It had no discernable shape, but that laughing face mocked him as it surged forward, a wave of living fire intent on engulfing Velik.

 Chapter 15

    Of course it¡¯s not over. This thing is a champion. Why would it be so easy that I could solo kill it in a few minutes?


    Velik had no idea how agile a living wave of fire was, but he didn¡¯t have a lot of room to run away, so he tried a different strategy instead. He charged at it, spear leveled and leading the way. Then, with only a few feet between them, he planted the weapon hard in the ground and vaulted straight up. A twist of his midsection reoriented him to get his feet facing the ground again, and he saw what looked like phantom arms made of fire reaching out of the top of the wave.


    They weren¡¯t fast enough to extend to his height in time, and he passed cleanly by them. As he flew overhead, he swiped his spear through one of the hands at the end, just to see if he could actually hurt Balzarith. The fiery hand parted from the arm and disappeared in a flash of light, which proved the weapon did¡­ something. Whether or not that actually hurt the living inferno was still open to debate.


    Velik hit the ground hard and rolled twice before coming to his feet. Some part of [Predator¡¯s Visage] warned him of an incoming attack, maybe the crackling sound of approaching flames or the smell of scorched dirt, though both those things were all around him. Whatever it was, he trusted the skill.


    He threw himself forward in a spin, his feet leaving the ground so that his whole body could twist and his spear could slash through whatever was behind him. A huge, fiery hand, each finger over two feet long, had been just about to close around his head. The entire mass of flame surged behind it, no more than fifteen feet, and his spear did nothing to slow it down. It did shear off three of the massive fingers, all of which met the same fate as that first, smaller hand he¡¯d cut.


    Is this how I hurt this thing ¨C just cut it away, one sliver at a time? That seems too simple for a champion elite.


    Even if he was right, there was no telling how long it would take to carve enough fire off the main body. It was getting hotter in the field with each passing second, and he was pretty sure the twenty-foot-tall wall that kept him trapped was actually tightening around him. One way or another, Velik was going to cook if he didn¡¯t end the battle in the next few minutes.


    The only good thing about his enemy¡¯s new form was that, while it was just as fast as the original one, it was considerably easier to cut through. He could whip his spear through a dozen of those reaching hands in a second, dispersing them all while he backpedaled away from the main body. The problem was that it didn¡¯t seem to slow Balzarith down at all. He¡¯d stabbed that flame when it was still in its glass box and had seen its flickering countenance grimace in pain, but this fire now was something else.


    That probably means there¡¯s a central core I need to find inside the inferno, maybe linked to those strands of red tissue. Wait¡­ Where are those now? Are they hidden in the fire?


    Someone with a low mental stat would have lacked the capability to discern that kind of detail in the inferno, but now that Velik had thought to look for them, it was easy enough to pick them out. They were deep in the fire, well past the reach of his spear, but now they were packed into a sphere that looked like nothing so much as a ball of raw muscle fiber.


    He hadn¡¯t been able to cut through them before. Now might not be any different. If those were protecting the monster¡¯s core¡ªand he didn¡¯t see any good reason to assume they weren¡¯t¡ªhe was in trouble.


    Okay, just think it through. You know how to get maximum penetrating power out of a strike, and you know that these things can be bypassed with a thin enough tip. How do you set yourself up to win?


    It was hard to think while he frantically avoided flailing whips of flame that grew hands as they lashed at him. In a footrace, he thought he probably had the advantage of speed, but in an arena only two hundred feet wide, it was more about how well he could dodge. And an opponent that didn¡¯t need to do things like turn around to face him had an advantage when it came to this game.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Balzarith didn¡¯t seem to be getting tired, either. Or, if it was, Velik had no way to tell. Maybe the flames were a bit smaller from all the limbs he¡¯d lopped off. Maybe not. Either way, he wasn¡¯t going to win by just defending. He was going to have to brave the heat and land a definitive strike on the champion¡¯s core.


    Well, no time like the present.


    Amateurs thought the heaviest hits came from above, when gravity and weight could help them. That was a strategy for people with a low physical stat. Gravity had nothing on Velik¡¯s muscles. He could drive his spear harder and faster on his own than with a helping hand from physics, so that was what he did.


    First, he needed an opening. There was no way he could cut through a dozen feet of living fire to strike at Balzarith¡¯s core directly, but he could give himself enough of an opening to maybe not completely walk into the flames. His spear came up overhead, then he turned it sideways and brought it down like a fan, the blade as wide and flat as he could make it. Wind rushed between the spear and the fire like a titan¡¯s breath, beating it back temporarily.


    Velik lunged forward off his right foot, the spear already reforming its head into its long, needle-thin configuration. Three steps was all it took before he was surrounded by flames. Anything that wasn¡¯t magical or thick leather started smoldering, and already he could feel the intense heat working to scorch his flesh through his high physical.


    Two more steps brought him directly into the fire, and his world turned to pain. Velik ignored it, planted himself, and heaved the spear forward with both hands. His arms reached their maximum extension and he launched the weapon, its tip only eight inches away when the shaft left his hands. It penetrated the red fibers, all the way down to the stubby cross guard Velik had placed at the base of the blade, and the core and spear both were flung away.


    Velik hadn¡¯t expected the core to actually move. Much like when he¡¯d stabbed into the glass chest during the first portion of their fight, he¡¯d thought to meet resistance, but he supposed it was just floating in the air now, suspended in a formless mass of living fire.


    Regardless of an only vaguely understood ¡®why¡¯ of the situation, the simple fact of the matter was that the instant Velik¡¯s spear hit the core, they both went flying away from him. And with the amount of strength he¡¯d put into that stab, the spear carried the red fibrous blob a good fifty feet before it tumbled to the ground.


    More important was that the instant the core was ripped out of the fire, it all went out. Even the ring circling the field seemed to flicker and dim, perhaps because Balzarith was truly injured for the first time. Velik didn¡¯t have any answers, and he was too hurt to care. It was just a relief that he was no longer actively on fire.


    He watched the core warily as he approached to reclaim his spear. He hadn¡¯t struck it at enough of an angle to pin it to the ground, nor was the spearhead long enough to reach through the other side. Right now, it looked like a red ball of muscle on the end of a stick, just lying in the dirt ¨C gross, but ultimately harmless.


    Velik knew better than to relax. He hadn¡¯t received a kill notification, which meant no matter how he might have hurt the monster, it wasn¡¯t dead. Living monsters were a threat, always. That was why he grabbed the spear by the very back end of the shaft and held it at arm¡¯s length while he studied his foe.


    Liquid fire dribbled out from between the muscle fibers and splattered against the ground with a soft hiss, where it remained burning despite having nothing to consume. I bet some water mage would have eaten you alive. Being melee was a bad matchup, but this still feels too easy. It¡¯s supposed to take whole groups to kill a champion.


    He whipped his spear straight down, sliding the mass off the end to smack hard into the dirt. It impacted with a heavy thud, then sat there, quivering gently as it wept more fire. Frowning, Velik stabbed down again, and again, each strike puncturing something unseen. Was it really just a trick of finding an almost invisible core amidst the living flames? I suppose getting a shot at it was difficult. An arrow would have burned up before it ever reached the core even if the archer could spot it.


    Another minute of brutalizing the fleshy orb finally yielded the notification Velik was hoping for, along with a few unexpected ones.


    [You have slain Balzarith the Living Inferno (champion elite, level 35.]


    [You have taken a champion seed from its former owner, Chalin.]


    [Champion seed¡¯s current reserves: 0/175.]


    ¡°Chalin,¡± Velik gasped. The memory of his childhood friend¡¯s quirky smile flashed through his mind. Velik hadn¡¯t seen him since the day he¡¯d become a [Duskbound]. ¡°You¡¯re still alive?¡±

 Chapter 16

    Deshir locals were pretty much the same as everyone else living in a frontier town ¨C a mix of friendly and mistrusting, willing to hear a stranger out but not necessarily to go out of their way to help. It was about what Torwin expected, which was why he was so surprised to find out the entire town had such a sore spot when it came to its own history.


    Specifically, they didn¡¯t much like talking about the Black Fang. He¡¯d mostly gotten variations of, ¡°That damn kid cursed the whole area, got his family and who knows how many others killed, and didn¡¯t even have the decency to die with them,¡± from every single person he¡¯d tried to talk to.


    The level of hostility was unexpected, given that the topic was their own town¡¯s history, but he was more than willing to keep chipping away at the problem. Unfortunately, the local innkeeper had overheard him questioning some of the regulars, or maybe they¡¯d tattled on him while he was distracted. However the man had found out what Torwin was asking people about didn¡¯t change that he wasn¡¯t happy and had kicked the [Ranger] out.


    ¡°Well, shit,¡± Torwin said, scratching the back of his head as he looked up and down the street outside the Brave Boar. Jensen was still inside, somehow. Presumably, the owner hadn¡¯t realized they were together, or maybe he had and was just more willing to tolerate the guy who was spending money on beer.


    Just go find someone else, I suppose. Who¡¯s not so busy that they¡¯d mind me asking them some questions, and old enough that they might actually know the answers?


    The farmers were out in their fields, but Torwin doubted he¡¯d get a friendly conversation from any of them. Jensen probably had the right idea. He needed to spend a little money; that¡¯d loosen up someone¡¯s tongue. And what he had sitting on his status screen in decarmas was enough to buy the whole town a dozen times over, then knock it down and build something a little less rustic in its place.


    He quickly located an herbalist¡¯s shop a street over from the Brave Boar. Perfect. Anyone dealing in herbal remedies has probably been around for a while. Nobody trusts a young doctor. I¡¯ll just buy a few things off the shelf to grease the wheels, then we¡¯ll see what¡¯s what.


    There was nobody on the shop floor when he peered through the window, but the shutters were thrown open so he assumed they were open. Walking through the door, he took a good look around and nodded to himself. There were racks of clay flasks, carefully labeled, beyond a shopkeeper¡¯s counter, all made to cure common ailments. A row of plants in ceramic pots sat on a table below the window with a sack of soil and an old tin watering can tucked underneath. A work bench on the opposite wall had a pair of pruning shears, six metal bowls, and a mortar and pestle that was stained green laying on it.


    ¡°Hello?¡± he called out. ¡°Anyone there?¡±


    An old man poked his head out from around the corner. ¡°Huh? Who¡¯re you?¡±


    ¡°Just passing through,¡± Torwin said. ¡°Thought I might pick a few things up.¡±


    ¡°That so?¡±


    The old man stepped fully into view, revealing a rather scrawny frame partially supported by a walking stick. His beard was pure white, a bush of wires shooting off in every direction, and contrasted with his head, which was bare but for a few cloudy wisps on the side and deeply tanned. The man looked like old leather wrapped around bones with a fat blob of a nose between two pale, rheumy eyes.


    He hobbled over to his counter and dropped into a hidden stool, then groaned and leaned forward. ¡°What¡¯re you needing?¡±


    ¡°Common remedies for road ailments,¡± Torwin said. It wasn¡¯t true, of course. His physical stat was far, far too high for him to have to worry about things like fevers, blisters, or fungal infections. Even Jensen was getting to the point where he was functionally immune to the kind of things a common herbalist could treat, and he wasn¡¯t even level 20 yet.


    ¡°And how much you looking to spend?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take whatever you can spare.¡±


    The old man cocked a bushy eyebrow at him. ¡°Let¡¯s put some coin on the table before we go any further.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough,¡± Torwin said with a wry smile. He materialized five decarmas and let them clink onto the wood.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    Letting out a whistle of appreciation, the old man lifted one up to the light. ¡°Don¡¯t see these too often. For five, I think I can stock you up with enough to get you all the way back to the city, maybe more if you walk as fast as I think you do.¡±


    ¡°I am a fast walker,¡± Torwin admitted. ¡°You kind of have to be with my job. I¡¯m all over the place hunting monsters.¡±


    The old man grunted. ¡°You the one they pooled the money together and hired to take care of the infestation?¡±


    ¡°Me and my apprentice. And let me tell you, I¡¯m glad I brought him along. I was not expecting there to be quite so many of them. The job posting really undersold how bad things are up here.¡±


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t deliberate, I¡¯m sure,¡± the old man told him. He reached back behind him and started pulling flasks down blindly. ¡°[Willow Wort], for fever. [Sage], [Yellow Bark], and [Crown Thistle] for coughs. This one¡¯s a salve for cuts to stop bleeding. It¡¯s made of ground up [Builder¡¯s Root] and [Ash Fern] with a boiled water base.¡±


    ¡°All handy things to have on the road,¡± Torwin said. ¡°How many of each can you spare?¡±


    ¡°For five decarmas, let¡¯s say six of each.¡±


    That was a blatant rip off, more than three times how much the medicine should have cost, but Torwin was happy to pay it if it kept the herbalist in a good mood and answering questions. ¡°Anything special I should know about any of these?¡±


    ¡°Nah, they¡¯re all standard. Should last for about four months before you¡¯re going to want to toss them out. If you hang onto them after that, you¡¯ll just make yourself sicker trying to use them.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good. By the way, you¡¯ve got to know this forest pretty well, right?¡±


    ¡°Been harvesting from there for forty years, so I¡¯d say so,¡± the old man said.


    ¡°Any idea what¡¯s causing the monster surge?¡± Torwin asked. ¡°We¡¯ve been out killing all week and it barely feels like we¡¯ve made a dent in things. None of the town mayors seem to have a clue, but I figure a fellow woodsman like yourself probably knows a thing or two.¡±


    If not for his over fifty levels of stat increases, Torwin might have missed the herbalist¡¯s eyes flicker down to the pile of decarmas and back up, or the grimace that started to form on his lips. The old man did an admirable job keeping his face blank, good enough that nobody around here would have spotted it, but Torwin did. That¡¯s right, information is what I¡¯m really buying. You want that money, you have to answer the question.


    ¡°Monsters have been showing up here for years,¡± the old man said slowly, almost chewing the words before he let them out. ¡°More so in the last few years. Started getting real bad this summer.¡±


    That wasn¡¯t new information. Torwin didn¡¯t say anything, just waited for the old man to continue. Seeing that his customer wasn¡¯t satisfied with that explanation, he grunted and added, ¡°Best guess is the old dungeon in the deep wood about forty miles northwest of here. Supposedly it was destroyed, but where else would all the monsters be coming from?¡±


    ¡°I heard some wild kid was responsible for them,¡± Torwin threw out. ¡°No one seems to know why, though.¡±


    Somebody walking by the shop froze right near the window, just out of sight, but Torwin could hear them breathing. The old man hadn¡¯t noticed whoever it was though, or if he had, he ignored them.


    ¡°Some folks think the kid was the one who woke the dungeon back up, him and that friend of his.¡±


    Friend? That¡¯s new.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter,¡± the herbalist said, forestalling Torwin¡¯s next question. ¡°The other kid never came back, and even if they were the ones who woke the dungeon, they were children. It wasn¡¯t like they did it on purpose.¡±


    The eavesdropper scuffed a foot on the street, loud enough that there was no way the old man hadn¡¯t heard it. Torwin inwardly groaned, but tried to keep the conversation going anyway. ¡°I get the feeling that¡¯s not a popular opinion around these parts.¡±


    The old herbalist grunted and swept the coins off the counter. ¡°Forget the kids. They don¡¯t matter. You want my advice? Go look at the dungeon.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to know more¡ª¡± Torwin started to say.


    ¡°No more to tell. Now, I¡¯m busy and you¡¯ve got monsters to be killing. Best take your medicine and be on your way.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t much, but it was a new lead. He¡¯d already known about the dungeon, but that two kids had gone out there right before the monsters started appearing was new. Or rather, that there were two of them and one hadn¡¯t come back was an additional piece of the puzzle. Some sort of blood sacrifice, maybe. That might wake up an old, broken dungeon. None of that fits with the Black Fang and his class orb, though. There¡¯s got to be somebody who actually knows what happened and is willing to talk about it.


    With a sigh and a nod, Torwin collected the flasks and stowed them away in his pack. He walked back out onto the street and glanced over at the person, wondering if their presence was what had caused the old man to clam up. To his surprise, it was a young lady, no more than eighteen or nineteen years old.


    ¡°You¡¯re the hunter they hired,¡± she said.


    He inclined his head. ¡°I am.¡±


    ¡°Why are you asking about Velik and Chalin?¡±


    ¡°Tell me what you know and I¡¯ll tell you why I want to know it.¡±


    The girl glanced around once, then nodded resolutely. ¡°Follow me.¡±

 Chapter 17

    It was generally considered rude to use skills on another person without their permission, even something as benign as [Identify]. Torwin wasn¡¯t a stickler for manners, but considering how little danger he¡¯d be in even if the whole town banded together and had a serious go at trying to murder him, he felt like he could run the risk of following an unknown teenage girl to a secondary location.


    Besides, there¡¯s no point in antagonizing her when I¡¯m hoping to get some information out of this conversation. Morgus alone could find another person within ten miles who might actually tell me what I want to know.


    They entered a leatherworking shop three streets over. ¡°We can talk here,¡± the girl said. ¡°My mom owns the place.¡±


    There were no customers, nor was there anyone else in the building. It was just her, a lot of belts, coats, boots, and gloves on display, and him. He shifted in place and peered curiously at the wares. This stuff¡¯s not bad. Jensen would turn his nose up at it, but the boots look like they¡¯d hold up to someone with physical 30 running on them, and that¡¯s without any sort of enchantment.


    ¡°I appreciate you helping me figure this out. My name¡¯s Torwin. What¡¯s yours?¡±


    ¡°Sildra,¡± she said.


    ¡°Alright, Sildra. Tell me the story, please.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know all of it. I was just a kid myself when it happened so this is just what I remember. Nobody really told me what was going on. Someone came to the house and talked to my parents, and then they got me and asked if I¡¯d seen Chalin and Velik. I told them I hadn¡¯t, didn¡¯t think much of it, and went back to whatever it was I was doing.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t until a few days later the monsters started showing up. I remember because at first no one was worried about it. I mean, monsters happen. The local watch took care of them, everyone talked to their kids that evening about staying close to the village and running away if we saw a monster, and we all went on with our lives.¡±


    She paused for a second and thought. ¡°I do remember some of the adults speculating that the two missing boys might have been killed by the monsters. They¡¯d been gone for a few days by that point, and the timing made sense. Chalin¡¯s dad got into a fist fight with someone over it.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t hard to picture that scene. In fact, something similar had happened in the village Torwin had grown up in thirty years ago. The only difference was that he¡¯d already been an adult with a family, not a kid on the periphery of what was happening. He could still distinctly remember the twisting ache in his gut when his hunting party had found the missing child, or what was left of him, about a day before the horde had reached the village.


    ¡°Everyone thought that was the end of it, but then the next night, a bunch more monsters invaded,¡± Sildra continued, oblivious to Torwin¡¯s own reminiscing. ¡°That was when the bodies started piling up. Twenty people died before the watch got things under control. We found out later that a few of the more remote farms were completely overrun.¡±


    He didn¡¯t need the play-by-play, not for an all-too-familiar story, but Torwin didn¡¯t rush the girl. He¡¯d ask his questions when she was done. Hopefully the answers would help him get this whole problem sorted out.


    ¡°There were three attacks, I think. I guess it depends how you count them. We were still fighting off one wave when another one hit the last time,¡± she said. ¡°Chalin¡¯s father lived through them, but Velik¡¯s whole family was killed.


    ¡°Velik showed back up the next day, somehow. Nobody was expecting him to still be alive. They took him into the biggest house and got him to tell them what happened. Chalin¡¯s father tried to kill him there, I remember that. He ended up tied to a hitching post out on the street to keep him under control. No one would tell any of the kids what was going on, just that Chalin and Velik did something stupid and riled all the monsters up. Pretty much everyone knew whose fault it was right away.¡±


    Sildra sighed and shook her head. ¡°Maybe if we weren¡¯t still being attacked, or if people hadn¡¯t died¡­ Chalin and Velik were my friends, you know? I wasn¡¯t close with them or anything, but we were the same age and it¡¯s a small town. So we were friends. Learning that Chalin had died, and then they drove Velik into the woods when we were besieged by monsters, which was as good as killing him themselves, that was the worst of it for me. The adults were supposed to protect the kids, not throw them to the wolves.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°But then he didn¡¯t die. He survived, and he¡¯s strong now, out there hunting monsters. I hear he goes to the other towns sometimes, but never here. You can¡¯t blame him. The adults back then made it clear they blamed him. His whole family was dead, and no one else would take him in.¡±


    She went silent and turned her face so he wouldn¡¯t see her brush at her eye. After a moment to compose herself, Sildra said, ¡°That¡¯s the broad strokes of what happened. I know Velik is still alive. They call him Black Fang now.¡±


    Torwin scratched at his chin for a moment and thought it over. So two boys go out to the dungeon. Something happens. One of them dies. Monsters start showing up everywhere. That¡¯s all normal enough if they accidentally unsealed something or even if they somehow brought the dungeon back to life. But it doesn¡¯t explain why nobody shut it down in the last decade if they knew about the dungeon, or why it¡¯s suddenly ramping up in the last few months.


    ¡°There¡¯s got to be more to it,¡± he said. ¡°What about the dungeon? Why wasn¡¯t anyone called in to take care of it when the monsters first started showing up years ago?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It was destroyed back when my grandmother was a little girl, about fifty years ago. Supposedly people went out to investigate it after the incident, but there wasn¡¯t anything there. All the monsters made it difficult to reach, so I don¡¯t think there was any follow up after the first time.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s possible they missed something then. And what about this Black Fang guy? You said that¡¯s Velik, but how do you know it¡¯s the same person?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I saw him a few days ago. I hired an escort to help me harvest some [Moonsilk Blossoms] and we were attacked by an elite monster. Velik showed up and killed it in one hit. It was over practically before I even realized he was there.¡±


    That tracked with Torwin¡¯s own estimates of Velik¡¯s prowess. The boy had to be at least in the mid-thirties to be that strong, maybe even low-forties depending on his class. If he¡¯d really had his class for a decade, the level itself wasn¡¯t that astounding, though it still indicated a respectable work ethic. The real stumper was how a boy of only seven or eight years had managed to survive to grow into the man he was now.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to talk to this guy. He probably knows way more about what¡¯s going on with the monsters than anyone else,¡± Torwin said. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose it would be possible for you to arrange a meeting?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Sildra laughed. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen him since we were kids, then when I did finally run into him, he pretended to be someone else and ran away. Velik avoids this whole town, and it¡¯s hard to blame him.¡±


    Torwin had more questions to ask, but he could hear two people walking down the street. They stopped right outside the door, then pushed it open. ¡°Sildra!¡± one of them said. ¡°Your mom about?¡±


    ¡°Not at the moment, but your order¡¯s ready. I can grab it for you if you¡¯ve got the payment,¡± she told them.


    ¡°Sure thing, young miss,¡± the man said. He had a woodsman¡¯s ax over his shoulder and the rough, calloused hands a man used to swinging it. His partner was more of the same, but shorter and broader through the shoulders. Both men eyed Torwin with something somewhere between curiosity and animosity.


    ¡°New face in town, huh?¡± the stouter of the two asked.


    ¡°Hired to kill monsters,¡± Torwin said. ¡°I was just looking at the lovely selection of boots on display here.¡±


    ¡°Make sure that¡¯s all you¡¯re looking at,¡± the tall lumberjack said darkly.


    ¡°Knock it off,¡± Sildra scolded him. ¡°Mr. Torwin wasn¡¯t doing anything like what you¡¯re trying to imply. He¡¯s been nothing but professional and courteous.¡±


    ¡°That so? ¡®cause I heard he got thrown out of the Boar for hassling people about that fucker who nearly got the town wiped out. Not a good look on a man, that.¡±


    If I push now, it¡¯s going to make trouble for her. I think I¡¯ve got the shape of things, and there¡¯s probably not much she can tell me that¡¯s actually relevant. It¡¯s beyond obvious that I need to check on this old dungeon to see if it¡¯s come back to life, and also that I need to cuss out whoever put together the job posting and neglected to mention that fact.


    ¡°I¡¯ll come back some other time to praise your skills,¡± Torwin said. ¡°Maybe when your mother is here so nobody gets any untoward ideas about my motivations.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ Sure,¡± the girl said, her brow furrowed as she watched him leave. ¡°It was nice meeting you.¡±


    ¡°You as well,¡± he said.


    Torwin exited the shop and circled around to get away from the windows, then paused to listen to the conversation not so far away.


    ¡°I hope you weren¡¯t running your mouth to that outsider,¡± the stout one said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll talk to whoever I please about whatever I please,¡± Sildra snapped back.


    Got spine, that one, more than some of the new hunters I¡¯ve seen.


    ¡°Nobody¡¯s going to save you if you get yourself in trouble. Don¡¯t go screwing with things that are over your head,¡± the tall lumberjack threatened. ¡°Here¡¯s your money. Tell your mother I said thanks for the quick work.¡±


    Torwin waited to make sure both men left the shop, then went to go fetch his apprentice. He¡¯d learned what he needed and confirmed his next move. It was time to get out of Deshir before his presence caused problems.

 Chapter 18

    Velik wasn¡¯t really sure how he felt. If the system notification was to be believed, Chalin was the previous owner of the champion seed. To Velik¡¯s mind, that implied that Chalin was alive, or at least that he had been sometime in the past after they¡¯d gone into the destroyed dungeon. When he¡¯d woken back up, Chalin was already gone. There was nothing but the monster, and he¡¯d done the only thing he could do: he¡¯d run for his life.


    Did I abandon him? I thought the monster had eaten him, that it was coming for me next. Maybe he got away. Wait, did he abandon me? He was already gone when I woke up.


    He could vividly remember those first few seconds. His mind had been flooded with messages, notifying him about his racial subtype and his new class. The feeling of elation that had swept through him upon realizing that the class orb had worked would remain with him forever, but it would always be paired with the horror he¡¯d felt seconds later when he saw that pulsing heap of flesh crawling out of the darkness toward him.


    The gaping maws were the worst of it, all of them filled with gnashing teeth that opened and closed rhythmically as the whole thing undulated across the floor, moving in part by heaving its own mass and in part by dragging itself forward with grasping limbs that sprouted from its body like thick hairs.


    Chalin had been nowhere to be found, and Velik¡¯s imagination treated him to an image of his friend being pulled apart and stuffed into different mouths. He¡¯d turned and fled, running like he¡¯d never been able to before. That had been his first taste of the power of stats that came with having a class.


    The champion seed had been added to Velik¡¯s inventory in his status. He pulled it up to read the description, hoping for some clue about what it actually was, and how it was related to his childhood friend.


    [Champion Seed: Used to grow a champion elite monster to guard a specified location. Requires mana to flourish.]


    [Champion: Balzarith the Living Inferno (level 35).]


    [Current Owner: Velik]


    [Current Reserve: 0/175]


    There was nothing there about Chalin now that Velik had claimed the seed, and he wasn¡¯t sure what would happen to the seed¡¯s ownership status if he died. If it remained his until somebody else picked it up, that it might not mean anything beyond the fact that Chalin had lived and gotten a few miles away from the dungeon.


    Though I¡¯ve never heard of a champion seed and I don¡¯t know where he got it. Did it come fully powered up, or did he find a way to do that, too?


    When they¡¯d stumbled across the class orb, they¡¯d decided to activate it while they both held onto it, that way they¡¯d both get classes. It didn¡¯t work that way, of course, but the logic had made sense to their seven-year-old brains back then. Velik had always assumed he¡¯d been the lucky one who¡¯d actually gotten the class, and that Chalin, unable to defend himself from the monster, had died.


    That didn¡¯t explain where the monster had come from, but ¡®somewhere deeper in the dungeon¡¯ had felt like a reasonable explanation. By the time he¡¯d been strong enough to return years later, monsters were everywhere, both inside the dungeon and out. There was no way to tell where they were originating from.


    If he proceeded under the assumption that Chalin was alive, though, that meant his friend was somewhere out here in the deep wood. He might know how to stop the monsters from appearing. This seed thing says it takes mana to make the champion show up. Is that how all monsters appear? Did this whole area just get flooded with it coincidentally? And if so, how do I fix that?


    All he could picture was a primed water pump spilling glowing magical water out everywhere, with monsters growing out of the puddle and wandering off. That probably wasn¡¯t remotely close to accurate, but for all Velik knew, it might be. He needed a way to detect mana, and that meant spending some of his hoarded decarmas in the system store.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Before that, however, he needed to do something about his burns and find a safe place to camp. The field was no longer on fire, but it was still a giant swath of charred dirt. Safety out in the deep wood was difficult to find, however, and Velik¡¯s standard strategy was to go on a massacre and kill everything within a thousand feet of wherever he was setting up. It didn¡¯t prevent new monsters from finding him, but it gave him a bit of warning when he did. The rest was just being a light sleeper.


    He left the field a few minutes later with one less healing potion in his pouch and one champion seed. He¡¯d already poked through the system store and had discovered a few different pieces of gear that would let him sense mana in different ways, everything from a blindfold that let him see it while making it impossible to see the world around him to a pair of gloves that let him feel it, supposedly a useful trait for an enchanter, to an earring that would hum at various intensities and pitches depending on local mana conditions.


    Velik had no idea which one of those would be the most useful but they all sounded terrible to him. Unfortunately, the kind of mana-detecting gear that came without weird downsides was so far out of his price range that he¡¯d need to spend months in the deep wood doing nothing but slaughtering monsters sixteen hours a day to save up for them.


    His other idea was to find somebody with some sort of magic-using class. Presumably, they¡¯d have the ability to sense mana without a special piece of equipment, and if he could bring them out here, they could poke around and report back on what they¡¯d found.


    Now I just need to find somebody like that. Easy, right? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m a hermit who¡¯s been living in the woods for a decade with no friends.


    His musings were interrupted by a pungent aroma hitting his nostrils from hundreds of feet away. Eyes widening in alarm, Velik started backtracking. He¡¯d dealt with that animal before, and had no desire to see the monster version of it. Its musk could probably melt through leather and wood.


    Shamelessly, Velik fled to a safe distance and watched a skunk the size of a horse cart trundle through the trees, completely and utterly secure in its own superiority. He noticed that no other monsters got near it either.


    There were some things that everybody knew better than to mess with.


    * * *


    Velik found a clean stream to set up camp in an area that had an abundance of fruiting trees. He didn¡¯t particularly enjoy the diet, but he¡¯d survived on worse, and his goal right now was to kill as many monsters as possible, as quickly as possible. He¡¯d worry about meat once he got back.


    His decarma count quickly climbed up past five thousand, enough to replace the haste potion he¡¯d used, but he held off on that. Part of him was itching to replace it just in case, but he needed some way to track mana levels or whatever they were called, and since his thriving social circle probably wasn¡¯t going to yield any positive results, he decided to focus on the backup plan.


    Every morning, he returned to the same den beneath the roots of a massive oak tree and pulled a tangle of branches across the entrance to hide him while he slept. Three times, he woke up to the sound of a monster sniffing around outside and had to go kill it, then drag the body away. In that way, his planned week-long trip extended first to two weeks, then to three.


    Eventually, he grew so weary of the non-stop killing that he was ready to return home. Only sheer stubbornness kept him in place, grinding out decarmas as fast as he could and hoping to hit level 30 soon. With each kill, he felt himself growing closer. Over the last day of his expedition, he kept expecting each fight to be the one that pushed him over the edge, only to be disappointed when he didn¡¯t get a notification.


    He was on his way back one morning, half an hour after the sun had risen and [Duskbound] had deactivated, when some sort of sparrow swooped down on him. Rolling his eyes, he batted it out of the air with his spear, only for it to explode into a cloud of feathers and blood.


    [You have slain a common wood sparrow (level 3).]


    [You have advanced to level 30. +2 Physical, +1 Mental, +2 free points.]


    [You have unlocked a new class skill slot.]


    ¡°Wait, what? Seriously? From that, of all things? Not the poison-spitting giant toads? Not the dragonfly that was longer than my arm? Not the Morgus cursed swarm of fucking rats that blew up when they died?¡±


    The system, as usual, didn¡¯t answer him.


    With a sigh, Velik resumed trudging back to his campsite. He¡¯d pick his new skill, get a few hours of sleep, and then start the long trip back home.

 Chapter 19

    Originally, Velik had been looking for something to give him a bit of range to help with hunting, but really, that wasn¡¯t his style. If he absolutely needed to, the [Shape Shifting] enchantment on his spear let him reshape it into a javelin to throw, though that left him with nothing but a skinning knife as a backup weapon. His other idea was to fill a hole in his toolkit by finding a skill that would make it easier to kill whole packs of monsters all at once.


    Having spent two weeks in the deep wild fighting monsters with high physical stats, he could comfortably say that neither of those were what he needed most. No, he needed armor penetration ¨C a skill that would let him drive his spear through a sheet of one-inch-thick steel. Too many times, he¡¯d been forced into harrying an enemy he couldn¡¯t actually hurt, trying to get it to open its mouth at just the right time so he could stab his spear into it.


    He was sick of trying to hack through thick, shaggy pelts and even thicker leathery skin. If he¡¯d had a skill that could just stab through all of that, he¡¯d have reached level 30 days ago. That was definitely the way to go if he was going to keep fighting monsters that were a higher level than him, especially since physical attacks were the only real way he had to hurt something.


    Selecting a skill wasn¡¯t a complicated process, but it was a decision with a lot of options. For the most part, it was a safe bet to just skim the general skills lists the system presented him with. There were new options that had been unlocked by upgrading his stats repeatedly since his last skill slot at level 20, but his class skills were almost always far, far better. The only reason to take a non-class skill was to merge it into a class skill, like he¡¯d done with [Identify] and [Ambush Tactics]. Both of those had quickly folded into [Predator¡¯s Visage], and he was still hoping to add [Stealth] to that combination soon.


    Class skills, on the other hand, were much, much harder to merge together. Even so, he¡¯d worked diligently to combine the various spear skills his unique class, [The Black Fang], offered him. Despite how many people seemed to think it was a title, it was so much more. Someone had used [Identify] on him back when he¡¯d first gotten the class a decade ago, and somehow, it had spread from there.


    The class focused on melee combat, wilderness survival, and monster hunting, which suited Velik just fine, as those were all things he cared about. A bit of ranged offense would be nice, but the truth was that he didn¡¯t want to carry around some bulky longbow or a quiver stuffed full of arrows anyway. He preferred to travel light; that was why he¡¯d only brought a week¡¯s worth of rations in the first place.


    His class skill options focused around that trinity, but he¡¯d long ago picked over what he thought would be useful to him with an eye on selecting skills to merge. Thanks to that, he had ten skills filling three slots, and he saw no reason to switch up the strategy now.


    So, I need something that will fold into [Spear Warden] that gives me better penetrating power. [Serpent Strike] helped a little bit by bumping up my speed and accuracy, but that¡¯s more for exploiting vulnerabilities, not for stabbing through armor. What can help me with that?


    He found a skill called [Venom Slash] that promised to inflict agonizing poisons that seared his target¡¯s flesh, but while it might help eat through fur and hide, it felt more like it was designed to destroy muscle after he¡¯d already made contact. Worse, it was reliant on mystic, which was by far his worst stat. He kept the skill in mind, but he wasn¡¯t excited about it.


    A better choice was something called [Burden of the Beast], which also used mystic, but which claimed to make a victim¡¯s body heavier with each successive hit, regardless of whether it drew blood. The drawback was that it only worked if he was fighting a beast. The definition felt a bit loose when he considered it, like maybe the skill lumped reptiles, birds, and fish in as well.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    It wasn¡¯t quite what he was looking for, but if he could slow an enemy down enough, it¡¯d be easier to get his spear into the spots that weren¡¯t well protected. He hadn¡¯t fought anything yet that had no weaknesses, but he was aware that it could happen, especially as the monsters kept going up in levels. So while [Burden of the Beast] was again a possibility, it wasn¡¯t quite what he was looking for.


    Finally, he found what he was looking for, a skill called [Kinetic Charge]. For the cost of adding a small bit of resistance to his movements, he could save up power to be unleashed all at once. The conversion ratio wasn¡¯t great, requiring at least a few minutes of constant movement to get one good shot off, but that was once again the fault of his low mystic stat. It wasn¡¯t worth sinking his free points into it, not when he could simply build up the charge before battle and open with a devastating blow, then proceed to dismantle the monster like usual.


    Perfect.


    [You have gained the skill: Kinetic Charge.]


    Velik swung his spear a few times to get a feel for the increased resistance. It was a bit harder to control, almost like it was poorly balanced with the extra weight on the bladed end, but nothing that he couldn¡¯t handle. The extra points in physical helped compensate for it, not that he needed them. He¡¯d been using this spear since his physical was less than half what it currently was.


    Once he¡¯d fully charged his new skill, Velik went looking for a target to test it on. He quickly found a stone paw rabbit, which was far less docile than its name suggested. The little buggers were fast and conjured up rocks that they kicked with frightening accuracy and speed. They weren¡¯t particularly hardy, but Velik had killed plenty of them over the last week. He knew what a normal strike felt like.


    [Kinetic Charge] hit with at least three times that amount of power. It flashed through the air so quickly that a flash of pain shot up his shoulder from the movement, and his eyes had trouble aiming the attack. The rabbit, swift as it was, didn¡¯t stand a chance of getting clear in time.


    [You have slain a stone paw rabbit (level 23).]


    ¡°Well,¡± Velik said, looking from the tip of his spear to the tree now painted with fur, blood, and guts, ¡°I guess that works.¡±


    It was tempting to extend his stay in the deep wood, but he was completely out of food and foraging was a pain. More importantly, it had been two full weeks now and he¡¯d only stayed that long because of that monster hunter that had shown up with his apprentice. He was trusting them to hold things together since they¡¯d proved competent enough to handle the weaker monsters near town, but he needed to get back and confirm everything was still standing with his own eyes.


    Before that, he needed a few hours of sleep. Velik arrived at the den he¡¯d claimed for himself, slipped inside, and dragged his tangle of scrub brush in front of the hole. Sleeping in the dirt was another facet of the expedition he wouldn¡¯t miss, even if his real bed was barely more than a few layers of cloth wrapped around a board.


    Two weeks was long enough.


    * * *


    The last two weeks had been hell. Jensen hadn¡¯t realized how lenient his master had been with him, not until they¡¯d had their little heart to heart and Torwin had decided to start taking things seriously. Worse, the monsters seemed to have doubled in number practically overnight. They were up before dawn every day now, and Torwin no longer accepted excuses. Jensen had tried to catch an extra hour on the third day, only to wake up to a bucket of cold water being dumped on his face.


    They¡¯d just finished yet another night and were wearily marching back to the Raven¡¯s nest when Torwin said, ¡°That bow is something else. I¡¯m sure it was expensive as hell, but I think I might get one just for the arrow generating ability. I¡¯ve got two fletchers working full time just making me new ones and they¡¯re struggling to keep up.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s actually the bracer that makes the arrow,¡± Jensen said. ¡°And it wasn¡¯t that bad, only thirty thousand decarmas.¡±


    ¡°Not that bad,¡± Torwin repeated with a chuckle. ¡°That¡¯s more than a lifetime¡¯s savings for most people.¡±


    ¡°Is it?¡± Jensen asked, surprised. He peered down at the bracer, which was made with some sort of leather he couldn¡¯t identify and banded in what looked like systilver. It wasn¡¯t even in the top three most expensive pieces he was wearing.


    ¡°You get a decarma once every¡­ what¡­ four kills? Five? You¡¯re not even level 20 yet, but how many monsters have you killed? Imagine doing that for years and years. Maybe by the time you¡¯re level 25, you have enough for just that bracer. Not the boots. Not the ring or the necklace. Definitely not the bow. Just the bracer.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡­ suppose I never really thought about it.¡±


    ¡°Just don¡¯t flaunt it around people and you¡¯ll be fine. Now let¡¯s get this hike over with. I want a warm meal and a cold beer before we head to bed. It¡¯ll be another early day, tomorrow.¡±


    Jensen just sighed. When will this nightmare end?

 Chapter 20

    From the day Velik left to the day he returned, three weeks passed by. He didn¡¯t go out of his way to kill monsters on his return trip, but there was still plenty of bloodshed to slow him down, not to mention he needed to practice his new skill. Since he¡¯d acquired it primarily to deal with enemies that had physical stats too high for normal attacks to hurt them, that meant fighting the monsters in the deep wood.


    His practice paid off in the form of a rank advancement for [Kinetic Charge] on the third day of his return trip, and his decarma stash continued to grow until he recouped the potion expenses for the trip. Considering that it would have taken him months near the towns to gain that much of the system-generated currency, he couldn¡¯t argue with the gains, especially when he considered the skill ranks and breakthrough to level 30.


    And then there was the [Champion Seed]. He had no idea how to use that, or even if he should. Planting it somewhere and growing a new monster was the opposite of what he spent his time doing, which made the item seem wholly useless. Even selling it sounded like a bad idea, since that probably meant somebody else growing the monster instead.


    Maybe some sort of research center might be able to do something with it, he thought to himself as he stared at the line in his status¡¯s inventory screen. The actual seed was in his hip pouch, but he could see the system text on his gear and supplies without having to handle them. Unfortunately, no new information had revealed itself in the last few days. Even its reserve counter still read 0.


    The closer Velik got to home, the more concerned he grew. The monsters should have been getting weaker, on average level 12 or 13, with the biggest, most powerful ones barely reaching 20. That did not seem to be the case anymore, however. By the time he made it back to the den he¡¯d hollowed out and furnished for himself, the forest was still thick with monsters above level 15. It made very little difference to him, personally, but it was a huge jump in strength that he doubted the town watch could manage so easily.


    Most hunters and guards in the frontier towns around here never made it past level 20. That was the goal, just high enough to unlock the third skill slot, then stay home and hope trouble never came their way. It became harder and harder to level as they outleveled the local monster population, so the ones that didn¡¯t give up ended up leaving. As a self-regulating system, that made people like Velik the anomalies, and to be fair, most of his latest levels could be attributed to the rising average monster level over the past six months. A trip to the deep wood accounted for the rest.


    Ignoring that for the moment, why are there so damn many of them? I thought the towns brought in that guild-certified hunter with the idiot apprentice who could barely shoot straight. Did he up and leave the second I went north or something?


    Now that he was back home, Velik¡¯s first priority was to replenish his food supply. Much as he wanted to sleep¡ªit was already three hours past dawn and he¡¯d pushed to cover the last fifteen miles¡ªhe hadn¡¯t stopped to forage yesterday and his last hunting trip had been interrupted. It was either go find something to eat or head to the closest town and buy food.


    That idea actually held some appeal, if only because it would allow Velik to stock up a few weeks of supplies in one trip instead of spending days butchering and preserving venison. Celarut was the closest town after Beldrit, and Velik wasn¡¯t in so much of a hurry that he was eager to go back there again, not after last time. It would only add an extra half hour to his trip going a few more miles, so he set off immediately.


    * * *


    Fifteen miles and about a hundred slain monsters later, Velik walked into Celarut. It was the second largest of the four frontier towns, and whoever had originally staked it out had been enamored with the idea of wide streets. Two full-sized wagons could easily pass by each other unimpeded, and they often did as timber was brought to the local saw mill. Right now, the town was mostly empty. It would fill up in the evening as its citizens returned from the forest or came into the inn for a meal, a drink, and some company.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    But empty was just the way Velik liked it, and he really only had one stop in mind. It was a large building on the main street, two stories and with a full warehouse attached to it. The owner was also the mayor, unless something had changed recently, and he stored the town¡¯s lumber on-site while they waited for the next caravan to show up to take it off their hands in exchange for luxury or otherwise-unavailable goods from down south.


    There were only two people in the store when he walked in. One was the mayor himself, a short, thin man with an enormous mustache and his thinning, graying hair parted down the middle. The other was a strapping younger man, probably one of the saw mill¡¯s workers judging by all the sawdust on his clothes. They were deep in conversation, with the mayor looking cross and tapping his foot the whole time.


    ¡°¡ªtelling you, I don¡¯t care if they need to hire a few extra guards. Just get it done. We need the saw mill running round the clock or we¡¯re going to come up short on this month¡¯s shipment,¡± the mayor was saying as Velik walked in.


    ¡°But, sir, there aren¡¯t any guards to hire! We¡¯d have to take them off the wall, and the captain won¡¯t sign off on it,¡± the worker said.


    ¡°Who does he think he reports to, anyway?¡± the mayor snapped. ¡°You tell him I said to¡ª Oh, hello there.¡±


    The tonal shift when the mayor noticed Velik was almost jarring. His expression immediately cleared up to a placid, pleasant smile as if he hadn¡¯t been reaming out a guy who, as far as Velik could tell, hadn¡¯t done anything to deserve it beyond having the unfortunate luck of being the bearer of bad news. Not your problem, he reminded himself. You just need some supplies.


    ¡°The Black Fang himself,¡± the mayor said. ¡°Haven¡¯t seen you in months. Say, now there¡¯s an idea. You like killing monsters, don¡¯t you? How¡¯d you like to get paid to do it?¡±


    ¡°Not interested,¡± Velik said immediately. He hefted his sack and held it out for the mayor. ¡°I need you to fill that with two weeks¡¯ worth of dry provisions.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid my assistant is out today, and I¡¯m handling other business,¡± the mayor said. ¡°I can certainly fill your order, but I¡¯ll need an hour or so. If it¡¯s a meal you want, though, why not head over to the Raven¡¯s Nest and have a nice late breakfast. I¡¯m sure everything will be ready by the time you come back.¡±


    Velik might have ignored the advice if his stomach hadn¡¯t chosen that exact moment to express how unhappy it was with not having been given anything to eat for the better part of a day and a half. Perhaps it was the thought of a hot meal cooked by somebody who actually had ranks in a relevant skill that did it for him, but whatever the reason, the mayor¡¯s idea suddenly sounded like an excellent one.


    ¡°Very well,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll be back shortly.¡±


    ¡°Take your time,¡± the mayor said breezily. ¡°I¡¯ve got to get this business sorted out before I can work on your provisions anyway.¡±


    Kind of suspicious how quickly he gave up on recruiting me, now that I think about it. Well, I guess you don¡¯t get to be the mayor by being stupid. It was worth floating the idea since it didn¡¯t cost him anything, but not worth hounding me over.


    The mayor and his hapless worker watched Velik leave, then started back up again the second the door closed behind him. He stood there for a moment, then took a breath and shook his head. Don¡¯t be paranoid about it. It¡¯s not like the whole town could do anything to you. Just go enjoy a hot meal. Morgus knows you¡¯ve earned it. Now, which one of these buildings is the inn?


    * * *


    Jaryll waited five minutes after the Black Fang left before he abruptly cut his employee off mid-sentence. ¡°I don¡¯t care about that right now.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ what?¡± the idiot kid said. ¡°But, I thought¡ª¡±


    ¡°That monster hunter we hired made it known that he was looking for the Black Fang. Go get a message to him that the boy is here in town, and do it fast while we still know where he is. Got it?¡±


    ¡°How am I supposed to do that? They could be anywhere!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got a whole logging crew plus guards out there, don¡¯t you? Figure it out!¡± the mayor snapped. ¡°Now quit wasting time and go.¡±


    The kid, in perhaps the first intelligent move he¡¯d made since walking through the door, scampered off into the street and started jogging toward the edge of town. Why do all the smart ones level up and leave? Jaryll mentally lamented. I swear these new hires get dumber every year. Oh well, if he can get the message to where it needs to go, maybe that monster hunter can finally do his damn job and end this infestation. Then it¡¯s back to business as normal, with profits as normal, too!

 Chapter 21

    Velik¡¯s cooking was edible, and that was as charitable as he could be describing his culinary skills. Having a meal at the Raven¡¯s Nest was making him revise that opinion. Who knew there was more to it than just adding fire to meat? He shoveled another spoonful of some sort of meat stew into his mouth.


    The fact that he didn¡¯t hear footsteps until they were approaching the table told him who was walking up to him. He wanted to blame it on being absorbed in his meal, but the truth was that the hired hunter was just as strong as him and probably a hell of a lot more experienced. There was no telling how many skills he¡¯d mashed together.


    The chair across from him slid out and the old hunter dropped into it. ¡°You know, you could have made it a lot easier to catch up with you. I just wanted to ask you a few questions.¡±


    ¡°What made you think I was interested in answering them?¡±


    The hunter chuckled. ¡°Seems like we¡¯re in the same business. Wouldn¡¯t hurt to cooperate with each other. I¡¯m Torwin.¡±


    Velik looked up from his stew to see an outstretched hand. ¡°Not interested.¡±


    Torwin waited a moment, then sighed and pulled his hand back. ¡°Look, I¡¯m not asking you to work with me. I¡¯ve already got an apprentice to look after. I just wanted to ask a few questions and according to everyone, you¡¯re the guy who knows about the wilderness beyond the frontier.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s there to know? Monsters show up, I kill them. You don¡¯t need me to explain that.¡±


    That sleazy mayor is behind this. I should have insisted he fill the order so I could get out of town as quickly as possible.


    ¡°I was actually hoping to get you to tell me more about the night you found your class orb.¡± Torwin was probing at him with some sort of skill while he talked, but Velik¡¯s mental was too high for it to break through. He frowned at the older hunter, who immediately stopped whatever it was and at least had the decency to look ashamed. ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll make you a deal,¡± Velik said. ¡°I answer this question. You leave me alone from now on.¡±


    ¡°Deal,¡± Torwin said instantly.


    He took another bite of his stew while he thought it over, one of the especially delicious bites that had a little cube of meat in it. I wonder if I could learn to make this. Maybe the cook would give me the recipe and I could buy the ingredients.


    ¡°There¡¯s not much to the story. A friend and I decided to go explore the old dungeon in the forest. Back then, there were basically no monsters in the area. Some high levels came through thirty or forty years ago¡ªI¡¯m not sure exactly when¡ªand broke the core. I think we had some vague idea that we¡¯d discover some secret treasure everyone else had missed.¡±


    Torwin smiled. ¡°I think we all had dreams like that when we were children. I remember thinking that I¡¯d find some legendary weapon and become a mithril-ranked hunter, a max level dragon slayer.¡±


    ¡°Something like that,¡± Velik agreed. ¡°And we did find something.¡±


    ¡°The class orb.¡±


    ¡°Yes. It gave me [The Black Fang].¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of that class,¡± Torwin smiled. ¡°Quite a surprise. It¡¯s been twenty years since I saw a hunter class I didn¡¯t know everything about already. I hope you¡¯ll forgive me for prying. I¡¯d love to get information on it to add to the guild archives.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t do you any good,¡± Velik said.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s unique.¡±


    Torwin¡¯s eyebrows rose. ¡°You found a class orb that granted you a unique class when you were seven years old. That¡¯s¡­ far-fetched.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care if you believe me, guild hunter,¡± Velik said. He took another bite, savoring it as he chewed. ¡°They serve good food here, don¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°Good beer, too. So, you found a class orb, got a unique class. I haven¡¯t heard you mention what happened to your friend.¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. The process knocked me out. When I woke up, my friend was gone and there was a monster crawling toward me. I assumed the monster got him first and ran for my life.¡±


    ¡°Could you have revived the dungeon core?¡±


    Velik shook his head. ¡°We never even saw it. The stories say they¡¯re huge things, big stone pillars you can¡¯t even wrap your arms around. The only thing we found was the class orb, and that was barely the size of a hand ball.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t imagine it was a coincidence that monsters started pouring out of the trees the same night you went exploring.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what the mayor said when I got back, that it was all my fault somehow, and that I was a monster myself.¡±


    ¡°Why would they say that?¡± Torwin asked, his brow furrowed. ¡°I¡¯m sure whatever happened was an accident.¡±


    ¡°Ah, because of my race. It changed when I got my class.¡±


    ¡°It did what now?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a secret. Did nobody mention it when you were asking about me?¡±


    ¡°They did not,¡± Torwin said. ¡°So, it wasn¡¯t just a class orb, then. But I¡¯ve never heard of something that can change a race. Perhaps it was some kind of cursed item. That might also explain why it was left behind by the original team. Though¡­¡±


    ¡°Though what?¡±


    ¡°They still should have taken it for disposal. I guess it¡¯s possible they just missed it.¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± Velik agreed. He didn¡¯t really care why the class orb hadn¡¯t been found before, just that it had changed him, and that using it had done something to start the monster population in the area. Or it was a massive coincidence.


    ¡°I was thinking about going to look at the dungeon,¡± Torwin said. ¡°You know, to make sure it¡¯s still dead. It¡¯s possible that the team that cleared it out made a mistake and sent it into hibernation instead of actually killing it. I know a second team already checked it, but I¡¯d like to see it for myself.¡±


    Velik¡¯s spoon scraped the bottom of the bowl. He tilted it a bit and got the last little chunk of carrot out of there, then said, ¡°I¡¯m not going to try to stop you. If you want to waste your time, that¡¯s your business. Do me a favor and kill any monsters you see on the way there.¡±


    ¡°I was hoping to get you to come with me.¡±


    ¡°Not interested.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to see what¡¯s there?¡± the hunter pressed. ¡°There could be clues about what happened to you and why the monsters appeared.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already been there, three times now. There¡¯s nothing to find.¡± Velik pushed his chair back and stood up. ¡°Did you want something else before I go?¡±


    ¡°I just want to do what I was hired to do: kill the monsters and stop more from showing up. I¡¯m not your enemy. I¡¯m not working against you.¡± Torwin stood up and offered his hand to Velik again. ¡°If you change your mind about working with us, we¡¯ve got rooms at this inn. Come find me.¡±


    The old hunter started to walk away, then paused. Without turning back, he said, ¡°And¡­ I¡¯m sorry for what you went through. You didn¡¯t deserve to be treated that way. If I¡¯d been there¡­¡±


    He trailed off with a sigh, then walked out of the inn and left Velik alone with his thoughts.


    That could have gone a lot worse. The way he was chasing after me a few weeks ago, I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d take ¡®no¡¯ for an answer.


    Velik left a pair of silver vitrunes on the table¡ªprobably more than the meal cost but the money was worthless to him now that it had served its purpose as a training aid to boost [Stealth] up another rank¡ªand followed Torwin out of the inn. The hunter was already gone, thankfully.


    Now to go have a word with the guy who told him I was here. He¡¯d better have my order ready.


    * * *


    Torwin found Jensen easily enough. His apprentice¡¯s grasp at woodcraft was best described as rudimentary, or maybe it was more accurate to say that Jensen knew how to walk without leaving a trail, but didn¡¯t care to expend the effort. Either way, he wasn¡¯t hard to track down.


    ¡°Well?¡± Jensen asked when Torwin stepped out from behind a tree and joined him on the trail.


    ¡°No good. He answered a few questions, but he¡¯s not cooperative and he didn¡¯t tell me anything new, beyond confirming that he¡¯d already gone back to look at the old dungeon a few times. Our plans haven¡¯t changed.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you make him cooperate? It¡¯s not like he could stop you from grabbing him by the neck and dragging him out here.¡±


    ¡°First, because I like to think I¡¯m not a shitty person. Second, because that¡¯s a good way to grow a knife between your ribs while you¡¯re sleeping. Third, because I think he just needs time to realize we all want the same thing, then he¡¯ll willingly assist us.¡±


    ¡°We could offer to pay him,¡± Jensen said. ¡°I mean, that¡¯s why we¡¯re here. Everyone likes money.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re here to get you valuable experience fighting an enemy that¡¯s within your capabilities to handle, and also to solve a monster problem on the frontier. The money doesn¡¯t really factor into it.¡±


    Jensen paused and turned to regard his master fully. ¡°Wait, really? You¡¯re not out here for the money?¡±


    ¡°All hundred gold fulmites of it?¡± Torwin responded dryly. ¡°No, it wasn¡¯t a hugely motivating factor in my decision.¡±


    ¡°A hundred? That¡¯s it?¡± Jensen sputtered. ¡°That¡¯s barely pocket change. It was three hundred miles just to get here.¡±


    ¡°You have an incredibly skewed grasp on how much money that is, especially to people as poor as the ones living here. Maybe we need to have a discussion about how much things cost, and how much people earn when they don¡¯t have a noble household to see to their every whim.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t we just go kill some monsters instead?¡±


    Torwin flashed his apprentice an evil grin. ¡°Not to worry! We can do both.¡±

 Chapter 22

    Eager as he was to get back to the deep wood, Velik was not comfortable leaving the area with so many monsters around. The towns had their walls, and they had the watch to guard against monsters. That was fine for a pack of worgs or a few blur hawks, but it didn¡¯t work quite so well when thirty or forty monsters formed a horde and tried to overrun the place.


    That was a big reason Velik was so concerned about elites showing up. Different monster types didn¡¯t work well together naturally. Sometimes even the same monster types would fight each other for territory or a meal. It was one of the big ways the population was kept in check, but it did result in the monsters being a higher-than-average level even if the total number didn¡¯t tend to go up.


    If an elite got involved, the story changed. For some reason, they could direct other monsters in cooperative attacks. If it was something like an elite worg, it might unite four or five packs under its leadership, which could easily wipe out an unprepared human settlement. More diverse hordes tended to be smaller, but that didn¡¯t necessarily make them less dangerous. A flock of night screamers could disorient defenders long enough for bigger monsters to kill them, even if they lacked the numbers of a homogenous swarm.


    As many elites as he¡¯d seen in the last month, he didn¡¯t doubt there were half a dozen of them running around, and since he hadn¡¯t been here to kill them before they started building up their own hordes, and Torwin hadn¡¯t done as good a job keeping the population under control as he¡¯d hoped, that meant there was a chance a horde or two were forming right now.


    So, instead of heading directly out again when he woke up late in the afternoon, Velik did a full circuit of his normal route, killing whatever random monsters he came across and searching for signs of gathering hordes. There was plenty of evidence that more than a few elites had been working on exactly that, but the hordes had apparently already been destroyed or dispersed.


    I guess those two were good for something after all. He is a professional monster hunter, so it makes sense that he¡¯d know where to focus his efforts. This is a lot of clean up, but not an impending disaster.


    It was better than he was expecting, but not as good as he¡¯d been hoping. Velik looped past each town, his speed increasing drastically once the sun went down. By the time he completed the circuit, a full hundred miles of woodland travel and at least three hundred now-dead monsters along the way, the sun was nearly up.


    The whole time, he kept coming back to that conversation with Torwin. For one thing, it had been the longest conversation he¡¯d had with another person in years, and it set off an unexpected pang of loneliness in him. Velik found himself drawn back to that encounter with his old childhood friend, Sildra. He¡¯d never expected to see her again, but there she¡¯d been, out in the woods in the middle of the night trying to gather some stupid flowers and risking her life.


    Idly, he wondered what she¡¯d even needed them for. As far as he was aware, they had no medicinal properties, and he doubted anyone would be stupid enough to fight off monsters just for a pretty bouquet. From what he remembered, Sildra¡¯s family did leatherworking with a focus on lumberjack supplies. They mostly took orders for boots, gloves, harnesses, tool belts, and jackets. Flowers were not a part of the process, especially not rare ones that only bloomed at night during specific phases of the moon.


    Come to think of it, those should be popping up again in a day or two. I wonder if she¡¯ll try to go after them. Hopefully she hires someone a bit stronger this time.


    They weren¡¯t terribly hard to find, but there were none close to Deshir. It was going to be a ten or twelve mile hike one way, and the monsters were even stronger now than they¡¯d been before. Then again, they¡¯d gotten unlucky last time with that elite. Maybe it would be fine.


    Though he did his best to cull the monster population, he couldn¡¯t be everywhere and protect everyone all at once. Hopefully, Sildra wouldn¡¯t do anything rash, or if she did, she¡¯d get lucky and return home unscathed.


    I suppose I could delay returning to the deep wood by a day or two and clear out the forest around Deshir. It needs to be done anyway. Really, it¡¯s just shuffling priorities around a bit.


    Velik wasn¡¯t sure who he was fooling, but it sure wasn¡¯t himself.


    * * *


    The [Moonsilk Blossoms] appeared right on schedule, leaving Velik to wonder if and when he could expect his foolish childhood friend to show up to claim them. He patrolled the area around Deshir heavily and found no less than three elites coming out of the deep wood. None of them were above level 30, and thus, were no match for his high physical, the [Sharp] enchantment on his spear, and his new [Kinetic Charge] skill.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    He spotted Sildra about two hours before the sun went down, followed by the same bodyguard as last time. I knew it. You were always too stubborn for your own good. The pair disappeared into the forest, heading for a wildflower field while Velik quietly stalked them.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we go to the south field first?¡± Gorm asked.


    ¡°No. There weren¡¯t enough last time and I basically picked the place clean. There will be even less now.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you need that many though? I thought you got more than enough.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t decide how much we need. I¡¯m just following instructions,¡± she told him.


    ¡°Whose instructions?¡± he shot back, suspicion obvious in his tone.


    Good question.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. All the old flowers are useless, so I¡¯m starting from scratch. We have to gather all of them before the full moon starts to wane.¡±


    That¡¯s¡­ oddly specific, Velik thought with a frown. What is she up to?


    Whatever it was, the best way to make sure she didn¡¯t get killed was to help her get it done. Neither her nor Gorm were anywhere near strong enough to find him, but they were quite noisy. Velik kept himself busy killing off anything that got too close, usually before it even realized he was there.


    Gorm might not have been able to spot Velik directly, but he recognized a fresh kill when he saw one. The third time they stopped to prod a monster corpse, Sildra just smiled out into the trees. Velik would have thought she¡¯d somehow spotted him, so close was her gaze to where he was crouched on a low branch, except that she was peering ten feet to his right.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she said softly.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Gorm said, looking up from the monster corpse.


    ¡°Nothing. We should hurry.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the boss,¡± he said. He stood back up, craned his neck looking around for the fifth time in the last ten minutes, then shrugged and started walking.


    * * *


    ¡°This was a lot easier this time around,¡± Sildra said brightly.


    ¡°Yeah. Too easy. I keep waiting for the monsters to fall on us.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s going to happen.¡±


    ¡°Because of the Black Fang? I heard someone spotted him in Celarut earlier this week. He was talking to that guild hunter they hired.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve met him. He¡¯s a nice man, very polite.¡±


    ¡°The guild hunter or the Black Fang?¡±


    ¡°The guild hunter,¡± she said. ¡°The Black Fang is¡­ kind, I think, but perhaps not nice and definitely not polite.¡±


    Well you¡¯re pretty rude too, Velik thought from his position four hundred feet away. He had a giant ferret pinned to the ground with his spear. It kicked and thrashed weakly while its black blood dribbled into the dirt and he waited for the kill notification to come in.


    ¡°I think maybe you shouldn¡¯t speak ill of him,¡± Gorm whispered harshly. ¡°Who knows how close he is? What? We both know it¡¯s not a coincidence that I haven¡¯t seen a single living monster all night.¡±


    ¡°Morgus has sent him to our aid,¡± Sildra said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that,¡± Gorm shot back sourly. ¡°And even if it¡¯s true, maybe don¡¯t be so casual about it. Now come on, if you¡¯re done here, let¡¯s get back to town.¡±


    ¡°No, there¡¯s one more stop to make first.¡±


    ¡°What? More flowers?¡±


    ¡°Not this time. We¡¯re going to Crescent Hill.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s thirty miles from here!¡±


    ¡°And we need to get there before the moon sets,¡± she said.


    Maybe four hours. They¡¯ll have to move a lot faster than they¡¯ve been going so far.


    ¡°Does it have to be tonight?¡± Gorm asked.


    Sildra bit her lip and glanced up at the moon. ¡°It¡­ No. It doesn¡¯t have to, but I want it to be. The [Moonsilk Blossoms] should be as fresh as possible.¡±


    The bodyguard grunted and peered out into the darkness. ¡°Gods save me from foolish teenage girls. Alright, there¡¯s no time to waste. Here, hand me that pack and I¡¯ll get it tied down. We¡¯re going to have to run the whole way.¡±


    Velik didn¡¯t think they¡¯d manage it, but he¡¯d do his best to clear the way just to see what would happen if they did. He had his suspicions, and it¡¯d be worth the time wasted just to witness things for himself if he was right. And either way, he wasn¡¯t about to let Sildra get herself killed running around in the dark.


    Smiling to himself, he slipped off to hunt the next monster down.

 Chapter 23

    Crescent Hill was a spiritual site dedicated to Morgus, God of Nature and the Hunt, that had been abandoned by almost everyone a decade ago. Velik didn¡¯t necessarily think that was his fault, but he knew it wasn¡¯t a coincidence that people had stopped coming out to Crescent Hill once the monsters showed up. Only the most fanatical hunters still came out to leave offerings or pray.


    He hadn¡¯t really expected Sildra to be one of them, but now that he thought about it, that did explain why she¡¯d been so insistent on risking her life gathering [Moonsilk Blossoms]. It was a religious thing. That wasn¡¯t something he remembered her being interested in when they were kids, but people changed and the whole area had undergone a lot of dramatic upheavals in the last decade.


    Velik wasn¡¯t terribly religious himself. No god had ever come to back him up when he was in trouble, and he was too busy to do stuff like spend an entire night harvesting flowers to leave next to a random rock some people had decided was holy. Morgus was probably the god whose values most closely aligned with Velik¡¯s, but he didn¡¯t spend a lot of time musing about his spiritual relationship with an absentee deity. If Morgus wanted something, Velik was sure he¡¯d hear about it. Until then, he didn¡¯t worry about it.


    The shrine itself was a simple stone arch placed at the top of a hill, naturally formed in some way that wasn¡¯t immediately apparent to Velik. It was a rough, three-foot-thick hoop of stone that rose ten feet into the air. Five men could walk through it at the same time without trouble. Moss grew across its surface and hung down from the top of the arch, pale green and fuzzy in the moonlight.


    It was an unusual enough sight that he could understand why some people might think it was divinely inspired, but Velik had seen plenty of equally strange things out in the wild lands beyond the frontier. This one didn¡¯t particularly speak to him. But I guess Sildra sees it differently.


    She approached the arch with Gorm trailing behind her by a few feet and began placing the [Moonsilk Blossoms] on the ground around the twin bases. Velik watched with a frown from the bough of a pine tree growing at the base of the hill, unnoticed by either of the other people there.


    At first, it seemed like she was just spreading handfuls carelessly, but with each one she tossed out, the pattern became clearer. Somehow, seemingly by sheer coincidence, the petals were drifting down to form a mirror of the arch, a flowery shadow cast by the light of the moon. Soon, the baskets and bags of [Moonsilk Blossoms] were empty, and Sildra stood atop a Crescent Hill adorned in luminous white flowers.


    That was when Velik got his first sign that a god was watching, and more, that he approved. The reflected moonlight off the scattered petals grew so bright that the entire hill lit up like it was the middle of the day. Hundreds or thousands of strands of moonlight rose up, obscuring the top of the hill and forcing Gorm back. He scrambled out of the way, slipped on something, and tumbled down the hill to collapse in a heap at the base.


    Velik watched anxiously, wondering the whole time if he needed to jump in and pull Sildra out of whatever was happening. After thirty seconds, the light dimmed to reveal his childhood friend standing whole and unharmed beneath the arch. Small arcs of moonlight were dancing across her skin, leaving a trail of white dots that slowly faded.


    She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s done.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s done?¡± Gorm asked, sitting upright and scowling at her while he prodded a tender lump that had appeared on his head.


    ¡°The offering to Morgus, of course. He has accepted it and given me his blessing.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ uh¡­ that¡¯s fantastic. What does his blessing mean?¡±


    ¡°It means I¡¯m no longer a [Seamstress],¡± she said.


    Velik¡¯s breath caught. A divinely granted class change?


    Gorm must have been thinking the same thing, because he scrambled to his feet. Velik couldn¡¯t see the look on his face, but it was easy to imagine. ¡°He gave you a unique class?¡±Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Sildra laughed. ¡°No, nothing like that. I am simply a [Druid] now. It¡¯s what I asked for, and Morgus saw fit to grant my prayer.¡±


    Velik had only a vague idea what the class did, beyond that it was some sort of nature priest. He supposed it fit well with a god known for his mastery over the wild lands, but as far as any sort of specific class abilities, he couldn¡¯t even begin to guess.


    ¡°So, what? You can talk to trees and animals now?¡±


    ¡°Someday, maybe.¡± She trailed off with a frown, then shook her head and refocused her eyes down the hill. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s a lot to sort through. Let¡¯s head back home for now.¡±


    The two left shortly after that, with Gorm trudging through the brush, shoving it aside where he could or hacking a path when he needed to. Sildra practically floated along behind him, her hands reaching out to caress tree trunks and leaves.


    When Velik looked at her through the lens of [Predator¡¯s Visage], he saw something that wasn¡¯t a threat, but which was still dangerous. In a way, she reminded him of a pup ¨C weak now, but growing into a powerful wolf in the near future. Whatever it was a [Druid] did, he didn¡¯t want to be on the receiving end of it once she¡¯d grown into the class. Gorm hadn¡¯t made it seem that powerful, but Velik was guessing he was missing a few key points.


    ¡°What¡¯re you going to do now?¡± Gorm asked at one point when they stopped for a break. Despite the way being clear of monsters, they¡¯d walked or run a lot of miles for one night already. Gorm had enough points in physical to hold up, but Sildra was a different story. She¡¯d been hanging on by her fingertips before, and now that the drive to complete her class change was missing, she was quickly growing tired.


    ¡°Whatever Morgus wants me to do. Right now, his desire is that I help cleanse the wild lands near the frontier of this monster infestation.¡±


    ¡°Druids can hunt monsters? I thought you were supposed to be peaceful,¡± Gorm said.


    ¡°Some druids are healers. I don¡¯t think that¡¯s what I¡¯ll be doing.¡±


    Gorm made a show of looking around. ¡°Well, you¡¯re not going to be gaining any levels like this.¡±


    Velik rolled his eyes and started to circle around behind the pair. There were three monsters sneaking up behind them, probably not too strong for Gorm to handle on his own, but Velik wasn¡¯t going to find out.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s fine,¡± Sildra told her bodyguard. ¡°I need time to read about what my class can do so I can figure out what I should do with it. I suspect¡­¡±


    ¡°You suspect what?¡±


    She glanced up through the boughs of the trees. ¡°I think my path will be tied to the moon. I¡¯m just not sure how, yet.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll come to you,¡± Gorm said. ¡°Ready to start walking again?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I think so. We¡¯re only a few miles from Deshir. Let¡¯s try to make it back in one push.¡±


    ¡°Easier said than done. If we were coming in from the north, it¡¯d be one thing, but the brush is so much thicker from this side.¡±


    ¡°There should be a trail somewhere nearby,¡± she said.


    ¡°And good luck finding it.¡±


    Unable to argue, Sildra simply shrugged and motioned for Gorm to lead the way. Vellik finished his ambush of the three monsters stalking them, wiped his spear on the fur of the least-bloodied corpse, and silently drifted along behind them. He was careful to keep them within the range of his senses, even if he didn¡¯t maintain visual contact at all times. Any monsters that he sensed nearby met the same unfortunate fate, that of a quick death with his spear pinning them to the ground.


    The pair broke free from the tree line with bare minutes to spare before the sun came up. As soon as Deshir was in sight, Velik broke off and darted away at a much faster speed than he¡¯d been going all night. No longer constrained trying to keep his presence hidden¡ªeven though he knew both of his charges suspected he¡¯d been lurking around them¡ªhe was able to go for quick kills without the need for subterfuge.


    Pushing his physical stat for all he could get from it, he arrived back home in less than an hour. By that point, the sun was up and he¡¯d lost [Duskbound], but it didn¡¯t matter. The only thing he had left to do was get some rest before he returned to the deep wood in the evening.


    He puttered around his rough little cave for an hour to wind down, got his bag packed and double-checked everything, then laid down and closed his eyes. He tried to sleep, but it escaped him. Instead, he spent an hour wondering about Sildra and her new class, if he could expect to run into her regularly if she was going to be a moon [Druid], whatever that meant. Presumably, she¡¯d be on a similar schedule to him.


    He couldn¡¯t decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Maybe if she didn¡¯t live in Deshir, it¡¯d be easier to decide. He still hadn¡¯t found any answers when sleep finally caught up with him.

 Chapter 24

    The arrow struck the scalehound¡¯s flank, but instead of biting deep, it shattered into pieces. The monster, undeterred, continued its menacing stalk toward Jensen. Another arrow materialized, already set to his bow string, and he took a moment to steady his breathing before he released it. This one was aimed for the scalehound¡¯s eye, but it simply turned its head and took the shot to the shoulder instead. That attack had no more effect than the first one.


    ¡°Gods above and below! What level is this thing?¡± he swore. He didn¡¯t want to pull on the bracer¡¯s magic any deeper than he already was, but he just couldn¡¯t hurt the scalehound with basic arrows. Exhausting the bracer was a concern for later.


    Concentrating, he shaped another arrow out of pure magic, this one heavy with a [Sharp] enchantment. At the same time, he called on his bow to imbue the shot with [Accuracy] and [Resilience]. His belt already gave him a strong bonus to physical, but it had an active effect to temporarily boost that even further. Finally, the ring on his left index finger added a layer of [Edge of Winter], coating the tip of the arrow in razor-sharp ice.


    If that didn¡¯t finally get through this thing¡¯s scaly hide, nothing would. Perhaps sensing danger, the scalehound lurched into an ungainly, lopsided run. It closed the distance from fifty feet to ten in less than a second, then Jensen released the arrow. It jumped from the string to the scalehound¡¯s eye so fast that he couldn¡¯t see its path with his eyes, not even with the [Perceptive] enchantment on his hat boosting his already impressively-fortified mental.


    [You have slain a burnished scalehound (level 24).]


    The shaft vibrated in place, more than halfway buried in the monster¡¯s skull now. Jensen felt the tension drain out of him and he let out a relieved sigh. The monster¡¯s momentum had carried it the rest of the way after its death, and its corpse was sprawled out at Jensen¡¯s feet. ¡°That was a close one.¡±


    ¡°But you held steady and made the shot,¡± Torwin told him. ¡°I knew you could do it.¡±


    I¡¯m glad one of us did.


    ¡°Do you think there are any more nearby?¡± he asked.


    ¡°No,¡± his master said with a shake of his head. ¡°I took care of the rest.¡±


    What ¡®rest?!¡¯


    Jensen looked around wildly, his eyes flicking from corpse to corpse. Most of them were half-hidden beneath the brush or behind trees, and he knew there were a few he couldn¡¯t see, but he counted nine more scalehounds, each one dead from a single arrow somewhere in its body.


    How does he do it? His bow would break from the force needed to throw an arrow that fast, and I know he¡¯s just buying the ammunition from local fletchers. There are no enchantments in play here. They should have shattered on impact.


    Jensen already knew what answer he¡¯d get. Torwin would just laugh and cite skills, then get cagey about exactly just how many skills he had merged together to fill those six slots he¡¯d unlocked. Considering the man¡¯s prolific career as a monster hunter, Jensen had no doubt the number could be classified as ¡®a lot.¡¯


    ¡°I meant more like, ¡®Will there be more monsters of the same level nearby?¡¯¡± Jensen said, trying to inject some eagerness in his voice. That wasn¡¯t what he¡¯d meant at all, but he didn¡¯t want his master thinking he was weak. It wasn¡¯t that he was afraid of encountering more monsters, just that he was concerned about running out of the magic he needed to actually hurt the damn things.


    "Oh, I''m sure they¡¯ll get stronger the farther out we go. Civilization is what keeps monster levels low. When you get out into places like this, the monsters just keep killing each other and stacking on levels. As far as I can tell, the only reason these towns even still exist is because of the Black Fang. Without his presence, those towns would have been overrun a long time ago, and there¡¯s nothing out here worth fighting to keep, so the government would just abandon the frontier.¡±


    ¡°Abandoning this place might be the right decision,¡± Jensen said. ¡°The townsfolk should head south while they still have their lives. No matter how many monsters we kill, more just keep coming. And they¡¯re getting stronger.¡±


    Torwin nodded along. ¡°You¡¯re right, of course. Right now, we¡¯re doing exactly what the Black Fang has been doing for the last decade. We¡¯re stalling things, reacting to monsters as we find them instead of solving the root problem. There will always be more monsters, sure, but there shouldn¡¯t be so many, not so fast. Something is accelerating their population growth, and we need to figure out what that is and stop it.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°And so we¡¯re going to this old dungeon that was broken fifty years ago or whenever.¡±


    ¡°Right again,¡± Torwin said. ¡°Now, does your gear need a bit longer to recharge or are you ready to proceed?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m good for a few more fights, at least. Though with the amount of magic I¡¯m using just to put an arrow into these things, I¡¯m going to be about worthless by the time the sun goes down.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s easily remedied. You just need to locate vulnerabilities, like you did with that one you shot in the eye. That¡¯s an obvious spot on most monsters, but it¡¯s not always viable. There are some signs that¡¯ll tell you where scales or fur are thinner, and of course, it pays to study what your predecessors wrote down about the monsters they hunted. Why, I remember once¡­¡±


    Jensen had long since grown used to taking in Torwin¡¯s lectures while they scouted or fought. He still hated it, though, as the old man¡¯s voice inevitably drew in more monsters. Once, Jensen had tried to raise that point, but his master had just laughed and started a new lecture on the topic of working his way out of a disadvantageous position, such as an ambush.


    Overhead, the sun slowly sank toward the tree tops in the western sky.


    * * *


    As interesting as it was to see what the area¡¯s new [Druid] would do, Velik had already spent too much time on Sildra already. He had his own leads to chase down, which meant gathering a few thousand more decarmas and purchasing something that would let him get a read on mana levels. It was an awfully expensive tool just to test a theory, but Velik didn¡¯t have a better idea.


    If he was right about monsters showing up where mana was the thickest, then hopefully he could find those spots, figure out why mana was thicker there, and fix it. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have the funds to afford any sort of mana-sensing gear that could be useful at the moment, not unless he could find a way to measure mana over miles and miles of wild forests using nothing but his sense of touch.


    It seemed easier to just save up for something that would better suit his purposes.


    A month ago, he would have thought differently, but discovering how much quicker decarmas stacked up when he was fighting monsters five or more levels above his own had changed his sense of scale. It had taken years to save up the fifty thousand decarmas for his spear, but at the rate he was going now, he was confident he could buy another one in four months or less.


    Not to say that the spear wasn¡¯t worth it. [Shape Shifting] alone is an excellent enchantment. Having [Bleeding], [Sharp], and [Mending] on it as well is almost too good. If only it didn¡¯t have this stupid name, ¡®Blood Seeker.¡¯ Did the system come up with that or¡­?


    Regardless of how it had been named, it was an excellent weapon that Velik fully expected to use for the rest of his life. It could assume any shape he needed, repaired itself when damaged, and was optimized to stab holes into monsters and make them bleed profusely, no matter how shallow the wound was. It was practically the perfect weapon.


    His cowl, by comparison, was relatively weak. That he¡¯d purchased from a merchant on a caravan a year before, mostly by trading a lot of furs and other rare natural treasures he¡¯d picked up in the forest. It had [Night Vision] on it, which was worthless to him, but it also contained [Perceptive], which increased his mental stat¡¯s impact on his senses, and [Resilient], which helped him deal with things like night screamers and nosy guild hunters trying to use skills on him.


    The boots he¡¯d bought from the system store as well, mostly because he kept wearing through his and wanted footwear enchanted with [Mending]. That they also had [Silent] and [Strider] to help him walk long distances quickly and quietly was just a nice bonus. He could only hope that when he did finally pick up a piece of gear that let him sense mana, it would also have a few other useful abilities.


    Maybe something that gives a large boost to mystic would be useful once I free up the skill slot that [Stealth] is in. Some of those skills looked downright useful, but not enough to start investing free points into mystic. If I could make up the difference in the low stat with gear, though, it might be worth it.


    Velik hadn¡¯t given it a lot of thought before, mostly because he¡¯d expected it would be many years before he had enough decarmas saved up again, and even now, he had to restock his used potions before he truly started looking at new pieces of gear. But the decision suddenly seemed a lot closer than it had a month ago, and he idly perused the system store while he ran north, just to get an idea of what was available and how much it would cost him.


    I wonder, though. If level 30 to 35 monsters are dropping decarmas this fast, what about level 40 or 50? Oh, the things I could do with that kind of money.


    So lost in thought was he, dreaming of belts, rings, amulets, bracers, gloves, and the like, that he almost didn¡¯t realize there was someone nearby until he was only a few hundred feet away from them. Startled out of his daydreaming, he came to a halt and crouched down, only to scowl in annoyance when he recognized the voices.


    Those two, again?!

 Chapter 25

    Velik very nearly turned back on the spot when he heard Torwin¡¯s voice drifting through the trees ahead of him. He didn¡¯t want to be anywhere near the old hunter, not in the least because of the man¡¯s obviously high level. [Predator¡¯s Visage] was unwavering in its conviction that Torwin would crush him if it came to a fight.


    It wasn¡¯t even that Velik thought the old monster hunter was going to attack him, not after that conversation they¡¯d had. It had been a different story when he was getting chased through the woods, but now he just didn¡¯t want to answer any more prying questions about his personal life. There was also the fact that the apprentice had almost shot him purely due to bad aim, which Velik wasn¡¯t quite up to forgiving him for just yet.


    So, he kept his distance, even going so far as to travel a mile off to the side just to make sure they didn¡¯t cross paths. Despite that, every few minutes Velik would catch a bit of conversation, just enough to let him know he was still moving more-or-less in parallel with the two hunters.


    Damn it. They¡¯re going to the old dungeon, too.


    Velik¡¯s plan had been to start in that area, hunting monsters until he could pick up his new piece of gear, then working his way out looking for pockets of dense mana. There were no other landmarks out in the deep wood, not that he knew of, anyway, so it didn¡¯t make much sense for Torwin to be heading anywhere else. If Velik wanted to go there, he either needed to speed up, or he needed to wait a few days and go in after the others left.


    There was another reason to turn back, though. If the professionals were out here, that meant nobody was patrolling around the towns. For the moment, the monsters weren¡¯t yet strong enough to pose a real threat to the watch, but all it would take was one elite coming by and forming a small horde. Without him or Torwin there to prevent that, he might return in a few weeks, only to find there was nothing left to protect.


    At the same time, he¡¯d been trying to wait out the storm for months, and it was only growing worse. If he turned back now, he could maybe push back the monsters until winter. After that, it was anybody¡¯s guess. Perhaps the monster hunters¡¯ fee would be money well spent and they¡¯d take care of the problem.


    If we¡¯re both working on it independently, that¡¯s a better chance for one of us to figure out what the problem is and eliminate it. The towns will survive.


    He wasn¡¯t sure he really believed that, but he didn¡¯t trust that Torwin could find a solution. After all, Velik had been looking for one for years without a single lead until he¡¯d stumbled across that champion elite. Torwin was just going to look at some empty ruins and a big hole in the ground.


    Deciding that he didn¡¯t really need to start out at the dungeon, especially when he still had a few days of hunting monsters in the deep wood ahead of him, Velik shifted to a more north-east course for an hour to put another ten miles or so between himself and the other hunters, then corrected straight north. Now he¡¯d be a good thirty miles or more from the dungeon by the time he stopped.


    That didn¡¯t mean the monsters stopped showing up, of course. Even without going out of his way, he still found a swarm of wasps, each the size of his fist and level 18 or 19, a stoat that had grown to be six-feet-long and covered with metallic fur, a pack of ebonfur worgs, all level 25 or better, and a single hookfin sky swimmer, level 31.


    That was a fight, with the floating fish darting through the air and harrying him in a running battle that lasted almost half an hour. It weighed half a ton and had a mouth big enough to swallow him whole, but was agile enough to slip through trees without so much as rustling the leaves. That, combined with its natural magic that let it spit out jets of pressurized water, made it a tough opponent, one that didn¡¯t die until Velik managed to shape the tip of his spear into a giant fishhook after jabbing it into the monster¡¯s mouth, then hauled it down to the ground to crush its skull with repeated stomps.


    Ugh, it¡¯s a good thing these boots repair themselves, he thought with a grimace as he pulled his foot free of the monster¡¯s skull. Brain matter and black ichor coated the leather, but it would dry and fall off as the boots worked their magic. He ignored the mess, confirmed the kill notification, and kept on walking.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Even moving at top speed, it wasn¡¯t a one-day trip back to the deep wood. Though he bypassed most of the monsters unless they were directly in his way, Velik couldn¡¯t get there in under three, and even his stamina was nearing its limits from the hard run. He hadn¡¯t stopped to sleep, not wanting to take the time to find safe holes to rest in.


    When he finally got to an area where most of the monsters seemed to be in the mid-to-high thirties, it was around noon. Velik spent an hour locating a den, baited out the monster nesting in it, and killed it a hundred feet away. Then he cleaned out the mess left inside, mostly old, gnawed upon bones and waste better left unidentified, dragged some shrubbery he ripped straight out the ground in front of the entrance, and closed his eyes to sleep.


    * * *


    [You have slain a burrow skinder (level 36).]


    Velik checked his decarma total. Seven thousand. Getting closer.


    * * *


    [You have slain a noxious stag (level 34).]


    [You have slain a bile-heart doe (level 33).]


    Nine thousand. Almost there.


    * * *


    [You have slain a black-tongue giant salamander (level 38).]


    [Spear Warden has advanced to rank 6.]


    Oh, perfect! I was wondering if that was going to show up soon. And¡­ ninety-five hundred. Not quite there.


    * * *


    Five days after he arrived in the area, Velik finally crossed the threshold he was aiming for. With ten thousand decarmas, he could purchase an item the system store described as a mana compass, which he¡¯d found when he¡¯d switched tactics from gear to utility items. He was actually a bit chagrined that it had taken him so long to think of that, but as soon as he had, he¡¯d found exactly what he needed, and at a far more reasonable price.


    With a bit of melancholy, he watched as his hard-earned wealth vanished. A moment later, an ornate compass appeared in front of him. It floated in place for a second until he plucked it out of the air to examine the strange device.


    Normal compasses weren¡¯t something Velik really needed. It was easy enough to navigate by the sun or the stars, and besides, compasses were an expense he didn¡¯t need. So, he wasn¡¯t sure exactly what they were supposed to look like, but he was guessing it was nothing like the thing in his hand.


    It was round, about two inches across and a quarter-inch thick. That part seemed normal enough, but from there, things started to get weird. It was made out of brass, he thought, but with little squiggly lines carved in a circle on its backside and filled with some sort of glittering white stone. In the center of the circle was a wide, flat ruby that seemed to glow with its own light.


    Its face was even more strange. It reminded him of a clock he¡¯d seen in the mayor of Deshir¡¯s house as a child, with numbers inscribed in a circle that long black arrows pointed at as they spun in slow circles, over and over again. He¡¯d stared at it for hours when he¡¯d first gotten back after the incident while the adults kept him waiting so they could argue about what to do.


    The mana compass looked like that, except Velik didn¡¯t recognize any of the six symbols arranged around the center arrow, which itself was more of a flat, red triangle. The whole thing was under glass, and little red and blue sparks chased each other around the symbols as the arrow flickered back and forth while he examined it.


    I¡­ have no idea how to use this. Okay, that¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll just have to figure it out. This thing probably does a bunch of stuff that¡¯s more advanced than what I need. If I point it at where I know the monsters are stronger, and assume that means more mana, I can tell which symbol means ¡®mana ahead.¡¯ Then I just follow the arrow and we¡¯re set.


    It wasn¡¯t that easy, but Velik wasn¡¯t about to give up so soon after spending such an exorbitant amount of decarmas on the mana compass. He messed around with it for the rest of the day, trying to see if he could correlate any of the symbols with monsters, or mana, or the cardinal directions.


    Eventually, he was forced to concede defeat. The compass¡¯s system descriptions were useless¡ª[A device designed to detect and measure the density and distance of various types of mana]¡ªand whatever the little symbols meant, he couldn¡¯t figure them out. The compass was functionally useless to him unless he could find someone to show him how it worked.


    He could think of one person who might know, but asking for help irked Velik. It could be a moot point, anyway, since the hunter duo was probably already long gone from the dungeon. With no other options besides going back to the towns, Velik set out in that direction anyway. He wasn¡¯t sure if he hoped Torwin would still be there or not, but he wasn¡¯t one to shy away from doing what needed to be done just because it was unpleasant.


    Two days later, he reached the ruins of the old dungeon, as empty and foreboding as they¡¯d always been.

 Chapter 26

    10 years ago¡­


    ¡°My feet hurt. Can we take a break?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re almost there! Come on, another five minutes.¡±


    Velik scowled at Chalin. ¡°You¡¯ve said that four times now.¡±


    They¡¯d been exploring the forest regularly all summer, oftentimes going on overnight camping trips so they could push deeper. At first, it had just been to see what was out there and because they didn¡¯t have a lot of responsibilities at home yet. Their parents had encouraged them, hoping it would lead to an uncommon or even rare hunter-type class when they got older.


    Then Chalin had come up with what had seemed like a good idea at first, but which Velik was rapidly becoming less and less enthused about. Chalin had revealed his master plan last night: to go see the ruins of the old dungeon for themselves. The reality of that had turned out to be just endless walking, with no idea how far they had to go or even if they were going in the right direction.


    Just as Velik was about to open his mouth to demand a break this time, no more excuses, Chalin let out an excited yell and surged through the brush. A branch snapped back behind him, almost striking Velik across the face and causing him to let out an annoyed huff. That was forgotten a moment later when he saw what had gotten his friend so excited.


    ¡°There it is!¡± Chalin said, practically dancing in place as he gestured wildly ahead. A whole town was sitting ahead of them, but one made of stone instead of wood. A slope ran down a hundred feet to the edge of the first moss-stained building, one of a dozen that they could see from their vantage point.


    Exhaustion forgotten, Velik jumped ahead and started running down the hill. ¡°Hey!¡± Chalin yelped as he scrambled to catch up. ¡°Don¡¯t go in without me!¡±


    * * *


    The upper ruins looked just like Velik remembered, except with another decade¡¯s worth of moss coating them. That didn¡¯t really make much of a difference, considering they¡¯d had fifty years of growth before he¡¯d seen them as a child.


    Somehow, no trees or bushes grew between those houses, though the old cobblestone streets had long since been lost under a layer of dirt. The streets had been cleaner in the middle of the ruins when he¡¯d been young, but time continued to bury the place. He imagined that one day the buildings would fall down or the dirt would pile up so high that the whole thing would be just another large hill covered in trees.


    Today was not that day, however, so Velik started down the hill to begin his search for Torwin. He¡¯d been hoping to avoid the conversation, but bringing the mana compass to the dungeon hadn¡¯t done anything except change which direction the arrow pointed ¨C away from the dungeon, for whatever that was worth.


    The dungeon was a lot bigger than the buildings on the surface. Velik actually wasn¡¯t entirely clear on why they were considered part of the whole thing, but everyone agreed that they were. Apparently, they¡¯d been alive back before the core was broken. Monsters had spawned in the buildings, woven out of dungeon magic and ready to tear would-be hunters apart. Maybe that¡¯s all it takes. But then, isn¡¯t the whole forest basically one big dungeon if the only criteria is ¡®makes monsters?¡¯


    Whatever the reason, the dungeon was weirdly empty. It was supposed to be dead, but not even animals made their homes in the ruins. Velik walked through it, heading for the well in the middle of town, and peered at the moss. It was whole, completely untouched by human hands. He paused to peer briefly at the open doorway of the nearest building, as empty of anything except for dust as it had always been.


    * * *


    Velik scraped off a chunk of moss from the wall next to the door. ¡°This one¡¯s empty, too,¡± he yelled out. Chalin was in one of the other houses, looking for any sort of treasure they could take home with them. They probably wouldn¡¯t find anything, but it was still fun to search.


    He walked around the building toward the next one, only to fall back with a frightened screech when something leaped out at him. ¡°Blehugahra!¡± Chalin bellowed, arms raised over his head as he loomed over Velik.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do that!¡± Velik scolded, his breath coming heavy. ¡°What if I¡¯d stabbed you?¡±


    ¡°Nah, I¡¯d just dodge out of the way,¡± Chalin said. He laughed and gestured behind him. ¡°Those three are all empty, too. This place is lame. I thought there¡¯d be something here, but¡­¡±This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    ¡°There probably was, but other people already cleaned the place out,¡± Velik said.


    ¡°Probably.¡± Chalin nodded along. ¡°That¡¯s why we need to go somewhere adults couldn¡¯t fit, so we can find the treasures they missed.¡±


    ¡°Like where?¡± Velik asked. As far as he could tell, they¡¯d explored the whole dungeon between the two of them.


    ¡°Like there.¡±


    * * *


    It was a little stone well, three feet high and two feet across. It had a little roof with a metal chain hanging down from it that might have connected to a bucket once upon a time. Or maybe not. It¡¯s not like this was ever a real village. Maybe it¡¯s always been a rusted chain leading down to a dry well since the day the dungeon formed.


    The caves at the bottom of the well were the true dungeon. They weren¡¯t really that big, but it was too dark to see unaided. That wasn¡¯t an issue for Velik anymore, and he slipped over the lip to drop thirty feet to the stone. Other than the soft scrape of his boots touching down, everything was silent. His eyes traveled the length of the cave, noting the spot where he¡¯d once piled up wood to make a fire so he could explore, now as bare and empty as everywhere else.


    There were three exits, all of them leading to long, looping tunnels that wrapped around each other. Occasional intersections made the whole thing confusing to navigate, so much so that he¡¯d wasted hours walking in circles back when he was younger. Eventually, they¡¯d found the bottom, and Velik easily navigated his way back there now.


    He¡¯d last seen the door three years ago. It hadn¡¯t changed one bit, except that it was propped open by a chunk of stone that hadn¡¯t been there before. That¡¯s a good sign for Torwin and his apprentice still being here.


    The door itself was tall and narrow, or at least it seemed that way. In truth, it was just as wide as any average door, but being over ten feet tall made it appear stretched and distorted. It had no designs or handle, just a smooth indent with a lip about halfway up for him to curl his fingers around and pull. Otherwise, it was a featureless white slab of stone with hidden hinges to complete the illusion.


    Velik cursed the day they¡¯d discovered this door.


    * * *


    It took the both of them working together, with Velik standing on his toes to get a grip on the indent and Chalin with his arms around Velik¡¯s waist pulling him backward, but they got the door open. It swung open silently, ponderously, like it was reluctant to reveal whatever secrets were hiding beyond it.


    The boys weren¡¯t going to be denied by a rock that just happened to be extraordinarily tall, however. They¡¯d already wedged their makeshift torches upright in a small cluster of nearby rocks, but both of them scrambled to claim the lights as soon as the door swung open.


    ¡°What happened here?¡± Velik asked in a hushed whisper as he surveyed the hall. At fifty feet long, maybe more, and half as wide, it was the biggest single room he¡¯d ever seen. A series of pillars ran down the length of the hall on either side, each one thick enough that he couldn¡¯t have gotten his arms around them if he¡¯d tried.


    It was also completely wrecked. Half the pillars had been knocked down and now resembled nothing so much as a line of crooked, jagged teeth. The ones that were still upright had chunks missing from them and a spider web of cracks covering their surface. He was sure that a single good shove was all it would take to tip them over.


    ¡°Guardian chamber,¡± Chalin said with a grin. ¡°There must have been an epic battle in here. That means the core is nearby.¡±


    ¡°Was nearby. It¡¯s dead now.¡±


    ¡°Right. It should still be here, right? They¡¯re too big to haul away.¡±


    Velik shrugged. ¡°I guess? That¡¯s what Dad said when I asked him.¡±


    They held the torches up, really just sticks that were burning faster than Velik liked. But they had a whole bundle of them and plenty of time to get back up to the bonfire they¡¯d built at the exit, so it was fine. Even if they somehow lost their light, they could get back by touch now that they¡¯d explored the tunnels.


    The far end of the room had another doorway, similar to the one they¡¯d just opened, except it was two doors set into one frame this time. A line of symbols had been carved across their surface, smoothly transitioning from one door to the other at the seam.


    ¡°Magic letters,¡± Chalin said. ¡°This has to be the place.¡±


    ¡°How do you know they¡¯re magic?¡±


    ¡°How do you know they¡¯re not?¡±


    They pried the doors open and walked into the core room. Just like they¡¯d expected, it was an inert pillar with a huge slice missing from it. The stories said that a living dungeon core was a brilliant glowing gem the size of a tree, filled to the brim with magic, but once they were destroyed, they turned to rock.


    ¡°This is a lot less exciting than I was expecting,¡± Velik said.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Chalin sighed and peered around. ¡°What a letdown. But, hey, what¡¯s that over there?¡±


    * * *


    Velik heard soft snoring in the core room and spotted the tripwire strung across the floor halfway through, just a simple, hair-thin cord wrapped around two pillars with a tiny bell hanging from it off to the side. He stepped over the tripwire with a slight smile, not that it mattered. Even with the [Silent] enchantment on his boots and his [Stealth] skill, somebody heard him coming.


    ¡°Was wondering if I¡¯d see you here,¡± Torwin said as he stepped through the door. ¡°Thought maybe not after you ran off the other way in the forest last week, but I guess I was wrong.¡±

 Chapter 27

    Velik halted twenty feet away from the old monster hunter. Torwin was holding his bow in his hand and had a quiver of arrows at his hip, but he wasn¡¯t making any threatening moves with them yet. That hardly reassured Velik, however, as there was no doubt in his mind that the old man could have half a dozen arrows in the air in less than a second.


    ¡°I had something to do,¡± he said, ¡°but I ran into a problem. You were the only one I could think of who might be able to help.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a bit busy with my own work right now.¡±


    ¡°This won¡¯t take long,¡± Velik said. ¡°I just need to ask a question. We could do it in less time than it takes to finish a meal.¡±


    Torwin chuckled. ¡°I suppose that¡¯s fair, considering how I ambushed you during yours. Alright, what do you want to know?¡±


    The mana compass was sitting in Velik¡¯s pocket where he could easily access it. He¡¯d been taking it out and studying it as he traveled, trying to figure out what correlation there was between the direction the arrow pointed and that particular stretch of the deep wood. Fishing it out now, he held it up for Torwin to see.


    ¡°Can you explain how to use this?¡±


    ¡°A mana compass?¡± Torwin asked in surprise. ¡°What do you have that for?¡±


    ¡°To look for mana.¡±


    ¡°Obviously. Why do you need to find mana?¡±


    ¡°To see if the monsters are coming from where the mana is.¡±


    Velik had no idea if it would work, but he didn¡¯t have a better idea and he needed to try something new. Besides, he¡¯d already wasted all his decarmas on the compass, not having realized it had a bunch of customizations and no instruction manual.


    ¡°Is there¡­ a reason you think there¡¯s some connection between pockets of mana and monsters appearing?¡± Torwin asked slowly, a thoughtful frown on his face as he absently scratched at his beard.


    ¡°I think champion elites can only claim an arena where there is enough mana for them to grow from their seeds. If that¡¯s true for champions, why can¡¯t it be true for weaker monsters?¡±


    ¡°What? No, that¡¯s not true at all,¡± Torwin said. ¡°Champion elites are created by dungeons to guard specific areas. The dungeon itself feeds the seed the mana it needs to grow into a monster. Truthfully, that¡¯s how it makes all of its monsters. That¡¯s why everyone¡¯s first guess about the rising monster population was that this old place was active again.¡±


    ¡°But it isn¡¯t, is it?¡± Velik asked. Nothing looked different from the last time he¡¯d been here, but he hadn¡¯t gotten a look at the core yet.


    ¡°No. It¡¯s definitely dead. There are no monsters coming out of this dungeon. I don¡¯t think you¡¯re going to find any random mana pockets out in the forest that are spawning monsters, either. But¡­ hmm¡­ this dungeon might be dead. That doesn¡¯t mean there isn¡¯t another one somewhere else.¡±


    Velik looked down at the compass in his hand. ¡°Dungeons produce mana, so this could lead me to it if there is one?¡±


    ¡°In theory,¡± Torwin said. ¡°It depends on the range of the compass. There are a million acres of untamed forest to comb through, so it could still be years of searching. Can I see it?¡±


    Velik tossed the compass over, and Torwin caught it easily. He let out a low whistle as soon as he looked at it and shook his head. ¡°Spent a good chunk of decarmas on this thing, huh? I don¡¯t even know what half these runes mean.¡± He flipped it over and looked at the ruby set into the back. ¡°Did you even attune yourself to this thing yet?¡±


    ¡°Attune myself? Like I did with my spear?¡± Velik hadn¡¯t realized he¡¯d need to. He¡¯d been thinking of it more like a potion, just a tool that he used when he needed it.


    ¡°Exactly. Right now, it¡¯s just pointing at whatever the closest source of mana it can detect that¡¯s within the default threshold and parameters. You¡¯ll need to attune yourself in order to change those.¡±


    ¡°What do the symbols you understand mean?¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Torwin shrugged. ¡°I know this top slot is for environmental or living mana, maybe a few other things. I used one once when I was hunting down a wyvern out by Mestia, but someone else configured the compass for me so that it would exclude anything under a monster of a certain level of strength. Took three tries, but my team got the wyvern in the end.¡±


    ¡°What about the rest?¡± Velik asked.


    ¡°More filters for what kind of mana you¡¯re looking for. I think this one is for how chaotic the mana is here on the left side, and the opposite one measures an elemental affinity. I¡¯m not sure about the rest.¡±


    With another shrug, Torwin tossed the compass back to Velik. He studied it for a moment, committing the symbols¡ªrunes, he called them¡ªto memory. Now that he knew he needed to attune to the compass like any other piece of gear. Should have thought to do that, myself. I can¡¯t believe I wasted days walking out here for a thirty-second conversation about this thing.


    Something must have been showing on his face, because Torwin said, ¡°If it makes you feel any better, when you¡¯re done with that thing, you can probably sell it at the second-hand market in Cravel. Depending on how good you are at haggling, you can get at least half what you paid for it back.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never been to Cravel,¡± Velik said.


    ¡°Three hundred miles south of Alnsberth. Just stick to the road and follow the signs at intersections. The speed you move at, I''m sure you could be there in under a week.¡±


    If it was open road, Velik was guessing more like two days, especially if he started the journey at sundown and didn¡¯t stop for sleep. Of course, once he got there, he¡¯d be completely out of his element, having never set foot in a town with a population bigger than five hundred.


    ¡°Thanks. I¡¯ll consider it,¡± he said.


    ¡°Mind if I ask you a question, too?¡± Torwin said suddenly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t promise an answer.¡±


    The old hunter barked out a laugh, loud enough that someone stirred in the core room. They both glanced back through the open door and he said, ¡°My apprentice.¡±


    ¡°Jensen,¡± Velik said.


    ¡°Yes. You know him?¡± Torwin blinked in surprise.


    ¡°No. Heard you say his name a few weeks ago.¡±


    ¡°When did you¡­ never mind. I was hoping you could show me where you found the class orb when you were a kid.¡±


    ¡°Sure, it¡¯s back behind you.¡±


    ¡°In the core room?¡±


    ¡°No, behind one of the walls.¡±


    ¡°The walls?¡± Torwin glanced back over his shoulder through the open door. ¡°How in the¡­¡±


    ¡°There are plenty of cracks. We were seven. It wasn¡¯t hard to squeeze through one.¡±


    ¡°Okay, but why is there another room behind this one?¡±


    ¡°I never thought to ask,¡± Velik confessed.


    ¡°Hidden treasure room, maybe. But the team that cleared it should have found it. And if they didn¡¯t, there would have been more than just a single class orb in there,¡± Torwin muttered to himself. He shot a look at Velik, then added, ¡°If it even was a class orb.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s all, I have my own work to get back to,¡± Velik said. ¡°Thank you for the help.¡±


    ¡°Actually, if you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯d like to walk with you for a bit. I want to discuss coordinating our work to resolve this whole monster problem.¡±


    ¡°Coordinating?¡± Velik repeated. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Look, we¡¯re obviously both trying to do the same thing, here. Sharing some information can¡¯t hurt, right? You probably know a lot about the area that I¡¯m still getting caught up on. I bet I know a few tricks you haven¡¯t thought up yourself yet. We can help each other out here.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like working with other people,¡± Velik said flatly.


    Torwin nodded along. ¡°And I get that. I¡¯m not asking you to follow me around and take orders. I¡¯d just like to avoid duplicating effort. The faster we get this infestation cleared out, the better it is for everyone.¡±


    It made sense, but Velik was hesitant to trust someone so strong. Even this conversation was a risk, though less of one with the moon in the sky. If Torwin did attack him, he was confident he could escape and outrun the older hunter. He¡¯d made sure to keep some distance between them and his back lined up with the exit. There were enough intact pillars to give him some cover if it came down to it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything more to talk about. I¡¯m going to hunt for sources of strong mana. If this ends the problem, you¡¯ll know for yourself soon enough. If not, then I¡¯ll think of something else to try.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I thought that¡¯d be your answer. Kid, you¡¯ve lived a hard life and relied on nothing but yourself. I respect that. And you¡¯re strong, so I¡¯d say you¡¯ve done alright. But you need to learn to accept help, and how to trust other people.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for the advice,¡± Velik said as politely as he could manage. Then he turned and started walking away.


    Thankfully, Torwin just let a heavy sigh escape his lips before walking back into the core chamber. A few minutes later, Velik ran between two buildings and out into the trees, leaving the dungeon far behind. The whole time, he looked over his shoulder to make sure he wasn¡¯t being pursued, and he spent the rest of the night using every trick he knew to obscure his trail to keep from being followed.


    Now I just hope that he doesn¡¯t have his own mana compass that will point him in the same direction as mine. No way to avoid that, though, not and still learn what I needed to.


    Hopefully, the gamble had paid off.

 Chapter 28

    Torwin scratched at his beard as he paced back and forth. That kid needs some serious therapy. I mean, I don¡¯t blame him. What that town did to him was atrocious. It¡¯s no wonder he doesn¡¯t trust anyone and spooks like a startled rabbit every time he sees me.


    ¡°You alright?¡± Jensen asked.


    His apprentice was sitting up on his bedroll, a blanket still draped across his legs and bunched up around his waist. His bow was propped up against the wall and his armor sat in a pile next to him. Admittedly, it would only take a few seconds to slip it on, but a few seconds was the difference between life and death in an ambush.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you slept through someone walking within twenty feet of you. And then you missed half the conversation!¡±


    ¡°I knew you were talking to someone,¡± Jensen said hotly. ¡°I figured if you needed me, you¡¯d say so.¡±


    More like you were too lazy to get out of bed, Torwin thought sourly. And you were doing so well this last week. Maybe not [Ranger] good, but still, better.


    ¡°The Black Fang paid us a visit,¡± he told his apprentice.


    ¡°That guy? I didn¡¯t miss much then.¡±


    The jealousy was obvious, and that was at least partly Torwin¡¯s fault. He¡¯d let slip how impressive he¡¯d found the boy¡¯s performance against that wind-shaping elite, and Jensen had taken that personally. A little rivalry could inspire students to reach for greater heights, but in this case, the difference in skill was too great. Jensen just wasn¡¯t at the Black Fang¡¯s level, unique class and actual level notwithstanding.


    Without his daddy¡¯s money, he¡¯s not even on the level of other hunters who are actually at his level.


    ¡°He had a mana compass and an idea about tracking areas of high mana density to look for the cause of the monster infestation.¡±


    Jensen yawned and stretched, then clambered to his feet. ¡°You think that¡¯d work?¡± he asked as he slipped his enchanted leather tunic over his head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Depends on how well he can use the compass. Even if he finds high density areas, that doesn¡¯t mean the monsters are spawning there.¡±


    ¡°Might be worth looking into anyway. It¡¯s not like we found anything useful here.¡±


    While Jensen was getting dressed and stowing everything away in his pack, Torwin did a lap around the room and peered through every crack more than a few inches wide. The east and west walls showed nothing but dirt, and the north wall was in good enough condition that it didn¡¯t really have any cracks at all.


    I should have had him point it out before he left. How annoying. Where did you go when you were a child? There¡¯s nothing here.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Jensen asked.


    ¡°The Black Fang told me he crawled through a crack in this room as a child, that he and his friend found the class orb that gave him his class on the other side. None of these cracks have anything behind them, though.¡±


    ¡°Maybe the room collapsed later.¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± Torwin said, but he wasn¡¯t convinced. What am I missing?


    He crouched down, trying to get himself at eye level with a child. This is the angle you saw the world from. What did you see that I don¡¯t?


    But there was nothing, just four walls, the door, and the broken dungeon core. The pillar was dark and lifeless, unmarred but for the huge slice taken out of it five feet up from the floor. It was easy enough to see what had happened, too. Someone with a ridiculously strong class had struck the core with a horizontal swipe of some heavy weapon, probably an axe or pick, and sliced a chunk two feet wide out of the stone. It had fractured into a thousand pieces and left pock marks all over the far wall.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Dungeon cores were actually remarkably fragile, barely stronger than regular stone without mana to reinforce them. Teams usually exhausted the core by killing every monster it could produce, then destroyed it in a single blow, exactly like what had happened here.


    Still crouching, he scooted forward a few steps. Nothing. He scanned the room again, but the new angle didn¡¯t help. There was nothing to see, nothing except¡ª


    ¡°The core!¡± he said.


    ¡°What about it?¡± Jensen asked, torn between confusion and laughter at Torwin¡¯s antics.


    ¡°Hah! I was right.¡±


    Torwin leaned down and looked at the damaged spot, specifically at the top of it. Anyone over five feet tall would have missed it, but to a pair of inquisitive children, it would have been the first thing they saw. Extending up through the pillar itself was a crack, a foot wide and almost twice as long. He stuck his head into the gap in the core and looked straight up.


    ¡°There¡¯s a room above this one,¡± he said. ¡°When they broke the core, it must have split it all the way up the center. Nobody else saw it because they were too tall. Or maybe they did see it and just didn¡¯t care. But those kids saw it, and they climbed up there.¡±


    It looked tight, but Torwin was flexible and, if he did get stuck, his physical was high enough to break stone. He¡¯d be fine. ¡°Watch the door for me,¡± he told Jensen, not that he expected something to burst through, but he¡¯d be vulnerable and it was best to plan for unlikely surprises.


    Setting his bow aside and unstrapping his quiver, Torwin started to wriggle his way into the crack.


    * * *


    Chalin was the first one through, with Velik right behind him. In hindsight, he should have waited a minute so that all the pebbles resting in the crack that Chalin had kicked down wouldn¡¯t have fallen on him. He¡¯d been too impatient, even after the first one had hit him on the head, and he¡¯d paid for it.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± Chalin said.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright as long as we finally get some treasure.¡±


    Getting a lit stick to the top had been the hardest part, but they¡¯d managed to set one on fire and throw it all the way to the top without it falling back down on them. Twenty feet didn¡¯t feel like a lot, but it had been a tricky shot to make. Not willing to give up, they¡¯d tried dozens of times before managing to make it work.


    Eagerly, Velik snatched up the fitfully burning stick and held it to another one he¡¯d carried up with him. It caught and he handed it to Chalin so they could look around. ¡°Well, it certainly looks impressive,¡± the boy said.


    The walls were covered in intricate grooves like some sort of massive spider¡¯s web, except they curved around and swooped through each other instead of going straight. The grooves continued across the floor, all eventually leading to the center of the room where they¡¯d climbed up. ¡°What do you think it does?¡± Velik asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Nothing now, I guess. Maybe back when the dungeon was alive, this had a purpose. Now it¡¯s just a fun design.¡±


    ¡°But no treasure.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Chalin agreed. He peered around, holding his makeshift torch up and scanning the room. ¡°Nothing but a bunch of weird lines.¡±


    ¡°Wait, there¡¯s something!¡±


    Velik hurried forward and scooped up a stone off the floor. Unlike the rest of the ruined dungeon, it was glossy and smooth, a perfect orb of glass. ¡°Wow!¡± Chalin said. ¡°That looks expensive. Still think this trip was a waste of time?"


    "How much do you think it¡¯s worth?¡± Velik asked as he peered at it. Light reflected from the torch in his other hand, seeming almost to dance inside the orb like it was alive.


    ¡°A lot. Here, let me see.¡±


    Chalin went to claim the orb to investigate, but the instant it touched his hands, it formed a bridge between the two boys. At that same moment, light flared inside it, no mere reflection, and words appeared in Velik¡¯s mind.


    [Parameters have been met. Guardian role selected.]


    [User has not reached maturation.]


    [User¡¯s racial profile will be updated to accommodate class selection.]


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Velik yelled, or at least he tried to. His body was locked into place, rigid and stiff with the orb halfway between his hand and Chalin¡¯s. No words came from his mouth as the seconds stretched on.


    A wave of pain rolled through Velik¡¯s body, like he was holding his hand too close to the fire, except it spread to cover his whole arm, then his chest. In an instant, no part of him didn¡¯t feel like it was burning, but he couldn¡¯t scream. Then the light winked out as suddenly as it had appeared, and everything went dark.


    * * *


    Torwin crouched down and picked up a glass orb, four inches wide and split down the middle. One side was perhaps slightly larger, but he¡¯d need one of those fancy merchant scales to weigh each piece to know for certain. He wasn¡¯t too worried about that particular detail, however.


    Holding the two pieces together, he turned it to look at the orb from different angles. No matter how he looked at it, he was sure of one simple truth. The problem was that it just didn¡¯t make any sense to him.


    ¡°Whatever this thing is, it¡¯s not a class orb.¡±

 Chapter 29

    The mana compass was far too complicated, in Velik¡¯s opinion, and he didn¡¯t understand why it needed to be attuned to him in order to function. It didn¡¯t seem to do anything different from when he¡¯d first acquired it, other than that he could now rotate the symbols by prodding them. That caused the arrow to flicker in seemingly random directions, but without knowing what the symbols actually represented for sure, it wasn¡¯t helpful.


    He set it to ¡®monster¡¯ and started following the compass with the hope that it would lead him toward the closest monster with a high amount of mana concentrated in it. In that regard, he was disappointed to find a weak level 27 a mile away. This¡¯ll make killing them more efficient, I suppose, but it doesn¡¯t really solve my problem, he thought as he stared down at the arrow, which had shifted direction to point slightly off to the right the instant the monster had died. Maybe if I adjust this part here¡­


    A bit of experimentation over the next few hours taught him a bit about how to set the threshold, which wasn¡¯t based on a monster¡¯s level, but rather by how much mana it had in it. As far as he could tell, the more radically mutated from the base animal the monster was, the stronger its mana signature was. Presumably, those monsters that were born from pure mana would be prime targets for the compass.


    What he really wanted to find was another champion elite. Velik was hoping they¡¯d lead him to Chalin. Somehow, his childhood friend had lived through that night. For all Velik knew, that monster might have been Chalin, transformed by the same thing that had turned him into a Duskbound and granted him his class.


    If that was the case, and Chalin was in fact the source of all monsters, then Velik had to admit he had no idea what the class orb had given his friend. As far as he knew, people couldn¡¯t make monsters. Even if they could, they certainly couldn¡¯t make hundreds of thousands of them.


    Velik spent the night following the compass and messing with its settings. Slowly, his decarma count started to build back up, at least enough for him to start looking at purchasing some replacement potions for emergencies. The compass didn¡¯t do all that much to speed things up, not when the monsters were dense enough that he could move from one to another just by following his own senses, but he was slowly getting the device tuned to lead him to bigger and stronger prey, which meant more money.


    Eventually, the compass led him to a peculiar stand of trees, all planted in evenly spaced rows running in parallel. Well, if the compass is right, there¡¯s a monster here right in the middle of all this. And considering how damn weird this looks, I¡¯d say I¡¯m about to walk into a fight with another champion.


    The question of why the champions had arenas out in random stretches of the deep wood was not lost on Velik, but he didn¡¯t have an answer. All he could do was follow the trail and hope it led him where he wanted to go. Unfortunately, to do that, he needed to kill the champion elite hiding in the strange grove so that the compass would point the way to the next one.


    He¡¯d gained a new skill, a few ranks, and a level since he¡¯d fought his first champion. Beyond that, he had weeks of additional experience fighting monsters that were a higher level than him, something he hadn¡¯t had to do since he was a boy just starting out. Picking a fight was a gamble, but so was everything else he did. His whole life had been a series of calculated risks, so it was hard to be scared of the latest one on the stack.


    His spear slithered down his arm and solidified into its combat shape and he stepped out into an open row. Nothing happened immediately, certainly nothing as viscerally violent as a ring of fire springing up around the grove. Everything was quiet, but it was the natural silence of a forest, comfortable and filled with the chirpings of bugs and the rustle of leaves as birds flitted through them.


    Where are you? Come on out, I know you¡¯re here.


    His eyes flicked back and forth, looking for some signs of the monster his compass had told him was lurking in the grove. Just because he couldn¡¯t see it didn¡¯t mean it wasn¡¯t there, of course. He relied on his other senses to get a feel for what was going on around him in an environment so heavy with visual obstructions, and they weren¡¯t giving him anything.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Velik came to a stop in the middle of the grove and turned in a circle. Tree. Tree. Tree. No undergrowth. Branches are all at least ten feet off the ground. Trunks are all the same size. No bugs on them anywhere. No animals at all. Does the monster eat them, or do they know better than to come here? That¡¯d be¡ªwhat was that?


    His eyes had almost slid past a gossamer line anchored between two trees at the far end of the grove. That hadn¡¯t been there before. Spider webbing? Hidden spiders? That line is too thin to be made by anything big. There¡¯s no movement, but a horde of normal spiders could hide easily.


    If the champion was some sort of sentient colony of spiders, this was going to be a messy fight. Velik was specialized for killing large, singular monsters, but he was tough and fast enough that a cloud of biting insects was generally more of an annoyance than a true threat. When that cloud was composed of champion elite monsters, he suspected he¡¯d encounter a few surprises.


    He completed another circuit and found a new line of spider silk between two nearby trees. The monsters were boxing him in, cutting off his options, and he hadn¡¯t even spotted them yet. He needed to view the scene from a different angle, literally, so he took off in a burst, traveling fifty feet in a quarter of a second and spinning to see the backs of the trees where the spiders were lurking.


    Except, there were no spiders. There wasn¡¯t anything at all. Are they invisible? If so, then he¡¯d bitten off more than he could chew. This kind of champion would require some sort of mage class capable of splashing fire or acid all over the grove, something that was completely outside his capabilities. Retreat was the only viable option.


    Something flashed by him, and a line of burning fire drew itself across his back.


    Velik spun, his spear whipping around to catch his attacker, but it was gone. Only the hot blood seeping down his back proved there¡¯d been anything at all. It hurt far more than it had a right to, so much so that Velik¡¯s mind immediately jumped to some sort of poison. That would be on theme for a spider monster.


    He ignored the pain and kept up a slow rotation while moving closer to the edge of the grove. As far as he could tell, there was nothing keeping him from fleeing this time, and he¡¯d clearly run into a bad matchup for his skill set. It wasn¡¯t often he was forced to run, but he wasn¡¯t stupid enough to let a little pride keep him in a bad situation.


    He saw a streak of black out of the corner of his eye and turned, his spear leading, to slash at it. Despite his speed, it was gone before he could bring it fully into his range of vision.


    Not invisible, just ridiculously fast.


    This time, he wasn¡¯t distracted by a fresh injury. He heard the soft crunch of something hitting bark on the tree next to him, but it was gone before he could spot it. [Predator¡¯s Visage] was giving him nothing to work with, either. Whatever this spider monster was, he needed to get out of its hunting ground.


    Still spinning in a slow circle to watch around him, Velik started walking toward the edge of the grove. If he didn¡¯t know any better, he¡¯d have sworn he was alone. Just going by the size of this gash, it¡¯s got to be bigger than a regular insect. Not a swarm, then. No way a thousand spiders that come up to my knee are hiding here. But, if it¡¯s just one¡­ Where is it?


    Something pressed into the side of his leg, just below the top of his boot. Velik froze and looked down to see a hair-thin slice in the leather and a line of spider silk pressed up against it. It was barely even bowed out, certainly not enough to snap it. Cautiously, Velik pulled his leg back and dipped his spear down to slice through the line. It parted, but scored a line across the spearhead.


    How sharp is this webbing? This is insane!


    He glanced back up at the edge of the grove and frowned to see no less than a dozen strands running from tree to tree in his way. The monster had predicted his exit path and taken steps to block him off. He could cut through them, but not without damaging his weapon. The [Mending] enchantment would fix that if he gave it enough time, but he might not live that long if he rendered the spear useless in the middle of a fight.


    Shifting directions and making sure to walk sideways so he could keep an eye on his path while watching for monsters was difficult, but Velik made it work. That was how he spotted the line of spider silk zipping through the air to settle in place, then go taut against the other tree. Something black and green darted up the trunk and into the canopy, silent as a breath of air and far faster.


    Found you.

 Chapter 30

    The spider was bigger than he was expecting. Its exact size was still obscured, but it had to be at least two feet long, not including the legs, which were thin and delicate. Somehow, it had enough agility to slip up and down trees and across branches without so much as shaking them. That probably meant it was extremely light in addition to being adept at distributing its weight across all of its limbs. There could be some magic involved in the process to account for its incredible speed, or that might just be raw stats.


    Either way, it was blocking his escape routes. The idea of trying to navigate his way through strands sharp enough to cut through leather that brushed up against it while simultaneously fending off a lightning strike in arachnid form did not appeal to him. That meant he needed to find a different way out of the grove, or he had to kill the champion.


    Hard to fight a monster I can¡¯t keep track of, he thought as he scoured the branches overhead for even the smallest signs of movement. It wasn¡¯t a good strategy, not against something so quick and nimble. However the monster was doing it, its movements were practically undetectable.


    Velik was usually the one doing the ambushing when he found a monster, but there¡¯d been occasions where he¡¯d been caught by surprise back before he¡¯d forged [Predator¡¯s Visage] out of its disparate skills. Most of them had been sensory skills, but they also included one called [Ambush Tactics] that helped him pick out vulnerable targets and find places to hide while he waited to strike.


    Except I don¡¯t need that now. I¡¯m the prey this time. Well, two can play at this game. Maybe I can¡¯t find it, but with [Stealth], I can make it harder for the champion to find me.


    A cat and mouse game with two cats wasn¡¯t what Velik had been planning when he¡¯d stepped into the grove, but if that was what it took to kill the champion, he¡¯d do it. [Predator¡¯s Visage] had only gotten a glancing look at it, but that had been enough to confirm how dangerous it was. He could kill it if he could catch up to it.


    Fading back behind a tree to break line of sight from where he¡¯d last seen the spider, he leaped up into the branches and paused to listen. There was nothing but the breeze in the trees and some bugs in the background. A bird flew over the grove, something blue with black bars across its feathers. It got halfway across before it suddenly burst into a cloud of blood and meat.


    The blood ran down an otherwise invisible silken line that had slashed through the bird. Territorial little bastard, aren¡¯t you? But that was a mistake. Now I know where you are.


    He crept out on the branch, his balance perfect to keep it from shifting as he moved. It was thick enough to hold his weight, but he could only get a few feet from the trunk before that changed. That was enough to give him an opening to leap to the next branch without touching anything, though. After shrinking his spear down to something only two feet long, he made the jump. [Stealth] flared in his mind, guiding his body to keep him quiet as he touched down and the wood absorbed his momentum.


    It shifted ever so slightly, just enough to rustle the leaves once. It could have been a stray breeze, but Velik was counting on the champion to know it wasn¡¯t. He knew where it was. Now he knew where it was going. All he needed to do was adjust his position to catch it on its way in. To that end, he dropped lightly to the ground and ghosted two trees over in the row.


    That was the dangerous part. He couldn¡¯t assume the spider would move in a straight line, but if it did, the trees would block its line of sight. If it angled in from the left, he¡¯d also be fine. If it came from the right side, though, it would definitely see him. Two in three chance this works.


    He jumped up to his new perch, his spear ready in his hands. If he was right, the spider would pass right in front of him on its way to ambush him. If not, he was about to get hit again. But he knew where his blind spots were, and there were only two possible angles the spider could hit him. Both of them required the spider to either circle the entire grove or to pass through other areas he could see in order to reach him.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    It was a faint rustling that saved his life. Whether the monster had some way to sense his position or had just known enough to eliminate the other possibilities and predict where Velik had hidden himself¡ªor had just gotten lucky and cut across the grove at the one angle that Velik couldn¡¯t hide from¡ªit had decided to avoid his trap altogether and had taken to the tops of the trees. The canopy hid it, but not even its skills could keep it from shifting branches with its weight.


    Velik looked up just in time to see it dropping down from above. For a fraction of a second, he got a good look at it ¨C eight thin, tapered legs with barbs and hooks at the joints and what looked like dagger tips at the end, a segmented body of green and black covered in fine, spiky hair, and a pair of wickedly curving fangs with a horror-show of a mouth between them. Its eyes were a ring around the front half of its head, all of them dull and black, the passionless eyes of a predator.


    Then he realized the spider wasn¡¯t falling. It had flung itself off a branch, likely what had caused it to rustle, and it was moving far, far faster than merely falling could account for. There was no time to bring his spear around, not before the monster hit him. And he did not want to be trapped between the legs of a spider that could give him a full-body hug, so he did the only thing he could do.


    Velik threw himself backwards off the tree branch. Other, smaller branches struck him on the way down, most of them snapping under his weight, but a few of the larger ones smacking and jostling him. At the same time, his spear grew another two feet and the tip sharpened into something similar to a sword¡¯s blade.


    Pain shot through him as he struck the ground, back first, right where the spider had cut him before. He ignored it and readied the spear to drive it right through the monster¡¯s abdomen when it tried to land on him. It was in a freefall now; it couldn¡¯t possibly avoid being impaled.


    Inches away from contact, it was suddenly pulled sideways, where it did an impressively acrobatic flip in midair to land on the side of a tree. Already situated, all eight of its legs propelled it up into the canopy and out of sight.


    No, you don¡¯t! Velik jumped to his feet, intent on chasing the spider down. He froze halfway there, just barely in time to avoid wrapping the slicing line of spider silk it had used to pull itself out of the way of his spear around his face. By the time he¡¯d slipped around it, the champion was gone again.


    Damn it! Where¡¯d you go, you little shit?


    This thing was the ultimate ambush predator, and if he was going to kill it, he needed to start thinking like it. He¡¯d tried to set a trap, but had failed to think in three dimensions. This was a champion elite. The grove was as much a part of the battle as the spider itself. So, I¡¯m a giant, murderous spider intent on killing the intruder in my territory. I want to ambush the human, and I¡¯m light enough to move completely silently anywhere but the very top of the trees. I also shit out silk lines strong enough to hold my weight and capable of scoring enchanted steel.


    He had to keep moving to avoid getting caught in the spider¡¯s net, and it knew that. It was probably predicting his moves because it knew which directions it had already cut him off in. A damn spider was outthinking him no matter what he did. As Velik slunk through the grove, pulling hard on [Stealth] to keep him hidden, he realized that he was never going to spot the spider before it attacked. It was too good at what it did.


    He needed to outflank it instead of waiting for it to come to him. There was no turning its ambush back on it, not as quickly as it moved and not without the ability to actually hide. The only way to win was to do exactly what it was doing to him. How does the predator move? And how does the prey protect itself when it can¡¯t see the predator, but it knows something is there anyway?


    By being acutely aware of its own weaknesses. By knowing where it¡¯s most vulnerable, and ensuring that those vulnerabilities can¡¯t be exploited. The prey that survives does so by being prepared for the predator to attack long before the predator even shows up.


    It was something that seemed so obvious in retrospect that Velik couldn¡¯t believe he hadn¡¯t thought of it before. Too many years of playing the predator had blinded him to the opposite side of the cycle. But he knew what to do now. It was just a matter of doing it.


    [Stealth has advanced to rank 9.]


    [Stealth has been folded into Predator¡¯s Visage.]


    [Predator¡¯s Visage has become Apex Hunter.]


    [Apex Hunter set to rank 1.]

 Chapter 31

    What had been vague intuition moments ago crystallized into sharp focus. Velik was no longer blindly guessing where his prey was and how it would approach him based on incomplete information. Now, he could clearly see the whole game laid out in front of him ¨C move and countermove, feints and strikes.


    [Apex Hunter] was the merger of his extraordinary senses, his ability to position himself in such a way as to take his victim by surprise, and most importantly, his newfound insight into how to infer the location of a predator without actually ever seeing it. With that, he had all the tools he needed to win.


    The cutting strands of spider silk had been a hindrance a minute ago, something that limited his options and forced him to proceed carefully lest he stumble into one and injure himself on it. Now, he found them easily because they were right where he expected them to be. Knowing where to look instead of sweeping the whole grove with his eyes and hoping to find something made the whole process far more efficient.


    They also laid a trail for him to follow back to the monster¡¯s current hiding spot. It could shoot them out, but one end of every strand had connected to the spider itself, at least momentarily. Together, they painted a map of the roads it took across the grove, which branches it favored to support its weight and which angles it liked to move at.


    The champion was forty feet away, halfway up a tree to his left, and still as a statue. Almost its entire body was hidden in the foliage, but tracing the spider silk had revealed a clear trail, and that single sliver of green-black body was all he needed to confirm its location. The question then became how best to approach it, and that was a question he was sure he had an answer for.


    Knowing where the lines of spider silk were helped, but they were still in his way. Some of them had been placed deliberately as obstacles between him and the spider¡¯s current position. Throwing the spear this early in the fight was a disastrous idea. Unlike the last champion he¡¯d fought, this one didn¡¯t have a scratch on it. Besides, he wasn¡¯t trying to fight his way through a bone-charring aura of fire, and he was pretty sure a single good blow would end things, anyway.


    Casually approaching it was also out of the question. The spider was greased lightning on eight legs, so fast that his eyes could barely trace the blur of its movements. There was no way it would just sit there while he walked over to it, but maybe he could force it in a specific direction. The trail of spider silk it had left gave Velik the impression that it wasn¡¯t immune to its own webs, and it had been careful not to cross the lines too closely when it made more.


    His new skill provided the answer. He¡¯d tried it before, but the spider had bested him last time. It was faster than him and had a custom arena to stalk its victims through. He couldn¡¯t chase it down, but he could force it to come after him simply by trying to leave the grove.


    It would have to stop him, and to do that, it would need to get ahead of him. Unless it wanted to circle outside its designated arena, which Velik wasn¡¯t sure a champion could actually even do, it would need to either take to the very top of the trees, or it would have to pass down a corridor it had made of its own silk. If he moved fast enough, he could take even that choice away.


    There was one final trump card to play, a move that he was almost sure the champion couldn¡¯t know about. If Velik was right, it would eliminate the spider¡¯s biggest advantage over him, forcing the monster into an open confrontation that it would certainly lose. His only fear was that it would instead choose to flee, turning their battle into a game of tag where he failed to match its speed and had to worry about getting sliced up by spider silk lines.


    His plan was made; all that remained was to execute it and see how many times he¡¯d wrongly predicted his foe¡¯s responses.


    Velik started walking backward, angling off to his right as he went to cut between two trees and jump into the next row. There were still silk lines there to be wary of, but not so many that he couldn¡¯t thread his way through them. His spear haft shortened while the blade lengthened until it looked something like a machete with a handle that was five times longer than it needed. [Shape Shifting] had its limits, and the weapon still needed to have a profile consistent with a spear.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    As soon as he slashed through the first line, the spider figured out what he was doing. It disappeared from its perch in a blur that he immediately lost track of, and he didn¡¯t bother to try finding it again. The only thing that mattered was whether it would approach from above or below. If he didn¡¯t hear the tree tops rustling, he¡¯d know for sure.


    Abandoning all pretense at caution, Velik spun on his heels and dashed forward. He dipped under a line that was the same height as his nose and sliced apart another one two feet later that would have bit into his knee, his focus now on [Apex Hunter] to tell him whether he¡¯d correctly guessed his prey¡¯s reaction.


    No rustle. That means it¡¯s coming right by me. Just need to time this right.


    Velik did something he normally never would have done while fighting for his life. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the mana compass. Its arrow pointed almost directly at him, just slightly to the right, which he took to mean the spider monster itself was there. With each passing moment, the champion got closer and the arrow shifted a few degrees. As soon as it pointed straight to the right, it would be passing him by.


    Got you.


    The arrow hit the right angle and Velik spun in place, lashing out with his spear even as [Shape Shifting] worked to increase its reach. In the blink of an eye, it tripled in length and the blade bit into something with a hard crunch. The impact almost jerked the weapon out of his grasp, forcing him to drop the compass and grab hold with his other hand.


    A blur of black and green flailing limbs tore past him, leaving a wildly spurting trail of dark ichor as it rolled end over end. A leg went sailing off between the trees when the spider struck one of its own silk lines, but despite the damage, the monster quickly reoriented itself. They stood on the ground, twenty feet from each other, one bleeding from the stump of a missing leg and a split open carapace, and the other from a wide gash down his back.


    The spider wasn¡¯t stupid. It saw the mana compass between Velik¡¯s feet, and he was pretty sure it realized exactly what it meant. With that, its hit and run tactics wouldn¡¯t be nearly as effective. If it moved from its current position, he¡¯d be free to walk out of the grove. That meant the monster¡¯s only choices were to stand and fight or to let its prey escape.


    For all his newfound insight, Velik couldn¡¯t read what it was thinking. That half circle of dead, black eyes stared at him steadily, perhaps assessing its chances, perhaps seething with silent, single-minded hatred. Whether it thought it could win or it just couldn¡¯t fathom letting prey escape without a fight, a single twitch of its mouth between those sharp, wickedly curved fangs was all the warning it gave Velik.


    The loss of a leg did nothing to slow its rush, and even on open ground, it was still so fast that Velik saw nothing but a blur of dark color. Acting on instinct he couldn¡¯t fully rationalize, he whipped his spear out, slashing to his left while stepping to his right. It was tough to say whether he or the spider was more surprised, but the blade of his spear clipped another of its legs and sent it into a tumbling spin as it rushed past him.


    There was no time to follow up on the attack before it rushed back out of range. Velik lunged after it, his spear leading the way, but he couldn¡¯t keep up with its speed, even when it was wounded. Quit running and end this already!


    Unsurprisingly, the champion elite didn¡¯t oblige him. It disappeared deeper into the grove, leaving Velik to retreat back to his position to reclaim his compass. The problem was that when he got back there, it was gone. Did I kick it during that last exchange?


    He scanned the ground nearby, hoping to find it a few feet away, but there was no sign of it. Oh. Shit. Don¡¯t tell me¡­


    Looking up, he saw the compass a hundred feet away from him, almost exactly in the center of the grove. The spider had snatched it up when it blew past him somehow, probably to try to eliminate his advantage. Or trying to use it as bait. That thing took weeks of non-stop work to save up for. I need it. Damn spider is too smart for its own good. It turned the tables on me.


    Now he was the one being forced into a position of vulnerability, or he could abandon the compass and run, but the spider knew he wouldn¡¯t. ¡°Come on, then,¡± he muttered grimly as he reshaped his spear. ¡°Let¡¯s see how much those injuries slow you down.¡±

 Chapter 32

    Velik didn¡¯t rush straight for the compass. That would just be walking directly into the spider¡¯s trap, and he didn¡¯t see any good reason to make things easy for the monster. It was already moving to cut off his escape routes, but he knew as soon as he approached the middle of the grove, it would hit him from behind.


    [Apex Hunter] urged patience. The spider was wounded, perhaps fatally so. It was only a matter of time before it succumbed to the injuries he¡¯d already dealt it. All he had to do was to protect himself until the spider pumped out the last bit of ichor through its leg stump.


    That was all well and good, but letting it work uninterrupted while it sealed him inside a cocoon of lethal webbing didn¡¯t strike Velik as a good idea. He needed to be proactive, and that meant pitting his perceptiveness and reaction time against the spider¡¯s stealth and speed.


    He approached the compass slowly, spear at the ready and his mind already calculating the angle he was most likely to be attacked from. It would come from a blind spot, which meant behind or above him. The webs were thickest off to the left, so he expected it to attack from the right, probably with the intent of either driving him into the spider silk or to give him some sort of debilitating injury as it rushed past him.


    This whole fight would have been a lot easier if I still had that haste potion. Shame they¡¯re so expensive, but I guess they¡¯re worth it.


    Velik brushed that errant thought away and took another step in. His eyes scoured the branches overhead, looking for that small, many-limbed body. He didn¡¯t find it, but he did see patches of black ichor that helped him create a trail. It was enough to make a reasonable guess as to exactly how far the monster had circled around him.


    He reached the compass and had just an instant to see the arrow spinning crazily. It doubled back! he thought. Without even stopping to consider, he snapped his spear straight up, unleashing the stored-up energy in [Kinetic Charge] at the same time.


    There was a satisfying crunch, then something wet and heavy splattered onto his hair. Velik whipped the spear to the side, sending the body pinioned on the top sliding off to smack into a nearby tree. The spider, somehow, amazingly, still wasn¡¯t dead.


    But it was reeling. It got back upright, its movements jerky and unsteady, more black ichor dripping out of a fresh hole. Velik didn¡¯t wait for it to make the next move, not when he saw a chance to end the battle. Before it could recover, he was on it, slashing and stabbing with his spear.


    Despite it all, the monster was a champion elite, and it was far more durable than its appearance indicated. The two danced around each other for several seconds, it trying to leap at him while shedding dozens of feet of razor-sharp silken web lines that whipped wildly between the trees. He kept it back with his spear, the superior reach giving him some measure of battlefield control even as the open area shrunk around them.


    Then the spider got through. It took a long, shallow gash across its back in the process of ducking under his spear, but an instant later, its fangs sank into the side of his leg. Velik¡¯s leather boots were no match for the champion¡¯s bite, and searing pain radiated out from the bites. Poisoned.


    The spear spun in Velik¡¯s hands like it was a living thing and the butt end of it slammed down directly on the crown of the spider¡¯s head. It collapsed to the ground, only to twitch and try to rise again. A second strike put a crack in its outer shell, and a third snapped a chunk off.


    [You have slain Ultgith the Shadow (champion elite, level 33.]


    [You have taken a champion seed from its former owner, Chalin.]


    [Champion seed¡¯s current reserves: 0/140.]


    Chalin again. I knew it. What were you doing out here?


    With the immediate threat finally ended, the pain from his back injury came surging forward in full. Combined with the bite he¡¯d suffered right at the end¡ªVelik was almost certain the spider had realized it was going to die and had deliberately taken the blows just to guarantee it could inject a massive dose of venom into his leg¡ªand he wasn¡¯t sure he was going to be hobbling back out of the grove even with a healing potion.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    He drank one anyway, then groaned as partial relief swept through him. The burn in his leg didn¡¯t abate, but his back started to stitch itself together. While it worked its way through him, he limped over to reclaim his compass. It wasn¡¯t until he picked it up that he realized the truth. ¡°Son of a¡­¡± he muttered.


    It was cracked down the center and the arrow flopped around uselessly. I just got this thing! It was so expensive!


    The worst part of it was he wasn¡¯t even sure if it was him or the spider that had actually broken it. It had been working when they¡¯d started the last exchange, but one of them had hit it hard enough to snap something inside the delicate device. Considering he barely knew how to use it in the first place, Velik doubted he had a chance of repairing it.


    Which means I¡¯m stuck. Again. I need to replenish my potion supply. This champion fight proved that. Buying another compass on top of that means a month of hard work unless I can get this repaired. I doubt any of the locals can do it¡­ Those two hunters probably don¡¯t have the expertise either, but maybe Torwin can point me towards someone who can, or would be willing to buy it off me despite it being broken. Even a few thousand decarmas for it would be better than nothing.


    While he waited for the healing potion to finish its work and the burning sting of the poison the champion had pumped into his leg to run its course, he went over his gains from the fight. The champion seed had the exact same format as the first one he¡¯d obtained, only substituting Ultgith the Shadow where the other listed Balzarith the Living Inferno, and Velik had just as little idea what to do with this one.


    Of far more interest to him was [Apex Hunter]. When one skill got folded into another, it didn¡¯t always carry its full potential over with it. [Stealth] had imparted a strong understanding of how to balance his weight to move silently, where to put his feet to avoid brushing up against things, a sort of advanced proprioception of his whole body in relation to the world around him, and an understanding of sight lines, both in and out of the dark.


    [Apex Hunter] had some of that, but the proprioception tilted more towards combat now, and he was far, far more aware of not just what his prey could potentially see, but where they were likely to look. In exchange for the skill slot he¡¯d freed up by folding [Stealth] into [Predator¡¯s Visage], he¡¯d lost a lot of the parts that concerned actually moving silently. It wasn¡¯t all gone, but it wasn¡¯t as strong as it had been before.


    Velik wasn¡¯t concerned about that. His old skill had included [Ambush Tactics] as part of its makeup, which overlapped with what he needed [Stealth] for anyway. Besides, his physical stat was so high that even someone like Torwin had a hard time keeping track of him at night.


    As for his newly opened skill slot, Velik returned once again to his old weak points: range and area damage. [The Black Fang] as a class didn¡¯t seem to want to do range, and none of the class skills provided a good solution. There were general skills, of course, things like [Bow Mastery] or [Throwing Mastery], but as a rule, Velik only took general skills when he had a plan to merge them into a class skill he already had. Weapon mastery skills for gear he didn¡¯t have or use did not make the cut.


    Area damage was also something of a dead end, with the closest he could find being active skills that greatly increased his speed for brief windows. Those actually appealed to Velik quite a bit. Having what was essentially a free, reusable haste potion, even if the effect wasn¡¯t nearly as potent, could make future fights against opponents like the champion spider much easier.


    The problem was that if he locked that skill slot down with something like that, he wouldn¡¯t be able to gain new skills until he reached level 40, not unless he found a way to merge two of his existing skills together. It bore more consideration, but he had plenty of time to think about it while he traveled.


    His leg, meanwhile, wasn¡¯t getting any better. I shouldn¡¯t be surprised. It was a venomous spider bite from a champion elite. Even with my high physical, that¡¯s going to be a challenge. I could¡­ probably afford some sort of antivenom from the system store, but if it¡¯s just a matter of riding out the pain, I¡¯d rather save the money.


    He decided to give it another hour. If things didn¡¯t start feeling better by then, he¡¯d have to spend another thousand or more decarmas on a powerful antivenom. For the moment, all he could do was grit his teeth against the pain, pocket the broken compass, and start limping his way south toward home.

 Chapter 33

    The next morning after their late-night visitor, Jensen and Torwin left the dungeon. Whatever the broken orb was, Torwin seemed excited about it, and it was one more thing than Jensen had expected to find. It was beyond obvious that the dungeon was dead the moment they¡¯d laid eyes on it, but he was just the lowly apprentice, so he¡¯d kept his mouth shut and his eyes open.


    ¡°So, he really walked all the way out here to ask how to use a mana compass?¡± Jensen asked as they walked.


    ¡°It¡¯s an honest enough mistake. That boy is entirely self-taught, from what I can tell. No instructors, no professors, no trainers. The spear isn¡¯t my weapon of choice, but I¡¯ve never seen a fighting style like his. I think he just went out into the woods when he was a child, picked up a stick, and started beating on monsters. It¡¯s a miracle he¡¯s even still alive.¡±


    ¡°Guess that unique class he¡¯s supposed to have was good for something,¡± Jensen pointed out. He wasn¡¯t bitter or anything, but it was frustrating to think what he could have done with something like that, instead of a common [Tracker] class.


    ¡°I think there¡¯s more to it than just the class,¡± Torwin said. It was clear from the look on his face that he was a million miles away, lost in thought, but he still slipped through the undergrowth with an easy familiarity that Jensen couldn¡¯t hope to match. More than once, his master had started to drift ahead despite his seemingly casual pace, and Jensen had been forced to call him back.


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    But Torwin just shook his head. It had something to do with that cracked orb, but Jensen didn¡¯t know what. Torwin refused to talk about it, too. He just kept saying he needed to take it back to the guild to have it properly appraised, thus the return back to the frontier towns. They¡¯d already discussed the plan once they got there. Jensen would be sent out to run patrols near towns for levels and skill training, and Torwin would run back to Cravel, a trip he assured Jensen he could do in three days if he ran the whole way.


    Which is insane. How many points does the old man have in physical to move that fast? It¡¯s got to be over a hundred. Having [Ranger] as a class probably helps him with long-distance travel speed, but that can¡¯t be all there is to it. I wonder if he¡¯s got a skill for it, too.


    Most hunter-type classes favored speed and endurance in their physical stats, and [Ranger] was a rare one. Jensen had no doubt the class could do everything his own [Tracker] was capable of and plenty more besides. But to cover what had to be better than four hundred miles in three days was ridiculous. Or was it three hundred? How many days were we with that caravan before we peeled off?


    ¡°Jensen! Pay attention, boy,¡± Torwin hissed at him.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    He blinked and looked over at his master, who was glaring at him impatiently. What did I miss?


    A moment later, he realized he could hear something moving through the trees a few hundred feet ahead of them. The brush was too thick to get a good look at it, but they¡¯d trained exhaustively with relying on other senses to pick up details they couldn¡¯t gain with their eyes.


    It¡¯s big. Heavy. Four legs? Or maybe more. Can¡¯t tell unless it starts running. Something crunched, probably a branch, but so loud that Jensen expected it was the width of a sapling. He held perfectly still and listened, not just to whatever was in front of them, but for any sign that it had friends.


    Two minutes later, the creatures had meandered out of their way and Jensen relaxed. ¡°What do you think it was?¡± he asked his master.


    ¡°You tell me.¡±


    ¡°Well, you didn¡¯t set me to hunt it, so it wasn¡¯t a monster. It was pretty big, judging by how much noise it made. Maybe a bear?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t sound certain,¡± Torwin remarked.


    ¡°Let me go get a look at the tracks it left and I¡¯ll give you a better answer.¡±If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The old [Ranger] snorted. ¡°Alright, fair enough. Come along then.¡±


    Jensen¡¯s guess proved to be correct, though he was impressed at the sheer size of the paw prints. Each was the size of a dinner plate, and some quick approximations told him that the bear was probably better than twelve feet tall on two legs. He glanced at the trail it had ambled off down, now littered with broken twigs where its bulk hadn¡¯t quite fit through.


    ¡°You¡¯re sure that was an animal?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I am,¡± Torwin said. ¡°Didn¡¯t have the right smell for a monster.¡±


    How the hell did you smell it from so far away? Jensen mentally boggled at the old man¡¯s nose.


    ¡°It¡¯s the mana,¡± Torwin went on, seeing Jensen¡¯s expression. ¡°You¡¯ll eventually need a way to detect mana once you get to the higher levels, especially if you want to hunt monsters.¡±


    ¡°Why waste a skill slot on it, though? Why not just get a mana compass like that other guy?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not cheap, for one thing. For another, they can be lost or break. Besides, using one during a fight isn¡¯t a great idea, and sometimes you need to be able to sense your prey¡¯s mana.¡±


    Jensen was skeptical of that first point. He opened his system store menu and almost immediately found a compass for ten thousand decarmas. That¡¯s not bad, he thought as he bought one. It popped into existence in front of him, startling Torwin and earning him an incredulous glance.


    ¡°Why?¡± the old man said simply.


    Jensen shrugged. ¡°Wanted to see how they worked. I don¡¯t have room for a mana sense in my skill slots right now, but if they¡¯re that important, I should probably get familiar with them, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ suppose,¡± Torwin said, sounding almost reluctant.


    Come on, you stingy bastard. Give me some credit for showing initiative, if nothing else.


    Praise remained as elusive as always, but Jensen was used to it. After a few minutes of silence while he attuned the compass to himself, he asked, ¡°How does this thing work?¡±


    * * *


    Torwin couldn¡¯t quite suppress a twinge of jealousy as he watched his apprentice fiddle around with a mana compass he¡¯d apparently bought on a whim. He didn¡¯t even seem particularly interested in it, like it represented an idle curiosity to pass an hour¡¯s time before being promptly forgotten.


    He had to admit, though, Jensen seemed to have a better intuitive understanding of the device than Torwin had expected. After a brief explanation, no longer than the one he¡¯d given to the Black Fang, his apprentice had already figured out a few things Torwin himself hadn¡¯t known.


    ¡°So, this must control the radius the compass detects out to,¡± Jensen muttered as he adjusted the compass¡¯s controls again. The rune it was set to use shifted in shape, though Torwin couldn¡¯t tell what the different squiggles meant. It meant something to Jensen, and that was good enough.


    ¡°Right, and so that¡¯s a lower range, probably good for using as a monster ambush detector if you only care about things within a hundred feet. If I take this back out the opposite way¡­ Thought so.¡±


    Once again, Torwin was struck by how wrong [Ranger] as a class seemed for the boy. [Explorer] would fit him so much better, or perhaps even something esoteric like [Artificer]. His family would never allow either of those, of course. Those were peasant classes, and Jensen¡¯s father demanded he evolve his current class into something that was at least rare-grade.


    Perhaps there¡¯s something for him that could combine all those interests together. I think I¡¯ll do a bit of research while I¡¯m at the guild. If I can present his family with a clear alternative path toward an acceptably respectable class, he might be able to convince his father to let him pursue it.


    ¡°How do you know what the runes mean?¡± Torwin asked.


    ¡°Hmm? Oh, I¡¯ve seen them before on other devices back home. There¡¯s a whole armory full of stuff like this I used to get into when I was a kid.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯ve had a lot of time to experiment, then? You never had any tutors or anything?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Jensen said. He glanced up from the compass he was playing with and asked, ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just impressed at your knowledge on the subject,¡± Torwin told him honestly. ¡°If I¡¯d known you were so proficient, I¡¯d have asked you to explain the compass to our local friend. You would have given him a better lesson than I did.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll figure it out. It¡¯s not that hard,¡± Jensen said, apparently not realizing that Torwin himself had never ¡®figured it out¡¯ in thirty years with the Hunters Guild.


    Well, it was never a question that he was smart enough. It¡¯s just his lack of ambition and his allergy to getting up with the sun that are the problems.


    The pair walked in silence, Jensen too absorbed in figuring out the compass¡¯s many functions to properly pay attention to the world around him. Torwin wanted to chastise him, but, just this once, he bit his tongue. He was witnessing something unexpected, and he didn¡¯t want to interrupt Jensen.


    The monsters, of course, weren¡¯t so courteous. Five minutes later, a pack of worgs picked up their scent and Torwin was forced to shift his apprentice¡¯s attention to his next lesson.

 Chapter 34

    Velik grimaced at the number the system store gave him, but it had been hours since he¡¯d been bitten and it wasn¡¯t getting better. If anything, his leg felt a little bit worse. No matter how many times he told himself he¡¯d give it just one more hour, nothing changed. He had no choice but to flush his stash of decarmas on the antivenom now.


    He¡¯d spent the last few hours looking at class skills with an eye for something offensive that would merge into [Spear Warden] while he waited for his body to purge the poison, and even though he hadn¡¯t succeeded at restoring his good health, he had found two potential skills to choose from.


    The first was called [Phalanx], and it wasn¡¯t really meant to be an offensive skill. It formed phantasmal spears to help defend against attacks from multiple angles, primarily by deflecting attacks and driving off enemies looking to close into melee. It relied mostly on his mental stat to control the phantasmal spears, but the exact number he could create at a time was tied to mystic. In the past, he would have avoided it simply because his whole build was optimized to stack physical and use skills that were primarily powered by it.


    Now, with his new hobby of hunting champion elites, he was starting to feel the need to expand his repertoire. Unfortunately, the skills he needed didn¡¯t synergize so well with his current stat balance, so he suspected he¡¯d be allocating free points elsewhere for the foreseeable future. He was holding off on making a decision primarily because while [Phalanx] seemed like something that he could modify to give him more offense, the other option he¡¯d found scaled with physical instead.


    [Savage Rhythm] was a strange skill, suboptimal in that it took more time to ramp up to a point where it was viable than most of his fights lasted. It allowed him to slowly speed up his attacks, with each successive attack building off the previous. The other problem was that he had to continuously attack without relenting in order to maintain the skill. Against a single, powerful opponent, it was the better option, but he had concerns about finding a viable way to even train the skill up.


    His initial instinct was to lean into his strengths and add [Savage Rhythm] to his skill list. That strategy had worked well for him so far, and he was confident that he¡¯d be able to merge the skill into [Spear Warden] within a few levels if he could find suitable targets to practice it on. With the mana compass broken, however, he wouldn¡¯t be getting any good use out of it in the near future.


    [Savage Rhythm] is better for what I¡¯m trying to do right now, but [Phalanx] will be stronger in the end, especially if I can shift it more toward offense. It¡¯ll also benefit more from [Spear Warden] up front, and probably be easier to fold into another skill. Okay, I think I¡¯ve made up my mind here.


    He added [Phalanx] as his newest skill, then navigated to the system store and spent two thousand decarmas on an all-purpose antivenom, leaving him with almost nothing left over. While he waited for the antivenom to do its work, he activated [Phalanx].


    It was a strange sensation, a floating, ghostly spear that he controlled with his mind. It felt clumsy, nothing like he was used to, but he was able to send it spinning out into a stuttering spin for a moment before it broke apart into wisps of light. With a bit of practice, he was able to set it to doing basic defensive weaves and jabs, nothing complex, but enough to hold an enemy off his flank.


    Then he added a second spear, and a third. That was as far as he could stretch his piddling mystic stat, and for the time being, it was more than enough. Controlling one phantasmal spear while he fought was challenging. Making effective use of two was beyond his limits, and even keeping three active at once taxed him too much to actually do anything with them.


    But it¡¯s good to see how the skill will grow with practice. Maybe when I¡¯m back home, I can try using it to kill some weaker monsters.


    He had the supplies to stick to the deep wood for a few more days, but with the mana compass broken, he didn¡¯t see much point. His only lead was out of his reach for the time being, and rather than forage for food all the way back, he decided to just leave early. If it wasn¡¯t possible to fix the compass, he¡¯d come out with a month¡¯s worth of preserved rations and go on a murder spree until he could buy a new one. Maybe I¡¯ll get a level or two out of it. I know I¡¯m close to 31, just¡­ not quite there, yet.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    The sun rose before Velik left the grove, but with his new skills, he was confident he could still handle the higher-level monsters in the forest. It was a good test, either way, and it only took ten minutes to run into the first one.


    With an eager grin, he summoned a phantasmal spear and got to work.


    * * *


    [You have advanced to level 4. +1 Mental, +1 free point.]


    Sildra let out a great sigh of relief as the last of the blade mantises died. Despite only being six inches long, their scythe-like arms were more than capable of leaving long slices or even cutting off fingers. Even though she didn¡¯t have to get up close to the monstrous bugs like Gorm, it was still scary fighting a set of sharp blades attached to wings.


    ¡°I got the level up,¡± she called to her bodyguard. ¡°We should head back to town before the moon goes down.¡±


    Her first skill of her new class was called [Lunar Flare], and it allowed her to harness moonlight and turn it against her enemies. The skill said it wasn¡¯t actually fire, but it sure looked like it to her, albeit the same soft white as the moon. Regardless of how the magic worked, the monsters she hit with it were left with charred, ashy-pale flesh.


    She quickly dropped her free point into mystic, as she¡¯d done every level. Exhaustion from using the skill was her primary weakness right now, with her limit being far too low for her liking. Half a dozen uses was all she could contribute to a single fight, and then only if she got at least an hour to recover between fights. The monsters weren¡¯t always so cooperative though, so Gorm had come along, too.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear it,¡± Gorm said. His eyes scoured the battlefield, and with a deft hand, he quickly harvested a trio of mushrooms with pale blue frills under their caps. ¡°I bet I can get at least fifty hesplates for these.¡±


    A few weeks ago, that would have seemed like a lot. Now, she was in possession of no less than fifteen decarmas from all the late-night training sessions. It was a pittance when she looked at the price tags attached to the system shop, but in terms of everyday purchases using copper hesplates or silver vitrunes, it was a small fortune. She could even afford a handful of golden fulmites, had there been a single one in any of the frontier towns.


    It almost made up for risking her life every single night.


    ¡°Hey, so, there was something I needed to talk to you about,¡± Gorm said about half an hour later as they neared the wall surrounding Deshir. ¡°I, uh¡­ my contract with your mom is up. Technically, it was up a few hours ago.¡±


    ¡°It is?¡± Sildra hadn¡¯t realized it had been six weeks already. She supposed she¡¯d technically accomplished her goal, but it had been nice having the higher-level bodyguard with her while she trained and gained levels of her own.


    ¡°Yeah. I just wanted to make sure you got that last level before I left town, you know?¡±


    ¡°Oh. Would you consider extending the contract? I¡¯ve got some money now.¡±


    Gorm sighed and shook his head. ¡°Sorry, can¡¯t. I¡¯ve got to be out of here in the morning to get to my next job. I already accepted the contract before I left Cravel and it¡¯s going to be hard enough getting back in time as it is.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± she said softly. ¡°Then, thank you. I couldn¡¯t have become a [Druid] without your help.¡±


    ¡°It was my pleasure,¡± he told her. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anyone get a new class from a god before. Story to tell my grandkids someday. I wish I could stay longer and see you grow, but¡­¡±


    ¡°But you have obligations to meet, and you wouldn¡¯t be a man of honor if you abandoned them,¡± she finished for him. ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± he said lamely. ¡°So, yeah, I¡¯m heading out as soon as we get back. Hopefully I find someone with a wagon or a cart going the right way who doesn¡¯t mind me catching a ride while I sleep today.¡±


    The two approached the gates, which were manned by a pair of night watchmen. Both had high enough mental to see in the dark, or perhaps some sort of skill. Either way, they recognized the duo and nodded to each other. ¡°Good hunting, Sildra?¡± one of them asked.


    ¡°Level 4,¡± she said with a smile.


    The other chuckled. ¡°You¡¯ll be a right little powerhouse in no time at that rate. Here, let me get the gate open for you.¡±


    Once they were inside, Gorm walked with Sildra until she reached her parents¡¯ shop. ¡°This is goodbye,¡± he said. ¡°Do me a favor. If you ever see that Black Fang fellow again, tell him I said thanks for saving my life.¡±


    ¡°I will,¡± she promised. ¡°And thank you for everything, Gorm. I hope I see you again someday.¡±

 Chapter 35

    Velik was three hours out from town and well away from the deep wood when he finally got that level up he¡¯d been waiting for. It came from killing a group of worgs that he¡¯d specifically targeted as practice for [Phalanx].


    [You have slain a bristle fur worg (level 12).]


    [You have been awarded 1 decarma.]


    [You have advanced to level 31. +2 Physical, +1 Mental, +2 free points.]


    For the first time in the last few years, he hesitated over where to slot those two free points. With his new skill, mental had suddenly become much more important, but he was confident that he could manage three of the ghostly spears with his current stats and a bit of practice. Increasing the skill¡¯s rank would help as well. What he wasn¡¯t sure of was whether he could ever form more than three spears at a time without increasing his mystic, or if they¡¯d get more durable as the skill grew.


    Much to his annoyance, he¡¯d found that the skill-crafted spears couldn¡¯t do more than distract high-level opponents. They just weren¡¯t strong enough to pierce the hides and scales of deep wood monsters, which was an unexpected problem. It didn¡¯t make [Phalanx] worthless, but it did sharply limit its viability as an offensive skill if it couldn¡¯t actually hurt the monsters he needed to use it against.


    So, with some trepidation, Velik put the two free points into mystic and reviewed his status.


    [Name: Velik]


    [Race: Human (Duskbound)]


    [Class: The Black Fang]


    [Level: 31]


    [Physical: 99(+8)]


    [Mental: 54(+2)]


    [Mystical: 24]


    [Free Points: 0]


    [Decarma: 1247]


    [Skills:]


    [Apex Hunter (Rank 1)]


    [Spear Warden (Rank 6)]


    [Kinetic Charge (Rank 3)]


    [Phalanx (Rank 1)]


    [Gear:]


    [Blood Seeker(+5Ph)]


    [Hunter¡¯s Cowl(+2Me)]


    [Stalker¡¯s Boots(+3Ph)]


    [Champion¡¯s Seed (Balzarinth)]


    [Champion¡¯s Seed (Ultgith)]


    He¡¯d always regretted the points he¡¯d put into mystic, but now, they no longer felt wasted. If anything, he wished he¡¯d put a few more into the stat over the last few months when the monster population had exploded and he¡¯d started rapidly gaining levels. He was still hopeful that enough practice and a few ranks with the new skill would fix the issue, but some extra points in mystic certainly wouldn¡¯t hurt.


    The sun was just peeking over the tops of the trees when Velik walked into the Raven¡¯s Nest. He¡¯d spotted signs that Torwin and his apprentice had returned south a few days ago, and, lacking a better idea of where to find them, had decided to return to the inn where he¡¯d last run into the man. If nothing else, he could probably leave a message that he wanted to talk with the innkeeper.


    Fortune was with him once again. Torwin was sitting at a table, shoveling his breakfast into his mouth and washing it down with a mug of some sort of beer. Next to him, Jensen was slumped over with his head on his arms and his eyes closed. He let out a soft groan when a shaft of sunlight passed across his face from the open door.


    ¡°Well, if it isn¡¯t Mr. Black Fang himself,¡± Torwin said. ¡°Didn¡¯t think I¡¯d be seeing you again so soon.¡±


    ¡°Things didn¡¯t go according to plan,¡± Velik admitted.


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t get the compass to work?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± He fished it out of his pocket and set it down on the table. ¡°Broke it fighting a champion elite.¡±


    ¡°No, you didn¡¯t,¡± Jensen said, raising his head to scowl at Velik. ¡°Maybe running away from a champion elite. That I¡¯d believe.¡±


    Velik regarded him silently for a moment, then turned his attention back to Torwin. ¡°I was hoping you knew a way to fix it¡±Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    The old man laughed. ¡°Me? No. I¡¯m good at finding things and killing them. Jensen would have a better idea than me.¡±


    Jensen leaned forward and scooped the compass up to examine it. A single look was all it took to have him shaking his head. ¡°Well outside my skill set. Even if it was something you bought from an artificer instead of the system store, I still wouldn¡¯t be able to help. I¡¯d guess a professional restoration would probably run you two to three thousand decarmas.¡±


    That was still cheaper than buying a new one, but Velik had no idea where to even find someone with the ability to repair it. More importantly, he didn¡¯t have nearly that much money, nor did he want to waste however long it would take to travel to wherever he needed to go and wait for the work to be done. It would probably be faster to just resume killing monsters in the deep wood, though it was fairly obvious that he needed to spend another week or so around the frontier¡¯s border thinning the monster populations back down before he went north again.


    Maybe I can salvage something from this though. These two will go back to wherever they came from eventually. They could probably turn a profit on this thing once it¡¯s repaired, and I could use the decarmas today.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have the time to get it repaired now,¡± he said. ¡°Would you be interested in buying it cheap? Once you get it repaired, it¡¯d be a steal.¡±


    ¡°How cheap are we talking?¡± Torwin asked.


    ¡°I paid ten thousand from the system store. If you bought it for two and it cost three to fix, you¡¯d effectively be getting it at half off just for the hassle of taking it with you when you leave.¡±


    ¡°I already have one,¡± Jensen said. He pulled a duplicate of Velik¡¯s damaged mana compass out and set it on the table. ¡°Exact same one, actually.¡±


    ¡°And I don¡¯t need one. I¡¯ve got a skill for it, though admittedly the range is rather limited compared to what the compass can do. If I¡¯m ever doing a job where I do need one, I can just sign one out of the guild armory, anyway.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Velik said with an unhappy sigh. ¡°I guess I wasted your time. Sorry.¡±


    ¡°No, I wouldn¡¯t say it was wasted,¡± Torwin said. ¡°How about having a seat and getting a meal? I¡¯d like to ask you a bit about what you found out there, if you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°I have work to do.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure it can wait twenty minutes. You¡¯ve got to eat sometime anyway.¡±


    ¡°I really don¡¯t¡ª¡±


    ¡°Did you really break this thing fighting a champion on your own?¡± Jensen interrupted.


    Why does it matter? ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°And it wasn¡¯t in the dungeon? I mean, we were there, and besides, the dungeon¡¯s dead, anyway. So, it was a wild champion elite.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ guess so.¡± I¡¯ve never even heard of a wild champion elite.


    ¡°Those are supposed to take whole teams to kill,¡± Jensen said. ¡°Maybe Torwin could do it by himself because he¡¯s a high level with a rare class, but for you to do it¡­ Well, there¡¯s an easy way to tell. If you killed it, you¡¯d have the champion seed.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your point?¡±


    ¡°Obviously, that champion seeds are valuable. If you have one, you could sell it. If it¡¯s a high enough level, it might be worth more than the compass itself.¡±


    Do I need this thing? I¡¯ve got two of them anyway, and besides, they were only important because they had Chalin¡¯s name on them. They don¡¯t even say that anymore, so they¡¯re not doing anything but sitting in a pouch now. But still¡­ something about this¡­


    ¡°What are they used for?¡± Velik asked.


    ¡°You mean, besides to grow a new champion?¡±


    ¡°I doubt anyone wants to make more monsters.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d be surprised,¡± Torwin said dryly. ¡°But no, he means that champion seeds have other uses. Alchemists love them. Enchanters sometimes use them for their mana holding properties. Certain classes can even consume them directly to gain permanent power increases, mostly along the druid lines.¡±


    Velik¡¯s mind immediately went to Sildra. What would happen if she took one of these? He pushed that thought aside and said, ¡°I¡¯ve got a level 35 and 33 seed. How much are those worth?¡±


    ¡°Enough to trade for a mana compass,¡± Jensen said eagerly. He started to push the compass across the table, but stopped when Torwin¡¯s hand came down on his arm.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not cheat the boy just because he doesn¡¯t know the value of what he¡¯s selling. Either of those seeds is worth thirty or forty thousand decarmas to the right buyer, neither of which is us. However, I need to return to Cravel for a few days. I expect to be gone for about a week with travel time, and I would be willing to take one or both seeds with me, along with your broken compass. I¡¯ll sell them for you, get the compass fixed, and bring it back, provided you trust me to do so.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t a difficult decision. As it currently stood, none of those things were useful to him. He could run down to the city himself, maybe even make it as fast as Torwin himself implied he¡¯d travel, but when he got there, he wouldn¡¯t have the first clue who to talk to about fencing the seeds or repairing the compass.


    If Torwin cheated him, he would be out a huge amount of theoretical decarmas, but wouldn¡¯t actually be any worse off in the real world. It would also be a good test of the two hunters¡¯ ethics. If Velik was going to be dealing with them while they were here, he¡¯d prefer to know where they all stood with each other. Torwin seemed trustworthy, but there was no telling what was really going on in his head.


    Decision made, Velik pulled the two seeds out of the leather pouch that hung off his belt and set them on the table next to the broken compass. Then he gestured to the intact one and said, ¡°I¡¯d like to borrow this while you¡¯re gone, if that¡¯s alright with you.¡±


    ¡°A bit of collateral, huh?¡± Torwin muttered. ¡°Fair enough.¡±


    Jensen, who¡¯d been staring slack-jawed at the two seeds, snapped his head around to look at his master. ¡°Being a bit free with things that aren¡¯t yours, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°You weren¡¯t using it anyway,¡± Torwin said unrepentantly. ¡°Besides, we both know it¡¯s barely pocket change for you.¡±


    Pocket change? It was ten thousand decarmas. There¡¯s no way a guy that weak collected so much that it was bought on a whim.


    Jensen snorted. ¡°Fine, he can take it. But in return, I am going to sleep in.¡±

 Chapter 36

    The Hunters Guild spread throughout the north and west borders of Ghastel, with headquarters in every major city on that side of the country. Monster attacks were a frontier problem, with few exceptions. And since killing monsters was the job, there wasn¡¯t much reason to keep a guildhall in the south where the nearest monster was a thousand miles away.


    Cravel was still a bit farther from the action than Torwin liked, but the simple fact of the matter was that there wasn¡¯t a city closer to the borderlands here, so he sucked it up and ran the whole way. Hours and miles went by, and by the time the sun went back down, he was more than halfway there.


    Going back early hadn¡¯t been the plan, but he was eager to forge a working relationship with the local hunter. It wasn¡¯t often he met someone with a unique class, let alone one of the same type as his own. Torwin was hoping to convince the kid to sign up as a monster hunter once the crisis near his home was resolved.


    Even if the Black Fang refused, Torwin still wanted to help him. The kid was involved in all of this in a way even he didn¡¯t understand, and that made him the most likely path to resolving the monster infestation. Besides that, it was painfully obvious that he was entirely self-taught and had grown up in almost total isolation. The holes in his working knowledge were atrocious.


    Every time he recalled the expression on the Black Fang¡¯s face when he¡¯d learned that alchemists could and did make potions at a fraction of the price the system store charged, Torwin laughed. Everything the local hunter used was purchased with decarmas directly from the system itself, at prices so ruinous that even Jensen had boggled at the expenses. And it was all because the kid just didn¡¯t know anybody. Nobody in the frontier had classes with the skills to manufacture essential magical equipment, so the Black Fang had resorted to years and years of monster hunting to purchase a few pieces of gear himself.


    They¡¯d had a discussion about how to spend all the decarmas the Black Fang had coming his way, and if all went well, he¡¯d be bringing back a whole host of supplies and gear, though the only thing that was absolutely essential was the repaired mana compass. If Torwin couldn¡¯t find someone to fix that¡ªat least not in a short enough timeframe¡ªthen the Black Fang was just going to buy a new one.


    Though Torwin hated not getting at least a few hours of sleep each night, he didn¡¯t stop running when the sun went down. By the time it rose again, he was only about fifty miles from Cravel. If he¡¯d been fresh, he could have cleared the last leg in an hour or two, but after twenty-six hours of non-stop running, even he was starting to hit his limits.


    He passed through the gates three hours later, and as much as he wanted to turn into the nearest inn, drop a fulmite or two on the counter, and dive face-first into the nearest bed, he forced himself to keep moving. There was a tinkerer¡¯s shop a quarter-mile past the north gate, and Torwin had yet to come across anything the old woman who owned it couldn¡¯t fix. He doubted this would be the broken trinket that ended a two-decade long undefeated streak.


    ¡°Beltha? You still alive, you old bag?¡± he called out as he came through the shop¡¯s front door.


    ¡°Who¡¯re you calling old, you mangy, leather-faced dog!¡± a querulous voice yelled back.


    At four and a half feet tall and maybe seventy pounds, Beltha could have been mistaken for a child if not for her thin, gray hair and a face so covered in wrinkles that Torwin sometimes joked that the only reason she wore goggles was to keep her eyebrows from sagging over her vision. She looked frail enough that an errant breeze would knock her over, but she was an even higher level than Torwin, and those dainty fingers could dent steel if she squeezed.


    She emerged from behind a workbench, stopping only to scowl and hip check the heavy wood when her toolbelt got snagged on it. It skidded a few inches from the casual bump, and everything on its surface jumped in place before it stopped moving. Beltha tottered past it and came to a stop in front of Torwin.


    ¡°All done playing in the trees already?¡± she asked. ¡°I thought you said you were expecting it to be at least a month, maybe two.¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    ¡°Not done at all,¡± Torwin said. ¡°I left my apprentice up there to get some practice, but I had to come back down to the city to get some supplies. Things are¡­ strange. I¡¯ve never seen anything quite like it. But here, take a look at this.¡±


    He fished the broken compass out and handed it to Beltha, who peered at it owlishly. ¡°A mana compass?¡± she asked. She turned it over and snorted. ¡°Someone step on it?¡±


    ¡°It got dropped during a fight,¡± Torwin explained.


    ¡°Hmm. Amplifier lens is cracked. That¡¯ll need to be replaced. Doesn¡¯t look like any of the runes are damaged, though. I¡¯ll need to open it up to make sure the collection array is still in one piece.¡±


    Torwin nodded along like he knew what even half of the rambling meant. He¡¯d long since found it was best to humor Beltha and not ask distracting questions. She was more than happy to be pulled off on rambling tangents and easily offended by attempts to steer the conversation back to pertinent topics. So, instead of asking what she was talking about, he simply said, ¡°I need to know how quickly it can be repaired and how much it¡¯ll cost.¡±


    ¡°If the array is intact, twelve-hundred decarmas and three days. Eighteen-hundred if you want a rush on it. If the array is damaged, three thousand for same-day, twenty-five by the end of the week.¡±


    That¡­ actually isn¡¯t too far off what Jensen predicted. Too bad Beltha won¡¯t take an apprentice. [Manalight Artificer] might actually be a good class for him.


    ¡°I need it by tomorrow morning,¡± Torwin said. ¡°I¡¯m only going to be in Cravel long enough to get a few hours of sleep and pick up supplies.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re too old to be hurrying like that. Don¡¯t come whining to me when you break a hip running around like you¡¯re still in your twenties.¡±


    ¡°Please. The only way I¡¯d break a hip is if I let you get your claws on it.¡±


    Beltha threw back her head and cackled. ¡°And don¡¯t you forget it! Alright, I¡¯ll get this thing opened up and start working on it. Whatever¡¯s wrong with it, I¡¯ll fix or replace. Pay upfront.¡±


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be trying to cheat me, would you?¡± Torwin asked, his voice heavy with suspicion. ¡°I seem to recall the last time I paid upfront, it conveniently took every last decarma to buy the parts.¡±


    ¡°I gave you a discount, you ungrateful sack of mulch! Knocked two hundred decarmas off my labor fees to match the deposit.¡±


    ¡°Mmhmm. Beltha, I have known you for way too long to fall for that. We both know you¡¯re so greedy you could make a dragon blush.¡±


    ¡°You want it done or not?¡±


    The two glared at each other, but Torwin knew she had him. He needed this done immediately and even with the rush fee, it was still far cheaper than buying a new one. Besides, it technically wasn¡¯t his money anyway. ¡°Fine! You win!¡±


    She cackled in the background while he started materializing stacks of hundred-decarma coins on her counter.


    * * *


    The seeds were sold through a guild intermediary, one who would undoubtedly get a better price for them than Torwin could negotiate himself. He had no idea what their actual value was, or who would be willing to pay that much for them, so it was a task better left to a professional.


    His last task before he found a bed and claimed it for at least ten hours was to deliver the mysterious fractured orb that had supposedly granted the Black Fang his unique class to the guild archivist, a thin, pasty man named Andel Thett. Andel rarely left the stacks, where he spent his time reading and cataloging information.


    ¡°Fascinating,¡± he said after Torwin presented him with the two halves and explained what he¡¯d learned. ¡°You¡¯re right, of course. For one thing, if this was a class orb, it¡¯s the biggest one I¡¯ve ever seen. That¡¯s disregarding the fact that a class orb doesn¡¯t give two people classes at the same time, nor does it alter race. Nor does it tend to break in half after it¡¯s been used.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Torwin said. ¡°So what is it, then?¡±


    ¡°I have an idea, but I¡¯ll need to look a few things up. That room you found at the top of the dungeon core is definitely a mana regulation chamber, though. It shouldn¡¯t have any connection to the ¡®class orb,¡¯ if that¡¯s what we want to call it for now. Give me a few hours and I think I¡¯ll have a few answers for you.¡±


    ¡°That sounds perfect,¡± Torwin told the archivist. ¡°I need to get some sleep. I¡¯ve been running for over three hundred miles non-stop to get this here as quickly as possible, but I¡¯ll check in after I wake up?¡±


    Andel nodded, but he was already so distracted examining the broken orb that Torwin wasn¡¯t sure he was really listening. The archivist strode away, and several books flew off the shelves in his wake, chasing after him like paper birds with fluttering pages.


    Good enough for now. Time to find a bed.

 Chapter 37

    Things weren¡¯t as bad as Velik thought they¡¯d be. There were plenty of monsters, but their levels hadn¡¯t improved much and the town watch was still holding their own. Beldrit had fended off a small invasion headed by a level 19 elite three days before Velik had returned, but they¡¯d done it without a single casualty.


    Could have been a lot worse, but it¡¯s still going to take days to get back on top of this, he thought to himself as he roamed through the forest. He¡¯d killed hundreds of monsters just in the last few hours, mostly through the efforts of [Phalanx]. The skill was more awkward than he¡¯d initially expected, but he was slowly improving his control. For the moment, the focus of his efforts was on increasing his accuracy. For these weaker monsters, it didn¡¯t make much difference if the tip of the magical spears struck an inch or two off from center mass, but he wanted to be able to hunt the deep wood, where pin-point precision was a basic requirement.


    Normally, he didn¡¯t see many people out in the forest at night. Anybody without a high enough mental stat to see in the dark or some class-specific skill¡ªor in Velik¡¯s case, a racial skill¡ªwas at too much of a disadvantage to the monsters that stalked the trees. Even lanterns and torches could only do so much to counteract the problem. So, Velik was used to running across the occasional woodsmen in the afternoon and evening, then having the run of the forest to himself after the sun went down.


    That was why he was so surprised that he kept running into Sildra. Whatever her new class did, she also seemed to prefer working at night. Considering the ritual he¡¯d overseen when a literal god had blessed her with a new class, he supposed that made sense. Less comforting, however, was the fact that she couldn¡¯t be any stronger than level 5 or 6, and maybe not that. It was rare to see a monster weaker than that, but ones at level 15 or higher were disturbingly common.


    Sildra was going to get herself killed if she wasn¡¯t careful, or maybe even if she was. Her bodyguard was nowhere to be found, and he knew firsthand how hard it was to survive in the woods solo. Back when he¡¯d been her level, the monsters had been much weaker, too. She wasn¡¯t a child, however, and he wasn¡¯t responsible for her choices.


    If all the strong monsters in the area she was hunting in happened to die, leaving her with only targets closer to her own level, well, that was just her good luck. He¡¯d spoken with Jensen after he¡¯d spotted her the first time, and the apprentice monster hunter had agreed to focus primarily on killing monsters over level 10, though he¡¯d claimed it was just good sense to leave the weaklings to the locals who could safely dispose of them while he focused his efforts where he could have the most impact.


    It''d be less suspicious if he¡¯d agreed before he found out who we were trying to help.


    Velik might not have spent much time in civilization in the last decade, but he was still aware of how often young men made foolish decisions to impress pretty girls. Since it actually got Jensen to do what he wanted, he was willing to overlook that in this case. With any luck, the apprentice monster hunter¡¯s days would be too full from doing his job for things to go any further, unless Sildra decided she wanted it to. Whatever. That¡¯s not my problem.


    He spent four days in a cycle of sleep, hunt, eat, hunt, and sleep. The owner of the Raven¡¯s Nest didn¡¯t seem to mind him taking meals there, and Velik found that he quite enjoyed eating food that was properly cooked. The price was negligible, so he made it part of his routine to stop there early in the evening before the sun went down completely and the real work started.


    Unfortunately, while the Raven¡¯s Nest itself might tolerate his presence, other townsfolk were less understanding. There was a simple reason Velik had stayed away over the years. Deshir was the worst, but the other frontier towns held plenty of people who also blamed him for the rise in monster populations. Even those who¡¯d previously been indifferent to his presence were starting to shift their stances over the last few months.


    It was enough to make Velik long to retreat back to the comfortable solitude of the forest, but since he was still waiting for Torwin to return with his repaired compass and the promised upgrades, he tolerated the state of things.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    He¡¯d just finished some lamb''s meat grilled on a stick and a thick slice of fresh, buttered bread for dinner when things came to a head. Less than a hundred feet from the inn, a group of six loggers intercepted him. Three circled around behind him to cut off his escape, not that he thought for even a moment that they could stop him. [Apex Predator] was practically laughing in his head.


    ¡°Listen here, Black Tooth or whatever it is you call yourself,¡± the one who appeared to be the leader said.


    ¡°Uh, it¡¯s Black Fang, boss,¡± the one next to him said.


    ¡°Shut it, Travir! I¡¯m busy here!¡±


    ¡°Sorry, boss.¡±


    Velik waited patiently, arms crossed as he watched. He itched to shape his spear into a combat form, but pulling it now would probably set the logging crew off and he would be forced to hurt them. If he was lucky, this would just be verbal harassment and not an attempt at giving him a beating to get their point across.


    That had happened several times in the early years, even successfully once or twice. Someone had even chased him out into the forest and tried to murder him with a boar-hunting spear one night. That had been when Velik had sworn off ever setting foot in Deshir again, not in the least because he assumed the town would just hate him more when they discovered that guy¡¯s body the next day.


    ¡°Ahem. As I was saying, Black Tooth. We don¡¯t need you skulking around town, scaring honest, decent people and stealing things. Take your scrawny ass back into the trees and fall down a monster¡¯s gullet, why don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I was leaving town when you stopped me,¡± Velik said.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Well¡­ Good! And make sure you don¡¯t come back. We catch you here again, you won¡¯t live to regret it!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I have business in this town. I¡¯ll be back tomorrow at the same time.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you don¡¯t understand. I said leave and don¡¯t come back,¡± the logger snarled, spit flying from his lips as he took an aggressive step forward and puffed out his chest. ¡°I¡¯ve got a physical of 42. You don¡¯t want to screw with me.¡±


    That was probably an impressive amount for his level, but if that logger was higher than level 20, Velik would be surprised. When the man jabbed a finger into Velik¡¯s chest, he just stood there, unmoving. The logger poked him harder, then pressed his hand flat and shoved. Velik continued to stand there, unmoving.


    ¡°I think you should know three things,¡± he told the group. ¡°First, my physical is over 100, so you¡¯ll forgive me if I¡¯m not impressed. Second, I don¡¯t really like killing people. I prefer to spend my time hunting monsters. Third, I often find myself doing things I don¡¯t like.¡±


    ¡°The hell it is,¡± the logger said. No longer making any pretense at subtlety, he put both hands on Velik and tried to shove him again.


    ¡°It would be inconvenient to have to hurt all of you,¡± Velik said. ¡°This is the last time I¡¯m going to ask you to walk away.¡±


    ¡°Uh, boss,¡± Travir said from behind him. ¡°[Identify] can¡¯t get a read on him. I think he¡¯s over level 25.¡±


    The logging crew traded nervous looks with each other and backed up a step, leaving just their boss in Velik¡¯s face. Before he could decide whether to take a swing or run off, a hand reached out of nowhere and grabbed him by the back of his neck. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you, idiot? Don¡¯t pick fights with people twice your level,¡± Torwin said.


    He jerked the logger backward and threw him to land on his back. The others scrambled to help their boss up, and wordlessly, they all retreated while giving the two hunters murderous looks.


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t necessary,¡± Velik said.


    ¡°Figured it¡¯d be better if you didn¡¯t have to kill anyone. Besides, I¡¯ve got all sorts of stuff for you and I¡¯ve been carrying it around long enough. Let¡¯s head back inside so I can pass it over and tell you what I learned."


    "Will it take long?" Velik asked. He wanted out of the town as quickly as possible and was more than happy to sort through everything out in the forest.


    ¡°A bit,¡± Torwin said. ¡°Some of the things I found out¡­ Well, I¡¯ve got a few questions I¡¯m hoping you can answer. It might help fill in a few holes and confirm what happened to you when you were a kid.¡±


    What¡¯s there to fill in? It¡¯s obvious at this point that the monster I saw was Chalin. The class orb changed his race, too. I guess there¡¯s only one way to find out.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Velik said. ¡°Let¡¯s find somewhere private to talk though. I don¡¯t want everyone overhearing this.¡±


    ¡°Induar¡¯s got a private parlor I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll let us use,¡± Torwin said. He walked past Velik and toward the Raven¡¯s Nest.


    Who¡¯s Induar?

 Chapter 38

    The parlor looked a lot like the common room, with an old, scuffed table in the center flanked by six chairs. A fieldstone fireplace dominated the back wall, and there was a faded painting of a young farming couple in front of a log house on the left wall. Whoever had done it wasn¡¯t terribly talented, and years of neglect had left the paint flaking off around the edges.


    ¡°First of all, here¡¯s this,¡± Torwin said. He handed over a pouch similar to the one that already hung from Velik¡¯s belt. The primary difference was that the inside had been fitted with some sort of padded wooden framework, sized to slot up to ten potion vials into. All of them were full. ¡°Healing potions, at about fifty decarma a piece. They¡¯re not as good as the system store¡¯s, but they¡¯re far more affordable.¡±


    I can¡¯t believe I wasted so many thousands of decarmas buying directly from the system over the years. I don¡¯t even want to try to figure out how many I¡¯ve used.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Velik said woodenly as he accepted the pouch.


    ¡°Your compass, fully repaired, and with a field guide explaining how to use it,¡± Torwin said, passing him a small wooden box.


    Inside was the promised compass and a folded over slip of paper. Velik skimmed it and saw it had directions for how to change settings, what each setting did, the maximum range, and warnings about various skills or natural phenomena that could block the compass from detecting things.


    That would have been useful a week ago, but better late than never.


    ¡°And with that, I¡¯d like the return of my compass,¡± Jensen said, holding out a hand. ¡°And, er¡­ I wouldn¡¯t say no to copying those instructions, if you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°No need for that,¡± Torwin told him with a chuckle. He pulled out a duplicate sheet of paper and slid it down the table to his apprentice. ¡°I had the tinkerer make a second copy for you.¡±


    It was good to have the compass back, and even better to finally know how to use it. He still didn¡¯t understand the symbols, but he could match the drawings to the compass itself. That was good enough. Probably the most exciting setting he hadn¡¯t realized existed was that the compass could extend its range in a specific direction by foregoing scanning everywhere else. That would allow him to focus his search to make sure he kept moving deeper into the wilderness as he hunted down the champions there.


    ¡°Now, as to the gear, here are some things that were sorely lacking from your kit,¡± Torwin said. He set a pack on the table and opened it up. ¡°First, a shirt enchanted with [Mending] and [Warmth]. Obviously, you don¡¯t want to wear it during the summer days, but I¡¯m sure I don¡¯t need to tell you how nice it¡¯ll be to have in a month or two when the weather turns.¡±


    That was all well and good, but it was a light blue that really didn¡¯t blend in well with the shadows. [Stealth] might be gone, but it lived on in [Apex Hunter], and the skill was telling him in no uncertain terms that he wouldn¡¯t be doing himself any favors if he wore it. Something to wear when I sleep, I guess.


    ¡°Weather-resistant cloak,¡± Torwin said, passing over the next piece. ¡°Also enchanted with [Mending], and sealed with oils to keep the rain off. Those aren¡¯t magical, and if the cloak gets too damaged, you¡¯ll need to reapply them. You know how to do that?¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± Velik said. He didn¡¯t have the supplies for it, but he could get them locally when he needed them. More importantly, the cloak was a dark, mottled green that would blend perfectly with the forest right up until the snow started falling. After the season turned, he¡¯d need new clothes anyway. His old set had barely survived last winter, thanks mostly to a frostfang howler that had ambushed him right about the same time the snow started to melt.


    ¡°As far as the fun stuff goes, I got about forty thousand decarmas for those two champion seeds. Most of that went into these two pieces. You said you wanted something that would boost your mystic stat up, and this is it.¡± It was an earring, a white gold cuff that had been burnished to keep it from reflecting light. Torwin handed it to him and said, ¡°I recommend using something else to pierce the hole. If you try to use this, you¡¯ll probably break it.¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°I will,¡± Velik promised. ¡°What¡¯s the bonus on it?¡±


    ¡°+15. And that¡¯s all it¡¯s got. It won¡¯t resize or repair or clean itself. It¡¯s pure stats, and it¡¯s delicate. Watch you don¡¯t take any blows to the side of the head or it might just break.¡±


    That would certainly give him a sizable boost to the stat. More importantly, it would let Velik get a feel for exactly how useful mystic was with his new skill so he could decide if it was worth it to keep investing his free points into it. As long as the gains were enough to allow his phantasmal spears to pierce through the hides of deep wood monsters, he¡¯d consider it worth the time and effort.


    ¡°You said there was a second piece?¡± Velik prompted.


    ¡°Yes. This is actually what I spent most of your money on. It wasn¡¯t something you asked for, but once I explain what I learned, I think you¡¯ll agree that you want it. Here, it¡¯s an amulet that increases your resistance to mental intrusions.¡±


    ¡°Why would I need something like that?¡± Velik asked flatly as he eyed up the amulet Torwin was holding out to him. It looked like an old coin, an inch across and with a circle of the same kind of symbols the compass had. The coin sat inside a little steel wire mesh that was braided into the chain, itself also steel. He made no move to accept it.


    ¡°Correct me if I¡¯ve made any mistakes in this sequence of events. When you were a child, you and your friend went into an old, destroyed dungeon and found a class orb. It granted you your unique class and changed your race, and your friend¡­ If I¡¯m understanding things correctly, you thought your friend died, killed by a monster.¡±


    ¡°He may have survived. The champion seeds were his before I killed the monsters that grew from them,¡± Velik said. ¡°More likely, the class orb turned him into whatever that monster was just like it turned me into a duskbound.¡±


    ¡°My thoughts exactly, except for one thing. I found the orb after you came to the dungeon the other week, and it¡¯s not a class orb. It¡¯s way too big, class orbs don¡¯t change races, and they don¡¯t work on two people, then break. I took it with me and asked the guild archivist to look into it. If he¡¯s right, what you two found was actually a dungeon seed.


    ¡°Normally, the seed grows into a core, and when that core is destroyed, the seed is destroyed with it. My first thought was that the team who¡¯d originally broken the dungeon had made some kind of mistake, but when I looked into things, that theory doesn¡¯t really fit. This thing looks like a dungeon seed, but it shouldn¡¯t exist and even if it did, it shouldn¡¯t have done what it did to you two.¡±


    ¡°It was from the dungeon core,¡± Jensen said. ¡°You just told us that.¡±


    ¡°No, you don¡¯t understand. You can¡¯t get a seed back out of a core. That¡¯s like prying an acorn back out of a fully grown oak. It just doesn¡¯t work that way. It looks like a dungeon seed, but it can¡¯t be from the dungeon.¡±


    ¡°What are you saying?¡± Velik asked. ¡°That someone came to the dungeon after it was destroyed and put a new seed in it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a theory. Dungeon seeds are incredibly rare, but apparently, it¡¯s possible to revive a dungeon by planting a new seed in the broken core. It wouldn¡¯t be the same dungeon as before, but the new dungeon could cannibalize what¡¯s left of the old one to speed up its growth. That explains how the seed got there, except that, again, a dungeon seed cannot do what happened to you.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Jensen asked. ¡°Other than that the guild doesn¡¯t have any evidence that it¡¯s happened before, what¡¯s stopping it?¡±


    Torwin shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m just repeating what they told me. It looks like a dungeon seed, and we have a possible theory as to how it got there, but nothing should have happened when you picked it up. Everybody I described the situation to agreed that it should have been harmless to pick it up. Whatever caused your race to mutate into that subtype and granted you a class, it wasn¡¯t the dungeon seed.¡±


    ¡°It has to be involved, right? I mean, this whole thing is too much of a coincidence otherwise,¡± Jensen pointed out. ¡°No way something else transformed them at the same moment they find an abandoned dungeon seed inside an old, dead dungeon.¡±


    ¡°I agree, which brings me back to the amulet.¡± Torwin held it out again, and this time Velik hesitantly reached out to take it. ¡°While I don¡¯t think the dungeon seed is directly responsible for all of this, I do believe it influenced the change. New dungeons invariably have one thing in common: they have a core and they have a guardian. I think that your friend gained a class akin to the core, and that you gained one to fulfill the role of its guardian.


    ¡°If I¡¯m right, then it¡¯s entirely possible that the ¡®core¡¯ part of your bond will be able to control you should you ever get close to it. Gear that makes it harder to take over your mind can only help in a situation like that, no?¡±


    Velik wasn¡¯t sure he believed everything Torwin had just told him. There were a lot of guesses in there, and even if he accepted it all as fact, it raised even more questions. But if the veteran hunter had the right shape of things, then he¡¯d made a good call with the amulet. Velik needed answers, and now he had the tools to find them.


    He slipped the chain over his head and tucked the old coin under his shirt. ¡°Thank you for sharing your theory with me,¡± he said. ¡°I have work to do.¡±

 Chapter 39

    Velik left the Raven¡¯s Nest ten minutes later, having waited just long enough to receive close to five thousand decarmas that had been left over from the sale of the two champion seeds and to deflect some questions about his plans. Torwin had strongly hinted about forming a partnership, and if it had been just him, Velik might have considered. The old monster hunter had the levels and skills to keep up, but his apprentice didn¡¯t.


    He''d restocked his supplies for his next trip north while he was waiting for Torwin to return, and thanks to both his time spent practicing with Jensen¡¯s compass and the instructions Torwin¡¯s artificer friend had given them, Velik was confident he could track down what he was looking for. He wanted a few hours of sleep before he left, but then he planned on finally ending this decade-long ordeal.


    In a way, he was thankful that the monster population had exploded. If he¡¯d been able to keep it under control forever, Velik probably would have spent his entire life going up and down a hundred mile stretch of wilderness frontier killing monsters over and over again, and the mere thought of that exhausted him in a way he hadn¡¯t thought possible. It wasn¡¯t the fatigue of a hard day¡¯s work or of laying somewhere, wounded and waiting for the pain to stop. He couldn¡¯t quite describe why he recoiled from the idea¡ªhe¡¯d already been on the job for ten years, after all¡ªbut Velik very suddenly realized that he hated his life here.


    It was the hot meals, the conversations with a person who didn¡¯t look at him like he was scum, the answers the other hunters could just give him without any struggle to try to piece it together on his own. The actual monster killing part, he still enjoyed. Despite how he¡¯d come by his class, he was grateful to have [The Black Fang]. But he was ready to do it somewhere else.


    Not until this is done, though. Wherever you are and whatever you¡¯re doing, I¡¯m going to find you, Chalin. We¡¯re going to end this once and for all.


    The plan was simple. If Chalin was making champion seeds somehow, then he had a class that was similar to a dungeon. The only difference was that instead of becoming tied to a single location and reclaiming those seeds if a team of hunters happened to come in contact with him, he¡¯d left them scattered about the wilderness for some reason. Velik had no answers for that behavior, but he also didn¡¯t much care what the reason was.


    If he could follow that trail, then eventually, he¡¯d find Chalin at the end of it. Once they met, one way or another, that would be the end of things. And then Velik would leave the frontier and maybe get to have something resembling a life. If he collected enough champion seeds, maybe he¡¯d even end up rich enough to do whatever he wanted.


    Velik settled into his hollowed-out den and went to sleep for what he hoped was the last time ever.


    * * *


    Jensen watched the local kid walk out of the inn and rolled his eyes. ¡°Melodramatic, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s young, but truthfully, he¡¯s gone through a lot. He was essentially exiled from his home after his own actions caused monsters to attack it and orphan him. That¡¯s a tough way to live as an adult, let alone when you¡¯re seven. It¡¯s obvious he¡¯s completely lacking any sort of education or training. Everything he does, he¡¯s making up as he goes along. Despite that, he¡¯s managed to thrive as a hunter.¡±


    Torwin lapsed into silence and stared at the door. Whatever else was on his mind, he apparently wasn¡¯t in the mood to share. Jensen hoped he wasn¡¯t thinking about trying to pick the kid up as another apprentice. That would violate the terms of the contract between the Hunters Guild and the Alderworth family.


    He kind of got the impression that his master wasn¡¯t thrilled about having Jensen as an apprentice anyway, though he wasn¡¯t sure if that was because he didn¡¯t like Jensen in particular or if he just didn¡¯t want any apprentice. For as much as his father was paying to have the best the guild had to help him gain a rare or better class evolution, Jensen didn¡¯t see what Torwin had to complain about. Completing this contract would set someone like him up for life.


    This whole job was supposed to be a way for Jensen to practice some skills and pack on a few levels, but Torwin was more interested in Velik just because of his unique class. If he¡¯d just taken the job seriously, they¡¯d have cleaned out every monster within fifty miles of the towns by now. Instead, he was inventing some sort of mystery to keep in contact with Velik.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    It was obvious that the dungeon seed the guy had found when he was a kid had screwed his life up, but there was no way his buddy was out there, walking around like some sort of living dungeon, shitting out monsters every five steps. That guy had probably died a decade ago. They could go find the source of the monsters, maybe Velik¡¯s childhood friend¡¯s grave, and take care of it, but that wasn¡¯t the contract they were out here for.


    ¡°Let me ask you a question,¡± Jensen said.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°What should I be doing to evolve [Tracker] into [Ranger]?¡±


    Torwin let out a heavy sigh. ¡°Jensen, you¡¯re a smart man. I understand that you have constraints on your future, but in my opinion, you will never achieve a class evolution into [Ranger]. There are other classes that would suit your personality far better¡±


    ¡°I¡­ wait, are you just giving up on me?¡± he demanded. ¡°We have a contract!¡±


    ¡°Your father and the guild have a contract, and if you want someone else to help you, I won¡¯t take offense. But I don¡¯t think I can get you to where you want to be. I was going to put this conversation off until we were done here, but I¡¯d like you to consider an alternative.¡±


    ¡°The contract is for [Ranger]. My father won¡¯t accept alternatives.¡±


    It had been hard enough to get him to accept [Ranger] for Jensen. He¡¯d wanted some sort of noble profession, something like [Merchant Lord] that would allow Jensen to oversee the Alderworth financial holdings while his older brother ruled the family. It was only when his sister, the middle child of the three, had developed her own class that Father had finally agreed to let Jensen keep his original class of [Tracker], and only under the condition that he grow it into something of at least rare quality.


    ¡°Then I¡¯m sorry to say that your father is bound to be disappointed,¡± Torwin said, turning his attention fully to Jensen. ¡°I can¡¯t make you act like a [Ranger], Jensen. And I¡¯m sorry to say that you don¡¯t have the right motivation to be one. You don¡¯t care about these people.¡±


    ¡°Why would I? They¡¯re strangers. We came here to do a job, and that was to kill the monsters around the village.¡±


    ¡°So, if you were in charge, you¡¯d say we should go out, wipe out everything within so many miles of the border, collect our fee, and leave?¡±


    ¡°That is exactly what we were hired to do.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s why you won¡¯t ever evolve your class into [Ranger]. A [Ranger] has to care about people, to be a hero to those in need. You¡¯re not a hero. You¡¯re a mercenary ¨C an honorable one, maybe, but a mercenary, nonetheless. The sooner you square yourself up with that truth, the sooner we can start looking into an alternative class that actually fits you. Or you can keep on trying, but you¡¯re never going to succeed.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Jensen sat there, unable to think of what to say. He had to become a [Ranger]. It was the only class his father would let him keep that was remotely close to what he wanted to be. If he failed, he¡¯d end up shackled to an office somewhere on the family estate, or banished to an outpost stewarded by one of his many cousins.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, son. I truly am. You¡¯re caught in a hard place, torn between the class that¡¯s right for you and your family¡¯s demands. Why don¡¯t you take some time to think things over. I¡¯m going to follow our new friend out into the deep wilds and put an end to this monster incursion. All I¡¯m asking you to do is keep a lid on the monsters showing up around here for the next week or two. Train your skills. Gain some levels. When I get back, we¡¯ll have a real discussion about your future.


    ¡°Don¡¯t lose hope,¡± Torwin told him as he stood up from the table. ¡°I might not be able to guide you to [Ranger], but if your father¡¯s primary requirement is the prestige of a rare class, well, I have something else in mind that he might like even better.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know him,¡± Jensen said numbly. ¡°Once he¡¯s made up his mind, it¡¯s impossible to change it.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Even if I could offer an epic rarity class instead?¡± Torwin teased.


    Epic! Something that he thinks would fit me?


    ¡°What¡­ What is it?¡±


    His master winked at him and said, ¡°For now, you just focus on keeping these villages safe. Once we¡¯ve finished up this job, we¡¯ll talk more. We¡¯ve got some people I¡¯ll need to get on board, including your father, before we start the process.¡±


    Torwin swept out of the common room, leaving Jensen sitting there by himself, his mind awhirl with confusing and contradictory thoughts.

 Chapter 40

    The giant lizard¡¯s body slammed into the ground with a hard, meaty thump. Black blood trickled out of its mouth and stained its teeth. Velik stood ten feet away, staring at it impassively as four spears made of magical energy kept the monster pinned through its death throes.


    [You have slain an elite ironjaw croc (level 34).]


    [You have been awarded 3 decarma.]


    [You have advanced to level 32. +2 Physical, +1 Mental, +2 free points.]


    [Phalanx has advanced to rank 2.]


    The reptile was over twenty feet long, not including the tail, and had a mouth big enough to bite through Velik¡¯s chest. It had lunged at him out of the stream when he was refilling his water skin, an unexpected ambush that had broken the illusion of safety he¡¯d been carrying.


    No matter how high my stats go and how many ranks I stack up, there¡¯s always going to be something that can sneak up on me if I don¡¯t pay attention.


    The monster had pushed him up to the next level, however, and it had provided good practice for [Phalanx]. Velik had spent most of the fight dodging its snapping jaws, sometimes by literally standing on the monster when it lunged at him, and let the phantasmal spears do their work. They couldn¡¯t penetrate the leathery flesh of the monster, not easily, but that was the point. The challenge was to find weak spots in its body and strike with pinpoint accuracy, and Velik was pleased to see that he''d risen to the occasion.


    After fighting three champion elites this week, he no longer considered normal elites difficult. Even when they were higher level than him, they lacked the complications champion arenas added to the battles. Sometimes, an elite surprised him with an interesting or unique ability, but those were still easily handled.


    The compass led him deeper into the wilderness than he¡¯d ever gone, though not necessarily in a straight line. Over the past week, he¡¯d probably run five hundred miles of forest, but he doubted he was more than three hundred away from the nearest town. For all of that, he¡¯d gathered a wealth of power and decarmas. If the three champion seeds he¡¯d collected were worth as much as Torwin had gotten for the first two, he could probably afford a real upgrade from the system store, maybe even something epic like his spear.


    With the croc thoroughly dead, Velik hopped over the body and scanned the stream. For water so clear, it was surprising that anything could hide in it, but the monster had nestled into the bottom near the bank and covered itself in a layer of silt. It had to have some kind of skill to move that fast when it had lunged at him, but it hadn¡¯t been enough to actually catch Velik.


    Wary of a second croc coming to finish the job, he quickly finished refilling his waterskin and followed the compass deeper into the forest. Using the notes Torwin had furnished him with, he¡¯d narrowed down the search criteria to only point towards monsters with enough mana over a certain threshold, one which he¡¯d refined over the last few days through trial and error to point to champions.


    Velik ran for another six hours, trying to find the next champion and hoping it would be the one at the end of the line. When the sky started to lighten and he still hadn¡¯t found it, he slowed his pace and prepared to find a good spot to catch a few hours¡¯ sleep. Against a normal monster, or even an elite, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to fight during the day, but for a champion, he wanted to be at peak strength.


    He¡¯d been scouting out the area, clearing it of weak monsters and looking for a defensible den when some niggling sensation filled his mind. Something is¡­ wrong, maybe? Or not wrong, but¡­


    He couldn¡¯t quite place the feeling. There was nothing there, nothing he could see, hear, or smell at least, but he couldn¡¯t shake the sense that he was wrong. Something was hiding nearby, watching him, stalking him. He needed to find them before they attacked.


    [Apex Hunter has advanced to rank 2.]


    Velik¡¯s eyes widened. Normally, he¡¯d celebrate a skill advancement, but in the moment, all it told him was that he was right to be worried. He still couldn¡¯t find whatever it was that was lurking nearby, something dangerous and sneaky.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    No, that¡¯s not right. It doesn¡¯t feel¡­ Urgh. What is this? It is dangerous, but¡­ not to me? What is this skill trying to tell me?


    He didn¡¯t know what it was that caught his attention when he walked past that tree. There was no flicker of movement, no slight creaking of wood or rustle of leaves. As far as his eyes and ears were telling him, there was nothing there. [Apex Hunter] disagreed, and before Velik was even aware of what he was doing, his spear had snapped out to its full length and he was slicing it through the branches.


    Something smacked the shaft and deflected it so that the head bit deep into the bole. Velik pulled it free and danced back, just in case whatever was lurking in that tree had limbs longer than his spear.


    ¡°Easy there!¡± a voice called out, one Velik recognized. Torwin dropped free of the branches and pushed his way free of the tree. He was shaking one hand as if in pain and eyeing Velik¡¯s spear up, but was otherwise unharmed.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Velik asked coldly.


    ¡°Chasing after you, obviously. You¡¯re devilishly tricky to hunt down, you know that? Running this way and that. I tried calibrating Jensen¡¯s mana compass to match what you were looking for, but I couldn¡¯t quite figure it out. Easier to follow the trail of bodies, but you move so damn quick, I started falling behind.¡±


    ¡°If I¡¯d wanted your company, I would have told you so a week ago.¡±


    The old man sighed and regarded Velik. ¡°You understand why I¡¯m here, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Here in the frontier or here following me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to assume you don¡¯t get it, because otherwise you wouldn¡¯t be trying to draw a distinction. I took this contract so that my apprentice could develop his skills. It¡¯s honestly way beneath what hunters of my rank typically deal with, or at least it should be. I was expecting to hunt down a few hundred monsters at or below level 20. But then once I got here, I realized this has been an ongoing issue for years.¡±


    Torwin jabbed a finger at Velik. ¡°You¡¯ve been keeping it contained, and apparently doing such a thorough job that those ungrateful assholes in Deshir never even realized it was still a problem until the population exploded. They said it happened two months ago, but I¡¯m guessing it was a lot longer. Two months was just when it started to be more than you could take care of by yourself.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your point?¡± Velik asked.


    ¡°Just killing the monsters near the border won¡¯t accomplish anything. Give it a few weeks, maybe a month, and new monsters will be there. Maybe the level won¡¯t be as high, but they¡¯ll be just as numerous. And if the population explosion doesn¡¯t stop, then next time, it¡¯ll be a whole team of hunters up here trying to keep things under control. The real job is to find the underlying cause and fix it.¡±


    ¡°And you think I¡¯ll lead you there.¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Torwin said. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to step on your toes. I¡¯m not trying to steal your kills. I don¡¯t want anything from you. I just want to find out what¡¯s causing the monster population to boom, whether that¡¯s your friend or something else, and stop it. Right now, I think you¡¯re heading in the right direction. If I learn something else that changes my mind, I¡¯ll chase after that.¡±


    While the decarmas would be nice from a whole crop of champion seeds, the truth was that Velik didn¡¯t actually know who to sell them to. The system store didn¡¯t buy things, and, as he¡¯d just learned, the things it sold were grossly overpriced. Maybe the gear was worth it, but those healing potions cost ten times more than they should. That hadn¡¯t stopped him from buying another emergency haste potion, however. Just in case.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Jensen?¡± Velik could accept that Torwin could get close, but there was no way his apprentice had snuck up on him.


    Torwin shook his head. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have the stats or the skills to survive this far into the wild lands. I left him back in town with instructions to keep the pressure off the locals. He mentioned something about a druid he¡¯d worked with one day while I was gone, so I think he¡¯s coordinating with someone else who came to help.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s local,¡± Velik said. ¡°Morgus blessed her with a new class a few weeks back.¡±


    Torwin¡¯s jaw dropped open. ¡°Morgus blessed her? I think I¡¯d like to meet this woman.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to stop you. Just don¡¯t expect an escort back.¡±


    ¡°No, we have more important matters to attend to. But when our business is concluded¡­ Yes, I¡¯d like to meet one blessed with a new class by my god.¡±


    Velik wasn¡¯t eager for company, but he¡¯d rather know where Torwin was than have [Apex Hunter] itching in the back of his mind all the time. ¡°I was looking for a place to get a few hours of sleep. Join if you want.¡±


    Torwin chuckled and jerked his head to the side. ¡°Over that way. Spotted it an hour ago when I was looking for you. There¡¯s a nice grove over that ridge, tight tree placement on one side and a solid embankment on the other.¡±


    Maybe this won¡¯t be so bad, Velik thought to himself. It was different, but that didn¡¯t mean worse. Torwin started chattering about tree seeding patterns and how to use it to map unfamiliar forests while he led the way. Or maybe it will.

 Chapter 41

    They didn¡¯t precisely work together, but now that Velik knew Torwin was nearby, [Apex Hunter] got a lot less twitchy about him. Neither of them slept much, but when they did, it was obvious that their schedules were incompatible. Velik worked at night to take full advantage of his racial subtype. Torwin preferred to get up just before dawn, right around the time Velik was starting to wind down.


    ¡°Does the bonus really offset the handicap of working in the dark that much?¡± the old hunter asked. ¡°I¡¯ve been pushing through the night trying to catch up to you, and I don¡¯t mind saying that moving through unfamiliar terrain rife with monsters this strong is stressful.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m half again as strong and fast when the sun¡¯s down and I can see in the dark already,¡± Velik said.


    ¡°Half?¡± Torwin repeated. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ preposterous. No one¡¯s racial subtype boosts them that much!¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t make the rules. I just know how it works.¡±


    ¡°Morgus save me, no wonder it¡¯s such a pain to keep up with you at night. Alright, I¡¯ll do my best. You¡¯ll probably pull ahead of me throughout the night and I¡¯ll catch up when you go to ground in the morning. As long as we keep our compasses synced to the same filters, we should be able to leapfrog each other and clear out all these champions until we find wherever they¡¯re coming from.¡±


    That¡¯s a good plan. I can get help removing all these problems so the compass stops pinging off them without actually having to spend time with Torwin.


    As far as he was concerned, that was a win-win. Dealing with other people was awkward and difficult. The old man was friendly, but he also wanted something, and Velik couldn¡¯t quite figure out what it was. It made it hard to trust him, like Velik was just waiting for a sudden, yet inevitable betrayal.


    If not for the fact that he was worried the monsters heading for the towns would grow too powerful in his absence, he might have refused to cooperate with Torwin. It wasn¡¯t born out of any sort of greed to keep all the champion seeds for himself, just a general mistrust for the man. Since there was a bit of a clock looming over him, however, he resolved to set aside his personal feelings.


    It didn¡¯t hurt that Torwin¡¯s plan involved very little actual contact between them, and that Jensen was hundreds of miles away.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to get a few hours of sleep,¡± Velik said. ¡°Good luck hunting the next champion.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Torwin told him. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want me to hang around and keep watch?¡±


    Velik snorted, and after a second, Torwin cracked a smile. ¡°As many thousands of days as it¡¯s been now, I don¡¯t think this is the time something catches me unaware in my sleep.¡±


    * * *


    Torwin shook his head in admiration as he walked away. At that age, he¡¯d been firmly entrenched in a new hunting team as a junior member. He could still remember the jolts of fear he¡¯d get every time he heard something moving out in the dark while he was on watch, and that was with five other hunters sleeping nearby.


    It was impressive and maybe a bit sad how blas¨¦ Velik was about his own survival, but then again, he was right. He¡¯d been sleeping in monster-infested woods for years and was still breathing. His strange night-oriented schedule might help, but then again, it wasn¡¯t like there weren¡¯t plenty of daylight monsters to be found. In truth, Torwin suspected the kid had a similar skill to his own [Ranger¡¯s Foresight] that helped him survive alone in the wilderness.


    Putting Velik out of his mind, he peered down at the compass again. There were probably two or three adjustments that could refine the search a bit better, but he wanted his compass to align perfectly with Velik¡¯s. That way, they¡¯d both be heading for the same target, at least as long as they stayed within a hundred miles of each other. The plan wasn¡¯t perfect, but he figured they could manage that.


    There¡¯d been little in the way of monsters to deal with over the last few days. Velik was nothing if not thorough and the more ground Torwin had gained, the less there was to find. He suspected everything he had seen was just monsters moving into empty territories now that their former owners were dead. For the first time since he¡¯d gone after the younger hunter, he was seeing the true scope of the deep wood¡¯s infestation.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    He shot down a pair of wolves that each had three heads, unleashing a storm of arrows on them with [Hailstrike] to empower them with concussive force. Each arrow sank through the thick pelt and released its payload, wracking the monsters¡¯ bodies with bone-breaking waves of energy. Neither survived long enough to take so much as a single step in his direction.


    [You have slain a cerberal wolf (level 35).]


    [You have slain a cerberal wolf (level 38).]


    [You have been awarded 3 decarmas.]


    Morgus. This is insane. How are there monsters in the mid-thirties so close to civilization? Is this really all from the boy who took the dungeon seed?


    On the bright side, his new bracer enchanted with [Endless Arrows] worked quite well. When he got back to town, he¡¯d have to remember to thank Jensen for inspiring him to purchase one. It wasn¡¯t really practical, being more expensive than five thousand real arrows, but there was something to be said for the convenience. His only complaint was that it was slowing down his firing speed with his mystical being too low to produce arrows at the same rate he could draw them from a quiver.


    For the moment, he was compensating by alternating one from the quiver every other shot, but Torwin was already considering getting an enchantment added to the bracer to increase his mystic stat as well. Normally, he wouldn¡¯t bother with a piece of gear like this, but he didn¡¯t have time to recover arrow heads and make new shafts like he normally would, so it was a life-saver for this expedition.


    If he got into a truly dangerous fight, he¡¯d just revert back to pulling all his arrows from his quiver like normal. Until then, the magically-produced variety would suffice for hunting monsters that were fifteen or more levels below him. It was too bad that the bracer couldn¡¯t stockpile them, being unable to make a new arrow until the first one had fired.


    After three hours of hard travel, Torwin came to a field of wildflowers. It might not have seemed so out of place if summer hadn¡¯t already started giving way to autumn, but with the weather turning cold, it was obvious there was something magical in the field. His own senses confirmed the mana was thicker, and the compass pointed right to it.


    This must be the champion¡¯s arena.


    Torwin was a veteran of a dozen dungeon clears. He knew that the primary difference between a regular elite and a champion¡ªbesides just being tougher and meaner¡ªwas that they had a measure of control over the room they fought in. Traps, far-reaching magical effects, and surprise minions were all possibilities he¡¯d have to contend with.


    He stood at the edge of the field and studied it for a few minutes, trying to find some pattern in the flowers as they waved back and forth in the gentle mid-morning breeze. What could it signify? Some sort of fairy monster, maybe? Or a swarm of insects? Bees? I suppose I can¡¯t rule out a plant-based monster, either. Alright, stop stalling. If the kid can take out these champions by himself, and at a lower level, no less, you can do it, too!


    [You have entered the domain of a champion elite: Algorex the Blood Root.]


    Plant type, then.


    He wasn¡¯t three steps into the wildflowers when pollen started puffing out of them in little choking clouds. Torwin immediately dashed forward to clear them, having expected something along the outer edge of the field. Most champions had a way to lock their victims into the arena, and while Torwin wasn¡¯t sure if it¡¯d apply in an open field, he wasn¡¯t surprised to see a clever solution like this.


    About ten feet in, the pollen seemed to hit a glass wall, just as Torwin had expected. Not enough mana to fill the entire field, but I¡¯d bet I can expect some targeted explosions of it on top of me if I don¡¯t keep moving.


    Up ahead, something broke through the earth. A mound of living dirt rose twenty feet straight up, with dozens of thick roots tearing free from the ground around it to flail about. Torwin didn¡¯t slow down or even alter the angle of his dash. He just leaped straight in the air, brought his bow around, and sent the first arrow flying in. [Hailstrike] enhanced it, and when it struck, an explosion of dirt left a raw chunk of plant matter gaping in the open air.


    As quickly as the damage had appeared, small, vine-like tendrils snaked across the opening and sealed it off. At the same time, hundreds of bees started filling the air, each one the size of Torwin¡¯s thumb. With a grin, he formed a new arrow and imbued it with [Splintershot]. With [Shrapnel] bolstering the ability even further¡ªthose two were going to merge together any day now, he was sure¡ªthat single arrow killed dozens of the insectoid monsters.


    Eight more arrows struck the living mound before Torwin landed and shifted attention to the swarm closing in on him. More pollen clouds puffed up from the flowers around him, but he was gone before they could reach his face. Laughing, Torwin reached for his next arrow.


    Kind of fun to do it solo. I can see why Velik likes this.

 Chapter 42

    The first thing Velik did upon waking was check his compass. It had been pointing northwest of his camp, but now it pointed straight north. Torwin must have killed that one already.


    It was good to see the plan was working, but a new problem immediately presented itself. For all he knew, Torwin could be engaged with the next champion at this very moment, but until the compass signaled a direction change, Velik wouldn¡¯t know it. That wouldn¡¯t be so bad if that were the case; he¡¯d lose a few minutes of travel time, but it was far more likely that Torwin was traveling to the exact same location and would probably get there first.


    Until the champion was dead, though, there wasn¡¯t anything Velik could do to find the next one. The compass could exclude a lot, but it didn¡¯t have a minimum range to start looking from. That coupled with the fact that he still had at least six hours to dusk meant Velik didn¡¯t have much better to do than find more monsters to kill. Maybe [Spear Warden] would go up a rank, or [Phalanx] would merge into it. He doubted he¡¯d get that lucky so soon after picking up the skill, but it theoretically could happen.


    [Kinetic Charge] is probably going to be the next thing to jump a rank, anyway. I¡¯m using it every fight.


    He was hoping that one would merge soon, too. It had ranked up quickly in the beginning, but now he didn¡¯t feel like the skill had much left to offer beyond the streamlined efficiency of being a higher rank. At this point, he wanted it to fold into [Spear Warden] and free up the skill slot.


    Velik traveled through the afternoon and killed hundreds of monsters. Most of them were no more than a few hundred feet out of his way, but hunting them down turned a straight line into a long, wavering pattern that more than doubled his total travel distance. Since he didn¡¯t want to fight a champion before the sun went down anyway, that served his purposes just fine.


    The monster level seemed to have averaged out over the last hundred miles, which did alleviate one of Velik¡¯s fears. He was already punching up three to six levels as it was, which was fine for a normal monster or even an elite, but he¡¯d been worried that the champions would start climbing into the forties and that he¡¯d have to flee from a fight that was designed to keep him there. Any monster that couldn¡¯t leave a specific area had to have a way to keep its prey from running off.


    That was less of a psychological hurdle than Velik had expected it to be. Knowing he couldn¡¯t easily escape if he needed to was balanced out by the fact that he knew that, should he manage to run away, the champion was bound to its seed and couldn¡¯t chase after him. Normal monsters didn¡¯t give up unless they lost the trail, and even then, most of them would roam the area, trying to pick it back up again.


    Not that he¡¯d had to flee from regular monsters in years. The last time it had happened, he¡¯d been twelve and the only reason he¡¯d run was because the tip of his spear had broken off when it had gotten caught between two armored plates of a stone-back monitor lizard. He probably still could have killed it if he¡¯d been determined enough, but not without getting hurt. He¡¯d been in no position to waste a thousand decarmas on an overpriced system store healing potion.


    He was about three hours into his journey when the compass abruptly swung around to point east. Damn. I knew this was going to happen. Well, it¡¯s not a total waste at least. I¡¯m up eight hundred decarma already and I¡¯ve made progress toward another skill advancement. With a sigh, Velik backtracked a quarter mile to a game trail he¡¯d passed going the right way and started following the compass again. He wished it would tell him how far he had to go to find the next one, if for no other reason to make sure he was closer to it than Torwin was.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    * * *


    He was getting close; he was sure of it. The sun had just started to sink behind the trees, casting everything in an orange light bisected by long, dark shadows ¨C twilight, his time. Already, he could feel strength flooding his limbs as [Duskbound] activated. Any minute now, he¡¯d come across the edge of the champion¡¯s territory, and it looked like this time, he¡¯d beat Torwin there.


    Then something strange happened, something he¡¯d never seen before. The needle on the mana compass shifted. It was a slight adjustment, only a few degrees, but it definitely changed. At first, he cursed his luck. Torwin must have killed it and the next one is almost directly behind it.


    Then the needle moved again. Velik slowed to a halt and stared at it. Over the next minute, it shifted a few more degrees toward the north, only to turn and start going the other direction. What is this? Did I pick up some sort of massively charged elite that¡¯s not bound to a specific location?


    He was by no means an expert in all things mana compass, so it was entirely possible. It hadn¡¯t happened since he started refining his search criteria, but that didn¡¯t mean it couldn¡¯t. If that was the case, he just needed to hunt down the elite and kill it, the same as any other monster. Hopefully, the needle wouldn¡¯t swing around and take him back in the direction he¡¯d just come from.


    Angry now that his first kill of the evening was going to be just another elite, Velik tracked it down with the compass. He heard nothing at first, and after a few minutes, he started to wonder if the monster was farther away than expected. Soon enough, he realized the truth. It was a stealthy predator, a hunter just like him.


    About the only way this could get more aggravating is if right as I find the thing, Torwin puts an arrow in it and kills it.


    The trees were starting to thin the farther east he went, to the point where a small cart could have navigated through them. For Velik, it was a leisurely stroll down an open road. He jogged forward, splitting his concentration between [Apex Hunter] to find his prey and the compass to keep him on the right track.


    Where is this thing? I should be able to sense it by now, no matter how well hidden it might be.


    Part of him worried that he was biting off more than he could chew, that he¡¯d stumbled across something as high-leveled as Torwin. There¡¯d been no indication of anything that strong in the local monsters he¡¯d already killed, and he couldn¡¯t see some random elite jumping up ten or more levels, but he supposed it was possible. As far as he knew, there were no system rules prohibiting it. It just didn¡¯t happen naturally.


    Maybe it wasn¡¯t natural, though. He was out here looking for an intelligent entity, possibly Chalin, possibly something else. The champions had been placed more or less randomly, as far as Velik could tell, but that didn¡¯t mean the same was true for an elite. Perhaps the source of monsters had sent one to this area to guard something, a powerful elite that had the advantage of being mobile.


    That would mean there was something worth protecting here, which might just be a clue towards unraveling the whole mystery. With any luck, the elite would stick close to it and Velik wouldn¡¯t be stuck spending the whole night scouring the woods for whatever it was. Maybe he¡¯d get lucky and Torwin would catch up to him soon to help him look.


    Velik immediately started planning out a way to capture the elite while it was still alive so that Torwin¡¯s compass would continue to point to it. That would probably be the easiest way to arrange a meeting, but if it wasn¡¯t possible, there were other ways to find him. He¡¯d crossed the old hunter¡¯s trail once already today; he could find it again if he had to.


    Come on. Where is it? It couldn¡¯t be that far away if the needle is shifting to follow it as it moves.


    The compass was holding steady now, which either meant the monster had stopped moving, or that it was moving directly away from him. It would have had to have exceptional senses to notice him before he spotted it, and also be incredibly fast to keep ahead of him, so he doubted that was the case. More likely, it was just holding its position, maybe eating another monster for a snack.


    [You have entered the domain of a champion elite: Velik the Black Fang.]


    Wait, what?

 Chapter 43

    Velik froze in place and peered around, half-expecting his doppelganger to jump out from behind a tree and run him through. When that didn¡¯t immediately happen, he took a cautious step into the champion¡¯s domain. Usually, the monster announced its presence right away, with the only exception he knew of being that spider that had been a speedy ambush specialist.


    What if this thing mirrors my own abilities? [Apex Hunter] folded [Stealth] into itself. Maybe it¡¯s stalking me.


    That was an alarming line of reasoning, if only because he doubted that the monster would also mimic his equipment and that it wouldn¡¯t compensate in some other way. Thus far, he¡¯d defeated every champion he¡¯d come up against. By that logic, he was stronger than them. If this champion mimicked his stats, then it was the most powerful creature he¡¯d ever faced.


    That was a surprisingly sobering thought to contemplate.


    But this all supposes I¡¯m right about something pretending to be me in this domain. And¡­ can it make a system message do that? Shouldn¡¯t it say what the monster¡¯s really called?


    He figured he¡¯d find out soon enough. Whether the monster was his twin or not, it would attack him eventually, and probably in the next minute. He strode through the trees, spear in hand and eye flicking between the twilight shadows. There were a thousand places a human could hide in any forest, and with trees so big that their trunks were three feet wide, it was as easy as simply stepping behind one in this place.


    The soft, scraping sound of dried leaves being dragged across the ground came to him, and Velik spun to face that direction. For a moment, he imagined it to be a stray breeze rustling the detritus around a thin tree, but he immediately realized his mistake.


    That¡¯s not a tree. It¡¯s got fur on it. It¡¯s¡­ a leg, the size of a tree? What the¡­


    It was the sleek, short black fur that confused him, so solid that in the evening shadows, it had taken him a moment to sort out that it wasn¡¯t just a smooth-bored tree. His eyes followed the limb up to a massive chest, easily twenty feet off the ground and covered with a much thicker ruff. The monster padded forward a step, coming out from behind the tree far enough for Velik to see its other leg.


    How the fuck is that me?!


    It was a great wolf, four times his height and probably twenty times his weight. Its eyes glowed red in the shadows and its mouth hung open to reveal teeth longer than his forearm. Those teeth were like shards of obsidian darkness, gleaming in the dying light. Well, I get the Black Fang part, at least. Makes more sense than it ever did for me.


    The wolf¡¯s massive head swung around to peer at Velik and its lips peeled back. A low growl rumbled through the air, so heavy that it shook tree branches and vibrated through Velik¡¯s chest. He didn¡¯t need to glance down at the compass held in his left hand to confirm that the needle was pointing right at this monster.


    Instead, he slipped it into his pocket, spared a moment to hope he didn¡¯t break this one, and took up his spear in both hands. Hunter and monster¡ª[The Black Fang] and the Black Fang¡ªregarded each other silently. The wolf was easily the largest monster he¡¯d ever seen, and [Apex Hunter] didn¡¯t like his odds of victory. There was no doubt it was over level 40. The smart thing to do was to run. He was only a few feet from the edge of the champion¡¯s domain.


    The creak of splitting timber filled the air as the wolf shouldered a tree aside and crouched low. Crimson eyes stared down at him, and Velik found a strange sense of kinship in that gaze. They were two predators who could not share anything, not a territory and certainly not a name.


    ¡°Time to settle who¡¯s really worthy of the title, don¡¯t you think?¡± he asked as he took a step forward.


    He blurred forward, his spear leading the way and [Kinetic Charge] primed to release a devastating opener. Halfway there, he slipped sideways just in time to avoid being crushed under a massive paw, then twisted into a jump that threw his legs out to keep him in the air above the nails that swiped sideways. His spear flicked out, a metal tongue with a razor edge, and scored a line of black blood through the thick fur.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    His feet were back under him before he even started to come back down, but that wasn¡¯t enough to save him. Quick as a flash, the wolf¡¯s paw swung back the other way. It smacked into him like a runaway wagon and threw him through the air. Velik tumbled end over end in three complete circuits before he even hit the dirt thirty feet away.


    Fucking. Ow.


    [Apex Hunter] screamed at him to move, and Velik didn¡¯t stop to question that. He threw himself into a roll that ended behind a tree just in time to avoid a lunging bite from the wolf¡¯s great maw. Its obsidian teeth smacked closed around the tree, crunching through it with no discernable effort and ripping out a mouthful. The remainder wasn¡¯t strong enough to support the tree¡¯s weight, leaving Velik to scramble out from under it before it toppled over and crushed him.


    He jabbed his spear out, finally releasing [Kinetic Charge], and drove it into the wolf¡¯s snout before it could recover from its missed bite. It flinched back, a somewhat incongruous movement on such a large monster, but Velik knew it was more from the surprise sting than from being injured.


    They split apart, both eyeing the other warily, and with a bit more respect now that they¡¯d begun to take each other¡¯s measure. The wolf was every bit as strong as Velik had suspected it would be, and surprisingly agile on top of that. It was vicious and aggressive, more than willing to take a hit to dish one out.


    If it got its jaws around him, that would probably be the end of the fight, which put Velik in the awkward position of needing to either end the fight in a quick, decisive blow, or giving his counterpart the slow death of a thousand cuts while fighting defensively. I¡¯m not even sure I have a real choice. Even with [Kinetic Charge], I¡¯m having trouble actually cutting through it. That hit to the paw was barely a scratch.


    His one advantage was that this arena favored him. That ran counter to what he knew about champions, but he wasn¡¯t going to complain about the other Black Fang having a handicap. It was too big to easily move through the trees, and he was every bit as fast as the monster, which gave him the edge in mobility.


    Velik darted through the shadows, seeking to lead the wolf on a chase where it would get itself stuck, even if only for a moment. Pushing over a tree wasn¡¯t easy, not even for something close to thirty feet tall, and if it gave him an opening, Velik was going to take it.


    He led it on a chase through the trees, but the wolf was smart enough not to wedge itself where it couldn¡¯t fit. It pursued him, all snapping jaws and savage nails raking deep gouges in the dirt as he dodged out of the way. The more they fought, the better a feel Velik got for its tactics and abilities.


    I can win this. Just be patient. Don¡¯t make mistakes.


    That was what he thought until the third time he looped around one particularly huge specimen of a tree. It was easily eight feet wide, big enough that not even the champion elite could knock it over. He must have frustrated his opponent, but it suddenly shifted focus. Instead of attacking Velik, it raked its nails across the tree¡¯s bole and left a line of burning acid scoring the bark.


    It hissed and popped as it ate through the wood, and when the acid fizzled out a few seconds later, the tree had a noticeable chunk burned out of it. A few more hits like that might be enough to bring even it down.


    Was that [Venom Slash]? It even has access to the same selection of class skills as me?


    There were dozens of skills for [The Black Fang], and Velik assumed his counterpart had at least five skill slots. Not even looking at what it might have merged together, he could think of at least three other skills off the top of his head that he had no interest in being the target of.


    A second [Venom Slash] scored the tree, prompting Velik to flee around its bulk. His spear trailed behind him, its head sharpened to a slashing edge and whipping around in a smooth arc the instant he sensed the wolf pivot to lunge at him. The wolf caught it between two teeth, jerking Velik to a halt and forcing him to either abandon the weapon or let himself get pinned.


    Neither was an acceptable option, so he created a new one. [Phalanx] roared to life, four phantasmal spears appearing to surround him. They wouldn¡¯t be strong enough to block an attack, not from this champion, but they were flashy enough that when they dove straight for the wolf¡¯s eyes, it jerked backwards.


    Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t release the spear from its jaws. Velik tried to twist it to drag across vulnerable flesh, but the teeth clamped down on it were too tight. Giving that up, he activated the weapon¡¯s [Shape Shifting] to thin the head down in an attempt to slip it free.


    That worked, but he knew he was in trouble the moment he took his first step away. One of the wolf¡¯s front paws was just to his left. Its teeth were feet from him; its hot breath rolled across his face. His phantasmal spears failed to penetrate even the relatively soft mass of the wolf¡¯s eyes, and Velik recognized the distinctive muscular pop of a familiar skill activating.


    Before he could so much as take a second step, the wolf used [Serpent Strike]. Its neck stretched forward, jaws open, and its teeth closed down on Velik.

 Chapter 44

    Velik threw himself backward in a desperate attempt to avoid being snapped up by the giant wolf, but it was a futile gesture. The power of [Serpent Strike] was in its lunging speed, and there was really only one thing he could do at this point. He tucked his arms and legs in close and led with his spear when the jaws closed around him.


    The fading light cut out, not that Velik needed that to see. The wolf¡¯s tongue pushed up against him, a massive, wet muscle that was trying to shove him between its teeth. His spear shot out, one part momentum and one part [Shape Shifting] helping keep it manageable in the tight space, and pinned the tongue down.


    Despite his physical being over 100 now, he was surprised to find that it took all of his strength to keep from being forced sideways. Even as he wrestled with it, teeth opened and closed, the wolf¡¯s jaw shifted back and forth, and hot, fetid breath assaulted his senses.


    If I could get this spear free, I could kill this damn monster right now, he thought, but he knew that was wishful thinking. The second he pulled the blade back, the tongue would slam him into the teeth and he¡¯d be torn to pieces. It was the only piece of leverage he had to hold his position, however disgusting that might be.


    But his spear wasn¡¯t his only weapon, not anymore. He had a class skill he was betting the wolf hadn¡¯t taken. [Phalanx] blazed to life around him, four spears of magical energy coalescing to stab out at the soft palate above him or into the wolf¡¯s gums. They weren¡¯t made for this, and a shifting of its jaws broke them apart, but the wounds they scored remained.


    Velik summoned the phantasmal spears again and again, each time stabbing them into vulnerable flesh while he struggled with the tongue. The wolf¡¯s jaws parted, and it gave up trying to chew on him. Its head whipped back and forth in an attempt to dislodge him and send him flying.


    Bit off more than you could chew, huh? Well, tough luck for you.


    Getting stuck in the champion¡¯s mouth wasn¡¯t something he¡¯d planned on, but now that he was past the teeth, he wasn¡¯t leaving until he found a way to puncture its brain. [Phalanx] was slowly draining the magic out of him, but he kept hammering away at the same spot, tearing more flesh and filling the mouth with black blood.


    His control was shaky, and he couldn¡¯t maintain them for very long, but considering the circumstances and what he was trying to do, he thought he was doing a hell of a job. Even when his leg slipped and smacked into a razor-edged tooth, drawing a hot line of blood down his calf, he never lost focus.


    It¡¯s still not enough. Damn you, break already. It¡¯s just like when I was fighting those monsters before I got [Kinetic Charge] to help me puncture their hides¡­ Wait, could that work?


    The skill was supposed to build up energy, and the phantasmal spears didn¡¯t last long enough for that, but there was nothing saying the energy had to come from swinging the weapon around. He was burning plenty of that just holding the tongue in place so it couldn¡¯t eject him.


    He only made one spear with [Phalanx] this time. That way, he could devote the entirety of his mental to controlling it. In theory, it might be slightly stronger than normal this way, but he wasn¡¯t sure about that. He¡¯d tried to test it, but he¡¯d never been able to detect an appreciable difference, despite the logic behind how the skill worked implying that it would be. Mental measured how well he could control the spear; mystic measured how much magic could be put into it. If he only made one spear, that meant more magic got focused into it. Somehow, the theory didn¡¯t seem to match reality.


    Not important right now. Focus on what you¡¯re doing.


    With his mental grip on the spear firm, he activated [Kinetic Charge]. Instead of drawing from the momentum of the unmoving construct, he used his own limbs. One forearm was braced against the top of the wolf¡¯s mouth, while the spear was firmly gripped in his other hand and held against his chest to keep it stable. His injured leg pushed down on the tongue to keep it from wagging too much, and his other foot was locked perilously close to one of its teeth.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    All of that took strength to hold, and he channeled some of that energy into the phantasmal spear he¡¯d built with [Phalanx]. The construct shuddered in place, jerking so hard that he almost lost hold of it. For a moment, Velik was ready to start cursing, but then the whole thing stabilized.


    [Kinetic Charge has advanced to rank 4.]


    No time for hesitation, he thought.


    The spear shot forward, many times faster than normal, and buried itself deep in the back of the wolf¡¯s soft palate. The wolf jerked in place once, then went still. Woozily, it shook its head, but there was none of the ferocity it had displayed just moments earlier. It took a hesitant, staggering step, then a second one.


    Come on. Die. Just fall over dead. This fight is over. I pierced your brain.


    But that didn¡¯t happen. With startling quickness, the wolf¡¯s neck muscles twisted and it slammed its face into a tree. The impact jolted Velik free of where he¡¯d wedged himself and hurled him to the ground, fresh gashes across his body and his spear left behind in the wolf¡¯s tongue.


    Velik rolled twice to absorb the momentum and came to his feet. The wolf hadn¡¯t pursued him, hadn¡¯t moved at all from where it was leaning its flank against a tree twice as tall as it was. The tree groaned against the weight, but held. ¡°How the hell are you still alive?¡± he asked the champion monster.


    In response, it stuck its tongue out to reveal his spear, then very deliberately dragged it across its teeth until the haft caught and the weapon was pulled free. Looking Velik directly in the eyes, it bit down with a crunch, then spit the two pieces of the spear out.


    Son of a bitch.


    [Mending] was a powerful enchantment, but Velik wasn¡¯t sure it could fix that. Maybe if he recovered both pieces and splinted them together, it might regrow a connection. It wouldn¡¯t matter if he didn¡¯t win this fight. And to do that, he needed a weapon.


    A new phantasmal spear materialized in the air next to him, but rather than direct it with his mind, he reached out and grabbed it. With his other hand, he pulled out a healing potion, popped the cork, and swallowed it. Immediately, his wounds started to close.


    ¡°Ready for round two?¡±


    * * *


    Torwin scratched lazily at his cheek and considered what he was feeling. He¡¯d folded [Mana Sense] into [Ranger¡¯s Lore] a long time ago, mostly as a way to give himself a heads up when monsters used skills that relied heavily on mystic, but it served a secondary purpose that rarely came into play.


    Some people built whole classes around finding stuff like this, with detection skills that had ranges measured in miles. His version went out maybe fifty feet, and was partially dependent on his line of sight. He could sense flickers of mana in his peripheral vision, but it was only when he focused on it directly that he could sort out what he was seeing.


    And here, in an incredible stroke of luck, he was seeing what appeared to be an apple the color of blood made out of solid crystal. ¡°What do you do?¡± he asked the fruit. ¡°A point or two to a stat, perhaps? Or something rarer, maybe knowledge to boost a skill or ease a merger? Well, whatever it is, I¡¯m sure someone will pay quite a bit for the privilege of eating you.¡±


    He plucked the apple free of the tree and spent a few minutes scouring the area, just in case there was a second one. It wasn¡¯t that he expected to find it, not as rare as these sorts of treasures were, but it would be criminally negligent not to look. As expected, the fruit was entirely unique.


    Whistling a jaunty tune, he pulled the compass back out and oriented himself. Wonder how the kid¡¯s doing. I was kind of expecting the signal to shift as soon as it got dark. Maybe whatever he¡¯s hunting is giving him some trouble.


    If it were Jensen out there, Torwin would be rushing toward the next target at top speed, but he trusted Velik to handle himself. Besides, Torwin had already killed three champions in one day, which was impressive enough by anyone¡¯s standards. Velik could have this one. Torwin would be looking for a place to sleep in a few hours anyway, and leading up to that, he certainly wasn¡¯t trying to pick a fight with a champion elite in the dark.


    Hundred thousand decarmas in loot just today. Easy money. This might be the most profitable contract I¡¯ve ever seen. And to think, I only took it to give Jensen a job he could handle.


    The compass drew Torwin ever eastward, but he was in no hurry to chase it down to its source. No doubt, the monster would be dead long before he ever got close.

 Chapter 45

    The phantasmal spear in his hands lacked the reassuring weight Velik was used to. It was easy to compensate for, but it also served as a stark reminder of just how fragile his makeshift weapon actually was. The only saving grace about the whole thing was that his counterpart was nowhere near full strength.


    Why it wasn¡¯t dead was a mystery. Velik was sure he¡¯d scrambled the monster¡¯s brains, but somehow, it was still upright. Neither were anxious to attack, not after so many injuries. The healing potion was doing its work, but at a much slower pace than the system-provided ones. Maybe they weren¡¯t as overpriced as he¡¯d grown to believe, instead simply being far too powerful for the use he¡¯d been putting them to.


    While the potion slowly knitted him back together, he was happy to wait for the wolf to make the first move. It might eventually recover itself, but he doubted it would heal as fast as he was. Time was on his side ¨C he¡¯d be in better shape and there was a chance of Torwin showing up to help soon.


    Much as it rankled him to admit it, [Apex Hunter] had been right when it warned him that this monster that wore his name was stronger than him. He was probably smarter, but that wasn¡¯t bridging the gulf in their abilities. Worse, he suspected there were at least two more skills he hadn¡¯t seen it use yet. Hopefully, they were both passives that contributed to the monster¡¯s overall combat capabilities and not attacks it hadn¡¯t felt the need to use yet.


    The wolf made the first move. It still swayed on its feet, but it started a seemingly-drunken stumble that quickly morphed into a clumsy run. Getting struck by one of those flailing legs would probably break bones, so Velik quickly leaped out of the way. The trees couldn¡¯t really stop the wolf, but they slowed it down enough that it had a hard time bringing its size and weight fully to bear.


    When it did manage to close the distance, Velik slashed at its face with his spear. It struck the snout and immediately shattered, not slowing the wolf in the slightest. Mentally cursing, he called on [Phalanx] to create four more spears and flung them at the wolf¡¯s eyes. There weren¡¯t any good weak spots, not unless he wanted to try repeating the maneuver that had gotten him lodged in the monster¡¯s mouth. Without his real spear to help, he didn¡¯t see that working out so well ¨C not that he was willing to risk it anyway.


    How do I kill you? he thought as he formed a new spear.


    He kept ahead of the wolf, mostly because it had suffered a traumatic brain injury that should have already killed it. The fact that it was on its feet at all felt like a cruel joke. That it could not only move, but kept fighting, made Velik wonder if some god had a personal grudge with him. Whatever the cause, he couldn¡¯t deny that the monster was still a massive threat.


    [Phalanx] was his only means of offense, but the problem was that it wasn¡¯t really meant for that. The spears were supposed to ward off blows from multiple sources, not penetrate heavily-armored monsters. He¡¯d been using it wrong since the day he¡¯d gotten it in the hopes that he could force it to merge with his actual combat skills, and that wasn¡¯t working. Without the earring boosting his mystic stat by fifteen points, he wouldn¡¯t be able to so much as scratch this monster.


    Slipping through some thick branches to put another tree between him and the wolf, Velik materialized another spear. [Kinetic Charge] was the only way it was getting through anything, and even then, only if he shaped it into what was essentially a six-foot-long needle. Poking tiny holes was the best he could do. The spears didn¡¯t even have the decency to survive the pinprick.


    Short of merging a skill in the middle of combat, again, his best chance at surviving was to reclaim his broken spear. Half a weapon was better than what he was currently using. The problem was that, while he was keeping ahead of the champion, he wasn¡¯t really putting enough distance between them to circle back around. He was also vaguely aware in the back of his mind that he was well outside the boundary of the wolf¡¯s domain, but it continued to pursue him anyway.


    There was no escaping then. Offense was out as long as the best he could do was throw [Phalanx] spears up between them. [Kinetic Charge] was quickly wearing him down, and all [Apex Hunter] had to say about the fight was that he¡¯d been an idiot not to run the second he¡¯d spotted the wolf.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    If I can¡¯t get away from it and I can¡¯t get around it, there¡¯s only one thing left to try.


    The healing potion had been working on him for a few minutes now, and he was as close to full strength as he was going to get. It was time to be bold. He dodged around a tree, pivoted hard on his lead foot to circle the trunk, and darted past the wolf, coming so close that he actually wove between its legs as it reacted to his sudden change in direction.


    As he¡¯d hoped, the tree being there prevented it from spinning around and snatching him up in its jaws. He¡¯d even accounted for the possibility of it kicking at him with its rear legs and managed to dodge that. He was ten feet past its back end and silently congratulating himself for his daring risk when the wolf¡¯s tail slammed into him.


    Velik saw it coming just in time to throw himself sideways and soften the blow. It still blew him off his feet to sail fifty feet through the air. He narrowly missed clipping a tree on the way, not through any skill or foresight on his part, but to blind luck, then struck the ground and bounced twice.


    He rolled to his feet, shook his head once to try to get some of the blurriness out of his vision, and scrambled forward as best he could without running into something. At best, he had seconds before the monster caught up with him, and he couldn¡¯t afford to waste a single one.


    Unsure if he was even going the right way, Velik took off running at full speed. The sun had fully set by this time, but even with the blow he¡¯d just taken making it hard to focus, the darkness hid no secrets from his eyes. The sound of crashing trees behind him let him know that the wolf was coming after him and how far back it was ¨C not as far as he would have liked, but maybe far enough.


    There!


    Without slowing down, Velik threw his body into a no-handed cartwheel and snatched up the top half of his spear. The shaft was only two feet long, its end a bundle of splinters with cracks running up through the wood. It probably wouldn¡¯t withstand the rigors of combat, which meant he had, at best, one final shot with it. It needed to be a good one.


    He looped around the next tree and saw the wolf coming for him. Blood seeped out from between its teeth and splattered in great blobs to the carpet of dead leaves and churned earth beneath it, and little rivulets stained its black fur from all the pinprick strikes he¡¯d given it. He¡¯d definitely hurt it, just maybe not enough to give him the opening he needed.


    One thing he¡¯d learned was that [Kinetic Charge] was more versatile than he¡¯d thought when he¡¯d first picked it. His weapon wasn¡¯t the only thing he could build up energy behind, though doing it to his body put an uncomfortable amount of strain on him. Discomfort beat death, however, so when he started charging at the wolf, his half-spear gripped in his hand, his every step felt like he was straining against invisible hands trying to hold him back.


    He watched the muscles in the wolf¡¯s chest and legs tense as it shifted its weight to lunge at him, teeth bared. It wouldn¡¯t make the mistake of letting him back those obsidian shards without tearing him apart again, and he knew it. Even if he could somehow trick it and slip between its jaws, he didn¡¯t think half a spear was going to cut it.


    So, when he leaped, he aimed higher. Empowered by [Kinetic Charge], he flew forty feet into the air. The wolf, slowed from its many injuries, reacted with relative sluggishness. Had Velik tried this at the start of the fight, it would have picked him out of the air, chewed him up, and swallowed him. This time, it was too slow.


    Its neck flexed as its head snapped up, trying to keep track of the rapidly approaching [Duskbound] human. Even wounded, it almost got him. A fang slashed across Velik¡¯s leg, slicing deep and knocking him into a spin that ruined his aim.


    One chance. Don¡¯t screw this up.


    His body completed the first revolution and the wolf¡¯s face came back into view. Velik¡¯s half-spear was out of position to strike, and without being able to use his second hand to help control it, he struggled to fix that problem. Without thinking, he activated [Phalanx] and created a phantasmal shaft that reached up and twined itself around the broken remnant of his old spear.


    On the second revolution, he was ready. He thrust the spear forward with both hands and released every bit of [Kinetic Charge] he was still holding onto. The spear sank into the monster¡¯s eye, all the way past where it transitioned into conjured material, halting about five feet back. That thing has to be scraping the back of its skull. It¡¯s dead. Please, be dead.


    Velik slammed bodily into the wolf¡¯s snout, rebounded into open air, and fell thirty feet to the ground, where he lay still and stared at the dark shadow looming over him. Come on. Die. You¡¯re dead. Where¡¯s the system message?


    The wolf¡¯s face peered down at him, one of its crimson eyes ruined and weeping black blood. It took a hesitant step forward. Then, without warning, it toppled sideways.


    [You have slain Velik the Black Fang (champion elite, level 44).]


    [You have taken a champion seed from its former owner, Chalin.]


    [Champion seed¡¯s current reserves: 0/270.]

 Chapter 46

    Fetching the remains of his spear out of the monster¡¯s ruined eye was Velik¡¯s first task. Unfortunately, the phantasmal shaft he¡¯d constructed out of [Phalanx] had shattered into motes of light, leaving the tangible, physical portion buried out of sight. That was why, after drinking another healing potion, he was standing on the dead wolf¡¯s face with one arm buried up to the shoulder in gore while he blindly groped for the weapon.


    Thank Morgus this shirt has [Mending] on it. It would never come clean without that.


    His hand brushed against something hard and slender enough to wrap his fingers around. With a sickening squelch, he pulled on it and slowly retracted the spear. Its shaft was even more battered, probably six inches shorter from all the chunks of wood that had broken loose. The head was still in good-shape, albeit dyed black with monster blood.


    This, on the other hand, might never recover, even with [Mending].


    Velik didn¡¯t have the decarmas to replace the spear, and he was days away from anything remotely resembling safety. [Phalanx] was his only defense, and while he was confident that he could kill monsters around his level with the skill, taking on elites was another story entirely. It would be faster to slink back home, run all the way down to the city, fence the champion seeds he already had, buy a new spear, and run all the way back out here than it would be to try to kill enough monsters to earn the decarmas himself.


    He hoped it wouldn¡¯t come down to that. Velik hopped down, gave the wolf one last, searching look, and strode away to find the other half of his spear. He lined them up together, lined a straight stick up at the break, and used a ragged strip of cloth to tie them all together. Given how fast [Mending] normally worked, he figured he¡¯d know if it was working in an hour or two. It¡¯d probably take a full day to actually repair the damage, but he¡¯d feel a lot better just knowing that the magic could fix things.


    In the meantime, he rested his back against a tree and looked at the champion seed he¡¯d taken from the wolf. The words of the system message raised more questions, but gave nothing in the way of answers.


    [Champion Seed: Used to grow a champion elite monster to guard a specified location. Requires mana to flourish.]


    [Champion: Velik the Black Fang (level 44).]


    [Current Owner: Velik]


    [Current Reserve: 0/270]


    What does it mean? Does Chalin create the champions and name them? Did he name this one after me? And why does it have my class as part of its name? That can¡¯t be a coincidence. It definitely used two of my class skills in our fight.


    ¡°Morgus¡¯s hairy balls, that¡¯s a big wolf,¡± a voice said from fifty feet away.


    Seriously? Where were you ten minutes ago? Velik mentally demanded. He glanced up and saw Torwin standing there, his bow held next to him and his other hand on his hip. Frowning, he peered at the corpse and said, ¡°Level 44? How the hell did you ever kill that?¡±


    ¡°Obstinance and luck, mostly,¡± Velik said. He pulled himself back to his feet. ¡°I was kind of hoping you¡¯d show up and help.¡±


    ¡°I would have if I¡¯d known you were fighting something like this. I figured I was pretty close when the compass shifted directions, and I wanted to see what it was that had it wiggling around like a rent girl passing by a freshly docked ship. Followed your tracks the rest of the way in.¡±


    ¡°What tracks?¡± Velik asked blandly. He knew he didn¡¯t leave anything as mundane as footprints behind when he walked, not with [Apex Hunter] in his skill roster.


    Torwin just winked before turning his attention back to the wolf. ¡°Shame we don¡¯t have the time or storage capacity to properly harvest this. Level 44 has got to have some good stuff in it.¡±Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never bothered.¡±


    ¡°No? Lot of money to leave behind, but then¡­ I suppose you¡¯d have no one to sell any materials to or process them on your behalf, never mind transporting them. Still, something this high a level ought to be worth taking a few things.¡± Torwin circled around the corpse, stopping at the teeth. ¡°Those¡¯re interesting. And¡­ uh¡­ that¡¯s a big hole in the tongue.¡±


    Velik felt Torwin¡¯s eyes on him and was suddenly acutely aware that his clothes were soaked in not only blood, but saliva. ¡°I told you, obstinacy and luck.¡±


    ¡°So it would seem,¡± Torwin chuckled. ¡°But don¡¯t sell yourself short. A kill like this takes a great deal of skill and raw power.¡±


    Do I tell him about the name? Would that make him suspicious of me?


    If he decided to share, there was no taking it back. For the moment, it was easier to put off making a decision. Torwin had been helpful, but Velik knew better than to trust someone just because they¡¯d had a few kind words and done him a favor or two. He¡¯d learned that lesson a year after the incident when some local boys had started showing up in the woods near the edge of town.


    Velik had been starved for human contact, they¡¯d been friendly, and he¡¯d thought he was making progress towards getting the town to accept him again. A week went by, he¡¯d shown up at the usual meeting spot, and two men armed with clubs had been waiting for him. He¡¯d only barely gotten away with his life, and he¡¯d learned to stay far, far away from Deshir that day.


    The worst part of it was that, to this day, he still didn¡¯t know if those kids had betrayed him or if their families had merely found out they¡¯d been talking to him and decided to correct that behavior. Either way, those two men had almost killed him and Velik had learned a valuable lesson about being vulnerable.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Velik asked.


    ¡°There¡¯s some mana pooled in the teeth. They¡¯re good base material for some daggers, maybe a spearhead or a short sword,¡± Torwin explained. He was brandishing a curved knife in one hand while holding the wolf¡¯s lip back with the other. ¡°We¡¯d need a full team to harvest something this big, but I can pick up a few of the more valuable and easy to collect pieces, just so the whole thing¡¯s not wasted.¡±


    ¡°How do you know what parts are valuable? Just something you pick up over time?¡±


    ¡°Partially, but it¡¯s also a safe assumption that if the monster has mana in some part of its body, that someone, somewhere, can find a use for it. So when you have an unfamiliar or, in this case, unique monster, you can¡¯t go wrong targeting the highest concentrations of mana if you need to be picky about what to take. For this monster, that means the teeth.¡±


    He couldn¡¯t help but feel a flash of annoyance when he considered how much wealth he¡¯d abandoned over the years. Thousands and thousands of monsters had been left where they¡¯d fallen, food for scavengers. There was no telling how useful some of those monster parts would have been, if he¡¯d known what to take and who could use it. It didn¡¯t really matter, he supposed. He had nobody to trade it to.


    Something must have shown on his face, because Torwin laughed and said, ¡°Most normal monsters aren¡¯t worth much. It¡¯s the elites that have the good stuff, and even then, not all of them. Here, come help me and I¡¯ll show you how to pop these out without damaging them.¡±


    Somewhat mollified, Velik left his bound-together spear on the ground and walked over to the corpse. At Torwin¡¯s direction, he held the lip up so the older hunter could use both hands. After watching the knife work required to cut the tooth loose, Velik took a turn at it himself.


    ¡°Not as easy as you made it look,¡± he observed after he¡¯d butchered the process.


    ¡°That¡¯s alright! Nobody gets everything right on the first try. Here, do it again on this one. The smaller ones don¡¯t have such deep roots.¡±


    * * *


    He¡¯d gone to sleep months ago, all too aware that his body needed the rest while his mind was elsewhere. There was always something more to do ¨C new monsters to be made, new people to be corrupted, new territory to be claimed. As long as everything went as planned, it was entirely possible to hibernate through all of the busy work.


    Things were not going according to plan. Something was cutting the threads, unraveling the nodes he¡¯d placed to channel his mana through. Territory was shrinking. That needed to be corrected, but he couldn¡¯t do that while he slept. His mind had to be called back, had to take control again.


    He hated returning to his body. His own flesh repulsed him, the one thing he couldn¡¯t shape. No matter how hard he tried, he was trapped in a form he despised. Escaping that prison was all that mattered, and something was preventing him from reaching that goal.


    Eyes opened, first one, then two, then twenty. His many arms ceased their autonomous work and heeded his command, becoming still for the first time since his hibernation had started. The animals his body had been working on gasped out desperate, dying breaths, slowly succumbing to the grievous wounds he¡¯d shaped into their flesh. Without his magic actively working to sustain them through the transformations, they couldn¡¯t escape their ultimate fate, not that he cared.


    He was too distracted to pay attention, too intent on following the severed thread of his favorite creation. Someone had destroyed it, and he needed to know who.

 Chapter 47

    The [Mending] enchantment on the spear wasn¡¯t fixing the damage, or if it was, it was doing it far too slowly. Torwin was done cutting everything he wanted to claim off the corpse, and Velik had played along as a way to pass the time. Without the mana sensing skill to help him pick out the important bits, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do much harvesting on his own, but a brief search of the system store had revealed a few pieces of gear that could offset his lack of the requisite skill, so the knowledge might be helpful in the future.


    But it had been three hours, and checking on his weapon had revealed no change. ¡°Bad luck,¡± Torwin said when Velik excused himself to go see the progress. ¡°That¡¯ll be expensive to fix.¡±


    ¡°It also means a long, dangerous trip back to a safer stretch of the woods. I¡¯ll struggle to kill anything even close to my level without a weapon.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a system store weapon, isn¡¯t it?¡± Torwin asked. ¡°Just feed it the seed you got from this champion? Or any of them, I guess, but the higher the level, the better.¡±


    Velik pulled the champion seed out of his bag and studied it. Like all the others, it looked like a literal seed ¨C oblong, hard-shelled, jet black except for a single slash of crimson-red going through it. The color was the only difference from every other one he¡¯d collected. ¡°How does this help?¡±


    It belatedly occurred to him that Torwin had some sort of analyzing skill, and Velik didn¡¯t know if it worked on objects as well as people. He didn¡¯t need this particular champion¡¯s name revealed to the other hunter, and pulling the seed out might have given Torwin a chance to get a good look at it.


    Torwin didn¡¯t seem to notice. ¡°It¡¯s part of why they¡¯re so valuable. I thought I explained this already when I took those first two to sell. Enchanters can use them to increase the power of your equipment.¡±


    ¡°Right, I remember that, but¡­ how does that help? I¡¯m not an enchanter.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s a system piece, it doesn¡¯t matter. The system just needs the raw material and it does the work for you. It¡¯s probably one of the biggest advantages to getting your gear directly from the system instead of having someone make it, though it¡¯s debatable if it¡¯s worth the price tag.¡±


    ¡°Then, using this seed on my spear could repair it?¡± Velik asked.


    ¡°And strengthen it at the same time.¡±


    ¡°How do I use it?¡±


    The process wasn¡¯t all that complicated, or at least Torwin made it seem easy when he explained it. There were some system menus involved, but with the older hunter explaining how to navigate to the spot Velik needed, he was quickly able to use up the champion seed to upgrade his spear.


    [Blood Seeker has been infused with the essence of the champion, Velik the Black Fang.]


    [Blood Seeker has been upgraded from epic to legendary quality.]


    [Blood Seeker has become Harbinger of Dusk.]


    Before his eyes, the weapon transformed. Where before the shaft had looked like smooth, dark wood, now it was matte-black metal. The two pieces had twined together, fusing back into one flawless length of ¨C What is this even made of? It¡¯s not steel. Too light. Whatever it was, it was solid and strong to Velik¡¯s cursory inspection.


    More importantly, the weapon had gained more stats, bringing his bonus from 5 physical up to 15 physical and 5 mystic, and it had gained a new enchantment on top of its old ones. Now, it had [Shape Shifting], [Bleeding], [Sharp], [Mending] from before, and [Mana Drinker] as well. The name made it obvious enough what it did ¨C it took mana from anything he could stab it into. What the spear did with that mana wasn¡¯t specified, however.


    Easy enough to find out, I hope.


    ¡°What¡¯s [Mana Drinker] do with the mana it takes?¡± he asked.


    Torwin sucked in a sharp breath. ¡°You got [Mana Drinker]?¡±


    ¡°Is that rare?¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°A bit more than that? Must have been a hell of a champion seed you fed to that thing.¡±


    It had been both the highest level monster Velik had ever personally seen and a champion elite, so he supposed that qualified. It didn¡¯t answer his question, however. ¡°So, what does it do?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s generally used with other enchantments, especially ones that can be fueled by the user. A lot of wands, for example, work by having a spell bonded to them. The wielder feeds mana into the wand, the spell activates. [Mana Drinker] isn¡¯t part of that setup because it¡¯s rare and expensive, and because it would require you to find some monster with mana to steal, then poke them physically with the wand to get it.¡±


    ¡°But poking things with a spear is what it¡¯s all about, so I¡¯m good there.¡±


    ¡°Right. But if your spear doesn¡¯t have an enchantment on it that actually requires an outside source of mana to fuel it, then [Mana drinker] is a lot less useful. It¡¯ll still help, don¡¯t get me wrong. [Mending] will be able to eat up that excess mana to restore your spear to pristine condition much, much faster. Everything it does now, it¡¯ll do better, assuming you¡¯re fighting monsters with mana for you to steal.¡±


    It sounded situationally useful, at best, but maybe Velik was just underestimating it. The important part, to him, was that the infusion of power from the champion seed has repaired the damage, and the upgraded stats didn¡¯t hurt either. With another five or six hours until dawn, he might be able to find and kill the next champion.


    There can¡¯t be that many more of these things left. Between the two of us, we¡¯ve killed close to a dozen.


    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate how powerful [Mana Drinker] is. Even if you don¡¯t have a good enchantment to funnel the mana into, just stealing from a target is a huge handicap for them. This giant wolf, for example, is so big that I can almost guarantee it needed magic just to keep it moving around. If you¡¯d been able to attack its mana, you could have slowed it down, probably stopped it from using some abilities like whatever it did to that one tree over there with the burns all over it. It would have been a much easier fight.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Velik said. ¡°I hope I don¡¯t encounter anything this strong again, but you never know. There¡¯s at least one more champion out there.¡±


    ¡°Or this might be the last one. Maybe all that¡¯s left is whatever¡¯s behind them,¡± Torwin argued. ¡°That would be nice. Even if we killed it tonight, there¡¯s still weeks or even months of clean up left to do in this region.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re sticking around for that?¡± Velik asked, surprised. He¡¯d expected the professional monster hunters to clear out once they¡¯d destroyed the source of the infestation.


    ¡°Job¡¯s not done until all the monsters are gone.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll ever leave if you want to kill all of them. I¡¯ve been trying to do that for years. There were times when I¡¯d go weeks without seeing another one, but they always come back.¡±


    ¡°The big ones need to be killed, at least. Anything over level 20 is too much of a threat, and all the elites need to be killed. I have a suspicion this is going to be a long job, and probably one that¡¯s going to require more than just me and my apprentice to finish.¡±


    Velik could scarcely imagine a world in which no monsters roamed the forests of the frontier. What would I even do with my life? Go somewhere else, I guess. And then do what?


    "Well, I''ve got another hour or two before I call it a night, and I suppose you¡¯ve got until the sun comes back up. Shall we see what¡¯s next in the chain?¡± Torwin asked.


    ¡°I suppose that would be a good idea,¡± Velik replied, brandishing his newly improved spear. He couldn¡¯t wait to see how it did in battle.


    * * *


    This druid girl, Sildra, was alright in a fight, but not reliable. At first, Jensen had tried to treat her like an ally, but he¡¯d quickly realized that was putting too much trust in her capabilities. It was obvious that she¡¯d had no training. She got distracted easily, couldn¡¯t focus on multiple monsters at a time, and couldn¡¯t handle watching his flank for him.


    It was easier to use solo tactics, even if they weren¡¯t necessarily the most efficient way to go about the hunt, than it was to try to explain to her what he needed her to do. It wasn¡¯t that she was stupid. She just didn¡¯t have the training to pull her weight. So instead, he mostly just pretended she wasn¡¯t there, and if she incidentally killed a few monsters, well, that made his job a bit easier.


    That was the theory, at least. In truth, she¡¯d gotten in trouble a few times, fights that maybe she could have managed to extricate herself from, but maybe not. Either way, he¡¯d given her some support, she¡¯d thanked him afterwards, and they¡¯d continued on in the same manner.


    ¡°Excuse me, sir,¡± one of the loggers he¡¯d been protecting from monstrous aggression said. ¡°Not really my place to ask, but what level are you? You wiped those monsters out like it was nothing.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Level?¡± Jensen considered the question. It was kind of rude, maybe not as bad as using something like [Identify] on a person, but still¡­ Screw it. He¡¯s not trying to be rude; he just doesn¡¯t know any better. ¡°19.¡±


    ¡°Wow, really? I¡¯m level 17 and I couldn¡¯t come close to doing what you did.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure you¡¯d chop down a tree in half the time it¡¯d take me,¡± Jensen told him. He glanced back at the closest monster corpse, riddled with arrow wounds, though most of the arrows had already faded into nothingness, and saw that Sildra had already walked away. She was nowhere in sight, but her tracks were plainly visible. ¡°Sorry, I need to go catch up to my, uh, partner.¡±


    Without waiting for the logger to reply, he hurried off.


    * * *


    Level 17? Those two can¡¯t be the only ones. Who else is out here with you?

 Chapter 48

    Sildra had known she¡¯d miss Gorm when he left, but she hadn¡¯t known how much. He¡¯d been something of a friend to her, even if he was only there because of her mother¡¯s money. He¡¯d gone beyond the stipulations of his contract to help her complete her system quest, and even stuck around past its expiration while she found her feet with her new class.


    The hired monster hunter was probably more skilled than Gorm, but he was much less personable. He made plans, didn¡¯t bother to tell her what her role in them was supposed to be, and then got annoyed when she didn¡¯t do her part. His attempts to explain what he¡¯d wanted her to do and why after the fact had fairly dripped with condescension.


    Sadly, he was the only one going out of his way to look for monsters to fight, and while her progress was incredible, she was only level 9. [Lunar Flare] was an excellent skill and she¡¯d killed monsters that are a higher level a few times, but there was a difference between frying a level 12 and fighting off a level 20. For the time being, she needed Jensen¡¯s help, and that meant putting up with his less-than-amazing personality.


    Hopefully, getting a new skill at level 10 would start to change that. That would have to wait for tomorrow night, however. The sun would be up in an hour or so, and [Lunar Flare] worked best under a full moon. Having her only skill be dependent on both the time of day and phase of the moon was a bit of a pain, but she was hoping that she could rank it up a few times and loosen those restrictions. For the next few days, at least, she was as powerful as she could be under the circumstances.


    ¡°I¡¯m going back to Deshir,¡± she told Jensen. ¡°See you at the same place tomorrow night?¡±


    ¡°Assuming I can drag myself out of bed. I¡¯m exhausted from you keeping me up all night,¡± he said with a snort.


    That was another thing she didn¡¯t like about him. His jokes weren¡¯t funny, but he thought they were. At first, she¡¯d interpreted it as him making a pass at her, but she¡¯d quickly realized that no, that was just how he was ¨C a little awkward, weirdly full of himself, and rich enough to get away with it. She wondered if he had even a single real friend back home, or if he was surrounded by nothing but sycophants hoping to get a turn rifling through his coin purse.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll manage,¡± she said dryly. ¡°Goodbye, Jensen.¡±


    Something in her tone must have gotten through his thick skull, because his face twisted into a stricken grimace. ¡°Sorry,¡± he muttered, so quietly that she wasn¡¯t even sure he was talking to her. ¡°Didn¡¯t think about how that sounded until after I¡¯d already said it.¡±


    ¡°Be careful on your way back. Don¡¯t want you getting killed by a monster because you¡¯re too exhausted to defend yourself,¡± was all she said as she walked away.


    * * *


    Why is the gate open?


    None of the frontier towns kept their gates open at night. That was like inviting the monsters in, and they needed no invitation. The problem was keeping them out, even with the gates closed. Some of them could fly, or climb, or were just stealthy enough to get in some other way. If the gate needed to be open for some reason, there were always members of the watch there to supervise it.


    She scanned the walls, but there was no one. That didn¡¯t prove anything, of course. Her night vision was decent, but not exceptional. It was possible she just wasn¡¯t seeing anyone in the dark, but she doubted it. She¡¯d always seen them every other time she came back to town. There were even a few who¡¯d make small talk with her while she stood at the base of the wall waiting for the sun to rise and the gates to open.


    Was there some kind of invasion? There¡¯s no damage though¡­ Maybe they just opened them early for the day.


    Something about that idea didn¡¯t sit right with her, and Sildra found herself hurrying across the open fields to investigate. She cast furtive glances about as she approached while trying to conquer her paranoia that a monster was going to jump out from a patch of bean plants and assault her, not because she didn¡¯t fully believe it was possible, but because if one tried, she¡¯d turn it to ash before it got close.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    A hundred feet away from the open gate, she finally saw movement. A man walked into the entrance and peered out. He was tall¡ªtaller than her, anyway¡ªand had a distinctive silhouette thanks to the pegleg strapped on where his left foot was supposed to be and a cane he leaned on to help keep his balance. He¡¯d been a logger who¡¯d lost the limb in a monster attack six years ago who''d retired from leaving the village and had taken up carpentry instead.


    What¡¯s he doing here?


    ¡°There you are!¡± he said. ¡°Get inside. Hurry!¡±


    The sound of his voice confirmed what she¡¯d already known; the man was Vickers, someone who had no business filling in for anyone on the watch. If he was manning the mysteriously open gate, something bad had happened while she was away.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± she asked once she¡¯d reached him. ¡°Where¡¯s the watch at?¡±


    ¡°Follow me,¡± he said shortly. ¡°The call¡¯s gone out.¡±


    ¡°What call?¡±


    Ignoring her baffled expression, Vickers stomped away. ¡°Move it, missy. I¡¯ve been stuck out here for hours, waiting for you to get back.¡±


    Sildra stopped walking. ¡°No, I¡¯m not going anywhere with you until you tell me what happened. Why is this gate open? Where did the watch go? Why are you here instead of them?¡±


    Vickers spun back around, his gnarled face twisted up in an angry scowl. ¡°Knew you¡¯d be trouble,¡± he said. ¡°Ain¡¯t my job to explain nothing to you, just to fetch you. Don¡¯t think I won¡¯t tan your hide just because you grew up some.¡±


    ¡°Try it, old man,¡± she snapped. ¡°See how well it goes for you.¡±


    Before either of them could do anything, something small, dark, and furry leaped out of the shadow of the wall. It angled itself to race past Vickers and leaped at Sildra¡¯s face, passing through the moonlight just long enough for her to identify it as the biggest flash maw hare she¡¯d ever seen. Without even thinking, she hit it with a blast of [Lunar Flare], throwing it off course and sending it smacking hard into a house fifteen feet behind her.


    ¡°What in the¡ª¡± she started to say, only to cut herself off as Vickers raised his can in one hand and lunged forward.


    For a moment, she thought he was going after the hare. He was far too late to do anything, but there was no other reasonable explanation. It wasn¡¯t until the cane came down on her shoulder that she realized the truth. He attacked me! The only reason he¡¯d hit her shoulder instead of her head was that she¡¯d jerked back a step from him.


    Vickers overbalanced, not a difficult feat with all his forward momentum on his peg leg and his cane being wielded like a club, and fell flat on his face. Without hesitation, he scrabbled across the ground to clutch at her ankle.


    ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± she yelled as she shook him off.


    The flash maw hare wasn¡¯t dead. Smoke rolled off its scorched fur, wafting away to reveal patches of reddened skin beneath, but that wasn¡¯t enough to stop it. It took two hopping steps before launching itself through the air at her again, only this time she was too busy fending off Vickers to dodge out of the way in time.


    The hare hit her with its full weight, knocking her over and leaving her open to its needle-like teeth. Blood poured from her stomach where the bone spur sticking out of its hind leg gouged her, and its mouth clamped down on her already injured shoulder, drawing a scream out of her.


    [Lunar Flare] bloomed around her, searing the monster and blistering her skin from the wash of heat. It was that or let herself be eaten, and she¡¯d recover from burns. A second [Lunar Flare] followed that one, and with three solid shots laid down on the flash maw hare, it finally succumbed.


    [You have slain a flash maw hare (level 14).]


    [You have been awarded 1 decarma.]


    [You have advanced to level 10. +1 Mental, +1 free point.]


    [You have unlocked a new class skill slot.]


    She would have been more excited about that if she wasn¡¯t still grappling with Vickers. Now that he had her on the ground, his pegleg wasn¡¯t hobbling him quite so much. He quickly climbed on top of her, one hand holding both of hers over her head and his other with a raised cane in it. ¡°Should have heeded the call, stupid girl,¡± he snarled.


    Sildra has no idea what was wrong with the old man, but she wasn¡¯t about to let herself get beaten to death. Whatever the fallout was, she¡¯d deal with it later. ¡°Should have waited another half an hour to jump me,¡± she said back.


    [Lunar Flare] bloomed around Vickers, igniting his clothes in pale, moon-colored flames. The heat came and went in an instant, but that was long enough. Vickers hurled himself away from Sildra, screeching the whole while, and rolled back and forth across the ground as the skill burned him alive. She scrambled to her feet and scooped up his cane, though she wasn¡¯t sure whether it was to protect herself with it or just to deny him the weapon.


    [You have slain a corrupted seed bearer (level 18).]


    What the hell is a corrupted seed bearer?!

 Chapter 49

    ¡°What the hell is a corrupted seed bearer?¡± Velik asked.


    Torwin frowned, but didn¡¯t answer. They stood over the corpses of three strange monsters, all of which Velik would have said he recognized. One was an enormous mist toad, probably the biggest Velik had ever seen at close to eight feet tall. The other two were a hookpaw bear and a burrow skinder. At least, that¡¯s what they should have been, but the system had other ideas.


    ¡°They didn¡¯t [Identify] as that until we killed them,¡± Torwin finally said. ¡°That means they¡¯ve got some sort of skill to hide what they really are.¡±


    ¡°Which is?¡±


    ¡°Probably some sort of parasitic monster. Maybe they killed the hosts and took over the meat.¡±


    ¡°If so, they had access to the host¡¯s skills. The mist toad was leaving clouds of vapor everywhere.¡±


    Torwin nodded along. ¡°It¡¯s also possible that the hosts were still alive and that the parasites took them over, but I don¡¯t think so. We would have gotten notifications for killing the host monsters in that case. These things must somehow copy their hosts abilities, maybe more.¡±


    ¡°More?¡± Velik asked.


    ¡°Memories,¡± Torwin clarified. ¡°Monsters that can copy skills usually can copy more than that. Sometimes they¡¯re infiltrators.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying these could get into humans and walk around town?¡±


    ¡®It¡¯s¡­ possible.¡±


    I¡¯ve never seen anything like this, and I¡¯ve been here killing monsters since the beginning. Are these new, or have they already made it back to the frontier? More importantly, now that we know they¡¯re out there, is there a way to find them that doesn¡¯t involve killing the host?


    ¡°What can we do about this?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Well, what would you do if you were by yourself?¡±


    ¡°Put it out of my mind and keep going. I don¡¯t have a way to hunt these things down, so there¡¯s nothing I can do but keep trying to eliminate the source. I wouldn¡¯t even know what they are if not for you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s about all we can do. We¡¯d need some sort of specialist investigator to root these things out, someone with some sort of monster detection skill, and there aren¡¯t too many types of classes that can do that. Unless¡­ Can you?¡±


    Velik shook his head. ¡°I had [Intuition] at one point that might have pointed me at a monster in disguise, but I folded it into other skills a while ago. Now it just kind of gives me a vague assessment of relative strength between myself and a monster I¡¯m fighting and helps me spot potential ambushes.¡±


    ¡°Hunter types are the most likely to have the requisite skills, but even most classes don¡¯t get them,¡± Torwin explained. ¡°I was hoping since yours was unique¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a free skill slot even if I can find something in my class list,¡± Velik said. If only I could get [Phalanx] to merge into [Spear Warden], I could change that.


    ¡°Probably for the best. No point in ruining your build taking a niche skill that¡¯s situationally useful right now, but which you¡¯ll probably never need again once this job is done. For now, I think you¡¯ve got the right of it. Best thing we can do is keep moving forward until we find the root cause of all these problems.¡±


    Once again, Velik lamented the lack of a distance reader on the mana compass. For all he knew, they could be minutes away from the next target. Or maybe it was hours. He¡¯d messed with the parameters he¡¯d set up a few times, trying to find information to narrow things down, but in the end, the best and easiest way to find large sources of mana was when it manifested as a champion elite.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    Not that that¡¯s led us to anything worth finding, but it¡¯s only been a few days. And even if we don¡¯t find the source this way, it¡¯s still good to get rid of these things. If Chalin really is the one making these things, though, this is the only way I can think of to find him.


    Torwin seemed insistent on keeping up with Velik now, even to the point of staying up throughout the night and matching his sleeping cycle. The old hunter was powerful enough that Velik knew the dark didn¡¯t really hinder his vision, but he still preferred to work alone. On the other hand, if he was going to be fighting another champion over level 40, he could use some help. It was really a miracle he¡¯d survived the last fight.


    They left the three corpses behind and followed the compass west and north toward a small mountain range. Neither of them voiced the fear, but Velik figured Torwin was just as concerned as he was that their next target was behind that natural barrier. It would probably be the work of weeks to circumvent it.


    The sun started to rise well before they reached it, and they quickly settled on a location to catch some sleep and worked out a watch rotation. Velik was accustomed to sleeping lightly, but he wasn¡¯t going to turn away some extra security when he was at his most vulnerable, especially with the number of monsters in the upper thirties range of levels in the area.


    Torwin settled himself in, leaving Velik to do a circuit around the area. It took him about half an hour to kill all the nearby monsters, a feat he accomplished much more easily thanks to his newly upgraded spear. The remaining champion cores he was holding tempted him greatly, but he held firm by reminding himself that selling those would bring him the riches he needed to buy more pieces of gear, and that once this was all over with, he could travel to a city with craftsmen who could make those pieces at a fraction of the price.


    All he had to do was think of Torwin¡¯s apprentice, a guy who was fairly mediocre as far as his talents went with a similarly unimpressive class to pair with it. But his father had more money than the gods and Jensen was kitted out in all sorts of trinkets that let him hit far above his level. Velik wanted some of those toys for himself.


    He was up to just over two thousand decarmas, and if he had to grind the rest of the money out this way, it¡¯d be the work of years. Every champion he killed represented weeks or months of work. From what Velik understood about how champions normally only appeared in dungeons, and that when they died, they didn¡¯t leave seeds behind, it was extremely rare to get even a single one, let alone multiples.


    There was some way to claim the seeds from a dungeon once its core was destroyed, but that only resulted in one or two, depending on the dungeon¡¯s size. A harvest of a dozen or more champion seeds was unheard of. At least, that was what Torwin had told him when he¡¯d asked why they were so valuable.


    With his lap around the new camp complete, Velik returned and settled down to do his few hours of watch through the dawn. His spear rested against his shoulder, waiting for the next monster to make the mistake of getting too close to would-be prey.


    * * *


    Sildra¡¯s chest heaved from the exertion of running. No less than seven people had descended on her seconds after she¡¯d killed Vickers, three of them part of the town watch. She¡¯d tried to stammer out an explanation, but they hadn¡¯t bothered to talk. As one, they¡¯d advanced on her with pitiless, blank expressions on their face and logging axes or defender¡¯s spears held in their hands.


    She¡¯d done the only thing she could: she¡¯d run for her life. [Lunar Flare] took something out of her each time she used it, and she was already tired from a night¡¯s hunting. Fighting off the flash maw hare and whatever the hell that thing pretending to be Vickers was had taken the rest of her energy. When she¡¯d been immediately confronted with another battle, there¡¯d only been one option.


    Unfortunately, her pursuers weren¡¯t content to let her go. They¡¯d started a game of cat-and-mouse in the woods, except there were seven cats working cooperatively against her, and she wasn¡¯t sure if she could fight back without hurting them. Without any understanding of what had happened to Vickers, she had no clue if she¡¯d killed the man she¡¯d known her whole life or just some monster pretending to be him.


    She was half a mile into the forest, hiding in a tree that loomed over a thicket and hoping no one would spot her. The town watch would be the highest level, and thus the most likely to sniff out her hiding place, but she needed a few minutes to recover before she started running again. If nothing else, she wanted her reserves of magic fortified enough to handle three or four casts of [Lunar Flare]. It wasn¡¯t that she was planning on killing anyone else, but if it came down to them or her, she knew what her choice would be.


    Morgus, tell me what¡¯s going on here. Please, I don¡¯t know what happened. How do I save these people?


    [You have been granted a new quest: Purge the town of Deshir of the corrupted seed bearers.]


    With the quest came the knowledge of what her patron deity wanted of her. The system said it in words, but Morgus imparted his directives directly into her mind. Without hesitation, she went into her system menus and found her class skills. It was easy to locate the one she needed.


    [You have gained the skill: Eye of the Moon.]


    Its description was simple enough. The light of the moon revealed monsters, even if she couldn¡¯t see them. Instantly, the location of dozens of monsters in the forest appeared in her mind, including seven human-shaped ones all nearby.


    Monsters they are, then. Thank you for marking my path for me. I know what to do from here.

 Chapter 50

    The first thing to do was kill the monsters chasing her. Sildra didn¡¯t have it in her to [Lunar Flare] all of them, but she was still armed with Vickers¡¯s cane. The watch were the most dangerous of her pursuers, so she used her new skill to turn the tables on her would-be stalkers.


    The first watchman went down quickly and easily. He never even saw Sildra lurking behind a bush just off the trail. The pale light of the skill engulfed him, eliciting a brief scream of pain before he was consumed.


    [You have slain a corrupted seed bearer (level 16).]


    She could only hope that these monsters were copies of people and not the people themselves. Morgus willing, she¡¯d find the real townsfolk tied up somewhere, alive. Either way, she needed to do this in the next hour before [Lunar Flare] lost all its impact. Not being able to utilize it during the day was a huge drawback, but the extra power it received at night was the only reason she could reliably kill monsters above her own level.


    One of the guys on the local logging crew came charging at her, ax raised over his head to split her skull open. He didn¡¯t make it within ten feet before he succumbed to a burst of pale white light and collapsed into the dirt.


    [You have slain a corrupted seed bearer (level 13).]


    She snuck up on another logger, this one barely fourteen. If not for the certainty that [Eye of the Moon] granted her, she would have struggled to attack him. But the skill told her the boy in front of her was a monster, and she believed it. Her stolen cane came down on his head, causing him to drop bonelessly to the ground.


    To an outside observer, it would have looked like she gave a merciless, fatal beating to a teenager. The whole time she was doing it, she kept an eye out for the other four monsters nearby, and never had she been happier to see a notification confirming the boy was another seed bearer once she struck the final blow.


    [You have slain a corrupted seed bearer (level 7).]


    I need to take this ax if I¡¯m going to be killing them like this, she thought to herself. Using a cane is way too much work.


    Sildra was by no means weak, but she¡¯d invested all of her free points into mystic, and every logger and watchman knew the value of a high physical stat. She was left with only her natural gains from a rugged frontier life, which put her at a solid 9 physical. That was good enough to chop wood, but maybe not so great against a logger whose physical would be 20 or higher.


    This was likely the only opportunity she was going to get, as [Lunar Flare] didn¡¯t spare its victims¡¯ weapons. She killed off both of the other watchmen in quick succession, but in doing so, ran herself completely dry and was left to face the last two loggers. They worked together, and despite her efforts to isolate them, caught sight of her at the same time.


    Sildra retreated behind a tree, readied the ax, and waited. Thanks to [Eye of the Moon], she knew exactly where both monsters were, which meant she could time her swing perfectly. The first logger came barreling around the curve in the trail just in time to take an ax to the chest. He grunted in pain and toppled sideways, jerking the weapon out of her hand and taking it with him as he collapsed.


    There was no kill notification, and worse, now she was unarmed and facing the second logger. He let out a wordless bellow, raised his ax up, and jerked in place. With a groan, he staggered forward, the ax going slack in his grip. It wasn¡¯t until he started to turn that Sildra saw the arrow sticking out of his back, and even as she noticed it, a second joined it.


    ¡°You¡­ can¡¯t¡­ stop this,¡± he coughed out as he dropped.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Jensen said as he strode forward, bow in hand. ¡°I¡¯m going to assume things have gone crazy here, as well?¡±


    ¡°Jensen? What are you doing here? Wait, what do you mean ¡®crazy here, as well?¡¯ What happened?¡±Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    * * *


    ¡°At least thirty,¡± Sildra reported. ¡°Most of them are in the middle of town.¡±


    ¡°At least?¡± Jensen echoed. ¡°You¡¯re not sure.¡±


    ¡°The skill only lets me know about monsters that are illuminated by the moon. If they¡¯re indoors or underground, I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll work.¡±


    ¡°And whatever is going on, it¡¯s affecting at least two towns. Damn it, we don¡¯t have time to deal with this tonight. Okay, I figure at best we¡¯ve got an hour before you lose the ability to tell the monsters from the humans, and even that¡¯s stretching it. The sun¡¯s going to be up in a few minutes. That might degrade the skill¡¯s effectiveness faster than I¡¯m anticipating.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯d better hurry.¡±


    They were standing at the edge of the fields, a quarter mile or less from the still open gate. The town was dark behind it, all silhouettes against the pre-dawn light that was rapidly erasing any advantage the duo had against the strange monster invasion. Together, they rushed forward, Sildra relying on [Eye of the Moon] to make sure nothing snuck up on them and Jensen using whatever it was he always used. He hadn¡¯t been forthcoming about his skills, and she hadn¡¯t pried.


    The first monster they spotted wasn¡¯t a corrupted seed bearer disguised as a person, but a big rat-looking thing that came up to Sildra¡¯s hip and had a tail as long as she was tall. It hissed at them, but Jensen silenced the monster with a flurry of arrows to the face.


    ¡°Can you tell which monster is which?¡± he asked.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Damn. Better hope we get lucky then. Let¡¯s hurry.¡±


    They found the first seed bearer shortly after that, and Jensen put the woman down with ruthless efficiency the moment Sildra confirmed she was a monster.


    ¡°That was the server at the tavern,¡± Sildra muttered. ¡°Why would anyone want to control her?¡±


    ¡°Figure it out later,¡± Jensen urged.


    Watching him scythe through every monster they found was somewhat daunting. Worse, it came with the realization that he¡¯d been holding back immensely during their joint outings, letting her take the lead and get the kills she needed to raise her level. She¡¯d thought she had his measure, but this Jensen was nothing like the man she¡¯d worked with.


    He didn¡¯t make jokes now. He didn¡¯t meander, or do that thing where he got all cocky and lazily raised his bow up before letting off a half-hearted shot. Every arrow formed with speed and instantly leapt off the bow string. Every shot found its target, and most enemies couldn¡¯t survive more than one or two.


    They were walking past the butcher shop when a motion in the shadow of the open door caught her eye. Loun the butcher was running at her, a cleaver raised in his hand and a feral snarl on his lips. Jensen was already twenty feet ahead down the road, heading toward the large knot of monsters in the middle of town, leaving her to deal with the ambush on her own.


    [Lunar Flare] sparked over the man, but it was weak now. Pale flickers of flame washed across his arms and chest, eliciting a few curls of smoke and nothing else. Loun was fifty years old, his face covered with gray stubble and his hair thin and wispy on the sides of his head. He¡¯d always been kind to Sildra¡¯s family when she¡¯d been a child. More than once, he¡¯d given them the hide from a butchered animal for her mother to work on.


    The apron he wore was her work. So was the sheath a carving knife was resting in on her hip. Sildra still remembered one day, when she was six, he¡¯d given her a sweet he¡¯d picked up from a caravan that had come through the week earlier.


    Loun didn¡¯t seem to care about their shared history. He bounded down the two steps leading from his butcher shop to the street and swung the cleaver viciously. The instant he set foot beyond his shop, [Eye of the Moon] confirmed the horrible truth she¡¯d already guessed.


    Not him, too. What about Mom? Did this corruption take everyone I care about?


    [Lunar Flare] hadn¡¯t slowed him down, but she still had a logger¡¯s ax in hand. With a tear in her eye, she swung it into Loun¡¯s hip. He roared in pain, drawing Jensen¡¯s attention, but for once, Sildra was the faster of the two. She jerked the ax back out and swung again, this time taking half his hand and sending the cleaver flying along with the fingers.


    Loun jerked in place as feathered arrow shafts bloomed between his ribs. He took a single, faltering step forward, then dropped to his knees. ¡°Sildra,¡± he hissed. ¡°You can¡¯t stop us all, not now. You should join us instead.¡±


    [You have helped slay a corrupted seed bearer (level 23).]


    [You have been awarded 1 decarma.]


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Jensen asked. He jogged back down the street and scanned the inside of the butcher shop, but there was no one else there. Loun had been a life-long bachelor. However, the corruption had made its way inside his shop, he¡¯d been its only victim.


    ¡°He was like family,¡± she said simply. ¡°I¡¯ve known him my whole life. Him and my mother worked closely. I¡¯m going to find the bastard who did this, and I¡¯m going to burn him to ashes.¡±


    ¡°Better do it quickly. The sun¡¯s fully up now.¡±

 Chapter 51

    Town hall was the biggest building in Deshir by far. The mayor lived there and all governance business was conducted from inside it. There wasn¡¯t any single place that could hold the entire town¡¯s population, not normally, but for holding prisoners, it was more than big enough.


    There were both people and monsters standing guard outside the building. Even with [Eye of the Moon] ceasing to function, it wasn¡¯t hard to guess that any person who was working with the obvious monsters must be one themselves. Unfortunately, with the sun fully risen, Sildra was about as weak as she could be.


    Jensen was more confident, but not by much. The monsters had already shown that they could work together, not just the corrupted seed bearers, but the normal monsters from the forest with them. That was unusual and probably meant they¡¯d gathered under an elite, and with the seed bearers showing at least near-human levels of intelligence, he was wary of the idea of taking on a crowd like that.


    ¡°Four or five is one thing,¡± he grumbled. ¡°I could kill half of them before they even get close. But thirty or forty? No. Even if I killed half, the other half would rip us apart. We¡¯re going to need to rethink this and come up with a better plan, especially now that you¡¯re out of tricks.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t leave this alone,¡± Sildra told him. ¡°Morgus himself granted me a quest to liberate this town from this corruption.¡±


    I need to find Mom. After what happened with Loun¡­


    ¡°Can Morgus make it so your skills function during the day? Because that would make this all a whole lot easier.¡±


    They were crouched on the roof of a house one street over, just behind the peak. As far as Sildra could tell, there wasn¡¯t a person left in the town anywhere but right in front of town hall. Maybe a few holdouts had barricaded themselves in their homes, but there was nobody and nothing but monsters outside and almost all of them were concentrated right in front of them.


    ¡°I think there are some behind the building,¡± she said. ¡°At least, there were back when I could still track their locations. Maybe we can hit them from the other side, thin out some numbers. If we¡¯re quick and quiet enough, we might even be able to get inside and rescue any prisoners.¡±


    ¡°Do you really think there are prisoners? Monsters don¡¯t usually keep humans alive.¡±


    ¡°Why else would they be guarding town hall? It¡¯s not like they care about tax records, right?¡±


    ¡°I have no idea what they care about. Monsters that look like people are new to me. Monsters don¡¯t talk. They rarely work together. They never have plots or schemes.¡±


    ¡°Well, these ones do. I¡¯m going to circle around and see if there¡¯s an opening from the back. You can stay or go,¡± she said. Before Jensen could argue, she slid down the roof and started climbing back to the street.


    * * *


    This woman is going to get me killed. Maybe if Torwin were here, it¡¯d be easy. He¡¯s gold-ranked. He could just stand there and blow the whole horde away before they even started moving. Why am I even still here? If she¡¯s so determined to throw her life away, the smart thing for me to do is get as far away as possible.


    Despite his musings, he found himself following Sildra in a wide loop around the town anyway. He tried to tell himself it was curiosity, or that finding out what these monsters were up to was important to the security of the whole country. An infestation like this could spread, and the last thing they needed were thousands of monsters infiltrating cities disguised as humans.


    Those were certainly valid reasons, but if he were being honest with himself, the truth was simpler than that. He liked Sildra. She was brash and headstrong and uneducated, exactly the sort of person he¡¯d been raised to steer well clear of. She was also honest and straightforward and remarkably strong in the right circumstances. They hadn¡¯t known each other long, but she was almost a friend. Maybe more like an annoying little sister.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    So, he strode along after her, bow at the ready and eyes peeled for any monsters that might come bursting out of the shadows. They were going off Sildra¡¯s memories of where the monsters had been fifteen minutes ago, but those things had a tendency to move, so he was being extra careful. Really, unless they came at him in numbers, his biggest concern was that he¡¯d accidentally shoot a person he mistook for a monster.


    The trip was surprisingly quiet and only took about ten minutes. They soon found themselves perched on a different roof, this time looking at the back of the building. Sildra¡¯s mouth hung open as she stared in horror, and even though he wasn¡¯t personally invested in this whole thing, Jensen found himself silently agreeing with her.


    The grass was stained with blood, and not just in one spot. It looked like a dozen people had been murdered, then strung up and left to bleed out. It splattered the walls of the town hall and stained the edge of the streets where the grass ended. That would have been disturbing enough on its own, but piles of organs and meat decorated the yard, macabre little mounds that he could smell from a hundred feet away.


    ¡°What were they doing back here?¡± Sildra whispered, her eyes wild. ¡°There are no bodies, but¡­¡±


    ¡°Hollowing out people,¡± Jensen said. ¡°Think about it. These monsters¡­ they¡¯re not random bodies. They¡¯re your neighbors. You know these people. Each one is a skin suit with something sitting inside it. That¡¯s why the system notifications don¡¯t say we¡¯re killing humans. They¡¯re already dead. The only thing left is the monster controlling their corpse.¡±


    ¡°We have to get in there and save whoever¡¯s still alive.¡±


    Easy to say, but not to do. Who¡¯s to say there¡¯s even anybody left?


    He kept his mouth shut, though. This was personal to Sildra. She wasn¡¯t going to let it go, which meant he needed to decide if he was going to leave her to die or try to help her.  He wanted to stay, but the sad truth of the matter was that the most likely outcome was that they both died instead of just her.


    The only ways this works is if it¡¯s a running battle where I pick them off one by one while they chase me, or if we manage to sneak inside without the ones out front knowing about it. I can¡¯t see either plan working. Maybe¡­ both? If I act as a decoy, kill some at the front, get the rest to run off, Sildra could get inside.


    While he was mulling over his options, the back door opened. Two men came out, both covered in dried blood. Both had the hardy frames of loggers, though neither carried the axes he¡¯d seen other corrupted humans carrying. Instead, they dragged a third man who looked to be about the same age as Jensen and Sildra between them.


    ¡°That¡¯s Demos,¡± she said. ¡°The ones holding him are Jak and Tevy.¡±


    Demos hung limp in their grip, possibly unconscious. His heels dragged across the ground, limp and unresisting as they flung him into a relatively clean spot in the yard. Seemingly uncaring, the two loggers turned and disappeared back into the town hall.


    ¡°What was that about?¡± Jensen whispered.


    ¡°No idea.¡±


    A few seconds later, Demos started convulsing. Blood bubbled up between his lips and spilled across his face. His eyes flew open and, with a choked, coughing gasp, he clutched at his chest. Even from so far away, Jensen could see his throat bulge as if something were stuck inside it. A moment later, he hacked out a blob of tissue soaked in blood. Immediately, the process started over and a second blob joined the pile.


    ¡°Are¡­ are those his lungs?¡± Jensen asked. ¡°Morgus¡¯s great hairy balls, what is happening here?¡±


    He thought better of the curse the moment he uttered it, but the druid dedicated to Morgus sitting right next to him was too preoccupied to say anything. She just stared, horrified, as the young man lying in the lawn hacked up organ after organ, almost like something was inside his chest, forcing them out. A minute later, there was another pile of shredded meat in the yard to match the many others.


    Demos stood up, covered in his own blood, and casually walked back into the town hall like nothing had happened. He didn¡¯t even bother to wipe his face, not that there was any clean spot left on his shirt to use in the first place.


    ¡°I know your skill isn¡¯t working so well with the sun being up now,¡± Jensen said, ¡°but is there any chance you can tell whether that guy just turned into a monster? Because I¡¯m pretty sure we just saw someone become a corrupted seed bearer.¡±


    Sildra wasn¡¯t listening to him though. ¡°¡­fourteen, fifteen, sixteen¡­ twenty-two, twenty-three. Gods¡­ at least that many people they put through this.¡±


    Jensen thought back to the people standing on the street in front of the town hall, to the butcher Sildra had known personally, and the ones out in the woods just outside of town. None of them had been covered in blood like Demos. They weren¡¯t new converts. And this town wasn¡¯t the only place that was infested. He¡¯d already killed two dozen corrupted seed bearers when he¡¯d encountered a logging team out in the woods on his way back to the inn.


    How long has this been going on? How widespread is it already? Will there even be anyone left alive in the other towns now?

 Chapter 52

    Velik didn¡¯t get a lot of sleep, but then again, he didn¡¯t need much anymore. The higher his physical stat got, the less he seemed to even get tired, and the quicker he woke back up. Four to six hours had been his average a few years ago, with that inching closer to three the higher his level grew. In the last six months, he''d seen a huge leap in his stats, and now even three hours felt like overkill.


    Torwin must have been in a similar position, or maybe it was some sort of skill, in his case. The old man probably had thirty or more skills rolled up into however many slots he had open. Whatever the reason was, they both got about two hours of sleep and were up shortly after dawn.


    What actually woke Velik was the smell of cooking meat, which sent a brief surge of panic through him before he remembered he was sharing a camp with someone else. ¡°You¡¯ll draw in monsters cooking out here like that,¡± he said.


    ¡°Good morning to you, too,¡± Torwin replied. ¡°And what¡¯s wrong with baiting the monsters in? The whole point is to kill them.¡±


    ¡°Preferably not while I¡¯m asleep,¡± Velik said.


    ¡°Some things are worth it for a good breakfast.¡±


    Hard to argue with that logic. That smells delicious. He must have picked up a cooking skill at some point.


    As much of a hurry as they were in, Velik gave in to temptation and had a leisurely morning. Half an hour wouldn¡¯t change things one way or another, and it wasn¡¯t like Torwin¡¯s lazy apprentice was hard at work. If that guy could sleep ten hours a day, Velik could take half an hour to enjoy a well-cooked campfire meal.


    * * *


    ¡°Worst. Morning. Ever,¡± Jensen panted as he sprinted away from the horde of monsters.


    He¡¯d explained his plan to Sildra, emphasizing the danger she¡¯d be in going into the building alone. They¡¯d both agreed that it was their best shot at rescuing anyone who might still be alive, and that was that. An hour past dawn, an ungodly hour during which he shouldn¡¯t have even been awake, saw him running full speed down the unfamiliar streets of an unimportant town tucked away at the back edge of civilization, two dozen monsters in pursuit.


    He''d targeted the monsters he knew were fastest for his ambush. As far as he could tell, the main ability of the seed bearers was to take over a host and blend in, which left them with whatever stats the body they¡¯d moved into had. That meant he could outrun any of them. It was some of the faster monsters that he was concerned about ¨C that and how well they¡¯d coordinate to box him in. He couldn¡¯t just make a break for the open gate; he had to keep them chasing him or else they might return to the town hall and find Sildra.


    He juked left around a corner and silently cursed when a pair of worgs cut out in front of him. This is exactly what I didn¡¯t want to happen! There was nothing for it but to bring his bow up and attempt a shot on the run, a feat made even more difficult by the fact that the worgs didn¡¯t just stand there and wait for him to get things lined up. Both of them came at him at a full run, teeth flashing in the morning light as they lunged.


    The closest worg ate an arrow, a shot Jensen was more than pleased with, even if he did suspect it was more a combination of luck and the aiming enchantments than through any personal growth in his skill. He darted to the side before the second worg could catch him, then spun on his heel and fired two shots into its flank as it went by.


    The worg he¡¯d shot in the mouth died, but its partner was up for another round. Unfortunately, Jensen was out of time. With a bit of luck, its injuries would slow it down enough that it wouldn¡¯t catch up again. He ran off, his feet moving so fast that they were almost a blur to his pursuers.


    I¡¯ve probably killed seven or eight of them, I think. No time to check the notifications and count them all up now, but it¡¯s a start.


    A glance over his shoulder showed him only a dozen corrupted seed bearers chasing him, along with the one remaining worg. That was a problem, as it meant the group had split up and he didn¡¯t know if they were trying to pincer him or returning to the town hall. Now he had to find them without running into them and getting caught.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    He fired off a few arrows into the mob and rounded another corner, desperately trying to figure out where the rest of the monsters had gone. On a quiet morning, he might have been able to track them by ear alone, but over the sound of shouting and his own labored breathing, he had a little trouble hearing anything else.


    Oh, shit!


    Three men jumped out in front of him, forcing him to veer to the right and duck under a swinging ax. Jensen dove into a roll and came back up, an arrow materialized and knocked on the string. He only had a split second to make a decision ¨C the closest one was still recovering from a swing, but the monster next to him was already stepping forward. Which one recovers first?


    He didn¡¯t know the answer, but the man recovering from his missed attack wasn¡¯t in a position to defend himself. Jensen released the arrow and saw it appear in the monster¡¯s throat as if by magic. He caught the flash of a system notification, but ignored it to focus on the immediate threat. The second monster¡¯s ax flashed down and struck the paving stones right where Jensen had been a fraction of a second ago. He rolled, summoned another arrow, and fired point-blank into the man¡¯s chest.


    The third man wasn¡¯t content to sit idly by, but he was the worst positioned of the three, and his advance had been blocked by the middle man. By the time he was close enough to strike, Jensen was already back on his feet and running. He leaped into the air, pirouetted, and fired off another arrow. The shot went wide, barely scratching his target¡¯s hip and not doing much to slow it down.


    Jensen wasn¡¯t a melee fighter. He turned and ran, only to stumble when he saw six more seed bearers spilling out from between the houses. Shit. I guess it¡¯s good that they¡¯re all still here, but they¡¯ve got me surrounded. What do I do now?


    Much as he detested the idea of wasting it on a fight he shouldn¡¯t even have been involved in, it looked like he was going to have to use his most powerful ability: money.


    * * *


    The smell was so much worse up close, and the squelch of the wet ground underfoot was nauseating. Sildra crossed the human offal as quickly as she could, the stolen woodsman¡¯s ax clutched tightly in her hands. With every step, she expected the door to bang open and another of the corrupted seed bearers to rush out.


    That didn¡¯t happen. She stopped at the door without any sign that a single person¡ªor monster¡ªhad noticed her approach. Everything was silent. Even listening with her ear to the door revealed nothing, so Sildra screwed up her courage and eased it open.


    The inside of the town hall looked much as she¡¯d remembered it, except for the fact that there were thirty or forty people laid out in rows on the floor of the main assembly hall. Demos was at the far end of the room, covered in blood just like everyone else. Without [Eye of the Moon] to confirm it, she couldn¡¯t be sure that they were all monsters, but it seemed likely.


    Sildra spied on them from an adjoining hallway, careful to make sure no one was looking in her direction. That caution was probably the only reason she noticed Jak crossing the room in her direction with a small, thumb-sized piece of what looked like fruit held in one hand.


    If he¡¯d spotted her, he¡¯d have made more noise, so she slipped back away from the assembly hall and ducked into one of the nearby rooms. With her ear pressed to the door, she listened for the sound of him passing by, but his footsteps stopped right in front of her. Keep walking, she mentally begged him. There¡¯s nothing interesting in here.


    That thought spurred her to glance around, where she was horrified to see her elderly neighbor, Mrs. Coru, tied to a table. The old woman was wide-eyed and gagged, staring back at Sildra but unable to move or make a sound. Both of their gazes shifted simultaneously to the doorknob as it started to turn.


    No choice. I¡¯ve got to take him out in one hit so he can¡¯t raise the alarm.


    She took a single long step into the corner behind the door, raised her ax, and held her breath. A second later, the door swung open and Jak stepped through. ¡°See? Your host is ready,¡± he said, holding up the piece of fruit to Mrs. Coru.


    Is that what¡¯s killing people? They are called corrupted seed bearers, after all.


    Jak took two more steps in, clearing the door completely, and Sildra made her move. Maybe it was movement caught out of the corner of his eye, or maybe it was the sound of her foot on the floor, but either way, Jak started to turn toward her.


    The ax bit deeply into his neck, spraying the room and Sildra both with blood. With a heave, she jerked it free and swung again. Jak ignored the wound and reached up a hand to grab the ax, but she was too quick. This time, his head flew clean off and his body dropped where he¡¯d stood.


    [You have slain a corrupted seed bearer (level 16).]


    The little red fruit rolled out of his slack grasp. Sildra watched it wobble, almost like it was alive, then stomped hard on it.


    [You have slain a seed of corruption (level 1).]


    ¡°Come on,¡± Sildra said, approaching Mrs. Coru with the bloody ax. ¡°Let¡¯s get these ropes off you and get you out of here.¡±

 Chapter 53

    Spending decarmas on gear was one thing. Even the compass was justifiable, and that was before considering that it had proved useful enough that Jensen¡¯s master had borrowed it. Wasting it on disposables because he¡¯d gotten himself backed into a corner was a different story. His father wasn¡¯t going to be happy.


    But that would only be a problem if Jensen was alive to hear the old man complain about it, so he didn¡¯t hesitate. Internally wincing, he bought three alchemical bombs from the system store for two thousand decarmas each, more than ten times what an alchemist could have charged him. But an alchemist couldn¡¯t make the bombs appear in his hands, and that was what he needed.


    The first one went back down the street to the approaching mob, where it could do the most damage and hopefully slow them down. It exploded, igniting the air in a bloom of fire that shot up higher than the roofs. Monsters were hurled in every direction, including toward Jensen. Fortunately, they were in no condition to do anything remotely resembling threatening.


    Maybe I can convince Master Torwin to part with one of those champion seeds and recoup the cost. Then Dad never has to know.


    The other two bombs went to the crowd in front of him. They were scattered, too far apart for even a pair of explosions to catch them all. Jensen got maybe half of them, judging by the cascade of notifications the system dropped on him, but the ones still alive were injured. Before he could take action to finish any of the monsters off, the house to his right groaned alarmingly.


    It had a huge chunk of wood missing from the side, enough that the front was starting to sag. The more it tilted forward, the faster it shifted. Oh, hell. Jensen took off at a run, picking a path that led him away from the collapsing house and through the depleted ranks of the monsters. He made it forty or fifty feet before a great boom shook the entire street. Chunks of flying stone and wood filled the air as a dust cloud rolled outward.


    Eight more kill notifications all came in on top of each other. I guess the system counts a house dropping on them as my fault, he thought with a wry smile. A few of the ones from the pursuing mob that had been thrown backwards by his first bomb were just now climbing to their feet, all of them relatively uninjured due to either distance or just a high physical stat. There were probably a handful on the other side of the wreckage, as well, but Jensen was less concerned about them for the moment.


    Now that he¡¯d evened the odds a bit, he thought he could probably finish off the leftovers. His bow came up, an arrow appeared on the string, and he got to work.


    [You have advanced to level 20. +1 Physical, +1 free point.]


    [You have unlocked a new class skill slot.]


    [A class evolution is available.]


    The first two notifications weren¡¯t a surprise. He¡¯d known he was going to level up again any time now, and winning a fight against so many monsters had been enough to push him over the edge. The third notification, though, was a different story. He was almost afraid to open it up and see what the options were. Torwin had seemed convinced that [Ranger] wouldn¡¯t be among them, and that Jensen should focus his efforts elsewhere.


    There were still monsters alive, so he resisted the temptation to investigate the prompt. Later, once he was safe, he¡¯d see what his choices were. It would probably be best to wait for Torwin to return before making a decision, but it wouldn¡¯t hurt to take some time to form his own thoughts. Before that, he needed to pick off the survivors and then get back to the town hall.


    I hope I didn¡¯t screw anything up for her when I dropped that house. There¡¯s no way they didn¡¯t hear that all over town.


    * * *


    It was quickly becoming apparent that whatever this business with the corrupted seeds was, today was merely the culmination of months or years of work. There were plenty of uninfected people, but they were all noncombatants. More than that, they were classes that used tools, not weapons. The watch had all been taken over. All the logging crews were in the same state. Anyone who had jobs that had anything to do with monsters, even incidentally, seemed to have been targeted.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    That left a lot of farmers, carpenters, cooks, and seamstresses in town, and Sildra had already saved a dozen of them held in individual rooms. They¡¯d all been tied to a table like Mrs. Coru, and through them, Sildra had learned where the rest of the town was. In hindsight, it wasn¡¯t that surprising that the corrupted seed bearers had stuffed their prisoners in the town¡¯s jail, except for the fact that there were only five cells and they¡¯d stuffed hundreds of people into them.


    Townsfolk had been dragged out of their beds in the middle of the night, either through some sort of lie if the attacker was someone they trusted or just by raw force if there wasn¡¯t a corrupted person close to them. They¡¯d been shoved into cells, packed shoulder-to-shoulder, and when they¡¯d run out of room, they¡¯d locked the overflow into small offices and put guards on them. A few people had been killed trying to fight back, but the corrupted faction of the town had overwhelmed them before any real resistance could form.


    They were debating how best to overwhelm the corrupted seed bearers left to guard the prisoners, a difficult proposition considering Sildra¡¯s ax was the only weapon they had between them, when a bone-rattling crash shook the whole building. Everything immediately went wrong at that point. Some people panicked and ran for the door. Others started yelling for everyone else to calm down, inadvertently drawing the attention of the guards in the process.


    Two of them rushed down the hall, saw the freed prisoners, and immediately attacked. The closest human found himself skewered on a spear before anyone could react, then the fighting started for real. Sildra found herself caught in a press of bodies as some people surged forward to attack the monsters and others tried to flee to safety. As the only person with an actual weapon, she¡¯d have thought the rescued prisoners would make way for her to get to the fight, but that wasn¡¯t the case.


    By the time she got to the forefront, both of the monsters were dead, along with four other people. The only upside to the fiasco was that it brought their weapon count from one to three, not that either of the two men who claimed those wood-cutting axes knew much about how to use them in a fight. Splitting a log on a stump was not the same as a battle to the death with a monster that looked like one of their neighbors.


    The other unfortunate side effect was that about half the people who¡¯d been laying on the floor in the assembly hall were up and on their feet, now. It seemed that whatever toll the transformation took on them, they recovered from it quite quickly. The remaining members of the town watch were organizing and arming them, which left Sildra¡¯s group of nine townsfolk with three axes up against about twenty-five monsters, all of whom had either a spear or an ax.


    Their only options were to retreat or to fight, and with everyone having a loved one still stuffed in one of those jail cells, there was very little argument about which course to take. ¡°We¡¯re falling back,¡± she ordered. ¡°We need reinforcements and weapons, and we¡¯re not going to find either here. Head out the back, stick together, arm yourselves, and we¡¯ll regroup at the general store down the street.¡±


    There was some harshly whispered arguing, but in the end, no one thought they could stand up to thirty or more monsters with just three axes and no real combat experience besides Sildra¡¯s. As soon as she explained that her skills only worked when the moon was up and that she was no stronger than anyone else right now, what little fight they had left went out of them.


    She could only hope that Jensen had been successful, that the booming sound was his doing and that it meant good news. Much as she hated to admit it, without his help, she didn¡¯t see a way to rescue everyone else. Short of getting a pickaxe and digging a tunnel from the nearest cellar, there was no way to get under town hall and into those cells without crossing the assembly room, which meant a ridiculously one-sided fight.


    Maybe a window I can come in through... No, the stairs going up and town are at the back of the hall. If I came in from the second floor, I could take the staircase directly down. I wouldn¡¯t have to cross the floor then, just go down a single flight of stairs. It¡¯s possible nobody would notice. That¡¯s assuming there aren¡¯t more of them upstairs, though. I have no idea what¡¯s going on up there.


    Every plan had risks, so many that she couldn¡¯t see any that didn¡¯t end with her getting killed. Even now, with what she¡¯d already done, there was a chance the monsters would kill their remaining prisoners. She was hoping the bodies were too valuable alive, but that hope was based on the idea that they needed somebody who was still breathing to put one of their seeds in.


    Everything she¡¯d seen so far supported that idea, but there was so much Sildra didn¡¯t know. It was a risk, doing what she¡¯d done, but she¡¯d saved eight people by taking it. And she¡¯d confirmed that her mother wasn¡¯t among the corrupted, which meant she was probably in a cell.


    She couldn¡¯t give up, not as long as there was a chance, but she had to admit, she didn¡¯t have a clue how to proceed.

 Chapter 54

    It was a lot easier to kill a champion with another person helping, even if they were doing it during the day when Velik was at his weakest. So far, they¡¯d managed four and it wasn¡¯t even noon yet. They were trading off who got to keep the seed, and a greedy little part of Velik had awoken. Torwin had described some of the more useful tools and gear for a hunter, things that Velik hadn¡¯t known existed, but which he now desperately wanted.


    ¡°Extradimensional storage is my next big purchase,¡± Torwin told him. ¡°It¡¯s ruinously expensive, though, and it¡¯s a constant drain on your magic. You can¡¯t even power it without a high enough mystic stat. But it¡¯s so useful!¡±


    It certainly sounded handy, but at a hundred thousand decarmas just for a space the size of a backpack, it¡¯d be a long, long time before Velik purchased any for himself. There were so many useful things he could pick up for a small fraction of that price, things that would make him stronger and let him hunt more powerful monsters safely.


    Torwin stopped abruptly and made a halting motion with his hand. ¡°Trouble back at town,¡± he said. ¡°Jensen spent the decarmas to buy a whispering wind. One moment.¡±


    What¡¯s a whispering wind?


    While he waited, Velik decided to look it up. The store had a search function, and it was easy enough to find exactly what that was. For the price of three thousand decarmas, it was a piece of alchemy comprised of some sort of air spirit trapped in a bottle. The user whispered their message into it, then released the spirit to fly to the addressee. With some limitations, the spirit would seek that person out and deliver the message.


    There had to be cheaper methods of long-distance communication, but Velik wasn¡¯t paying for it, so he just gave a mental shrug and chalked it up to the wastefulness of the nobility. He¡¯d already known Jensen¡¯s family was rich, so it didn¡¯t much surprise him that he¡¯d throw away huge sums of money on stuff like this.


    Whatever the message was, Torwin¡¯s face grew more and more grim. ¡°The towns are under attack,¡± he finally said. ¡°Not by a horde of monsters, but by those seed bearers we found, except they¡¯re inside humans. From what they can tell, they¡¯ve been there for a while, months at least. Deshir was completely taken over and they¡¯re struggling to rescue the humans who haven¡¯t been turned into monsters yet, and Jensen thinks the other towns are in a similar state.¡±


    Chalin, did you do this, too?


    ¡°We might need to split up,¡± the old hunter said. ¡°One of us keeps going, the other goes back and rescues the towns.¡±


    Part of Velik demanded that he immediately start heading south. He¡¯d been protecting those towns against the encroaching monsters for years, and just when he¡¯d finally thought he was close to finding the source, something like this happened. He¡¯d left their safety in the hands of an apprentice who¡¯d failed to do the job, but to be fair, it wasn¡¯t exactly a monster horde sweeping out of the forest. If he was right, the corrupted seed bearers had been building up their numbers long before Velik had left.


    The other part wanted to press on, to find answers and his childhood friend. He was so close to finally resolving an issue that had plagued the frontier for a decade, an issue that, despite everything, he felt responsible for. Logically, he knew he¡¯d been a child and that it wasn¡¯t his fault, but the fact remained that if he and Chalin hadn¡¯t gone into that old, ruined dungeon and found that class orb¡ªor whatever it truly was¡ªthen none of this wouldn¡¯t have happened. Intentional or not, they¡¯d set off the chain of events that had led to the current problems.


    ¡°I could make it back in three days if I pushed and didn¡¯t stop for sleep,¡± Velik said. ¡°Maybe less if I don¡¯t run into too many monsters.¡±


    ¡°Logically, it¡¯d probably be better if you went back and I kept going. I¡¯m a higher level and more experienced with this type of work. However, that¡¯s my apprentice calling for help. I have an obligation. Additionally, if this infestation is producing monsters that can infiltrate towns, I¡¯m going to need to start sending warning letters to other communities. No offense, but I don¡¯t think you have the knowledge to handle that task.¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t even know where to start,¡± Velik admitted.


    Torwin nodded unhappily. ¡°If we¡¯re lucky, this will be contained to the frontier towns. Best not to rely on luck too much, not if we don¡¯t have to. I¡¯ll go back, take care of the corrupted seeds, and get the region mobilized. If it¡¯s bad enough, I might even have to call the guild for reinforcements.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯ll keep following the compass until I reach the source.¡±


    Hopefully I don¡¯t run into another level 40 champion. I¡¯m sure I¡¯m close to leveling up again, but I don¡¯t think 33 is going to be much better than 32. Maybe if I could get a skill merger¡­


    He was no closer to that than when he¡¯d started, unfortunately. [Phalanx] had seemed like a good idea at the time, but what he wanted and what the skill wanted weren¡¯t the same thing. Trying to twist it to meet his needs had been a mistake, and he wasn¡¯t sure how to find a middle ground that would allow him to incorporate it into his fighting style.


    ¡°Good luck,¡± Torwin said softly. ¡°I¡¯d hate to come back out here to find you dead. Be careful, and don¡¯t hesitate to run from a fight that¡¯s beyond you.¡±


    ¡°When am I ever not careful?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you solo a champion elite more than ten levels higher than you yesterday night?¡±


    ¡°Hey, I won, didn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°You should have run,¡± Torwin said flatly. ¡°These aren¡¯t meant to be fought alone. It¡¯s frankly insane that you¡¯re alive, no matter how strong your class is.¡±


    There was some truth to that. Ending up inside that monster¡¯s mouth without getting chewed on had been a huge determining factor in his victory. Prior to that, Velik had struggled to even damage such a powerful monster. But that wasn¡¯t a strategy he was eager to repeat, so he had to acknowledge some wisdom in Torwin¡¯s advice.


    Then again, that particular champion¡¯s domain seemed to move with it for some reason, so he wasn¡¯t entirely sure escape had ever been an option, not that he¡¯d tried all that hard to find out. Maybe I really am an idiot. But no, that thing had my name. It needed to die before Torwin saw it and started asking uncomfortable questions. I had good reasons to take the risks I did.


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind. Run fast. Keep everyone safe.¡±


    ¡°I will,¡± the old hunter said. ¡°Farewell for now. Find whatever¡¯s making these monsters and put an end to it.¡±


    On that, they agreed.


    * * *


    He was pleased with how well his seeds were doing. There¡¯d been some resistance, of course. That was to be expected. Inroads had been made, but there was only so much subterfuge could accomplish before force was required. Perhaps, if he¡¯d had more time¡­ But no, the nodes were being severed. He¡¯d already lost his connection with too many of his creations.


    New seeds would have to be made, and not the weak, numerous seeds that grew in clusters like grapes. Powerful seeds, the exemplars to all monsters, took time to craft. Sadly, that was a resource he suddenly found himself in short supply of. His guardian had been defeated, and more nodes were falling with each passing hour.


    Loathe as he was to admit it, his strategy wasn¡¯t performing as well as expected when he¡¯d begun this project. There¡¯d been too much opposition, too many setbacks. His elites had never quite managed to secure the foothold he desired, and while the monsters he¡¯d unleashed into the savage wild lands were surviving, they weren¡¯t truly thriving in the manner he¡¯d envisioned.


    For all those other problems, the seeds that had reached the border between man and monster were doing remarkably well. Three of the towns were resisting and would probably reclaim their homes with massive casualties, one had repelled the infestation easily, and the last, the one where he was most deeply entrenched, was likely to secure a total victory.


    That wasn¡¯t surprising. That town had served as his test site. He¡¯d been sending his seed bearers there for over a year, slowly growing their ranks until they represented over a quarter of the town. He¡¯d wanted to replicate that in the other towns, but the nodes being brought down had forced his hand, and he¡¯d given the command early.


    Other than that one level 19 running around, causing problems, he hadn¡¯t anticipated much resistance. And in many respects, that had been a correct assumption. He¡¯d merely erred in underestimating how much damage that level 19 could actually do.


    In the end, it didn¡¯t matter. The seeds were expendable. The nodes were expendable. Even the guardian was expendable. He could replace them, and he would. Even if this attempt failed, he¡¯d just start building resources for another one. He¡¯d already spread far and wide into the wilderness. The kingdoms of man would fall as well.

 Chapter 55

    Despite his plans to save the champion seeds to finance the rest of his life, the temptation to imbue his other piece of system gear with more power was almost overwhelming. The only thing that held Velik back was that his boots were the only viable target, and they weren¡¯t that great to begin with. He¡¯d only purchased them for the [Mending] enchantment, and only because he¡¯d kept wearing through normal boots so quickly that it was becoming a hassle to keep replacing them.


    He''d already hunted down three more champions, which had resulted in another level¡ªwith his free points both spent in mystic again¡ªand a rank in both [Apex Hunter] and [Spear Warden]. His other two skills remained frustratingly stuck, though he got the feeling he was close to something happening with [Kinetic Charge]. As challenging as fighting champions that were four or five levels higher than him was, the battles weren¡¯t forcing him to adapt in new ways anymore. He needed something else to challenge him if he was going to keep growing.


    What that something would be, he wasn¡¯t yet sure. His newly empowered spear was making short work of normal monsters in the deep wood now, and elites weren¡¯t so common that he ran into them regularly. Even the champions would be almost impossible to stumble across if not for the compass guiding him. It would probably work for elites too, and maybe he¡¯d adjust the settings to hunt for them once he was done with his current project, but he doubted they¡¯d provide the push he was looking for.


    He made good progress, but as the first week rolled by, he started to have concerns about his food supply again. Velik had no plans of returning before the matter was dealt with, if only because he was trusting Torwin to handle things back at the towns. The unfortunate truth was that he had no idea how close he was to finding the end of the trail he was following, and that if he¡¯d known the precise locations of every champion he¡¯d slain, he definitely could have planned a more efficient route.


    He continued to fiddle with the compass, but no matter how he changed it around, all it ended up doing was producing false positives. Usually those related to non-champion monsters with skills that relied heavily on their mystic stat to power them. Sometimes the compass seemed to just draw him to a random place that was probably magical, but he couldn¡¯t tell. He spent some time poking around a pool of luminous green water, but he lacked the knowledge or tools to take samples and analyze them.


    At another spot he found a granite post, eight feet tall and a foot wide, that radiated heat so strongly that it would have burned his hand to touch it. Unsurprisingly, nothing grew within twenty feet of the post, and the ground was dried and cracked. It was at least obvious why the compass had pointed to it, but it wasn¡¯t immediately helpful.


    After that, he gave up again on fiddling with the compass¡¯s settings and turned it back to pointing him toward mana-dense monsters. That was why he was confused when, four hours later, he found what appeared to be another weird, mana-rich site. It was a hole in the side of a hill, perfectly round and ten feet across. That would have been unusual enough on its own, but he could have dismissed the compass as merely pointing to a monster that was living underground.


    The truly strange part of it was that the walls weren¡¯t made of dirt and stone. The whole hill was like some giant scab caked with dirt, with the hole being a puncture into whatever titan was buried there¡¯s soft flesh. If not for the fact that the compass pointed directly into that hole, Velik wouldn¡¯t have even considered going inside. Images of the walls constricting and crushing him danced through his mind.


    The compass didn¡¯t waver, and that meant this was his next destination. Until he destroyed whatever had made this fleshy cave its home, he was stuck. Before he went inside, though, he took full stock of himself and his equipment.


    [Name: Velik]


    [Race: Human (Duskbound)]


    [Class: The Black Fang]


    [Level: 33]


    [Physical: 103(+18)]


    [Mental: 56(+2)]


    [Mystical: 28(+20)]Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    [Free Points: 0]


    [Decarma: 4885]


    [Skills:]


    [Apex Hunter (Rank 3)]


    [Spear Warden (Rank 7)]


    [Kinetic Charge (Rank 3)]


    [Phalanx (Rank 2)]


    [Gear:]


    [Harbinger of dusk (+15Ph, +5My)]


    [Hunter¡¯s Cowl(+2Me)]


    [Stalker¡¯s Boots(+3Ph)]


    [Survivalist¡¯s Shirt]


    [Self-Repairing cloak]


    [Mystic¡¯s Earring (+15My)]


    [Amulet of Stable Thoughts]


    There were nine more champion seeds filling his inventory, in addition to his remaining seven healing potions and one haste potion. The haste potion was system-purchased, and he knew exactly how it would affect him. The potions, on the other hand, were hand-crafted by alchemists. They worked, but not nearly as well as the ones he was used to buying. For the price, he couldn¡¯t really argue, but he was strongly considering keeping one system potion on him for emergencies.


    No, it¡¯s fine. I killed my counterpart without a system healing potion. I can kill whatever this is, too.


    He took a step in and hesitated when a gust of hot, moist air rolled past him. It¡¯s not like I¡¯ll never buy a system potion again. They don¡¯t go bad. Better to have it now, just in case.


    One thousand decarmas later, he slotted the system-produced healing potion into this pouch and entered the cave. The ground was softer than dirt, soft enough that he didn¡¯t want to try fighting on it. His foot probably wouldn¡¯t push through the material, but nobody liked having unstable footing when they were fighting for their life. If not for his high mental stat, he would have thought he was imagining it when the ground shifted under him, an ever so slight trembling that he almost didn¡¯t notice.


    But no, he could see it. Whatever this cave was, it was alive in some way. Maybe it was just magic, or maybe it really was some massive flesh-and-blood monstrosity buried under the earth. It was tempting to stab his spear into the wall to see if it bled before he went any deeper, but he was worried that doing that would make the cave clench up, blocking him from reaching whatever his compass was pointed at.


    No, this is too important. I have to know before I go in here. If it prevents me from getting at whatever this thing is I¡¯m hunting, then so be it. Better to be locked out and have to find a new target than to get crushed to death by the walls during a battle.


    Backing all the way out, he reached out with his spear and pressed the point into the fleshy wall. At first, the wall dimpled, despite an impressive amount of pressure. Then, with an almost flatulent sigh, it gave way and the spear slipped inside a full foot before Velik encountered resistance. It felt like stone, hard enough to stop a casual strike, but not so dense that he couldn¡¯t cut through if he really tried.


    So, this is more of a layer of skin stretched across the tunnel than an actual creature buried underground. That¡¯s¡­ disgusting?


    Thick black blood seeped out of the wound he¡¯d made, but far less than he¡¯d expected. The moment he removed his spear, the cut clotted over into a scab. A few more tests confirmed the floor and ceiling reacted the exact same way. The fleshy wall was just a mask disguising the natural stone beneath, which meant the odds of it suddenly coming alive and crushing him were low.


    Even better, it didn¡¯t seem to react to the prodding at all, other than to bleed thick, black monster blood for a second before sealing itself closed. No enemies showed themselves to investigate his prodding, either. There had to be more to the strange hole, but Velik was as assured of his safety as he could get and he wouldn¡¯t find answers just standing around.


    Taking a deep breath, he walked into the tunnel and descended into the darkness.


    * * *


    Strange. What is this sensation?


    He turned his senses outward, through the vast network of veins and nerves stitched into his domain. It was easy enough to find the interloper; he¡¯d often tracked the progress of his minions as they hauled in fresh material. None of them had ever damaged his body before, though.


    He had only vague recollection of the absence of pain, memories that weren¡¯t even really his. They were remnants of another life, and it had been years since he¡¯d felt anything but the unending torture of his flesh warping and spreading. Even the thoughts he¡¯d consumed were brief flickers of light in a sea of agony.


    He¡¯d long since learned to disassociate from his body, returning to it only when necessary. Today, it appeared, would be one such day. Something approached. His central cluster was in danger, the one node that he couldn¡¯t afford to have broken.


    All danger was relative though. He¡¯d long since prepared for an intruder. At his mental comment, fleshy embryonic sacs split open, spilling out the guardian monsters he¡¯d held in stasis for years. They took a few minutes to come fully awake and ready to fulfill their purpose, but that wasn¡¯t a problem. His cluster was hidden so far away from that entry that it would be hours before the intruder reached him even unimpeded.


    It would never come to that, but he did hope his creations could take the intruder alive. After all, there was no point in wasting such a prime specimen. There was no telling what he could reshape it into.

 Chapter 56

    Velik had never been underground before, but he had a high mental stat and the racial bonus from [Duskbound] to help him see in the dark. In the past, those had been enough to see clearly. Even a moonless night kept no secrets from his eyes, but he was quickly learning that there was a difference between the dark of night and an utter absence of light that came with being underground.


    For the first time since he¡¯d gotten his hunter¡¯s cowl, the [Night Vision] enchantment on it was doing some good. Color was the first thing to go as he went deeper, and fine details had started to blur into shadows soon after that, but then the cowl got to work and those details popped back out in pale white outlines. It wasn¡¯t as good as he was used to, but it was more than enough to navigate by.


    The tunnel itself was somewhat disgusting. The give in the floor as flesh dimpled under his feet disturbed Velik more than he cared to admit, like he was stepping on a boardwalk of living bodies all lashed together. The fact that the walls occasionally twitched and quivered did not help matters. The smell, though, that was the worst of it. It wasn¡¯t quite rotting meat, but it was foul nonetheless.


    Like being stuck in a prison pit full of criminals who haven¡¯t seen a bath in a year, he thought to himself. And no rain to clean them up, either.


    That was it. A sour, sickly stink of unwashed flesh tickled his nose and his mind. He¡¯d smelled that stink somewhere before, but he couldn¡¯t for the life of him place it. The smell grew stronger the deeper he went. It never changed, though, not even when he stabbed the fleshy walls to confirm the thickness hadn¡¯t changed.


    His eyes might have relied on his cowl¡¯s enchantment to see, but his hearing wasn¡¯t hindered by being underground at all. If anything, the heightened sensitivity over a baseline human made it worse. He¡¯d thought his footsteps were silent, so much so that he¡¯d ranked up [Stealth] several times and then folded it into another skill, but in the fleshy underground tunnel, he could hear the echoes of his own steps coming back to him.


    He paused at the first fork he came to. To this point, there¡¯d been no other options beyond forward or back. It was impossible to get lost so long as he didn¡¯t get turned around, and even then, that would merely result in returning to the surface. Velik wasn¡¯t worried about that happening; he had an excellent sense of direction and knew precisely how far he¡¯d walked down the tunnel. Admittedly, he wasn¡¯t a pro at sensing changes in elevation, so he wasn¡¯t sure how deep he¡¯d gone, but a simple reversed direction going back two miles would see him under the night sky again.


    With a fork in the tunnels, however, he now had to make a decision. His compass was difficult to decipher¡ªthe settings runes were completely invisible with [Night Vision]¡ªbut he could see the arrow pointing slightly to the left. He was just about to put the compass back in his pocket and take that fork when the arrow twinged to the right. Frowning, he looked down each tunnel to see if there was anything moving. Nothing. Probably. I don¡¯t hear anything, though, so¡­ What¡¯s wrong with the compass?


    Velik stood there for a minute, watching as the needle mostly pointed to the left, but occasionally flicked over to the right for a second before slipping back to its old heading. The only thing he could think of was that there were multiple monsters in close proximity and the compass was having trouble deciding which one had more mana. It was either that or the damn thing was broken again.


    Standing around would get him nowhere, so he shrugged to himself, pocketed the compass, took up his spear, and started down the left fork. A few thousand feet later, he hit a four-way intersection and again consulted his compass. Now it was swinging wildly from left to right and giving him no indication at all of which way the monster was. All it could tell him for sure was that going back wouldn¡¯t get him closer to his goal.


    Son of a¡­ This thing¡¯s useless.


    If the compass wasn¡¯t going to guide him, he¡¯d just have to find the monster himself, the old-fashioned way. His mental map of the tunnel network was far from complete, but he had a good idea of where he¡¯d been and figured he knew where he was going. He¡¯d just have to be thorough until he found what he was looking for.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    This tunnel to my right curves back the way I came. I bet that leads to the first fork, but it might have some other side tunnels in it. I¡¯ll check that first just to confirm, then see what my other options lead to.


    * * *


    At first, he didn¡¯t hear the scratching sound over his own footsteps, but when Velik paused at the entrance to a wide cave to make sure he wasn¡¯t walking into a trap, it became clear. There were too many echoes of something that was too soft to track anyway, and he couldn¡¯t tell if the noise was in front of him or behind him, but he suspected the answer might be both.


    Two enemies would have the advantage in the tunnels, where he¡¯d be forced to fight turned to the side to keep an eye on both of them. His reactions would be slow and he¡¯d be reaching across his body with every attack. It would be better to move into the open cavern where he could put his superior maneuverability to use.


    However, if this was where the champion¡¯s domain was, the last thing he wanted was to engage it while dealing with additional enemies. A quick check of his compass showed him that the mana source he was looking for was¡­ everywhere, apparently. The needle was spinning all the way around in a continuous circle.


    There was only one solution: backtracking. If there was something behind him, he¡¯d hit it hard and dispose of it before anything else caught up. If it was ahead of him, then he¡¯d deal with it when it caught up with him. If there were more than one of them, then he¡¯d made the right call.


    Decision made, he swiftly retreated from the cavern. Every few hundred feet, he paused to listen for the scratching sound, which was steadily growing larger. Getting a lock on its location was tricky with the echoes, which were weirdly distorted by the soft, fleshy walls. Velik wasn¡¯t confident he could have followed them even in a normal tunnel, though, so he didn¡¯t worry about it too much.


    As it turned out, he didn¡¯t need to worry about tracking the source of the scratching sound. It found him. A monster came trundling around a curve in the tunnel, a foot tall, four feet long, and with a curling tail twice that long sticking out of its back end. A wickedly curved stinger topped that tail. Small pincers, barely big enough to give a decent hand shake, came off the front, and it had six skittering legs to propel it.


    Every step it took produced the scratchy sound he¡¯d been hearing, and with so many legs, it was no wonder he¡¯d had a hard time figuring out what he was hearing. It approached fearlessly, cutting across the tunnel and angling straight for Velik. How does it see? This thing doesn¡¯t even have eyes.


    There was a mouth between the arms that ended in pincers, but no other features beyond that. Eyes, nose, ears ¨C all were absent. There wasn¡¯t even an antenna of any sort to guide it. Unfortunately, Velik didn¡¯t get any more time to study it before it was on him, its leading pincer reaching out to clamp onto his leg.


    He faded back a step and started to bring his spear down in a sharp stab, only to spin it back up to deflect a swift jab from its stinger. The tunnel wasn¡¯t really wide enough to give him the full range of motion he was used to, so he shorted his spear and switched to a style of lunge-and-retreat motions designed to strike at the monster while it was recovering from its own attacks.


    Velik wasn¡¯t sure if that stinger was venomous, but he wasn¡¯t eager to find out. Even if it wasn¡¯t, it wouldn¡¯t do him any good to let the monster poke a few holes in him. It seemed to be far clumsier with its pincers than with the stinger, so he flicked his spear out, extending its length three full feet as he moved, and stabbed the head into the base of the tail.


    Severing those muscles seemed to do the trick. Its tail flailed back and forth wildly, the barb at the end whipping through the air with a soft whistle, but without the needed motor control, it was only a matter of a few seconds before it flopped down to drag behind the monster.


    Now with only its pincers to deal with, Velik had a far easier time jabbing his spear into its armored carapace. A few applications of [Kinetic Charge] were enough to finish it off, though even after death, it kept twitching.


    [You have slain a black hide scorpling (level 33).]


    Velik wasn¡¯t sure what a scorpling was, but he hoped they didn¡¯t get much bigger than that one. It wouldn¡¯t have been a particularly challenging fight above ground, but being forced to rely on [Night Vision] and fight in cramped tunnels was a bit of a handicap.


    The fight had only taken thirty seconds, which was good because he could still hear scratching sounds coming down the tunnels. The scorpling he¡¯d killed finally stopped twitching, but the noise didn¡¯t end. If anything, it was even louder than before.


    No chance there¡¯s only two of these things, is there? he thought with a sigh.

 Chapter 57

    And that¡¯s eight¡­ nine¡­ and ten. How many more of these damn things are there?


    The scorplings weren¡¯t so bad one at a time, but the last batch had been three of them, and they¡¯d come at him from both sides. Only his enhanced agility had kept him safe from being caught in those pincers and stung to death. To be fair, he hadn¡¯t actually been hit yet, but he wasn¡¯t willing to bet on the durability of his skin to resist monsters in the mid-thirties level range.


    The worst part was that the scratching sound they made when they walked wasn¡¯t getting any quieter. If anything, more and more of the monsters were showing up. No, the worst thing is that those stingers are definitely poisoned. It turned out that the flesh walls really were flesh in all the ways that counted, and more than once one of the scorplings¡¯ stingers had scratched the wall or floor.


    The flesh had immediately started to putrefy, and even though the effect hadn¡¯t spread that far from the injection site, that was relative to the size of the wall. A few feet in every direction might as well be Velik¡¯s whole body, and he had a human¡¯s circulatory system. The wall was full of thick monster blood that barely even oozed out of any wounds it took.


    He¡¯d already looked up the price of an all-purpose antidote in the system store and wasn¡¯t in a hurry to drop fifteen hundred decarmas on it if he didn¡¯t need to, so avoiding the stingers was a high priority. His early strategy of severing the muscles at the base of the tail was still working, but that was a lot harder to pull off when there were three of them all coming at him in a tight tunnel.


    He was seriously considering retreating back to the cavern he¡¯d discovered and risking dealing with a champion just so he¡¯d have room to move when the next batch of scorplings found him. There was a solid chance of that plan backfiring on him and making things worse, but if he did nothing, he¡¯d eventually make a mistake. Maybe that would be because he was tired. Maybe it would be because the next group would have four or even five scorplings. Or maybe he¡¯d simply run out of time and his [Duskbound] bonuses would expire with a rising sun he couldn¡¯t see.


    There could be hundreds of even thousands of these things down here. If he wanted to move forward, he needed to take the risk. Otherwise, the best thing for him to do was fight his way back to the surface and abandon the whole plan. No way.


    Another scorpling found him while he was backtracking to the cavern, leaving him to once again wonder what weird senses they had that allowed them to track him down. [Apex Hunter] was usually good about figuring that stuff out, but these monsters were too foreign for him to piece it together. Maybe it¡¯s some sort of scent tracking? But then how do they fight once they actually catch up?


    Even without eyes, they seemed to have some sort of sight analogue. They weren¡¯t graceful by any means, else one of them would have tagged him long ago, but they at least attempted to block his spear when he stabbed at them. If they couldn¡¯t ¡®see¡¯ him, he couldn¡¯t think of another way they¡¯d be able to tell where the spear was when he was swinging it around.


    He was hustling toward an intersection with five possible exits when the next scorpling appeared in front of him. At the same time, two poured out of the tunnel he¡¯d just passed. ¡°Great,¡± he muttered.


    Two more joined the one in front of him, flanking it on either side. Five?!


    With no time to waste, Velik turned on his heel and rushed back to where there were only two. He needed to either kill both of them or at least find a way past them so all his enemies were on one side in the next few seconds. The first scorpling snapped at him as he approached, but he kicked off the wall, smacked its tail aside with his spear, and landed behind it.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Immediately, its partner jabbed at him with its tail. Velik hopped back a step to dodge it, but before he could start moving again, the first scorpling smacked into him. Thankfully, it was more of a body check than anything. Its pincers and stinger were far enough away that all he felt was the mass of its central body and two of its legs kicking against his foot. That was enough to force him to stumble a single step, which was all the second scorpling needed to get a pincer around his leg.


    Velik flexed his thigh muscles hard to prevent the pincer from tearing into him, but that wasn¡¯t the real problem. The issue was that, now that he was stuck in place, he was an easy target. All of his spear work went to batting aside the pincer that danced about, trying to drive itself into his chest. He blocked three strikes in less than a second, and by that time, the other scorpling had reoriented itself and joined the fight.


    No choice. Going to have to use it.


    [Phalanx] activated, and four softly glowing spears appeared around Velik. They cast a faint light, barely enough to highlight the lengths of their hafts in the dark, but to Velik¡¯s eyes, everything was suddenly bright enough for his native dark vision to kick in. Sketchy details became clear and colors returned, not that he had time to appreciate them.


    His control with [Phalanx] was better now, but still not great. He didn¡¯t want to trust his life to it, but until he got free from the pincer holding him, he needed a way to block multiple attacks at once. This was precisely the type of situation the skill was designed to handle, so he hoped it was up to the task. The scorplings¡¯ exoskeletons were tough enough that he didn¡¯t see the phantasmal spears putting any holes in them unless he imbued them with [Kinetic Charge].


    A tail flashed down on his left, and he willed a spear to smack it to the side. The scorpling¡¯s attack was knocked off course, but it recovered quickly and tried again. Velik defended himself while the other three spears tied up the scorpling that had gotten ahold of him. His real weapon, the Harbinger of Dusk, shortened to four feet in length, and he drove it into the pincer holding him with all his might.


    Pain radiated from his leg where it dug deeper, but his attack had done its work. One side of the pincer was sheared off, leaving Velik free to move. He danced back out of range, leaving [Phalanx] to delay both monsters.


    Huh. That¡¯s actually working pretty well. These things aren¡¯t coordinated, just fast. I should have tried this earlier.


    The other three scorplings reached the fight then, but with a tunnel too narrow for all of them to get through, that ended up helping Velik. Unlike other pack monsters he¡¯d fought in the past, these ones didn¡¯t work together at all. They didn¡¯t outright attack each other, but the ones in the back didn¡¯t hesitate to climb on top of their brethren trying to reach Velik. That didn¡¯t do much for the front line¡¯s capabilities, but it did give him plenty of openings.


    Things were going well. He killed one, then another of the scorplings. The remaining three all had injuries on them slowing them down and, more importantly, preventing them from using their tails freely. [Phalanx] was working well, despite the soft light coming from the spears messing with his [Night Vision] enchantment. It couldn¡¯t seem to decide if it needed to be active or not, and as a result his vision kept flickering between the strange white outlines of things and his normal sigh.


    That might have been the reason he missed a sixth scorpling coming up from behind. It certainly didn¡¯t help, either way. Whether it was that or the distraction of fending off a trio of monsters while directing four phantasmal spears at the same time, the end result was the same.


    He heard the soft swish of a descending stinger, had a moment to register that none of the ones in front of him were responsible for the sound, and felt a burning pain in his shoulder as one of the monsters finally got a hit on him. Velik jerked away, but it was too late. Even as the stinger slipped out of him, the pain intensified and the burn started to spread.


    ¡°Argh!¡± he cried out, unable to help himself. His arm dropped uselessly, still on fire but no longer listening to his body.


    [Phalanx] worked overtime for the next few seconds while he got his spear into his other hand and his back to a wall. The new scorpling clacked its pincers as it chased him down, and the three from the start of the fight worked in concert¡ªprobably accidentally, considering what he¡¯d seen of their pack tactics¡ªto pen him in.


    Velik slashed the air in front of him, trying to drive them back. The blade of his spear skipped off one of the scorplings, its tough skin preventing it from drawing blood. At the same time, the poison spread down from his shoulder into his chest and his heart started slamming into his ribs.


    Well, shit. That¡¯s probably not good. Should have bought that antidote before I needed it.

 Chapter 58

    Velik kept the monsters at bay for another few moments with [Phalanx] while he tried to figure out what to do. The first priority was removing the poison in his system, obviously, but getting through the store menus to buy the antivenom while in active combat was a risk. He thought he could hold out another minute or two while he finished the fight, then take care of it afterwards.


    His next priority was the new addition. Unlike the other scorplings, this one was relatively small with a glossy black body and an oversized stinger. Something was different about it, and if he had to guess, he¡¯d say it was specialized for stealth and the lethality of its venom. Maybe speed, too. Little bastard is hard to hit.


    Unlike its bigger cousins, the new scorpling adeptly dodged Velik¡¯s strikes. Even with [Phalanx] working in conjunction with [Spear Warden] to hem it in, it still managed to keep ahead of him. He knew he could kill it in ideal circumstances, but with the poison burning through him and three other monsters all demanding his attention at the same time, the little scorpling was proving itself too fast to keep pinned down.


    Velik shifted his strategy. Two phantasmal spears went to keeping the small scorpling away from him. The other two were split among the remaining three, and he focused his own weapon on getting a killing blow on them. It took about twenty seconds and dozens of exchanges, but he found an opportunity to use [Kinetic Charge] to slip his spear through the pincers of the middle one. It stabbed into the monster¡¯s mouth and past its teeth, twisting as he rotated his wrist to do maximum damage.


    The system notification flashed through his mind, confirming the kill, and Velik jerked his spear back. With one of the monsters dead, he was quickly able to disable a second one. That left only two in fighting shape, which was apparently not good enough odds for the small one to keep up the fight. It broke off and tried to skitter down the tunnel, but there was no way he was letting it escape. The risk of it showing back up and stabbing him in the back again was too great.


    At the same time, there was a strong temptation to let it run, finish off the last scorpling here, and then get his antidote from the system store. The pain had spread all the way across his chest and he could feel his heartbeat slowing down with each passing moment. It was harder and harder for his lungs to pull in air, so much so that he was getting concerned he¡¯d pass out soon. If that happened, he didn¡¯t think he¡¯d wake back up.


    I¡¯ll hunt you down, he silently promised the retreating scorpling. All four of his phantasmal spears put themselves between him and the remaining scorpling, and he frantically called up his system menu to access the store. The antidote wasn¡¯t hard to find again, and a few moments later, he was dodging a pincer trying to clamp around his angle while it materialized in his waiting hand.


    His spear was driven into the floor, the blade sunk deep into the fleshy coating, and he fumbled to remove the cork from the vial since he could no longer feel his other hand or anything else below the shoulder. Grimacing as he danced back, only his mind¡¯s control over [Phalanx] keeping the scorpling from rushing him, he tilted his head back and drank the liquid.


    It would be nice if this had come with some directions. I¡¯ll feel real stupid after I¡¯m dead if I was supposed to pour this into the wound.


    [Apex Hunter] didn¡¯t have anything to say about him drinking it, though, so he was confident that was how he was supposed to use the antidote. It was too bad he didn¡¯t know exactly what kind of poison he¡¯d been hit with, else he might have saved some decarmas narrowing down what he needed instead of grabbing the expensive all-purpose variety, but he wasn¡¯t about to scrimp on something he desperately needed to save his life.


    Whether or not it was working was too soon to tell. The symptoms weren¡¯t subsiding, but they also didn¡¯t seem to be getting worse. It was a struggle, but Velik could keep fighting. He drove the scorpling back with a flurry of [Phalanx] strikes, then reclaimed his spear from where he¡¯d planted it in the ground. With no other enemies left in front of him, he quickly killed it.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    It took only a moment to finish off the scorpling he¡¯d disabled earlier, then he spun in place and raced down the tunnel. Where did you go, you sneaky little shit?


    * * *


    Velik was fully aware that most monsters possessed animal-like intelligence at best, but that every now and then, something smarter came along. Those were the worst ones to fight. They were unpredictable and adaptable, the kind of monsters he preferred to kill in one clean blow rather than get dragged into a long, drawn-out battle with.


    He suspected this scorpling was that kind of monster.


    The [Night Vision] enchantment he¡¯d been using to navigate did a decent job of things. It was certainly better than being blind. However, what he hadn¡¯t realized until he¡¯d regained the ability to distinguish fine details was that scorplings were incredibly easy to track. They left little scratches in the floor with their legs, if only because the floor was covered in eight inches of skin. [Night Vision] didn¡¯t show those scratches, but he could see them by the light of [Phalanx].


    The scorpling¡¯s trail was clear, and while Velik wasn¡¯t in good shape, physically, he was damn sure going to make sure he killed that monster. It wasn¡¯t just a burning desire for revenge, either. It had snuck up on him while he was fighting something else. He didn¡¯t want that happening again.


    The prudent thing to do was probably to find a place to rest for half an hour while the antidote did its work. He¡¯d drunk a healing potion as well, which had helped with the pain in his chest and sealed up the hole in his shoulder, but hadn¡¯t done anything to restore feeling in his arm. He could kind of move it now, but it was more like flopping it around than anything coordinated.


    Retreat was the smart choice, but Velik didn¡¯t even consider it. There were too many advantages to killing the scorpling now while he could still track it, and too much risk to letting it live to ambush him again. Besides, it wasn¡¯t all that far ahead of him. He could finish this fight in the next two minutes and reevaluate after.


    He came into a cross tunnel and paused to confirm the trail. In that second, while his eyes were scouring the ground, the scorplings made their move. Three of them, all clinging to the roof of the tunnel and hidden with [Stealth] or something similar, dropped down on him. Their tails flashed, stingers whistling through the stale air and ready to deliver their deadly payloads.


    Velik disappeared from beneath them, and his spear took one of the scorplings through the middle, driving it into the wall. It was dead before the other two hit the ground.


    [You have slain a burning blood assassin scorpling (level 31).]


    Yep, that sounds about right. Damn thing tried to lead me into a trap.


    He¡¯d been wondering if there were more of them, and if so, when they¡¯d attempt to ambush him. [Apex Hunter] helped a lot with figuring stuff like that out, and his pause had been deliberate to draw out the attack. Now that he¡¯d finally got a hit on one of the assassin scorplings, he was pleased to see that not only were they smaller, but their armored bodies were much easier to punch through.


    [Phalanx] flared to life, not as a light source, but as a cage to prevent the scorplings from scattering back into the dark. They tried to dart around the spears, but Velik cut them off, forcing them back toward him. Seeing no way out, one of the scorplings turned to scuttle toward him. Its tail reared up and forward, but it was no match for his speed.


    Velik smacked the limb aside and drove his spear through the scorpling¡¯s body, right through where he assumed its brain was in relation to its mouth. Whether he¡¯d hit it or not, the damage was severe enough to give him another kill notification. He pulled the weapon free and stepped past its corpse to slay the last of the three ambushers.


    [Phalanx has advanced to rank 3.]


    Huh. How about that? Looks like the best way to use this skill is similar to how [Shepherd¡¯s Cane] worked before it merged into [Spear Warden]. It¡¯s not really doing what I wanted from it, but at this point I¡¯d be happy just to merge it and free up the slot so I can try again with something else.


    With a bar of light from [Phalanx] guiding him, Velik walked away from the three dead assassin scorplings. The one who¡¯d stuck him was still alive, and had no doubt gained a small lead in the time he¡¯d been occupied killing its friends. That wouldn¡¯t last long, and he was wise to their tricks now. One way or another, it was going to die.

 Chapter 59

    The assassin scorpling was proving to be more worthy a hunt than Velik had given it credit for. It had been close to an hour now, and the amoral giant bug had stayed ahead of him by leading him on a merry chase through piles of its allies. He¡¯d lost track of how many monsters he¡¯d killed pursuing that bug, but he hadn¡¯t given up.


    Which Is stupid of you, he admonished himself. You might not be lost, but you¡¯re letting this thing lead you into ambush after ambush. It¡¯s dictating your route and you¡¯re giving it plenty of time to set up traps.


    On the other hand, he was moving at such an impressive clip, literally scything through enemies before they even realized he was upon them, that none of the traps were all that effective. He hadn¡¯t run into any other assassin scorplings, either, just the regular ones and a few six-foot-long centipedes that had no business being in the flesh tunnels. None of them had been higher than level 25, and he didn¡¯t even need to use his actual spear to kill them as he ran by.


    Torwin¡¯s harvesting advice came back to him, and he was sure he was leaving a treasure trove of useful parts behind, but he didn¡¯t have time to stop. Maybe he¡¯d harvest the venom glands off those assassin scorplings when he was done, assuming he could even find the corpses again.


    One of the funny little quirks of being [Duskbound] was that he had an almost instinctive awareness of when the sun was going to rise. It wasn¡¯t anything as overt as an hourglass in his mind, sands slowly draining and giving him an exact amount of time left, but he could feel that dawn was close, maybe half an hour away at most.


    The smart move was to retreat, to get away from the monsters that were now crawling through the tunnels and find a place to rest. If he did that, he¡¯d be looking over his shoulder the whole time, just waiting for that scorpling to find him again.


    The tracks were still clear, for now. It was barely keeping ahead of him, but then, it had been ¡®barely keeping ahead of him¡¯ for two hours now. There was no rational reason to think now was when he¡¯d catch it. If anything, it seemed likely that the monster was deliberately baiting him. He couldn¡¯t deny that, regardless of its intentions, he was killing monsters at a ridiculously fast rate. Not having to hunt them down was doing wonders for his time management.


    No, it¡¯s time to give it up. I can¡¯t catch it before the sun comes back up, and it¡¯s stupid to keep trying.


    With great reluctance, Velik abandoned his chase and started backtracking toward the surface. He had a complicated mental map of the tunnel complex he was following, one that he¡¯d been refining for hours as they looped around each other, occasionally forming small caves where five or six all connected at the same hub. He¡¯d only found that one giant cave, and as intent as he¡¯d been on exploring that, he refused to do it with that last assassin scorpling still out there.


    Something hit the floor behind him with a loud splat, like the world¡¯s biggest loogie being spat out. Velik looked over his shoulder, expecting a monster of some sort, but there was nothing there. Frowning, he turned fully to face the direction the noise had come from and scanned the dark. [Phalanx] generated two spears that floated forward twenty feet, letting him see the fine details of the tunnel. Other than the flesh having what looked like a long scar running down the wall¡ªnot that unusual a decoration, he¡¯d found¡ªthere was nothing to see.


    A quiver in the flesh wall was all the warning he got. Despite everything, it was alive. It could bleed. It responded to stimulus. Something invisible was stuck to it, and the only clue as to its location was a faint sizzling hiss. Even as Velik¡¯s ears caught it, the sound cut out.


    What the hell is going on here?


    Whatever it was, it probably wasn¡¯t that much of a threat. None of the monsters he¡¯d found in here had been individually, with the notable exception of the assassin scorpling. Even those were only a threat because one of them had snuck up on him while he was fighting something else. This plop-monster wasn¡¯t going to be an issue either.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    Another wet splat echoed down the tunnel from behind him, this time between him and the way out. The same hissing sound came from over there, but was quickly silenced. A second later, there was a third splat, then two more at the same time.


    Velik spun in place and rushed away from the sounds. Whatever they were, there were more of them than he wanted to deal with. He ran deeper, stumbling only once when his foot clipped something invisible that had adhered itself to the floor. Even when he glanced at it in the light, he could see nothing.


    He quickly left the hissing, splattering sound behind and took another tunnel that would lead back to the surface. The layout was confusing, but it did have the fact that there were many routes to the same places going for it. The only problem was that as he approached the intersection he¡¯d been near before, he heard the same sound.


    Annoyed, he backtracked again and took a third tunnel. This time, there were no noises beyond his own footsteps echoing down the tunnels. For a brief moment, he thought he was clear. Then he ran directly into something solid and invisible.


    Wincing, he stumbled back a step before reaching a cautious hand out to press against what felt like a solid wall. It had almost no give to it, less so than wood, at least. Stone might have been harder, but either way, it was solid. And it definitely hadn¡¯t been there before.


    He backed up a few steps, brought his spear up, and slammed it point first into the wall. It skittered across the surface, leaving a strange scratch that seemed to float in the air. Whatever this is, I can break through it.


    [Kinetic Charge] empowered his next strike, and the spear shattered the wall. Immediately, the faint hissing sound he¡¯d heard before returned a hundred times louder. Burning pain erupted across his arm, and he jerked back in surprise. Whatever was coming out of the wall was just as invisible as everything else, but its effect was immediate and obvious.


    The flesh in the tunnels started blistering, and noxious fumes stung Velik¡¯s nose. He retreated from the wall, his arm cradled against his chest. At the same time, a shudder rippled through him as [Duskbound] failed him. That¡¯s it for tonight¡¯s run, he thought. And now I¡¯m trapped down here. What even are these walls?


    The bright side was that unless he attacked one, it didn¡¯t seem to do anything but stop him from moving past. The problem was that he wasn¡¯t sure how feasible cutting through was going to be if they were going to do¡­ whatever the hell it was they did.


    [You have slain an acid brick slime (level 29).]


    [You have been awarded 2 decarmas.]


    He blinked in surprise. A what now?


    * * *


    He was truly delighted at the intruder¡¯s presence. What had started as an annoyance that had triggered the premature launch of his plans had transformed into something wonderful. It had taken some spying to confirm his suspicions, but now he was sure.


    His original guardian had finally returned to him after all those years.


    Even better, he was strong. So strong. It had to have been him who¡¯d destroyed his most recent guardian a few days ago. All the signs were there, and he¡¯d recognized several of the skills the intruder had used.


    And then, the unthinkable had happened. The intruder had tried to run away! There was no way that could be allowed, so he¡¯d quickly whipped up a new type of monster, or rather, a modification on an old type. His flesh slimes had coated his home and congealed into his sensory network years ago, but he¡¯d needed something a bit more durable if he was going to keep his uninvited guest from leaving.


    The inspiration to fill them with acidic mist had been genius. Though he thought he knew the limit of his former guardian¡¯s power, this was too important to take chances on. Breaching the slime wall¡¯s outer structure had indeed been within the intruder¡¯s capabilities, but being scorched with acid was making him think twice about brute forcing the issue.


    He needed the intruder to delve deeper, to keep coming ever closer. His creations lured it in, slowly at first, then quicker when the intruder had fixated on a particular scorpling. At first, he¡¯d been concerned about the poison, but his former guardian had proven resourceful enough to make a full recovery.


    Delightful. Truly, he thought to himself again.


    He was so taken with the turn of events that all of his hands had grown still for the first time he could remember. Flesh withered under his care, completely abandoned and forgotten. He needed to see what the intruder would do next, needed the intruder to come to him.


    There would be no retreat.


    It was only a matter of time.

 Chapter 60

    Veilk sat with his back against the wall, his spear laid out next to his leg, and took shallow breaths as he watched the hallway through half-closed eyes. For two days now, he¡¯d been fighting an unending battle with the monsters that filled the bizarre underground labyrinth. There was no peace. There were no safe rooms. He got what rest he could a few minutes at a time, never more than lightly dozing.


    Truthfully, he didn¡¯t need to sleep yet. His high physical could keep him going for a few more days before that became a problem, but the lack of food and water was starting to get to him. He¡¯d had a little bit on him when he¡¯d come in. That was gone now, and he wasn¡¯t to the point where eating raw monster meat sounded better than starving.


    He¡¯d survive, one way or another. If he¡¯d killed less than a thousand monsters in the last two days, he¡¯d be surprised. His decarma counter on his status certainly supported the idea that it had been a wholesale slaughter, and he was sure he was getting close to leveling up again. [Apex Hunter] had advanced to rank 4 a few hours ago when he¡¯d successfully fended off an ambush of eight monstrous centipedes that had crawled out of the flesh covering the ground.


    For all that he¡¯d accomplished, however, what he hadn¡¯t done was find the source. More and more walls had popped up to seal him off from the surface, always an invisible membrane that ate the skin off his arm if he did any sort of damage to it. His spear survived, but not unscathed. [Mending] was working hard to keep it in good shape.


    It was all to herd him into a trap. He¡¯d become convinced of that. Every time he encountered an enemy by itself or in a group, every time he found another wall blocking his way, there was always a path of retreat. Always, that large cavern at the bottom was waiting for him to step foot inside. He wanted to force the issue, but the constant stream of enemies hunting for him just kept getting worse.


    There had to be an end to them. There couldn¡¯t be an infinite number of monsters living underground, but Velik was afraid he¡¯d find the bottom of his own endurance first. He needed to get free and retreat, but by now, all the ways out were sealed off. [Phalanx] couldn¡¯t break through, not even enhanced with [Kinetic Charge].


    About twenty minutes after Velik sat down, he heard the squishy scratching of scorplings moving in his direction. His eyes snapped open and he was on his feet in an instant, ready for the next fight. By the time they actually found him, it was too late to set up any sort of ambush. Velik slaughtered them, then he was off, running through the dark again and trying to kill as many monsters as he could to thin their numbers.


    * * *


    Torwin was breathing hard when he finally reached Deshir. He¡¯d made excellent time, even taken a few risks he normally wouldn¡¯t have to cut down the total distance of the trip, and he was eager to find his apprentice. The message Jensen had sent him mentioned both reaching the level 20 threshold to unlock a new skill slot and receiving class evolution options.


    He hoped Jensen hadn¡¯t already made irreversible decisions without Torwin there to offer input. The young nobleman was still stubbornly insistent on charting a course to a destination Torwin doubted he¡¯d ever reach, and this was probably the best¡ªmaybe only¡ªchance he¡¯d ever have to steer his apprentice in a direction more suited to his talents and temperament.


    He was still half a mile from the village when he paused to study it. There was a smell in the air, mostly blood and entrails, but something else, too. It was like rotten fruit and moldy grains mixed together and stuffed into an animal carcass, except not really any of those things. What happened here?


    There were still people living in the town, all of them ignoring the stink. He hadn¡¯t paid much attention to the townsfolk when he¡¯d come through asking questions, but he thought he recognized several of the faces. Presumably, those were the seed bearers Jensen had mentioned in his whispering wind message. Whatever battle had taken place for control of the town, they¡¯d obviously won.


    He circled the outside of Deshir, looking for clues as to what had happened to everyone else. The way Torwin saw it, they¡¯d either been driven out or they¡¯d been killed. It was possible they were still trapped in the town, but that didn¡¯t feel right with what he knew about monster behavior. Then again, the seed bearers were a very unique type of infiltrator, one he¡¯d never seen the likes of before. He really couldn¡¯t be sure of anything without more information.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    He found the tracks of a great deal of people, at least three hundred, leading into the woods from the south gate. Survivors. Maybe pursuers?


    If he were a group of frontier-hardened townsfolk fleeing their homes after losing them to an invasion of body-snatching monsters, he¡¯d want to head for the nearest bastion of civilization he could find. In this case, that probably meant Beldrit. Just to be safe, he did a full lap around Deshir, but there were no tracks in any appreciable numbers going in other directions.


    The survivors had left a trail of trampled brush a blind man could follow in the forest. There was plenty of dried blood, too, which he took to mean their exodus hadn¡¯t been uncontested. On four separate occasions over the next half an hour, he found bodies left where¡¯d fallen with gaping, bloody wounds in them. Some had been picked at by local scavengers, but they were all still recognizably human.


    All told, he traveled about fifteen miles before he found a makeshift encampment made of felled trees and salvaged cloth. A local huntsman intercepted Torwin as he approached, the man having been hiding behind a clump of bushes just off the side of the trail. ¡°Hold!¡± he called out as he popped up, an arrow aimed Torwin¡¯s way.


    The old [Ranger] cocked an eyebrow at him. He¡¯d already spotted the huntsman and used [Identify] on him five hundred feet back, and knew he was only level 14. Still, it was admirable that the man was working as a sentry for the encampment and placing himself in danger to get between them and an intruder.


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for my apprentice, a young man by the name of Jensen,¡± Torwin said. ¡°Is he here?¡±


    ¡°How do I know you¡¯re not infected?¡± the huntsman yelled back, his arrow never wavering from Torwin¡¯s chest.


    ¡°If I was, I hardly think I¡¯d be stopping to answer questions.¡±


    ¡°Hard to say what those monsters would or wouldn¡¯t do. They¡¯re good at pretending to be human.¡±


    Are they that good at it? I need to get the full story out of Jensen. This could be worse than I thought.


    ¡°I¡¯m going in now,¡± Torwin said. ¡°If my apprentice isn¡¯t here, I¡¯ll do what I can to help your group, but then I have to go find him.¡±


    The huntsman moved out of the brush, but didn¡¯t relax his draw on his bow. ¡°No sudden movements. I¡¯ll be watching you the whole way.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s what makes you comfortable,¡± Torwin told him placidly.


    He could understand having an overabundance of caution, given what the town had gone through, but it really was laughable that any of them thought they could do anything to him. Pretending to be on the same level as civilians was an old game that he and all the other high-ranking monster hunters played. It helped keep politicians and government officials calm to pretend they had some sort of power over the high levels.


    The encampment was a ragged thing, more people huddled under the boughs of trees than with any real sort of shelter. That was strange to him; the frontiers were all logging towns and he would have expected them to be able to build some sort of basic lodge, even if it was all roughhewn wood.


    The huntsman cast him a dark, suspicious glance, and moved past him to whisper to another man in what he probably thought was too soft a voice for Torwin to hear. Dutifully, he pretended not to be able to pick up the words, but inwardly he smiled when he heard the man say, ¡°He says Jensen is his apprentice. I think this is the monster hunter the towns hired last month. Can you go get him for me while I keep an eye on the guy?¡±


    The second man ran off, and the huntsman moved close again. ¡°It¡¯s going to rain soon,¡± Torwin said casually. ¡°What will you all do tonight?¡±


    He was no stranger to getting rained on, but he was willing to bet the average physical of the people spread out around him was single digits, and he saw more than a few injuries that had been roughly treated with ragged strips of cloth instead of given any real medical attention.


    ¡°Got a few hours until nightfall,¡± the huntsman replied. ¡°We¡¯ll get some help before then. Don¡¯t you worry about the details.¡±


    Food¡¯s probably a bigger concern than keeping the rain off them for the moment, but they¡¯ll care about the weather soon enough. There¡¯s no way to tan the hides fast enough, but a herd of deer could provide enough leather to stitch together something to keep the rain off. I could probably bring something back in an hour or two.


    While he was musing over what exactly the battered group of refugees needed to survive, a familiar face emerged from the far side of the encampment. He paused when he saw Torwin, then let out a great sigh of relief.


    ¡°There you are!¡± Jensen said as he hurried across the open ground.

 Chapter 61

    ¡°And then I spent about twenty thousand decarmas storming the building and killing the corrupted seed bearers inside,¡± Jensen said. ¡°We got everyone we could out and retreated into the forest, but it¡¯s been slow going with¡­ well, look around and you¡¯ll see why.¡±


    ¡°Injured, children, low levels and lack of wilderness survival skills,¡± Torwin said, nodding as he listed off some of the reasons their progress had stalled. ¡°Still, an encampment in the middle of the woods? Why not just push on to the next town?¡±


    ¡°We tried that,¡± Jensen said. ¡°I scouted ahead myself. Turns out Deshir and the logging crews weren¡¯t the only places hit. My theory is that whatever did this, it started by infecting people who went out into the wilderness for their work. It must take a while for them to grow new seeds, or they¡¯d have overrun the whole frontier already. We burned out the supply at Deshir, but from what I saw, it wasn¡¯t enough to take more than half the town anyway.


    ¡°Beldrit¡¯s got something similar going on, except that as of yesterday it was still an active battle. The town¡¯s tearing itself apart because they can¡¯t tell who¡¯s been corrupted and who hasn¡¯t. Sildra went to try to sort things out with her new skill, but it only works at night and I¡¯m betting it¡¯s going to be an uphill struggle trying to convince someone that their husband or son is dead and being puppeted by a monster.¡±


    ¡°It could have spread to the other towns, too. It could be even worse there,¡± Torwin said, scratching at his beard as he thought. ¡°Shit, this is a disaster. We need to root out the corrupted seed bearers quickly before the infection spreads beyond the towns here, then we need to get word to Cravel so they can spread the news.¡±


    ¡°I agree, but if we leave these people here, there¡¯s a solid chance they¡¯ll get captured again. I think I burned Deshir¡¯s whole seed supply, but if they had more, we¡¯d just be giving the monsters new victims to turn.¡±


    ¡°So, what¡¯s your solution?¡± Torwin asked.


    ¡°You mean, besides waiting for you to show up?¡± Jensen replied.


    ¡°I can¡¯t do much of anything you couldn¡¯t do yourself. I¡¯d just do it faster. Besides, you¡¯ve got the immediate situation under control already. What was the next step in your plan?¡±


    ¡°The idea was that Sildra would help the locals pacify Beldrit so we could move the refugees there, then I¡¯d get to work sniping at the monsters in Deshir while we waited for you and she¡¯d keep on down the road to Celarut to see what was going on there. Repeat as necessary.¡±


    It was a solid plan, but too slow for Torwin¡¯s tastes. They couldn¡¯t know for sure that the monsters would be content to sit and wait to be exterminated. In fact, they probably wouldn¡¯t, and the fact that this had happened in both Deshir and Beldrit at the same time implied a level of coordination between the two groups that didn¡¯t bode well for the human side of the conflict.


    ¡°If you¡¯re sure everyone in Deshir is a monster, I¡¯ll go back and clean it out,¡± Torwin said. ¡°You keep on with your plan of getting these people to safety once the fighting is over in the next town, and I¡¯ll catch up with you there.¡±


    ¡°They are,¡± Jensen told him. ¡°At least, Sildra¡¯s skill says so, and it hasn¡¯t been proven wrong yet. Every person she¡¯s said is a monster has been confirmed by a system kill notification. We can¡¯t prove some monsters aren¡¯t still hiding among the humans, undetectable, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case.¡±


    ¡°Good enough,¡± Torwin said with a nod. ¡°Now, before I go off to take care of that, tell me about your class evolution options!¡±


    He¡¯d already used [Identify] on his apprentice and confirmed he still showed as a [Tracker], so it wasn¡¯t too late there. Hopefully, Jensen had gotten something good. Judging by the grin on his apprentice¡¯s face, he was betting he was right.


    ¡°So I got some of the standard side-grade evolutions, things like [Explorer] and [Archer]. Nothing special there, just a bunch of uncommon options. I also got two rare options: [Heavy Artillery] and [Champion of the Forest].¡±


    Torwin¡¯s eyebrows went up at that. [Heavy Artillery] wasn¡¯t a surprise. Jensen¡¯s description of his exploits hurling explosives and raining death down on large groups of enemies¡ªnot to mention a building¡ªreadily explained the option. He¡¯d been fighting at range for months now, and spending copious amounts of money in the last battle to beat down a numerically superior force in open combat with overwhelming firepower fit [Heavy Artillery] perfectly.


    [Champion of the Forest] was a weird one. Anything with the word ¡®champion¡¯ in its class name was a protector class, which didn¡¯t much fit Jensen¡¯s personality at all. Torwin could only assume it had come from his association with the druid girl. They¡¯d been working closely for a week or two, but the bond must have been quite strong for Jensen to be offered a class that revolved around helping her.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    ¡°Are you considering either of them?¡± Torwin asked. ¡°They won¡¯t lead you to [Ranger], but they are both rare options.¡±


    ¡°No. My father wouldn¡¯t approve,¡± Jensen said, ¡°Besides¡­¡±


    Torwin didn¡¯t miss the teasing tone. ¡°Besides, you got something that you think is even better? What is it, a third rare or something uncommon that leads to an exceptional rare?¡±


    ¡°An epic,¡± Jensen said smugly.


    ¡°No. You did not.¡±


    ¡°I did.¡±


    Torwin burst into a laugh. ¡°Gods! Congratulations, boy. That¡¯s amazing. Which one is it?¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s the thing.¡± The smugness disappeared, replaced by a bit of an awkward wince. ¡°I don¡¯t think my father will like it, but it¡¯s epic. How can I pass it up? If I take it, could you help me¡­ I don¡¯t know. Justify it to him?¡±


    The class had to be far away from [Ranger] if Jensen was still hesitating over picking an epic class. Torwin was honestly surprised he hadn¡¯t already taken it. He wasn¡¯t sure if he would have waited three days for anyone else¡¯s advice if he¡¯d had that opportunity.


    ¡°Well, don¡¯t keep me in suspense. What is it?¡±


    ¡°[Vault Seeker].¡±


    Torwin sucked in a sharp breath. His first instinct was to demand that Jensen take the class immediately. [Vault Seeker] was a ridiculously sought after class. Its skills mainly revolved around tracking down old ruins from past civilizations, detecting and defeating traps, neutralizing any magical guardians left behind, and claiming untold riches. A dozen different institutions would snap Jensen up just to get a [Vault Seeker] on their payrolls, and he¡¯d be able to name his price at any of them.


    His family would almost certainly want to finance his ventures themselves, and the return on that investment would be immeasurable. Within a decade, Jensen could catapult them to upper nobility just through dint of sheer wealth.


    The fact that Jensen was hesitating to take the class when he obviously knew how valuable it was meant there was an angle Torwin was missing. His apprentice had spelled it out for him, too. He was worried his father wouldn¡¯t approve.


    ¡°You obviously know how valuable that class is,¡± Torwin said. At Jensen¡¯s nod, he added, ¡°So what does your father have against it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not in his plan for me,¡± Jensen said bluntly. ¡°The class is useless unless I actually go out and use it, and he wants me near the family home. I¡¯m sure he¡¯d love a [Vault Seeker] working for him, just not his son.¡±


    ¡°Wait, if that¡¯s what he wants, why was he alright with letting you take [Ranger]?¡±


    ¡°For the prestige,¡± Jensen said. ¡°It¡¯s a well-respected class, and I¡¯d be in a position to bolster the family reputation without having to actually put myself in danger once I obtained it.¡±


    Yet more proof that you never would. You don¡¯t get a hero class for the prestige, and certainly not if you¡¯re planning on retiring the instant you get it.


    Ignoring that for the moment, Torwin said slowly, ¡°Taking the class puts you at odds with your family. Not taking it, though¡­ The wasted opportunity of a lifetime.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    ¡°I guess the question is, are you brave enough to stand up to your father? With [Vault Seeker], you won¡¯t need his money. You¡¯ll make your own, and so fast that you¡¯ll no doubt be the richer of the two sooner rather than later.¡±


    ¡°I want to, but, well, you¡¯ve met him?¡±


    Torwin shook his head. ¡°I was actually informed about the contract between your father and the guild after it had been signed. No offense, but I wasn¡¯t part of the deal and I wasn¡¯t given a choice as to taking you on as an apprentice. That¡¯s not to say that you¡¯ve been a burden.¡±


    Jensen snorted. ¡°Liar.¡±


    ¡°Okay, yes, you¡¯ve demonstrated repeatedly that you don¡¯t have the disposition to pick up the [Ranger] class, which is another reason you should take a class that so clearly does resonate with you.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯ll help void the contract and talk with my father?¡±


    ¡°The contract? Yes. Your father? No. You¡¯re a grown man. If you¡¯re going to become a [Vault Seeker], you¡¯ll face things far scarier than an angry man with an overinflated sense of self-worth and a large bank account.¡±


    Jensen blanched, but Torwin could see him firming his resolve. ¡°I can do this. I am my own man. He doesn¡¯t control me. He can¡¯t stop me,¡± he muttered.


    There was no outward sign of the change, but a moment later, Jensen gave Torwin a nod. ¡°Thank you for the advice, Master.¡±


    [Jensen Alderworth- level 20. Class: Vault Seeker. Stats: 71ph, 36me, 50my. Skills: Tracking (5), Marksman (4), Empty (-).]


    ¡°I guess I won¡¯t be your apprentice much longer, huh,¡± Jensen said as Torwin got a look at him. ¡°Well, while we¡¯re still together, maybe you could give me some advice about what skill to take.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Torwin said. ¡°Probably your best option would be some sort of treasure seeker skill that will merge with [Tracking].¡±


    They spoke quietly for a little while, and Torwin was pleased to realize that he was proud of his apprentice. Finally, Jensen had taken a step to get out from under his father¡¯s thumb and claim a measure of freedom. To an old [Ranger], nothing could have been more precious.

 Chapter 62

    Velik felt the exact moment the sun went down, even though he hadn¡¯t seen the sky in going on three days now. A measure of weariness sloughed off his limbs mid-fight, and the scorplings he was slowly cutting his way through all of a sudden felt slow and clumsy to him.


    [You have advanced to level 34. +2 Physical, +1 Mental, +2 free points.]


    He put the two free points into mystic, as he¡¯d been doing for the last few levels, though he started to suspect burning further resources on [Phalanx] might be a mistake. At this point, he mostly wanted the skill to merge with [Spear Warden] to free up the slot. It wasn¡¯t even that it wasn¡¯t useful, because it was, but because it didn¡¯t give him what he¡¯d needed when he¡¯d selected it. That was his own fault. He¡¯d known it was a defensive skill, but he¡¯d been hoping to shape it into something else, and he¡¯d failed at that.


    With the onset of night and the surge of strength [Duskbound] granted him renewed, Velik decided it was time. The onslaught of monsters had slowed down considerably, so much so that Velik had to assume either their numbers were running out or they were deliberately lulling him into a false sense of security. He couldn¡¯t think of a good reason to do that when they were already winning the battle of attrition.


    If he operated under the assumption that he¡¯d culled a significant percentage of the population inside the caves, and with the entrances leading to the surface still sealed off by transparent membranes that let off clouds of noxious, flesh-dissolving gas when punctured, then there was only one way left to go. He took his new level gain as a sign that there wasn¡¯t much point left stalling, not unless he came across the trail of that last assassin scorpling again.


    That particular monster had disappeared, never to be seen after their initial encounter. It was out there somewhere, but Velik was too wise to its tricks now for it to ever get an advantage like it had had in their initial confrontation. If it was lurking nearby, watching him and waiting for an opportunity, it had been a disappointing few days for the monster.


    Now he was standing in front of the cave he¡¯d discovered days ago, the one he suspected would be a champion¡¯s domain. If I¡¯d just walked through here the first time I found it¡­


    But no, that wouldn¡¯t have made all the monsters he¡¯d killed magically disappear. He just would have had to fight them on the other side. At least this way, he¡¯d done it on ground he¡¯d grown intimately familiar with, even if something was keeping him from leaving. Velik didn¡¯t know for sure, but he was starting to suspect he was trapped in a dungeon.


    If the room had a champion elite in it and he didn¡¯t get a seed from killing it, that¡¯d be proof enough. The only reason champion seeds were so rare¡ªaccording to Torwin, at least¡ªwas that champions were commonly only found in dungeons, and the dungeons didn¡¯t give up the seeds unless they were destroyed. So, at best, a team could get a crop of one seed per champion from a dungeon ever, and not all dungeons were marked to be destroyed when they were found.


    That just made his current haul all the more valuable, and Velik was determined to hunt down the rest of the champions scattered across the deep wood once he fought his way free of these weird, disgusting caves. He wasn¡¯t a greedy man, but when Jensen had impressed upon him exactly how expensive it was to have a full kit for monster hunting, he¡¯d realized that grinding decarmas out one kill at a time wasn¡¯t a real option.


    One step at a time, he reminded himself. First I need to kill whatever the compass is pointing to in this cave.


    He stood outside the large cavern and just listened for a few minutes. The scrabbling legs of the scorplings was a faint thing at the best of times, but all was silent now. If there were any monsters about, they were well and truly hidden. He wasn¡¯t going to get a better shot at an uninterrupted fight with the champion.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    The cavern was a wide-open circular arena, two hundred feet from wall to wall, with a domed ceiling fifty feet tall in the center. Like the rest of the tunnel network, it was covered in the same fleshy material he¡¯d been fighting on for days now. It appeared just as empty now as it had every other time he¡¯d peered through the tunnel mouth to examine it.


    Velik stepped into the open, his spear gripped firmly in one hand and his eyes scouring the darkness.


    [You have entered the domain of a champion elite: Scalithex the Brood Mother.]


    Thought so, but where is it?


    Just as he was thinking that, a ripple passed through the floor covering the ground. It started to bulge in the middle of the room, swelling into a small hill three or four feet high before the elasticity gave and it started to tear. A scorpling claw longer than Velik was tall pushed into the open air, followed by a second one, and in seconds, a scorpling¡ªif it could even be called that¡ªfully forty feet long not including the tail was climbing out of a pit in the floor.


    Oh. That¡¯s where it is. Why is it so damn big?


    Scalithex looked a lot like the scorplings Velik had been fighting for days, only blown up to gargantuan proportions. It was the same shiny black color, with the same proportions and the same weird mouth with no apparent sensory organs. There was something to be said for the stinger, which Velik had always been wary of, but in this case, was so massive that if the champion managed to hit him with it, it¡¯d be more like getting run through with a sword than anything.


    It scuttled forward, its pincer already spread wide and reaching to clamp down on him. He ran forward, apparently surprising the huge scorpling so badly that it paused for a second to decide how it was supposed to react. By the time it figured out what it wanted to do, it was already too late. Velik was inside the reach of its pincers, his spear leveled and bursting with power from [Kinetic Charge].


    He thrust the weapon deep into the scorpling¡¯s mouth, snapping several of its teeth-like appendages and unleashing the power of his active skill to tear open a raw, gaping wound before dragging the spearhead back out the monster. As it moved, he reshaped the weapon to have a jagged, saw blade edge that ripped through flesh.


    The monster went berserk, jerking around wildly and slamming one of its pincer arms into Velik. He partially hopped over it, but got clipped across his legs hard enough to turn his controlled landing into a wild tumble. Fortunately, flesh was far softer than stone, and Velik rolled across it uninjured. Unfortunately, the scorpling¡¯s pincer came back around to smack him again before he could regain his feet.


    The damn thing¡¯s not even attacking me! It¡¯s just flailing around wildly! Morgus, if you¡¯re watching, look away. I don¡¯t want you to see this thing embarrassing me like this.


    So far, this fight hadn¡¯t gone the way Velik had been expecting. He wasn¡¯t sure if this particular monster just didn¡¯t scale up in size well, or if the mouths were a particular weak point he¡¯d never discovered on its smaller kin simply because stabbing them there was as likely to kill them as not. Or maybe this thing was just that stupid.


    Either way, getting near it and its frenzied thrashing was a nonstarter. Velik got out of range and let it blindly snap its giant pincers, slash the air with its barbed tail, and spill thick black ichor all over the ground. He kept alert, just in case the whole thing was some kind of trap, but the giant scorpling had done more damage to him accidentally than on purpose, so far.


    Its legs dug deep furrows in the ground, leaving smears of blood everywhere as it danced around wildly. At first, Velik was distracted by the rancid smell of so many wounds being opened in the fleshy cavern, but then he caught a flicker of movement that sharpened his attention.


    Something was trying to peel back the furrow the champion elite had dug in the floor. It was only after a thin, shiny black barb tore through the furrow that he realized what it was. A scorpling had been buried under the flesh, and, much like the champion, was fighting its way free.


    It wasn¡¯t the only one either. Now that he knew to look for it, Velik could see twenty or so of the little monsters digging their way out. They were vulnerable for the moment, still caught up cutting through the six-inch layer of flesh. Velik could kill them all in moments, but he didn¡¯t know if he could get close enough to do it with the champion filling up the center of the cavern.


    It was too much to ask that he¡¯d get lucky and the monster would crush one of its smaller progeny as it stomped around. The fist scorpling broke free and immediately oriented itself on Velik, then rushed forward to attack. Four more of them were right behind it.


    I guess now I know why it¡¯s called the brood mother.

 Chapter 63

    As many scorplings as he¡¯d killed, Velik didn¡¯t have much trouble keeping up with the waves chasing him down. He was nimble enough to keep them from reaching him in groups larger than two or three, but there were some issues avoiding the champion elite. It still hadn¡¯t focused its attention on him, and it was still bleeding profusely from the single wound he¡¯d dealt it. If that was enough to kill it, it¡¯d be the easiest champion he¡¯d fought so far.


    He wasn¡¯t betting on it, though. So, while he dealt with the smaller scorplings that kept tearing their way up through rents in the floor, he was on the lookout for another good opening. The problem with that was that the damn thing never stopped moving, and it was so unpredictable that even approaching it was a good way to get swatted across the cavern again.


    And then it did something so unexpected, Velik wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d actually seen what he thought he¡¯d seen. The champion staggered drunkenly to the left, bringing its mouth in line with the corpse of one of the smaller scorplings seemingly through sheer coincidence. When it finished the pass, the body was gone.


    Did it¡­ Did it just eat that monster?


    If so, he was dead certain that no good could come from that. Champions always had weird, unique skills, and consuming corpses sounded exactly like one of those. The only question in his mind was how many it needed to eat and what exactly it would do with them once it reached that number.


    Not killing the scorplings wasn¡¯t really an option, however. If he didn¡¯t keep their numbers under control, they¡¯d overwhelm him. That meant he needed to be more proactive in attacking the champion before it could do whatever it was it was building up to. Just standing back and letting it slowly bleed out was no longer an option.


    Velik quickly slew the scorpling in front of him with a [Kinetic Charge] to split it down the center, then turned and sprinted toward the brood mother. It was scooping up another body in its mouth and swallowing it whole¡ªIs this thing immune to their venom, too? I guess that makes sense, maybe?¡ªjust as he reached the monster.


    Rather than try to dance his way through its scrambling legs and flailing pincers, Velik jumped for the monster¡¯s back. Normally, he wouldn¡¯t even have considered that idea, not with that stinger the size of a broad sword looming overhead, but he liked his odds of dodging that better than the rest of its limbs.


    A new problem reared its hand once he regained his balance. Scorplings were tough, even for him. He¡¯d learned to find the weak spots in their exoskeletons and could rely on [Kinetic Charge] to muscle through if needed, but punching through their carapaces without a care wasn¡¯t an option. Against the giant champion version, even the weak spots were hard to do more than just scratch.


    [Kinetic Charge] took some time to build up, and he¡¯d just used the last of the skill¡¯s reserves on the scorpling he¡¯d killed before charging the brood mother. In an effort to hurry it up, he pushed the skill as hard as he could while putting his spear through a simple routine, which wasn¡¯t as easy as it sounded when he had to do it on the back of a giant, squirming bug monster.


    Something started growing out of the monster¡¯s exoskeleton, like a massive flesh sac big enough for him to crawl into that had seeped out from between the joints in its armor. Whatever that was, it looked soft and squishy, and Velik immediately darted forward to skewer it. Before he got there, the champion¡¯s stinger flashed down in front of him. Forced to dodge to one side, he was too late to stop it from rupturing on its own.


    A fresh scorpling crouched on the brood mother¡¯s back, easily the largest one he¡¯d ever seen aside from the champion itself. It didn¡¯t hesitate to scuttle toward Velik, who was busy dodging the brood mother¡¯s tail stinger coming down at him again. It wasn¡¯t terribly accurate, but he supposed when it was that big, it didn¡¯t much need to be.


    A second flesh sac started to swell up behind the scorpling, and a third one near that. Is that all this thing does, make more monsters? That¡¯s not terrible, I guess, but it¡¯s going to make for a long, tedious fight.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Just as Velik was thinking that, the first scorpling opened its mouth. Immediately, a high-speed stream of acid arced through the air. Velik¡¯s eyes widened for half a second as the startlingly accurate shot sped right at his face. Frantically, he ducked and shielded his face with one arm. Fiery pinpricks of pain dotted the exposed skin, but being burnt was nothing new down here.


    Before the scorpling could fry him, he lunged forward and stabbed his spear into its body. It didn¡¯t penetrate far, certainly not enough to kill the monster, but that was more than enough to grab the spear¡¯s haft with both hands and lift. The scorpling rose into the air, its legs kicking and flailing wildly, and he whipped the spear into an overhead slash that saw the monster flying free to smash into the wall of the cavern fifty feet away.


    The brood mother¡¯s tail came down again, not slamming into its own back, but in a sweeping motion that threatened to scoop him up and, if not bisect him cleanly, at least throw him back to the ground where he¡¯d be in range of its legs and pincers. Luckily for Velik, it was trying not to knock the monsters it had spawned off, too, so the sweep was high enough for him to duck under.


    He let the blade of his spear drag across the tail as it swished by, but that was just as heavily armored as the rest of the monster. He might have left a scratch across its length; it was there and gone too fast for him to tell. Then the two scorplings that had grown out of the sacs on its back tore their way free and focused on Velik.


    Okay, I need to find some way to go on the offensive. Other than that opening strike to the mouth, I haven¡¯t hurt this thing yet. There¡¯s got to be another weak point that doesn¡¯t involve getting trampled or sliced in two trying to reach it. Fuck. Why do these champions always have such heavy armor?


    He knew the reason, of course. It was because monsters like these weren¡¯t supposed to be fought solo. Whole teams went at champions, including people with specialized builds to tie up a monster¡¯s attention or to blow it to pieces with magic. All he had for magic was [Phalanx], and that was even less useful than his normal attacks.


    Less useful, but not useless entirely. New sacs were already ballooning up, six of them now, while the two scorplings clicked and hissed at him. Unwilling to take a chance at getting shot with a stream of acid, he summoned all four spears and used them to harry the monsters while he closed the distance.


    This was a losing strategy for him, not because it didn¡¯t work, but because the brood mother had half a dozen more ready to go with even more of those strange sacs growing out of the joints in its armored back. Though he wasn¡¯t sure how the ability worked, exactly, he thought it must have something to do with the bodies it had already consumed. Even if it could create a new scorpling for each one it ate, it was amazing that it did the work so fast.


    This thing has got to be cheating somehow.


    It couldn¡¯t just recycle its minions forever. There had to be some sort of inefficiency in the process somewhere, but if it was small enough, that could leave Velik killing the same monsters a thousand times just to defeat this one ability. There had to be some way to kill the brood mother directly, but his spear wasn¡¯t cutting it. Even with its boost to legendary quality, he didn¡¯t have the physical needed to actually hurt the damn thing.


    [Kinetic Charge] was finally ready to use again, but just before he could activate it, he saw something interesting. The flesh sacs containing the regrown scorplings would grow, then they¡¯d tear themselves free. The sacs would fall off, and in the spot where they¡¯d been attached to the champion, there was no armor plating. Finally, a weakness.


    The next three minutes were among the most chaotic of Velik¡¯s life. He put every single point of his stats to work controlling not only his own body, but the four spears of [Phalanx] to keep the scorpling swarm from tearing him apart. It wasn¡¯t worth the effort to try to kill them, so he settled for knocking them back and pinning them down until he was past.


    Scorplings came at him from every direction, some big, others small. Lines of acid shot through the air, the monsters uncaring if they hit each other. Two of the tiniest ones had oversized pincers that produced sharp blades of wind each time they snapped them at him. Those were dangerous enough that Velik had to kill them rather than try to ignore them.


    Eventually, he made it through the wave of monsters to where new ones were growing. With a vicious kick, Velik separated one of the sacs from the brood mother, then he drove his spear straight down into the open hole in its back. The result was immediate.


    The champion let out a chittering screech of what Velik assumed was pain and spun in place so fast that better than half the scorplings went flying. Velik himself only held his position by using the spear still anchored in the monster¡¯s body as a handhold.


    Now we¡¯re getting somewhere! he thought with a savage grin.

 Chapter 64

    As far as defensive traits went, sheer size was a good one. Even with a vulnerability identified and in reach, Velik lacked the range to give the brood mother a deep, fatal wound. The champion elite was by far the largest monster he¡¯d ever fought. The fake Velik was a close second, but it just didn¡¯t have the massive solidity this champion displayed.


    His spear dug deep, the haft fully three feet inside the brood mother, but it was spinning about so wildly in an attempt to throw him off that if he¡¯d dared pull the weapon back out, he¡¯d go flying. None of the scorplings were still on the champion¡¯s back with him, though, so some good had come of this latest development.


    Some of the other flesh sacs had been ripped free as well, leaving more exposures in need of stabbing. Unable to physically cross the distance to get to them, Velik quickly sent a few spears from [Phalanx] to stab into the brood mother. Unlike his actual weapon, none of them dig more than a foot in. One of them didn¡¯t even make it that far, having been dislodged by a new scorpling sac growing out of the opening just as it started to stab into the soft flesh on the champion¡¯s back.


    At the same time, its tail stinger slashed across his back, this time scraping so low that Velik had no choice but to leap over it. Regaining his footing after he landed was a problem for the Velik that would exist five seconds in the future. Right now, avoiding being cut in half was his only priority.


    He wrenched his spear free, tensed his legs, and leaped straight up, a standing jump that brought him close to fifteen feet in the air. The stinger flashed below him, scraping five or six new budding scorpling sacs off the monster¡¯s back and shattering the phantasmal spears stuck into it in the process.


    Though he was more focused on nailing a successful landing, he heard the wet splat of those sacs striking the wall fifty feet away. Could I survive that? Even if I did, would I be in any shape to fight after?


    Unlike most of the other champions he¡¯d fought, this one hadn¡¯t sealed its domain off. He could probably make a run for it and get away; it wasn¡¯t like a monster that big could follow him into the tunnels. Its brood might have some weird skills, but he could handle that.


    His only fear was that those invisible walls that blocked his route back to the surface were keeping him trapped in here, too. There was no convenient way to test that, not from his position about to land back on the massive scorpling¡¯s back, so he put the thought aside and focused on not getting thrown before he could establish his grip again.


    Besides, he didn¡¯t want to run. He wanted to kill this thing. And that was what he was going to do.


    His spear led his descent, not perfectly lined up to strike, but still his best shot. It drove hard against the brood mother¡¯s black armor, backed by [Kinetic Charge], and for a second, he thought the added momentum and weight of coming down on the monster was going to be what he needed to finally push through. The tip dug in all of an inch or two, then slid sideways, leaving a long scratch in its wake and costing Velik his balance.


    Damn it! he screamed internally as his hip slammed into the monster and he started to roll. There was no purchase to be found, and in a fraction of a second, he¡¯d be thrown out into the open air. Desperate, he did the only thing he could think of: he summoned [Phalanx] and planted the spears in his path the same way he¡¯d used them on countless monsters to block their attacks.


    [Phalanx has advanced to rank 4.]


    That was an unexpected bonus, but Velik really didn¡¯t have time to consider the ramifications right then. His boot slammed into the bar of softly glowing light with enough force that it barely slowed him down before shattering. Two more behind it also broke, but the fourth one held long enough for him to scramble back to his feet just before he would have gone over the edge.


    That did not make it easy to maintain his perch, not with the brood mother still turning like crazy in giant circles. Doesn¡¯t this thing get dizzy eventually? It¡¯s been spinning for at least a few minutes now! Then again, it didn¡¯t have eyes, so maybe whatever senses it used weren¡¯t affected by its crazy gyrations.


    Moving with the spin to help him keep his balance, he stutter-stepped forward, hopping every few feet to try to reset his balance. The strategy didn¡¯t work very well, but he still managed to reach one of the sac spawning gaps in the brood mother¡¯s armor. With both hands, he slammed the tip of his spear down.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Flesh wound it might have been, but the brood mother still felt it. The chittering scream started up again and its flailing took on a new dimension. No longer content to just spin and flail in random directions, the monster went into a series of short hops that almost dislodged Velik¡¯s spear from her back.


    ¡°Come on, just die already!¡± he screamed back, driving the spear in deeper. The giant scorpling didn¡¯t oblige.


    Velik pulled on [Phalanx] for all he could get and was surprised to see an extra spear materialize this time. With barely a thought, he directed them to slam into every sac vent he could find. Black blood streamed from the wounds, but it wasn¡¯t enough. The wounds were too shallow.


    I don¡¯t need five small spears. I need one huge one. Come on, work with me, you piece of shit skill.


    Growling, he summoned a new spear and stabbed it into the scorpling¡¯s back. Then he made another one and slammed it down on top of the first one. It split the spear down the middle, tearing through it and banishing it, only to take its place. Combine! Do it!


    Another spear formed and shot down. It might have been his imagination, or he could have lost track of it for a moment as the scorpling abruptly changed the direction it was turning, but for a split second, he thought he saw the spear grow bigger before it broke. Again!


    [Phalanx] hammered that spot, as fast as he could make new spears. They broke, reformed, merged, and split back apart. The skill resisted him, but then, it always had. What he needed from it wasn¡¯t what it wanted to do. But he was sick of it. It was time for the skill to merge or break.


    The light from [Phalanx] intensified as the spear stuck in the scorpling grew bigger. It drove deeper and deeper, but it still wasn¡¯t enough. The monster was too big. He needed to drive it at least ten feet down, and the spears weren¡¯t even that long. Even with the partial size boost he¡¯d managed to drag out of the spears, they didn¡¯t have the penetrating power.


    ¡°No,¡± he growled, his knuckles white from gripping his own spear just to hold his place. ¡°Work! Work, damn you!¡±


    The next spear got empowered with [Kinetic Charge], and when it slammed home, there was an explosion of light. The brood mother screamed loud enough to deafen Velik, and a geyser of black blood shot up high enough to paint the ceiling.


    [Kinetic Charge has been folded into Phalanx.]


    [Phalanx has become Dread Lance.]


    [Dread Lance set to rank 1.]


    It wasn¡¯t what Velik had wanted from the skill when he¡¯d picked it, but it was exactly what he needed right now. Knowledge of its function was instantly at the forefront of his mind. With barely a thought, he ripped his spear out and activated the skill. Light bloomed around the length of the shaft as it was imbued with energy, all of it coursing down to build up at the tip.


    That was an element of [Kinetic Charge] there, he knew. It felt the exact same. But when he went to strike, his spear hit with explosive force. The head buried itself deep, far deeper than any of his previous strikes. The spear went in five feet, then six, to the point where there was barely any of the shaft left for him to hold onto.


    Then the mystical energy surged downward and exploded outward. Chunks of exoskeleton, meat, and blood bounced off the ceiling to rain down on the floor of the cave, and Velik himself was thrown clear of the brood mother. Its underbelly slammed into the ground, cracking apart two legs and splaying the rest in the process.


    A cascade of notifications hit him, dozens of kills all at once. Must have crushed a bunch of scorplings underneath it when it collapsed, he thought somewhat woozily.


    It took him a moment to realize that, despite the massive wound in its back, somehow the brood mother was still alive. It was definitely down for the moment, but it kept twitching and none of his kill notifications included a champion elite. Of more immediate concern was the fact that his spear was nowhere in sight and there were still a few dozen scorplings on the ground, all of them heading his way.


    Velik climbed to his feet and tried to clear his vision with a few rapid blinks, but things still swam across his eyes. With no time to waste, he did his best to circle the incoming swarm and reach the brood mother, but they didn¡¯t go out of their way to make it easy. At one point, he ended up jumping up to a wall and kicking off it just to get around a trio that were blocking his progress.


    The brood mother twitched feebly as he approached. Velik had a brief thought that it was trying to attack him, but then he realized the truth. It was eating the corpse of one of its scorplings. It¡¯s still trying to make more of them? Why?


    But that wasn¡¯t it. Even as he watched, the massive wound on its back started to heal. It twitched its mouth, dragging another nearby corpse in, and consumed that too. ¡°Hell no,¡± he said. ¡°We¡¯re not doing this all again.¡±


    He quickly located his spear, somehow still stuck in the scorpling¡¯s back, and climbed up to jerk it free. Then he started charging up [Dread Lance] again. When it was ready a minute later, he leaped down directly in front of the scorpling¡¯s mouth, thrust the spear in, and unleashed the built-up power.


    There was still a lot of collateral damage, and he got absolutely coated with scorpling chum, but he was still smiling when he saw the next set of notifications.


    [You have slain Scalithex the Brood Mother (champion elite, level 40.]


    [You have advanced to level 35. +2 Physical, +1 Mental, +2 free points.]

 Chapter 65

    Velik ended up spending another hour taking care of the remaining scorplings. Rather than fight them in the cavern, he retreated to the tunnels again and ambushed them in small groups as they spread out to look for him. The fights were challenging more in that he hadn¡¯t slept in days and was exhausted from killing that champion, but he still got the job done.


    It was only once he was finally safe again that he realized he hadn¡¯t received a champion seed for killing the giant scorpling. As far as he was concerned, that was confirmation that he was in a dungeon, which meant if he didn¡¯t hurry, there was a possibility that the champion would appear again. He didn¡¯t really understand how the mechanics of its mana recycling process worked, but the fact that the monsters didn¡¯t stay dead was common knowledge.


    Which means no matter how many of these monsters I kill, there will always be more. But I bet I could break those damn invisible walls now.


    [Dread Lance] truly did solve all the problems he¡¯d been having since coming to the deep wood. He¡¯d leveled up several times and gotten a nice bonus to his physical when he¡¯d upgraded his spear, but the champions were still so tough that even injuring them was a daunting proposition. The skill was not without its drawbacks ¨C namely that it was exhausting to use. Even the two shots he¡¯d unloaded into the brood mother had left him feeling winded like he was coming off a six-hour sprint. The skill also took a minute or so to charge to full power, and trying to hold it there for very long was an exercise in futility.


    But it did turn his mystic stat into a true powerhouse, stacking it right on top of his physical and releasing all that energy in an explosive burst. He hadn¡¯t had the opportunity to test it out yet, but he was reasonably certain that it could catch multiple enemies in the detonation if they were close enough together. Of course, if he wasn¡¯t careful, he could also easily injure himself, so it was sure to be a tricky skill to manage.


    Retreat or press forward? he wondered to himself after he¡¯d finished hunting down the scorplings. On the one hand, he was tired and sore. He finally had a way free, and a large part of him demanded he take it. On the other hand, he still had plenty of healing potions and his haste potion, and if he left now, he¡¯d have to kill the brood mother again when he came back. He¡¯d already checked the compass and confirmed that his target was still here, or maybe that ¡®here¡¯ was the target if he was right about this place being a dungeon.


    If that was the case, then it was the source of the monsters. An undiscovered dungeon hundreds of miles from civilization, just far enough away to never be detected, but close enough to threaten the frontier, was exactly the kind of problem that could account for the monsters constantly filtering out of the wild lands. And that meant, now that he knew where it was, that the smart thing to do was to flee, report the location, and let the experts dismantle it.


    But if he did that, he would never get the answers he needed. Chalin was somewhere out here, tied to these monsters somehow, maybe a monster himself. Maybe he was this dungeon, and if so, maybe it was possible to free him somehow. A dungeon cracker team wouldn¡¯t bother to try. They¡¯d slaughter the monsters, break the core, loot the place, and pat themselves on the back.


    Is it worth risking your life over?


    It was a decision he could put off for a few more minutes while he made a different one. Thanks to the skill merger, he had an open slot to fill. [Dread Lance] had been an entirely unexpected acquisition, and it changed what he needed by functioning as a high damage skill. Ideally, he¡¯d like to test it on a group of enemies, but not when the stakes were so high, and especially not in such tight confines where he had to worry about turning a monster into shrapnel.


    The question was whether it functioned as a multi-target skill, but Velik wasn¡¯t sure that even mattered anymore. He¡¯d wanted a skill for large groups of monsters. Now he¡¯d fought hundreds of groups like that, and he¡¯d found his own natural skills up to the task. His coordination and timing were flawless, and his speed and raw power were more than enough to put down anything even five levels above him as long as it wasn¡¯t an elite. And if it was, now he had [Dread Lance] to crack its shell.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    In light of that, he had to take a moment to think about what he really needed. More offense never hurt, but a utility skill might make more of a difference. The biggest threats to his life right now were a lack of shelter and water. He couldn¡¯t safely rest, and at some point, dehydration would overcome the limits of a 107 physical. It wouldn¡¯t be today, but it would happen eventually.


    But he wasn¡¯t planning on being in the flesh caves that long. So, if he dismissed a survivability skill option, that left him with offense, defense, speed, or expanding to rely more heavily on his slowly growing mystic stat. Offense and speed were fine, sort of. It would be nice to tear apart champions ten levels higher than him with nothing but his spear, but it wasn¡¯t necessary.


    Maybe something to resist environmental damage, like that burning air that comes out of the walls when I damage them. I can always dodge a bite, but how do you avoid the air around you trying to melt your skin?


    [The Black Fang] as a class didn¡¯t have much in the way of defensive skills. It was focused on hitting hard and hitting first, not on trading blows, but there were a few options in the general skills list, depending on what he was looking to fortify himself against.


    [Mind Fortress] helped to insulate him from any sort of mind control or illusions, but he already had that amulet Torwin had given him. [Thermal Regulation] helped with extreme temperatures, and he found something called [Inert Matter] that he didn¡¯t really understand, but which claimed to help resist chemical alterations to his body. [Ivory Bones] was a contender in that it strengthened his whole skeleton, but that wasn¡¯t really what he needed.


    The problem with any of those was that he didn¡¯t really see them merging with his current skills. Nothing in his list played nice with the idea of just taking a blow, be it by tooth or by flame or by¡­ chemical alteration, whatever that meant. If he took one of those four skills, that was likely to be the basis of a new skill to start building on, so he wanted to be sure it was the right one.


    Or he could go the other direction and grab something else that was powered by mystic. There were a few utility class skills that used it, but they all felt so situational that he felt like he¡¯d have the same problem. Whatever he took wouldn¡¯t have a prayer of merging into any of his current skills.


    Either I¡¯m starting a new branch in my build and I¡¯ll have to wait until I hit level 40 to pick up something to advance it with, or I need to take something that I can fold into what I¡¯ve got now which may not be immediately useful. Really, it comes down to whether I should be building for the future or for the problem in front of me, and I already know the answer to that.


    [Spear Warden] was his highest ranked skill, which meant if he merged something into it, he was practically guaranteed to get an extremely powerful skill, maybe even something to rival [Apex Hunter]. If he¡¯d been able to rank up [Kinetic Charge] or [Phalanx] a few more times, he could only imagine how strong the skill he¡¯d have gotten instead of [Dread Lance] would have been.


    That brought him back to considering [Savage Rhythm] again. He could see it merging with either [Spear Warden] or [Dread Lance], and while it wasn¡¯t useful for a quick skirmish, if he was going to keep hunting champion elites, it wasn¡¯t a terrible choice. It didn¡¯t give him armor penetration, but not every champion was so tough that he couldn¡¯t hurt it with a normal attack.


    A lot of them are, though, even if it¡¯s only because they¡¯re always a higher level than me. Maybe this is a skill better left for later, but it would be so useful if I could merge it into [Spear Warden]. Alright, let¡¯s go with that. Maybe it¡¯ll help cut apart these packs of scorplings I keep running into, too.


    Decision made, he added [Savage Rhythm] to his skill list. New knowledge flooded his mind, ways he¡¯d never considered to build off each successive strike until an opponent was completely overwhelmed in an avalanche of blows, or to chain one attack into another against a different enemy. The skill was actually more flexible than he¡¯d given it credit for prior to choosing it, and he was hopeful that he wouldn¡¯t regret the choice like he had with [Phalanx].


    There was an easy way to find out. With an eager grin stretching his lips, he started hunting for his first group of victims.

 Chapter 66

    Sildra had been impressed with Jensen¡¯s work. He was quick, decisive, and devastatingly accurate with that bow of his. When the monsters had threatened to overwhelm them, he¡¯d magically pulled something out of nowhere to turn the battle around. She¡¯d been quite taken by his performance.


    Then she¡¯d accompanied Torwin to Beldrit the night he¡¯d returned. He¡¯d needed her [Eye of the Moon] skill to confirm the corrupted seed bearers were entirely purged, and her quest had evolved from saving Deshir to encompassing the entirety of the frontier. It was immediately obvious what the difference was between a gold-ranked monster hunter and his young apprentice. He had arrows in the air even before she could open her mouth to let him know a monster was approaching.


    How high is this man¡¯s mental stat to not only hear everything around him, but to be able to track them through the brush? He has to have at least a couple of skills helping him along.


    They reached Beldrit after a short hour of travel, and Sildra caught her breath upon coming in range. ¡°There are at least twenty or thirty monsters inside the walls,¡± she informed Torwin.


    ¡°Probably more under the roofs,¡± he said. ¡°We¡¯ll have to drag everyone out house by house to make sure we¡¯ve got them all.¡±


    That wasn¡¯t going to go well, but then again, the people of Deshir had been far more pliable than she¡¯d expected after she and Jensen had rescued them. She expected that had more to do with the more recalcitrant elements of the town being dead than anything, either because they¡¯d resisted the invaders or because they¡¯d been part of the attack.


    Beldrit was in better condition, but things were still tense. They¡¯d survived the initial assault, but a quarter of the town had been killed and they had no way to know how many monsters still lurked among them, no way to know if a man who¡¯d been on the side of humanity yesterday was still himself now.


    Sildra could tell, though. It was only a question of whether they¡¯d believe her. No woman wanted to hear that her son had been killed and replaced by a monster. No husband would believe that his wife was working with the body snatchers, not even in the face of overwhelming evidence. That, more than anything, was what made it so hard to quell the invasion. People just wouldn¡¯t do what was needed when the victims were their families.


    At least, that was how things had gone in Deshir. When they walked through the open, unmanned gates of Beldrit an hour or two before midnight, they immediately found a crowd gathered in the middle of town, loudly arguing.


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you, you¡¯re wrong! I think I¡¯d know if my own brother had been replaced by a monster!¡±


    ¡°Then what was he doing in my house!¡± another man yelled back.


    Torwin turned a questioning gaze to Sildra, and she shook her head. There were indeed seven corrupted seed bearers in the crowd, but the man in question wasn¡¯t one of them. Whatever it was he¡¯d been up to in his neighbor¡¯s home, it wasn¡¯t to spread more corruption through Beldrit.


    ¡°Which ones?¡± the old monster hunter asked.


    ¡°There, the bald one with the scar under his eye. And there, the young man with the long hair in the faded green coat. There, to his left ¨C the girl with her hair in braids.¡± Sildra choked for a moment as she pointed Torwin there. The girl couldn¡¯t be more than twelve. She took a moment to compose herself, then pointed out the remaining monsters.


    ¡°There can¡¯t be any mistakes,¡± Torwin said. ¡°Make sure you¡¯re sure.¡±


    ¡°I am,¡± she told him with a firm voice.


    ¡°It would be better if the blame for this falls squarely on me. When this job is over, I¡¯ll be gone and everyone who wants someone to blame for the death of whoever was important to them can point their anger at me. When the rest of them make their move, just keep your calls under your breath. Do not worry; I will hear you.¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    ¡°Your ears are truly that sharp?¡± she murmured, practically inaudibly.


    He grinned and said, ¡°They are.¡±


    And then that terrifying bow of his came up, and an arrow appeared out of nowhere, already set on its string. Torwin killed all six of the monsters before the first scream started, then he pushed his way through the crowd to where two men held a third by the arms and had him pushed down on his knees.


    ¡°This one is no monster,¡± he said. ¡°At least, not one recognized by the system. Whatever he was doing, it was of his own free will and not because he is a corpse puppet controlled by a seed of corruption.¡±


    ¡°Who the hell are you?!¡± the accusing man demanded.


    ¡°The hunter,¡± Torwin said simply. ¡°And a damn good thing I¡¯m the one who came out here. The scope of this infestation is far greater than your towns reported. No bronze-ranked monster hunter could have handled this threat. Despite the fact that my apprentice and I have killed thousands of monsters over this last month, more and more keep showing up. This is an absolute disaster, and now your towns are infested with monsters the likes of which I¡¯ve ever seen.


    ¡°I am here to purge this corruption, and by Morgus, that is exactly what I¡¯m going to do.¡±


    The crowd surged, screams of denials and raw, primal hatred ringing out. Sildra worried briefly, not for Torwin, but for the townsfolk who were trying to reach him. If he felt threatened, she didn¡¯t know what he¡¯d do. No, he wouldn¡¯t hurt the people he¡¯d been hired to protect, not on purpose.


    A new monster appeared in the square, a middle-aged man with a lumberjack¡¯s ax held loosely in one hand. He stood in the front door of a house and gazed casually at the commotion. Before he could take another step, Sildra whispered, ¡°To your left, just pass the crowd. Dark hair, dirty skin, holding an ax on his right side.¡±


    It seemed impossible that Torwin could have heard her, but somehow, impossibly, his bow snapped up and a new arrow manifested, its tip held in line with his finger. A fresh round of screams went up, but too late to warn the imposter. The arrow flew true, lacing its way through the startled faces of the crowd to sink into the monster¡¯s face.


    It took him between the eyes, sending up a gout of blood and dropping the monster straight to the ground. ¡°The whole village will assemble in front of me so that I might sift out the monsters among you,¡± Torwin yelled, his voice pitched to be heard over the crowd. ¡°Every last one of you, and if anyone thinks to hide in their cellars or attics, know that I will drag you out myself.¡±


    Despite any protests to the contrary, Torwin bullied the entire town into doing exactly that. After the first few kills, he answered calls to prove he wasn¡¯t just killing random citizens by claiming a machete and shoving it into the mayor¡¯s hand. ¡°There,¡± he said. ¡°This man here is a monster in human skin. Execute him yourself and see the system message.¡±


    Despite protests to the contrary, Torwin had no mercy for the man and bullied him into it. At the same time, a group of six monsters burst out of the inn, axes raised overhead as they charged the crowd. Sildra started to draw on her power, to use [Lunar Flare] to cut them down, but Torwin put arrows through them all. His eyes shifted to Sildra for a moment and took in her slight nod.


    His features hardened and he gestured to the group. ¡°There are six more for you. Kill them and see for yourself.¡±


    ¡°No! Not my boy!¡± a woman cried, rushing forward. She was older, perhaps forty or fifty, and attempted to throw herself in front of a young man in his early twenties who was clutching at an arrow lodged firmly in his leg, just above his knee. His face was twisted up in a grimace of pain. ¡°Mom,¡± he gasped out. ¡°We can¡¯t let him¡­ He¡¯s the monster¡­ Must stop him.¡±


    More protests rang out. More townsfolk rushed to defend the monsters wearing the bodies of their loved ones. Torwin was merciless, so much so that he pulled a dagger from his belt and demanded a random man hold one of the monsters up. Forced to comply, he held his struggling neighbor while Torwin slit the monster¡¯s throat.


    ¡°You have helped slay a corrupted seed bearer, level 15,¡± the man who¡¯d restrained the monster said, his voice breaking halfway through. ¡°Gods, he was right.¡±


    Despite any cries of protest or attempts to stop him, Torwin did his job. It was a grim, bloody harvest, one no one thanked him for, but in the end, every last man, woman, and child was examined thoroughly. Those that tried to hide failed to veil themselves from Torwin¡¯s senses and were dragged out under the moonlight for Sildra to covertly examine.


    Beldrit hated him for it, just as he¡¯d told her they would. There were some who understood the necessity, maybe even most, but Sildra knew it would be weeks and months before they accepted the reality of the tragedy, that these monsters were no different than the ones who dragged their victims off into the trees to eat them alive, that their family members were already dead.


    And then it was over, in just two short hours. It was like a nightmare she hadn¡¯t realized she was trapped in until she woke back up. For a few brief minutes, she was just thankful that the job was done. Then she remembered the truth.


    Beldrit was only the first town on their run tonight.

 Chapter 67

    Velik paused in front of the corpse of the scorpling brood mother. There was less of it there, somehow, like the dungeon itself was slowly reclaiming it. He didn¡¯t have time to stand and watch, but he imagined an invisible mouth taking tiny little bites out of the monster, just nibbling away until it reached the inevitable conclusion.


    He wondered if the dungeon was feeding the seed mana directly from the monster in front of him, and more importantly, how long it would take for a new one to grow. Will it be this big from the beginning, or will it need months and months to grow after it comes back?


    Either way, it was widely known that the smaller, normal enemies would return in a matter of days at most, maybe less. If he wanted to finish up here and get out without having to fight his way clear, he needed to hurry. With that thought in mind, he strode past the champion¡¯s corpse and deeper into the darkness.


    One thing he hadn¡¯t anticipated was that without [Phalanx] to provide the faintest amount of light, he was now wholly reliant on his hood¡¯s [Night Vision] to see again. That made it harder to track the scorplings, but he was confident he was done with that part of the dungeon anyway. It was obvious the brood mother was the source of those, and barring any strays still wandering around, he¡¯d slaughtered the whole population.


    The tunnels on the other side of the brood mother¡¯s cave looked almost exactly like the ones he¡¯d explored near the surface, except the skin layer was thicker and had a pattern of thick black veins running through it. Or maybe they¡¯re pink, for all I know. Not like I can see colors down here.


    The tunnels got smaller the deeper he went until he came to a point where there was only a foot wide opening. Unwilling to leave himself so vulnerable to monster attack, Velik backtracked and started hunting for a different way forward. Inevitably, he found nothing but dead ends. Impossible. There has to be something bigger than that. Else how would the monsters get through?


    But as he thought that, he found himself remembering the centipedes. It was easy enough to picture them slipping through the crevice without incident. The scorplings came from the brood mother, which explained how they¡¯d filled the caves, but didn¡¯t help him delve deeper into the dungeon. The more he looked, the more certain he became that his only way forward was to squeeze his way through.


    After a few hours, with no other options, he returned to the crevice and paused outside of it. The fleshy walls had give, so if necessary, he could cut his way free. The real threat was a monster coming up on him while he was squirming through.


    All was silent, though. If there was a monster nearby, it was out of silent and completely, utterly still. Velik waited for a minute, not even breathing while he waited. Finally, he hefted his spear, shortening the shaft down to two feet in length, and slipped into the crevice.


    Ugh, why is it so warm?


    It was bad enough that it was squishy, but the strange heat was disturbing on a whole different level. He hadn¡¯t noticed it so much when the tunnels were wide enough that he couldn¡¯t touch both walls, but as they narrowed and the fleshy membrane covering cold stone squeezed around him, the warmth became inescapable.


    Velik turned sideways to fit his shoulders deeper in, his spear in his leading hand. If anything did come at him from the other side, he¡¯d be able to shove a piece of sharpened metal at it, at least. Ten feet in, the gap stopped getting narrower, but now he was pressed so tight that only his high physical stat let him force a breath into his lungs. Any thoughts that the pliable nature of the walls would let him squeeze through vanished.


    A hot, moist breeze misted his exposed skin, then vanished. Velik froze, then started to shuffle back a step. At the same time, a thick, ropey black vein in front of him shifted, splitting open and blasting him with a cloud of fetid stink. Is that a¡ª?


    There were no teeth, but the tongue was unmistakable as it pierced through the darkness and slammed into his chest. It was easily a foot wide, long and flexible. Without hesitation, Velik drove his spear into the meat of it, causing the tongue to recoil, but pulling him with it. It wasn¡¯t yet wrapped around him, but it already had enough of a grip to take him off his feet.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Blood flowed smoothly from several stab wounds in the next half a second as both Velik¡¯s hands went to work. His right hand held his spear, shortened to stab in tight confines, and his left snaked around to pull the hunting knife from his belt so that he could start hacking through the meat of the massive tongue.


    He was pulled six feet into the wall, or rather into the gaping mouth that had opened there, and now the teeth were visible. Rather than being large, knife-like protrusions, they were instead hundreds and hundreds of little things, no more than an inch or two long. He could easily picture the mouth constricting around him like some sort of torture device, grinding up and down as it flensed his flesh down to the bone.


    He had the perfect response to that. [Savage Rhythm] was already working to speed up each and every blow he struck, so much so that he was actually starting to think he might need to invest points into mental once the skill ramped up to full. Blood splattered everything, including Velik, but in a matter of moments, he¡¯d put so many holes in the tongue that he was able to tear himself free.


    Backpedaling, he leveled his spear into the black hole with teeth trying to drag him into it. Despite the flailing tongue splashing blood everywhere, the monster was still very much alive. I¡¯ll fix that.


    [Dread Lance] flared down the length of the spear and roared into the monster. The mouth flexed, attempting to pull away from the energy, but Velik hurled the spear forward. It grew twice its length in time it took to travel from his fingers past the teeth.


    Maybe this was a bad idea, he thought the instant before the skill detonated. He¡¯d never tried it in such a tight space before.


    The skill exploded outward, disintegrating the monster right in front of his eyes, but also ripping apart the flesh coating the walls and rebounding backward to him. [Dread Lance] slammed into him, throwing him off his feet, and Velik hit the far wall hard. With a groan, he slid back to the ground at the same time the kill notification popped up.


    [You¡¯ve slain a flesh mouth lurker (level 31).]


    Okay, what did we learn? Maybe that just because you have a new toy doesn¡¯t mean you need to play with it at every possible opportunity.


    He climbed back to his feet and reclaimed his spear from the alcove the mouth had been occupying. All of the fleshy covering had been scoured away by [Dread Lance], giving him his first look at bare stone since he¡¯d walked into the dungeon. Even as he stepped over the edge, he could see it squirming about as it started to regrow. Whatever blood had seeped out was gone, scoured away by the energy of his skill, and the flesh had sealed itself closed before it could lose more.


    Velik hesitated to waste a healing potion, but he didn¡¯t have time to recover on his own and having been caught in his own attack, he was hurting. Getting slammed into a wall hadn¡¯t been so bad, but his whole face felt like it was cooked and pieces of his shirt had dissolved to reveal bare, bright red skin beneath. He was lucky Torwin had emphasized [Mending] as the enchantment all his clothes needed.


    After he drank the potion and took a few minutes to recover, he slipped out of the alcove and forced himself the rest of the way through the crevice. The whole way, he eyed every thick vein with suspicion, but none of them opened up and tried to eat him like the first one. Whether that was because there weren¡¯t more wall mouths or because they were smart enough not to try what the first one had failed to do, Velik couldn¡¯t be sure. [Apex Hunter] hadn¡¯t so much as twinged until the tongue hit him, but either way, he eventually pulled himself free and was able to walk normally.


    At least there were no centipedes.


    It was hardly a comforting thought. He doubted the monsters were gone for good, and there was no reason to believe that he¡¯d conquered the whole dungeon¡¯s only inconvenient terrain. Slowly, his spear gripped in his hands and its tip pointed forward, he started walking again.


    The walls were different, now. Strange pustules hung open from them, somewhat similar to the burst scorpling sacs on the brood mother¡¯s back, but all different sizes. They hung in clusters, limp and deflated, with some sort of dried fluid staining the ground beneath them. The walls themselves were darker, or at least some other color. It was hard to tell without his full range of vision, but the veins became more indistinct as everything faded to black.


    The slithering rasp of a centipede skittering across the walls came to his ears, and Velik spun to face the sound. Ah, there they are. I knew those were going to make another appearance.

 Chapter 68

    Much like the scorplings, the monsters that the system called stone leg centipedes attacked with the strength of numbers and a venomous bite on their side. Unlike the scorplings, however, they were easily able to cling to the walls and ceiling while skittering around at full speed.


    Velik¡¯s limbs were a blur as he lashed out with his spear, slicing through the reinforced hides of the monsters with every blow. Guts and gore splattered to the ground along with long, twitching bodies, hundreds of legs kicking blindly against each other as the bodies twisted up on themselves. He pushed system notifications off to the side of his mind and focused on his work, knowing that if any of the monsters managed to get past him that the whole assault would become much, much harder to deal with.


    He could hold this tunnel with a spear enchanted with [Shape Shifting] and sheer speed. The problem, which quickly became apparent, was that he couldn¡¯t stop more monsters from pouring in behind him from other tunnels. Much like the upper portions of the dungeon, everything was an interconnected maze that he hadn¡¯t even begun to figure out.


    It was the sound of them crawling up behind him that gave their game away. Shit, I knew it. All of a sudden, he had to work more than twice as hard, spinning wildly and laying into centipedes coming from every direction. Hundreds of bodies built up into piles, which actually made things harder since centipedes didn¡¯t have any compunction about slithering through a mound of corpses to reach him.


    Maybe if the dying and dead ones had the decency to lay still, it would have been easier to pick out the movement of the live ones, but that wasn¡¯t the case. It didn¡¯t really become a problem until the bodies were heaped up so thick that he was dancing atop the still-twitching corpses while he fought.


    He saw the pincers closing around his ankle a fraction of a second before they actually made contact. That was all the time he needed with [Savage Rhythm] enhancing his speed, but even though his spear flashed down and cleanly beheaded the centipede, that didn¡¯t stop it from locking onto him. Then there was an unfamiliar weight shackled to one leg and the pincers were cutting through the leather of his boot into his skin.


    That was the moment things started to fall apart. A few seconds later, when six centipedes came at him at once from different directions, one of the ones on the ceiling got through his defenses. Its entire eight-foot-long body slammed into him, legs scrabbling against his chest and shoulders and coils of its midsection blinding him as it tried to wrap itself around his head. He felt its pincers clamp down on his forearm and tighten.


    The centipedes were no match for his raw physical strength, however. Even against the constricting body and sharp-tipped feet trying to cut his skin into ribbons, Velik merely pushed back and forced the centipede off him. The danger was never in being crushed, but in the time it took him to get free.


    Working in a frenzy, he shrugged off the centipede and forced the other ones back. More and more kills piled up, and [Savage Rhythm] quickly reached its maximum potency. Even that wasn¡¯t enough to keep all the monsters back, and the next time they reached him, it was three at once. Velik was knocked from his feet into a squirming, writhing pile of living and dead centipedes.


    I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m doing this again not five minutes later.


    [Dread Lance] surged down his spear and into the nearest target. Energy expanded outward, destroying the body¡ªVelik wasn¡¯t sure that particular monster had been alive before being targeted or not¡ªand catching a few dozen more monsters in its radius. He managed to point his spear mostly in the direction of the tunnel, so the backlash was minimal this time.


    Minimal didn¡¯t mean ¡®nonexistent,¡¯ unfortunately, and it felt like a giant had smacked his whole body with an open palm perfectly contoured for maximum contact. He staggered backward a step into the swarm of centipedes behind him, but with the pressure taken off one flank for a few seconds, he was quickly able to reestablish some clearance around his body.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    How many of these monsters are there?


    He had no idea how many he¡¯d killed over the last few minutes ¨C hundreds, at minimum. His whole world had become nothing but movement, each strike deadly and each twitch steering his body past a set of pincers or grasping legs. Twice more, he used [Dread Lance] to clear some space, though he was almost positive the skill was actually destroying more dead bodies than live monsters.


    And then, just as suddenly as it began, it was over.


    The whole tunnel still crawled with movement, of course, but none of it was directed at him. He atop a shifting pile of corpses, one of several dozen he¡¯d left as he¡¯d ranged up and down the tunnel to keep from being buried under monster flesh, his chest heaving for breath and his spear heavy in his hands.


    [Mending] is the best enchantment ever invented, he thought to himself as he regarded his clothing. He¡¯d be naked without the self-repairing nature of his wardrobe, not that he¡¯d want to wear such stained and foul-smelling clothes to begin with. Luckily, [Mending] fixed that, too. Eventually.


    He carefully climbed free of the remnants of the slaughter, a tricky task given how long it took the bodies to stop wriggling even after he¡¯d decapitated or eviscerated them. Presumably, the dungeon would reclaim them all eventually, but he wasn¡¯t going to stand around and wait for the corpses to dissolve and the way forward to be clear.


    Once, he thought a living centipede had gotten trapped under the weight of bodies, only to wriggle free and attack him as he was climbing by, but it turned out to just be some sort of nerve response to the corpse being shifted around as he walked on it that caused the pincers to snap closed. He realized that a few seconds after his spear went through its skull when he didn¡¯t get a kill notification.


    It was only after he¡¯d fully cleared the site of the slaughter that he got to looking through his notifications. Most were easily dismissed, just messages of decarmas gained and centipedes of up to level 33 slain. Three stood out though ¨C all of them skill rank increases.


    He¡¯d pushed [Savage Rhythm] up to rank 2 early in the fight, which didn¡¯t really surprise him. It had been instrumental to his victory, helping him keep up with what would have otherwise been an overwhelming tide of monsters. [Spear Warden] had also gone up a rank, which he attributed more to it being an inevitable fact of it being such a core skill than due to the specific nature of the previous fight. As long as he kept fighting with a spear, [Spear Warden] was going to get stronger.


    The last rank up was to [Apex Hunter], surprisingly. At first, he couldn¡¯t figure out what it was about the encounter that had caused the skill to rank up, but eventually he decided it was the perception-based skills that had gone into its mix. Velik hadn¡¯t had time to consciously process what he was seeing during the fight. There were too many bodies, but somehow, he¡¯d kept his spear moving while defending himself from every direction.


    They were excellent gains, but he wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d want to go through another battle like that again. He¡¯d never had a fight where individual monsters were easily slain, but overwhelming numbers and tight confines conspired against him. Even when fighting packs of worgs, he¡¯d always been able to string them along into a running battle through the woods if necessary. This type of fighting in a place where he was severely limited in how he could use his weapon was a new type of difficulty for him.


    Only thing to do about it is finish my business so I can get the hell out of here, he decided, his face set into a grim mask as he straightened his back and strode purposefully away from the mounds of dead monsters.


    * * *


    Monsters grew powerful in the same way people did: through killing. He knew the truth of this, which was why thousands upon thousands of his creations had died at the hands of each other. Only the strongest deserved the gift of life. Only the strongest were fit to serve as the canvas he worked on.


    The intruder would make for a marvelous canvas. He¡¯d been tested over and over again, and he still survived. Even against the most powerful champions, he¡¯d found a way to grow in his power. It was like watching a master chef prepare the most decadent meal.


    His mind twinged at that memory and he wondered who it had come from. There were too many personas feeding into the amalgamation to narrow it down, usually, but lately, one particular mind was coming to the forefront. He knew the intruder, and that familiarity bred purpose and resolve.


    He wanted to be there to speak to the intruder when he made it to the end of the path. Until then, he had to hold on to his sense of self, to keep from being swept away in the current. The intruder would have to hurry, though, else it would be too late.


    Then again, did it really matter who was at the forefront? They were all one, in the end.

 Chapter 69

    The fleshy coating on the walls wasn¡¯t uniform in any way. It had varying texture, smooth in some places and rough in others, and a smattering of scars. There were long, jagged slices that had healed into puckered scars and small circles from where it had been stabbed or punctured all over. Veins as thick as Velik¡¯s arm formed massive webs, sometimes standing out in distinct ridges along the walls.


    One thing he hadn¡¯t seen up until this moment was an eye. In fact, even with his mental stat pushing his perception far beyond normal human limits, he wasn¡¯t entirely sure that was what he was looking at now. It was nothing more than a small black pinprick in the skin to casual observation, easily mistaken for a speck of dirt on the wall.


    He would have thought the same if he hadn¡¯t caught the flicker of movement as he walked by. Even then, it was only because he was using [Night Vision] to navigate that the motion popped out to him. Something about the way it reduced the whole world to black and white outlines made it visible in a way that a full spectrum of colors didn¡¯t.


    He peered at it, finger poised an inch away, and wondered if he was just imagining things. The speck only superficially resembled an eye, and since he¡¯d started paying attention, it hadn¡¯t moved at all. As much as he doubted himself, though, he couldn¡¯t honestly say he found the idea of the tunnel being laced with eyes that were watching his every move all that surprising.


    It made sense, in a twisted sort of way. The whole dungeon was covered in a layer of flesh. There was no reason it couldn¡¯t have other parts of a human as well, and lots of them. It would also explain how the dungeon kept track of the monster hunters who came to destroy it, not that he was necessarily here for that. He just wanted his compass to start working so he could find Chalin, and so far, he¡¯d seen nothing to prove his childhood friend was here.


    Except, maybe I did? There was another champion elite, but since I couldn¡¯t recover the seed, I don¡¯t know if it was Chalin¡¯s or not.


    His only options were to press forward and hope to find answers, or to give up and leave. If he gave up, he might as well keep walking until the frontier was a thousand miles behind him. After so many years, he needed these answers. He¡¯d do anything for them, take stupid risks against monsters far stronger than he had any right to face, all just to get one step closer to the truth.


    The way he understood dungeon architecture to work meant there was probably one more champion in front of a core chamber at the very least, possibly multiple champions he might have to fight his way through. Once he reached the core chamber, he¡¯d smash the core and the dungeon would die. Then, presumably, it would stop interfering with his compass.


    If he found Chalin here, then he¡¯d have reached his goal. If not, he could keep going unhindered and the world was a slightly better place with one less source of monsters. Truthfully, he wasn¡¯t sure this dungeon was the only one in the area. It seemed to produce only two specific types of monsters, and he¡¯d see a far greater variety in the deep wood.


    He explored for another hour or two, slowly building up his mental map of the caves. Occasionally, he found more of those sallow sac-like flaps hanging off the walls, always empty. Sometimes, he¡¯d see little spots of fluid that hadn¡¯t quite dried, either puddled in the sac itself or on the ground beneath it.


    What he didn¡¯t see was whatever had come out of that sac, but he assumed it was all the centipedes that had tried to bury him under sheer numbers. If this was some sort of breeding ground, it explained why they¡¯d come at him in waves. Some had torn their way free from their sacs faster than others, and some had been closer to where he was fighting.


    It wasn¡¯t until he got deeper that he started seeing something different: sacs that were still full. Velik couldn¡¯t tell what exactly was in them¡ªthe skin was too thick and leathery, or maybe it was just a quirk of [Night Vision]¡ªbut they couldn¡¯t all be the same monster. Some of the sacs were the size of his head. Others, he could have fit fully inside with room to spare.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Every time he found one, he sliced it open with his spear and made sure to kill the half-formed monster inside. Usually, it was some twisted amalgamation of limbs, bones, and organs put together in no discernable pattern. Sometimes, the creature was alive when he cut it free of the sac, forcing him to kill it. The system itself didn¡¯t seem to have a good answer to what the monsters were, instead labeling them as malformed fleshlings, level 1.


    Some sort of failed monster? Or maybe it just wasn¡¯t done yet.


    The idea that he was killing monsters before they could even finish developing didn¡¯t bother him at all, and Velik went out of his way to destroy every single sac he could find just in case whatever was inside wasn¡¯t dead yet. It slowed him down somewhat, but he reasoned that an extra hour or two now could save him months of hunting in the future. The reality was probably a lot more complicated, but he wasn¡¯t interested in that.


    Things were going well. He destroyed the sacs as he found them, and, occasionally, an actual monster would get in his way. There were no more invisible walls that tried to melt his skin off his face if he attacked them, and the centipedes were much easier to defeat than the scorplings had been. The only problem was that, for all his poking around, he still hadn¡¯t found what he was actually here for.


    He came into a chamber that looked like it was full of melting candles, each one four or five feet wide and stretching all the way to the roof of the cavern. The fleshy covering sagged over itself in great, floppy folds, and rather than the monster-sized sacs he¡¯d been seeing before, everything was covered in strands of some snot-like substance.


    Well, this might be the most disgusting thing I¡¯ve ever seen.


    Embedded into the mucus were thousands and thousands of little gray orbs, no bigger around than his thumbnail. They were bunched up into clusters that hung off the pillars, draped over the flesh like strings of pennants. Velik frowned that and wished he had a way to throw just a bit of light into the room, just to see what color everything really was. [Dread Lance] hadn¡¯t kept that property of [Phalanx], unfortunately, though he supposed if he was willing to detonate one against a pillar, he¡¯d get a brief flicker in the instant the energy spread outwards.


    A flicker of movement overhead caught his eye. Velik looked up to see a small hole in the ceiling with a monster crawling out of it. It had four legs and two smaller, delicate arms, and was shaped something like a spider, only with more sharp edges on the joints. There was just one, and [Apex Hunter] was completely confident that it wasn¡¯t a threat. He doubted it was even level 10.


    The monster skittered across the roof of the cavern according to some indecipherable logic until it reached one of the fleshy pillars, then it climbed down, unhooked a cluster of the orbs by severing the mucus line connecting it to the rest. Its task finished, it hoisted the orbs onto its back and scaled its way back up to the ceiling, where it disappeared back into the same hole it had emerged from.


    ¡°What the hell was that?¡± he said, not even realizing he¡¯d spoken it out loud until after he¡¯d already said it.


    Cautiously, he reached out with his spear and hooked one of the orb clusters, cutting it free by using [Shape Shifting] to curve the tip of the spear into something that resembled a sickle. It wasn¡¯t often he missed [Identify], but right now, he wished the skill hadn¡¯t been folded into [Apex Predator]. It had contributed a strong sense of intuition about monsters, and in a lot of ways [Identify] couldn¡¯t, but the tradeoff was that it didn¡¯t help much for stuff like this.


    The mucus gluing the orbs together started to stretch and separate as he brought the cluster closer. Despite that, none of the orbs actually fell loose. Is it some sort of food for the monsters? They kind of look like fruit, but I¡¯ve never seen a vegetarian monster before.


    He plucked one of the orbs loose from the cluster and squeezed it between his fingers. Immediately, it burst apart and a system notification popped up.


    [You have slain a seed of corruption (level 1).]


    Velik regarded the goo on his fingers with disdain and flicked it away, then dropped the rest of the cluster onto the ground. Mercilessly, he stomped the seeds until they were nothing but paste. Then he looked around the room with an appraising gaze, mentally calculating how long it would take to destroy them all.


    I wonder what will show up to try to stop me.


    He reached out with his spear to bring down another cluster, then stomped it underfoot.

 Chapter 70

    The first indication that he wasn¡¯t alone was a peculiar plopping sound that Velik had first heard a few days ago in the upper reaches of the flesh caves. His eyes snapped over to the entrance, but of course there was nothing to see. There hadn¡¯t been last time, either.


    He¡¯d only been destroying the corruption seeds for about ten minutes and had barely even started to clear off the first of the fleshy, melted-candle-shaped pillars, but he wasn¡¯t going to let himself get trapped in here. [Dread Lance] might work to blast through the wall; he hadn¡¯t tried it yet and he didn¡¯t want to until he had to. That meant he needed to get out now before the invisible membrane fully stretched itself across the exit.


    For some reason, the monsters that made up the wall didn¡¯t seem to register to [Apex Hunter]. Maybe it was the fact that they were neither predator or prey, but something else that existed outside that cycle. Maybe it was just some skill the monster had to help them hide. Velik didn¡¯t know, but it was damn annoying either way.


    He stumbled over an invisible slime, but he¡¯d been expecting that. They always seemed to position themselves in his way, too frequently for him to believe it was anything but on purpose. Whatever senses they had to guide them obviously weren¡¯t hindered by the dark and gave them enough lead time to get into position.


    His shins hit the invisible wall three steps later and he pitched forward into a one-handed hand spring. Something struck his leg and knocked him off balance, but Velik was agile enough to compensate and still ended up back on his feet at the end of the tumble. With his spear out in front of him making wide sweeps, he rushed up the tunnel.


    Whew. That was close. I was hoping there wouldn¡¯t be any more of those things this far down, but I guess that was too much to ask for. I just can¡¯t figure out what the point is, though. They definitely could have trapped me in a dozen different places. It¡¯s like I¡¯m being herded.


    That wall was different. It wasn¡¯t preventing him from going back. If he¡¯d stood there and let it, it would have sealed him in. That might have been worth it, though. Now that he was out of danger and had a second to think about it, he could have taken his time destroying the rest of the seeds, then blasted his way out with [Dread Lance]. Then again, he hadn¡¯t proven the new skill would work, and experimenting when he didn¡¯t have another way out wasn¡¯t a great idea.


    No, this way is better. I¡¯ll come back and finish up with those seeds once I break the dungeon core.


    The truth was that he wasn¡¯t sure if he could break a dungeon core. The last champion he¡¯d fought had nearly been too much, might even have overwhelmed him if not for merging two skills mid-battle. He hadn¡¯t used his haste potion, but that was only because he didn¡¯t see more attacks being the solution to that fight. More and more, his problem with punching up in levels had been penetrating the monsters¡¯ thick hides.


    If the dungeon was going to throw an even tougher champion elite at him, that might just be the wall that finally stopped him. But he wouldn¡¯t know until he got there, and if he let himself be locked up in a room full of creepy parasitic seed monsters, he¡¯d never find out.


    Was that the plan? Leave me to die in there, then let one of the seeds take over my body? But if so, why not build the wall farther back from the mouth of the tunnel where I might not have noticed it, or at least they would have had more time to get the slimes stacked up?


    Either he was misunderstanding what the dungeon was trying to do, or the dungeon just wasn¡¯t that smart. He snorted at the thought. Smart enough to trap your dumb ass down here, isn¡¯t it?


    The only other thing he could think was that killing monsters was fine, but destroying the seeds wasn¡¯t for some reason. It didn¡¯t make sense to him why they¡¯d be any different, but what did he know about how a dungeon worked, anyway? Whatever the reason, the rules were different for that room.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Velik returned to exploring what he thought of as the lower tunnels of the flesh caves, most of which were anywhere from three to eight feet wide, though he did find a few spots tighter than that. None of those weird wall mouths were lurking there, though. He knew because he thoroughly stabbed the wall ahead of him on both sides each time he had to squeeze through.


    He also shanked every little eye-speck he could find, but he had a suspicion that he missed far more than he found, and that even if he did hunt down all of them, the dungeon could just grow new ones whenever it wanted.


    ¡°Velik,¡± something hissed softly from ahead.


    He froze, his eyes scouring the darkness. A monster that could talk was a new one, but from what he understood, those corrupted seeds could do it back in town, so there wasn¡¯t any reason one of them couldn¡¯t do it here. On the other hand, one that could talk and knew his name was a bit creepier.


    ¡°Velik,¡± the voice called out again, so soft that he could barely hear it.


    Okay, so this is obviously a trap. But¡­ do I have any other choice? The dungeon can block off the way back whenever it wants. It only needs a minute, so it doesn¡¯t need voices in the dark to bait me into position. It knows my name, somehow. And I¡¯m here because of Chalin. Connection?


    There was only one way to find out.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± he called out, his voice echoing weirdly in the flesh-coated tunnel.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been looking for you,¡± the voice said back. ¡°Come to us. The way is open.¡±


    ¡°What way? Who is ¡®we?¡¯ And why can¡¯t you come to me?¡±


    But the voice was silent. It had said everything it meant to, apparently. It was up to Velik whether or not to walk forward. You¡¯re being an idiot. The smart thing to do here is focus on getting out. Get somebody like Torwin to come back with you. Or even better, a whole dungeon clearing team. You¡¯re in over your head. Use [Dread Lance] to break the slime walls and leave.


    Another part of him argued, It¡¯s been ten years of fighting, of looking for answers, of being alone. Don¡¯t you want it to be over with? Aren¡¯t you tired of wondering what happened?


    And he was. He¡¯d come here for answers, and now they were within reach. He wasn¡¯t going to let a fear of the unknown stop him now.


    Squaring his shoulders, spear in hand, Velik followed the voice into the darkness.


    * * *


    At first, he thought it was another scar in the wall, twisted and puckered like all the rest. It was only when it split open to reveal crooked, brown teeth that Velik realized it was a mouth, fully a foot wide. ¡°Yes, approach. We are waiting,¡± it said as he got close.


    Another mouth opened farther down the tunnel right in front of his eyes. One moment, the wall was a bare patch of flesh. The next, it was swelling into a pair of cracked, dirty lips that parted to reveal a black tongue. ¡°This way,¡± it called out.


    ¡°Are you Chalin?¡± he asked. He¡¯d asked the same question four times already. The mouths hadn¡¯t answered before, and they didn¡¯t this time either.


    I swear to Morgus, I¡¯m going to stab this monster so fucking hard when I finally get to the part with the brain, just for being so cryptic and annoying.


    The tunnel opened up into the kind of giant cavern he¡¯d found the last champion in, only this time there was obviously something already there. It grew out of the wall, a collection of mismatched parts. Eyes opened and closed all across the wall, some of them pinpricks, others bigger than his head. One in the center was more than four feet wide. Noses grew between them, all shapes and sizes, and mouths floated around the outside of the eye-and-nose cluster.


    Long arms descended from the ceiling in front of it, dozens of them. Most of them had four or five joints that let them bend at strange angles. All were long enough to reach the floor with room to spare. They worked in twos and threes, massaging piles of quivering, living flesh that Velik vaguely recognized as being animals.


    Is that thing¡­ making monsters? Is this how dungeons do it? I thought they formed them whole from mana, not¡­ whatever this is. What about those sacs with the incubating monsters in them?


    ¡°You¡¯re finally here,¡± the thing in the wall said, its voice coming from a dozen mouths in unison.


    New eyes opened across the ceiling and the walls around him, all of them locked on Velik. They peered at him from every direction while he stood uneasily at the mouth of the tunnel. For all his earlier bravado, he was starting to think he had indeed made a mistake in coming here. None of this was what he¡¯d expected to find.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Velik demanded, trying to appear confident as he strode forward. He stopped well short of the reach of those arms and glared at the wall of eyes.


    Flesh bubbled and faces started popping out, filling the empty space between eyes and noses. They were distorted, hideous caricatures of human beings, made all the worse by the thin, ropey strands of flesh dangling from their scalps where hair should have been. Despite that, so many of them were recognizable to him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you remember us? We remember you,¡± the mouths said as one.

 Chapter 71

    When he¡¯d been a child, Velik had learned some basic woodcraft from a transient woodsman who¡¯d come through the frontier. His parents had quickly and loudly objected to their son spending time with a vagabond, no matter how good natured the man was. Velik had never seen him again.


    The cobbler¡¯s wife had been a favorite of all the children in Deshir for years. Though she wasn¡¯t a classed chef, she¡¯d been an avid baker and more than generous with the fruits of her labors. Velik had heard she¡¯d been killed in an attack on the town five or six years ago, long after he¡¯d been exiled.


    Both their faces were in the cluster on the wall, along with a dozen others. All of them were distorted, like melted wax busts covered in a layer of skin, but he recognized those two. The rest might be locals, or just unfortunate travelers, or people from some other place he¡¯d never heard of, for all he knew ¨C all of them except one.


    Chalin was in the center, still the seven-year-old boy from Velik¡¯s memories. His voice was lost in the noise, or perhaps so twisted that Velik couldn¡¯t recognize it. When the wall spoke, some of the words were clear, spoken in unison by all the faces, but most of the noise was just that: noise. It was like a dozen people talking to him at once, and only occasionally saying the same thing.


    ¡°Velik,¡± they said in unison. ¡°The Black Fang. You have returned to us.¡±


    Then the voices fell apart again, each one saying something different. He wanted to hear everything they were saying, needed to know the truth. Focusing on it was difficult; every time he thought he was following a particular voice, another one would overlap it and draw his attention away. By the time he realized he¡¯d lost the thread, it was too late to get it back.


    He caught bits and pieces, some of it seemingly nonsense, but also scraps about a reforged link, crooning about how strong he was to defeat their champions, and, most alarmingly, promises to transform him into a bastion of power. That particular comment, coming from a wizened old face near the top of the wall and combined with the arms still actively kneading mounds of flesh like bread dough, disturbed Velik so much that he took a step back and brought his spear up.


    ¡°Do not resist,¡± the faces said together. ¡°This is how it was meant to be.¡±


    More arms grew out of the ceiling and reached for him. For just a second, Velik stared at them dumbly. Then something started burning against his chest and he snapped out of it. The amulet! Torwin was right. This thing is trying to get into my head.


    It was a good thing the old monster hunter had insisted that Velik needed something to defend his mind, otherwise he might never have noticed the arms descending from the ceiling above him. But he did have the amulet, and while it didn¡¯t grant immunity to the hypnotic lull of the voices, it helped enough that he wasn¡¯t caught totally unaware.


    Just before a hand big enough to wrap all the way around his skull touched him, he burst into motion. His spear came up between him and the hand as he backpedaled, slashing through tough, rubbery flesh and sending droplets of thick black blood through the air. Faces started screaming, seemingly at random, but Velik pushed the sound aside. It was already hard enough to focus without adding another layer of distractions.


    ¡°Stop!¡± the voices all screeched at him as he fended off another hand. The sound of so many voices shouting in unison sent spikes of pain into his mind, causing him to gasp and his vision to go blurry. Velik fought through it, but before he¡¯d realized what was happening, a hand had caught him around one arm and pulled him forward.


    [Apex Hunter] started sounding the alarms in his head, the skill warning him that he was in as much danger as he¡¯d ever been in. Even being inside the mouth of the great wolf hadn¡¯t triggered a reaction this potent, and on the surface of things, that had seemed far more imminently fatal. Then again, the worst that could be said there was that Velik would have died. Here, his fate was far more uncertain.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    One thing he knew for sure was that he didn¡¯t want to be one of those piles of quivering flesh being worked over. Sickening as it was, he was almost certain they were all somehow still alive. So when the giant hand dragged him forward into the waiting grasp of the monster, Velik did the only reasonable thing he could think of: he went absolutely berserk trying to escape.


    His spear swept out, [Savage Rhythm] already starting to work on it, and stabbed into the many joints of the arm connected to the hand holding him. At the same time, his other hand drew his belt knife and slashed it across the fingers clamped onto his bicep. He didn¡¯t care if he dug too deep and cut his own flesh, just so long as the hand let go of him.


    More hands descended on him, but Velik was free now and he completely put the voices out of his mind. The next few seconds were a blur, and when it was over, even he wasn¡¯t entirely sure what had happened, but he¡¯d made it out of the range of the monster¡¯s reach. Black blood speckled the floor and his clothes, and the blade of his spear was completely coated with it, but he was free.


    ¡°You are ours! Return to us!¡± the monster bellowed from multiple throats, enraged at his resistance.


    Or maybe they¡¯re not talking to me, he realized as he heard the sound of scrabbling in the darkness. It was no surprise to see monsters slithering into the cavern from various holes hidden in the fleshy folds that shrouded the stone.


    ¡°Bring us the champion! Let his form be remade into one more suitable for his status.¡±


    The centipedes were the first to reach him, but Velik knew how to fight those. These ones were no different than the hundreds he¡¯d already killed, and he had a measure of the wall monster¡¯s range now. Its hands were fast and creepily flexible on those multi-jointed arms, but as long as Velik kept himself near the entrance, he was safe.


    That was a dangerous thought. He¡¯d seen new hands grow out of the ceiling, quickly descending on stalks of flesh, and so he wasn¡¯t terribly surprised when more of them came down from directly overhead. Unfortunately, he was too busy to guard against them, not when he was busy fending off four different giant centipedes at the same time.


    Velik spun in place, his spear flashing through the air to drive a centipede back while he hopped over a set of pincers aimed at his calf. A hand enveloped his face and clenched around his skull, pulling him off his feet. He was eight feet in the air before he could grab hold of the wrist, only to find its strength was so immense that even his triple digit physical stat wasn¡¯t enough to free him.


    He was considerably more leery about cutting through fingers grabbing onto his skull than his arm, especially when the palm of the hand was blinding him, but he didn¡¯t see much other choice. The arm was at least six inches thick, maybe more, and his spear wasn¡¯t the right kind of weapon to free him. Worse, he had multiple monsters scrabbling around below him, and could easily imagine them rearing up to snap pincers around his limbs.


    No other choice. Hope I¡¯m not about to ruin my dashing good looks.


    Taking the spear in both hands and activating [Shape Shifting], he shrunk it down to something that was only three feet long with a wide, flat leaf blade. Then he jabbed it straight up into the heel of the palm pressed against his face, praying he had the blind accuracy to avoid slicing off his own nose.


    The spear punctured the fleshy hand, parting a layer of flesh from meat, and he felt something scrape the tip of his nose as the monstrous hand tried to flex away from the weapon without releasing its hold on Velik. Unwilling to relinquish the advantage, he heaved upwards again. The blade twisted sideways this time, slicing a line across his scalp, but he could tell from the sudden slackness in the hand¡¯s grip that he¡¯d severed at least one finger.


    Jerking the spear back and forth, he quickly loosened the hand enough that he was able to drop free. The spear came with him, sliding loose and showering him with blood and chunks of meat. Velik dropped six feet, directly onto the back of one of the centipede monsters. It bucked wildly, trying to coil around on itself to get at him, and he nearly tumbled to the ground as he failed to keep his balance. At the last second, he caught himself and drove his spear down into a different monster that was coming around at him, pincers spread wide.


    This isn¡¯t working. Too many attacks from every angle.


    His hand snaked into his belt pouch and pulled out his fallback option, the haste potion. Without a second¡¯s hesitation, he ripped out the cork with his teeth and downed the liquid in a single pull. Instantly, the world seemed to slow down, so much so that he could leisurely examine the no less than four giant hands coming down to grab him and the three open sets of pincers poised to slice his legs open to the bone.


    Much better, he thought as he watched the enemies¡¯ ponderous movements for what felt like a full minute. Then he stretched his spear back out to full length and reshaped the head into something good for hacking through monster flesh. Plenty of time to clean this mess up.

 Chapter 72

    The centipedes practically stood still while he killed them, offering no appreciable resistance to his spear strikes. The moment they were dead, he was in the air, rising on a powerful jump and spear in both hands to swing the bladed edge through an arm like a lumberjack felling a sapling. It wasn¡¯t what the weapon was designed for, but [Shape Shifting] helped and he had strength to spare.


    He¡¯d already severed three arms when the pained screams started. Even in his hasted state, he could hear them reverberating weirdly through the cavern, but they didn¡¯t hit as hard mentally. Something about the potion was increasing his perception to match his new speed, a good thing since otherwise he¡¯d be unable to control his own body, and that change to his brain was making it a lot easier to pick apart the weird mental connection the monster had forged.


    The potion didn¡¯t last long, and he wanted the room cleared of anything remotely resembling a threat before it wore off. That meant killing not only the monsters directly below him, but also taking care of the ones streaming in through the openings made by the retracted flesh walls. It probably wasn¡¯t possible to kill everything simply because he expected monsters to keep coming in long after the potion wore off, but if he could give himself a big enough window of uninterrupted time to deal with the wall of faces, he¡¯d consider it a win.


    He came down on the centipedes like a hammer, slamming both feet into one of them and driving it into the ground. At the same time, his spear took another centipede through the head, darting in so fast that it was like hitting a stationary target. The monster didn¡¯t even react to the spear coming its way, just let it split its face in two.


    [Savage Rhythm] started up again. More speed pushed through Velik¡¯s limbs, so much that he could feel his muscles straining to keep up with his mind. Is the potion having a bad reaction to the skill?


    It didn¡¯t matter. He could fight through it. He had to. The only other option was to let himself be captured, and that was no choice at all. Velik killed the centipedes in a blur of motion, all of them collapsing in a heap of blood, broken chitin, and dismembered limbs. [Savage Rhythm] continued to build up, and he turned his spear on the closest of the grasping hands, cutting them loose to litter the ground.


    More monsters came flooding into the cavern, but in painfully slow motion. Velik cut his way through them, too fast for them to react, and cleared a dozen out of the closest opening before retreating back into the main cavern and repeating the process on the next hole. In a matter of five seconds, he completed a full circuit around the room.


    He still had twenty seconds of hasted movement left, some of which would be spent clearing out the hands chasing him around the room. They didn¡¯t seem like much of a threat at the moment, both because the arms were starting to get tangled up around each other and because they were so slow that there was no chance of them catching him. But he could see the nubs where more arms were starting to grow out of the ceiling. More worrying were the nubs coming out of the walls and floors.


    It won¡¯t matter how fast I am if there¡¯s nowhere to go. I need to do something about this, but I don¡¯t know what.


    There had to be tens of thousands of pounds of flesh the monster could use as raw material to shape new limbs lining the various caves and tunnels. For all he knew, its reach stretched all the way to the surface. Nothing he¡¯d done seemed to actually slow the monster down, and he wasn¡¯t even sure he¡¯d actually hurt it. The screams could just as easily be anger as pain. With the sound distortion from his haste potion making it hard to understand the noise, he honestly wasn¡¯t sure what he was hearing.


    There was a weak spot somewhere. Maybe it was the faces, or maybe it was hidden away, but Velik would find it. He knew where he was going to start, though. With nothing left to distract him from a monster that [Apex Hunter] wanted him to tear into, Velik burst forward. His spear hacked through limbs, its shaft given more flexibility by [Shape Shifting] and the blade thickened and sharpened on one side to give it a strong cutting edge.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    The screaming intensified, every face joining in now. If Velik thought it had been loud before, he was just now realizing how little he¡¯d understood the capacity for sound the wall of faces possessed. The whole cave was rippling, flesh jiggling around like an energetic fat man dancing for a lively audience. Even with his potion-enhanced speed, it was a challenge to keep his footing.


    There were six faces he recognized across the wall, and another ten he didn¡¯t. Several new ones had grown out of the skin, filling in gaps between the noses and mouths while he¡¯d been distracted by the other monsters. Velik didn¡¯t think about it too much. He just chose the most convenient one that wasn¡¯t familiar to him.


    He kicked off the ground in a flying leap, spear leading the way, and slammed it into the face hard enough that he was sure the blade would strike stone behind it. It sunk four feet into the wall, but if there was rock behind the fa?ade, he couldn¡¯t reach it. That didn¡¯t stop him from ripping the spear free and stabbing it into another face.


    He was about to destroy a third one when something hit him. It expanded out of the wall in front of him, a hand sized to wrap around his entire body and already curled into a fist, and sent him flying even as his spear sliced a gash across its knuckles. Velik spun twice in the air, his spine and hips working to reorient him, and he landed on his feet with his weapon still in-hand.


    Twelve seconds left.


    Two of those were wasted cutting away new growths of hands reaching for him. A few came up directly from the ground, nothing but hands with no arms attached to him that grew so quickly they almost grabbed onto his ankles before he could get away. Once again, Velik grew concerned that he was going to be in trouble once the haste potion wore off.


    The huge fist sunk back into the wall, sending a ripple through it that reminded him of a rock dropped into water, only without the splash. In its place, two faces grew back again. One was the one Velik had been targeting when he¡¯d been hit, but the other was a face he¡¯d already destroyed. They¡¯re not a weakness then. This thing is some sort of flesh shaper. I need to find its vital organs, but they could be anywhere. Screw this. I¡¯ll never hit anything important if it can move everything around, not unless I do it all at once.


    [Dread Lance] arced down the length of his spear, primed and ready for him to discharge the skill as soon as he made contact. However the monster perceived the world around it, it was able to process things fast enough to react to Velik¡¯s enhanced speed, and it knew better than to give him a clean shot.


    It must have cost the monster something extra to do it, but it was capable of growing new limbs fast enough to interfere with Velik. Arms shot out of the floor so fast it was almost as if they materialized fully formed instead of grew, but it wasn¡¯t enough. Seven seconds left.


    He slipped by them, his spear held overhead with its deadly payload waiting for him to reach his target. The arms lashed out, hands grasping at him, but they were too slow. More grew out of the ground, and when he swept past them too quickly for them to do anything, another massive fist jutted out of the wall itself.


    This time Velik was ready for it. He jumped straight up, pulling his legs up to clear the limb, then slammed his feet down on the back of it. It smacked into the ground, but it wasn¡¯t designed to have that range of motion. Rather than bending at a nonexistent wrist, the wall itself tore open. It was the perfect target, and without hesitation, Velik slammed the spear into the wound.


    Every time he¡¯d used [Dread Lance], he¡¯d been hit with the backlash. The skill was wild, uncontrolled, and even with a weapon as long as a spear, it seemed it was impossible to avoid being caught in the edges of the blast. But perhaps he just hadn¡¯t been doing it right.


    This time, the energy flooded the wall, which immediately ruptured. Chunks of meat and buckets of blood went flying in every direction, plastering Velik with ichor as the flesh exploded. The debris flew at high speeds and it had mass, but without any chitin, teeth, or bone in it, it wasn¡¯t nearly as deadly as the last time he¡¯d been hit with shrapnel.


    The fist he was balanced on sagged down, fully severed from the wall by its own weight. Velik was about to retreat¡ªthe last few seconds of his haste potion best used to assess the damage and decide on his next move¡ªwhen he noticed something behind the wall. It was another chamber, one hidden by a full ten feet of muscle and viscera, exposed only because of the sheer destructive force of [Dread Lance].


    The chamber looked like something choked with cobwebs, except the webs were made of sinews and nerves and long, stringy ropes of arteries and veins. And in the center, suspended by it all, was a wrinkled mass of red flesh that looked suspiciously like an oversized brain.

 Chapter 73

    Maybe someone like Torwin would have known what was going on. The man had decades of experience and he seemed pretty smart, so he¡¯d probably seen all sorts of weird stuff throughout his career. No doubt he¡¯d have three different stories about giant brain monsters and what that meant.


    Velik was a simple man. He knew that monsters, like people, generally needed brains to survive. There were probably a hundred exceptions where the monsters were made entirely of dirt or were undead or whatever, but as a general rule of thumb, he¡¯d had good luck with the strategy of locating and destroying brains when he wanted to kill something. There was no reason to change that strategy now.


    The monster¡ªwhatever it was, and Velik was trying hard not to think about that thing that had Chalin¡¯s face in it¡ªapparently also felt the brain was important, because it wasn¡¯t content to let him just rush forward and stab it. Its flesh shaping took on a whole new level. No longer willing to mold its shape into grasping hands or a forest of arms, it instead projected ridged and spiked bones out of its body. They were sharpened like spears, and hundreds of them rose out of the ground and descended from the ceiling.


    No, not bone. Teeth, he quickly realized. They lacked the muscles to bite and chew, but they were still teeth. Each one was six feet long, four inches at the base and tapering to a needle point for the last foot or so. They spiked out of the flesh seemingly at random, but always aimed to impale Velik. He¡¯d thought the monster had been aggressive in its attempts to catch and restrain him before, but this was a whole different level.


    If he¡¯d had a few more seconds on the haste potion, he might have made it to the brain in time. Instead, a new wall of flesh rose up between him and his target while the teeth fended him off. Time sped back up in his perceptions, the monster¡¯s movements no longer slow and predictable. Everything snapped back to normal, and suddenly he realized how sore his body was, how much [Savage Rhythm] had pushed him beyond his limits while under the hasting effect.


    That caused him to stumble, almost so bad that he was impaled on a growing tooth. Only by slapping his hand onto the side of it and earning himself a slice across his palm in the process was he able to shift himself out of the way in time. Velik ignored the stinging pain and tried not to think about how sharp the teeth were to cut through his skin just from brief contact.


    He got past the line of teeth a moment later, but it was too late. The flesh membrane growing as a barrier in front of him was rapidly darkening as it got thicker, and if it was anything like those clear walls in the cave, he¡¯d need a [Dread Lance] to get through it. That wasn¡¯t going to happen in the next minute or so, maybe longer at the pace he was pushing himself. The skill was incredibly draining to use, something he hoped would be alleviated by ranking it up a few times.


    Fortunately, it was the only one that really pulled heavily on his mystic stat. [Apex Hunter] got a bit fuzzier when he used [Dread Lance], but not to the point where it wasn¡¯t functional anymore. That meant that pretty much all his reserves could be used for offensive purposes, but he still needed to pace himself between shots. He was still getting used to having a skill that used so much power, and mystic wasn¡¯t something he¡¯d really specialized in.


    Just because he was sure the wall was as unbreakable as all the others didn¡¯t mean he wasn¡¯t going to try. If he was lucky, he¡¯d reach it before it finished solidifying and could cut through. More teeth were already jutting out of the flesh-covered floor, and the spots under his feet were pulling back, trying to trip him up and cost him his balance. Velik was too quick and too coordinated to be stopped by either tactic, but if the goal was just to delay him until it was too late, he had to admit the monster was doing an excellent job of it.


    It just wasn¡¯t enough to stop him. He jumped another set of needle-like teeth and drove the spear into the rapidly-thickening wall. Even before he landed, he was adjusting his feet to prepare for the deflection when he failed to cut through, so he was quite surprised to find that the flesh parted just as easily as the rest. The spear punched clean through the wall, then split open a loose flap for Velik to peer through.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    He got a brief glimpse of the brain, now being encased in what was probably bone that had grown down from the ceiling. The brain itself was higher in the air, perhaps tugged up on those sinewy ropes that tethered it to everything else, and more muscle was building up beneath it, thickening around a quasi-skeleton that Velik was sure didn¡¯t have half the bones needed for unaided movement.


    Then the wall stitched itself back up, the tear in it closing as new flesh grew out from the edges. Velik stabbed another hole in it, but not before more teeth lanced up at him from between his feet. Eager to dodge that particularly painful injury, he quickstepped to the side. What the hell is that thing doing in there? Is it just growing more defenses? But if so, why weren¡¯t they already in place?


    He¡¯d never fought a monster like this before, but he was starting to get worried. If he was right, the layer of flesh covering the entire cave complex was all part of this one organism. It was no wonder the mana compass had gone crazy while he was inside. And that meant it had literally tons and tons of mass to manipulate. There was no way he¡¯d ever kill the monster just by stabbing at it. He needed to target something important, and that meant getting to that brain before the monster finished doing whatever it was trying to do.


    Morgus, please tell me if I¡¯m making a mistake here. Don¡¯t let the brain be a decoy or something. Don¡¯t let the monster be that smart. Gods, what are the odds this thing isn¡¯t at least as smart as me? It can talk and control other monsters¡­ Is this thing even a champion elite? I never got a notification about its domain.


    Velik shook off the questions. What he needed now was to focus on figuring out how to kill it. Everything else could wait for later, and hopefully be answered by someone much smarter than him. He stabbed through the wall again, this time reshaping the tip of his spear into something with a thicker blade in the hopes that it wouldn¡¯t repair itself so fast. He needed to cut his way through, and that wasn¡¯t going to be easy if it kept closing up as fast as he could damage it.


    Fifteen seconds later, not only had he failed to make any progress, but the cave itself was getting better about hindering him. That was more the result of there just being basically nowhere left that was safe to stand than anything, but what mattered was that he was starting to struggle even stay near the wall, let alone damage it. He could have used more time to recover, but he didn¡¯t feel like he had it anymore.


    With no other option, he sent another [Dread Lance] through his spear. Energy crackled across the blade, exploding outwards in all directions and turning flesh, muscle, bones, and blood into a fine mist that appeared as black flecks to his [Night Vision]. When the mist cleared enough for him to see past it, he started mentally cursing. The brain was no longer visible.


    In its place was a¡­ thing. It looked something like if a human and a spider were merged together, or maybe it was more like a human and a scorpling, all things considered. It had a torso ten feet long with eight arms growing out of it, but maybe they were actually legs. No, he decided, limbs that end in hands are arms, even if it¡¯s walking on them.


    The monster¡¯s head was nothing but a stretched mouth wide enough to fit Velik inside it, if just barely, and it hung open, revealing the same needle teeth he¡¯d been dodging around for the last minute, just on a smaller scale. That wasn¡¯t to say it didn¡¯t have eyes. If anything, it had far too many. But they weren¡¯t in any particular spot on its body. Eyelids blinked open and closed all over, on its chest and its scalp, on its arms, and on the weird, almost wing-like appendages growing out of its back.


    They weren¡¯t really wings, not precisely. It was more like two massive hands that had regular-sized palms but eight-foot-long fingers, and twice as many as it should, at that. Stretched between them were heavy, drooping strands of skin that almost looked like webbing if it had been woven out of human remains.


    The monster was still connected through the cave in multiple places. Long, thin lines of what Velik assumed were nerves strung themselves between the monster¡¯s back and the roof of the cave. More of them were connected to its belly. He wasn¡¯t sure how it planned to move without tangling itself up, but then again, that wasn¡¯t his problem. He¡¯d be happy to cut those connections anyway. Maybe then, the creature would die.


    Or even better, maybe all the flesh coating the walls would die instead. That would be nice to score a quick win against so much monster mass. He doubted he¡¯d get that lucky, though, especially when the creature took a step forward and tore a few dozen of the connections apart. If that hurt it in any way, Velik couldn¡¯t tell.


    Its mouth dropped open, stretching far wider than should have been possible, and with a lurch, the monster bounded directly at him.

 Chapter 74

    It wasn¡¯t until the monster started moving that Velik truly appreciated how much bigger than him it was. It had to weigh a few thousand pounds, and its weird arm-leg hybrid things were each long enough that the trunk of its body was at eye level. Its movement was awkward to watch, like it couldn¡¯t quite figure out how to control its body, but that didn¡¯t stop it.


    Velik didn¡¯t stand still and wait for it to run him over, of course. He couldn¡¯t have stood his ground even if he¡¯d wanted to, not with the whole cave itself still growing arms and teeth. He was constantly on the move, trying to keep ahead of the monster. It was a losing game, though. No matter how fast he was, he was quickly running out of space. Eventually, there¡¯d be nowhere left that was safe, and he couldn¡¯t cut the arms off from the ground fast enough to make more room.


    Thankfully, one of his predictions was coming to pass. The monster had grown so many limbs that they were getting tangled up after all. It just wasn¡¯t as effective as he¡¯d been hoping. While it slowed the pursuit down, it turned out the limbs were just as capable of merging with each other as they were of growing directly out of the mass of living flesh he was standing on.


    The only good part of this latest development was that the arms were also hindering the mobile monster the cave had spawned. At least, Velik thought they were. Honestly, even with his mental stat over 50, it was hard to tell whether the monster was breaking the arms as it plowed through them or if it was just absorbing them into its body. It certainly seemed to be growing bigger, but Velik couldn¡¯t say for certain what exactly the root cause of that was.


    I need to get out of this cave. It¡¯s too crowded in here to properly fight, but there are more monsters to contend with out in the tunnels, and there¡¯s no guarantee arms and teeth won¡¯t start growing through there as well.


    Looking back on it, he should have expected something like this. It was a cave entirely lined in a continuous living organism. Of course the whole thing was a monster. It had him surrounded on all sides, and that wasn¡¯t even taking into consideration the regular monsters living inside it.


    Is that brain in this thing in front of me? Why would it do that? The smart move would be to hide the brain somewhere else and distract me with this.


    The only way to find out was to destroy the monster and see what happened. That was easier said than done, and not just because he was going to need some time before he was ready to unleash another [Dread Lance]. The monster was aggressively pursuing him, and after a few seconds, he was absolutely certain that it was getting bigger.


    His spear lashed out, whistling through the air as it plunged into the monster¡¯s head. Flesh parted easily against his strength, mostly because it turned out there was no skull beneath the skin. In fact, there was nothing at all, nothing except more meat. It was like some sort of filler material, there just to hold the head into shape.


    Velik had a sudden suspicion that the whole monster was that way. The intelligence of whatever it was that designed this thing seemed to understand how to shape flesh to make monsters look real, but there was probably a reason it was growing everything from sacs adhered to its flesh. It could make something, even keep it alive, but its monsters were extensions of itself, not true independent creations.


    That wasn¡¯t right. He wasn¡¯t sure how he knew, but he did. Maybe this monster had just been put together too quickly to exist on its own, or maybe the cave had done it on purpose. Either way, it was obviously a decoy meant to make him think the brain was inside it.


    For all he knew, the brain was a decoy, too. This whole thing could be a waste of time. Even if its vulnerable points were here, it could have shifted them far away by now. How do I fight this thing?


    Getting rid of the monster chasing him around was a start. Velik was keeping ahead of it, but just barely. Its ¡®wings¡¯ were unexpectedly adroit, too, easily able to reach all the way around its body. Every time he tried to stab anything other than that decoy ball of meat pretending to be its head, they got in the way.


    If he couldn¡¯t go around them, he¡¯d just have to attack them directly. The next time Velik jabbed at the monster, he was ready for the fingers to whip down and try to grab the spear. Instead of pulling it back, he ripped it straight up and hacked into the finger. There was a moment¡¯s resistance, then the digit was flopping free. It still clung to the other ones by the stringy lengths of flesh, but now it hung loose instead of moving around.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    One down, too many to go.


    The next twenty seconds were more of the same, with the monster struggling to adapt to his new strategy and Velik steadily cutting more pieces off it. It wasn¡¯t an easy strategy to execute, though being able to use [Shape Shifting] to reform the head into something closer to a sword blade helped. The arm-legs were harder to cut through, but he managed to sever two of them on the same side after he finished demolishing one of the wings.


    Suddenly, something clamped down on his knee. Cursing, he looked down and saw a squat, three-fingered hand clutching him tight enough that the enchanted fabric of his pants had torn from its nails. Velik swept his spear down, shortening the shaft as he moved to get the blade lined up properly. He severed the hand at the wrist in a single stroke, which did nothing to remove the fingers digging into his skin, but freed him to move again.


    He just wasn¡¯t fast enough. The big monster slammed into him, its meatball skull striking his chest in a headbutt that picked him up off his feet and threw him forty feet to slam into the far wall. Immediately, new hands grabbed hold of him, wrapping around his arms and legs. Arms looped over his chest, effectively pinning him hanging three feet off the floor.


    The monster approached, its great, lumbering gait no longer seeming awkward. Over the last minute, it had begun to master how to move its new body with frightening speed. Velik couldn¡¯t help but consider how badly he¡¯d misjudged the situation, thinking the monster was something slapped together, some fake puppet creature. No, it was just a newborn. Like anything else, it had to learn how to control its own body. Would have been nice if it could have taken it a few more minutes, though.


    The skin on its flesh roiled and bubbled, rippling outward and tearing as something emerged. In seconds, there was a face peering at him. It rose up to be level with his, and he found himself staring at the still-seven-years-old Chalin. ¡°Why did you leave me?¡± the boy asked, his voice distorted but still recognizable.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t leave you,¡± Velik found himself saying, though he hadn¡¯t had any intention of engaging the monster. ¡°I woke up and you were gone.¡±


    ¡°I was right next to you. You ran.¡±


    ¡°No. There was a monster there. I didn¡¯t recognize it. How was I supposed to know it was you? Why do you look like this now?¡±


    ¡°The dungeon core¡­¡± Chalin trailed off. ¡°You were supposed to be the guardian, but the bond didn¡¯t form. You rejected it and you ran.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about,¡± Velik said. He still held his spear in his hand, and he might even be able to stab Chalin with it, but he wasn¡¯t sure there was a point. It was obvious that nothing he¡¯d done had actually hurt the cave monster.


    ¡°I am the dungeon. You are the guardian. I had to make a new one.¡± Chalin paused, and his face twisted in anger. ¡°And then you killed that!¡±


    ¡°You shall take its place!¡± a dozen or more voices howled in unison, their faces emerging all over the cave now that Velik was restrained. ¡°We shall make you into the ultimate weapon to defend ourselves with.¡±


    His mind raced as he tried to put things together. Chalin had turned into a dungeon core, but one that could somehow move. He was making monsters, and somehow growing bigger and bigger. The situation seemed hopeless, but if there was a core, there was a weakness. He just needed to break free from this fight and find it.


    The brain looked nothing like the pillar core from the old dungeon, but then again, such an unusual dungeon could have a unique core. It didn¡¯t matter, though. The brain was gone. Even if it was the core, it wasn¡¯t here in this room. But where? Come on, think. What¡¯s different? What¡¯s a clue?


    He was starting to think [Dread Lance] was causing a problem using so much of his magic. Maybe he was underestimating how much [Apex Hunter] relied on mystic to feed him the information he¡¯d been taking for granted. This whole fight, he¡¯d been flailing around blindly, reacting to threats right in front of him and failing to find a way to win. He¡¯d thought it was just because everything was so far outside his experiences, but maybe it was that he wasn¡¯t giving his skills the resources they needed.


    On the other hand, he had a giant monster a foot from his face and he was being restrained by probably twenty or more hands growing out of a wall of flesh. That was a pretty good argument to use his most destructive skill while he still had the chance. If only [Mana Drinker] would feed into him instead of his spear, the whole thing would be a nonissue.


    Flexing his arm, he ripped free of the hands gripping him and drove the spear into the monster. [Dread Lance] sparked, and it blew up in a shower of gore. The backlash washed over him, searing his skin, but also charring the hands holding him. He broke free with a grunt of effort and dropped to the floor, a healing potion already coming free from his hip pouch to counter the damage.


    ¡°Alright,¡± he told the faces as he stood back up. ¡°I think it¡¯s time to finish this.¡±

 Chapter 75

    Something had occurred to Velik in the last few seconds, something that he wasn¡¯t sure he was right about, but if he was, it was very, very important. Even with a full cavern to spread out through, and with literal miles and miles of flesh that composed its body, for some reason, all the faces and mouths were concentrated here. They hadn¡¯t even spread out to take up positions on different walls or the ceiling.


    It was possible that was a meaningless choice, that the faces could appear anywhere and had just chosen not to, but Velik didn¡¯t think so. Otherwise, they could have appeared elsewhere in the cave network he¡¯d been exploring for days now. All those arms and hands and teeth and whatever else were sprouting like weeds followed a pattern, as well. He just hadn¡¯t noticed it until he¡¯d been forced to hold still for a moment and actually taken some time to think about it.


    Nothing like that had ever happened anywhere else. No arms had sprung out of the walls to bar his passage in the upper tunnels. No, the cave had been forced to use some sort of solidifying slime monster to trap him inside and force him deeper. It might have a thousand tons of mass to draw on, and it might be able to shape all of that to its will, but distance was a factor. The farther from its core the flesh got, the less it was able to manifest control over it.


    The Chalin monster didn¡¯t fit into his hypothesis. It was completely disconnected from the rest of the cavern, but at the same time, it had so many limbs that it was always touching the ground somewhere. Maybe that was enough, or maybe the Chalin portion of the collective of minds had separated itself completely in order to control the monster.


    Can they do that? Could there be ten or eleven more fully autonomous bodies being built behind other walls right now? If there are, and I kill them all, then what happens to the core itself? If I find and destroy the core, what happens to the minds trapped in this body? Could I have saved Chalin and the rest?


    He wasn¡¯t sure if he could take the handicap of hunting the core without fighting back against the monster in front of him to the best of his abilities, but he figured he had one good shot to try. If his theory about proximity to the core was correct, and he assumed that, unlike a standard dungeon core, this one was mobile, that meant all he needed to do was figure out where things were growing fastest and strike there.


    Oh, and survive long enough to do that. I¡¯m not even sure I¡¯ve got enough left in me to use [Dread Lance] again, but I¡¯m going to destroy the core. Shit, that means I¡¯ve got to stay ahead of this whole nightmare scenario for at least another minute or two.


    The Chalin monster was gone, more or less. The back few arm-legs were whole, though charred black just like the wall Velik had been pinned to, but the rest of the flesh had broken down or been hurled away from the kinetic energy of the skill. All of the severed limbs that had been nearby were similarly gone, either disintegrated or just blown away to get tangled in the growths farther back from the point of the explosion.


    His best guess was that the brain was moving through the mass of flesh overhead. That was why the longest arms came down from the ceiling, and why the attack had started from there. It wasn¡¯t until the brain had moved behind that wall that things had started really growing out of the floor, and that had slowed down again once he¡¯d blown open that hiding place. The core could obviously move, but it was giving its position away now that he¡¯d figured out what to look for.


    The faces were all yelling at him again, but this time, it was a lot harder to shrug off the voices. Really, only the fact that they were all screaming different things was what kept him from being overwhelmed. It was easier to ignore the noise when he couldn¡¯t figure out what they were saying, but it did clue him into a problem.


    The amulet Torwin had given him was no longer hanging from his neck. It might not even be in one piece, given that he¡¯d taken a good deal of damage from his [Dread Lance], but at the very least, the cord it was hanging on had snapped. Velik didn¡¯t have time to go searching for it, though. He¡¯d just have to resist whatever mental connection the dungeon core was trying to form with him.


    He didn¡¯t want to think about what would happen if he couldn¡¯t.


    New arms were growing out of the wall, slowly at first, but speeding up as the core shifted position. It was closing in on him, or at least getting him in range. Now that he knew to look for it, he was amazed he hadn¡¯t noticed the lines of growth before. Then again, the floor hadn¡¯t been quite so thoroughly covered and he¡¯d been all over the cavern, leading to the arms growing in a trail that chased him around and tried to predict what direction he¡¯d move in.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Now that everything had already popped out of the flesh layer covering the cavern, all that was left was to make it grow faster as needed, and he didn¡¯t need [Apex Hunter] to see that. Velik eyeballed where he thought the core was based on which arms were biggest, then started circling around to it. He didn¡¯t know how smart a dungeon core was, but this one was an anomaly anyway, and this would work better if it didn¡¯t realize what he was doing.


    As he¡¯d expected, it kept shifting positions, trying to maintain the same distance, but Velik thought that if he really tried, he could close in on it before it could react. He just needed more time, and the way he planned on gaining that was by letting loose with [Savage Rhythm]. His spear arced around him, slicing through anything and everything that he passed in a continuous blur of movement. Full arms were hacked off at the joints and sent flying away, where they were sometimes caught by hands perched atop other arms and replanted into the floor.


    All of it was a feint, just a way to buy time. It was working, too, until flaps of skin unfolded in the walls and let new monsters into the cavern. There were the expected centipedes, but there were also a dozen or so scorplings, including several of the smaller assassin scorplings, and a few smaller samples of the flesh monster Chalin had controlled. That was going to complicate things.


    The simple truth of the matter was that Velik had been awake and fighting constantly for three days now, maybe longer. He¡¯d lost track. Barring a few breaks that never lasted longer than twenty or thirty minutes, he¡¯d been on the move the whole time. He was tired, and using the hasting potion in conjunction with [Savage Rhythm] hadn¡¯t done him any favors.


    It was a miracle he was still on his feet. For all the power his race and class had granted him, he was still mortal, and he knew he was reaching his limits. Grasping hands he¡¯d easily evaded ten minutes ago snagged at his clothing as he slipped by. Monsters coming at him from every side should have been no issue to sort out. Instead, his mind fumbled to figure out what would reach him first.


    He could feel the magic building in him, whatever it was. Mana, maybe, or something else ¨C he didn¡¯t know and he didn¡¯t care. The important part was that he¡¯d drained it with his last [Dread Lance] and he needed more time to get enough back to use the skill again. The monsters weren¡¯t going to give him that time, and he wasn¡¯t sure he had it in him to keep fighting much longer.


    He skewered a scorpling being propelled across the ceiling by the forest of hands, then swung his spear hard to dislodge the body. It crashed into a centipede weaving its way through the arms growing out of the floor, not killing the monster, but certainly stunning it for a moment. Another centipede immediately took its place, crawling over the insensate body of its companion to reach Velik.


    Chest heaving, he forced himself to move faster. A second scorpling dropped down from the ceiling on him, too fast for him to stab it midair. Instead, he raised the shaft of his spear overhead as a shield between himself and the monster, flinging it sideways the instant it impacted. Its stinger-tipped tail whipped toward his face, but not fast enough to make contact before it was out of range.


    A hand grabbed his foot at the same time he was dodging the first flesh beast to reach him, causing him to stumble a single step. That was all it took for the monster to ram into him. Thankfully, it was much smaller than the one with Chalin¡¯s face on its meatball head, but ¡®smaller¡¯ was a relative term and it was still four or five times heavier than Velik.


    I can¡¯t keep going. What I¡¯ve built up is going to have to be enough.


    Velik had a good guess about where the core was, somewhere overhead and sliding through the fleshy ceiling to keep him in range so it could sprout more interfering hands to pluck at him. Right¡­ there!


    He took three steps¡ªall the space he could claim in a straight line¡ªand jumped with all the strength he had left in him. A flesh beast lunged in front of him, rearing up on three of its six legs, but Velik twisted in the air and stabbed his spear into its chest. He landed on the monster feet first, kicking it backwards from the impact, and tore the spear free.


    In a way, the interference was a good thing. He¡¯d been stretching how far he thought he could jump and knew he wouldn¡¯t have made the landing from his starting point. As the flesh beast slammed into the ground, he jumped off it and reached his target. Without hesitation, [Dread Lance] roared out of his spear as he stabbed it into the palm of a hand hanging above him.


    Energy arced upwards, proliferating through the limb and engulfing the ceiling. Flesh exploded again, showering him and every nearby monster in chunks of meat, and something huge slowly slid into the new hole Velik had made.


    Even as it sagged down into the room, smoke and ash swirling around it, a tendril of flesh whipped out from the hole and caught the lump of what appeared to be blood-splattered bone.


    No, you don¡¯t! Velik snarled and forced himself back upright. This was his chance, and he wasn¡¯t wasting it. Ignoring the scorpling closing in on him, he leaped straight up, spear leading.

 Chapter 76

    The spear wasn¡¯t getting through that layer of bone, not at the angle Velik was working from. Maybe if he¡¯d been fresh, it would have been a different story. But that wasn¡¯t the case. His hands were trembling with fatigue and his breathing was ragged and labored. So, the bone wasn¡¯t the target. The fleshy tendril trying to haul it back into the ceiling was.


    The blade parted the skin-wrapped muscle easily, and the sphere of bone crashed to the floor. Cracks radiated outward from the impact, proving that the shell was vulnerable after all. Velik landed right next to it, paused to kill the scorpling that was flicking its stinger forward, then spun the spear around to face the point down.


    A blast of pure noise overwhelmed him, blacking out his vision and causing him to sway. Dimly, he recognized the sound as screaming voices, united in their demand that he stop. Without the amulet, he wasn¡¯t nearly so well protected, and part of his mind simply shut down under the onslaught.


    Give up, the voices whispered in his head. Lay down your weapon. Be still until we call for you. Your power came from us, and it will return to us.


    Part of him recognized those thoughts as outside interference, his enemy at work undermining his will to fight. But it was just so damn tempting that he almost did it anyway. He didn¡¯t need a malevolent voice whispering in his ear to rest. His own body was screaming that at him every time he so much as twitched. He¡¯d fought through the pain and the heavy weight of exhaustion, and all for nothing.


    He was no closer to winning this fight now than when it had started. The enemy was too much for him, unbeatable, and he¡¯d been a fool to ever set foot in this place. It was easier to just surrender to the inevitable. It would hurt for a moment, and then everything would finally be over. Besides, the dungeon was right. He was part of it, or at least he was supposed to be.


    Fuck. That.


    The thought came unbidden, a spark of anger that was almost suffocated as soon as it surfaced. But once it had ignited in his mind, it started spreading. No one, not Deshir, not the lumberjacks he sometimes saw in the forest, not Torwin or Jensen, and certainly not some disgusting monster in a cave, got to tell him to lie down and die.


    Velik fought. He¡¯d been fighting for ten years, and he wasn¡¯t going to stop today just because his arms were heavy and the monster wanted him to make things easy for it. With his blood pounding in his ears, he snapped back to reality. The bone sphere was still in front of him, but a new hand was growing from the flesh-covered ground beneath it, cradling the sphere in its palm and lifting it back up.


    A scorpling had crawled up his back and was perched there, clinging to him with its legs digging painfully into his sides and its stinger poised inches from his neck. A single twitch would no doubt cause it to strike.


    [Savage Rhythm] was still coursing through his body. It wasn¡¯t as strong as it had been earlier, but it would be enough. It had to be enough. Velik¡¯s hand shot up and grabbed the tail just behind the stinger. Immediately, the scorpling tried to force the barb into his neck, but the difference between their physical stats was so huge that it was no contest. Spinning, he pulled the monster by its tail and gritted his teeth against the hot lines of pain its legs drew across his ribs as it was dislodged.


    He slammed the scorpling into the next nearest monster, a flesh beast that had taken a step his way as soon as he¡¯d started moving. Without waiting to see the result of his attack, he released the scorpling, grabbed his spear in both hands, and drove it straight down through the bone shell. Wrenching it back and forth powerfully, he widened the hole and scrambled the meat within.


    Immediately, the entire cave shuddered. The very walls quivered, and the screaming voices reached a crescendo before abruptly cutting off. All of the limbs growing out of the walls, floor, and ceiling fell limp. The only things that didn¡¯t stop were the monsters.


    Velik ripped his spear free, flinging blood through the air as he met the charge of the next monster. At this point, his movements were entirely instinctive, some combination of [Apex Hunter] guiding his senses while [Spear Warden] moved his body. The fight dragged on while great gouts of blood exploded out of the walls for seemingly no reason.


    Flesh necrotized in front of his eyes, not that he had time to stand there and watch it, and chunks of it started falling out of the ceiling. More than one monster was crushed under the monumental weight of it all, and Velik himself was struck on three separate occasions. For all that, the battle didn¡¯t slow down, not until all the monsters were dead and he was standing on a pile of chunky meat and body parts.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Everything was quiet, almost unnervingly so. It wasn¡¯t until the flesh lining the cave died that it really hit Velik how it had warped noise, how everything had a grotesque, wet, slapping sound to it. Now that he was surrounded by bare stone walls, the acoustics had completely changed.


    What a weird thing to notice, he thought to himself as he tried to focus on more important things.


    The core, if that¡¯s what it even was, was split open down the middle, with the savaged remains of that huge brain he¡¯d seen visible inside. It didn¡¯t look anything like the massive pillar he¡¯d seen in that dungeon he and Chalin had entered years ago, but then, nothing about this dungeon was normal. He still wasn¡¯t even entirely sure it counted as a dungeon. There certainly hadn¡¯t been any sort of notifications about entering one or defeating it.


    Then again, he¡¯d gotten a lot of notifications for killing monsters and he definitely hadn¡¯t read all of them. Going back through them now, he saw one that was unusual.


    [You have slain a Shifting Flesh Amalgamation Core (level 47).]


    ¡°Was that you, Chalin?¡± he asked the dead lump of brain matter. ¡°You and everyone else trapped here? Did this monster consume all of you and take on your memories and skills?¡±


    He¡¯d probably never know the truth for sure, but maybe things would make a bit more sense once he got a bit of sleep. That wasn¡¯t going to happen in the caves, though. Even if he¡¯d felt safe, the smell of rotting meat was quickly filling the tunnels.


    Slowly, wearily, he started making his way out of the cave complex. At one point, it occurred to him to check his mana compass, and he smiled when he saw it now pointed steadily southwest instead of spinning around wildly. Whether this place truly had been a dungeon or just one massive creature, he¡¯d killed it. Hopefully, the endless tide of monsters flowing out of the forests and into the frontier lands would finally be stemmed.


    Once he was on the surface, he immediately walked to the nearest stream and hurled himself bodily into the water. Twenty minutes wasn¡¯t even close to enough to get the stench out of his hair and off his skin, but the [Mending] enchantments in his clothes were hard at work taking care of that. It wasn¡¯t perfect, but it was better than nothing.


    Then he found a place to sleep and, for the first time in half a week, closed his eyes for more than a few minutes.


    * * *


    He woke feeling strangely refreshed and weary at the same time. The few hours of downtime had revitalized him, but he needed a lot more to regain his full strength. Food was also important for that, but he was confident he could last a few more days before that became a real problem. Plenty of time to hunt.


    Another pleasant surprise that he¡¯d failed to notice in his near-fugue state when he¡¯d been trudging out of the cave was that he¡¯d made substantial gains to his level and skills. The messages had been lost in the constant noise of kill notifications, meaning he¡¯d gained, not one, but three levels since the last time he¡¯d checked. He didn¡¯t know how often that happened, especially for somebody already in the mid-thirties, but he was guessing it was pretty rare.


    [Apex Hunter], [Dread Lance], and [Savage Rhythm] had all gone up a rank as well, and he had free points to use on his stats. Without hesitation, he dumped all of them into mystic, bringing it up to 38. [Dread Lance] was powerful, but needing so much time between activations was a handicap that had nearly gotten him killed.


    [Name: Velik]


    [Race: Human (Duskbound)]


    [Class: The Black Fang]


    [Level: 38]


    [Physical: 113(+18)]


    [Mental: 61(+2)]


    [Mystical: 38(+20)]


    [Free Points: 0]


    [Decarma: 14688]


    [Skills:]


    [Apex Hunter (Rank 6)]


    [Spear Warden (Rank 8)]


    [Dread Lance (Rank 2)]


    [Savage Rhythm (Rank 3)]


    [Gear:]


    [Harbinger of Dusk (+15Ph, +5My)]


    [Hunter¡¯s Cowl(+2Me)]


    [Stalker¡¯s Boots(+3Ph)]


    [Survivalist¡¯s Shirt]


    [Self-Repairing cloak]


    [Mystic¡¯s Earring (+15My)]


    Finally, he¡¯d somehow gained nearly ten thousand decarmas. That confused him at first, because there was no way he¡¯d killed enough monsters to gain so much, but when he went digging, he found a strange message that explained where the decarmas came from, even if it invited more questions than it answered.


    [You have completed a quest: Save the frontier from the source of the corruption.]


    [Reward: 7500 decarmas, 1 class orb with unique class, ¡°The Flesh Crafter¡±]


    Where did this even come from? he wondered. He¡¯d never even been given a quest by the system, so he wasn¡¯t sure how he could have completed it unknowingly. And that reward had him crinkling his nose in disgust. Was that Chalin¡¯s class when he became¡­ whatever that thing was? Is this the seed to making a new monster just like him? Why would the system give me this as a reward?


    The temptation to destroy the class orb danced through his mind, but it was tempered by the fact that he wasn¡¯t entirely sure how to do so and an entirely rational fear that messing with the orb would somehow trigger it, overwriting [The Black Fang] with a class he was completely sure he wanted nothing to do with.


    Sitting around wasn¡¯t going to help him find any answers, and he was sick of dealing with all of this, anyway. Groaning, he climbed to his feet and started walking south. Torwin can sort this all out. I just want to kill monsters.

 Chapter 77

    They¡¯d been running hard all night, and Sildra knew if she stopped to let herself think, she¡¯d break down. So many people had died, or worse, been killed by Torwin. She¡¯d recognized some of them, even if she didn¡¯t know their names. And [Eye of the Moon] had condemned them to death. Every stop, it was the same thing. Torwin killed at her direction while she hid like a coward and the townsfolk directed their anger at the monster hunter.


    It was an hour before dawn, but she could already feel her power starting to wane. The moon hadn¡¯t gone down yet, not enough to blind her to the monsters pretending to be human, but it was a good thing they¡¯d finally reached Alnsberth. It was the last stop on their run, and she was hoping and praying that the corruption hadn¡¯t reached this far.


    As soon as they got in sight of the town, she knew the truth. There were certainly less corrupted seed bearers than the other frontier towns, but there weren¡¯t none. The town was quiet, with only a few people up and about so early. None of them were human. Strange. Every person I can see is a monster. Where are the humans?


    ¡°Something¡¯s wrong,¡± she said quietly.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Monster,¡± she said, pointing to a man standing by the gate. Her finger drifted to the left to a farmer looking out at a field. ¡°Monster.¡±


    She pointed to a pair of women walking toward the center of town on the main street, then to a street vendor unloading fruit from a burlap sack into the bins in his stall. A guard nearby watched him work. ¡°Monster. Monster. Monster. All of them. Every single person I can see from here is a monster.¡±


    ¡°There could be humans still in their houses sleeping,¡± Torwin speculated.


    ¡°Maybe. Probably. It¡¯s just¡­ Why are there so many monsters outside and no people? It makes me think the infestation in this town might be worse than the others.¡±


    ¡°I hope not,¡± Torwin muttered. ¡°Alsberth is the gateway to the frontier. If the corruption is thick here, that means it¡¯s probably spread beyond this region. I¡¯m going to have to make another run to the city to let people know either way, but this gives us reason to believe the danger to the rest of the country might be worse than expected.¡±


    He surveyed the town, eyes flicking from one person to the next in a way she¡¯d learned meant he was planning his opening attack. Torwin was, frankly, terrifying with his bow, able to fire arrows so fast that his gear couldn¡¯t keep up with producing them at the speed he needed. She had no doubt that when he started, there¡¯d be an arrow for each monster well before the first one struck home.


    ¡°Spot for me when the screaming starts,¡± he said, almost absently, his eyes still fixed on the town. ¡°People are going to start running, and I need to know if any monsters head out the other gate.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± she told him. They¡¯d done this twice already tonight.


    He grunted once, then lifted his bow. An arrow materialized on the string, and, with an easy exhale, he let it fly. Immediately, his hand brought two more up from the quiver beside him. She couldn¡¯t even understand how he held them such that they both landed on the string to be fired in less than a second. It almost looked like he¡¯d thrown one in the air, then snatched it before it could start falling after firing its partner.


    Another arrow materialized, with one second between each arrow, as far as she could tell. That one went into the gate guard, and two more real arrows came out of the quiver. Five seconds later, every visible monster had a feathered shaft sticking out of their throat. There¡¯d been a brief outcry from those few monsters who¡¯d noticed the arrows before being hit, but it was quickly silenced.


    They sound so human, Sildra thought wretchedly.


    ¡°Kill notices confirm all monsters,¡± Torwin said, not that she needed him to. She¡¯d gotten her own set of notifications for assisting in slaying them.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    He started running toward the town at a decent clip, and she took off after him. For her, it was a full sprint that ended with ragged breathing and a stitch in her side. And he still reached the gate before she was halfway there, once again making her reconsider the wisdom of skipping out on putting points into physical.


    ¡°Monsters?¡± he asked.


    ¡°None that I can sense.¡±


    ¡°I guess we¡¯re doing this the hard way,¡± he said. Without hesitation, he approached the closest house and started pounding on the door. A minute later, it opened to reveal a bleary eyed and confused man. Torwin grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him out of the house, then glanced back at Sildra.


    ¡°Human,¡± she mouthed.


    ¡°Your town has been infested with a parasitic monster that gets inside people, eats them from the inside out, and assumes their identities,¡± Torwin told the man. ¡°They seem to retain their host body¡¯s memories and are adept at pretending to be whoever they¡¯ve replaced. I¡¯ve got a way to detect them, but I need everyone outside.¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡± the man asked, still bewildered.


    ¡°I¡¯m the monster hunter hired to take care of the surge in population,¡± Torwin explained. ¡°Now, I need you to start getting people awake and out of their homes so I can root out the monsters. Every single person, no matter how old or how young, needs to be outside.¡±


    It took some browbeating, but the process was soon well underway, to disheartening results. It turned out there was a good reason every single person they¡¯d initially seen outside was a monster. The town was completely infested, even worse off than Deshir had been. Fortunately, they¡¯d developed strategies to help convince people that they were telling the truth.


    All they needed to do was get the townsfolk involved. Sildra would find a monster, pass that information onto Torwin, and he¡¯d get a few people to help restrain the monster. It wasn¡¯t that he needed their help, but this way, when he killed it, they¡¯d get notifications for assisting. He didn¡¯t do this with every monster, or even with most of them, but he quickly assembled a throng of people following him as they went up and down streets, cajoling or dragging people out of their homes as needed.


    It was a bloodbath, with well over half the town dead by the time it was done. Unlike in Deshir, the corrupted seed bearers weren¡¯t making any overt moves here. Perhaps they didn¡¯t have to, considering they¡¯d outnumbered the true humans until Torwin had started killing them.


    There were all the usual hysterics Sildra had come to expect. Outrage and anger ruled the day, but through all of that, he never wavered from his grim duty. Over and over again, he told the townsfolk that their friends and family were already dead, that all that was left were monsters masquerading as their loved ones. Sildra wasn¡¯t surprised at how little that helped.


    Once the whole town had been awoken and the monsters realized what was happening, some of them tried to flee. Torwin killed them from a quarter mile away, his bow practically humming from the heavy vibrations of its string. Others hid in cellars, basements, and attics, but no one was safe from Torwin¡¯s senses. Whatever skills he had, or even just raw stats, it was too much for a bunch of people struggling to breach the level 20 mark.


    [You have completed a quest: Save the frontier from the source of the corruption.]


    [Generating rewards for you and your companions.]


    [Reward: 1000 decarmas, 1 class orb with rare class, ¡°Druid of the Crescent Moon¡±]


    [You have been granted a new quest: Locate the source of the dungeon seed and destroy it before it can spread more chaos and destruction.]


    The notifications came in unexpectedly when they still had a dozen or so houses left to go through. She saw Torwin pause mid-stride and realized he¡¯d probably received a similar message, but he just dismissed it and got back to work. Thankfully, the quest hadn¡¯t lied and there were no more corrupted seed bearers.


    They left soon after, the old [Ranger] frowning thoughtfully as they walked the trails back toward Beldrit. ¡°What¡¯s a dungeon seed?¡± she asked, pulling him from his musings.


    ¡°What? Why?¡±


    ¡°When we finished the quest to root out the corruption, I got a new one to locate the source of the dungeon seed.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he admitted, ¡°but I have some suspicions. I think it might have been what those two boys found years ago. Maybe it¡¯s how new dungeons are formed, or maybe it¡¯s something else entirely.¡±


    ¡°I guess Morgus wants me to figure out where it came from so I can stop any more from appearing.¡±


    Torwin came to a full stop and peered at her. He grunted again, then said, ¡°You¡¯re going to need to level up some more if you¡¯re going to complete that quest.¡±


    ¡°Well, I did get a class orb to upgrade my class to rare as a reward for completing the quest,¡± she said. ¡°That¡¯s sure to help.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°You¡¯d better hope it removes those astrological limitations from your skills.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s called [Druid of the Crescent Moon],¡± she said.


    ¡°Ah, I see. It probably won¡¯t help with that particular problem, then.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she agreed. ¡°But it¡¯s a start. Did you get a reward too.¡±


    ¡°Just a thousand decarmas. I won¡¯t complain about it, but it¡¯s hardly life-changing for me.¡±


    ¡°I wonder if Jensen got anything. He helped a lot with Deshir, so that¡¯s got to be worth something, right?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll find out in a few hours,¡± Torwin said. By unspoken agreement, they both picked up the pace, eager to get back.

 Chapter 78

    The temporary camp was all but abandoned by the time Jensen made his way back there. He¡¯d spent most of his night in Beldrit, helping refugees get settled in. It was somewhat ghoulish to slot people into the homes left behind by the victims of monsters in this town, but that was how it went. He still thought it made more sense to send them back to Deshir, but given the state of the town, he could see why the people who were supposed to be living there weren¡¯t eager to return.


    Besides, there was safety in numbers and Deshir had been devastated enough that a regular old monster horde coming out of the forest would wipe the rest of them out. He wouldn¡¯t be at all surprised to learn that the town ended up abandoned before winter set in. Really, he supposed it depended on exactly how many more monsters his master and Sildra found in the other towns.


    I hope that innkeeper isn¡¯t a monster. I liked the food there.


    With any luck, he¡¯d get another night¡¯s sleep in a warm bed and a hearty breakfast before Torwin got them heading back south to civilization. Jensen could admit that he wasn¡¯t looking forward to that, not because of the walk, but because of the confrontation that awaited him at the end. His father was not going to be pleased that he¡¯d deviated from his instructions, no matter how good the class he¡¯d earned ended up being.


    [You have completed a quest: Save the frontier from the source of the corruption.]


    [Reward: 7500 decarmas, Grenadier¡¯s Flask]


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Jensen murmured. ¡°What¡¯s this now? They must have finished with the other towns.¡±


    The decarma value was nothing, but he supposed it helped offset some of the money he¡¯d spent blowing up that house. Jensen promptly ignored that part of the message and focused on the other half, the [Grenadier¡¯s Flask]. He¡¯d seen some made by the combined efforts of alchemists and enchanters, but to the best of his knowledge, it wasn¡¯t a piece of gear available through the system store. Then again, it would take years to read everything the store could offer, and not a single piece of it was worth the truly outrageous asking prices.


    The flask had the ability to fill itself with a volatile, highly explosive agent, and was enchanted so that, when thrown, it would shatter, leaving a swath of destruction wherever it landed. The cap of the flask would then start to regrow a new bottle over the next week or so, which would slowly fill itself again. Depending on the strength of the enchantments, it could be anywhere from ten days to two months between uses.


    If it¡¯s a quest reward, I¡¯d hope it skews more to the short end of the spectrum. He¡¯d have to ask Torwin to use [Identify] when he saw his master again to get the exact specifications. They¡¯d probably be back soon, since apparently, they¡¯d wiped out every single corrupted seed bearer in the area already. Knowing the speed Sildra moved at and considering how tired she had to be by now, he figured it¡¯d either be two to three hours if it was just Torwin or more like six to eight if it was both of them.


    Either way, Jensen was taking a nap while he could.


    * * *


    The mana compass still pointed to monsters with a lot of mana in them, but Velik didn¡¯t go out of his way to hunt for them. There¡¯d be plenty of time for that later; it wasn¡¯t like the champions were going anywhere. For the moment, he just wanted somewhere safe so he could properly rest.


    It had been two days of non-stop running after he¡¯d caught a few hours of sleep. He was tired, sore, and hungry, surviving mostly on his high physical stat and the occasional pieces of fruit he snatched up as he moved. The terrain was somewhat familiar to him, making it a bit easier to recall good foraging spots that wouldn¡¯t slow him down much. When he did finally return home, he pushed the door closed, gave silent thanks that [Mending] kept all his clothes clean, and dropped face down onto his bed, where he immediately passed out.


    It had been noon when he¡¯d gone to sleep, but it was just after dawn when he woke back up. Lost a whole day, he thought to himself as he stretched. Worth it.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Though he was lacking a considerable portion of his strength at the moment, Velik wasn¡¯t afraid of what he¡¯d run into this close to the edge of the forest. He headed out without fear, then stopped to look around. At first, he thought something had gone wrong with [Apex Hunter]. All of his sensory abilities were folded into it and he relied heavily on them to lock down the locations of nearby monsters without having to manually search every square foot of the forest.


    There was nothing within half a mile of him. Or, if there was, it was too quiet and stealthy for him to detect it passively. That only happened after he¡¯d personally killed every monster in the area, though, and unless he¡¯d started hunting in his sleep, that hadn¡¯t happened.


    Is it over? The source of all the monsters was probably Chalin¡¯s dungeon, and that¡¯s gone now. But that couldn¡¯t have rippled all the way to here yet.


    After a few minutes of consideration, he decided it was probably Torwin¡¯s fault, or possibly his apprentice. The professional monster hunters had had a few days to work clearing out the area while Velik traveled and then slept. If new monsters weren¡¯t pushing in anymore, then it was possible that this was just what the forest looked like now. Another month or so to take care of any strays wandering in might finally see the region at peace again.


    And then what? he wondered.


    He was leaving. He knew that much. The problem he¡¯d caused so many years ago was finally fixed, and he didn¡¯t owe anything to these people beyond that. His conversations with Torwin and Jensen had clued him into the fact that there was a lot to life he knew nothing about, and he thought he should probably take a few steps toward fixing that.


    The first one would be to sell the champion seeds. No, the first one would be to go back into the deep wood and finish harvesting the rest of them. He was level 38 now; maybe that task would push him up to 40 and open a new skill slot. Even if it didn¡¯t, he needed to work on [Savage Rhythm] and [Dread Lance]. He suspected he could fold the former into [Spear Warden] at some point, but he needed time to figure out the skill¡¯s intricacies.


    For today, he would survey the frontier and see how things really stood. Just because there were no monsters here did not mean there were none anywhere. His normal circuit would take a few hours and would serve to familiarize him with the current state of things. Then he needed to find Torwin and offload his dubious quest reward. Hopefully, the older hunter would know why he¡¯d even been credited with completing a quest in the first place.


    Smiling to himself as he started thinking of what his next concrete steps would be to begin a new life somewhere else, Velik started to run through the trees.


    * * *


    It turned out that Torwin was just as eager to find Velik as he was to find Torwin. Somewhere between Beldrit and Celarut, they noticed each other and immediately veered off course to join up. The old monster hunter looked the same as always, though there was perhaps a touch of sadness softening his face that hadn¡¯t been there before.


    ¡°So, you survived,¡± Torwin said. ¡°We¡¯ve noticed the monsters flowing into the area slowing down already. I¡¯m guessing that means you had some measure of success.¡±


    ¡°If you could call it that,¡± Velik told him. ¡°I don¡¯t really understand a lot of what happened out there, but I think the threat is ended.¡±


    The two started walking to Celarut at Torwin¡¯s insistence. More specifically, they headed to the Raven¡¯s Nest for lunch. The time spent reaching town was filled with updates about what had happened, Velik describing the strange cave he¡¯d been trapped in and the monster he¡¯d found at the bottom of it. Torwin told him about the massive death toll the corrupted seed bearers had inflicted on the frontier, about the infestation that none of them had noticed despite it probably having been ongoing for a year or more.


    ¡°Sildra found them?¡± Velik asked in disbelief.


    ¡°More like she was the instrument of a god¡¯s will,¡± Torwin said. ¡°The quest came from him, no doubt. She spread it to us when we aligned with her purpose and helped her achieve what Morgus wanted.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know gods could influence the system.¡±


    ¡°Only in specific ways, if the priests are to be believed. Granting quests is one of the big ones.¡±


    Another example of things I don¡¯t know that I should.


    He knew it wasn¡¯t his fault. He¡¯d spent most of his life living in the woods killing monsters, and he was good at it. It was doing everything else that he was struggling with. Hopefully, Torwin would have some good advice about where to learn all the things a normal person was supposed to know by the time they were an adult. Velik had plenty of decarmas; it wouldn¡¯t be a problem to pay for tutoring or classes.


    ¡°There¡¯s something I wanted to talk to you about,¡± he said, earning a curious glance from Torwin. ¡°I kind of need some advice about the future.¡±


    ¡°What about it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m leaving the region as soon as I¡¯m certain the monster threat is truly resolved, and I could use some input about what to do next. I don¡¯t really even know what my options are.¡±


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s good. I wanted to talk to you about the exact same thing. I¡¯ll tell you what, let¡¯s get a meal in our bellies first, and we can discuss what the world outside of your little corner has to offer.¡±

 Chapter 79

    ¡°If you¡¯re going after the rest of those champions, you should do it immediately,¡± Torwin said between bites of sausage. ¡°I¡¯ll delay my return home as long as possible, but I already sent messages ahead about the corruption. I can guarantee I¡¯ll be receiving orders to report everything in person in the next few days.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want some of the seeds for yourself?¡± Velik asked.


    The old hunter chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ve got a decades-long career of hunting monsters and you would not believe how rich that has made me. Don¡¯t get me wrong, those champions are easy money if you¡¯re strong enough to kill them, but I don¡¯t need it. And Jensen definitely doesn¡¯t. His family is rich enough to buy a god. We¡¯re here to get him experience, and that¡¯s been done. Go, clean up the mess, get paid for it, and fund your new life.¡±


    ¡°And then what?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Torwin said slowly, drawing the single word out. He stared down at his breakfast and took another bite while he thought. ¡°You¡¯ve got the skills and temperament to be a professional monster hunter, I think. You¡¯ve got some gaps in your practical knowledge, but there¡¯s no denying the talent for it. I¡¯m not sure you realize how much of a feat it is soloing a champion elite at level, let alone higher, not to mention clearing an entire dungeon.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like it was easy,¡± Velik said dryly.


    Torwin snorted. ¡°People won¡¯t believe you if you try to tell them what you did. It¡¯s too preposterous, even for someone with a unique class and racial subtype like you¡¯ve got. I can vouch for you and sponsor your registration if you decide to try, but you¡¯ll still have to do your time as an iron. No one gets around that.¡±


    ¡°An iron?¡±


    ¡°Iron-ranked. It means you¡¯d be a probationary member. Most monster hunters work in groups, and the guild has to know that you can carry your own weight, follow orders, and not recklessly endanger the rest of your team. I imagine they¡¯ll have to come up with a few new tests for someone as strong as you are. It¡¯s not often new applicants are higher than level 15.¡±


    When Velik didn¡¯t immediately respond, Torwin hastened to add, ¡°If you¡¯re interested, of course. You¡¯ve got plenty of other options. Mercenary work if you don¡¯t mind fighting other people instead of monsters, or you could attach yourself to a wealthy house like Jensen¡¯s. There¡¯s probably twenty or thirty notable ones that take on retainers.¡±


    I don¡¯t even know what to say to that. I understand what the words mean, but what would I actually be signing myself up for? What obligations does being an iron-ranked monster hunter or a retainer to a powerful family come with? Will that leave me any time for myself? Do I even need the support of some organization? Would they help me figure out what this class orb means?


    ¡°There¡¯s something else to consider,¡± Torwin said. ¡°Your friend who had the quest¡ª¡±


    ¡°Not my friend,¡± Velik muttered.


    ¡°She got¡ªwhat? I thought¡­ Well, regardless, it seems that Morgus isn¡¯t quite done with her. When we finished purging the corruption, she got a new quest to locate whoever or whatever put that dungeon seed in your path and stop it from ever doing anything like that again.¡±


    ¡°I still don¡¯t understand why I got roped into that,¡± Velik said. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything to save the towns.¡±


    ¡°True, but you did destroy the dungeon that the seeds were coming from. We treated the symptoms, but you purged the disease out of the frontier. Besides, when a god grants you a reward through the system, the smart thing to do is to offer praise, accept the gift, and shut your mouth.¡±This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    Velik couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. There was certainly some sense to that advice, though he couldn¡¯t think of a reward he¡¯d want less than a class orb for that cursed class that had taken over Chalin¡¯s life and turned him into a monster. He still wasn¡¯t sure how that had all come about, whether Chalin¡¯s new monstrous class had pushed him to seek out and consume other people, or whether the dungeon core had formed in the very beginning and taken him over. Perhaps it had been a bit of both.


    Finding whoever had dropped that seed there and ensuring that they couldn¡¯t ever cause that kind of harm again sounded like a worthwhile goal, now that he thought about it. Sildra¡¯s quest was important to him, but the simple truth was that he didn¡¯t have the first clue how to go about it. It had taken ten years to find Chalin again, and he¡¯d only been a few hundred miles away.


    But maybe Torwin knew someone who could help. ¡°The class orb,¡± he said, ¡°do you think it¡¯s a clue? Is that why the quest rewarded it to me? Could we use it to find whoever left that dungeon seed behind?¡±


    ¡°We as in you or me? No, I doubt it. Somebody with a different class and access to a set of skills we can only dream about might be able to. Once someone figures out where to look, that¡¯s when people like us get sent in to narrow things down and take care of the problem.¡±


    ¡°And do you know somebody like that?¡± Velik asked.


    ¡°Well now.¡± Torwin grinned. ¡°That seems like the kind of resources a guild or noble house might be able to offer, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Velik told him honestly.


    ¡°Ah. Right. Perhaps a place to round out your¡­ ahem¡­ education before anything else.¡±


    ¡°That would be a good start.¡±


    They both sat silently for a little while, pondering the discussion and finishing up lunch, or breakfast, in Velik¡¯s case. Finally, Torwin said, ¡°This might be a problem better posed to Jensen. I¡¯m sure his family has access to tutors and instructors on all sorts of subjects. The question is which ones you could buy the services of without indebting yourself to the Alderworths.¡±


    If there was one thing he didn¡¯t want, it was to have obligations to some noble family. Working as a mercenary or a guild monster hunter was one thing. Those were jobs. He¡¯d maintain his independence and could walk away if he needed to. But there was no doubt in Velik¡¯s mind that if he let some noble get his hooks in him, it would end poorly.


    ¡°Education, independence, revenge,¡± Velik muttered.


    Torwin said nothing, though Velik knew he¡¯d heard every syllable. He just ate his last bite of food and drained the remainder of his beer. Whatever he thought of Velik¡¯s plan, he wasn¡¯t willing to offer an opinion. He just stood up, glanced around, and sighed.


    ¡°I¡¯ll talk to Jensen and see if he has any ideas. It¡¯s probably better to keep you away from him, anyway. His father¡¯s already going to be a handful to deal with since he decided to go a different direction with his class evolution. There¡¯s no need for you to get dragged through all of that with us, but maybe we can give you some ideas for some independent instructors. You¡¯ll probably be a few weeks behind us, anyway. Things should have cooled down by then.¡±


    ¡°How will I find you?¡± Velik asked.


    ¡°Oh, just ask around at the guild hall. Someone will get a message to me. Now, I¡¯m going to go roll my lazy apprentice¡¯s ass out of bed. Good luck claiming the rest of those champion seeds. I would advise you to hold onto them when you arrive in Cravel until you can have someone appraise them. Figuring out how much they¡¯re worth can be tricky. It depends on a whole bunch of stuff, not just level.¡±


    ¡°Solid advice,¡± Velik said. Then he surprised himself by adding, ¡°It was good working with you. I don¡¯t usually have any help keeping the monster population under control. You and Jensen took a lot of pressure off me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my job,¡± the old monster hunter said simply. ¡°They paid me for it, though I doubt I¡¯ll be getting any thanks this time around. I¡¯ll see you in a month or so.¡±


    With that, Torwin walked across the room and ascended a staircase. Velik sat at the table for another minute thinking, then snickered when he heard an outraged bellow overhead followed by a loud thump as something heavy struck the floorboards.


    Clean up, cash out, and start living my life for myself, he thought. Yeah, that¡¯s a good start. But someday, we¡¯re going to figure out who started all this, and we¡¯re going to make him pay.


    Unconsciously, his hand strayed down to his hip pouch where the class orb containing Chalin¡¯s class rested. He wasn¡¯t sure how, not yet, but he knew it was a clue, one he intended to follow to the very end. If Sildra intended to complete her quest with him, she¡¯d have to get a lot stronger a lot faster.


    Plenty of monsters left. With the source dried up, she can handle defending the towns, what¡¯s left with them. Maybe it¡¯ll be enough.


    Ignoring the loud arguing coming from Jensen¡¯s room above his head, Velik stood up from the table and strode out the front door. The work wasn¡¯t done yet.


    End of Book 1

 Book 2, Chapter 1

    The split tailed bull stood ten feet tall at the shoulders and was wider than any three people standing abreast. It had horns like spears and hooves that could crush stone. The steel bars holding it back looked far too flimsy to keep such a monster confined, and Velik was sure if it had been given any room to gain momentum, it would have easily crashed right through them.


    He stood as part of a group of thirty-two iron-ranked monster hunters in a field just east of the city of Cravel. If he¡¯d bothered to climb one of the trees ringing the field, he¡¯d be able to see the walls from here, not that he thought he¡¯d get away with that. Their field instructors all stood in a line, flanking the bull¡¯s cage while Pevril paced back and forth. He ignored the way the bull¡¯s eyes were locked on him, probably because he was deliberately aggravating the monster with that stupid scarf he always wore flapping around in the wind.


    ¡°Every three months, we do this trial,¡± Pevril announced. ¡°Some of you pass. Most of you don¡¯t. Occasionally a few of you die. That hasn¡¯t happened in the last four years, but this is a dangerous job, and even under the most controlled conditions, mistakes happen. I see some familiar faces from the last trial, and I hope you¡¯ll share your experience with those who are here for the first time.¡±


    Velik didn¡¯t bother looking around. His fellow irons weren¡¯t important to him, despite the past twelve weeks of his instructors attempting to instill a sense of comradery in the group, they all knew Velik was an outsider. He was here to pass the trial, where he¡¯d almost certainly skip bronze rank and ascend immediately to silver, maybe even gold.


    Still, he had to prove his ability to work with a team. There were no exceptions, no matter how famous or powerful an iron was. They went through the guild¡¯s training program or they left the guild, and Velik needed access to their resources for the moment. He was quickly losing patience with the whole process, however much his sponsor promised him it would be worth it.


    Would have been nice if Torwin could have just found this information out for me and saved me the time.


    ¡°Today, you¡¯ll face this monster in groups of four. None of you are capable of killing this alone¡ª¡± At least half the irons glanced at Velik when Pevril said that, but he ignored them and continued, ¡°¡ªbut fortunately, a monster hunter doesn¡¯t have to be alone. You¡¯ve been placed in teams that complement each other¡¯s strengths and compensate for each other¡¯s weaknesses. Your team leaders will draw lots in a moment, and we¡¯ll clear the field to give the first team room to fight.¡±


    Velik¡¯s team leader was a bossy woman with a hair-trigger temper who hated Velik¡¯s guts. He¡¯d quickly realized there was nothing he could do to stay in her good graces and hadn¡¯t bothered trying, something that seemed to infuriate her all the more. Admittedly, it probably didn¡¯t help things that he hadn¡¯t bothered to learn her name, but he planned on never seeing her again after today, so it was a little late now.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be judging you not only in how you act as a team, but in how well you fulfill your individual roles,¡± Pevril said. ¡°It is entirely possible for some members of the team to pass and others to fail. However, if anyone on your team dies, you will all fail, instantly. Ensuring the safety of all hunters involved is your top priority. Killing the monster is secondary to that.¡±


    This wasn¡¯t anything new. Everyone knew the rules, and it was honestly starting to annoy him that the lead instructor was wasting their time going over this again. They all knew what monster they¡¯d be fighting, had known for three days now to give them time to come up with their strategies. He tuned out the rest of Pevril¡¯s speech until it was time for them to figure out what order they¡¯d be fighting in.


    When his team¡¯s leader came back with a grimace on her face, he could guess what had happened. ¡°Number one,¡± she reported to the groans of the other two people on his team.


    ¡°Do you think it was rigged on account of¡­ You know,¡± the boy with the bow asked. He was around the same age as Velik, but he still had a lot of baby fat hanging off his face. It made him look a lot younger than he actually was, and the spotty stubble pretending to be a mustache across his upper lip didn¡¯t help things.


    ¡°No, I think it¡¯s just bad luck. It¡¯s fine, we¡¯ll just have to show everyone else how it¡¯s done, assuming we can all remember our jobs and stick to them,¡± the leader said.


    ¡°Got it, Milly,¡± the boy dutifully responded.


    Milly? That doesn¡¯t seem right. Maybe it¡¯s a nickname?


    Milly turned a sharp look on Velik and waited for him to say something. He returned her gaze steadily, but remained silent. With a huff, her eyes shifted over to the other woman on their team, the useless one. She was in her mid-twenties and seemed to have some sort of laborer class focused on harvesting resources. That meant she sucked in a fight, and Velik honestly wasn¡¯t sure why she was trying to be a monster hunter with that class.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    ¡°You up for this, Lesta?¡± Milly asked softly.


    The woman nodded and patted one of the four knives sheathed around her waist. Each one was shaped differently, sometimes with hooks on the end or flared blades designed to carve around different musculatures and ligaments. Velik would be the first to admit that he was no butcher, being far more interested in the extermination of monsters than in harvesting them for parts, but it all seemed like overall to him. One knife was plenty.


    ¡°I know what to do,¡± she confirmed.


    ¡°Velik?¡± Milly asked, her voice harsh.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me,¡± he told her.


    ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± she snapped back. ¡°I¡¯m worried about you letting everyone else down.¡±


    If Velik had a tendency to go a little off-script, that was only because Milly was bad at evaluating her team¡¯s capabilities and kept trying to get more out of them than they were capable of giving. Things consistently went wrong, the other irons panicked and made the situation worse, and Velik was forced to step in to salvage things. It was hardly his fault. He always performed his role perfectly, right up to the point where everything went wrong.


    The real mystery to him was how Milly had gotten sponsored for a leadership role in the first place. But he wasn¡¯t here to argue about guild hierarchy. He was here to get through iron-rank and gain access to the full guild support infrastructure. As long as he made a decent showing in this fight and no one died, things would be fine.


    That bull was at most level 25, according to the feeling he got from [Apex Hunter], so he wasn¡¯t terribly worried about it. The challenge here wasn¡¯t to kill it, which he could do in less than a second, but to keep its attention on him while his team did their best to kill it much less efficiently.


    ¡°Final status reviews,¡± Milly ordered. ¡°We¡¯re up in two minutes.¡±


    Dutifully, Velik checked his status, not that there was much to see.


    [Name: Velik]


    [Race: Human (Duskbound)]


    [Class: The Black Fang]


    [Level: 41]


    [Physical: 119(+29)]


    [Mental: 64(+6)]


    [Mystical: 44(+40)]


    [Free Points: 0]


    [Decarma: 124732]


    [Skills:]


    [Apex Hunter (Rank 6)]


    [Spear Warden (Rank 9)]


    [Dread Lance (Rank 3)]


    [Savage Rhythm (Rank 5)]


    [Burden of the Beast (Rank 2)]


    [Gear:]


    [Harbinger of Dusk (+15Ph, +5My)]


    [The Sixth Plague (+10My)]


    [Night Striders (+6 Ph, +2 Me]


    [Invoker¡¯s Pendant (+20 My)]


    [Earcuff of Unbreakable Will]


    [Ravensfeather Cloak (+15 My)]


    [Twilight Bond]


    [Heart of the Inferno (+10 Ph)]


    [Chimeric Vest (+4 Ph, +2 Me)]


    [Chimeric Pants (+4 Ph, +2Me)]


    As always, he had to laugh at how foolish he¡¯d been back on the frontier. He¡¯d had three pieces of gear, with only his weapon being any good. Since coming to Cravel, he¡¯d spent a small fortune equipping himself with the best he could find, and now had some twenty-five levels worth of extra stats, not to mention five different active abilities from his gear. His backup weapon, which the system identified as The Sixth Plague for some reason, wouldn¡¯t actively contribute its stat bump until he was holding it, but for this fight, he wanted the spear he¡¯d been using for years.


    ¡°First team, approach. Everyone else hit the sidelines,¡± Pevril called.


    Milly led them to where the head instructor was standing. He gave them a once over, almost sneering at Velik for a moment before catching himself, and nodded. ¡°Any final questions before we open the cage?¡± he asked.


    Velik let his gaze wander over to the split tailed bull, then past it to where seven identical cages held the monsters the other teams would fight at the far end of the field. They¡¯d gotten the largest, most impressive specimen of the lot for their battle. No wonder the team lead was so upset. Not only do we not get to witness the other fights and learn from their mistakes, we got the strongest one.


    The instructors had disappeared with the rest of the irons, forming a ring to protect the other teams if needed and clearly marking out the boundaries of the arena his team would be fighting on. Velik had never fought this particular monster, but part of every iron¡¯s training regime including classroom studying. They¡¯d gone through dozens of bestiaries, learning the most common monsters, their behaviors, habitats, diets, and what kinds of skills they were known to possess.


    He''d taken it even further, privately funding outside tutors on a variety of other topics he¡¯d learned his knowledge was criminally deficient in. If he¡¯d known half of what he did now a year ago, he¡¯d have put an end to that mess on the frontier long before the guild had gotten involved.


    ¡°Good luck, Milly,¡± Pevril said. ¡°I know you can do this.¡±


    ¡°If I had any luck, I wouldn¡¯t be going first, Dad,¡± she joked.


    I didn¡¯t realize they were related, Velik thought with some surprise. Now that he looked, though, he could see some resemblance in the shape of their noses and the ridge of their eyebrows. He wondered which one of them had decided they hated him first and spread the attitude to the other, or if they¡¯d both arrived at that conclusion independently.


    ¡°You have thirty seconds to prepare,¡± Pevril said. He slapped his hand onto a square metal plate on the front of the cage, then turned and jogged off to the sidelines.


    None of them said anything. They just spread out to take their assigned positions, leaving Velik alone in front of the cage to stare the bull in the eyes. Right on cue, the magic in the cage swirled through the bars, releasing each side to fold out and fall. The bull, not one to ponder on its change in circumstances, immediately lowered its horns and charged.

 Book 2, Chapter 2

    It wasn¡¯t enough to just avoid the bull. That was easily done a few different ways. For one thing, Velik had a significantly higher physical and a class that focused on both power and agility, so it was trivial to just stay in front of the monster. He could literally outrun it as it chased him, but that wouldn¡¯t keep its attention once the rest of his team started trying to murder it.


    He had to hurt it, and do it enough that any damage the rest of his worthless team did wouldn¡¯t make it decide to attack them instead. At the same time, it was a team effort, and if he outright killed it without letting anyone else do anything, he¡¯d be failing the purpose of the exam.


    Why do I want to be part of this guild again?


    With a mental sigh, his spear uncurled from where he¡¯d wrapped it around his arm and fell into his hand. One of its properties was [Shape Shifting] which he used to great effect in combat by reforming the size and shape of the spearhead, and which also made the weapon convenient to carry around when he wasn¡¯t actively using it.


    For this fight, he opted to form his spear into something long and thin, with a needle tip and a razor edge. It would dig long, shallow wounds into the bull or stab deep punctures that would slowly bleed the monster out. At the same time, it would let him keep some distance. He whipped it across the bull¡¯s face, scoring a line of thick, black blood across its nose, then pivoted out of the way, pushing off his back foot as he turned to hop five feet to the side. The bull lumbered past him, its horns slashing left and right as it shook its head.


    Could have just put the needle through your eye and into your brain.


    Arrows started coming in, most of them piercing the bull¡¯s hide and sticking out of its backside, but none of them really hitting anything vital. Milly started shouting orders, directing the chubby guy with the bow to aim for the joints in the bull¡¯s leg, which Velik would have agreed might have been a good call if he was confident the guy could aim well enough to hit that small of a moving target.


    The bull whipped around, tearing up large chunks of ground with its hooves as it skidded and started trying to regain traction to build up another charge. Velik faded backwards, not because he needed the distance, but because he didn¡¯t want to get shot in the back by an arrow once the bull got closer. At the rate things were going, the archer¡¯s quiver was going to be empty long before he accomplished anything useful.


    Milly and Lesta closed in behind the bull, chasing after it while Velik did his best to run it in a circle. It honestly wasn¡¯t that hard to do, since the arrows were little more than stinging annoyances and he kept stabbing the monster in the face. It was firmly locked onto him, so much so that the two women managed to jump it seemingly without its notice.


    No! Not from that side, Velik mentally cursed.


    They were called split tailed bulls because, unlike the mundane animal they resembled, they had two tails that could move independently of each other. Each tail had a thick, flexible, bony ridge that made getting hit like one essentially like getting whipped by a piece of heavy chain, and the tails were easily five feet long.


    Approaching the monster from the ass end was the wrong move, but since the tails weren¡¯t flailing around wildly and didn¡¯t look like much to a casual inspection, Lesta didn¡¯t seem to realize the danger. She had a knife in either hand and was running at what Velik was sure was her top speed, apparently intent on vaulting onto the monster¡¯s back despite it being twice her height.


    For all it was seemingly raging out of control, Velik wasn¡¯t fooled. The monster wasn¡¯t stupid, and it had some sort of sensory feedback in those tails that helped it keep track of what was going on behind its immense bulk. The instant Lesta tried to make her jump, one of the tails whipped down and struck her face. The other lashed out at Milly, who¡¯d aborted her own attempt to leap on it with a pair of hand axes when she¡¯d realized the danger.


    To her credit, she scrambled over to Lesta and immediately started trying to pull the woman out of danger. It might even have worked under other circumstances. Velik still had its attention firmly on him, keeping it disoriented with a dizzying array of stabs and slashes. Some of them skipped off its horns, but even that was intentional, a way for him to steer its head back and forth.Stolen novel; please report.


    The split tailed bull didn¡¯t need a clear head to kick out with its back feet. It leaned forward, putting weight on its front legs, and Velik yelled, ¡°Back kick!¡± just as it started to activate the skill that would lend extra power to those limbs. A normal kick would have been bad enough with those hooves that could easily kick through an inch-thick plate of steel, but with it using a skill, there were good odds someone behind it was about to die.


    He could see the two women under the bull¡¯s chest, and it wasn¡¯t hard to picture Milly taking a kick to the head as she bent down to pull Lesta clear. Her skull would be shattered into fragments that splattered the field, resulting in her instant death. Velik couldn¡¯t allow that. Not only would it be a completely senseless death, but he¡¯d fail the exam if Milly died.


    If he¡¯d been under the effects of [Duskbound], he could have circled the monster in time to save the women, but that was a secret he was keeping to himself. His mental was high enough that nobody had been able to catch him with an [Identify] anyway, so other than the branch¡¯s guild master and Torwin, no one knew he wasn¡¯t fully human. He was strong enough during the day to not need the boost to his abilities dusk brought him anyway.


    That wasn¡¯t to say he couldn¡¯t tap into it. At great cost, he¡¯d commissioned a ring called Twilight Bond that had one single enchantment: [Darkness]. For a minute, he could simulate the conditions that gave him access to [Duskbound], something he¡¯d tested and confirmed. After that, the ring would need to recharge before he could use it again.


    But that circled right back to people learning things about him he didn¡¯t want to share. They already knew his physical was significantly higher than anyone else¡¯s, so using that wouldn¡¯t be revealing much. It was probable that no one realized exactly how far he outclassed them, but he didn¡¯t have another choice.


    [Shapeshifting] widened his spear¡¯s tip from a needle point to a thick, cutting edge. Just before the bull could kick out, he brought the weapon down on its skull, splitting the bone and slicing deep into its brain. Black blood seeped out of the crease he¡¯d made between its horns, running down its face to dribble into the dirt.


    The bull dropped straight down, landing hard on its belly and shaking the ground from the impact. Whether or not Milly could have dodged the kick was irrelevant. The threat was over.


    [You have helped slay a split tailed bull (level 25).]


    Velik walked around the corpse and looked down at the two women, both of whom were still breathing. Lesta was unconscious, having taken the bull¡¯s tail straight to the face, and Milly¡¯s eyes were wide in fear. Beyond her, their archer had a sickly look on his face and his last arrow held loosely on the string of his bow.


    ¡°Well, that could have gone better,¡± Velik said, ¡°but we¡¯re all still alive. That¡¯s got to count for something.¡±


    * * *


    ¡°You fail,¡± Pevril told Velik ¨C just him, specifically. The other three had already been given passes.


    ¡°How¡¯s that?¡± Velik asked.


    They were standing in a line in front of the instructor, Milly helping support the still woozy Lesta. It had taken a few minutes to get her upright, but healing potions of dubious quality were cheap, and they were no longer in a life-or-death situation, so one had been swiftly administered to her. She¡¯d get away without so much as a concussion or a scar.


    ¡°Your job was to keep the monster from attacking anyone else. Obviously, you didn¡¯t manage to do that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure how it can be considered my fault that those two approached the backside of a monster known for attacking from the rear,¡± Velik argued, feeling himself getting angry and doing his best to keep it under control. Pevril didn¡¯t like him, and this conversation reeked of his personal bias.


    Some of the other instructors looked uncomfortable, but none of them were going to jump in to defend him against their boss, which meant Velik was on his own out here. Back at the guild hall, it might be a different story, but as far as things were concerned right now, Pevil was the ultimate arbitrator of Velik¡¯s fate.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t complicated. It¡¯s a team exam. Everybody has a job to do. Everybody but you did your job, and not only did you fail to do it, but you nearly got half your team killed with your carelessness,¡± Pevril explained.


    Must not stab guild instructor, Velik told himself.


    ¡°If you really believed they were in danger of dying, why did none of the instructors step in?¡± he asked. [Apex Hunter] pegged Pevril as being around level 32 or so, with a hunter type class. He was fast, but Velik knew he could put his dagger in the instructor¡¯s guts before the man could defend himself. Restraining that impulse took a lot of willpower, because it would have been ever so satisfying after month¡¯s of putting up with the man¡¯s abuse.


    I am not redoing this, not because Worthless One and Worthless Two ran into melee range at precisely the wrong angle while Worthless Three emptied a whole quiver and accomplished nothing for it.


    ¡°It¡¯s not my fault they approached from the wrong side,¡± Velik said. ¡°I did my job perfectly, and when they screwed up, I salvaged the situation and saved them from getting hurt or worse. If anyone should be failed, it should be them.¡±


    ¡°And the fact that you honestly seem to believe that just proves how unfit you are to be a part of this guild,¡± Pevril sneered. ¡°The grade is final. Fail. Now get the hell off my field.¡±

 Book 2, Chapter 3

    The guild hall was nothing like Velik had expected when he¡¯d first arrived in Cravel. He¡¯d expected it to look something like an enormous hunter¡¯s lodge, big enough for a hundred people to stay in. In his head, he¡¯d pictured a huge gathering hall with a massive fireplace on one end, trophies of various hunts mounted on the walls around it. There would be hunters of all origins sitting at tables, swapping stories and enjoying good food.


    The reality was a lot more mundane and a bit depressing. The Monster Hunters Guild was a business, and its guildhall resembled an office more than anything else. Its primary purpose was to acquire and sort information about all things monster related. They were a repository of information, so much so that there was a great library stuffed full of books and a small platoon of scribes working to maintain the quality and accuracy of those tomes as they copied out new ones for distribution.


    There were clerks and counters and lines for guildsmen taking on jobs and petitioners dropping them off. There was a claims area for receiving payment or a ticket to take to one of the banks authorizing a transfer of funds from one account to another if the amount was too high to be convenient and for some reason not in the shape of decarmas.


    It was all very professional and sterile, despite the wildly eclectic appearances of the actual monster hunters themselves. Velik had no room to point fingers there, especially now with a black cloak patterned with raven feathers and clothes made out of dark blue leather. The amount of jewelry he was wearing wasn¡¯t something he¡¯d ever have considered purely as a fashion choice, but each one had powerful enchantments derived from the various champion seeds he¡¯d recovered at the end of summer.


    Unfortunately, that also meant a mess of bureaucracy, something he had practically no experience dealing with. Torwin sponsoring him had helped bypass a lot of the process, almost everything except for the actual trial period as an iron. It was too bad Torwin was off on what he¡¯d referred to as his ¡°punishment¡± for failing to help Jensen evolve his class into [Ranger], something he¡¯d apparently been contractually obligated to achieve.


    The fact that Jensen had gotten something arguably better in [Vault Seeker] and that he was completely happy with the end results wasn¡¯t relevant. His father had successfully argued a breach of contract and taken the guild for the full amount due in the penalty clauses, or something like that. Velik wasn¡¯t a lawyer. It sounded like a terrible class designed to make those who held it miserable. What he did know was that the people in charge weren¡¯t happy with Torwin and he¡¯d been sent on a crappy, lengthy job as punishment.


    On a personal level, that meant that other than getting Velik on the right path, Torwin hadn¡¯t been around much to help him navigate the murky political waters of the guild, which was honestly probably how Velik had ended up in this situation in the first place. He knew Milly didn¡¯t like him, and he knew Pevril felt the same, and those two had probably conspired in some way that Velik hadn¡¯t figured out to put him in a position where he couldn¡¯t win if he played by the rules.


    What would Jensen say about this? ¡®Screw the rules, I¡¯m rich.¡¯ That sounds about right.


    If he couldn¡¯t win their stupid game normally, he¡¯d go over Pevril¡¯s head. Whatever else could be said about Velik, he was over level 40 and barely eighteen years old, with a unique racial subtype and class, and a full set of powerful equipment. He could kill monsters ten levels higher than him easily.


    It was safe to say that the guild wanted him in their ranks, so letting someone who outranked the instructor for the iron-ranks know the bullshit that was going on would hopefully be enough to get things fixed. If not, he was done wasting time here. Velik didn¡¯t need the income, just the information. Torwin had assured him this was the best way to get it, but he¡¯d started cultivating contacts around the city in the form of tutors and instructors to help supplement the fact that he¡¯d basically had no education at all growing up in a destitute part of a country whose name he had never learned.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Ghestal, he thought to himself. It was one of the facts he¡¯d memorized from his lessons. It still didn¡¯t seem all that important, but he supposed for anyone planning on traveling to other countries, it was a useful bit of information. Considering he didn¡¯t have the first clue where the mysterious person or group that had planted a dungeon seed near his hometown were based out of, it was entirely possible he¡¯d need that broad knowledge of geography.


    He crossed the guild hall¡¯s lobby to one of the help desks, doing his best to keep the angry scowl off his face. It wasn¡¯t the attendant¡¯s fault he was in a bad mood; there was no reason to take it out on him. It was obvious he wasn¡¯t doing as good a job as he would have liked mastering his expression just from the way the attendant was watching him stalk over.


    ¡°What can I help you with?¡± the man asked, glancing just once at the iron pin on Velik¡¯s collar. He was required to wear it in the guild hall as a form of rank identification so that the staff knew what kind of access and privileges he had.


    ¡°I need to speak with the guild master,¡± Velik said.


    ¡°I am afraid he¡¯s not available without an appointment.¡± Left unsaid, but heavily implied, was that only important people could make appointments, and an iron-ranked member didn¡¯t fall into that category.


    This is the kind of crap you were supposed to be here to handle for me, Torwin, instead of being off in some goat-shit-covered hovel perched on the side of a mountain hunting whatever the hell it is that¡¯s eating the livestock.


    ¡°How about a message? Could you hand one off and let him decide if it¡¯s worth his time to see me?¡±


    Velik had only met the guild master once, back when Torwin had been doing the introductions, but the man had expressed a strong desire to induct Velik into the guild. He couldn¡¯t be alright with the blatant discrimination his head instructor was displaying against someone who was outperforming the rest of his team combined. For that matter, Velik was stronger than the instructors themselves.


    ¡°I can certainly take a message,¡± the attendant agreed. It wasn¡¯t lost on Velik that the man hadn¡¯t said he¡¯d deliver it.


    [Apex Hunter] was generally a passive skill. It sharpened Velik¡¯s senses, let him instinctively size up how dangerous monsters¡ªor people¡ªwere, and helped especially well with noticing the signs of passage he looked for when tracking prey. It also kept him keenly aware of the possibility of ambushes, drawing his attention to hiding places and helping him understand how predators thought.


    It was a fantastic skill, one that Velik had spent years developing. It had no less than six other skills folded into it, making it by far his most sophisticated skill, though [Spear Warden] wasn¡¯t far behind with four skills merged together to form it. Rarely did he need to intimidate someone, but when that rare occasion arose, Velik always found it useful to let some of those predatory instincts rise to the surface.


    ¡°Five minutes of the guild master¡¯s time,¡± he growled as he leaned over the desk. ¡°That¡¯s all I¡¯m asking for. If he wants to keep what he himself described as a ¡®valuable guild asset¡¯ inside his guild, he¡¯ll make that time to talk to me. You go tell him, right now.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t appreciate threats,¡± the attendant said flatly, apparently not that intimidated after all.


    Probably gets them regularly from puffed-up silvers and golds who think they¡¯re important. Or maybe he just doesn¡¯t see me as anything more than an iron.


    ¡°Tell him,¡± Velik repeated. ¡°Or I¡¯ll go up there and do it myself.¡±


    The attendant snorted. ¡°You¡¯re welcome to try. It¡¯s always a good laugh to watch some self-important blowhard get tossed out on his ass.¡±


    ¡°This place. I swear, I¡¯ve had enough of all this crap. Three months wasted here.¡±


    Velik walked past the attendant to the stairs leading up to the guild master¡¯s office, fully aware of the smirking man waiting expectantly behind him. There were traps in the guild hall, nothing lethal, but plenty dangerous enough to discourage anyone from forcing their way in where they weren¡¯t welcome. He¡¯d been escorted past them by Torwin for his initial meeting, the gold-ranked hunter¡¯s pin deactivating them as if they weren¡¯t even there.


    Velik didn¡¯t have a golden pin, and his iron one wasn¡¯t going to do a thing to help. He wasn¡¯t terribly concerned, though. When the first barrier popped up at the base of the stairs, it was a simple wall that repelled kinetic force. Velik put one hand on it and started pushing. Almost immediately, a loud cracking sound split the air.


    The attendant¡¯s smug grin disappeared as his jaw dropped open. At the same time, the wall split in half, its ability to handle pressure overpowered in a show of raw strength. Velik walked through and put his foot on the first stair.


    ¡°Wait! Wait,¡± the attendant called out, hurrying over to catch up. ¡°Do you know how expensive it is to rearm everything?¡±


    ¡°I know that I don¡¯t care,¡± Velik said. ¡°You¡¯re welcome to walk in front of me and keep the traps from activating if you¡¯d like.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take your message up,¡± the man told him. ¡°Just¡­ Please wait here.¡±


    ¡°No thanks.¡±

 Book 2, Chapter 4

    Now panicking at the lack of cooperation Velik was displaying, the attendant rushed ahead of him to disarm the defenses on the stairway, something Velik was absolutely sure the man wasn¡¯t supposed to be doing. What if I¡¯d been some sort of shape shifting monster or a body snatcher? You know those exist, right? he thought as he watched the attendant scamper off.


    Well, whatever. If you hadn¡¯t been such a jackass about it to begin with and just delivered the message like I¡¯d asked, you wouldn¡¯t be in this situation. I could have waited an hour or two if needed.


    Velik took his time following the attendant up the stairs. Unlike a gold-ranked hunter, the attendant had a special badge that allowed him to pass through unfettered while requiring he still manually deactivate defenses for anyone he was escorting. Velik wasn¡¯t sure what the logic behind that was, but he didn¡¯t make the rules and didn¡¯t much care as long as he made his way to the guild master¡¯s door.


    Thirty seconds later, he was in the administrative wing of the guild hall. It looked pretty much exactly like Velik remembered, which was to say it was stuffed full of boring offices and boring paperwork. Men and women who lacked the hard, clean, muscular physique of seasoned hunters staffed desks pushed up against walls to take advantage of the sunlight streaming in from the windows. There was a steady stream of traffic coming in and out of various rooms, as well as stairwells that led deeper into the guildhall and weren¡¯t available to non-staff members.


    At the end of the somewhat daunting bastion of paperwork and bureaucracy was Velik¡¯s goal: a door made of thick oak, delicate lines of filigree carved around its edges and an intricately decorated brass handle situated on the left side. A small, rectangular plaque on the door read, ¡®Betrim Nelspir, Guild Master.¡¯ The attendant marched up to it, paused for a second to steel himself, then knocked on the door.


    ¡°What?¡± a grumpy voice called out from behind it.


    ¡°Sir, there¡¯s a¡­ an iron¡­¡± The attendant paused for a moment and glanced back at Velik, who just stood there with his arms crossed and waited. ¡°An iron-ranked hunter who says he needs to talk to you.¡±


    ¡°The hell do I care about that?¡± the guild master yelled back. ¡°I¡¯m busy!¡±


    ¡°He, uh, he broke through the kinetic wall at the base of the stairs by pushing on it.¡±


    There was a pause, followed by some muffled swearing and an annoyed groan. Then heavy footsteps stomped toward the door, which was jerked open so fast Velik barely even parsed its movement. He didn¡¯t need [Apex Hunter] to tell him the guild master was strong. That speed sold the story well enough on its own.


    ¡°You,¡± Nelspir said, looking over the attendant¡¯s head to stare at Velik. ¡°You know we have protocol for a reason, right?¡±


    ¡°And if it was being followed properly, we wouldn¡¯t need to have a conversation about it,¡± Velik shot back. ¡°As it so happens, I¡¯m having a hard time getting things done fairly and quickly, and I¡¯d like to address that issue.¡±


    ¡°Gods help me, what did those idiots do now?¡± Nelspir muttered. He gave the attendant a withering look and snapped, ¡°Get back to your post.¡±


    Then, ungraciously, he gestured Velik into his office and slammed the door behind him. Nelspir was a big man, and high level, too, and Velik strongly disliked turning his back to someone with such a volatile temper, especially when he wasn¡¯t at all certain he could beat the man in a fight, but he walked with as much confidence as he could muster and dropped into a plush chair in front of the guild master¡¯s desk.


    The office itself was fairly large, but stuffed full of so much furniture that there was barely any room to move around. The desk was huge, bigger than any bed Velik had ever seen in his life. Bookshelves lined three walls, all of them more than a foot thick and bursting with leather bound ledgers. There was a couch pressed up against the remaining wall, right next to the door. It was covered in stains, looked well-worn, and, to Velik¡¯s delicate nose, had a distinct smell.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    Nelspir threw himself into his chair, almost sullenly, and stared at Velik. ¡°Well, what do you want?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s about Pevril,¡± Velik started, only to pause when the guild master groaned.


    ¡°That asshole? What did he do now?¡±


    ¡°Well, he failed me on the iron assessment, for starters.¡±


    ¡°What? That¡¯s it?¡± Nelspir laughed. ¡°And what, you thought you¡¯d come whine to the guild master about it? Did you think I¡¯d overturn the decision? Gods, kid, you really don¡¯t know shit about guild politics, do you?¡±


    ¡°I performed my job perfectly,¡± Velik said tightly. ¡°If anyone should have failed on my team, it should have been the girl who decided to charge a split tailed bull from the ass end and the team leader who should have known better but instead ran in with her. But, of course, my team leader is Pevril¡¯s daughter, so she passed with a perfect grade and I got failed because the idiot who had no business being there in the first place got herself hurt.¡±


    Nelspir¡¯s incredulous laugh died out, only to be replaced with a grimace as Velik explained what had happened. It didn¡¯t take very long to relate the events of the trial back to him, or to point out a few other instances of catching hell from the head instructor for things that really weren¡¯t Velik¡¯s fault.


    A few minutes later, Nelspir said, ¡°So, I guess those etiquette lessons to teach you how to not piss off every single person you meet were a waste of money, huh?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll admit I only attended two lessons,¡± Velik said. ¡°They were conflicting with my economics and finances time slots, and I judged managing my money to be far more important.¡±


    ¡°Debatable,¡± Nelspir muttered. ¡°Look, like I said, guild politics are a thing. There are factions inside the guild that have different objectives, and Pevril¡¯s petty enough to spend political capital on this. He gets final say on those trials, and nobody gets to overrule him. If I try, I end up embroiled in a battle for control of the guild while his bloc does its best to cripple my ability to do my job.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not interested in being a victim to your politics,¡± Velik said. ¡°I came here for one reason only. I don¡¯t need a shiny pin that says I¡¯m good at killing monsters. I already know I am. I need the information from your specialists and your archives. You get that for me, and I¡¯ll be happy to disappear and save you the headache.¡±


    ¡°Giving you access to resources above your ranking is an even tougher sell than getting around Pevril¡¯s decision to fail you. That would piss off both his faction and the ledgermen¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°Then what¡¯s your solution?¡± Velik asked.


    The guild master just stared past him for a minute, his weary face creased with wrinkles and covered in two-day stubble. Abruptly, he stood up from his desk, reached over to the nearest shelf, and pulled free one of the books. The cover was stained with what Velik hoped was water, but which he suspected was spilled wine based on the color, and the leather was starting to split and crack on the spine.


    Heedless of any need to handle the fragile book with care, Nelspir flipped it open and started thumbing through the pages. ¡°The trials are about teamwork,¡± he explained as he skimmed, ¡°because all bronze ranks work in teams. They have to. It¡¯s too dangerous, otherwise. Even silvers need special dispensation to run solo jobs, and we only let them do it on bronze grade work. You have to get to gold before you¡¯re trusted to work on your own.


    ¡°Honestly, even that isn¡¯t because everything is magically easier at gold-rank. It¡¯s just because there are so few of us that we couldn¡¯t begin to cover all the work if we made golds group up into teams for every single job that comes our way. We just trust them to know when they¡¯re in over their head and retreat to get help.¡±


    ¡°Fascinating,¡± Velik said flatly.


    ¡°There are trials to advance from one rank to the next. When you signed on with the guild, I expected you to complete the basic training an iron goes through, the things you need to know just to function within the guild, and then immediately ascend through the ranks up to gold by knocking out the silver and gold challenges.¡±


    ¡°You said there were no exceptions. Everyone has to go through iron-rank training.¡±


    ¡°Technically, you did that.¡±


    ¡°But I didn¡¯t pass,¡± Velik protested. ¡°That¡¯s the whole reason I¡¯m here.¡±


    Nelspir waved away the objection. ¡°I¡¯m assuming you passed everything up to the final trial, all the classes and exercises and lessons.¡±


    Barely, no thanks to my team leader. ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Then if you can pass the gold challenge, that proves you¡¯re capable of operating solo. You won¡¯t be able to work in a team, but what do you care? You¡¯re not here for bronze or silver jobs anyway.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ what, I did all the iron coursework, and I just go do the gold challenge, then I¡¯m officially gold-ranked? Just like that?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Nespir hedged. ¡°Not exactly like that, but you¡¯re not the first person to join the guild with an advanced level. There¡¯s precedent for promising initiates skipping steps once they complete the iron trial. You did the stuff I needed you to do. I think I can finagle things to sidestep Pevril¡¯s authority if you can prove your competency in a solo trial.¡±


    That was exactly what Velik wanted to hear. He leaned forward with a grin. ¡°What do you need me to do?¡±

 Book 2, Chapter 5

    ¡°Is this really the trial you put golds through?¡± Velik asked.


    ¡°Every single one of them,¡± Nelspir told him.


    ¡°And¡­ how often does someone just come in and pass this without working their way up through the guild?¡±


    ¡°Not that often,¡± the guild master admitted.


    ¡°Do I get to pick which one I take?¡±


    ¡°Nope. That¡¯ll be up to the evaluator.¡±


    Fantastic. Knowing my luck, I¡¯ll get the hardest, most time-consuming option.


    The trial itself was simple. He¡¯d be given a gold-ranked assignment from the job postings, and an instructor would follow along to evaluate him while he completed it solo. He wouldn¡¯t be told what criteria he was being judged on, and the instructor wouldn¡¯t interfere except to save a bystander¡¯s life, though if they deemed that person being in danger Velik¡¯s fault, that would count harshly against him.


    In theory, it was simple, except that even though gold-ranked monster hunters were allowed to work solo, it wasn¡¯t automatically expected of them. Of course, that was part of the test, too. If the job was too much for him to handle, he was supposed to be able to figure that out before he got himself killed so he could retreat. The problem was that if the instructor didn¡¯t agree that a gold-ranked shouldn¡¯t be able to complete the job without assistance, it didn¡¯t matter whether he could. It would just prove he wasn¡¯t ready for gold.


    The plan was to hope he got an instructor who wasn¡¯t friendly with Pevril, get an assignment from the job postings that, with any luck, wouldn¡¯t take months to complete, and do his best out there. There were too many variables out of his control to be happy about any of this, but the guild wasn¡¯t giving him a lot of other options.


    ¡°When will I know what I¡¯m doing?¡± he asked.


    Nelspir considered the question for a moment, then said, ¡°Give me three days to get things set up. I¡¯ll need to find your evaluator first, preferably one who isn¡¯t part of Pevril¡¯s bloc. There are also two jobs on the board I don¡¯t want you touching, so I¡¯ll see if I can get some other golds to claim those. That way they¡¯ll be eliminated from the pool.¡±


    Velik wanted to say something about how little control the guild master seemed to have over his own guild, but considering the man was doing him a favor in a round-about sort of way, he figured it was better to keep his mouth shut. Criticisms, no matter how valid they might be, wouldn¡¯t help his position.


    ¡°I¡¯d prefer something quick, if you can make that happen. I¡¯ve already lost enough time playing around with the irons.¡±


    Nelspir raised an eyebrow and stared at him. ¡°Awful demanding, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Whoops. No matter what I say, it¡¯s always the wrong thing.


    ¡°Sorry. It¡¯s just that this is important to me on a personal level and¡ª¡±


    The guild master brushed Velik¡¯s attempts at explaining aside. ¡°I¡¯m aware of your connection, and believe me, just because you don¡¯t have access to the guild vaults yet doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t have people working on it. Trust me. This isn¡¯t lost time, and once you get your clearance, we¡¯ll have plenty to catch you up on.¡±


    He hadn¡¯t realized there were people already working on his project for him. Then again, he supposed it wasn¡¯t really to help him specifically. It was because Torwin had let them know about a major threat. They¡¯d discovered a monster that could impersonate someone and spread seeds to new hosts, who would then eat their victims from the inside out and take over the bodies. The monsters even managed to keep the memories and mannerisms of the people they pretended to be, making them a major threat.


    Even though they¡¯d killed hundreds of corrupted humans and destroyed thousands upon thousands of the seed clusters, and killed the flesh crafter who¡¯d originally created them, the danger was out there. If even one corrupted human had survived the purge and could produce more seeds, there was every chance that a new infection could spread through a city. It might already be happening.Stolen story; please report.


    So, it made sense to Velik that they weren¡¯t waiting for him to graduate monster hunter training to get started, but he doubted they were focused on the same area he was. It wasn¡¯t that he thought finding seed bearers was a waste of time, it was just that the guild¡¯s focus was on finding the threat and containing it, while Velik wanted to find the person responsible for creating the flesh crafter in the first place.


    Chalin had been the first victim. They¡¯d found a dungeon seed together as kids, and while Velik had inherited the dungeon guardian¡¯s class and had a racial subtype added to his status, Chalin had become a living dungeon core. Perhaps he¡¯d had control of it at one point, but as he¡¯d killed and added more and more flesh to his body, he¡¯d eventually grown into an entire dungeon. That, combined with the dozen or so people whose minds had been absorbed into the amalgamation, had driven him completely insane.


    Someone had put that dungeon seed there, had left it to be found. Velik wanted to know who, and he wanted to very, very strongly express his opinion about that decision to the person responsible. While he was sure that Ghestal¡¯s government probably wanted to know who¡¯d nearly started a body-snatching plague, the guild¡¯s primary concern was handling the fallout from the situation, which meant searching for monsters in disguise and making sure they couldn¡¯t build up their numbers again.


    ¡°Alright, if that¡¯s all the questions, then get out of my office. Find something to keep you busy for a few days, maybe another etiquette lesson or two, and I¡¯ll have someone let you know when the details have been decided.¡±


    At Nelspir¡¯s dismissal, Velik stood up and gave the guild master a nod. ¡°Thank you for taking the time to deal with this. I¡¯m sure you have a hundred other things demanding your attention right now.¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± Nelspir said with a sigh. ¡°But this kind of shit shouldn¡¯t be happening. I took over the guild specifically to stop people like Pevril from pulling this. Ten years, and I haven¡¯t made any headway. Politics¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the guild master. Get rid of the people causing problems.¡±


    ¡°Gods above. If only it were that easy. Believe me when I say managing just one branch of an organization this size isn¡¯t easy, and that even if I controlled the entire monster hunters guild, I¡¯d still have to answer to the king and his ministers. We¡¯re essentially a standing army in the middle of his country, one that doesn¡¯t owe allegiance directly to a member of the aristocracy. We have to stay on the government¡¯s good side if we¡¯re going to continue to exist.¡±


    Things were a lot simpler when I was just a man in the woods with a spear and some monsters to kill. I wouldn¡¯t take this guy¡¯s job for anything in the world.


    Something must have shown on his face, because Nelspir abruptly started laughing. ¡°I know. It¡¯s a nightmare, but someone has to do it. If I resigned¡­ well¡­ Let¡¯s just say I don¡¯t think I¡¯d care for the direction the guild was turn if I wasn¡¯t in charge. When I do retire, I¡¯ll almost certainly sever ties completely so I don¡¯t have to watch how things turn out. Now, enough! Begone from my office, you uninvited pest! Shoo!¡±


    Laughing, Velik left the guild master to his work.


    * * *


    Pevril swaggered into Nelspir¡¯s office two hours later. The smug little prick didn¡¯t even bother to knock before he walked in and flopped into the very same chair Velik had occupied that afternoon. ¡°How was your visit?¡± he asked mockingly.


    ¡°You were right,¡± Nelspir said, almost begrudgingly. He hated when Pevril was right, and he almost always was. ¡°He has no allegiance to the guild. He just wants access to the resources.¡±


    ¡°Of course I was right. The boy didn¡¯t make any secret of it. And besides, it¡¯s not like that¡¯s a bad thing. Most hunters are with the guild because we make it convenient for them. They can find work, learn how to deal with the monsters they have to hunt, and fence whatever they bring back, all in one convenient place. It¡¯s no sin that he wants to take advantage of the guild, too.¡±


    ¡°And yet you cared enough to block his advancement from iron to bronze,¡± Nelspir pointed out. ¡°Did Milly put that girl up to charging a split tailed bull¡¯s ass? Your idea, I assume.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say I was satisfied with everyone else¡¯s performance,¡± Pevril practically purred. Smugness radiated off him in waves, and Nelspir wanted nothing so much as to punch the man in the face. That was a temptation he wrestled with every time the head instructor walked into his office though, one he was well familiar with and far too disciplined to give into.


    ¡°You know, you could have just asked him to take the job,¡± Nelspir said.


    ¡°Nonsense. It¡¯s far too difficult for a bronze, and that¡¯s what he would have been if I¡¯d passed him today. We could never justify it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see what difference it makes in the grand scheme of things,¡± the guild master argued. ¡°I know you want that job off the books, but we¡¯re still going to have to send an evaluator with him to make sure he does it right. This doesn¡¯t actually save us any manpower.¡±


    ¡°Ah, true, but you see, any gold can refuse a job if they don¡¯t want to.¡±


    ¡°So can an evaluator,¡± Nelspir said with a frown. ¡°Unless they¡­ Ah. So it¡¯s really about her.¡±


    Pevril just leaned back in his chair. Somehow, his smirk was even wider.


    ¡°And your bloc is prepared to support my proposal for which vault we¡¯ll be targeting?¡± Nelspir asked.


    ¡°Of course. Anything for our esteemed guild master. We trust in your vision and follow you to glory.¡±


    Gods, I hate this prick. Fucking politics.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let the boy and his evaluator know where they¡¯re heading,¡± Nelspir said sourly.

 Book 2, Chapter 6

    Velik skipped the celebrations that night. Dozens of new bronze-ranked monster hunters gathered at a few of the more popular taverns and common rooms of various inns near the guild hall, including the one he was staying at. He hadn¡¯t realized exactly what sort of place Melon and Peach was when he¡¯d first taken a room there, and by the time he¡¯d figured it out, he was already comfortable. The place catered to a relatively wealthy merchant class of patrons, which meant it was clean, well-furnished, and, above all, discreet.


    Inadvertently, he¡¯d found that last attribute to be the most valuable. Velik was not good at handling people, a fact he considered perfectly reasonable in light of having spent the majority of his life living alone in the woods and rarely talking to another human being. Other people were not so forgiving of that character flaw, regardless of whether they understood why his social skills were so atrophied.


    So having a place to sleep that was clean and quiet was a godsend. Nobody bothered him, and if he heard people screwing more often than he¡¯d like, well, overhearing things he¡¯d rather not was nothing new. With as many sensory skills as he had and his high mental stat, he¡¯d long since grown desensitized to the sounds of the world around him.


    Though there was that one girl who made a high-pitched whining sound whenever she was entertaining a guest who¡¯d gotten particularly vigorous. That set his teeth on edge every single time. He¡¯d considered finding new lodging just about every single time he¡¯d had to endure that particular noise. Fortunately, she was far less active than some of the other girls working at Melon and Peach.


    Except for tonight, of course. That has to be the fourth time this evening she¡¯s taken a client back to her room, he thought sourly. It seemed that more than a few of his fellow irons¡ªor former irons, as the case might be¡ªhad decided to splurge in light of their promotions.


    After his ungracious handling by the guild¡¯s higher ups, listening to other people who didn¡¯t have to deal with such blatant discrimination celebrate their victories wasn¡¯t his idea of a good time. Nor did Velik want to cross the inn¡¯s common areas and risk being seen by anyone he knew. So, he did the sensible thing and went out his third-story window. He closed it behind him, but didn¡¯t bother to latch it. It wasn¡¯t worth the effort and there was nothing to steal in there that he actually owned.


    The sun was just going down when his boots hit the street, filling him with the enhanced strength, speed, and coordination he¡¯d grown accustomed to enjoying when [Duskbound] activated. Going out in full gear like he was wearing was somewhat frowned upon in the city, but that was more of a societal obligation, not an actual law. He might get hassled by some guards if any saw him, but the iron pin on his collar would keep him out of trouble.


    A bronze one would have worked better, though, he thought, somewhat bitterly. Screw it. No point in thinking about that tonight, and if the guild master¡¯s scheme works, I¡¯ll have a gold pin soon enough.


    Velik had been in Cravel for close to four months now, and while he¡¯d spent most of his time either in training as an iron of the monster hunters guild or attending private lessons that attempted to patch up his shoddy understanding of the intricacies of polite society, he¡¯d found one activity that he thoroughly enjoyed. It helped him relax, built a bit of notoriety, and¡ªnot that he needed it¡ªlined his purse with silver vitrunes.


    Humming quietly to himself as he navigated the twisted streets of Cravel, he eventually broke free of the merchant quarter and found himself striding down the broad, tree-lined avenues of Gold Town, the district favored by those with money to spare. The people here wore richly-dyed clothes and carried themselves with an air of smug superiority, like they knew they were better than the filthy commoners who infested their city.


    Velik ignored them in much the same way they pretended not to see him, though in his case it was because he absolutely didn¡¯t care in the slightest what they thought about him. Compared to the townsfolk back home who wanted him to die, the disdain of some rich twits he¡¯d never even met wasn¡¯t worth even thinking about.


    The only reason he was even in Gold Town was the coliseum. It was illegal to transport monsters into the city, of course. That was why the guild did its field tests beyond the walls. That didn¡¯t stop rich people from wanting to take in the spectacle of high-level warriors and hunters showing off their classes by slaughtering whatever suitably impressive-looking monsters happened to have been captured in the last week or two.Stolen novel; please report.


    There was something to be said for the allure of a screaming crowd, especially since his gladiatorial persona had quickly proven to be a fan favorite. He wasn¡¯t so stupid as to appear as himself, but there were plenty of discreet entrances into the coliseum, and he had no real difficulty getting in as though he was merely a spectator there to catch a show, then ducking into one of the off-limit areas and making his way to the locker rooms.


    The staff knew him by sight, if not by name, and they were well paid to keep that knowledge to themselves. Velik had never been accosted outside the coliseum, and he doubted that would change today. He was here at least three times a week, and that put him solidly near the top of the leaderboards, which meant he was well paid for his work. It also meant that the manager liked to save the toughest monsters for Velik.


    ¡°Gray,¡± one of the bouncers said by way of greeting. He¡¯d adopted the moniker as a simple convenience. Gladiators had a base layer of gray clothes, and those that chose had a mask made of the same material. Most of them put armor on top of that underlayer, either custom-crafted or provided by the coliseum. Velik did not, and had become known as the Gray Gladiator to the fans.


    ¡°Got anything good tonight?¡± Velik asked.


    The bouncer grinned. ¡°Boss said he wanted to talk to you if you came in. No promises, but he seemed excited to me.¡±


    Velik¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°Perfect. He in his office?¡±


    ¡°Last I saw.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to go get changed first, then I¡¯ll find him.¡±


    ¡°Hey,¡± the bouncer said in a low voice as Velik went to walk past. ¡°Think you could drop your first kill of the night in one hit again? I got a bit of a wager with the guys. Wouldn¡¯t mind cutting you in on my winnings.¡±


    ¡°Depends what I¡¯m fighting,¡± Velik said. ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡±


    The coliseum¡¯s locker rooms were high quality, with fancifully carved wooden benches and stalls that had some sort of magic designed to make water fall like rain from the ceiling. Velik had seen manually versions of such devices before, usually in the form of a steel tub with some holes drilled through it that had to be filled by the bucket, but the coliseum was too rich for something simple like that.


    Even the lockers were made of something better than steel, or maybe just magical polished steel. Velik had covertly tested the material when he¡¯d first become a gladiator, wanting to know that his possessions would be safe from theft. He could probably break a door if he was fully kitted out and gave it his all, but he doubted there were many people in the city who could bring that amount of force to bear.


    His grays were hanging in his locker, just like he¡¯d left them, and he quickly swapped outfits. Things seemed to grow duller to his eyes, and his limbs felt heavier as the extra stats his gear granted him drained away. That was fine, though. He¡¯d been fighting his whole life without those bonuses. Getting too used to them might get him in trouble in the future, which was another reason he came to the coliseum to keep his skills sharp.


    The iron pin that denoted him as a member of the monster hunters guild sat in his coin purse, which was stuff inside his cloak, and the whole thing was deposited into the locker. Once closed, it only opened again at his touch, though he suspected there were some people on the staff who could bypass those magical locks, otherwise he had no idea how they¡¯d clean out the lockers of gladiators who died in the ring.


    No one had ever tried to tamper with his possessions, however, so Velik was provisionally willing to trust the lockers as long as he never found evidence that changed his mind. He was just paranoid enough that he always made sure to arrange everything in a specific way to make it easier to detect anyone rifling through his possessions.


    Once he was done switching outfits to his gladiator persona, he exited the locker room and made his way to the manager¡¯s office. The door was open, and the pit boss was sitting there, counting out stacks of payment notes and scribbling furiously in a ledger. He got to the bottom of the column, stared at the paper for a second, and started swearing under his breath.


    ¡°Ned, you wanted to talk to me,¡± Velik said from the open doorway.


    The man jerked in place, then glanced up. ¡°Gray. Good timing. Yeah, I got something in holding I think you¡¯ll have fun with, but it was expensive to acquire, so I need you to promise not to just blow it to pieces like you did with that bog drake a few weeks ago. You have to put on a good show, or else it¡¯ll go to Glitter Ring.¡±


    ¡°I doubt I could ever put on a show to match anything Glitter Ring does.¡±


    Ned shrugged. ¡°Sure, but you¡¯ve got a¡­ hmm¡­ a bloodthirstiness to you. Your fights are visceral and raw. The crowd loves it with the blood, so I think this is the perfect monster for you.¡±


    ¡°Why? What¡¯s so special about it?¡± Velik asked.


    The pit boss just grinned at him. ¡°Let¡¯s not ruin the fun. So, you interested?¡±


    Perfect. Just what I was looking for tonight.

 Book 2, Chapter 7

    Velik honestly wasn¡¯t sure how the coliseum smuggled monsters into the city, but he imagined it probably involved paying some corrupt official to look the other way. He was sure they had at least one [Beast Tamer] on their roster, probably more, and with a focus on pacifying monsters for transit, then riling them up for their turn in the arena. As far as he was aware, the class was only minimally effective against monsters, but it was better than nothing.


    Whoever it was that was in charge of the menagerie, as they called it, their existence was a well-kept secret. None of the guards knew who handled the monsters, or if they did, they were all paid well enough to lie about it. It was a mystery he¡¯d considered investigating more than once, but at the end of the day, he valued having a convenient place to fight more than he did whatever dubious benefits he might glean from prying into the coliseum¡¯s operation.


    His first fight of the night was nothing special. It was a big, dumb, weak thing with a hard, chitinous exoskeleton and quick, jerky movements that looked like some sort of hybrid between a lizard and a bug. Even armed as he was with nothing but a painted steel pole that had been filed to a tapered point, he killed it in one strike. Its chitin crunched as the crude spear punctured its head, driving it to the floor and pinning it there while its six limbs spasmed and scraped across the stone.


    ¡°If you blinked, you missed it!¡± the commentator screamed, his voice amplified by magic. ¡°But we all knew it was going to be a quick one with Gray in the arena! Let¡¯s just hope he¡¯s got something tougher to fight next time!¡±


    Velik retreated back into the hallways beneath the stands and returned to the gladiator¡¯s lobby, where three other men and two women were waiting for their turns. Most fights lasted five to ten minutes, usually because the gladiator was deliberately dragging it out for the spectacle. Velik¡¯s rarely lasted more than three, and even then, only if they put him up against something bulky and armored enough that he broke his weapon on it.


    From the dirty looks he got from a few of the bouncers when they thought he wouldn¡¯t notice while he was walking back, he supposed quite a bit of money had changed hands. For that matter, two of the gladiators were hiding scowls as well. Gambling went hand in hand with coliseum culture¡ªthat was half the point of even showing up there¡ªand the staff wasn¡¯t immune.


    Velik wasn¡¯t here to make friends, and he wasn¡¯t here to win or lose money. He just wanted to kill monsters without having to run a hundred miles to find something that probably wouldn¡¯t even be a challenge. The fight fees barely translated to a few decarmas, and it was all in coinage, which made it a pain to carry around.


    He went through three more fights, none of them challenging in the way he was looking for, before it was time for the night¡¯s main event. One of the coordinators came to fetch him from the lobby around his third hour at the coliseum and escorted him to the arena.


    ¡°Boss wanted me to remind you that if you kill this thing in one shot, not only will you not get paid, but he¡¯ll ban you from fighting here ever again,¡± the coordinator said. ¡°This thing was expensive as all hell to import and he wants a fight that lasts at least ten minutes. Fake an injury if you have to, or hell, get hurt for real. We¡¯ve got a healer onsite you could finally meet.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± Velik said, having absolutely no intention of letting some monster touch him. Ned had refused to tell him what the monster was, the better to make the fight. Velik doubted it would change much, but he wasn¡¯t immune to being surprised.


    Truthfully, Ned underestimated him. [Apex Hunter] gave him a good feel of the relative strength of the other gladiators, and there wasn¡¯t another one over level 30, let alone 40, on the roster. Even then, the only one who had anything better than an uncommon class was Glitter Ring, and she was more of a showman than a fighter. Most of her matches involved her dancing around, shooting off scintillating lights that left the monster dazed and unable to keep track of her.


    ¡°And here it is!¡± the commentator yelled as Velik entered the arena. The gate closed behind him with a heavy clang, more to keep the monster from fleeing than to stop him from leaving. ¡°Gray¡¯s back for the main event of the night. And we¡¯ve got a big one. The Golden Coliseum¡¯s never seen a fight like this. Anybody missing this night¡¯s show is sure to regret it.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    The portcullis on the far side of the arena was hauled up by a pair of handlers positioned on top of the wall, causing Velik to raise an eyebrow in surprise. That was not the typical level of caution they displayed when releasing a monster. Whatever he was fighting was something exotic, or dangerous, or both.


    The monster crawled out of its cage, the steel creaking under its weight as it moved, and crossed to the stone floor. It was big, taller than the bull he¡¯d killed earlier, and covered in pinkish-red flesh, like a man with a bad sunburn. It had six legs, though they looked more like arms and didn¡¯t all bend the same way. Where its head should have been was an overly large ball of flesh with no features other than a mouth.


    Velik¡¯s breath caught in his throat. It can¡¯t be¡­


    ¡°That¡¯s right! It¡¯s a Slokarin flesh beast all the way from the mountains! I hope Gray is prepared for a long, grueling fight. We all know these don¡¯t go down easy!¡±


    How is this here? I killed all these. His eyes narrowed. From Slokara, he said? That means¡­ this is a lead! There was another dungeon seed there.


    Gripping the pole¡ªhe refused to think of such a crude weapon as an actual spear¡ªVelik strode forward to meet the flesh beast¡¯s lumbering charge. As awkward and ungainly as it was running in six arm-legs that didn¡¯t coordinate, it nonetheless had plenty of size and speed.


    He pivoted smoothly as it charged by and dragged the sharp end of the pole across its flight. One of the hands snaked up to grab at his leg, but he hopped over the limb smoothly and let [Savage Rhythm] pull him into a retaliatory strike.


    Then the flesh beast was past him and scrambling against the smooth stone to turn itself around. Velik took the opportunity to jab the pole into its backside three more times while the commentator relayed the initial exchange to the crowd. They were screaming so loud that it was a wonder the sound-proofing enchantments on the building were holding.


    Ned wanted a long fight, but he¡¯d have to settle for a bloody one. The flesh beast wasn¡¯t nearly strong enough to challenge Velik, and he knew he¡¯d quickly put so many holes in it that it¡¯d stop moving. Even if he dragged it out a bit, not much would change.


    Wait¡­ where¡¯d that cut on its side go? Is this thing regenerating?


    Sure enough, the initial wounds he¡¯d dealt it were already closing up, and in record time, too. Velik looked down at his pole in disbelief, suddenly unsure if the weapon would be enough to finish an opponent like this.


    On the other hand, he¡¯d wanted to work off some anger and it wasn¡¯t like the last few fights had done much. When the flesh beast, easily twice his height, loomed over him again, he grinned behind his mask. Grasping hands reached for his face as it rose up on its back two legs and slammed its weight down hard enough to crack the floor, but Velik was already gone.


    He leaped on top of the flesh beast and perforated its back, digging the pole deep under its skin and shredding muscle. The monster roared, more in anger than pain, and bucked wildly in an attempt to throw him off. Much to the crowd¡¯s amusement, Velik easily kept his balance while stabbing the pole repeatedly into the monster.


    Undaunted, two of the flesh beast¡¯s arms cracked and tore as they pulled from their joints and reoriented in a new direction. Moments later, they were now facing upwards instead of down and were lunging blindly at Velik. He faded backwards a single step to dodge their initial swipes, jabbed the pole into the closer arm twice, and jumped clear before the monster could react.


    Annoyingly, the wounds were closing almost as fast as he could make them. This is a lot less enjoyable when it feels like I¡¯m getting nowhere. I bet if I was using my real spear, the [Bleeding] enchantment on it would help counteract that regeneration.


    He led the flesh beast around the arena for the next few minutes while he experimented. Organ damage slowed it down the most, but it seemed capable of regenerating even from that. Severing tendons and ligaments was difficult with a sharpened pole, but he managed to tear a few by means of stabbing the pole in, then ripping it free with brute strength. That kind of injury healed up too quickly to be worth the risk, especially when the monster had five other legs it could move around on.


    ¡°Looks like we finally found a monster that¡¯s giving even Gray some trouble!¡± the commentator yelled to the ground. ¡°What will he do? Are we finally going to see him use an active skill or two?¡±


    Now that¡¯s an idea, but if it doesn¡¯t work, I probably won¡¯t have a weapon left.


    He¡¯d just have to make the shot count. Twenty feet of empty arena separated him from the flesh beast, and that distance was already shrinking as it galloped his way. A bellow shook the floor right along with its pounding footsteps, but Velik ignored all that and readied his weapon.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± the commentator called, excitement racing through his words. ¡°Looks like Gray¡¯s trying something new! But will it be enough to stop the inexhaustible beast, or will he be smeared across the arena floor?¡±


    [Dread Lance] arced down the pole, filling his vision with crackling light as energy erupted through the point of the spear and into the flesh beast¡¯s bulbous meatball head. When the light faded, Velik was standing there with empty hands and an empty arena.


    ¡°By Crakis! Did you see that?¡± the commentator screamed, but his voice was drowned out by the audience¡¯s cheers.

 Book 2, Chapter 8

    ¡°Where¡¯d you get it?¡± Velik asked Ned.


    ¡°You know I can¡¯t tell you that. It¡¯s a trade secret. Here, your winnings.¡±


    ¡°Fuck the gold!¡± Velik snarled. He smacked the bag hard enough to send it flying into the wall and leaned over the desk. ¡°That monster. Where did it come from? I don¡¯t care who sold it to you. I want to know where it was found.¡±


    Ned¡¯s eyes were wide as he looked down at the split leather bag with gold coins spilling out the seam. The bouncer outside the office poked his head in, but Ned sent him away with a small shake of his head. ¡°Look, Gray, I¡¯m sorry, but¡ª¡±


    ¡°Save it,¡± Velik told him. ¡°This is important to me. I¡¯m not leaving without an answer.¡±


    He was still in his gladiator¡¯s clothes, which were covered in blood with small chunks of skin glued to the fabric. The pole he¡¯d been armed with was gone, but it wasn¡¯t like he actually needed it to push around a guy half his level with a weak administrator class. And Velik wasn¡¯t feeling charitable. Being confronted by a flesh beast had set his nerves on edge and dragged bad memories to the surface.


    He could still feel the give in the flesh-covered ground of the cave he¡¯d last fought those monsters in, could still smell the putrid stink of the dungeon as it rotted before his eyes after he¡¯d destroyed the core. The image of Chalin¡¯s twisted body, what was left of it at least, was etched into his brain.


    ¡°Alright! Alright,¡± Ned said, his voice shaky. ¡°Just the location it was picked up from? No names. No smuggling routes? You just want to go out and hunt some in the wild or whatever.¡±


    ¡°Sure, let¡¯s go with that. I¡¯m going on a hunting trip and I enjoyed my fight tonight so much that I want to do it again.¡±


    Ned pulled a thick portfolio out of his desk and set it down in front of him. Flipping it open, he started rifling through what appeared to be a highly disorganized mess, with all sorts of random scraps in there. There were small squares of paper with random notes scribbled across them, what looked like invoices for goods and repairs on equipment, a lewd charcoal sketch that Ned hastily flipped past, and finally, about halfway down the stack, a report that hopefully contained the information Velik wanted.


    ¡°The Verdant Belt,¡± Ned announced. ¡°South end, near the ancestral hunting grounds of the Coramik tribe. They would probably be able to direct you more appropriately once you arrived. The bill of sale doesn¡¯t mention, but the transport team probably picked the monster up straight out of one of their camps.¡±


    ¡°Verdant Belt,¡± Velik repeated. His geography lessons hadn¡¯t really progressed to the point where he¡¯d started learning the regions of other countries, but he could read a map and he wasn¡¯t afraid to ask for directions. He¡¯d find it, one way or another. If he had the distance right, he was looking at perhaps two weeks of hard travel with few stops for rest, more if the roads ran out before he reached his destination.


    There would be a border crossing he¡¯d need to deal with somehow, too. The easiest way would probably be to just not cross over there. It wasn¡¯t like wilderness travel scared him, and he didn¡¯t much care if he was there illegally. The odds of a group of people calling themselves a tribe wanting to check his paperwork seemed low.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he said. ¡°And, I¡¯m sorry. This¡­¡±


    He trailed off and shook his head. With a sigh, he pulled ten decarmas from his status screen, the coins materializing one on top of another in a small stack. ¡°I¡¯d appreciate if this conversation stayed between us. I don¡¯t plan on coming back here again, and I¡¯d hate to have to change my mind.¡±


    Ned¡¯s eyes glittered with greed as he eyed the stack. The decarmas were worth more than the sack of gold fulmites he¡¯d smacked off the desk, which Velik had also made no move to reclaim. No doubt Ned saw a nice little payday that his bosses didn¡¯t need to know about sitting in front of him.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Velik left him to it, only taking the time to reclaim his gear from the locker rooms. Once again fully kitted out, he swept out of the coliseum, ignoring the eager grin from the bouncer who¡¯d bet on him to kill his first monster in a single blow earlier. The man¡¯s smile faltered as Velik stalked past.


    ¡°Wonder what¡¯s wrong with him?¡± the bouncer muttered under his breath, unaware that Velik could still hear him from a hundred feet away.


    * * *


    At first, Jensen hadn¡¯t been sure. He didn¡¯t really care to watch the fights, but the merchant, Shelir Blendstin, he was hoping to talk into helping finance his first expedition loved the coliseum, so that was where they had their meeting. Four times, the talks had stalled so the man could fawn over one of the gladiators, and Jensen had found himself growing more and more annoyed.


    Then the one called Gray had walked out. ¡°Oh, he¡¯s fighting tonight!¡± Shelir crowed. ¡°You¡¯re in for a treat, my young friend.¡±


    Jensen watched Gray demolish the first two monsters curiously, noting that the fighter wore none of the enchanted armor he¡¯d seen on the other gladiators. Even his weapon was nothing more than a sharpened steel pole.


    When the flesh beast had been dumped into the arena, he¡¯d nearly jumped out of his skin. Though he hadn¡¯t seen any of the monsters personally, he¡¯d gotten a good description of them and hearing the announcer name the monster had cemented it. The way Gray had reacted was just further evidence of his suspicions.


    He put the thought out of his mind and tried to steer his would-be business partner back to the matter at hand, but Shelir would have none of it while Gray fought. Truthfully, Jensen found the fight to be somewhat boring, being nothing more than variations of dodging, stabbing, and dodging some more. It wasn¡¯t until Gray had unveiled some incredibly destructive skill at the end that Jensen had really paid attention.


    Right height. Right build. Right weapon and set of skills. It has to be you, but what are you doing here? he wondered. You can¡¯t be that desperate for money. Torwin said you cleaned up all those champions and claimed the seeds.


    ¡°Now that was a fight! Gods, did you see how he finished that monster off at the end?¡±


    ¡°I saw,¡± Jensen said. ¡°Now, as I was saying¡ª¡±


    ¡°Lad,¡± the merchant said, cutting him off. Jensen suppressed a twinge of annoyance. ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll find something. Your class alone guarantees that. It¡¯s that you¡¯ve got too much opposition against you. It¡¯s bad for business to go against your father¡¯s wishes.¡±


    And there it is. That¡¯s why he¡¯s been jerking me around all night. My father¡¯s one step ahead of me, scaring off all my potential investors to keep me here.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing I could do to change your mind?¡± Jensen asked.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± Shelir said with a shrug. ¡°The dangers of not coming back¡­¡±


    ¡°I am sure my father has oversold the risk. He¡¯s not exactly unbiased when it comes to matters of my safety,¡± Jensen said smoothly, ¡°but if that¡¯s what you¡¯re worried about¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Shelir leaned forward.


    ¡°What if we hired Gray onto the caravan?¡±


    ¡°Oh ho!¡± the man laughed. ¡°I suppose I¡¯d have to meet him to interview him, as an investor looking to protect my assets.¡±


    ¡°Of course. It¡¯s only practical.¡±


    ¡°But no one knows who Gray is, and the coliseum won¡¯t sell out their gladiators, not even to me. Believe me, I¡¯ve already tried.¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯ve got a good idea of how to find him,¡± Jensen told him. Got you.


    The merchant pretended to consider it, but he¡¯d already made up his mind. Crossing Jensen¡¯s father was worth it for the chance to meet his favorite gladiator. He wanted it and was willing to pay the price. It wasn¡¯t even about how much money Jensen wanted at this point.


    ¡°Alright, lad. Call it a test of competence. If you¡¯re so sure, you bring me Gray to interview. As long as I¡¯m satisfied, you¡¯ll get your decarmas.¡±


    ¡°Give me a day or so to convince him,¡± Jensen said. ¡°He¡¯s not going to be motivated by a pile of money.¡±


    Shelir snorted. ¡°Everyone¡¯s motivated by money. If you think otherwise, you¡¯re just not using enough of it. And if you think a gladiator doesn¡¯t care about his coin, maybe I should reconsider this deal.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not fighting for money,¡± Jensen insisted. ¡°But you can ask him yourself when I bring him to see you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll hold you to that,¡± the merchant warned with a hearty laugh.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine by me.¡± Jensen rose from the table. ¡°If you¡¯ll excuse me, I think I¡¯ll just go catch up with him.¡±


    ¡°And just how are you going to do that? It¡¯s not like he¡¯s going to walk out onto the street wearing his arena grays.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I have my ways. I am a [Vault Seeker], after all.¡±


    Shelir¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You can find people, too?¡±


    No. Jensen didn¡¯t answer out loud, just shot the merchant a wink and left.

 Book 2, Chapter 9

    Velik was a quarter mile from the coliseum, still solidly in Gold Town, when he sensed someone following him. Whoever it was, they were making no effort to hide their presence. Footsteps jogged down the street behind him, coming his direction, and at first, he suspected a member of the city watch. It was hard to think of anyone else who¡¯d have a reason to chase him down in the middle of a random street in an affluent neighborhood late at night.


    Then he saw who it was running after him. Haven¡¯t seen him in a while. Please don¡¯t be a fan of the coliseum. I¡¯m not interested in talking about it.


    ¡°Velik,¡± Jensen said as he approached. ¡°Hi.¡±


    ¡°Hi,¡± Velik said guardedly.


    Torwin¡¯s former apprentice didn¡¯t look much like how Velik remembered him. Gone were the various trinkets, the leather, the gauntlets, and the bow. His hair was combed out and tied back behind his head, and his face didn¡¯t have so much as a speck of dirt. Even his nails were trimmed and cleaned. Instead of any sort of armor, he was wearing clothes that Velik didn¡¯t have words for, but which were far more common in places like Gold Town than they were in the poor parts of the city.


    ¡°Saw your fight back there,¡± Jensen said.


    Damn it.


    ¡°What fight?¡± Velik asked, hoping to deflect the conversation but doubting it would work.


    ¡°The one where you disintegrated that flesh beast. Was it¡­ you know¡­ Was it the same as the ones up north?¡±


    Velik was not a good liar. His best defense against probing questions was to shut his mouth and scowl at whoever was trying to pump him for information, but in this case, Jensen was kind of an ally, and if he¡¯d learned anything from those stupid etiquette classes¡ªwhich was debatable, according to his instructor¡ªit was that burning bridges by being surly and rude had a tendency to come back and cause him problems later.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he admitted after a heavy pause. ¡°It was similar. I think its regeneration might have been stronger, but that might have been a level difference or because I wasn¡¯t using a real weapon to fight it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to follow up on it?¡± Jensen asked.


    ¡°When I can. It¡¯s out of the country, and I¡¯m still tangled up in some guild business. If I bail on them now, the last few months of work will have been for nothing, so I want to get that taken care of before I go. Hopefully it¡¯ll only take a few days.¡±


    Knowing his luck, it wouldn¡¯t be that quick. Completing a gold-ranked assignment could take a day or two, or it could take months. For that matter, it could be a week or more of traveling one way just to get to wherever the problem was. Bronzes and silvers tended to work at the local level, but there weren¡¯t enough golds that they always had that luxury. The only thing he was sure of was that he wouldn¡¯t be leaving the country, as the monster hunters guild didn¡¯t have a license to operate outside of Ghestal.


    ¡°You need help getting out of the country?¡± Jensen asked.


    It was suspicious and concerning that he¡¯d latched onto that. Velik knew he wasn¡¯t politically savvy, but he was smart enough to recognize when someone wanted something from him. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say I need help,¡± he said slowly. ¡°It¡¯s just Slokara. Might be a bit of a pain to get across the border, but I¡¯ll manage, somehow.¡±


    ¡°Maybe we could help each other.¡±


    There it is. What do you want, Jensen? Would it kill you to just say it instead of hedging the whole time?


    ¡°Help how?¡± Velik asked.


    ¡°You remember my class upgrade? Well, I¡¯m trying to put together an expedition, but I¡¯m hitting some unexpected snags.¡± Jensen paused for a minute. ¡°Maybe not so unexpected. My father doesn¡¯t want me doing something so dangerous, so he¡¯s leaning on every potential investor I can find. Without some startup capital, I¡¯ll never get out of the city.¡±Stolen story; please report.


    ¡°You want me to fund your expedition?¡± Velik asked, surprised. He had a lot of decarmas, but that was more on a personal level than a business one. Maybe he could buy out the general store at any of the frontier towns, but he doubted he could afford to finance the kind of project Jensen was talking about.


    ¡°What? You? Gods no. No offense, but I doubt those champion seeds were worth that much. No, you see, I¡¯ve got a potential investor who just loves the coliseum. Guess who his favorite gladiator is.¡±


    Velik groaned. ¡°I don¡¯t like where this is going.¡±


    ¡°He wants to meet you and gush over how amazing you are. You could probably just wear the gladiator mask and preserve your identity, though I doubt he¡¯d go running to the guild to tell them you¡¯ve been participating in illegal underground monster fights. And he wants you to hire onto the expedition as muscle to protect his interests.¡±


    ¡°That explains what you get out of it,¡± Velik said. ¡°Where¡¯s the part where this helps me?¡±


    ¡°Simple. We haven¡¯t set a destination yet. We¡¯ll just pick some place in Slokara, preferably close to where you need to go. Then you can cross the border with the caravan and not have to worry about things.¡±


    That would make the checkpoint easier to handle, not to mention giving him some legitimacy for being in the country if the local authorities decided to hassle him. But it also meant traveling on someone else¡¯s schedule. Their pace would be much slower than what he could manage on his own, and he had no idea when Jensen¡¯s expedition was even leaving. It could be months away, still.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to need some more details before I agree to anything,¡± Velik said.


    ¡°Well, we haven¡¯t really set anything in stone yet. Acquiring funding is the first step, and the investors get a say in things, so we have more of an outline of a plan with a lot of decisions yet to be made. But ultimately, I¡¯m the one who decides where the expedition goes, so if I say Slokara, then we head south.¡±


    Somehow, Velik doubted it was that simple. If other people were involved and throwing money at the project, they were going to want a say in where it went, how long it stayed, and¡ªirrelevant to Velik¡ªwhat happened to whatever was discovered and brought back. Maybe in the future, When Jensen had enough cash to fund the whole thing himself, he could make every little decision, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the case today.


    ¡°Okay, here¡¯s what I¡¯ll do. I¡¯ll meet with your investor and tell him that I¡¯m willing to sign on, but only so long as the expedition goes to Slokara. I don¡¯t know how long I¡¯m going to be out of the city doing this guild stuff, but I¡¯d prefer to leave as soon as possible once I come back. I¡¯ll also expect a week or two to take care of my own business once we get to whatever site your class points you to. That, or I won¡¯t be accompanying you back home after you¡¯re done.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s mostly fair,¡± Jensen agreed. ¡°The departure time thing is a tough sell. If you had a better idea, we could plan around that. Let¡¯s say six weeks from today as a soft target that we can push back a little bit if we have to?¡±


    Velik had no idea if he was agreeing to something reasonable here, but he at least knew enough about Jensen to know that he was fundamentally honest and greedy. He would try to get as much money as he could out of the expedition without screwing everyone else over. Whether or not this was a good deal, he at least trusted that Jensen thought it was.


    ¡°I¡¯ll agree to meet with your investor,¡± Velik said after he thought about it. ¡°We¡¯ll figure out terms from there.¡±


    ¡°Excellent! I¡¯ll come meet you tomorrow and take you on by. Where are you staying?¡±


    ¡°Melon and Peach.¡±


    Jensen¡¯s grin faltered. ¡°The, uh, the cat house?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize what it was when I found it. It was clean, quiet, and comfortable.¡±


    ¡°Uh. Yeah, I guess? Maybe we can just meet at the guild hall? Let¡¯s say around noon.¡±


    Velik quickly agreed, not in the least because he wanted to get moving again. More than a few passersby had been giving them curious looks, not all of them friendly. The fact of the matter was that he¡¯d been so distracted back at the coliseum that he hadn¡¯t showered before leaving, and there was still some dried blood on him that his grays hadn¡¯t blocked.


    The two parted ways, Jensen heading deeper into Gold Town and Velik returning to Melon and Peach. Normally, he¡¯d have stayed up for another four or five hours, but he¡¯d learned early on that with no monsters to kill and a city full of patrolmen who were quite eager to know what exactly he was doing skulking around late at night, it was easier to just adapt his schedule to take care of all of his business while the sun was up.


    His temporary home, of course, was open all night long. That was how he¡¯d found it in the first place, by looking for a place to sleep an hour before dawn. Melon and Peach was upscale enough that he was able to claim a meal before bed, a luxury he¡¯d promised himself he¡¯d never take for granted. Ten years of eating his own cooking had been more than enough.


    He took a quick bath, ignoring the women he was sharing the shallow pool with. They were off-duty at this point and not interested in flirting, though perhaps that had more to do with his absolute refusal to get dragged into any of their beds the entire time he¡¯d been staying there. They¡¯d learned quickly enough not to waste their time asking.


    Jensen, and this gold-ranked assignment. Slokara and flesh beasts. Everything¡¯s coming all at once now after months of boredom. That¡¯s just my luck.


    With those thoughts chasing each other around in his head, he finally closed his eyes and fell asleep.

 Book 2, Chapter 10

    The guild had a postal system it used to communicate between members who weren¡¯t regularly in the guild hall at the same time. Everyone had a mailbox, even the irons. Velik was expecting a notice for an appointment to meet with Guild Master Nelspir again to arrive soon, so the first thing he did when he walked into the building the next day was check his box.


    Or rather, the first thing he did was inquire if there was anything for him. Golds and silvers got actual mail slots that were attuned to them and couldn¡¯t be opened by just anybody. Everyone else got a regular old box locked up out of casual reach and had to wait for whoever was manning the desk to go check to see what was in there.


    He¡¯d have thought a simple lock and key would have been sufficient security, but apparently it wasn¡¯t for whatever reason. While he was standing there waiting, someone walked up behind him. At first, Velik assumed it was just another iron or bronze waiting for their turn, but [Apex Hunter] quickly disabused him of that notion.


    He was already turning around to face the threat when a voice said, ¡°You¡¯re the guy that pissed Pevril off?¡±


    She was a head shorter than him, with long, thick, true-red hair pulled back into a tail and a splattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks. Hard blue eyes squinted up at him, faint lines in the corners. If he were to guess, he¡¯d put her in her late thirties or early forties, and probably gold-ranked according to [Apex Hunter]. She was dressed in full field kit, the same as him, and though he was no expert at judging the value of gear just by looking at it, he was willing to bet she¡¯d spent a good deal of money on it.


    ¡°I suppose I am. He seems temperamental, though. Wouldn¡¯t surprise me at all if there¡¯s a few of us running around here.¡±


    The woman barked out a laugh at that. ¡°I¡¯m Aria. They dragged me in to be the evaluator for your gold trial. Gotta say, you¡¯re a bit young for the rank.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t my idea,¡± Velik said.


    ¡°So I¡¯ve heard. Frankly, this whole thing stinks of bullshit guild politics, but what are you going to do about it, right?¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Velik said slowly. Even for his tastes, this woman was a bit brusque.


    ¡°Anyway, finish up whatever you¡¯re doing here so we can go find out what crap job they¡¯re pawning off on us,¡± Aria told him. ¡°Bertrim wants us in his office right now. We¡¯re already late.¡±


    ¡°We are?¡±


    Just at that moment, the mail room attendant came back with a card in his hand. Velik didn¡¯t even need to take it to see an appointment time marked for twenty minutes ago printed on its surface. Damn it. That¡¯s not my fault!


    Aria glanced at the card and snorted. ¡°Guild policy says you¡¯re supposed to check for your mail first thing in the morning when you¡¯re in the city.¡±


    ¡°I just woke up twenty minutes ago!¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t stay out all night in a cat house then.¡± When he shot her a surprised look, she tapped the side of her nose and said, ¡°Can¡¯t fool this thing.¡±


    He supposed the perfume was faintly clinging to him, but really, even to his senses, it was barely there. The fact that she could smell it on him was impressive, especially considering one of the skills folded into [Apex Hunter] was [Scent Tracking].


    ¡°I live there,¡± he explained.


    ¡°You live in a cat house? Well, you¡¯re either extremely wasteful with your vast fortune or¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­ you just have screwed up priorities?¡±


    ¡°No, I mean, I rent a room there, like at an inn.¡±The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Aria¡¯s face screwed up at that. ¡°Why? Get a girlfriend or something.¡±


    ¡°No, not for¡ªYou know what, never mind. Let¡¯s just go already.¡±


    He was supposed to meet Jensen soon, and he wanted this surprise meeting over with before he was late for that appointment. One of the lessons that had stuck with him was that it was rude to make someone wait, even if it was due to an unavoidable delay. How exactly that was rude behavior still eluded Velik, but like most of his etiquette lessons, he¡¯d focused on memorizing the rules and left worrying about the explanations for why they were the way they were for some other time.


    He covertly studied the gold-rank while he followed her across the guild hall. She had a smooth gait, perfectly balanced and easy. High physical, but maybe not as high as mine. High mental, too. She didn¡¯t try to [Identify] me, though. If she¡¯s got something, it must be a passive like mine. Her class probably feeds both those stats and ignores mystic, or else her gear skews heavily towards physical and mental.


    ¡°See something you like back there?¡± Aria asked as they climbed the stairs.


    ¡°I¡ªWhat? No, that¡¯s not¡ª¡±


    ¡°Relax, kid. Morgus¡¯s hairy balls, you¡¯re easy to get going.¡±


    Please don¡¯t let this be a long assignment. I don¡¯t think I can deal with this woman for an extended period of time.


    * * *


    Nelspir gave them a look that could have peeled paint when they entered his office. ¡°You¡¯re late,¡± he said.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± Velik said. ¡°I just got in and¡ª¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about your excuses. Just take a seat so I can go over this.¡±


    Getting real sick of today already.


    ¡°You know how this works, ¡°Nelspir said after they¡¯d both claimed a chair. ¡°Velik is trialing to skip bronze and silver and jump straight to gold. That means he¡¯s got to do the same thing every other potential gold-ranked hunter does: complete a gold assignment solo.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, so which one¡¯s it going to be? Tell me we¡¯re sending him after those wyverns nesting up in the mountains. There¡¯s a town up there with a nice set of hot springs I¡¯ve been wanting to get back to,¡± Aria said.


    ¡°While it will be a reptilian monster, it¡¯s not the wyverns. Lavirack¡¯s team took that one a few days ago, anyway.


    ¡°What other reptilian jobs are left? There were those sand drakes, but I thought that job got pulled last week. Wait. No. No! Absolutely not!¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Velik asked.


    Aria was livid. ¡°No fucking way am I doing that shit job,¡± she snarled, rising from her chair and leaning onto the guild master¡¯s desk. Part of Velik wanted to laugh at the sight of a woman who didn¡¯t even clear five and a half feet tall trying to loom over anyone, but the look on Aria¡¯s face strangled any appearance of levity.


    Nelspir waited calmly until she finished speaking, then said, ¡°You owe the guild an evaluation as reparations for the¡­ incident¡­ You acknowledged and agreed to this when we stepped in and smoothed everything over in Valmath. The evaluator does not get to choose the assignment.¡±


    ¡°Anything else,¡± Aria argued. ¡°I don¡¯t care how far away it is or how long it takes to do.¡±


    ¡°This was the compromise we all agreed on,¡± Nelspir said. ¡°You don¡¯t have a choice if you want to retain your rank, Aria.¡±


    ¡°Son of a bitch,¡± she swore, spinning around and giving Velik the evil eye. ¡°You¡¯d better be real fucking good at your job, newbie. I want this thing hunted down and dead inside a day when we get there, or I¡¯m failing your ass.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll do nothing of the sort,¡± Velspir said, his voice cracking like a whip. ¡°You will do your job as an evaluator, impartially and professionally. Do I make myself clear?¡±


    ¡°Does anyone feel like telling me what the job actually is?¡± Velik cut in.


    ¡°It¡¯s a gods damned hydra,¡± Aria said. ¡°A swamp hydra, to be specific. It¡¯s been open on the books for months because nobody wants to kill it. Going to be a miserable experience getting out there, a miserable experience hunting the thing down, a miserable experience killing it, and a miserable experience disposing of it so it doesn¡¯t come back.¡±


    Hydras can come back after they die? That wasn¡¯t in the bestiary.


    Aria cast a suspicious glance at the guild master, then back at Velik. Finally, she let out a frustrated sigh and said, ¡°Get your kit packed up. We¡¯re leaving in an hour.¡±


    ¡°I actually have another appointment in a few minutes,¡± Velik said. ¡°I was told this was going to take a few days to sort out.¡±


    ¡°Fine, whatever. Take care of that. Be back here in four hours. I¡¯m going to pamper myself into a drunken stupor before we leave. It might be the last time I¡¯m truly clean before I die.¡±


    With that said, Aria stormed out of the office. Velik tried not to wince as the door slammed behind her. ¡°Is the job really that bad?¡± he asked Velspir.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s not going to be a pleasant one. I didn¡¯t want this to be what you got stuck with, but¡­ politics are politics. The silver lining to this whole debacle is that if you can kill this swamp hydra, there¡¯s no way anyone can deny your promotion to gold. Aria¡¯s mad now, but she knows it¡¯s not your fault and she¡¯ll calm down. You¡¯ll get a fair evaluation from her. Just follow her instructions and do your job. If half of what Torwin told me is true, this shouldn¡¯t be outside your capabilities.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Velik said. ¡°How far away is this? I have some other things going on that are time sensitive and I need to plan around this trip.¡±


    ¡°Let me fill you in on the details before you go,¡± Nelspir said, reaching for a folder on his desk.

 Book 2, Chapter 11

    They¡¯d agreed that Jensen would do the majority of the talking. All Velik had to do was introduce himself, prove he was Gray the top gladiator, and confirm that he was signing on to Jensen¡¯s expedition. In theory, his role was a minor one and he was hoping he¡¯d only be there for a few minutes.


    ¡°Mr. Alderworth,¡± the doorman said as they approached. He was a big man, close to six and a half feet tall and probably the better part of three hundred pounds. Surprisingly, he was also a significantly higher level than average. Velik was pegging him at 33 or 34. ¡°And¡­ guest.¡±


    Velik had removed his more distinctive pieces of gear and donned a plain mask in an attempt to preserve some of his anonymity. It was clear the doorman was taken aback by the wardrobe choices, but for whatever reason, he¡¯d decided not to comment on it.


    ¡°We¡¯re expected,¡± Jensen told him.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    The house was huge, bigger than anything Velik had seen prior to coming to the city. Made of some sort of cut and sanded stone block and three stories high, it had hundreds of windows studding both wings facing the street, though it was separated from foot traffic by a fourteen-foot-tall fence of wrought iron that curved outward at the top and had barbs curling outward from the bars.


    The gate guard had let them by on Jensen¡¯s word alone, but Velik guessed he¡¯d had some magical way to communicate up to the house, because it was obvious that the doorman had been sent to meet them. He smelled of old leather and perfume, a scent that permeated the whole house. It was so strong that even before the doorman let them inside, he could detect its cloying stink.


    Two men and one woman were waiting for them inside, all also into the mid-thirties. Security. This guy might be a fan, but he¡¯s not foolhardy enough to let a powerful person of unknown loyalties into his house without taking a few precautions.


    ¡°Master Blendstin is in the training yard out back,¡± the doorman informed them. ¡°We¡¯ll escort you there.¡±


    The trip through the lordling¡¯s house took far longer than Velik felt it should have¡ªwho needs all these rooms? What are they even for? You could run laps in the hallways!¡ªbut they eventually found themselves in a closed off courtyard. It had a still-brown grassy strip that was slowly coming back to life from the winter months surrounding a fifty-foot square of hard packed dirt, inside of which several people were sparring with each other while a portly man watched from the sidelines under the shade of an awning that jutted out from an equipment storage shed.


    ¡°Sir, Mr. Alderworth has arrived,¡± the doorman announced.


    ¡°Jensen!¡± the portly man said with a laugh as he bounced to his feet. ¡°And you¡¯ve brought a friend. Is he¡­¡±


    ¡°I told you that I was good at my job,¡± Jensen said.


    ¡°Splendid. You¡¯ve convinced him to sign on to this little venture as well?¡±


    ¡°With some stipulations, but nothing I feel is unworkable,¡± Jensen replied smoothly. ¡°Shall we go over things?¡±


    ¡°No, no. Plenty of time for that later. First, I¡¯d like a proper introduction to this man. Would you prefer to go by Gray, or something a bit more familiar?¡±


    ¡°Gray is fine,¡± Velik said.


    ¡°Ah, a man of mystery. I can respect that,¡± Blendstin clucked, bobbing his head as he spoke. ¡°I hope you wouldn¡¯t mind favoring us with a duel against one of my retainers, just to prove your credentials. Your identity being a secret and all, you¡¯ll understand why I can¡¯t just take young Jensen¡¯s word on things.¡±


    ¡°I can assure you¡ª¡± Jensen started to say, only to cut himself off when Blendstin held up a hand.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I doubt you, but business interests must be properly vetted. And besides, a private show from the coliseum¡¯s best gladiator, a duel no less? Who wouldn¡¯t want to see that.¡±


    Jensen had mentioned the man was an avid fan of the coliseum¡¯s blood sports, but Velik thought that perhaps he¡¯d undersold Blendstin¡¯s fervor. The four sparring matches were still going on in the background, overseen by a woman who couldn¡¯t be an inch over five feet in height who was standing in the middle with her arms crossed and scowling at everyone.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    She had iron-gray hair pulled back into a tight bun and a multitude of scars covering the left side of her face. Heavy steel armor covered her from her neck down to her feet, interrupted only by a leather belt with an arming sword strapped to her hip. On such a small frame, the sword¡¯s tip came down nearly to her ankles.


    At Blendstin¡¯s declaration, she shot him a look that clearly said she wasn¡¯t impressed with the idea, but instead of arguing, she clapped her hands once and barked out, ¡°Fight¡¯s over. Line up.¡±


    Immediately, the eight combatants sprang apart. They rushed over to the west side of the square and formed a line, one with their instructor eyed up critically for a moment before nodding to herself. Almost casually, she strolled over to where Blendstin stood with Velik and Jensen.


    Velik watched the whole thing curiously. He hadn¡¯t ever had any formal combat training, and by the time he was in a position to access it, it was far too late to need it. [Spear Warden] was at rank 9 and four different skills as components to it. The system had taught him everything he needed to know about handling his weapon, and it was far too late for some sparring practice to help him rank up the skill.


    ¡°Sir,¡± the woman said as she approached.


    ¡°Very good, Gillar,¡± Blendstin said. He waved a hand at the woman and said, ¡°My captain of the guard and combat instructor for my own personal guards. Gillar, this is the [Vault Seeker] I¡¯m considering financing a joint venture with and, presumably, his associate, the champion gladiator, Gray.¡±


    ¡°Gray, huh?¡± Gillar repeated, eyeing him speculatively. Velik felt something brush against him, probably an [Identify] or something similar. He rebuffed the skill, which drew a quirked eyebrow from the woman. ¡°I hear you¡¯re real good at killing monsters.¡±


    ¡°Reasonably,¡± Velik said. He ought to be, considering he¡¯d been doing it most of his life.


    ¡°How about people?¡±


    ¡°Hunting humans down isn¡¯t really my area of expertise.¡±


    ¡°A hunter, huh?¡±


    Oops. Damn it. With no witty rebuttal readily springing to mind, Velik decided his best course of action was to just keep his mouth shut. Gillar looked perversely pleased to have tripped him up, and even Jensen was smirking in the background.


    ¡°So, a duel,¡± Blendstin said. ¡°Let¡¯s say¡­ Hmmm. What do you think, Gillar? Artorian rules?¡±


    ¡°Fine by me, sir,¡± she said without taking her eyes off Velik.


    He hadn¡¯t expected to be actually fighting someone when he¡¯d agreed to this. He¡¯d figured he¡¯d be throwing out a single [Dread Lance] to serve as his credentials, then he¡¯d fade into the background or, even better, leave. Jensen was no help, either, just standing there with that stupidly amused look on his face and making new attempts to get Velik out of this.


    ¡°I¡¯m not familiar,¡± he said. If he was going to be fighting someone, he figured he should at least know what the rules of the game were.


    ¡°Three hits to victory. No head shots. No crippling blows. No activated skills or enchanted gear. No potions or support spells from others. Training weapons only,¡± Gillar rattled off.


    That took [Dread Lance] off the table, but Velik didn¡¯t want to kill the woman, so he wouldn¡¯t have used it anyway. [Beast of Burden] his newest skill, wouldn¡¯t work on her anyway, leaving him with [Apex Hunter], [Spear Warden], and [Savage Rhythm]. It still felt like an unfair advantage, but there was no telling what skills Gillar had.


    She was near the same level as him, as best he could tell, which put her twenty levels over the trainees who¡¯d been sparring when they¡¯d arrived. He was also willing to bet she had at least one skill similar to [Apex Hunter], but aimed more towards fighting people instead of monsters. It being only an hour or so after noon, he wouldn¡¯t be able to rely on the force multiplier of his racial subtype, which meant the raw stats of having a unique class would probably be his only real advantage.


    ¡°Is this what you need to prove I am who I say I am?¡± Velik asked Blendstin.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid so,¡± the portly nobleman nodded. He didn¡¯t appear any sort of apologetic though. If anything, he was almost quivering with barely repressed glee. Yeah, he believes I¡¯m Gray. This is just so he can see a fight featuring his favorite gladiator up close.


    Velik turned his gaze to Jensen, who just shrugged. ¡°I told you he¡¯d want some proof. That¡¯s the drawback of wearing a mask to hide your identity.¡±


    ¡°Very well. I did not expect to fight a duel, however. Would you be willing to loan me a training spear?¡±


    ¡°Telit,¡± Gillar called.


    ¡°Ma¡¯am,¡± he said back. He rushed into the equipment shed and returned a moment later with a blunt spear made of some dark, thick wood he didn¡¯t recognize and capped with a dull, vaguely pointed piece of iron. It gave more the impression of having a tip than it actually had one, but he supposed that was the point of a training weapon.


    The sword was similar, being made of dull iron that tapered to a gentle point. It was the same size as the one Gillar wore on her belt, which she was currently unbuckling and handing off to the trainee. With a gesture, she beckoned Velik to follow her into the middle of the sparring ring.


    ¡°You might want to take that mask off,¡± she warned. ¡°Going to be hard to see your peripherals with it in, and I don¡¯t want any whining about it not being a fair fight.¡±


    ¡°I appreciate the concern, but I¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re sure then. Telit, count us down.¡±


    ¡°Ma¡¯am,¡± the trainee said again. He looked between Velik and his boss, took a breath, and said, ¡°Three¡­ Two¡­ One¡­ Begin!¡±

 Book 2, Chapter 12

    Velik¡¯s weapon gave him the advantage in range, and he was confident that he had a high enough physical stat to properly leverage that against Giller¡¯s shorter sword. In truth, he was more worried about the relatively fragile weapons holding up under the strain of repeated impacts. They were heavy iron, but he could bend his spear in half with his bare hands. If Giller was anywhere near as strong, he suspected both weapons would deform when they were smashed together.


    As soon as the fight started, she burst forward so fast that Velik barely got the tip of his spear in place to stop her charge. I know they said no active skills, but if that¡¯s pure stats giving her that much speed, her class must weigh heavily towards that over raw strength. Or else she¡¯s cheating.


    He¡¯d know soon enough. If she had the muscle to fend off his probing strikes, then she was either a much higher level than [Apex Hunter] thought, or she was dangerously overspecialized in physical. The blunted tip of his spear was lined up to force her to either impale herself on it or dodge it, though she was wearing armor. That might blunt the impact enough that she could ram the weapon, but even then, it¡¯d hurt like hell.


    Except that didn¡¯t happen. She stuttered a single step to give herself an instant¡¯s time to smack the side of the spear just behind the head with her free hand. The tip wavered a few inches, not enough to matter in most cases, but it allowed her to twist her torso as her legs carried her forward and get her past the outside edge of his reach.


    Normally, he¡¯d draw on his weapon¡¯s [Shape Shifting] enchantment to overcome the disadvantage that exchange had put him at. Since the metal pole they¡¯d given him didn¡¯t have any enchantments, he planted his feet and heaved the weapon as hard to the side as he could. It collided with Gillar¡¯s shoulder, drawing a grunt from her and sending her staggering, but not knocking her off her feet like he¡¯d planned.


    Instead, she lunged forward with her arming sword, fast as any monster¡¯s snapping teeth. The sword was pointed right at his sternum and she looked like she meant to run him through with it. Velik faded back a step and dodged to the side, bringing the back end of his spear around to parry the sword strike up high.


    Just like he¡¯d suspected would happen, both the spear and the sword bent slightly from the impact. The two of them sprung apart, Giller eyeing her weapon appreciatively, and Velik gripping his spear on either side of the bend. With a flex of his arms, he straightened the iron back out. It wasn¡¯t perfect like it had been, but it was a lot closer than if he¡¯d left it alone.


    Giller snorted, reached one hand half way up her arming sword, and twisted the metal back into shape. ¡°Should have gotten out the stuff enchanted for durability,¡± she said. ¡°Too late now.¡±


    And with that, she rushed in again. This time, Velik kept her back with a series of jabs. He had his work cut out for him, but [Spear Warden] was practically designed to do exactly what he was doing. Every thrust forced Giller to react in a specific way, and each attack built on the one that came before it until he took control of the battle.


    At least, that was how things normally worked. Fighting an enemy with hands was atypical for him, however, and he kept finding himself forced to make adjustments on the fly when Giller didn¡¯t merely dodge around his attacks. Her tendency to try to grab his weapon and take control back was annoying, especially because it turned out she was just as strong as she was fast.


    Another problem was that [Savage Rhythm] wasn¡¯t triggering for some reason, probably that his attacks weren¡¯t actually hitting her. He had the same problem with heavily armored monsters. If the spear didn¡¯t draw some blood, that didn¡¯t seem to be good enough for the skill. It was even worse in this fight, however, because she kept parrying or blocking his strikes.


    The fight stretched on from one minute to two, and neither of them could gain an advantage over the other. Velik kept Giller back through raw strength and speed combined with the sheer reach of his weapon, but her sword seemed to almost teleport around, always appearing at the last possible instant to block around strike. Gods, that¡¯s annoying. I think I prefer fighting things without thumbs.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    The whole time, Telit observed from the sidelines, his eyes scouring the fight in an attempt to tally the score. Jensen and Blendstin watched, the latter with his mouth agape as he struggled to keep up with the frenetic pace of the duel. The other trainees stared just as intently, though they were definitely keeping track of the action better than their boss was.


    Suddenly, Giller¡¯s arm whipped forward and her sword went spinning end over end. With only five feet of distance to clear, it struck Velik¡¯s chest before he could react. Pain flared and the sword bounced away at an angle that his opponent had somehow predicted. She was already darting off to the side to reclaim the weapon.


    ¡°Point, Giller,¡± their referee called.


    Velik ignored the man and the pain as he lunged forward, spear leading. Now that Giller had disarmed herself for that point, he knew he had a narrow window of opportunity to punish her for her eagerness. His spear flashed out, only to be blocked each time by her hand slapping it away. If he¡¯d been using a real weapon, he¡¯d have shredded her palm, but with a practice spear, there was no edge at all.


    It seemed a little unfair to him. He was technically making contact, but he supposed since it wasn¡¯t with the tip of the spear, Telit wasn¡¯t counting it. That must have been some stipulation of their dueling rules, because Velik knew better than anyone that the shaft of a spear could do plenty of damage.


    Screw it. I don¡¯t even know the rules. I¡¯ll just avoid bashing her skull in and start treating this like a real fight.


    Giller seemed surprised by his sudden aggressive rush, but her mouth stretched into a gleeful smirk as he gave up the reach advantage to close in on her. Even though she hadn¡¯t managed to recapture her sword, she seemed more than willing to mix things up unarmed. That lasted all of two seconds until Velik started working his spear like a staff, striking at her with both ends.


    Her hands were a blur as she worked to fight off both ends of the weapon, but when he slipped a kick in that caught her knee with his heel, her leg slid out from beneath her. It was only a small misstep, barely even a tiny hop, but it was an opening, and Velik was ruthless in pressing the advantage. The tip of the spear struck her shoulder hard enough that the ring of iron on steel echoed through the whole courtyard, and he followed up with the base end whipping around to catch her hip while she tried to regain her balance.


    ¡°Two points, Gray.¡±


    The end without the point counts? Good to know. One more to go, and you¡¯re still disarmed, he thought.


    Giller gave up on recovering her sword and pressed in, too close for Velik to even use his spear. That wasn¡¯t a good situation for him; he already knew she outclassed him at hand-to-hand combat. If he couldn¡¯t keep a weapon between them, she¡¯d overpower him immediately. Try as he might, he couldn¡¯t backpedal quickly enough to get out of her range.


    If he couldn¡¯t break off pursuit without taking a hit, the only choice he had left was to go on the offensive. This duel was about scoring points, not doing damage. That meant he didn¡¯t need enough range to get power behind his swings. He just had to hit her one more time.


    He waded back in, snapping the spear out in short chopping strikes. Once again, the lack of [Shape Shifting] on his spear was limiting his options and making it harder for him to score a decisive blow, but he was confident he could win the duel. He just needed to push Giller off balance again so he could get the last hit in, but that was easier said than done.


    He¡¯d caught her off-guard the first time, and she¡¯d underestimated him when he¡¯d switched up to fighting with a quarterstaff instead of a spear, but he already knew she was good. She wasn¡¯t going to fall for that trick again. If he wanted to cinch a victory, the best thing he could do now was lean into his overpowering strength and speed.


    His attacks sped up, and thanks to all the practice he¡¯d had with [Savage Rhythm], he was more than up to the task of chaining them together even without the skill¡¯s help. Giller¡¯s grin turned into a frown of concentration as she worked to keep Velik at bay, then a snarl when he pushed her back another step.


    The tip of his spear swung around in an arc, only to be aborted at the last possible instant when she tried to duck under it and accidentally put her head right in line with the blow. Velik pulled back just short of clobbering her and mentally cursed the woman¡¯s clumsiness.


    Her fist connected with his gut at the same time he was stopping the momentum of his spear. She did it on purpose, he realized when he saw the smirk on her face.


    ¡°Point, Giller. Next one for the match,¡± Telit announced.


    Even as he spoke, Giller¡¯s other hand came around in a side punch aimed for his ribs. Velik could dodge it, but he¡¯d be leaving himself open for a follow up if he did. Instead, he pulled his spear over to deflect her knuckles, the bottom braced against his foot. Giller¡¯s punch came up short, almost like she¡¯d expected the defense, and with his stance locked, he couldn¡¯t react quick enough to stop her from shouldering him.


    The armored plate smacked against his stomach and rocked him back on his heels. Last chance to get a hit. Abandoning the spear, he brought his hands up and clasped them together. His intention was to slam them down on her back and score the final point, but a sharp pain in his hip told him he¡¯d been too late.


    ¡°Final point, Giller. The match is over,¡± Telit said.

 Book 2, Chapter 13

    ¡°Good match,¡± Giller said a minute later after they¡¯d both recovered. ¡°Told you that you should have lost that mask though.¡±


    Considering that he hadn¡¯t even seen the blow that had scored her the last point, it was hard to argue with that logic. On the other hand, her stunt of deliberately putting her head in the way to force him to pull a blow seemed like the kind of thing that would have gotten her disqualified in an official duel.


    ¡°Spectacular,¡± Blendstin said. ¡°And you continue to impress, Captain Giller.¡±


    She snorted. ¡°Wasn¡¯t much of a fair fight. He¡¯s obviously not used to fighting people in duels or otherwise.¡±


    ¡°The coliseum doesn¡¯t do those kinds of fights anymore,¡± Jensen said.


    ¡°Probably for the best,¡± Blendstin murmured. ¡°But enough. I take it by the fact that you¡¯re not denouncing him that you¡¯re convinced of his identity?¡±


    Giller looked Velik over for a moment, then shrugged. ¡°He¡¯s a good fighter, probably a lot better when he¡¯s using a weapon he¡¯s familiar with. Whether he¡¯s your mystery gladiator, well, I don¡¯t have anything to compare him to.¡±


    ¡°I can assure you¡ª¡± Jensen started to say, only to subside when Blendstin waved him off.


    ¡°I¡¯m convinced. It was a spectacular performance, and nobody beats the captain anyway. That¡¯s the whole reason I pay her so much.¡±


    Velik wasn¡¯t convinced that she¡¯d win in a real fight, but then again, she undoubtedly had all sorts of tricks and abilities she hadn¡¯t revealed either. They were close in level, but she was two to three decades older than him. There was no reason to assume that didn¡¯t give her the advantage in skills merged, practical experience, and gear.


    So why am I so damn annoyed that I lost?


    ¡°There is one thing though,¡± Blendstin added, almost like it was an afterthought. ¡°The skill you used on that monster last night¡­¡±


    Velik caught Jensen¡¯s eye while the portly lordling hedged his way through his request. You owe me big time for this.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to break something. Whatever you want me to hit shouldn¡¯t be anything you want to keep.¡±


    ¡°Bring out one of the darkstone targeting dummies,¡± Giller snapped. Two of the trainees rushed into the storage shed, then returned carrying what looked like a statue made of black, polished marble. Giller directed them to set it in the middle of the sparring arena and said, ¡°These are commonly used by mages to practice spells without causing undue amounts of property damage. From what I heard, you shouldn¡¯t be able to break one with a single attack.¡±


    That sounds like a challenge to me.


    Determined to win back some scrap of his pride after losing the duel, Velik hefted the bent and twisted practice spear in one hand. ¡°You won¡¯t be getting this back,¡± he warned.


    ¡°Irrelevant. It¡¯s just a bar of scrap iron some apprentice [Blacksmith] hammered into shape.¡±


    Velik approached the statue and considered it for a moment. It was person-shaped, but with no details. If they¡¯d told him that some beginning sculptor had started carving out the excess stone on a statue they planned to make, then never finished beyond the initial shaping, he¡¯d have believed them. More interesting was the material itself. The trainees had made it look heavy, and judging by the fact that it had already sunk three inches into the dirt, he was guessing that wasn¡¯t an act.


    Can it really absorb magic, though? It seems like it would be far more widespread if it could. There has to be some sort of limit to it.


    In truth, that wasn¡¯t his problem, nor was he feeling particularly charitable. If they wanted to see a [Dread Lance], he¡¯d blow this statue up and the ground it was planted in, too. Standing eight feet away, he activated the skill. Energy started at his hand and flowed down the length of the spear as little arcs of light that jumped and skipped across the metal to gather in the tip.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    When he¡¯d first made the skill from [Kinetic Charge] and [Phalanx], he¡¯d struggled to control it. It had such a wide area of damage that he¡¯d gotten caught in the blast several times. Since then, however, he¡¯d advanced [Dread Lance] to rank 3, and that gave him far more precision.


    Velik thrust the spear forward until the dull tip tapped on the black stone chest of the statue. Penetration wasn¡¯t necessary, which was good, because he doubted he could put the training spear through regular stone, let alone the fancy super-heavy magic-absorbing variety.


    [Dread Lance] exploded outward, disintegrating the front half of the spear and completely engulfing the statue. Various shouts of surprise came from the spectators behind him, which Velik ignored to focus entirely on the statue. Come on. Break. Break, damn you.


    The light faded, revealing a cloud of black dust drifting around and a much smaller statue. Surprisingly, the general shape of it was intact somehow. He chalked that up to it being a magic stone that allowed it to survive, but it had shrunk by three feet and was proportionally thinner. It wasn¡¯t what Velik had been going for, but it was something.


    ¡°Gods save us,¡± one of the trainees whispered. ¡°That¡¯s over half the statue.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll take months to regrow,¡± another one said.


    Giller said nothing, but Velik could feel her eyes boring into him. She hadn¡¯t been all that impressed by their duel, but the demonstration must have changed her mind. He tilted his head slightly and locked eyes with her for a moment, then turned his attention to Jensen.


    ¡°If that will be all, I have other business to attend to today.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ think that should satisfy your curiosity, wouldn¡¯t you say, Lord Blendstin?¡±


    ¡°Quite so,¡± the fat man agreed happily.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave you to the counting of your coins,¡± Velik told them. He paused beside Jensen and whispered, ¡°I don¡¯t enjoy performing for an audience. You¡¯d better make sure this expedition ends up in Slokara if you want me in it. Send me a message with the details once you¡¯ve got them figured out.¡±


    * * *


    Velik was still waiting for Aria an hour after the time she¡¯d said to meet him, and when she did show up, it was in a set of freshly laundered clothes more suitable for a noble¡¯s garden party than for traveling on the road. Her face was also reddening to match her hair, and he could smell the wine on her breath.


    And she¡¯s supposed to be evaluating me.


    ¡°Oh, good. You¡¯re here,¡± Aria said, her voice slightly slurred.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been here the whole time,¡± he replied, trying to keep his patience intact. ¡°You¡¯re the one who¡¯s late.¡±


    ¡°That makes me smarter than you, then. This job is a punishment. Why would I be eager to start it?¡±


    ¡°Sooner we begin, sooner we end.¡±


    Aria snorted out a laugh. ¡°Kid, you have no idea how miserable the next week or two of your life is going to be. You should have done what I did: take a nice relaxing bath, drink a bottle of expensive and potent wine, and gotten laid.¡±


    ¡°I¡ª¡± Velik froze, unsure how to even respond.


    ¡°Too late, now. Come on, our carriage should be here soon.¡±


    ¡°Carriage?¡± he asked.


    ¡°What, did you think I was going to walk the whole way?¡±


    ¡°I figured we¡¯d run for most of it.¡±


    ¡°Please, spare me. No, we¡¯ll let a good, high-level pair of horses take us there, and in a carriage enchanted for comfort. Don¡¯t worry, you can pay me back for your half of the rental fee later.¡±


    Velik started to bristle at the presumption, but Aria just laughed and added, ¡°I¡¯m kidding. It¡¯s not that expensive, anyway.¡±


    ¡°How much?¡± he asked, almost begrudgingly. He had no idea what a gold-ranked monster hunter considered to be an expense.


    ¡°A hundred decarmas, plus an extra thirty for each week we¡¯re out there.¡±


    He almost choked when she casually rattled off the sum. It wasn¡¯t even that he couldn¡¯t afford it¡ªand easily¡ªit was just the sheer waste. There¡¯d been a time when gathering a hundred decarmas would have taken him a week or more of work. They weren¡¯t even going that far, barely two hundred miles. He could probably run it by dawn with a good road.


    ¡°Ah, there it comes now,¡± Aria said, gesturing to a carriage drawn by two massive black horses that had a pair of spiraling rams¡¯ horns coming out of their skulls to curl down around their heads.


    ¡°Wait, aren¡¯t you going to bring any of your gear with you?¡± Velik asked, tearing his gaze away from the horses to take in Aria¡¯s outfit again. It was hardly fit for a casual stroll through the forest, let alone hydra hunting in a swamp.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got everything I need,¡± she told him. ¡°Besides, it¡¯s not my job to kill the hydra. I¡¯m just an observer. Now, come along.¡±


    The carriage stopped in front of the guild hall, and Aria stepped up to it to hand the driver a small leather bag, presumably filled with decarmas. The man opened it and placed a hand inside, then nodded and hopped down to pull open the carriage door. Aria ascended one step up, then paused and looked back.


    ¡°I said, ¡®come along.¡¯ Don¡¯t annoy me before we even get there. I am your evaluator, after all. You want to keep me in a good humor.¡±


    First Jensen¡¯s business partner. Now this. Why did I want to come here, again?

 Book 2, Chapter 14

    The carriage ride was surprisingly comfortable, and the best part was that Aria decided she needed to take a nap, which meant Velik didn¡¯t have to keep her entertained for the first few hours. He spent some of that time going over his fight with Giller in his head again, trying to pick apart her fighting style to figure out where he¡¯d made mistakes.


    It was obvious that she had plenty of experience battling against other humans, and he suspected it wasn¡¯t just from duels, either. That move where she¡¯d taken advantage of the rules to maneuver him into a disadvantageous position was too ruthless to be something she¡¯d picked up doing sport fighting.


    At the same time, if he¡¯d made better choices earlier in the fight, she wouldn¡¯t have been in a position to use that trick. The simple truth of it was that Velik spent his time fighting things that were far stupider than him. Even the most cunning animal was still just an animal in the end, and very few monsters had anything approaching human-level intellect either, no matter how high their mental stats were.


    The few people he had been forced to fight had been overwhelmed simply due to things like level disparity, lack of a combat-oriented class, or subpar equipment. He¡¯d never learned to fight somebody with weapon skills because it had never been necessary, and he was thinking that if he planned on fully abandoning his life as a recluse, he might need to do something to correct that deficiency.


    Even without any sort of personalized training, he could already think of four or five spots in the duel where he¡¯d made poor decisions and given Giller an advantage. More practice would be a good start, but where do I find a sparring partner who can keep up with my strength and speed? Worse, I need to train both with and without my regular weapon, so it needs to be someone with the capability to match me while I¡¯m fully kitted out.


    The guild probably had a handful of gold- or platinum-ranked hunters who fit the bill, but those people were busy with their own lives, and the instructors and trainers for combat were laughably underqualified to serve as sparring partners. He could probably learn a few tricks, but practicing them at the speeds he worked at was another story.


    He cast a speculative glance at Aria, who was leaning up against the inner wall of the carriage and drooling into the shoulder of her dress while she snored softly. She was gold-ranked, and presumably wouldn¡¯t have much to do besides keep an eye on him. Maybe he could convince her to go a few rounds so that he could get a bit more practice fighting someone around his level.


    [Apex Hunter] didn¡¯t seem to be able to get a good read on her, other than to be sure that she was definitely over level 40, maybe as high as 45. The skill didn¡¯t seem to think she was that dangerous, even when he deliberately let his thoughts linger on attacking her. Normally, he¡¯d think that meant she was weak for her level¡ªperhaps a bad class¡ªbut in this case, he had a strong suspicion the truth was that she had a high mental blocking his intuitive appraisal of her skills.


    Almost as if she¡¯d known he was looking at her, her eyes cracked open to meet his. With an indelicate snort, she said, ¡°Kid, I¡¯m old enough to be your mother.¡±


    ¡°You have a dirty mind,¡± Velik told her bluntly. ¡°I¡¯m not interested in you or your sex life. What I am interested in is how good of a hunter you are.¡±


    ¡°Better than you.¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡±


    ¡°Gods save me from stupid teenagers,¡± she muttered. ¡°Let me guess, you want to fight about it?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say no to a friendly spar,¡± he said. ¡°Maybe this evening when we stop for the night.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not stopping. This carriage is going straight through the night until we get to the Harclovi Swamps. There¡¯s a town perched on the north end that¡¯ll be our base of operations while we¡¯re there.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°What¡¯s it called?¡± Velik asked. The briefing he¡¯d received from the guild master had covered the hydra itself, the terrain, and what kind of problems he could expect. It hadn¡¯t mentioned the human settlements in the area at all, and had in fact left him with the impression that nobody lived there.


    In hindsight, that made no sense. If there were no people living in and around the swap, there wouldn¡¯t be anybody to care about a hydra showing up there. Well, maybe that¡¯s not true. People still care about big, threatening monsters that are a hundred miles away, just in case the monster decides to head in their direction.


    ¡°Hell if I know,¡± Aria said. ¡°Starts with a ¡®G,¡¯ I think. Look, here¡¯s the important part. You want to pass this thing? Make my stay here as pleasant as possible. Don¡¯t get anyone killed. Don¡¯t do anything that reflects poorly on the guild, and bring me back proof you killed the fucking hydra. That¡¯s it. I don¡¯t care how you do it. I don¡¯t care about your technique. I just want to sit in my room at the inn, pretend I don¡¯t smell the overgrown mud puddle down the street, and then leave in a day or two once you¡¯re done.¡±


    That¡¯s shockingly irresponsible, but then again, so what? It works out in my favor. And after all the shit the guild has already pulled in the last few months, I don¡¯t much care about them anyway. If this is all I have to do to pass this trial and get access to the information I want, then fine. I can do that.


    ¡°Deal. You stay out of my way. I¡¯ll go kill the monster, and we¡¯ll both go home happy.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit,¡± Aria said with a wide smile. ¡°Now, as I said, the important thing here is keeping me comfortable.¡± She raised a bare foot and dropped it down on his knee. ¡°Tell me, how are you at foot massages?¡±


    Velik gave the offending foot an incredulous stare and shoved it off him. ¡°You couldn¡¯t pay me enough decarmas.¡±


    ¡°Feh. You say that, but everyone has their price.¡±


    How, by all that the gods hold holy, is this woman a gold-ranked monster hunter?


    * * *


    Eldmyrk, which definitely did not start with a ¡®G¡¯ like Aria had claimed, actually reminded Velik strongly of the towns on the frontier. The houses were shaped a bit differently, and they were made with a different kind of wood, but it all had the same kind of hardiness he¡¯d known his whole life. The walls were stone on built-up earthen embankments that were studded with thousands of sharpened stakes, all pointed outwards, and locals kept a careful watch on the screen of trees just beyond their borders.


    The carriage had rolled on all through the night while Velik silently watched the world roll on by. He was sure he could have made the journey faster on foot, but he had to admit that it was nice to reach their destination and not be sore from running several hundred miles without a break. The company left something to be desired, however.


    He couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of Aria¡¯s behavior, and was more than half-convinced that she was just screwing with him. The problem was that he couldn¡¯t tell if it was a way to amuse herself or if she was actually taking her role as his evaluator seriously and was testing him to see if he could remain professional in the face of her antics.


    It was now sometime around noon and they stood in front of a sprawling, single-story building with an abundance of windows made out of something that clearly wasn¡¯t glass, but which light passed through anyway. It wasn¡¯t unique to that particular building, either, but Velik had no idea what it was. Aria noticed him peering at it curiously and said, ¡°It¡¯s called veil stone. It¡¯s popular in warm climates because it¡¯s cheap and tougher than windows, but it¡¯s sensitive to cold temperatures, so you won¡¯t see it anywhere that gets a lot of snow in the winter.¡±


    Huh. So she¡¯s good for something after all.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go get us a pair of rooms. The driver will take care of the carriage, and that leaves you to get started. Don¡¯t feel like you need to wait for me.¡±


    Recognizing the words as a clear dismissal, Velik walked away from his evaluator. His first task was to find whoever was running Eldmyrk and get an update on the situation with the hydra. If there were no new developments¡ªthe posting was already two months old, so it was entirely possible something had changed¡ªthen he¡¯d see about getting the lay of the land and then going out into the swamp to search for it.


    Best case scenario, he¡¯d find it just as the sun went down, hit it hard while at full strength, and drag back a head or two as proof of its demise. Nothing ever worked out that perfectly, however, so he was sure there¡¯d be a complication or two before he reached the last step. Hopefully, Aria wouldn¡¯t hold it against him if it took longer than a single day to find the monster.


    From the way she¡¯d talked, just finding the hydra would be an issue, but the swamp was small enough that he was sure he could scour the whole thing in a single night. Hydras were huge and aggressive. It couldn¡¯t be hard to find one with a bit of work.


    Killing it, on the other hand¡­ That might be a challenge.

 Book 2, Chapter 15

    In his head, Velik knew that swamps were difficult to navigate. Footing was treacherous, there was a lot of water, and the whole place was infested with various forms of bugs that wanted nothing in the world besides to try to eat him alive. They weren¡¯t even monstrous insects, either, just regular old animals.


    None of it was a surprise, but even with all of Aria¡¯s whining to clue him in, he¡¯d still vastly underestimated just how much it sucked to travel through the swamp. And that wasn¡¯t even taking into consideration the monsters.


    Why are there so many Morgus-cursed snakes living here? Couldn¡¯t the hydra eat some of these things?


    He¡¯d been walking for two hours now, or rather moving from dry spot to dry spot. They weren¡¯t easy to find, either. In some cases, he¡¯d had no choice but to wade into hip-deep water across hundred-foot-wide lakes of scum-covered, brackish black water. That was where predators liked to pull off their attempted ambushes, a tactic he was sure generally worked well for them.


    [You have slain an arrow-back watersnake (level 18).]


    [You have been awarded 1 decarma.]


    The damn thing was practically invisible in the water, even to Velik¡¯s senses. He hadn¡¯t even realized it was there until it had tried to sink a pair of poisonous fangs into his leg. The bite failed to penetrate, of course. The monster just didn¡¯t have the physical strength to puncture his skin. That did not stop Velik from reaching into the water, grabbing hold of it, and hurling it into the air, where he sliced it in two on its way back down.


    A few minutes later, another snake tried the same thing, only to end up splattered against a nearby tree when he threw it. A nearby black bear startled at the noise, gave Velik a somewhat-panicked glance, and ran off in the opposite direction. I wonder if there¡¯s some sort of water-walking skill I could pick up.


    It didn¡¯t matter, not without an open skill slot to put it in. [Burden of the Beast] had been his choice after reaching level 40, but it was a skill he was somewhat hesitant about. It worked on a wide variety of monsters, but truthfully, he rarely needed it. A utility skill might have been the better pick, but those were so situational that he might never use whatever he ended up with. Once he got [Savage Rhythm] and [Burden of the Beast] folded into [Spear Warden], though, he was going to look at building a new utility skill with the two open slots.


    Velik¡¯s thoughts might have been a world away, focused on his build and what changes he wanted to make, but that didn¡¯t mean he wasn¡¯t paying attention. He was out of his element and being plagued by a cloud of gnats, mosquitos, and the gods only knew what else. In an unfamiliar and hostile environment, searching for the undisputed king of swamp, he knew better than to let his guard down.


    That was why he was surprised when something rammed into him hard enough to knock him off his feet. It was only when he was completely underwater and his hand smacked up against tough, leathery skin that he realized what it was. [Apex Hunter] hadn¡¯t given him a warning beforehand, but it was yelling about the danger now.


    The monster exploded into motion, its jaws coming down on Velik and twisting to pull him deeper underwater. Unlike the watersnakes, this time there was some power behind the teeth. They sunk into his flesh, not deep, but far enough that he couldn¡¯t pull himself free. He didn¡¯t bother to try. If the teeth were in his stomach, that meant the skull was within reach.


    He swept his spear out blindly in the right direction and felt it bite into flesh, though he wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d hit the monster¡¯s skull or some other part of its body. Whatever it was, a deep, throaty growl filled the water as it dug down deeper. Trying to drown me won¡¯t work, Velik thought viciously as he slammed the spear into the monster again and again. And you¡¯re lacking the points in physical to win this.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Partially because of the awkward angle and partially because he was underwater, Velik was having a hard time inflicting a killing blow, but [Burden of the Beast] kept activating, and the monster was struggling as the skill made it harder and harder to move. Unfortunately, that did nothing to get Velik free. Instead, they¡¯d both sunk down to the bottom of the swamp and were partially buried in the mud.


    This might have backfired on me, he was forced to admit, but it wasn¡¯t like he could just turn the skill off. Skills didn¡¯t work that way. If they were active, like [Dread Lance] he chose when to use them, but passive skills just worked whenever the conditions they were tied to were right. [Savage Rhythm] was also building up his speed with each successive strike, not that it did him much good at the moment.


    What he needed was to weaken the monster¡¯s jaw so he could escape. For that, his backup weapon was probably the better option. Unfortunately, it was pinned between what Velik was assuming was the monster¡¯s tongue and his back, making it impossible to get to without shoving his arm in between a set of teeth.


    Already got ten or twenty of them sticking in me. What¡¯s a few more, right?


    He wiggled his hand down, scraping off skin as he reached down to his belt and slowly slid the dagger out of its sheath. It wasn¡¯t called The Sixth Plague for no reason, and he intended to demonstrate that. All of its enchantments were designed to cripple its victims, as the monster was about to find out.


    The dagger stabbed into its mouth, and again, and again. Globules of black blood drifted through the water like drops of oil, too thick to properly mix in. At the same time, the grip around Velik¡¯s stomach started to slacken. The monster shook its head, probably trying to fight off the [Weakness] enchantment it was being infected with, and its teeth slipped back out of Velik¡¯s torso.


    As happy as he was to be free to move around, he didn¡¯t want to lose track of what he had to assume was some sort of thirty-foot-long reptile. As laughable as that seemed at first glance, he really couldn¡¯t see a damn thing underwater and it was entirely possible the monster could just¡­ swim off. They didn¡¯t really ever tend to retreat, but the smarter ones could break off a failed ambush and try again later if he let them.


    Hopefully, it was just as stuck in the mud as he was. Despite its mouth opening up, Velik found that escaping out from between a set of teeth didn¡¯t actually get his head back above the water. No doubt, he could free himself easily if he put all his effort into the task, but he was more concerned about grabbing hold of the monster and not letting go. That was actually far harder than he¡¯d anticipated, and not just because he couldn¡¯t see it.


    The damn thing was so big, getting an arm around it was like trying to hug a tree. He made contact, but there was nothing to grip. Any limbs it might have were far enough away from its head that he didn¡¯t feel them, and the monster was thrashing around, trying to drag itself out of the mud. Screw it. I¡¯ve got skills and enchantments keeping it in one place. Just finish the job.


    His dagger slashed through leathery flesh a few more times, just to make sure the monster wasn¡¯t getting away. Then he sheathed the weapon and started digging his way free of the mud. A few seconds later, he surfaced and got a lungful of air along with his first look at what he was fighting.


    Most of it was still submerged, but the way it kicked and struggled was flinging water up everywhere. A tail that he wouldn¡¯t have believed belonged to the same animal if he couldn¡¯t trace it back to his own location slapped against the surface a full forty feet away from where he was standing, which he was only just now realizing was right along the edge of a far deeper lake.


    If I¡¯d been a few more feet to the left, this thing probably couldn¡¯t even have gotten at me without breaching the surface. Just my luck.


    The magic of his dagger was holding for the moment, and that gave Velik all the time he needed. Taking up his spear in both hands, he widened the blade and drove it straight down into where he estimated the monster¡¯s skull was. It punctured through skin and bone with a satisfying thunk, but that only increased the wild flailing.


    Undeterred, Velik pulled his spear free and tried again. On the fourth try, a full three feet farther back than where he¡¯d started, he finally hit something vital and got the kill notification.


    [You have slain an elite colossus gator (level 31).]


    [You have been awarded 2 decarmas.]


    So it wasn¡¯t that big because it was an elite, then? I doubt I can even pull the corpse out of the water to get a good look at it. Aria was right. I hate this fucking place.

 Book 2, Chapter 16

    The bed was lumpy and it stank, which was actually kind of amazing when Aria thought about it. The whole damn village reeked with that particular rotting odor unique to swamps. Despite that, they¡¯d somehow scrounged up the audacity to provide paying customers with a mattress that smelled so distinctively foul from the air she was forced to breathe in that she hesitated to even sit on it.


    Please let that boy find that hydra right away, she silently prayed, casting that thought off to whatever god was listening.


    Torwin had assured her that the new recruit was strong enough to be a gold-ranked monster hunter, and they¡¯d both predicted that the guild would find some way to try to use that to her advantage. She hadn¡¯t expected to be handling this all on her own, but Torwin had been sent off within a week of arriving, and the assignment they¡¯d stuck him with was every bit as tedious as he¡¯d expected it to be. It was the kind of work a good team of silvers could have handled, leaving no doubt in anyone¡¯s mind that he was being punished for his apprentice not gaining the right class.


    Twenty years ago, when she¡¯d been a fresh-faced teenager just beginning to explore the power her own [Star Fated Conjurer] class had granted her, the guild hadn¡¯t been like this. It had stood for something back then, back before the reforms started flowing out from the main headquarters in Ashala. The senior members of the guild had been given two choices: get on board or get out of the way. Those that had tried to fight had found themselves isolated, unsupported, and given the most dangerous missions.


    It broke her heart to see how the guild behaved today, to know that they were going out of their way to drive off fresh talent with no care for what it would cost the people of Ghestal, all so that they could play their stupid games. And it was absolutely infuriating that she was stuck playing those games, too.


    All that having been said, Torwin had better have been right about how good a hunter Velik was, because Aria was not planning to linger in Eldmyrk a single second longer than she had to. She¡¯d agreed to get herself placed on the list of examiners to protect Velik from the guild¡¯s machinations when they forced the gold-ranked examination on him, but she hadn¡¯t expected to be sent out to the Harclovi Swamps as part of the deal.


    With one more distasteful glance at the bed¡ªwas that a bug that just crawled out of the sheet?¡ªshe settled into a cross-legged position and began channeling the power of [Horizon Seer]. The skill was an amalgamation of various scrying magics, limited primarily by how much mana it took to maintain it. As Aria was completely fresh from napping through the long carriage ride, she was more than capable of spying on her charge for a few hours.


    It was the work of minutes to find him, roughly twenty miles deep into the swamp already. Considering it had been less than two hours since he¡¯d set out, she was mildly impressed. The number of dead monsters he¡¯d left in his wake, however, was downright disturbing. Apparently, the locals weren¡¯t concerned with thinning out the local monster populations. Maybe that¡¯s how a hydra managed to grow to be such a problem in the first place.


    She watched him get ambushed by an absolutely massive reptile and briefly wondered if she¡¯d be forced to intervene, but Velik surfaced a few seconds later and murdered the monster with extreme prejudice. There was a line of puncture marks from its teeth across his stomach, but it didn¡¯t seem to slow him down. He eyed up the gator for a moment after it died, then shrugged and kept walking.


    He¡¯s confident in himself. I know that thing caught him by surprise, but he¡¯s showing no hesitation wading back into the water. Not worried about infections, either. He didn¡¯t even bother to clean up the bite mark. I bet his physical is over 100 already.


    Over the next hour, Velik pushed deeper and deeper into the swamp. He kept to dry land when he could, but didn¡¯t shy away from going swimming when he didn¡¯t have any other way forward. All manner of swamp critters were stupid enough to attack him, and he was merciless in dealing with them. Nothing was strong enough to offer him a challenge, but then, the main danger of the swamps had always been in navigating it.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    She¡¯d thought him stupid to set off with over half the day¡¯s light already wasted, but hadn¡¯t bothered to try to talk him out of it. As afternoon turned into evening, he showed no signs of slowing down, making her wonder what exactly his skill set was that he was so comfortable working alone after dark. Nobody was required to reveal their status or build to the guild, thankfully. That was one change at least that everybody had rejected.


    Still, it left her curious enough that as her mana started to dry up, she shifted into a cycle of [Cosmic Meditation] and [Horizon Seer] to keep spying on him. Eventually, the sun vanished and her charge was left with nothing but the faint light of a quarter-moon to see by. Far from her expectations, he didn¡¯t slow down. If anything, he started moving even faster.


    His course took him to the heart of the swamps, a decent place to start his search, and then he started moving outward in a spiral pattern until he finally came across what he was looking for: hydra tracks. Hydras were amphibious, with short, powerful legs ending in webbed feet, which meant that their bellies tended to drag across the ground when they were on land. The rut this one had carved through the mud was so obvious, a blind man could have followed it.


    Good. Perfect. Find this thing and kill it. We¡¯ll be back home without me ever having to touch that disgusting mattress, she thought to herself as she watched.


    It wasn¡¯t that easy, unfortunately. So far from the edges, the swamp was more disgusting, fetid lakes of brackish black water than it was dry land. Velik was persistent, however, and more than capable of scaling a few trees growing around the edges of the water. He followed the hydra¡¯s trail as it went in one lake and out the other, circling around each one until he¡¯d picked it back up again.


    Finally, he came to a stretch of water a quarter mile wide. The trail went cold there, despite circling the whole lake multiple times. Aria watched through her magic as Velik stood at the edge of the water and stared into it. It was easy to picture what he was thinking. The reason he couldn¡¯t find the hydra¡¯s trail was that he¡¯d come to the end of it. It was likely submerged in the middle of the lake somewhere, perhaps sleeping. Or maybe it was watching him, waiting for him to step into the water where it would have the advantage when it attacked.


    Don¡¯t be that stupid. I know I said I wanted this over as quickly as possible, but do not chase a gods-cursed hydra underwater and fight it there. Just be patient. It¡¯ll come out eventually to scrounge for food.


    Of course, however talented Velik might have been, he was still a relatively inexperienced hunter. After pulling some trinket out of his pocket and staring at it for a few minutes while he paced back and forth around the edge of the water, he sighed, summoned that curious spear of his off his arm, and waded in.


    Damn it. Now I have to go save his dumb ass.


    * * *


    Velik was¡­ annoyed. He¡¯d kind of been expecting it to come to this, but he¡¯d been really hoping to catch the hydra out on the hunt. Instead, he¡¯d found its lair. It had only been dark for a few hours, but given the famous regenerative powers of the monster he was hunting, he wanted as much time as possible to slowly wear it down. If it decided to just wait him out, he might be stuck facing it without the benefits of [Duskbound] to help.


    He had two possible ideas for baiting the hydra out. The first was to draw its attention with a lot of noise and maybe some monster corpses to play to its appetite. The problem there was that hydras didn¡¯t actually eat all that much for creatures their size and they were prone to hibernating at odd times. He didn¡¯t think this one was going to be down for a long time, not with how fresh its tracks were, but it could be anywhere from a few hours to a few days of waiting for it to show itself.


    Or he could swim down there and jab it with his spear. That¡¯d piss it off, but that strategy came with the downside of having to find a way to get back out of the water. Well, with [Burden of the Beast] helping him to slow the hydra down, he was sure he could manage something.


    This thing is definitely going to bite me at least once or twice, though. Stupid hydra. Stupid monster hunters guild. Stupid Aria.


    With a sigh, he willed his spear to slide down his arm and extend to its full length, then he waded into the water. Somewhere just off center of the middle of the lake, a sleeping monster was waiting for him.

 Book 2, Chapter 17

    When he¡¯d started his trip through the swamp, Velik had been essentially blind in the water. The smells were overpowering, the sounds were all new and unknown, and of course he couldn¡¯t see a damn thing through the layer of scum coating the black water. Actually being underwater was even worse, at least at first.


    After a few hours, he¡¯d started to figure things out, though. It wasn¡¯t about sight or sound when he was down there. It was touch. Specifically, it was feeling the water sweeping past him and deciphering what was caused by his own movements and what was something else. Small monsters still eluded him, things like the many, many snakes that were no longer than his arm and killed with their potent venom.


    Bigger monsters, however, like those massive gators and, hopefully, one swamp hydra, were a lot easier to detect once they started moving. That didn¡¯t help much with the gators, who had a tendency to float motionless in the water until he was already close enough for them to try to bite him, but he¡¯d figured out how to spot them through other means when they were floating on the surface.


    With his newfound knowledge of blind aquatic navigation to supplement [Apex Hunter], he expected to quickly figure out where the hydra was sleeping. That didn¡¯t happen. After two minutes of swimming, in fact, he hadn¡¯t been attacked by anything, not even the normal watersnakes, razor scaled fish, steel shell turtles, or colossal gators other lakes had boasted. Another sign that I¡¯m in the right place. Nothing is stupid enough to try to live here anymore. But where¡¯s the hydra at?


    Even asleep, it wouldn¡¯t be motionless. He should have been able to feel something, unless it had some sort of stealth skill like he suspected those gators had. Velik hadn¡¯t considered something that big and aggressive would have a stealth skill in its build, but anything was possible. Hydras weren¡¯t known as ambush predators, so it had seemed unlikely until he¡¯d gotten underwater and realized he couldn¡¯t find the damn thing.


    For a few minutes, he just floated there, silent and still while he waited for something to come attack him. When nothing did, he started swimming forward again. His mana compass wasn¡¯t doing the best job at pointing toward the hydra, probably because it didn¡¯t have much in the way of mana to begin with, though there¡¯d been some weird interference he hadn¡¯t been able to get rid of the entire time he¡¯d been out in the swamp.


    His best guess was that the place was magical itself, except that didn¡¯t really add up. He¡¯d already run into places like that and knew how to adjust the compass¡¯s settings to ignore area magic. Something else was probably going on, but he couldn¡¯t figure out what and he had more important things to focus his attention on.


    Swimming while holding a spear, wearing boots, and being weighed down by a wet cloak wasn¡¯t exactly easy, but he was managing. The plan had been to draw the hydra into the shallows, but that had failed immediately, so he resolved himself to go deeper into the middle. Velik proceeded carefully, but there was still nothing. Even when he touched down at the bottom of the lake, all he felt was cold mud, silt, and slime.


    Where is this thing? It has to be in here somewhere.


    Velik swam across the bottom of the swamp, one hand trailing through the muck in hopes of finding a footprint or a belly scraping, though he doubted either existed. With the water this deep, the hydra would be able to swim to wherever it had settled in.


    Then his fingers brushed across something that wasn¡¯t mud. It was hard and unyielding, surprisingly warm in the chill swamp water, and, unless Velik very much missed his guess, it was covered in scales.


    Of course! It buried itself in the bottom of the swamp. No wonder I can¡¯t feel it moving around in the water. Technically, it¡¯s in the mud.


    He¡¯d have grinned if the thought of opening his mouth and letting swamp water in didn¡¯t disgust him. Instead, he just grabbed hold of his spear and brought it around, tip pointed down. He was about two hundred feet from dry land and the water was a good thirty feet deep. Once he started this fight, getting back to solid ground was going to be a challenge.


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    [Apex Predator] was confident that he¡¯d be fine. The hydra was powerful, but Velik had fought worse. He steadied his grip, spared a thought to wonder if he should have tested how being underwater might react with the skill, then unloaded a [Dread Lance] into the slumbering monster.


    * * *


    [Astral Gateway] was Aria¡¯s newest skill, and still at rank 1. It was so expensive that she needed a mana potion just to refresh her reserves enough to cast it. The skill also took a while to set up¡ªthree full minutes, making it impractical for live combat. She hadn¡¯t thought she¡¯d need it this time, but she¡¯d kept the skill on the edge of her mind just in case.


    The skill finished building the door, a jagged tear in the world filled with stars and the infinite velvety blackness that separated them, and Aria walked through. Immediately, her nose was assaulted by the foul stench of the swamp. Here in the heart of the place, it was many times stronger than it had been back in her room at the inn.


    ¡°If the hydra doesn¡¯t kill him, I will,¡± she muttered as her eyes scoured the scum-covered pond in front of her. Somewhere under the surface, the world¡¯s stupidest monster hunter was swimming to his own demise, but he couldn¡¯t hide from [Horizon Seer].


    Just as she went to activate the skill, something exploded a few hundred feet away. A plume of water shot three hundred feet straight up, easily clearing the tallest of the twisted swamp trees. A few moments later, Aria found herself thoroughly drenched from a brief, muddy shower. ¡°Even if the hydra does kill him, I will find a way to bring him back just so I can kill him again,¡± she amended her earlier promise.


    [Cosmic Meditation] wasn¡¯t just for mana regeneration. It was in reality an alternate state of existence that gave her quite a few useful perks. One of those perks was a form of limited levitation. It wasn¡¯t exactly quick, but it beat swimming. Aria activated the skill and rose off the ground a few feet, then willed herself forward. Starlight swirled around her body, which resembled nothing so much as a dark, misty silhouette, as she drifted across the water.


    It roiled beneath her, great waves rising up to slap against the shore as the hydra thrashed around. Torwin had warned Aria about Velik¡¯s offensive skill, a great burst of energy that had a tendency to reduce whatever he hit with it to ash. She¡¯d obviously underestimated just how strong that skill was, but against a hydra, she knew it wouldn¡¯t be enough. If it hadn¡¯t already completely healed up from the attack, it would in the next few seconds.


    That meant she had, at best, a very brief window to fish Velik out of the water and throw him to the shore. Before she could find him, however, something else caught her attention. A hydra¡¯s skull was usually about a foot wide when fully grown, maybe a foot and a half in a particularly large specimen. It was perched on a well-muscled and flexible neck, and, depending on what particular type of hydra it was, could spit out a variety of unpleasant liquids or gases.


    No less than six heads breached the surface, and every one of the skulls was twice the size she¡¯d expected to find. That¡­ is a big damn hydra. Suddenly worried about her own safety as she got her first good look at the monster they¡¯d been sent out to take care of, Aria reversed her flight and used [Horizon Seer] to try to find Velik amidst the chaotic, churning water.


    A moment later, a second explosion threw the hydra completely clear of the water¡ªthankfully not in her direction. It was airborne for a good three seconds, revealed in its full glorious bulk, before it executed the ultimate belly flop and submerged itself once again. Aria was, of course, thoroughly soaked a second time.


    She was so busy gaping that she hardly even noticed. Did he just¡­ throw a multi-ton monster out of a lake? How the hell did he do that?!


    A moment later, Velik burst out of the water, his spear leading as he swam with superhuman speed. Somehow, he threw himself upward, his whole body twisting like a fish, and his cloak billowed out behind him. He rolled across the air like it was solid ground, got his feet under him, and took three great steps before launching himself into a jump with his spear leading as he slipped back into the water again.


    Aria was starting to think she¡¯d underestimated this hunter. She¡¯d known he was good enough to qualify as a gold-ranked, if only because Torwin had vouched for him and that old codger was difficult to pry any sort of praise out of, but his description of Velik¡¯s capabilities hadn¡¯t included this. That hydra was level 42 and an elite, judging by the size of it. She¡¯d met a few platinums who would have struggled to fight it on dry land, let alone underwater.


    There¡¯s more to killing a hydra than just bullying it for a minute at the start of the fight. Let¡¯s see how you do when you start to run out of steam and it¡¯s ready to keep going full tilt for hours still, she decided as she settled back to watch. Unless Velik had a few more surprises up his sleeve, he wasn¡¯t winning this fight any time soon.

 Book 2, Chapter 18

    The book learning portion of Velik¡¯s training as an iron-ranked monster hunter hadn¡¯t been especially helpful. It made sense that the bestiaries focused primarily on low-level threats, as those were what the trainees would be expected to handle upon their graduation to bronze. He¡¯d dutifully learned how to recognize them, how to track them, and their strengths and weaknesses, for what it was worth. The simple truth of the matter was that Velik didn¡¯t need to be clever or skilled to handle those kinds of problems, not at his current level.


    The problem was those books didn¡¯t talk about monsters like hydras, and while he¡¯d done a bit of self-studying and found some casual references in the books he had access to, most of what he was trying to learn was restricted and wouldn¡¯t be made available to him until he was a higher rank in the guild. That meant he knew a few broad strokes details about what he was currently fighting and not a lot of specifics.


    That¡¯s more than I usually know about a new monster, so I can work with this, he thought to himself as he blasted the hydra out of the water with a combination of [Dread Lance] and the [Power Surge] enchantment on one of his rings. The monster didn¡¯t go far, but it did land in the shallow end of the swamp, which was good enough for his purposes.


    Rather than try to swim after it and risk giving it time to fully submerge itself again, he leaped as high out of the water as he could go and used his cloak¡¯s [Air Walk] ability to pull himself clear. The draw on his mystic stat was intense, too much for him to get more than a few steps, but that was all he needed.


    Velik leaped forward, his spear leading, and descended on the hydra while it was still struggling to orient itself. It was fully under the black water again, but only because it was stretched out on its belly. The moment it got its legs under its bulk and heaved upward, its back crested the surface. Immediately, columns of muscled, scaly flesh rose between Velik and the main body.


    Ten of them. More than I thought.


    The heads seemed to weave around each other without ever getting tangled up, though the reality was more that they just lashed back and forth in a complex pattern that Velik could only see small pieces of. The hydra was incredibly, effortlessly, coordinated, and its heads looked in every direction at once. There was no sneaking up on it now that it was awake, so Velik didn¡¯t even try.


    He¡¯d hit it with [Dread Lance] twice now, and while both injuries still showed on its body, the pits of raw, bloody flesh were already closed over. New skin had grown across the wounds, and muscle was beginning to swell beneath the sagging flesh. Despite that, the hydra wasn¡¯t moving with nearly as much alacrity as he¡¯d expected. Healing such massive wounds had taken some sort of toll on it.


    Unfortunately, using the powerful skill twice in quick succession had drained Velik as well. He needed a bit of time to recover before he could unload a third shot into the monster, but he was hoping that it wouldn¡¯t be needed. His spear had a powerful enchantment on it that he rarely got any use out of called [Mana Drinker]. It served the dual purposes of empowering the other enchantments on the weapon and depriving his enemies of the mystical strength they needed to use certain abilities.


    With any luck, the hydra¡¯s potent regeneration was one of those abilities.


    Velik landed on the hydra¡¯s back and immediately set his weapon spinning in defensive twirls, the head of the spear flashing dangerously to fend off the snapping maws of the great monster. He cut it over and over, only for the injuries to seal up before his eyes in the next second, and did his best to keep from being trapped between the writhing necks or bitten by their sharp fangs.


    [Burden of the Beast] seemed to be working, at least insofar as the main bulk of the beast slowly sagged back into the water. The heads, on the other hand, whipped about as quickly as always, keeping Velik on his toes and forcing him to activate his cloak¡¯s [Air Walk] enchantment a few times to steady his balance on the unstable platform that was the hydra¡¯s back.


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    Despite how hard he was pushing the monster, things seemed to be settling into a stalemate. Velik got another [Dread Lance] off, this time blowing three of its heads clear of the body at the neck, but that didn¡¯t seem to actually slow the hydra down. New heads started to emerge from the stumps, though not so far that he was immediately worried about them.


    He was so focused on what he was doing that he didn¡¯t notice Aria sitting cross-legged, floating two feet above the mud, at the edge of the water until one of the hydra¡¯s legs gave out and it rolled sideways. Velik was forced to shift position, and that brought his evaluator into view. When did she get here? he wondered to himself, but the hydra was far too aggressive for him to have time to dwell on it.


    Half an hour went by. The hydra got slower and weaker as Velik¡¯s skills slowly chipped away at it. Its regeneration slowed down, and as it lost a few more heads to another [Dread Lance], he eventually wore it down to the point where he¡¯d cut off all of its heads and it couldn¡¯t regrow them fast enough to be a threat. With its main body immobilized under the strain of [Burden of the Beast], the hydra was essentially defeated.


    Defeated, but not dead. Now, how do I fix that?


    He was submerged up to his chest, still standing on the hydra¡¯s body and severing the regrowing stumps by feel alone. The stories hadn¡¯t exaggerated its regenerative powers in the slightest, and Velik was truthfully at a bit of a loss. His spear¡¯s [Mana Drinker] didn¡¯t seem to be making much of a difference, at least not anything he could see.


    Now that things had calmed down, Aria floated over to speak to him. He eyed her curiously as she skimmed across the surface of the swamp, her clothes stained with murky water somehow despite never actually touching anything. Even her hair had a film of pond scum stuck in it.


    ¡°You¡¯re done, then?¡± she asked, her tone icy.


    ¡°Well¡­ No? I haven¡¯t gotten a kill notification for it yet.¡±


    Eyes widening, she shot a worried look down into the water. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ still alive? You just¡­ subdued it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve been cutting off the new heads as they grow out of the stumps so they don¡¯t have time to become a threat again.¡±


    ¡°That is certainly a novel way to deal with the threat. How long do you intend to keep playing with it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not playing with it,¡± Velik said. ¡°I just don¡¯t know how to stop its regeneration. I¡¯d hoped that doing a massive amount of damage to it would wear it down, but that doesn¡¯t seem to have worked.¡±


    ¡°Gods above, did you do no research before coming out here? You knew what you were hunting,¡± Aria accused.


    ¡°I¡¯m not allowed access to that information,¡± Velik told her. ¡°Believe it or not, the iron-ranked bestiaries stop at recognizing the signs a hydra is in the area and advise as a strategy to run like hell and get someone else to deal with killing it.¡±


    The gold-ranked hunter opened her mouth to say something, paused, and sighed. ¡°Okay, fair enough. I suppose I¡¯ve been a bit lax on making sure you were properly prepared for all of this. I just assumed Bertrim explained everything you¡¯d need to know after I left. The first thing to do is get it completely out of the water. You can manage that?¡±


    ¡°If I have to,¡± Velik said slowly. He eyed up the distance to the edge of the black lake and added, ¡°Why do I need to do that?¡±


    ¡°The way to stop a hydra from regenerating is to cut out its heart. The closer you get to that organ, however, the quicker it regenerates. Fire slows it down, but doesn¡¯t stop it. Acid sometimes works, but not against swamp hydras. So we need to get it onto dry land, build a fire, and throw the body into it. Once it¡¯s burning, then you can carve it open and remove the heart.¡±


    Velik absently stabbed his spear through a neck that had grown out two feet in length while they were talking while he considered the problem. He could probably strongarm the hydra¡¯s main body out of the water eventually, but keeping its heads from regrowing at the same time would be an issue. It seemed to him that the only real reason to do that was because Aria wanted to cook the damn thing to slow its regeneration down, though.


    ¡°Let¡¯s say I was strong enough to beat the regeneration on this monster and could extract its heart where it is now. That would work, right?¡±


    ¡°In theory?¡± Aria hedged. ¡°You¡¯re massively underestimating how difficult a task that is. Trust me when I say we¡¯re going to need the fire.¡±


    ¡°Okay, well, I¡¯m going to try it here first. Otherwise half the heads will have grown back by the time I get it moved and I¡¯ll be fighting it all over again. If that doesn¡¯t work, we¡¯ll do it the hard way.¡±


    Aria looked like she was about to start arguing with him, but she thought better of it. Instead of saying anything, she threw her hands up in the air and started to drift backwards. ¡°Do what you want,¡± she told him after she came to a stop. ¡°It¡¯s your hunt. I¡¯m just here to evaluate how you go about it.¡±


    Grinning, Velik got to work.

 Book 2, Chapter 19

    ¡°I cannot believe you pulled that off,¡± Aria said flatly while holding out a massive glass jar she¡¯d pulled out of seemingly nowhere.


    ¡°I told you I could,¡± Velik said, though in truth having to find that particular organ blindly had been a chore. He¡¯d pulled out¡­ he wasn¡¯t even really sure what organs they were, but half a dozen of them were settling into the muck around the corpse before he¡¯d finally gotten the right one, evidenced only by the system notification informing him he¡¯d slain a level 42 swamp wraith hydra. How exactly that differed from a normal hydra was unclear, but he figured it meant something.


    He placed the heart in the jar gently. Aria sealed it up and considered it for a moment, then nodded to herself when the whole thing vanished. ¡°That¡¯s a big one. I know an alchemist that¡¯ll pay at least three thousand decarmas for that. I can broker the sale for you if you want, for a thirty percent commission.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s that valuable, it seems like I should just hold onto it until I can sell it myself,¡± Velik said.


    ¡°You don¡¯t strike me as the type to know the market. I doubt you¡¯ve got anything close to my connections. I bet you¡¯d still make more money if I sold it for you at the price I could get than if you try to sell it yourself,¡± Aria argued.


    ¡°Maybe if your commission was fifteen percent.¡±


    The woman¡¯s eyes narrowed and she snapped out, ¡°Twenty-five.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d be willing to go as high as eighteen,¡± Velik shot back.


    It wasn¡¯t even that he needed the money. It was just that Aria had annoyed him and he didn¡¯t feel like letting her have it for free. In truth, he hadn¡¯t realized the hearts were valuable at all. He probably would have thrown it back into the swamp if she hadn¡¯t produced the jar like she was expecting it. At first, he¡¯d thought she just wanted proof of the kill until she¡¯d mentioned selling it.


    ¡°Twenty,¡± Aria said. Velik opened his mouth to argue, but she beat him to it and added, ¡°Twenty, and I¡¯ll use my magic to get us both back to Eldmyrk right now.¡±


    That wasn¡¯t hard to agree to. He¡¯d been in the swamp for the better part of twelve hours and while he was sure he could find his way back out on his own, he wasn¡¯t really in the mood. ¡°Deal,¡± he said.


    ¡°Excellent choice. Uh, don¡¯t tell anyone at the guild. Technically, getting back is part of the exam. Making a deal with someone who isn¡¯t your evaluator to transport you is one thing, but me using my magic to help is a gray area.¡±


    Velik laughed. ¡°I¡¯ll keep it to myself.¡±


    He didn¡¯t give a rat¡¯s ass about the guild¡¯s rules. Truthfully, he¡¯d had about all he could stand of the place, and the only reason he hadn¡¯t already walked out was that he¡¯d wasted the better part of four months getting to where he was now. He knew there was information about rare and unique classes¡ªand dungeons, too¡ªin their archives. Torwin had promised to fetch that information for Velik, but then the old [Ranger] had gotten himself sent out on some sort of punishment job before Velik had even shown up.


    Aria pulled on some skill and a patch of starry night sky unfolded in front of her. ¡°After you,¡± she said, gesturing him through the hole in reality. Bemused, Velik stepped through and found himself in a room with a ratty old bed tucked into the corner and nothing else. He could hear other people nearby, snoozing the night hours away.


    That¡¯s a nice skill. Why did we ride out here in a carriage if she could just do that?


    ¡°I need a bath,¡± Aria said as she followed Velik through her skill and let it fold closed behind her. Wrinkling her nose, she added, ¡°You need one worse. I am not sitting in a carriage with that for a day and a half. Come on, let¡¯s get cleaned up, then we can discuss your performance.¡±


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    Wondering what exactly there was to discuss, Velik followed his evaluator out into the hallway and down to the common room, where she obtained directions to the bathhouse with assurances that they weren¡¯t just ¡°using dirty swamp water to fill their tubs.¡± She gave the innkeeper, who she¡¯d dragged out of the kitchen where he¡¯d been preparing the morning¡¯s bread, a somewhat suspicious look at his attempts to reassure her, but conceded that they didn¡¯t have a better option.


    His questions about how exactly they¡¯d gotten so filthy to begin with were brushed aside as she swept out into the streets, Velik in tow. They found the bathhouse quickly enough, which included a laundering service. The water was clean, which was all Velik wanted, but he could hear Aria complaining incessantly from the next room over that it wasn¡¯t warm enough while the sleepy attendant murmured apologies.


    By the time he was done scrubbing himself, the water was a murky brown. Fortunately, the attendants had thought ahead and provided him with a bucket of clean water to sluice himself off with and a coarse robe to wear while he waited for his clothes to be returned. He¡¯d kept an ear on the washer lady, mostly because she was handling tens of thousands of decarmas worth of gear. Everything except the cloak would clean itself eventually, but it didn¡¯t hurt to speed things up.


    ¡°Strangest thing,¡± the washer lady said when he reclaimed his gear. ¡°The grime just seemed to fall right out of it. It¡¯s barely even damp after I wrung it all out, too. Well, except for this¡­¡±


    She handed him the Ravensfeather Cloak with its thick cowl and feathery stitched pattern, as clean as it could get but still sodden and dripping. The cloak lacked [Mending], a sacrifice he¡¯d made in order to get a hefty boost to his mystic so that he could afford to use its other enchantments: [Shadow Step] and [Air Walk].


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he said, leaving a small stack of silver vitrunes behind as payment for dragging her out of her bed at such an early hour.


    Freshly cleaned and in mostly dry clothes, he waited for Aria to catch up to him. Unlike his own efforts, she took considerably longer to finish up, so much so that if he couldn¡¯t hear her still complaining inside, he might have thought she¡¯d abandoned him while he was tending to his own business. Eventually, she did reappear, her face and hair scrubbed clean of all traces of the swamp and wearing a completely different outfit that he¡¯d never seen before.


    It''s got to be some sort of extradimensional storage space, he decided. Torwin had mentioned them to Velik once, but lamented the price tag attached to the enchantments. When he¡¯d looked them up for himself and saw prices in excess of two hundred thousand decarmas for what amounted to essentially an extra travel pack¡¯s space, he¡¯d decided his money was better spent elsewhere.


    Given what he¡¯d seen of Aria¡¯s storage capacity so far, he was starting to wonder just how rich the woman was and what other surprises she might have in store for him. He¡¯d never met anyone with class skills like hers before, at least not that he was aware of. No doubt he¡¯d bumped into a few mage types in the guild hall, but they hadn¡¯t stopped to explain their builds to him.


    Even among the iron-ranks, mages were rare. Their skills were supposed to require a lot of planning and were finicky to merge, leaving a reckless mage stuck with no versatility to make up for all the points they¡¯d spent on mystic and mind. Without a strong physical to back them up, it was hard to survive the rigors of combat. Would be monster-hunting mages who weren¡¯t cautious or lucky didn¡¯t tend to live long enough to make it to gold-ranked.


    [Apex Hunter] didn¡¯t have Aria pegged as someone who was all that stronger than him, but looks could be deceiving. In a slugging match, he¡¯d probably win, but something told him Aria wouldn¡¯t ever let him get close. If it came down to it, his best strategy would probably be to disappear and then ambush her before she could find him again.


    ¡°Alright, now that we only reek of the normal stink of this pisswater town,¡± Aria began, ¡°let¡¯s talk about how you did and what I¡¯ll be reporting back to the guild. Then, the second the sun goes up, we¡¯ll let whoever¡¯s in charge know that the job is done, then climb in the carriage and be gone from this place.¡±


    Velik didn¡¯t think it was as bad as she made it out to be, but he certainly wouldn¡¯t argue with putting some distance between his nose and the swamp. Just because he¡¯d gotten used to the smell didn¡¯t mean he was enjoying it. There was nothing to be done about that for the moment, however, so he focused his attention on the other part of her statement.


    ¡°What¡¯s there to say? I went out. I found the hydra. I killed the hydra. It took less than a day to take care of.¡±


    ¡°And that certainly counts for a lot,¡± Aria said. ¡°But it¡¯s not all you¡¯re being graded on. Relax. You passed. At least, that¡¯s what I¡¯ll report back. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll argue over the finer points and people like Pevril will try to use it as an excuse to deny your advancement, but as far as I¡¯m concerned, you did the job. That having been said, there were a few things that could have gone better. Let¡¯s start with walking into a swamp and staying there all night¡­¡±

 Book 2, Chapter 20

    The two of them were in the carriage, riding back to Cravel and discussing the state of the guild, to which Aria would be giving her recommendation that Velik be raised to the rank of gold. Just because she¡¯d evaluated him as ready to take on gold jobs didn¡¯t mean it would actually happen, however.


    Unsurprisingly, Aria wasn¡¯t any more of a fan of the guild¡¯s political games than Velik was. She didn¡¯t like getting caught up in them and she didn¡¯t have anything good to say about the guild¡¯s leadership for allowing them to happen.


    ¡°In all fairness to Bertrim, he inherited a mess and wasn¡¯t given a choice. The politics aren¡¯t some local thing. Cravel is a major branch of the monster hunters guild, right behind Ashala and Vestul. If Bertrim didn¡¯t play along, they¡¯d just remove him and put someone else behind his desk,¡± she explained. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean he¡¯s bad at it or unwilling to play politics, just that I believe if he had his way, the guild would be run differently.¡±


    ¡°Which is a meaningless distinction. He doesn¡¯t have his way, nor does he have the principles to stand up to the actions of those who would abuse their positions for their own gain,¡± Velik pointed out. ¡°So he¡¯s a worthless guild master.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not worthless. He just¡­ folds to pressure more often than some of us would like.¡±


    ¡°Worthless,¡± Velik said again with a snort.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t like it, this probably isn¡¯t the guild for you,¡± Aria told him primly. ¡°In fact, no guild is probably the guild for you. Politics are a part of civilization.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not here because I want to be,¡± Velik said.


    ¡°Then why are you here? If you don¡¯t care, why go kill the hydra? Why make me come along to watch? I could have stayed home.¡±


    ¡°The guild has knowledge I want. This was the only way to get it. Once I have it¡­¡± Velik shrugged. He couldn¡¯t care less if he was in good standing once they¡¯d served their purpose.


    Back when he¡¯d first joined, he¡¯d had some ideas about becoming a professional monster hunter. He already knew he was good at it, and if taking jobs to go kill monsters had been the extent of the guild, he would have happily stayed on. The team he¡¯d been assigned to had been an unpleasant surprise. Their instructors were another one. The iron trials and politics had worn out what remained of Velik¡¯s patience.


    If this evaluation turned against him, he¡¯d just follow this lead with the flesh beast and use Jensen¡¯s expedition to get there. When he got back, Torwin could get him what information the guild had that was useful. Had he known how much of a pain in the ass the guild was going to be, he¡¯d have left it to Torwin to handle that part in the first place.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say anything like that to anyone when we get back,¡± Aria advised. ¡°Assume they already know, but if not, best not to tell them. It¡¯ll just be one more thing they hold against you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to tell them?¡±


    ¡°Nah. Fuck Pevril.¡±


    Velik considered that statement for a moment. ¡°Agreed.¡±


    Despite everything, Aria was starting to grow on him. She was still sort of aggravating, but her irreverence for the people running the guild was refreshing. The fact that she¡¯d promised a passing grade, especially after he¡¯d explained how he functioned better at night and that nobody had given him the knowledge about his specific target that he was supposed to receive, helped matters along.


    She plopped a foot on his knee and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. Velik smacked the offending limb away with a scowl. Hasn¡¯t grown on me that much.


    * * *


    ¡°Barely three days,¡± Aria said. ¡°And most of it spent traveling. I don¡¯t think anyone expected us to get back that quickly. That¡¯ll be another mark in your favor.¡±


    ¡°Great,¡± Velik said, unenthused about the whole thing. In a perfect world, they¡¯d do their deliberating somewhere far away from him, then someone would come give him his pin. He¡¯d get access to the guild archives and then he¡¯d never set foot in the guild again once he¡¯d learned what he wanted to know.


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    In reality, according to Aria, he¡¯d be called on to present himself to answer questions so they could publicly come to some whatever consensus they¡¯d already reached behind closed doors when they made their deals with each other. It would take hours and be utterly pointless, since the votes had already been bought and paid for long before the meeting ever started.


    I don¡¯t want to do any of that. I wonder if I could get away with just¡­ disappearing for a month or two. I guess I should find Jensen and ask him when we¡¯re going.


    The [Vault Seeker] had promised to leave some contact information in Velik¡¯s mailbox with the guild, so he reluctantly followed Aria inside to claim that. They parted ways immediately, with her going to drop off her report and him going to the mail room. As promised, there was a card waiting for him with the address to an inn called the Crystal Monocle. It was, of course, located in Gold Town.


    There were still a few hours of daylight left, so Velik headed across the city to let Jensen know he was back. He had no idea if he¡¯d find the other man there, but he figured he could leave a message if nothing else. While getting passage across the border was convenient for Velik, participation in his expedition was mandatory for Jensen. He¡¯d have to find Velik if he wanted things to progress.


    The Crystal Monocle was stunningly decadent, at least to Velik¡¯s eyes. The wood was sanded smooth and polished, the glassware was so clear as to be almost invisible, and food was served on literal silver and gold platters. Whatever it was they were offering for lunch smelled incredible, but Velik didn¡¯t need to see the menu to know he wouldn¡¯t like the prices.


    If he¡¯s having trouble getting funding, why is he staying at a place that¡¯s probably costing him twenty or thirty decarmas a day? Either I am completely misunderstanding the scale of this operation, or he¡¯s being stupidly wasteful. Probably both.


    It seemed the hostess agreed with Velik¡¯s assessment that the Crystal Monocle was too rich a place for him to be in. Before he¡¯d gotten even two steps past the threshold, she smoothly slid in front of him with a pleasant and very fake smile. ¡°Welcome, sir.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not looking for a seat at a table or a room,¡± Velik assured her. He pulled out the card Jensen had left in his guild mailbox. ¡°I¡¯m looking for the man who gave me this. Is he still taking rooms here?¡±


    The hostess deftly snatched the card from between Velik¡¯s fingers and scanned it in an instant. ¡°Indeed, sir. I¡¯d be happy to send any message you¡¯d like up to him.¡±


    The subtext was clear, even to someone as socially inept as Velik. They¡¯d take a message to their guest, but he wouldn¡¯t be going up himself without a clear invitation. Maybe it¡¯s the swamp stink in my cloak. Despite the washer lady¡¯s best efforts, a faint mustiness still clung to the fabric. He hadn¡¯t really noticed it back in Eldmyrk, but as soon as he¡¯d gotten a fair distance from the swamp, he¡¯d realized he was taking a piece of it with him. It would probably be upwards of twenty thousand decarmas to get [Mending] added to the cloak on top of all its other enchants, assuming it was even possible, but he was starting to think it was money well spent.


    ¡°If he¡¯s here now, just ask him to step out and I¡¯ll meet him on the street. Otherwise just tell him that Velik is back in town. He knows how to find me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s away at the moment, but I¡¯ll certainly make sure your words reach him,¡± the hostess said. ¡°Now, will there be anything else?¡±


    Struggling not to roll his eyes, Velik shook his head. ¡°Thanks,¡± he said.


    The hostess waited until he was out of the building before muttering, ¡°Tightwad.¡± Velik¡¯s hearing was too good not to pick it up, and he belatedly realized she¡¯d been expecting some kind of a tip for running his message up to Jensen. He can pay her for it. Not my fault he picked the most expensive place in the whole city.


    With no other demands on his attention for the moment, he decided it was a good time to catch a few hours of sleep. As strong as he¡¯d gotten, three or four would be more than enough. He hadn¡¯t dozed in the carriage, unlike Aria, and he was going on four days without rest now. Admittedly, other than the hydra hunt, they hadn¡¯t exactly been strenuous days, but he was still happy to find an excuse to close his eyes for a while.


    Velik made his way back to Melon and Peach, traded a nod with the door bouncer¡ªhe¡¯d become familiar to all of them and they knew that he wasn¡¯t a normal customer, so they didn¡¯t hassle him when he walked by without paying¡ªand marched upstairs to the room he¡¯d taken at the far end of the hall.


    ¡°You¡¯re back,¡± one of the girls said when she almost walked into him as she walked out of her room. ¡°I thought you got sick of us.¡±


    ¡°Had a job outside the city.¡±


    ¡°You should just start working here,¡± she told him. ¡°Pay¡¯s good for a cute rent boy. Oh, don¡¯t give me that face. Fine, just take shifts as a bouncer.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Velik said. His room was in a little block with the other bouncers who lived onsite, but he had no desire to work their job. If all went well, this would be his last week in Cravel anyway. As soon as Jensen was ready to go, assuming he¡¯d gotten what he wanted from the guild archives, Velik didn¡¯t have any plans on coming back.


    The girl shrugged. ¡°Your loss. It¡¯s easy money.¡±


    She stepped past him, and with a shake of his head, Velik finished the trip to his own room. He hadn¡¯t laid down for even ten minutes when that particularly annoying squealer started up. I never thought I¡¯d miss sleeping in a hole in the ground, but somehow, here I am.

 Book 2, Chapter 21

    Jensen walked past the cat house three times before he worked up the nerve to actually go inside. If anyone he knew had seen him entering Melon and Peach, he¡¯d die of shame, but of course this was where Velik was staying. Somehow. Did he have something against a normal inn? How did he¡­


    Trying to imagine what kind of conversation his socially awkward partner had been forced to endure with the matron was too much for Jensen. He snickered as he walked in, drawing a scowl from the man standing near the door. The guy was close to six and a half feet tall and muscled heavily enough that Jensen suspected his class put all his physical points directly into his strength. Some sort of laborer class, I¡¯d bet. No actual combat training.


    ¡°Something funny?¡± the man asked.


    ¡°No. Just looking for a friend of mine.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, right. Just looking for a friend. In a cat house. I¡¯m sure that¡¯s it.¡±


    ¡°No, really,¡± Jensen insisted. ¡°Don¡¯t ask me why he¡¯s paying for a room here, but this is where he told me I could find him.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± The man¡¯s voice turned flat. ¡°That guy. Tall. Dark hair. That weird thing wrapped around his arm.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s him,¡± Jensen confirmed.


    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s here. For some reason.¡± That last part was muttered under the man¡¯s breath, but Jensen clearly heard it anyway. Low level people severely underestimated the senses of people with hunter classes. Jensen hadn¡¯t fully appreciated that until a year or so ago, but he caught random strangers talking to themselves all the time now. Sadly, they rarely had anything interesting to say.


    ¡°Do I¡­ just go up?¡± Jensen asked, waving his hand faintly toward the stairs.


    ¡°Not unless you got some vitrunes you want to spend.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not looking for companionship,¡± Jensen told him stiffly. Certainly not here, at least. His eyes tracked a petite blonde as she crossed the bar. Well¡­


    ¡°Masha,¡± the man called. A different woman¡¯s head snapped up from where she was reclining on a sofa wearing a form-fitting dress that ended a few inches too soon to be considered decent. ¡°Go tell the brooder he¡¯s got a visitor, will you?¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯d want to visit that guy?¡± she returned, but with a shrug, she slid off the sofa and slunk across the room to the stairs in the back.


    ¡°You keep staring, and I¡¯m going to have to charge you anyway,¡± the doorman told Jensen.


    ¡°I¡¯m not staring.¡±


    ¡°Sure you¡¯re not. Maybe you should turn around and face the wall, then.¡±


    Jensen rolled his eyes and crossed his arms as he settled back to lean against the wall. The doorman squinted at him for a few moments, but then shrugged to himself and went back to a card game he¡¯d been playing with another equally large man. A pair of thick cudgels were leaned up against the wall near them, heavy enough that Jensen had no doubt they¡¯d shatter bone if they hit someone with less than 50 physical.


    A minute later, Velik came down the stairs. He looked as hostile as ever, like he¡¯d never smiled once in his life and didn¡¯t even know how. Considering what Jensen had been told of his childhood and how he¡¯d grown up, that very well could have been true. Deciding not to dwell on it, he exited the cat house without a word and Velik followed him to the street. They started walking, not with any particular destination in mind, but just because Jensen didn¡¯t want to stand in front of Melon and Peach while they talked.


    ¡°How¡¯d the job go?¡± Jensen asked.


    ¡°Quick. Easy,¡± Velik told him. ¡°Now I have to wait to see what the guild thinks.¡±


    Wasn¡¯t he supposed to kill a hydra or something? That¡¯s easy for him? I guess it¡¯s a good thing, though. I¡¯m only hiring him on for his fighting prowess, and it¡¯ll make Shelir happy.


    ¡°I guess you¡¯ll be gold-ranked, soon. Congratulations. It¡¯s pretty rare anyone skips bronze and silver in one jump.¡±


    ¡°I guess. Maybe. They¡¯ve been trying to screw with me, so it might not happen.¡±


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    Jensen wasn¡¯t sure why anyone at the monster hunters guild would care about Velik. He was too new to have any political enemies, which probably meant that whatever they were up to didn¡¯t concern him so much as he was just collateral damage. Given his utter lack of social graces, it wasn¡¯t too hard to picture someone picking him out as the pawn to maneuver without fear of repercussions from a powerful family or allies.


    ¡°Sorry to hear that,¡± Jensen said. He briefly considered offering to help, but that was something better saved for when he needed Velik to do something he didn¡¯t want to do. The young hunter didn¡¯t seem like the kind of guy who¡¯d remember he owed Jensen a favor after the fact. ¡°But anyway, what did you want to talk to me about?¡±


    He hadn¡¯t expected Velik back so soon, not for another week or two, at least. Jensen didn¡¯t know much about hydras, but they were rightly considered to be among the most difficult of monsters to kill, and finding one in a huge swamp couldn¡¯t have been easy. Hopefully, Velik wasn¡¯t looking for any updates on how the expedition¡¯s prep work was coming along. Things just didn¡¯t move that fast when large sums of money were involved, and Jensen had his own politics to navigate through before everything came together.


    ¡°When do we leave for Slokara?¡±


    Damn it.


    Putting on a congenial front that he certainly didn¡¯t feel, Jensen faked a laugh. ¡°Not for a few more weeks. Maybe a month or more. The funding has been secured, but details have to be argued out with the investors, and the monster hunters guild is still assembling its list of people it¡¯s sending. Hey, if you could get yourself included on that as the guild¡¯s newest gold-rank, you could get paid twice for going.¡±


    Velik seemed to consider that for a second, then shrugged. ¡°Maybe if those responsibilities don¡¯t interfere with my own work.¡±


    Considering the man had taken rooms at a cat house in a relatively poor district, Jensen was a bit surprised that Velik would scoff at double-dipping on a payday. He obviously needed the money or he wouldn¡¯t be doing jobs like coliseum fighting on the side. He looked like he¡¯d spent everything he¡¯d made from those champion seeds on a fantastic set of gear, which wasn¡¯t a terrible investment for a man planning to be a professional monster hunter, but he¡¯d apparently forgotten to leave himself a few thousand decarmas to live on.


    ¡°Are you paying me?¡± Velik asked abruptly.


    ¡°What? Of course I¡¯d be paying you. Well, not me personally. Your wages would be drawn from the expedition¡¯s funds. Why would you think I wasn¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°The deal was you¡¯d get me over the border attached to your caravan in return for me agreeing to be part of the project so that fat nobleman would invest in it. We never said anything about paying me.¡±


    Huh. He¡¯s right, now that I think about it. Well, I suppose I don¡¯t technically have to, but gods save him, he needs some spending money.


    ¡°I guess we haven¡¯t discussed it yet,¡± Jensen told him. ¡°Like I said, there¡¯s still a lot to nail down before we get on the road, but yes, you¡¯ll get paid. I could advance you a sum now if you like.¡±¡¯


    Men like Velik had a lot of pride, and Jensen didn¡¯t want him to think this was charity. If it was just an advance, that was money Velik would be owed. He¡¯d take it and not feel like Jensen was looking down on him, even though he absolutely was. It wasn¡¯t Velik¡¯s fault he had no financial literacy. He¡¯d lived in the woods his whole life.


    ¡°Whatever,¡± Velik said. ¡°What even is the pay?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to settle on a number. If you play it right to Shelir, I¡¯m betting you could get three hundred decarmas, maybe four. I could advance you a hundred now.¡± You could buy a decent pair of clothes and find somewhere classier to stay so I don¡¯t have to be seen here and you don¡¯t get turned away at the door of the Crystal Monocle.


    ¡°If you want.¡±


    Jensen frowned. ¡°Not the reaction I was expecting. You don¡¯t seem to care.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not very much money,¡± Velik said. ¡°I don¡¯t care about a few hundred decarmas. If you can get things moving a day faster, use the money for that instead. I want to leave Cravel as soon as possible, preferably before I have to go attend a meeting with a bunch of people whose faces I want to punch.¡±


    ¡°Not¡­ very much money,¡± Jensen repeated. I mean¡­ I agree. It¡¯s not that much. But if that¡¯s what you think, then why in the hells are you dressed like that and sleeping at Melon and Peach?


    ¡°No. Actually, is there anything I can do to speed this up? Do you need more money, or some errands run?¡±


    What is happening right now?


    ¡°No, thank you. The meetings are all set up. We¡¯ve just got to finalize the destination, hire on the monster hunters and the wagon crew, and rent the storage box.¡± And I¡¯ve got to somehow convince four different people that we need to go to somewhere in Slokara instead of wherever they want to go, but you don¡¯t need to know about that part.


    ¡°Extradimensional storage?¡± Velik asked, perking up. ¡°I was looking into that, but it was quite expensive.¡±


    ¡°It will be one of the biggest expenses of the entire trip, but it simplifies logistics and gives us a safe way to transport back whatever we find in the vault,¡± Jensen said. ¡°Eventually, I¡¯ll have enough to buy one outright, maybe even after this first trip if things go exceptionally well. More likely, it¡¯ll be two or three. Then I won¡¯t have to jump through all these hoops to get things moving.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t help with this one, though,¡± Velik muttered. ¡°Damn. I¡¯m going to have to go to that meeting after all. Alright, I guess it gives me some time to take care of other business. Keep me updated and let me know if you need my help with anything.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Jensen agreed easily. There really wasn¡¯t much of anything someone like Velik could do beyond what he¡¯d already done, though admittedly, securing the lion¡¯s share of the expedition¡¯s funding was a pretty important contribution. ¡°If that¡¯s all, I¡¯ve got some meetings of my own to see to.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Velik said. He sighed and shook his head. ¡°Not ideal. Oh well. Thanks, Jensen.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome, Velik.¡±

 Book 2, Chapter 22

    The summons to appear before the guild leadership was every bit as miserable as Velik had expected it to be. He was harangued by various pompous instructors and department heads, praised for absolutely nothing, and had his abilities and tactics called into question repeatedly in an attempt to get him to justify himself. Velik had some vague suspicion that it was mostly done to get him to reveal his full skill set, something nobody was required to furnish the guild with.


    But, at the end of it all, his evaluator had given him passing marks and he¡¯d completed the job in record time. Despite the insinuations, complaints, and objections people Velik had never even met tried to raise about him, Guildmaster Nelspir awarded him gold-ranked status in the guild. Velik had expected Pevril to be upset about the whole thing, but strangely, he wasn¡¯t.


    That can¡¯t be a good sign. Whatever this was all about, he wasn¡¯t trying to keep me from moving up in the guild. That¡¯s a man who got exactly what he wanted. Shit. I hate politics.


    With his iron pin traded in for a gold one, Velik was finally, finally, given access to the guild archives. The head archivist, a rail-thin man with pale skin who rarely ventured out of his domain, was named Andel Thett, and for some reason Velik couldn¡¯t figure out, he seemed inordinately friendly. He¡¯d always been apologetic that he couldn¡¯t allow Velik access before, so it was with a delighted expression that he beheld the new pin on Velik¡¯s collar.


    ¡°You advanced your guild rank,¡± he said with the first genuine smile Velik had seen all day. ¡°And not just to bronze, either! Wow. I knew you were strong, but to jump right to gold. Congratulations, young man!¡±


    Even though Velik didn¡¯t much care about his standing with the guild, he had to admit it was nice to finally receive some positive feedback from somebody for his accomplishment. ¡°Thanks,¡± Velik said. ¡°It was¡­ an interesting process.¡±


    Thett snorted out a laugh and dryly said, ¡°That¡¯s a way to describe things. I¡¯ve been to enough of those meetings to know they¡¯re anything but pleasant even when you¡¯re not the focus. But that¡¯s behind you now, and I know why you¡¯re here. Yes, I remember all your questions.¡±


    That was true. When Velik had first arrived and joined the guild, he¡¯d practically buried the poor archivist under questions, almost all of which Thett had to refuse to answer due to Velik¡¯s low rank. Now that he was a gold, however, he was quickly ushered into Thett¡¯s office and steered into a seat.


    ¡°I¡¯ll admit, I¡¯ve already done some digging,¡± Thett said. He paused and glanced over at a stack of books and loose papers. ¡°Okay, a lot of digging. Torwin was asking me about this a few months before you arrived, and when he came back from that last job, it was just with even more questions. Then you showed up wanting to know about the same thing, and I figured even if you never got to the point where you had access, I might as well see what I could find for Torwin. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be back any day now.¡±


    Velik leaned back while the old archivist rambled. The man was just so damn excited about this conversation that it was hard not to feel a little bit uplifted himself. After dealing with the politics and getting crapped on for months, he was getting his payout at the end.


    ¡°Is there anywhere you¡¯d like to start in particular?¡± Thett asked.


    ¡°I honestly wasn¡¯t even sure where to start. My plan was to just ask you for help, so, where do you think would be best?¡±


    ¡°Sensible. It¡¯s a smart man who can admit what he doesn¡¯t know and seek advice from experts in the field,¡± Thett praised.


    Kind of laying it on thick there, but whatever. I¡¯ll take it as a win after the morning I just had.


    ¡°Right, so what Torwin came in with several months ago was, I believe, a dungeon seed. They¡¯ve only been theorized to exist, but we have a lot of circumstantial evidence and some old legends about the origins of dungeons that support the theory.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you know where dungeons come from?¡±


    ¡°Again, it¡¯s theoretical,¡± Thett said. ¡°There¡¯s a legend about something known as a World Tree, though of course the story is suitably vague on where exactly this tree is. But as it goes, a demon took a cutting from the World Tree and planted it in the heart of an old, forgotten kingdom that there is some evidence it actually existed a thousand years ago. The demon nurtured the tree with its corrupting magic, turning it into something dark and malignant, and the seeds it produced grew into dungeons.¡±


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    ¡°And is this an old fable or do people actually believe this?¡± Velik asked.


    ¡°Is there a massive, miles tall tree the size of a mountain somewhere in the world? Well, I¡¯ve never come across any proof, but anything¡¯s possible,¡± Thett said. ¡°Did the old kingdom of Accelit actually exist? Yes. We¡¯re sure of that. It was destroyed from within by a powerful dungeon that grew out of control, so there¡¯s some credence given to the idea that it was the birthplace of dungeons.¡±


    ¡°And the seed I discovered as a child¡­¡±


    ¡°If it didn¡¯t come directly from this hypothetical corrupted world tree, it¡¯s still possible there¡¯s some connection. We don¡¯t know how new dungeons form if for no other reason than nobody ever finds one until it¡¯s already awake and producing monsters. By that time, the formation is done. Dungeon seeds are a hypothetical extrapolation based on the existence of champion seeds and the preachings of old stories by priests of various gods.¡±


    ¡°Except that Torwin handed you one,¡± Velik pointed out. ¡°Not so hypothetical anymore.¡±


    ¡°Hah! Exactly. Although, technically, it¡¯s more circumstantial evidence. I¡¯m a [Historical Analyst], you know. My class¡¯s signature skill is called [Analyze], and it lets us dig up all sorts of information from artifacts of the past. I can tell you that the orb Torwin gave me is about twenty-five years old, that it broke a bit over a decade ago, and that whatever magic was in it is now depleted. It has a connection to dungeons, but it¡¯s not clear what, yet. It¡¯s also got a bit of soul magic in it, or did once.¡±


    All of that seemed to fit the theory of it being a dungeon seed to Velik, but he was sure there were some other ideas that could also explain all the data points Thett was working with. Whether the thing that had turned him into a [Duskbound] human and given him [The Black Fang] as his unique class was a dungeon seed or something else didn¡¯t much matter to Velik. The important part was figuring out who had placed it inside the dungeon in the first place.


    ¡°Another theory,¡± Thett went on, oblivious to Velik¡¯s inner musings, ¡°is that what you found isn¡¯t a dungeon seed in the sense that it creates a new dungeon, but instead some sort of artifact designed to revive a dead dungeon core. Obviously, it failed to do that, so there¡¯s been some resistance to that particular idea among my colleagues, but, well, it is a possibility.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s say the story is right, that it¡¯s a dungeon seed carried from some demon tree to where I found it years ago,¡± Velik said. ¡°Who put it there?¡±


    ¡°That is the question, isn¡¯t it? Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have a good answer for you. What I can supply you with is all the knowledge the guild has accumulated over the years about flesh shaping monsters and classes, though the one in the class orb you brought me when you first got here was certainly unique.¡±


    ¡°There are more people with classes to make monsters?¡± Velik asked. Somehow, he wasn¡¯t surprised, but he couldn¡¯t fathom why anyone would want to make monsters. Then again, someone with a class like that would make a killing designing challenging fights for an institution like the coliseum. If they were unscrupulous enough, they could do things like unleash their creations on towns, then collect rewards to get rid of their own messes.


    Okay, I can see where someone with no morals might find a way to benefit from creating and controlling monsters.


    ¡°Oh yes, quite a few. Here, this book details some examples. The [Summoner] is probably the most famous, though they don¡¯t actually summon real monsters so much as create an artificial monster from their magic. I¡¯ve never quite agreed with the system designation for that class, but what do I know about it?¡±


    Velik accepted a thick tome bound in blue leather from Thett and rapidly flipped through it. It was well laid out, with each page discussing a different class that dealt with monster creation in some way, followed by some examples of what kinds of beasts they could create. [Summoner] had the biggest entry, as Thett had said, but [Necromancer] also had a large selection that included some familiar looking monsters.


    ¡°Dead bodies stitched back together and given a semblance of life,¡± Velik read. ¡°A powerful [Necromancer] need not limit himself to simply reviving an intact corpse when he can combine multiple bodies to make something greater than the sum of its parts.¡±


    ¡°Dreadful, ghastly work,¡± Thett told him. ¡°I¡¯ve yet to meet a [Necromancer] with good intentions.¡±


    ¡°This says that the undead don¡¯t bleed or get tired, nor do they have any particular weak points,¡± Velik said. That didn¡¯t track with his own fights with the flesh beasts he¡¯d defeated. Those had certainly bled and had definitely died when he¡¯d destroyed large enough portions of their bodies.


    ¡°Correct,¡± Thett said. ¡°As I understand your account of what you faced, I doubt a [Necromancer] was behind it. It seems very obvious to me that it was someone employing something similar to the unique class you found, [The Flesh Crafter]. It may even have been that class exactly. There can only ever be one copy of a unique class at a time, of course. That¡¯s what makes them unique. But if you killed whoever had that class when you destroyed the dungeon core in that cave, then it¡¯s possible the class opened up to be taken by someone new.¡±


    Maybe that¡¯s why the quest awarded the class orb to me, so that no one else would ever become that¡­ that thing again.


    ¡°Moving on!¡± Thett announced. He pulled another book out of the pile. ¡°I did some digging and found a few accounts of other monsters in the archives that match what you described having fought¡­¡±


    Velik set his book aside and leaned in to look at the next one. He briefly eyed the pile, then decided that no matter how long it took, he wasn¡¯t leaving until they¡¯d gone through the whole thing. Thett certainly showed no signs of slowing down, so he wouldn¡¯t either.


    It was going to be a long night, though.

 Book 2, Chapter 23

    Jensen was shown into Bertrim Nelspir¡¯s office two days after Velik got his gold pin. He¡¯d been eager for the meeting, as the expedition was planning to hire on twenty silvers, thirty bronzes, and three golds, maybe more if whatever area Jensen picked proved to be more dangerous than average.


    It was an appreciable chunk of the guild¡¯s manpower and would impact how many jobs they could reliably handle, which was why Bertrim had been dragging his feet on getting an answer back to Jensen. Well, that and also some interference from Jensen¡¯s father, not that he could prove it. He almost never could.


    ¡°Jensen!¡± Bertrim said with fake friendliness that didn¡¯t reach his eyes. ¡°How¡¯s my favorite [Vault Seeker] doing today?¡±


    ¡°That depends entirely on what you¡¯re about to tell me,¡± Jensen told him.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve got good news, so that must mean you¡¯re doing well.¡±


    I¡¯ll be the judge of that, you wrinkled old snake.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hear it then,¡± Jensen said aloud.


    ¡°It took a great deal of¡­ discussions¡­¡± Bertrim¡¯s mouth twisted into a grimace at the word, ¡°but we did eventually come to an agreement.¡±


    ¡°An agreement on?¡±


    ¡°The destination, of course.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Jensen¡¯s voice went flat. ¡°You decided on that, huh?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Bertrim went on, oblivious to the change in tone. ¡°There are a few sites out on the coast situated in tidal caves that have been difficult to explore even for those with classes that let them survive underwater. Historical records indicate that the lost Pearl of Sulavak is somewhere in there. This was agreed upon as a good test¡ªclose enough to reach within a week and in settled enough lands to not require close to a hundred monster hunters.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not going to work for me,¡± Jensen said.


    ¡°Not going¡ªI¡¯m sorry. What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°One of the investor conditions requires we target a site in Slokara,¡± Jensen told the guild master. ¡°I sent you a letter about this over a week ago asking for some information about a few spots [Treasure Hunter] told me were worth investigating.¡±


    Bertrim¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°My secretary must have sent it directly to the archives. Regardless, it really would be better to start closer to home with this first run. On foreign soil, there¡¯d be a much greater threat of hostile action from Slokarian military. A [Vault Seeker] is valuable enough to risk a kidnapping.¡±


    Wow, I can almost see Father¡¯s hand reaching up your ass to move your lips, Jensen thought somewhat bitterly. ¡°Why do you think I wanted such a large force of guards and monster hunters for the expedition?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sorry, but the Monster Hunters Guild just doesn¡¯t have the members to fill such a large request. It would cripple our operations to have so many gone for the months a Slokaran expedition would require,¡± Bertrim said.


    ¡°And how many can you offer?¡±


    ¡°Fifteen bronzes, five silvers, one gold.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s barely a third of what I requested!¡±


    Bertrim spread his hands into a helpless shrug. ¡°That¡¯s what we can spare, Jensen. It¡¯s more than enough for the location we¡¯d like to target.¡±


    ¡°What use is your guild if you can¡¯t actually provide hunters to take care of monsters?¡± Jensen asked slowly as he struggled to keep his temper. One damn problem after another. If Father would stop trying to screw with me, this would be a lot easier.


    ¡°My guild doesn¡¯t exist for your convenience, young man,¡± Bertrim growled back as he rose to his feet. ¡°You have our proposed location and numbers. The contract remains unchanged. You can accept it or you can go crawling back to your father with your tail between your legs, because you will never get this expedition off the ground without the support of this guild.¡±


    Jensen was on his feet now, too, though he didn¡¯t remember standing up. ¡°So that¡¯s my choice, huh? Be the guild¡¯s hound on a leash, or nothing at all. Well, no thanks. I am the [Vault Seeker]. You need me to find anything. I can hire mercenaries if I need to. The guild is a convenience, not a necessity.¡±


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Bertrim laughed in his face. ¡°Go try it. See how far you get. Good luck finding a company that¡¯s willing to cross Feldirk Alderworth.¡±


    ¡°So it was my father who put you up to this,¡± Jensen spat out. ¡°No surprise there, I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you ought to try listening to him. He knows a hell of a lot more about how the world works than you do.¡±


    ¡°This meeting¡¯s over,¡± Jensen said. Without waiting for the guild master to say another word, he turned and walked out of the room.


    * * *


    That¡¯s probably not good, Velik thought to himself as he watched Jensen storm out of the guild hall. Sound dampening enchantments provided much-needed privacy throughout the building, but even through those, Velik had caught the tail end of the conversation. The guild screws me, once again.


    He¡¯d just finished his third session with Andel Thett. It turned out the old archivist had only had part of his total work ready for review at their first meeting. He¡¯d pulled in a stack of books taller than Velik for their second meeting, though thankfully he just wanted to reference specific passages from each one. It had still taken them better than eight hours to go through it all, and then they¡¯d had another meeting today to map out the geographic locations of each sighting.


    That part had sounded useful going in, but Velik had failed to account for just how old some of those books were. Even discarding everything from more than a century past, they¡¯d put close to two dozen pins in a map of five different countries. Two of them were even in Ghestal, though one of them was the one Velik had personally taken care of. The other was an account from a fur trapper of a singular flesh beast thirty years prior, with no corroborating evidence that it was anything but a drunkard¡¯s fireside tale.


    Even if it was true, it wasn¡¯t much to go on, and Velik¡¯s lead of a flesh beast caught in the Verdant Belt not even two months ago was much more promising. If Jensen¡¯s meeting was a portent of things to come, though, getting across the border was going to be an issue after all. He considered what to do for a moment, then walked out of the guild hall after the man.


    It wasn¡¯t hard to catch up to Jensen, who was obviously heading for Melon and Peach. For some reason, he was embarrassed to go in there and kept insisting that Velik needed to find lodging at a respectable inn. Might as well save him the trouble for once.


    ¡°Jensen,¡± he said to get the man¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Ah, Velik. Good. At least one gods damned thing can go right today,¡± Jensen said, halting to give Velik a few seconds to catch up. ¡°Judging by the direction you came from, I¡¯m going to guess you were at the guild hall?¡±


    ¡°And heard how the meeting ended. Things are grim, then?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a problem, for sure. The thing about investors is that they all agree to pitch in on the promises of other investors, and when one of them decides not to fulfill what they said they¡¯d do, it has knock-on effects. Now I¡¯ve got to go back to everyone else who¡¯s putting money into the expedition and explain to them that the Monster Hunters Guild is pulling out unless we agree to the location they¡¯ve chosen and a third of the manpower they were supposed to commit.


    ¡°And if we do agree, then we lose you, since you need to get to Slokara. Losing you means Shelir Blendstin, who is by far the biggest investor, pulls out, and it¡¯s all a big fucking headache. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m saying this, but I miss just going into the woods and shooting whatever monsters I could find.¡±


    ¡°So let¡¯s do that,¡± Velik said.


    ¡°I¡­ What?¡± Jensen paused to stare at him.


    ¡°All of this¡­ What¡¯s the point? I¡¯m not here because I love this city. A warm bed is nice, and having people who actually know how to cook prepare my meals is a luxury I didn¡¯t know I was missing, but the rest of it can go to hell. I¡¯m going to Slokara, whether it¡¯s through an official border checkpoint or crossing on my own somewhere else. If you¡¯re fed up with trying to put this all together, then just¡­ don¡¯t. Gear up and walk out the gate.¡±


    Jensen let out a short, bitter laugh. ¡°If only it were that easy. I need wagons. I need that extradimensional storage box. I need excavators and monster hunters and mercenary guards. I need border passes for all of them, and money to pay for everything. If I just go, there is no expedition. Maybe I make it to wherever the treasure is, maybe not, but even if I do, I can¡¯t get anything valuable from it.¡±


    ¡°No, you just won¡¯t get the maximum value for it. But so what? Most of that value is going to everyone else you¡¯re paying to come along. How much of it will really be just for you?¡±


    ¡°More than if I try to go it alone, and that¡¯s not even considering the risk to my life.¡±


    Jensen wasn¡¯t necessarily wrong, but Velik still thought there was a better way. ¡°What if, instead of a whole caravan, we take a small team, all gold-ranks or above. If the contract isn¡¯t through the guild, Velspir can¡¯t do anything to stop them, right?¡±


    ¡°Technically,¡± Jensen said, ¡°but there¡¯s two problems with that. First: who would we even get to go? And second: how would we carry the loot back? I need the investor¡¯s money to rent the storage.¡±


    ¡°Did you know that the woman who evaluated me last week hates the guild leadership and has extradimensional storage?¡± Velik asked. ¡°Torwin likes us. I bet he¡¯d help when he comes back. And your investor loves me, right? You think he could pitch in a few high-levels from that private security he¡¯s got as long as I¡¯m there?¡±


    ¡°It would mean a bigger share for him,¡± Jensen mused. ¡°We¡¯d probably need one or two more, depending on who Shelir¡¯s willing to send with us, but if we¡¯re not renting the storage box, we¡¯d be cutting a huge chunk of expenses. It¡­ It could work.¡±


    ¡°Great. Let¡¯s do that, then. Fuck the guild. They can get nothing.¡±


    The two of them stood in the street for a few seconds while Jensen thought furiously. Finally, he said, ¡°Okay, here¡¯s what I need you to do¡­¡±

 Book 2, Chapter 24

    Aria sat on one side of the table, a spread of sugary treats separating her from Velik. She idly picked at a pastry with a fork as she considered his request. ¡°It¡¯s a bit forward, don¡¯t you think?¡± she eventually said. ¡°We really don¡¯t know each other that well, and what you¡¯re proposing requires a great deal of trust between everyone involved.¡±


    ¡°More so on our side than yours,¡± Velik argued. ¡°What¡¯s to stop you from taking the treasure and teleporting away? It might be worth burning your reputation with the guild for the complete haul of a lost vault.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Yes, I suppose there is that. What makes you so sure I¡¯m trustworthy then?¡±


    Nothing. We¡¯re taking a chance on you because otherwise, the plan doesn¡¯t work. The way Jensen had explained it, if they could eliminate the spatial storage rental fee, the most expensive part of the trip would be getting the border passes. Velik wasn¡¯t entirely sure what that entailed, but apparently it involved a lot of money exchanging hands through backroom connections to keep their entry into Slokara unofficial. In theory, this expense was justified by not paying any sort of tax to the Slokaran government on whatever they uncovered.


    The original plan had called for large-scale harvesting of monsters on the way and hitting as many as two or three sites in a multi-month-long operation involving over a hundred people. Jensen thought they could bring the number down to a half dozen, go in quietly, and make the whole venture profitable by removing almost all the overhead.


    ¡°You dealt fairly with me and you didn¡¯t let politics color your opinion of my abilities,¡± Velik said. ¡°Besides, I¡¯m sure that, as a gold-ranked monster hunter, you¡¯re aware that this expedition was supposed to include a substantial guild presence. At the moment, they¡¯re trying to leverage their contribution to force a destination we don¡¯t want. Wouldn¡¯t it be fun to keep them from having it their way?¡±


    Aria giggled and took a bit from the pastry she¡¯d been toying with. After a few moments of chewing, she said, ¡°While that is enticing, going in with so few would be a dangerous proposition. There¡¯s a reason a [Vault Seeker] leads a caravan of hundreds. Besides, we¡¯d have to do all the harvesting ourselves, and I have no interest in hacking up monster bodies.¡±


    ¡°But if someone else did it, you have the extradimensional storage needed to hold all the valuables?¡± Velik pressed.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± Aria said. ¡°For the sake of this conversation, let¡¯s say that I believe I can handle the logistics of treasure relocation without involving anyone else. How much is that worth?¡±


    ¡°An equal share of whatever the group recovered is the offer.¡±


    ¡°How generous,¡± Aria said dryly. ¡°And if nothing is recovered?¡±


    Velik shrugged. ¡°Then we wasted our time and we all go home disappointed? But I doubt that¡¯ll happen. If a bunch of rich merchants and nobles were all willing to gamble on a [Vault Seeker] bringing back something of enormous value, there¡¯s no reason to think they were wrong.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say that. Plenty can go wrong, even if the treasure is right where your friend thinks it is. With such a small group, the risks are that much greater.¡±


    ¡°Even with a team of gold-ranked hunters? I didn¡¯t think you had so little confidence in yourself.¡±


    ¡°That will depend entirely on who¡¯s on that team,¡± Aria said bluntly. ¡°I know what I can do. I know that you¡¯re strong, but also reckless. You would not have defeated that hydra without my assistance. You jumped into a fight you had no clue how to win and thought you¡¯d figure it out in the heat of the moment, and that doesn¡¯t make me want to work with you.¡±


    ¡°Sure, but how many monsters have the kind of regenerative capabilities of a hydra? Literally anything else would have been dead.¡±


    Before the argument could really get going, Jensen hustled into the restaurant. He spotted them immediately and strode over, a frown on his face. ¡°You started without me,¡± he said to Velik.


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    ¡°We got here early. Didn¡¯t see much point in waiting.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯t,¡± Jensen muttered. ¡°Let me take over the negotiations.¡±


    ¡°Happily,¡± Velik said, standing up. He wasn¡¯t sure exactly what it was about this scenario that was annoying him, but something was. It wasn¡¯t just the clear dismissal or the fact that Jensen obviously didn¡¯t want Velik trying to persuade Aria to help, even though Velik was the one with a connection to her. There was some other burr brushing up against his skin, some note of reproach in Jensen¡¯s voice like Velik had screwed something up.


    Whatever. I don¡¯t care about this project. I just want a quick, foolproof way past the border that won¡¯t restrict my own investigation. Jensen¡¯s the one who needs Aria¡¯s cooperation; he can talk to her.


    Washing his hands of the whole thing, Velik made himself scarce. In a way, he was starting to regret burning his bridges with the coliseum. He hadn¡¯t hunted anything except that hydra, and that had been a thoroughly unsatisfying fight after the first half an hour. It was too bad the lands around Cravel had been so thoroughly pacified that he¡¯d need a full day¡¯s travel just to find any sort of monster.


    With any luck, they¡¯d be on the road in a week. In the meantime, he had an archive to scour while it was still available. Since there was no telling if he¡¯d even still have his rank when he got back, it was best to take advantage of his status while he could. Unfortunately, that meant more boring book work.


    It¡¯ll be worth it, he told himself as he trudged down the streets back to the guild hall.


    * * *


    Velik emerged back onto the open street in front of the guild hall six hours later, just after the sun finished setting. Andel Thett had pretty much exhausted everything there was to find in the archive regarding flesh beasts, flesh-shaping classes, dungeons, and whatever scraps of mythology were tangentially related to those topics, but that didn¡¯t mean there wasn¡¯t plenty left to learn.


    With access to the bestiaries full of powerful monsters, Velik had a wealth of new knowledge about the rarer and more dangerous creatures that inhabited the wild lands between kingdoms. He¡¯d focused specifically on the southern reaches of Ghestal and the mountains that separated it from Slokara, and on the area known as the Verdant Belt where the monster trappers had captured the flesh beast that had made its way to the coliseum¡¯s killing floor.


    ¡°I was wondering if you were going to come back out,¡± Jensen said. He¡¯d been leaning against the wall of the guild hall, but Velik was content to ignore him while he took a few deep breaths of relatively fresh air. The city had a smell to it he found unpleasant, but it was nothing compared to being trapped in that tomb of paper and ink.


    ¡°There¡¯s only so much I can take at once,¡± Velik replied.


    ¡°I¡¯m the same. I can study; I can practice with various toys and artifacts from my father¡¯s collection; I can train. But eventually, I need to step away from it all and just get outside the city. That¡¯s how I ended up as a [Tracker] originally. Father was furious. Hah. At least I thought so at the time. It was nothing compared to when I came home with [Vault Seeker]. Everything he wanted me to lose in my old class, amplified instead.¡±


    ¡°Are we going out for a drink while we commiserate on our pasts?¡± Velik asked.


    ¡°No, no. I doubt you¡¯d enjoy that, anyway. No, I came to tell you that I managed to bring Aria back around. Probably ended up costing us a bit more than if you¡¯d just waited for me to show up, but the important part is that we got her and she has access to the storage we need. The next step is getting Torwin back here, but he¡¯s still stuck in Heldsmouth hunting down pixies.¡±


    ¡°Pixies? Like, little people with wings, six inches tall, travel through interconnected tree root systems?¡±


    ¡°Yes, those pixies. They¡¯re not particularly dangerous, but they are hard to catch. That¡¯s why they made Torwin go do it. The sooner he finishes, the sooner he comes back, and the sooner we can recruit him to the team.¡±


    ¡°If he even goes for it,¡± Velik said.


    ¡°Right. That¡¯s why I want you to go to Heldsmouth, find him, and get him onboard. Then, do whatever you need to do to get him out of that job so we can get going. In the meantime, I¡¯ve got Shelir Blendstin willing to get us the border passes with the reduced team, though we¡¯ll be taking Giller along as his representative. She¡¯ll be in charge of securing his share of the treasure. And I¡¯m going to work on finding us one more, someone I think will be a big help.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Velik asked.


    ¡°Your old friend, Sildra.¡±


    ¡°Why her? She can¡¯t be past level 15. That won¡¯t be much help.¡±


    ¡°For you, idiot. The whole reason we¡¯re going to Slokara is so you can follow up on a lead about that whole flesh cave with the corrupted seeds incident. She¡¯s got a divine mandate from Morgus himself to work on that. I figured you two could work together.¡±


    That was pretty solid logic, but he was still worried about being slowed down by someone with such a low level. As long as they were traveling in a carriage or by horseback, maybe it would be fine, but sooner or later, they¡¯d have to go by foot, and Sildra would slow them down immensely. Then again, Jensen was barely past level 20 himself, and his presence wasn¡¯t optional.


    ¡°Alright. You¡¯ll take care of getting a message to her and bringing her here?¡± Velik asked.


    ¡°And you get Torwin back here. Then we can start the expedition.¡±


    It can¡¯t come soon enough.

 Book 2, Chapter 25

    Torwin let out a satisfied groan as he stretched out in the hot spring. The water was doing wonders for his sore muscles with each passing minute, and the only way the experience could be better was if he¡¯d had a cool mug of beer to toss back while he soaked. Unfortunately, Heldsmouth wasn¡¯t the kind of place with high-end enchanting, and as tempting as it was, five thousand decarmas for a cup that could keep whatever was stored inside it at the same temperature just wasn¡¯t worth it.


    And that warm, spiced cider they have here just doesn¡¯t hit right, not when I¡¯m relaxing here.


    He¡¯d been here for months now, and, admittedly, the first few weeks had sucked. Finding pixies wasn¡¯t easy, but his physical was so high that the hallucinations caused by inhaling the dust they shed with their wings couldn¡¯t affect him. That simplified the whole process, and he¡¯d made strong headway by the end of the first week. Clearing out the whole nest had taken the rest of the month, but pixies were a lot like bees, and a good smoke was all it took to subdue them.


    Torwin had started a few fires, let them spread until the whole colony was knocked out, and then he¡¯d finished things up and put out the flames before they could spread out of control. He¡¯d known this job was supposed to be four or five months of misery, scrounging through the woods for signs of pixies and catching them one at a time, but he didn¡¯t see much point in doing things the hard way.


    Since no one was expecting him back for a few more months, and Heldsmouth had a small hot spring on the east side, he¡¯d decided to just have himself a quiet vacation for a bit before returning home. The beer was tolerable, the monsters were few in numbers and low level besides, and the inn was surprisingly well furnished. About the only thing that could make things better was some good company.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± a voice asked from behind him, startling Torwin so bad that he practically leaped out of the water.


    ¡°Morgus¡¯s great hairy balls!¡± he swore, spinning in place to see Velik standing five feet away. ¡°What in the hell are you doing here?¡±


    And how did he sneak up on me? Did he level up even higher since the last time?


    ¡°I came to help you finish up your job. Imagine my surprise when I learned that you¡¯d eradicated the pixies months ago.¡±


    ¡°Ah, uh, well¡­ You see,¡± Torwin trailed off under Velik¡¯s baleful gaze.


    ¡°Your guild sucks, by the way. Months and months of putting up with their crap, only for them to deny my advancement out of iron as some sort of political move.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a bit new to be dealing with politics,¡± Torwin protested, but he saw the gold pin on Velik¡¯s collar. ¡°Ah, they forced a gold trial on you. What did you end up doing?¡±


    ¡°Swamp hydra.¡±


    Torwin winced. ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°So, I¡¯ll ask again. What are you doing?¡±


    This was not what I meant when I said I wanted some good company.


    ¡°I¡¯m enjoying a good soak in this hot spring. When you get to be my age, you too will learn to take advantage of some extra leisure time between jobs.¡±


    Torwin settled back down into the water, but now he was irritated and it just didn¡¯t feel the same. With a sigh, he craned his neck to look back at where Velik still stood, motionless. ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°Jensen wants to recruit you for his first expedition as a [Vault Seeker].¡±


    That explains why you¡¯re here to ¡®help¡¯ finish up the job the guild stuck me with.


    ¡°No thanks,¡± Torwin said. ¡°Too many people. Too slow. And the guild keeps all the good stuff anyway. Let some other gold-ranked fill one of those spots.¡±


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    Velik walked around the hot spring to stand across from Torwin. The pool was only about ten feet wide, bordered by white granite stones and covered in a layer of steam. At its deepest, it was three feet deep, making it damn near perfect with the stone seats the locals had placed to sit on.


    ¡°There isn¡¯t going to be any of that,¡± Velik said. ¡°Jensen is planning a group of six, stacked with golds.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± Torwin asked. ¡°Wait, let me guess. His father¡¯s interference.¡±


    ¡°The guild¡¯s, actually. They refused to support the expedition unless they could decide where it went.¡±


    He went against the guild, huh? Good for him. It¡¯s going to be dangerous though. They¡¯ll try to stop him, and a few of them are underhanded enough to take a shot at him if they think they can get away with it. And of course he wants me to put my foot into that trap with him. Gods, kid, I¡¯m not even your master anymore.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think he realizes what he¡¯s asking,¡± Torwin said. ¡°It¡¯s going to buy him a world of trouble, him and anyone else on board with his plan, which I¡¯m assuming includes you.¡±


    ¡°I need his help to get through the border checks,¡± Velik said simply.


    ¡°Going out of the country? You know it¡¯s not that hard to get around those, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to Slokara.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Torwin said. That did change things a bit. They were a militaristic country and it was difficult to move freely, even with the proper paperwork. They also had a natural border in the mountains that circled the country, which made it far more difficult to sneak in. It wasn¡¯t impossible, but Torwin could see the appeal to getting in legally. ¡°What¡¯s in Slokara?¡±


    ¡°A flesh beast, like the one I fought up north in the cave.¡±


    ¡°You think it¡¯s tied to your friend,¡± Torwin said thoughtfully. ¡°To what was done to him.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s possible. Morgus himself thinks there¡¯s more to it.¡±


    ¡°The guild won¡¯t be happy with you if you do this. Not only are you spitting in their eye helping someone they¡¯re trying to control break free, but they like to keep tabs on where their golds are and what they¡¯re doing.¡±


    ¡°Thus your unreported vacation, I assume.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Torwin¡¯s irritation was fading now that the heat was soaking into his muscles. As much as it irked him that Velik had snuck up on him and was almost certainly ruining his time off, it was just too difficult to stay mad.


    ¡°I suspect Jensen plans on extracting so much money from this trip that, even splitting it between the rest of the team, he¡¯ll no longer have to worry about trying to find financial backers or giving the guild control over his business. He¡¯ll just go on trips, wherever and whenever he wants.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t be that simple,¡± Torwin told the young hunter. ¡°Politics never are. But it will be a good start for him.¡±


    ¡°Presumably, it will set up everyone who goes with him for life. Or at least enough to get that extremely expensive spatial storage device you said you wanted.¡±


    Up to that point, Torwin hadn¡¯t really had any plans to get involved. Unlike Velik, whom he suspected didn¡¯t know or care much for the politics involved with defying the guild, Torwin knew exactly what kind of blowback he could expect if he participated in an expedition outside the guild¡¯s jurisdiction when they were actively trying to leverage control over Jensen.


    But he also knew the average haul a [Vault Seeker] could bring in, and it was measured in the millions. Even splitting it among a small team, it would be enough to get himself a pack or pouch, or maybe even one of those super expensive amulets or rings that things just disappeared into on command. Or to buy a nice cottage in a remote stretch of woods and just retire, like I keep saying I¡¯m going to do.


    Maybe it really was time to seriously consider that. The next generation was on the rise, with most of the people Torwin had personally trained well into silver-rank with the guild now. Despite the problems its leadership had cooperating with each other, monster hunters did good, important work. That was why Torwin had stayed on all those years.


    ¡°Who else is on this team?¡± Torwin asked.


    ¡°According to Jensen, it will be six people. You, Jensen, Aria, a woman named Giller who works for one of the financial backers, Sildra, and myself. Sildra is being pitched as a monster tracker, but her real purpose there will be the fulfillment of her quest.¡±


    Torwin¡¯s eyebrows climbed up to his hairline. Aria and Giller are going to be in the same room? Gods, I wish I could be there to see it. If something hasn¡¯t caught on fire by the time the conversation is done, I¡¯ll eat my boots.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I like that look,¡± Velik said. ¡°Why are you smiling like a crazed drunkard?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing,¡± Torwin said. Despite his best efforts to school his expression, a grin threatened to break out again. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m in. I suppose we need to get back as soon as possible?¡±


    ¡°The sooner, the better.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll leave in the morning then,¡± Torwin decided. ¡°Go find yourself a room at the inn or a bush to sleep under, I don¡¯t care which. I¡¯m going to relax here and I don¡¯t need you hanging around unless you¡¯re getting in and can keep your mouth shut for the next few hours.¡±


    Truth be told, a bit of relaxation probably would have done Velik some good, but Torwin wasn¡¯t particularly surprised when the young man walked away without a word. He¡¯s still wound just as tight as always. I bet Aria pisses him off every time she sees him, probably on purpose, too.


    Now that he was alone, Torwin let himself start laughing. His former apprentice could not possibly have picked a better combination of personalities to clash with each other. It was going to be quite the show, and he couldn¡¯t wait to see it.

 Book 2, Chapter 26

    By the time Velik and Torwin returned to Cravel, everything else had been taken care of. Supplies had been purchased, paperwork had been obtained, and horses had been rented for the group. Velik had declined his, not having the slightest bit of experience with riding one of the animals. Torwin likewise preferred to run on his own two feet, and as the beasts were barely past level 10, could easily keep up with them.


    They met up on the east road leading out of the city. Velik was the first one there, arriving some few hours before dawn and settling in to wait. Though the gate guards didn¡¯t give him any grief now that he had a gold pin on his collar, he¡¯d been warned more than once that the guild itself might try to interfere. He figured that, if they were going to do anything, it would be when he tried to leave. So he left while it was still dark and he was at his strongest.


    It seemed his fears were misplaced, as Torwin arrived an hour before dawn and Jensen showed up with Sildra and Giller in tow about two hours later. Sildra was sitting on a horse and looking uncomfortable about the whole thing while Giller rode next to her. The older woman gave her advice on proper riding technique in a low voice, too muffled for Velik to make out from a distance. Three more riderless horses followed along behind the group on a long lead.


    ¡°No Aria,¡± Torwin observed. ¡°Too bad. I wanted to see some fireworks.¡±


    ¡°Fireworks?¡± Velik asked.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you know? Aria and Giller are cousins, and they do not get along. I cannot imagine what Jensen had to promise them to get both of them on the same team, and I¡¯m more than half convinced they don¡¯t know about each other yet. I¡¯m looking forward to seeing the show.¡±


    Velik didn¡¯t share Torwin¡¯s apparent glee as the upcoming confrontation. He didn¡¯t particularly care if one or both of them dropped out of the team, except that without Aria, they¡¯d need to fund the spatial storage rental somehow, and without Giller, they¡¯d lose access to her boss as both a backer and possibly the source of their border passes. If Jensen already had those passes, then it didn¡¯t matter, but if Blendstin could somehow invalidate them or had arranged for them to be picked up on the journey, it was going to be a problem.


    ¡°You know that if what you¡¯re hoping ends up happening, Jensen is going to want you to help him smooth things over, right?¡± Velik asked.


    ¡°I know he¡¯ll be out of luck if he tries,¡± Torwin shot back. ¡°I¡¯m happy to enjoy the show, but I¡¯m not here for the clean up after the party¡¯s over.¡±


    And he¡¯s the oldest person in this group. We¡¯re doomed.


    ¡°Velik!¡± Sildra called when the two groups spotted each other.


    He¡¯d been somewhat dreading this meeting, Sildra being someone he¡¯d known back as a child before the class orb¡ªor dungeon seed, if it really was that¡ªhad turned him into [The Black Fang] and his best friend into a living monster factory. He¡¯d left the frontier region on the north end of Ghestal specifically to get away from his past.


    Having Sildra here was uncomfortable for Velik, but he hadn¡¯t protested when Jensen had brought up including the woman. She¡¯d been the one who¡¯d been blessed with a new class by a god and given a system-backed quest to remove the corruption that was slowly infesting the frontier towns. She had as much of a right as he did to be part of this.


    On the other hand, [Apex Hunter] sized her up and immediately dismissed her as a threat. If she was higher than level 16 or 17, he¡¯d be surprised. Worse, her class was focused on mystic and maybe mental, if he had to guess. Physically, she was no stronger than any teenager who hadn¡¯t gained their class yet. Keeping up was going to be difficult, even with a horse to ride.


    ¡°Hello, Sildra,¡± he said, keeping his voice carefully neutral.


    Giller looked back and forth between the two, snorted, and shook her head. ¡°Puppy love,¡± she muttered, completely oblivious to the true nature of their relationship.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not¡ª¡± Sildra cut herself off and took a breath. ¡°He¡¯s a friend from back home I haven¡¯t talked to in a long time. Don¡¯t make assumptions about things you know nothing about.¡±


    ¡°Oh, of course. How rude of me. My apologies.¡± The sarcasm in Giller¡¯s tone was practically weaponized.


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    Ignoring the older woman, Sildra angled her horse toward where Velik and Torwin were standing. ¡°Master Torwin,¡± Sildra said with a nod of her head as she got closer. ¡°Do you two still¡­ you know¡­ have the quest?¡±


    [Current quest: Locate the source of the dungeon seed and destroy it before it can spread more chaos and destruction.]


    The line had been burned into the back of Velik¡¯s eyelids over the last few months. He¡¯d stared at that notification for hours while he tried to figure out the best way to complete the quest and lamented that Morgus wasn¡¯t more helpful. A starting location or the identity of the source would have been nice, and it seemed like a god should have known that and provided it, but Morgus had done nothing of the sort.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Velik said. ¡°It¡¯s good to finally take the first steps toward completing it. The last few months have been full of¡­ setbacks.¡±


    He shot a glance at Torwin, who had the grace to look embarrassed. ¡°Sorry. I didn¡¯t know you¡¯d get so heavily caught up in guild politics. I thought you¡¯d just breeze through the iron rank stuff and be a fresh bronze when I got back.¡±


    While Velik realized that Torwin didn¡¯t actually owe him anything, he was still a bit fresh about finding out the man had disappeared for months to essentially take an extended vacation without telling anybody. It was mostly misplaced anger at the guild itself, so he¡¯d done his best over the last few days of travel to treat the old [Ranger] fairly.


    ¡°Things are a lot better back home,¡± Sildra said, either missing the subtext or deciding it was best to just move past it. Unfortunately, her choice of topic wasn¡¯t one Velik was particularly interested in talking about, and he found himself missing the ability to just disappear into the trees to get out of a painful conversation.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad the monster population has shrunk to a reasonable level,¡± he said as diplomatically as possible.


    ¡°It¡¯s made life a lot easier for everyone left, but we did end up shrinking down to just two towns for now. There was talk about new crews coming up north, but nothing¡¯s happened yet. I guess now that winter¡¯s over, we can probably expect the orders for lumber to increase again, so maybe¡ª¡±


    ¡°Sildra,¡± Torwin said gently. ¡°I don¡¯t think he wants to hear news from back home.¡±


    ¡°What? Oh! I¡¯m sorry, I wasn¡¯t thinking.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Velik said. ¡°Have you made any progress on finding the source?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s been all I can do just to build my level up over the last few months. You?¡±


    ¡°I discovered a few things, but I¡¯m not sure how much will end up being important. I suppose that¡¯s what we¡¯re going to find out.¡±


    He laid out the bare bones version of what he¡¯d learned from the guild archives, painting the picture in as broad of strokes as he could. Sildra listened silently until he was done, then asked, ¡°Is this demon tree thing real? Like, could we travel to wherever this old kingdom was and burn it down?¡±


    Giller, who¡¯d been lurking in the background with Jensen while they waited for their last arrival, started laughing. ¡°It¡¯s an old fairy tale. There¡¯s never been any such tree that fruits monsters in its bough. Everyone knows monsters come from dungeons or mutated animals that stumble into magically charged locations.¡±


    ¡°Oh, well if everyone knows it,¡± a new voice broke in, ¡°then it certainly must be true.¡±


    Aria walked out of a patch of starry night that folded closed behind her and shot Giller a waspish look. ¡°After all, the wisdom of the masses far outstrips the learnings of the greatest sages.¡±


    ¡°Spare me,¡± Giller replied acidly.


    ¡°Good, that¡¯s everyone,¡± Jensen said as he stepped between the two women. Velik wasn¡¯t sure if that was a good idea to defuse the sudden tension or a good way to get shot when the fighting started, but Jensen played it off coolly. ¡°Our first destination is King¡¯s Crossroad, then south toward Ashala. From there, we¡¯ll head straight for the border and be inside Slokara within the next two weeks.¡±


    ¡°It would be faster to go cross country,¡± Velik said.


    ¡°For you alone, maybe. With the horses, we¡¯ll stick to the roads,¡± Torwin told him. ¡°Besides, I understand we have some business in Ashala.¡±


    ¡°Exactly right,¡± Jensen said. ¡°Our financier has promised the paperwork needed to make the border crossing will be waiting for us at the capital next week, so even if we were to go afield, we¡¯d still have to wait once we got there. There¡¯s not much point to making a harder journey just to save a bit of time if we¡¯d just end up waiting longer at the end anyway.¡±


    ¡°Enjoy the fresh air and the chance to stretch your legs,¡± Torwin advised. ¡°Won¡¯t be long before we¡¯re in the next loud, stinky town anyway.¡±


    ¡°Like you¡¯re one to talk, you old drunkard,¡± Aria said, but there was a friendliness to her voice that had been entirely absent when she¡¯d spoken to Giller. ¡°You just want to hit every inn and roadside tavern on the way.¡±


    ¡°A man¡¯s got to have his hobbies!¡± Torwin said.


    This is going to be a long trip. Maybe I¡¯ll just meet them at the border in a few weeks. It¡¯d be nice to have some time alone.


    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it,¡± Torwin whispered, pulling Velik closer. ¡°I see that look in your eyes. You¡¯re sticking with the rest of us. Think of it as a training exercise in team dynamics.¡±


    ¡°You know I don¡¯t really want to be a guild hunter, right?¡± Velik asked.


    ¡°Nonsense! The guild does a lot of good, and membership opens a lot of doors.¡±


    So far, Velik had seen a lot of drawbacks and very few benefits, but he gave up his ideas of solo traveling with a sigh. It was too bad the rest of the world operated on daylight hours. He preferred a nocturnal schedule, but it looked like he¡¯d have another month of sleeping at night. It wouldn¡¯t matter until he started hunting powerful monsters, he supposed.


    Once they got there, though, all bets were off. He¡¯d be doing what he did best, what [Duskbound] was made for.

 Book 2, Chapter 27

    The first fight didn¡¯t happen until shortly after noon. Velik and Torwin were doing a wide circuit paralleling the road at Torwin¡¯s insistence, something Jensen insisted was completely unnecessary but which both hunters had agreed they¡¯d be doing anyway. Velik had the south side of the road to Torwin¡¯s north, and he was appreciating the time to himself. Being around other people was draining, and the last few months had only made it worse.


    He didn¡¯t know what to say or how to act or who he¡¯d accidentally offended, and trying to care about all of that was a mental burden he didn¡¯t appreciate being placed on him. That was why he¡¯d leapt at the idea of watching for trouble coming in from afield when Torwin had mentioned it. It wasn¡¯t until trouble finally hit that he¡¯d realized the wily old [Ranger] had foreseen a different kind of problem.


    It started with a flash of light, almost like a bolt of lightning going the wrong way up into the sky. Velik¡¯s head snapped around, but by the time he could do more than blink, the light was gone. If it hadn¡¯t come from the road, he might have been tempted to ignore it, but since there was a possibility the rest of his team was involved, he ran toward where he¡¯d seen the light instead.


    ¡°¡ªthe fuck would you know about it, you spoiled little bitch?¡± Giller was yelling as he got close.


    ¡°I know it¡¯s your fault Dad lost that contract with the Narlocks. If not for that, we wouldn¡¯t have had to borrow money.¡±


    There was a rasp of steel on leather¡ªGiller drawing her sword. Velik got eyes on the team just in time to see Jensen step smoothly between the two women. Steam was rising from Giller¡¯s bare skin and out from beneath her clothes, and Aria was on the ground, mud splattered across her dress. Neither of their horses was anywhere to be seen, but Velik easily spotted tracks heading north. Torwin would likely intercept the beasts before they got too far.


    ¡°Please, if you two can¡¯t be civil with each other, then at least be silent,¡± Jensen said. ¡°I cannot believe two grown women, old enough to have adult children of their own, would attack each other like this.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d better get the hell out of my way,¡± Giller said, her voice hot. ¡°I owe her for that, and I mean to see some blood.¡±


    ¡°Try it,¡± Aria sneered. ¡°I¡¯ll turn you into a greasy smear half a mile long.¡±


    ¡°Both of you, shut up,¡± Jensen snapped. ¡°Unbelievable. It hasn¡¯t even been one day. I thought you were professionals. What would Shelir say to see his chosen representative picking a fight with someone else on her own team?¡±


    ¡°Probably that she deserved it,¡± Giller said. ¡°Now, move.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s right,¡± Aria said. ¡°This has been a long time coming. Step aside and let us get on with it.¡±


    Velik slowed to a jog as he approached and approached Sildra, who was barely mounted and clinging fiercely to her horse. The beast shied away from the group, no doubt sensing danger, and Sildra wasn¡¯t a good enough rider to keep it under control.


    Velik grabbed the reins and forced the horse down. Try as it might to resist, it was no match for his raw strength, and once he got it to stop dancing around, Sildra was able to soothe it. I wonder if that¡¯s some sort of druid power. I thought all her skills were related to moonlight, though. Maybe she¡¯s just good with animals when they¡¯re not trying to dodge lightning bolts.


    ¡°What happened?¡± he asked softly. Fifty feet away, the two women were still spitting and snarling at each other while Jensen ineffectually tried to keep the peace.


    ¡°I¡¯m not even sure,¡± Sildra said. ¡°They¡¯ve been snipping at each other all afternoon. None of it felt targeted. Just general mean-spirited comments about anything they could think of. Clothes. Riding technique. Hairstyle. Then Aria said something about Giller¡¯s finances, Giller punched her off her horse, and Aria used some kind of skill to blast Giller off hers.¡±


    ¡°Fantastic,¡± Velik muttered. I think I¡¯ve decided that I just hate other people.


    Torwin appeared on the far side of the road, a few hundred feet back, leading Giller¡¯s horse by the reins. If nothing else, at least Aria¡¯s aim was good. The horse was completely unharmed. Aria¡¯s horse, on the other hand, was still missing. ¡°Guess I need to go find the other one,¡± Velik muttered, simultaneously annoyed at the task and relieved to have an excuse to disappear again now that he knew they weren¡¯t under attack.


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    Leaving the team behind, he ran off into the field butting up against the road. It was only a few acres wide, and even without any sort of dedicated skill, it wasn¡¯t hard to pick out both sets of tracks from the two fleeing horses. Giller¡¯s mount had a small chip in one of its shoes, making it easy to tell them apart.


    Velik tracked the beast down in minutes, still trotting through the woods beyond the fields and moving slowly since its ass end was far too wide for the trail it was on. He circled around through the trees and angled to come out right in front of the animal, which didn¡¯t notice him until he was right in front of it. Panicking, the horse reared up and flailed with its front legs.


    He was surprised by the sudden attack, but even if he hadn¡¯t been quick enough to dance back out of the horse¡¯s range, he doubted it could have actually hurt him. Steel-shod hooves on a creature with maybe a 30 or 40 physical wasn¡¯t even close to enough to actually damage him, not even if he removed the chimeric leather vest he was wearing first.


    The horse tried to flee, but it didn¡¯t have enough room to turn around. Changing tactics, it tried to rush forward and trample Velik instead, only for him to deftly snag its reins and pull it down to face him. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough of that,¡± he told it sharply. Unsurprisingly, the horse didn¡¯t react well to its tone.


    It fought him for a few minutes while he led it to a small glade where he could get the beast turned around, but by the time they¡¯d returned to the road, it had calmed down. Aria strode up to him the moment he came back into sight and reclaimed the reins, then gave him a disgusted look. ¡°You truly have no idea what to do with a horse, do you?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never interacted with one before,¡± he said.


    ¡°Your iron-ranked training should have included lessons.¡±


    He¡¯d failed those tests, but since he could run faster than any horse anyway, he¡¯d still passed overall. He wouldn¡¯t be caring for one anytime soon, but he also didn¡¯t need one to carry him around. He knew that horses were a lot of work, and he wanted no part of dealing with that. That was exactly why he¡¯d told Jensen not to bother getting him one, not that the idiot had listened.


    ¡°You two done fighting?¡± Velik asked.


    ¡°For the moment. I have no doubt that Giller will open her mouth and demand I blast her off her horse a second time before we make camp tonight.¡±


    ¡°Why did you agree to join the team if you knew someone you hated so much was going to be on it?¡± Velik asked.


    With a sigh, Aria produced a brush out of nowhere and started working it over the animal, which calmed down immediately at her ministrations. ¡°I guess I stupidly thought it would be an opportunity to mend some broken fences, but no, she¡¯s the same as she¡¯s always been. It¡¯s not ideal, but we¡¯ll make do. My business with her will stay with her, and neither of us will jeopardize the expedition.¡±


    Velik glanced over at the rest of the group, where Torwin was chortling and examining a rather spectacular black eye blooming on Jensen¡¯s face. ¡°That a fact?¡±


    Following his gaze, Aria snorted and shook her head. ¡°Well, I won¡¯t jeopardize the expedition. I can¡¯t make any guarantees about my cousin.¡±


    We¡¯re not even one day into this and it¡¯s all falling apart, Velik thought as he stared back at her. You know what, this is not my problem. Jensen can handle this. Once we get past the border, they can go on their little treasure hunt and I¡¯ll go dig up some clues about the source of dungeon seeds, whether the tree actually does exist or not.


    ¡°Try not to lose your horse again. It was a pain to make it cooperate with returning,¡± he said.


    Walking over to the rest of the group, he came to a stop next to Torwin. Giller was already a few hundred feet down the road, riding by herself and apparently not planning on waiting for the rest of them. That was probably for the best, at least until tempers cooled off.


    ¡°What are you going to do about this?¡± Velik asked.


    ¡°Get punched in the face, apparently,¡± Jensen told him.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine,¡± Torwin said. ¡°Doesn¡¯t even need a healing potion.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s really not the point.¡±


    Velik cut off Jensen¡¯s whining. ¡°I agreed to this because I thought it would make my life easier. At this point, I¡¯m really starting to wonder if I¡¯m just wasting my time. I could already be in Slokara if I¡¯d left on my own.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so sure about that. The mountains down there are no joke,¡± Torwin warned. ¡°Level 40 is about the minimum level of the monsters you¡¯d find. Some of them get up into the sixties, though you¡¯re not likely to stumble on those by accident. That¡¯s not even considering armed Slokaran patrols that¡¯ll do their best to arrest you, or just kill you if you resist, when you can¡¯t produce your border pass. And trust me, you¡¯re not going to pass for a Slokaran native with that hair.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Velik growled. ¡°But no more of these¡­ mishaps. No more delays.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t control¡ª¡± Jensen started to say.


    ¡°It¡¯s your expedition. You¡¯re in charge. Controlling your team is exactly what you¡¯re supposed to do. If you can¡¯t do it, then why are any of us here?¡±


    ¡°Easy, lad,¡± Torwin said, placing a hand on Velik¡¯s shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s his first time, and he ended up with two people who have a lot of history and volatile tempers on his team. We¡¯ll get there. Just calm down, enjoy the scenery and the fresh air, and relax. Slokara will still be there next month.¡±


    Velik shrugged Torwin¡¯s hand off. ¡°I don¡¯t care about the excuses. I just care about getting there.¡±


    Then he stalked off, back into the fields south of the road. I am so sick of¡­ people. Monsters are easier. Just kill them when you find them.

 Book 2, Chapter 28

    It took the better part of a week to reach King¡¯s Crossroad, and Velik visibly chafed at the slow speed by the end of the second day. Neither Aria nor Sildra had invested anything¡ªor in Aria¡¯s case, not enough to matter¡ªinto physical, which meant they both wanted eight hours or more of sleep and frequent breaks throughout the day. Though in fairness to Sildra, it was more Aria who demanded they stop every hour or two, at least until Giller had started mocking her for it.


    The horses also weren¡¯t high enough level to run non-stop, which meant that while they came close to matching his traveling speed when they galloped, they couldn¡¯t hold that pace for any meaningful length of time. What he could have run in a day and a half took them five to complete, but he made the best of it by doing wide loops around the road and disposing of threats wherever he found them, not that level 10 or 15 monsters were much of a threat.


    Eventually, the town came into sight. It sprawled out around the intersection of the two major trading routes, eight square miles of semi-permanent buildings hugging a solid core of stonework homes and warehouses. The roads were all inflated in size, far too big to be practical in Velik¡¯s opinion. It was only after watching the town for a few minutes that he realized the reason. Even the backroads and side streets of King¡¯s Crossroad could comfortably accommodate two standard wagons passing by each other without the need for pedestrians to scurry out of the way.


    The main thoroughfares were twice over that size over to allow for wagons traveling in either direction clearance while those parked on the sides were loaded and unloaded. It was all very industrious, very noisy, and absolutely stank of horse sweat and manure. Torwin must have been watching, because he started laughing the instant Velik¡¯s nose crinkled in distaste.


    ¡°Not a fan of farm smells, huh?¡± he asked. ¡°It¡¯ll be worse in a month or so when the stockyards get set up. This is still early trading season since the roads leading farther north haven¡¯t solidified from the spring thaw yet.¡±


    ¡°Gods save me from coming back through here in a month then,¡± Velik told him.


    The rest of their team was still a quarter mile back, partially hidden by a bend in the road, but the two hunters waited for everyone to catch up before advancing into the city. It was a few hours past noon, not quite early enough that even Aria could justify calling it quits, though she¡¯d certainly tried a few times. Velik found himself missing the carriage, where at least she¡¯d been unconscious for long portions of the trip and thus wasn¡¯t whining about anything.


    ¡°Oh thank Darshu for this bastion of civilization that has been founded in his name,¡± Aria called out when she spotted the town. ¡°Fresh food. Real beds. Baths. Gods, I¡¯ve never wanted a bath more in my life.¡±


    Velik snorted, and at Torwin¡¯s questioning look, muttered quietly, ¡°She said the exact same thing when we got out of that swamp a few weeks ago.¡±


    ¡°She does that,¡± the older hunter said with a wry smile. ¡°Did I ever tell you about the time she got swallowed by a bombardier frog? We cut her out, but she was an absolute mess. She whined so loudly that she brought another pack of monsters down on us right on the spot.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid your desire for beds and baths is going to have to remain unfulfilled,¡± Jensen told her. ¡°We¡¯re already behind schedule and we won¡¯t be lingering in town. Torwin is going to do a quick resupply while we push straight through. He¡¯ll catch up with us farther down the road.¡±


    Sildra and even Giller accepted the news with a kind of glum resilience, but Aria immediately and loudly proclaimed, ¡°Absolutely not! If I¡¯d known you all planned to live like savages for this entire trip, I¡¯d have declined to participate. I¡¯ll be staying the night here. You may proceed without me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll remind you that you are under contract to participate in this expedition,¡± Jensen said. ¡°If you abandon us, the punitive fines will be so enormous that I¡¯ll simply rent the spatial storage elsewhere to make up for your absence.¡±


    He¡¯s going to get knifed in his sleep, Velik thought as he saw the mutinous look on Aria¡¯s face.


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    ¡°Fine, no bed. But I will be taking a bath. We all need one.¡±


    Jensen opened his mouth to argue, but for once, Giller and Aria were in agreement. Even Sildra reluctantly stepped closer to form a united front with the other two women. Torwin just started laughing and patted his former apprentice on the shoulder. ¡°A wise man knows when to concede defeat.¡±


    The [Vault Seeker] grumbled, but he didn¡¯t try to stop Aria when she took control of the team and pointed them to the most expensive and lavish quarter of the town. Nobody tried to contradict her choice, not even when she stopped in front of a stable where the stablehands were better dressed than anyone in their group other than Aria herself. She immediately dismounted and started giving them instructions for the care of their mounts, then swept past everyone into the inn across the street.


    ¡°Velik,¡± Sildra said, catching his arm and dragging him off to the side, ¡°I can¡¯t afford this kind of place! What do I do?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re asking me? How would I know?¡± Velik hadn¡¯t even thought about paying for anything. He¡¯d just assumed someone else would take care of it.


    It wasn¡¯t like he couldn¡¯t afford a meal, however outrageous the prices ended up being, but he didn¡¯t see any reason why he¡¯d pay for Sildra, too. If anybody was responsible for that, it seemed like it would either be Jensen as the expedition leader or Aria as the one who¡¯d dragged them all here.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Torwin told them both. ¡°You¡¯re a member of a party, not the host. Just enjoy a taste of civilization after a week on the road. The next leg will be even longer, and after that it¡¯ll be months before you can enjoy the kind of luxuries Aria thinks she¡¯s entitled to.¡±


    As much as Velik would have preferred to skip King¡¯s Crossroad entirely, he couldn¡¯t deny the overall effect on the group¡¯s morale when they were all clean and well-fed. Even before the meal was through, it was plain to see that everyone was more relaxed. Even Giller and Aria were being civil with each other, though Jensen groaned in dismay when he received the bill. Velik didn¡¯t ask how much it was and found he didn¡¯t much care.


    Torwin didn¡¯t agree. ¡°Must be a doozy if even he¡¯s shocked by it,¡± the old man whispered, leaning in close to Velik to avoid being overheard.


    That¡¯s a good point. Jensen throws around thousands of decarmas on a whim. I wonder how much we just spent. Then again¡­ ¡°Maybe he¡¯s got a better appreciation of the value of a vitrune now that he¡¯s on the outs with his father.¡±


    ¡°Doubt it,¡± Torwin said. He frowned, then lowered his voice even further. ¡°Those two guys behind you in the back corner have been watching us. They came in after we did and those outfits are a bit rough for this side of town, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    Velik didn¡¯t need to turn his head to see them. He¡¯d already noticed them entering, sized them up, and dismissed them as a threat twenty minutes ago. Now that Torwin pointed it out, though, ¡°If they¡¯re going to mug us, they¡¯re the stupidest thieves to ever draw breath,¡± Velik said. ¡°Maybe they¡¯re bandit scouts looking for good marks to hit on the road.¡±


    Torwin didn¡¯t look convinced. ¡°Maybe. Just keep an eye out for trouble.¡±


    ¡°I always do.¡±


    Nobody tried anything while they were in King¡¯s Crossroad, although they lost another half an hour to Aria¡¯s renewed demands for a bed or, failing that, a luxury coach ride to Ashala for the low price of a hundred and fifty decarmas. The debate ended when Jensen told her she could hire one herself, or she could ride the horse he¡¯d already paid for.


    A sullen Aria brought up the tail end of their procession as they rode out the south gate while Giller led the way, a huge smirk on her face. Sildra road next to Jensen, the whole way going on about how delicious the food had been. Velik had to admit that it had been among the best meals of his life, but he couldn¡¯t see himself going back again if the price was really that bad.


    Velik quickly made himself scarce for the rest of the evening. They stopped an hour after the sun went down, and the only reason they went that late into the evening was because they were pushing for a traveler¡¯s campsite Torwin knew about. It had been their intended goal all along, but the delays in King¡¯s Crossroad had kept them from reaching it in time, forcing Aria to use some sort of skill that generated light to let the horses keep going.


    Jensen and Torwin handled the brunt of setting up camp while Velik disappeared into the fields to see about claiming some meat to supplement their supplies. A nice venison steak sounded ideal to him, even if he couldn¡¯t take the time to jerk the meat before they had to get moving again. Unfortunately, the lands near the road weren¡¯t nearly wild enough for him to find big game easily, and he gave up after a few hours.


    It was sometime after midnight and he was lazily dozing with his back to a tree and his spear laying on the ground next to him when Giller stirred from her bedroll. She climbed to her feet and grabbed her sword, then nudged Torwin with her foot. His gentle snores cut out immediately.


    Velik was on his feet the instant Giller stood up, so he was already approaching when she turned his way. ¡°What is it?¡± he asked softly.


    ¡°A group with worked metal,¡± she said. ¡°A big one. Could be bandits, but¡­¡±


    Before they could debate the idea, the first arrow sailed in from half a mile away. Velik caught the slight whistle of it cutting through the air, then he pivoted and smacked it aside with his hand. ¡°We¡¯re under attack,¡± he yelled to wake the other half of the team up.

 Book 2, Chapter 29

    A few dozen more arrows rained down through the darkness, but before they could strike the half of the team that were just now groggily waking up, Gilder reached up a hand overhead. A surge of¡­ something¡­ pulsed out, detectable in every piece of metal Velik was wearing jumping in place, and suddenly the entire volley was veering off to the side to pincushion the ground around their camp.


    ¡°Go,¡± Torwin ordered. ¡°Leave them alive if you can.¡±


    Velik didn¡¯t need to be told twice. He shot off into the night, [Apex Hunter] guiding him to the biggest threat. A cluster of humans were crouched behind a small hill on one knee, bows already drawn back and more arrows coming his way. This round was focused on him specifically, but it was trivially easy to sidestep them at this range. But with five hundred feet between him and his targets, they had plenty of time to keep shooting if he let them.


    No point in letting them keep trying.


    His cloak flared out around him, the raven¡¯s feather pattern glinting silver against black in the darkness. He pulled on its magic and activated the second of its two abilities: [Shadow Step]. It was a hungry ability, not something he could use more than once, but in this case, it was the perfect response to having fourteen men armed with bows trying to murder him on an open field.


    Velik vanished into a shadowy version of the world, somehow distinctly different from the normal night he¡¯d been in. To the eyes of those men, he¡¯d simply disappeared. To him, though, he¡¯d slipped into a mirror of reality. For the next few seconds, he was a ghost among them. By the time the cloak¡¯s enchantment expired, he¡¯d already circled past them.


    If he¡¯d been striking to kill, the archers¡¯ contributions to their ambush would have ended right there. None of them were past level 35¡ªit was surprising that some of them were even close, considering how peaceful the area was¡ªand he had a legendary spear more than capable of ripping the life out of them. Instead, he drew his dagger and stowed his spear in its normal spot, its form shifted to loop around his arm.


    Enchanted with [Bleeding], [Weakness], [Blinding], and [Sharp], it was trivial to stab each target a few times and leave them crippled. [Savage Rhythm] sang through his limbs, enhancing his speed with each strike until he¡¯d put down the entire squadron in a few seconds. None of them were dead, but they were all struggling frantically against the magic that had left their vision dark, their limbs heavy, and their blood flowing both freely and quickly from their wounds.


    He took a second to make sure no one was getting back up, claimed their bows as an additional precaution, and scanned the battlefield for his next target. Giller was defending the camp despite the fact that she was completely unarmored and had nothing in her hands but a sword with a six-foot-long blade that she definitely hadn¡¯t shown off during the previous week. Presumably, it was enchanted in some way to make it more portable outside of combat.


    Seven bandits had descended on the camp, but between her and Torwin, they¡¯d completely locked that group down. A second archer group, perhaps half the size of the one Velik had just disabled, was positioned on the opposite side of the camp, but that didn¡¯t make them safe. It was dark and the moon was up.


    Bursts of silvery light accompanied panicked and agonized screaming as the bandit archers spontaneously combusted. So much for non-lethal, Velik thought. The whole scuffle had barely lasted twenty seconds, and the attempted ambush had failed miserably. At least, it certainly seemed that way from where he was standing.


    He had a frozen instant¡¯s warning before the monster ambushed him. It was a great cat, its coat the exact same color as the night it slunk through. Even with [Duskbound] tearing away the concealing shadows and the [Night Vision] enchantment further enhancing his eyes, he only saw the monster by its purple, slitted irises, and only when it pounced out of concealment onto his back.


    Velik spun in place and stabbed up with the dagger in his hand, but it skipped off the cat¡¯s flank without doing more than ruffling its fur. [Apex Hunter] filtered that information along with its remarkably stealthy approach and came to the inescapable conclusion that the monster was a high level, probably high thirties or low forties. It was going to have a few other tricks to show off before the fight was over.


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    One of those, apparently, was how sharp its claws were. The cat was several hundred pounds and probably eight feet long without including the tail, but it easily got its back legs up between them and raked his stomach. Hot lines of fire scored his skin as it easily shredded the chimeric leather making up his vest, the armor¡¯s [Resilient] enchantment no match for whatever skill had honed the cat¡¯s claws to razor edges.


    Velik hit the ground on his back, his spear still wrapped around his arm and the dagger released so that he could use both hands to hold back the cat¡¯s jaws from clamping around his face. With one hand pushed against its neck and his other forearm braced against the monster¡¯s chest, he took a few more slashes from its claws, but then he got his feet up and shoved.


    The cat flipped end over end, thrown into the air and already twisting to come back down on its paws. It was only off Velik for a minute, but that was all the time he needed to reform his spear as he rolled to his feet. He expected the cat to charge right back in and press the advantage now that it had wounded him, but to his great surprise, it raced off into the darkness. He quickly lost track of it as its body blurred and then vanished.


    Okay, that¡¯s annoying. Come back out here so I can gut you.


    Only a few seconds had passed since the cat had ambushed him, and the fight was still going on back in the camp. He could be there almost instantly, probably too fast for the cat to attack again, and he¡¯d be in a much better position to handle it among his allies, but he didn¡¯t move. He was a hunter. He was [The Black Fang]. Monsters fled from him in the night, not the other way around.


    Blood dribbled from the cuts on his stomach, chest, and thighs, but they were shallow wounds, easily ignorable. Drinking a healing potion would be overkill when they¡¯d scab up on their own before morning. His range of motion was slightly restricted through his torso unless he wanted to tear them open and make them worse, but he¡¯d fought with much more severe injuries.


    Whatever the cat¡¯s stealth ability was, it was at a very high rank. He had [Apex Hunter] up to rank 6, and that was on top of the rank 9 [Predator¡¯s Visage] it had been built off of. It was unusual for anything to sneak up on him, let alone something that wasn¡¯t even a higher level. There was no way that cat being here was a coincidence. It had to be connected to the bandits somehow, but nothing he¡¯d seen indicated any sort of class that could produce and control monsters.


    Which means there¡¯s someone else here who hasn¡¯t joined in the main fighting. They must be a ways out if I can¡¯t find them, though, or else have their own specialized hiding skill.


    The cat appeared out of the darkness behind him again, but it had already done that once and he was prepared for it to try the same tactic. Spinning in place, he lashed out with his spear. The monster was already in the air, claws extended, and couldn¡¯t alter its course. Unlike the dagger Velik had used the first time, the spear was a much stronger weapon, better able to take advantage of his prodigious physical stat. Between that and the fact that he was prepared for the ambush, the metal tip dug deep into the cat¡¯s chest.


    Yowling in pain, the cat aborted its leap and dragged the spear down with it. Velik flexed his arms and kept control of the weapon, turning the cat¡¯s jump into a downward slam that shook the ground where it hit. Torwin had said not to kill the bandits if possible, though Velik wasn¡¯t sure if that was an act of mercy or just to question them about their intentions. Either way, he hadn¡¯t mentioned leaving any monsters alive.


    Before the cat could scramble away, light arced down the length of the spear. The night blossomed with brilliant light as [Dread Lance] detonated, blowing the cat apart into chunks of bloody meat, bones, and fur. Even the disabled archers thirty feet away were splattered with gore.


    [You have slain a bonded ghostwalker cat (level 39).]


    [You have been awarded 2 decarmas.]


    What does ¡®bonded¡¯ mean?


    Before Velik had a chance to consider it, Torwin came sprinting across the field. ¡°Are you alright?¡± he demanded.


    ¡°Fine,¡± Velik said. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I thought you weren¡¯t going to kill anybody,¡± the old [Ranger] said. ¡°That seemed like a fatal blow.¡±


    ¡°It was, but not to the bandits,¡± Velik explained. ¡°Some sort of monster. A bonded monster, according to the kill notification.¡±


    Unexpectedly, Torwin started swearing loudly. The line of expletives went on for several seconds, shifting languages at least once, until the old man stomped over to the still living archers. ¡°On your feet,¡± he barked out. ¡°I¡¯ve got some questions, and if you want to see the sun again before you die, you¡¯re going to answer them.¡±


    With confused moans of pain, the bandits allowed themselves to be dragged upright and prodded in the direction of the camp, where they joined the rest of the attackers who¡¯d survived their ill-fated ambush. A quick glance around showed that none of Velik¡¯s team had been injured besides himself, though his own wounds were well-hidden under a layer of gore.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Giller snapped out once all the bandits were gathered together. ¡°Which one of you idiots is in charge?¡±

 Book 2, Chapter 30

    ¡°You¡¯re hurt,¡± Sildra said, her voice almost accusatory.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± Velik said. He was surprised she¡¯d even noticed.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like nothing.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be healed up by tomorrow, and the cuts aren¡¯t that deep.¡±


    Giller, Torwin, and Jensen were questioning the bandits, having divided the group into thirds and pulled them far enough apart that they wouldn¡¯t overhear each other. That left Aria, whose hair was tousled and eyes still gritty from interrupted sleep, along in the camp with Sildra and Velik. They¡¯d been given the task of straightening things up. Everything was in disarray from a dozen people fighting in a small space, and someone¡¯s bedroll had gotten kicked into the small campfire they¡¯d been arrayed around. Velik idly wondered if whoever it was could convince Jensen to return to King¡¯s Crossroad for replacement supplies.


    ¡°Come here and sit down,¡± Sildra ordered. ¡°We¡¯ll get it cleaned up and then I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡±


    ¡°You have healing magic?¡± Aria asked, surprised.


    ¡°A¡­ bit. It¡¯s complicated.¡±


    Velik hadn¡¯t been aware of any such skill himself, though admittedly he hadn¡¯t talked to Sildra back at the frontier outside of their one meeting when he¡¯d killed an elite that was going after her and her escort. Jensen would be the one who¡¯d know, and he hadn¡¯t said anything. Either she hadn¡¯t had the ability for long, or he¡¯d been keeping it secret for some reason.


    His clothes were already starting to mend themselves and the blood had dried and sloughed off like old snakeskin, but his body had no [Mending] enchantment to clean it, so he was forced to strip down and splash a bit of water on himself, then scrub at the wounds with a scrap of cloth. It was barbarism, as far as any healer was concerned, more smearing the filth around than cleaning it up.


    ¡°Ugh. Good enough,¡± Sildra pronounced. She reached toward Velik, her hands glowing softly in the night as they brushed up against the wound.


    It didn¡¯t magically vanish, but something happened. The sensation was odd, almost like stretching stiff muscles after a long, cold night of inactivity, but it was the cut skin doing it instead of the muscles beneath. It strained and pulled, knitting itself back together over a few seconds and leaving pale, moonlight-colored scars in place of bloody injuries.


    ¡°Those should fade soon enough,¡± Sildra told him as she healed the hundred or so cuts. Some places took more work than others, especially where he¡¯d been raked in the same spot multiple times, but a few minutes later, he was patched up and able to put his clothes back on.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± he said. It hadn¡¯t been critical or anything, but he appreciated the fact that she¡¯d expended some of her time and energy to accomplish nothing more than easing his pain.


    ¡°We¡¯re a team now, right? You and me. The Black Fang himself and¡­ the leatherworker¡¯s daughter who had a seamstress class until a few months ago.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t overthink it,¡± Velik advised her.


    ¡°Not that I haven¡¯t enjoyed the show,¡± Aria said while eyeing Velik suggestively, ¡°but perhaps the two of you could resume your actual assignments and help clean the camp up.¡±


    ¡°Considering that I¡¯ve yet to see you straighten a single thing outside your own little corner, it seems like you could be a bit more useful yourself,¡± Velik said.


    ¡°That¡¯s a simple division of labor!¡±


    ¡°In that you take up half the camp by yourself, sure.¡±


    Everyone else was using bedrolls, or in the Velik¡¯s and Torwin¡¯s case, their cloaks and nothing else. Only Aria had an actual tent set up, something that she claimed was enchanted for safety and comfort. It had been knocked down when Giller had thrown a man through it using a skill she called [Ferrokinesis]. There¡¯d been a brief argument over whether the action had been a deliberate act of vandalism.


    Personally, Velik agreed with Aria that Giller had done it on purpose. He also agreed with Giller that, intentional or not, it was funny and that Aria had no need for the tent, regardless. Either way, while Velik and Sildra had been picking up the scattered cooking equipment, piling up the half-charred logs of the fire to relight, and dividing up whatever loose personal possessions were lying around to be reclaimed later, Aria had done nothing but get her tent back upright.


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    She was saved from further scolding when Torwin returned to camp, his line of prisoners in tow. None of them were in good shape, but if they received medical attention, they¡¯d live. Personally, Velik wouldn¡¯t bother with it, but he wasn¡¯t in charge and it wasn¡¯t his responsibility to do anything about it. So if Torwin or Jensen or whoever decided they wanted to turn the bandits over to the guards at King¡¯s Crossroad, that was fine by him.


    ¡°Good news and bad news,¡± Torwin said. ¡°Let¡¯s wait to get everyone back together before we get into it.¡±


    ¡°Or you could just tell us instead of trying to be dramatic. I don¡¯t need the gory details of your interrogation session; just give me the broad overview of what you learned.¡±


    ¡°Good news is that there won¡¯t be any more of them. They¡¯re a mercenary company and we got all of them. Bad news is that they¡¯re a hired mercenary company, which means someone paid them to try to kill us.¡±


    ¡°Not us,¡± Giller said as she marched her group back in. ¡°Or rather, not all of us. They¡¯re specifically looking for one person.¡±


    ¡°Jensen?¡± Torwin guessed. He looked to where his former apprentice was still speaking with the last group of subdued mercenaries.


    ¡°No. Him.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Velik asked when Giller pointed a finger his way. ¡°What did I do?¡±


    ¡°You tell me, kid. What have you been getting yourself up to when no one¡¯s looking? Mercenary companies this strong don¡¯t come cheap, so someone was willing to part with a lot of coin to take you out.¡±


    The coliseum, maybe? I was pretty heavy-handed getting information out of Ned, but if that¡¯s the case, why wait so long? I¡¯ve been around town for weeks since then. Maybe it¡¯s some enemy of Blendstin¡¯s who knows how big a fan he is of my fighting persona trying to strike at him through me. Or, I guess, it could be Pevril just being himself. Never could make sense of what his deal was.


    Once he thought about it, it was kind of surprising just how many enemies he¡¯d managed to make in such a short amount of time. Jensen might have been right about him applying himself harder in those social etiquette classes he¡¯d tried out. Of course, it was also reasonable to say that trying to have him killed was an overreaction on the offended party¡¯s side, so maybe Velik wasn¡¯t the only one who needed to learn how to behave in polite society.


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I haven¡¯t done anything worthy of being assassinated,¡± Velik said.


    ¡°The fact that you had to think about it for a while does not fill me with confidence,¡± Aria told him dryly.


    ¡°Either way, this means more work and probably delaying this trip. We can¡¯t just ignore a threat on Velik¡¯s life,¡± Torwin said.


    Velik shrugged. ¡°Why not? It¡¯s not like it was a particularly good one. Other than that monster, there were no real threats here.¡±


    ¡°Maybe not to you or me, but what about Sildra? One of those arrows could have killed her. Jensen¡¯s only got a few levels on her, too. And Aria¡¯s stat spread doesn¡¯t lean into physical.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll thank you not to lump me in with the irons,¡± Aria said primly. ¡°Those scrub mercenaries could never have touched me.¡±


    ¡°Is Jensen part of the guild?¡± Velik asked. ¡°I thought¡­¡±


    ¡°Not officially. She just means people around that level bracket,¡± Torwin explained.


    Usually iron-ranked monster hunters were around level 15 or 20, so the descriptor made sense once Velik understood that it didn¡¯t necessarily reflect any sort of affiliation with the guild. He¡¯d been the anomaly, coming in over level 40. As a loose approximation, bronzes usually encompassed levels 20 to 30, with silvers taking 31 to 45, golds taking 46-60, and platinums sitting at the top of the heap past that.


    As far as Velik was aware, there were only a handful of platinums in the country, and none of them hanging around Cravel¡¯s guild hall. Most of the senior administration staff were composed of retired silvers or golds, with maybe a bronze here and there who¡¯d taken a non-combat class.


    Maybe if they let the people with administrative classes actually run the guild, things would go a lot smoother. Then again, they probably tried that and found that no one would listen to some paper stacking clerk, especially over an unpopular decision.


    ¡°There¡¯s one other thing,¡± Torwin said. ¡°None of them will admit it, but a bonded monster means some sort of class like [Beast Tamer] or [Pack Runner], which none of these mercs have. There¡¯s someone else out there that we missed. I didn¡¯t sense that cat until it was already on Velik, so we know it¡¯s got some sort of powerful stealth skill, probably not something as basic as actual [Stealth] either. If it¡¯s bonded, its partner might be sharing skills with it and hiding nearby right now.¡±


    Involuntarily, everyone turned to look out into the darkness. Velik and Torwin could see just fine, and he suspected Sildra¡¯s class revolving around the moon probably lent itself some sort of night vision as well, but he wasn¡¯t sure what Giller or Aria were hoping to spot. Maybe she¡¯s looking for mana or something. That seems to fit with whatever her class is. And Giller is¡­ I guess looking for metal?


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s a problem, but it¡¯s hardly insurmountable,¡± Aria said. ¡°I¡¯m quite good at flushing out quarry for the hounds to run down.¡±


    ¡°Aria,¡± Torwin said, his voice strained. ¡°Please do not destroy the countryside. People live around here.¡±


    ¡°Ugh. You were a lot more fun ten years ago, you know that?¡±


    ¡°How have you not gotten kicked out of the guild yet?¡± Giller asked, flashing her a disgusted glance.


    ¡°Because I¡¯m so damn good at what I do.¡±


    ¡°Jensen¡¯s coming back,¡± Velik told them, cutting off the argument before it could get started.


    A minute later, he marched his group of prisoners into the camp. There were a few new arrows sticking out of some of them. At Torwin¡¯s questioning look, he shrugged and said, ¡°A few of them tried to run.¡±


    The old [Ranger] just grunted thoughtfully and eyed the group up.


    ¡°So, what do we do with the prisoners?¡± Velik asked.

 Book 2, Chapter 31

    Jensen¡¯s brilliant decision was that Torwin and Velik would escort the mercenaries back to King¡¯s Crossroad for imprisonment and trial, which was promptly shot down by all the more experienced members of the team. Velik wasn¡¯t particularly interested in doing it in the first place, but it was nice to have some solid reasons backing up the decision he¡¯d already made.


    ¡°Splitting the group after we were just attacked is a terrible idea,¡± Torwin said immediately.


    ¡°Not to mention sending the two guys who spend all their time out in the woods by themselves to deal with bureaucracy isn¡¯t going to work out in their favor. Good odds they both end up arrested as well ¡®just until we can sort everything out¡¯ or some garbage like that,¡± Giller added. ¡°Instead of saving time, we¡¯ll either be mounting a legal defense or a rescue mission to break them out of prison.¡±


    ¡°Why would that happen?¡± Sildra asked. ¡°They attacked us.¡±


    ¡°And it¡¯s our word against theirs. Eventually, some truth sniffer would get to the bottom of things, whether by skills or by following the facts. We probably won¡¯t hang for this, but why take the risk in the first place?¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t just kill them, and we can¡¯t let them go,¡± Jensen argued. ¡°So what are we supposed to do?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll all have to go back together,¡± Aria said. ¡°Giller has connections with the rich and influential. She can work with the Crossroad marshals or whoever to turn over the mercenary company without being implicated and arrested herself.¡±


    Scowling, the other woman reluctantly nodded. ¡°That¡¯s the best course of action other than killing them all here. Unless you low levels are looking for a bit of a leg up to your next level, there¡¯s no real gain other than a day¡¯s time. That¡¯s a pretty cheap reward for the lives of forty humans.¡±


    ¡°Forty humans who agreed to murder people for money,¡± Velik pointed out. ¡°Hardly better than monsters, really. Worse in some ways. They were even working with one.¡±


    ¡°We weren¡¯t,¡± one of the mercs said, a burly man with a long scar running down the side of his face and onto his neck. ¡°We aren¡¯t murderers. We were hired to find a monster pretending to be a man.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Velik asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s part of what makes this complicated,¡± Torwin explained. ¡°I didn¡¯t get to that part yet. They weren¡¯t hired to act as bandits. Someone convinced them that Velik is actually a monster.¡±


    ¡°They probably talked to that hydra he killed,¡± Aria muttered. ¡°Kid kind of is a monster.¡±


    ¡°Not helping,¡± Torwin told her sharply. ¡°But no, I think this has something to do with those corrupted seed bearers from a few months ago.¡± He turned to the prisoner. ¡°Tell them what you told me.¡±


    ¡°This man comes to us a few weeks ago, said he was the mayor of some town up north, this place that had been devastated by some monster horde that could impersonate people. He tells us that one of the monsters had come south, that it was a danger. He gave us this guy¡¯s description and the name he was using, and told us to be watching for him.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense,¡± Velik said. It wasn¡¯t that someone from back home would hire a bunch of mercenaries to try to kill him. That part he could see happening, though where they¡¯d come up with the funds was a question he¡¯d need an answer for before he believed the story. ¡°How would anyone from the frontier even know where I was? It¡¯s not like I told them.¡±


    ¡°And I was only there a bit over a week ago to fetch Sildra,¡± Jensen said. ¡°I certainly didn¡¯t tell anyone you would be part of this group.¡±


    They both looked at Sildra, who shook her head. ¡°I told my mom I was going to follow a lead on the quest Morgus gave me. But the timing doesn¡¯t work. Mayor Jaryll was still there when I left, and besides, he¡¯d have needed to leave weeks before me for this story to be true.¡±


    ¡°So, not the mayor,¡± Aria said. ¡°Someone impersonating him who looks close enough to match a casual description, perhaps. Does this Jaryll look like anybody else you know?¡±


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    Velik thought back to everyone he¡¯d met at the guild, the coliseum, or Melon and Peach. ¡°Not¡­ really, no.¡±


    ¡°So this isn¡¯t a misunderstanding,¡± Torwin said. ¡°Someone fed these mercenaries a lie laced with just enough truth to draw them to a false conclusion that had the benefit of being possible.¡±


    ¡°The best kind of lie,¡± Giller added. ¡°The one that could be true, if you only know some of the facts.¡±


    ¡°Keep going,¡± Torwin told the merc.


    ¡°Right, well, this mayor showed us these berries that he said were actually monsters. We squished a few of them and got the system notifications proving it. From there, it was just a matter of the standard contract, the retainer, proof of funds, and the like. Then we were out to find the monster pretending to be human.¡±


    As far as Velik was concerned, that didn¡¯t vindicate them. They¡¯d fully planned on killing him on the word of some stranger who¡¯d had a stack of decarmas to show around. Some time in the stocks or a jail cell was exactly what the mercenaries needed. Maybe they¡¯d be a bit smarter about blindly accepting murder contracts in a few years when they got out.


    The problem was that he had absolutely no faith in human justice systems. Having spent the majority of his life being persecuted by a town full of people for something he¡¯d had no control over, it wouldn¡¯t surprise him to learn that the mercs were set free the very next day. It wasn¡¯t like anyone else who¡¯d ever gone after him had been punished for it, and he didn¡¯t see any reason things would be different here.


    Suddenly, Velik was very, very tired. He was the better part of a thousand miles from home, and his problems were still following him. Even if this wasn¡¯t actually someone from Deshir or wherever trying to kill him, it was somebody else. Maybe it was some rich asshole who¡¯d bet against him at the coliseum and lost a bunch of money, or someone from the guild whose toes he¡¯d stepped on.


    It didn¡¯t matter who it was. All that mattered was that, despite his best efforts, nothing had really changed. They¡¯d failed to get the job done this time, but whoever it was would just try again. It wasn¡¯t like they were facing any repercussions for their actions.


    The whole incident served to underscore the message he¡¯d been getting hammered with for months. He didn¡¯t belong here. He didn¡¯t belong anywhere. The only way he¡¯d ever be safe was to just disappear into the wilderness. At least the monsters were honest in their desire to eat him. He didn¡¯t have to wonder who was plotting murder behind a fake smile out there.


    ¡°Hey,¡± Sildra said softly. ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking. Stop it.¡±


    Blinking, Velik came out of his thoughts to see his old friend from childhood looking at him with so much sadness in her eyes that he felt weirdly guilty for worrying her. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± he said roughly. ¡°Just¡­ Just wondering who¡¯s trying to kill me this time.¡±


    ¡°Whoever it was, they were trying to be thorough,¡± Aria said. ¡°A full mercenary company and a [Beast Tamer] who specializes in ambush tactics and was good enough to get away from two gold-ranked hunter type classes.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know that the unknown assailant was a [Beast Tamer],¡± Torwin pointed out.


    ¡°Does it matter what their exact class was?¡± Giller argued. ¡°The point is, if we believe these men, they aren¡¯t associated with whoever sent the monster. Which, by the way, I thought the whole point of bringing this girl along was that she could detect monsters. What happened there?¡±


    ¡°I have to actively be using the skill,¡± Sildra said.


    That wasn¡¯t true, as far as Velik understood things. Based on the look on Jensen¡¯s face, he¡¯d caught on to the lie as well, but neither of them wanted to call her out on it. Whether she was trying to keep how it worked hidden from the mercs, the rest of the team, or someone she thought was spying, he agreed that no good could come from giving anyone clues as to how they could defeat the skill.


    ¡°We can discuss the rest of this later,¡± Torwin said, taking control of the conversation. ¡°Right now, we¡¯ve got forty prisoners, some of which are in fairly serious need of medical attention. They need to be marched back to King¡¯s Crossroad, and we all need to go. Let¡¯s get the camp packed up and get moving.¡±


    ¡°And when we get there, I¡¯m finding a bed and not getting out of it until noon tomorrow,¡± Aria announced.


    Velik watched Jensen gnash his teeth¡ªI thought he loved sleeping in?¡ªbut in the end, he had no choice but to give in. They agreed to let Giller take the lead in explaining things once they got to town with the hopes that her knowledge of the legal system and political connections would insulate her from any blowback. It probably helped that the merc leader promised to explain what they¡¯d been told, though that was a double-edged sword since it opened up the possibility of them wanting to jail Velik until they could prove he wasn¡¯t a monster if the mercs were believed.


    Torwin and Jensen both assured Velik separately while they were walking that they weren¡¯t letting him go to jail, though in Jensen¡¯s case he seemed to be motivated purely by self-interest. Either way, Velik just nodded along and thanked them. He wasn¡¯t going to jail because he wouldn¡¯t let himself be arrested. If that meant abandoning the team and fleeing into the wilderness, that was what he¡¯d do.


    Maybe I¡¯ll do it anyway. It might be better to take my chances with a mountain crossing by myself. I¡¯ll just hold off on a decision until we see what happens with the marshals in town. But if this doesn¡¯t go my way, I¡¯m out of here. I¡¯ve had enough of other people.

 Book 2, Chapter 32

    It should have been simple. Jensen was a [Vault Seeker]. He could literally close his eyes and point to unclaimed valuables just waiting for someone to come pick them up off the ground. But his father didn¡¯t want him going out into the wild lands. It was dangerous there, with powerful monsters and deadly traps lurking in old, forgotten ruins where all the best vaults waited.


    So he¡¯d blocked Jensen¡¯s efforts. First it had been keeping him from getting funding. Then he¡¯d made it difficult to secure supplies. If Velik hadn¡¯t randomly known a woman who actually owned an extradimensional storage item¡ªJensen suspected it was the pendant she wore¡ªthe plan would have been sunk. He had no doubt his father was somehow behind the monster hunter¡¯s guild going back on their deal, too.


    Despite everything, he¡¯d salvaged his expedition. Sure, it was just the six of them instead of the better than a hundred it was supposed to be, but he had four gold-ranked monster hunters on his roster, sort of. Giller wasn¡¯t technically part of the guild, but she was easily strong enough to qualify, and even better, she specialized in fighting human threats. He hadn¡¯t expected that to be particularly useful this early into the trip, but he¡¯d been happy to have her there when arrows started raining down from the sky.


    She¡¯d be their front liner when they got to Slokara too. That whole country was notoriously authoritarian and militaristic, and he didn¡¯t think for a moment that they¡¯d clean out a vault without some group or other contesting them for the prize. Giller was along specifically to insure her employer¡¯s interests in this project.


    Unfortunately, the second Velik vanished, she would, too. And that was looking more and more likely with each passing day. They¡¯d barely reached the first milestone and Jensen could already see how frustrated the guy was getting with Giller and Aria. It didn¡¯t help that Sildra was trying to treat him with the familiarity of an old friend when he obviously didn¡¯t feel that way about her. The only one Velik seemed to get along with at all was Torwin.


    This latest fiasco, with someone targeting him, had broken something in Velik. He was a man tired of swimming against the tide, with too many problems and no good solution. Jensen knew what that looked like; he¡¯d seen it too many mornings in the mirror for years. And Velik was not good at hiding how he felt, whatever he might think. Probably has something to do with living in the woods by himself for ten years. That¡¯s not exactly great for social conditioning.


    They¡¯d barely crossed the first milestone of this journey and it was already threatening to unravel. Honestly, Jensen wouldn¡¯t be surprised if his father was somehow behind this particular problem, too. How exactly his father could have known to target Velik was a mystery, but Jensen couldn¡¯t put it past his old man.


    ¡°Hey, you got a minute?¡± Jensen asked, approaching Velik while he was standing off by himself and Giller was directing the line of prisoners into the garrison with Torwin¡¯s help. Hopefully, between the authority as a representative of the Blendstin Trading House and a gold-ranked monster hunter, that whole situation would turn out fine.


    ¡°Probably,¡± Velik said. His eyes stayed locked on the retreating line of prisoners, or more likely on the marshals emerging from the building.


    ¡°I just wanted to say that you¡¯re not in this alone,¡± Jensen told him. ¡°All of us are supporting you, and that¡¯s some big hitters on the roster. Whatever this is, we¡¯re not going to push you in front of the wagon to make it go away. You can, and should, rely on us to help you.¡±


    ¡°I do trust you to help me, Jensen. I trust you because I know how much you want this to succeed and that if I leave, it all falls apart.¡±


    Okay, that¡¯s true, but Morgus¡¯s hairy balls, have you ever even heard of tact?


    ¡°Self-interest aside,¡± he said dryly, ¡°Torwin and Sildra both care about you, and by the way, she thinks of you as a friend. Why don¡¯t you feel the same way?¡±


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    ¡°She was another kid I knew when I was seven. Her father burned my house down after the incident. I haven¡¯t talked to her in a decade other than a passing sentence until this last week. We¡¯re strangers who happen to be from the same place.¡±


    Jensen nodded along, then said, ¡°She doesn¡¯t feel that way. Maybe you should take the opportunity to make a new friend. Or don¡¯t. Your choice, but there are worse people to put some trust in.¡±


    ¡°And Aria and Giller? Are you going to tell me why they¡¯re so wonderful, too?¡±


    ¡°No. I don¡¯t know Aria, and Giller is here purely as a business decision. She¡¯s representing the Blendstin family and I trust her to do exactly that. I don¡¯t think she¡¯d deliberately do anything to get someone killed, but if it was a choice between leaving someone behind to save the treasure or sacrificing the riches for the good of the team, I know which way she¡¯d lean.¡±


    ¡°And Aria is a self-absorbed, pampered magician of some sort,¡± Velik said. ¡°At least, that¡¯s the act she puts on. She¡¯s dangerous, though, and she knows things she shouldn¡¯t. I don¡¯t know what kind of skills she has, but she might be stronger than Torwin.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think she¡¯s a bad person. She¡¯s spent years of her life hunting monsters and propping up humanity. That gold pin isn¡¯t just for show, you know.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not that hard to get,¡± Velik said. He reached up a finger to tap the one pinned to his collar.


    ¡°Most people don¡¯t start there,¡± Jensen told him. ¡°Look, all I¡¯m trying to say is have a little trust in your team. Most of us want you to survive this, and the ones that are indifferent at least recognize that they have better odds of reaching their own goals if you¡¯re still alive and breathing.¡±


    ¡°Fantastic,¡± Velik said. The last of the merc prisoners had disappeared inside the garrison, leaving just the two of them standing on the street. Everyone else had gone inside, which meant Jensen needed to get in there too.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to make sure the story gets laid out straight,¡± he told Velik. ¡°I hope you¡¯re still here when I come back out. But¡­ if you feel like you need to run, I¡¯ll understand. Find us on the road in a few days before we get to Ashala, alright?¡±


    ¡°Sure. A few days on my own might do me some good.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t lost on Jensen that Velik had ignored the part where he¡¯d said ¡®still here,¡¯ but he decided it wasn¡¯t worth pressing the hunter over the issue. Whether Velik decided to run would probably depend on whether the marshals came swarming out of the garrison to capture him. If that did happen, Jensen hoped Velik got away cleanly. It would be a lot harder to proceed if they had to get him released from prison, and they were already way behind schedule.


    One problem at a time. Just keep pushing forward and you¡¯ll reach the goal eventually, he reminded himself as he followed the last of the marshals into the garrison.


    * * *


    The second the doors closed, Velik walked away. It wasn¡¯t even about the marshals and whether they¡¯d want to keep him in a cell until they were sure he wasn¡¯t a monster. Someone had tried to kill him, and at least one of their agents was still out there. Velik was alone and vulnerable, and standing in the middle of the street waiting for the next attempt struck him as a very foolish decision.


    The city wasn¡¯t his territory. He lived in the wilderness, and even if the forests around here were nothing compared to back home, that was where he was comfortable. The moment there were no eyes on him, he was off, running through the streets back toward the gate, where there wasn¡¯t a constant drone of noise and smells trying to distract him, where there weren¡¯t thousands of people crowding around him with unknown classes and skills.


    The gates never closed in King¡¯s Crossroad, not unless some sort of monster horde swept down the road and attacked them, so Velik had no trouble getting back out. An hour later, he¡¯d reached their former campsite and slowed down. It didn¡¯t take long to find traces of the ghostwalker cat, even if following its trail back was difficult.


    He traced it for miles, through fields and over two streams into a forest a ways off from the road. It wasn¡¯t until he was under the boughs that he started to relax. For the first time in months, he was back in his element. Velik was a solitary hunter well practiced in the art of skulking through the woods for prey. This was where he belonged, where he was strongest.


    Whoever had sent the monster after him had done it from this forest. And if they were still here, Velik was going to find them. Then he¡¯d see who¡¯d sent them and why. If that cat was the best they could do, they didn¡¯t have a chance of stopping him.


    His spear slithered down his arm and solidified in his hand as he studied the forest. The cat was light on its feet, but it was still the better part of eight hundred pounds. It couldn¡¯t erase all signs of its passage, and it didn¡¯t take long to find another clipped pawprint at the edge of a patch of moss.


    Silently, Velik slipped deeper into the forest.

 Book 2, Chapter 33

    It wasn¡¯t too often anymore that Velik worried about dawn coming on him in the middle of a hunt. Most days, whatever he was fighting wasn¡¯t strong enough for it to make a difference. But in this case, with only an hour or two left and his prey¡¯s strength still a mystery, he wanted every advantage he could get. The ghostwalker cat hadn¡¯t been close to strong enough to challenge him, but there was no telling if that was the most powerful monster his attacker had at their disposal.


    He would have been safer waiting for the rest of the team, but they couldn¡¯t have helped him hunt down who he was looking for. Well, Torwin could have. And maybe Aria. I¡¯m still not sure how that all works with her skills, but she knew what was up with that hydra without ever being close enough for me to notice her.


    But he hadn¡¯t waited, because in the end, he needed this. A proper solo hunt in a proper setting would recenter him. No guild agenda. No tests. No sucking mud and black, depthless water. Just him, his spear, and the gentle sway of the branches overhead as the night breeze brought familiar forest scents to him.


    The first monster attacked him half an hour after he entered the forest. It was a weak thing, some sort of overgrown beetle with a shell that might have challenged him three or four years ago. Velik doubted it was related to his prey¡ªjust a random monster following its aggressive, killing instincts. He slew it with a single stroke of his spear and left its corpse behind.


    Despite the proximity to civilized lands, the forest was still a relatively wild place. The monsters were strong enough that it would make a good hunting ground for someone like Sildra, but for him, they were nothing more than a distraction. Even when a pair of owls with wingspans longer than he was tall dive bombed him in silent ambush, it was never more than an annoyance.


    A third owl wheeled by overhead, its great wings stretched out to silently glide by as it watched him. At first, Velik thought it was connected to the two he¡¯d just killed, but he quickly reconsidered that notion. Different breed. Bigger. Not attacking. Could be looking for an ambush, but it could also be a scout for that [Beast Tamer].


    He couldn¡¯t think of any way to use the bird to lead him back to its master. Given the way the cat had come back for a second round instead of fleeing when it could, Velik had to assume whoever was controlling the monsters was fine with sacrificing them. Attacking the owl might disrupt the surveillance on Velik, but that was all.


    Still, that was a good enough incentive for him. The problem was figuring out how to get to it. The owl was a hundred feet over the treetops, probably not far enough away to avoid a javelin throw if Velik decided to go that route, but he wasn¡¯t eager to try to find his spear once it had fallen back to the ground.


    Ranged attacks had always been a weakness of his class, and his selection of gear addressed that not by giving him range, but by giving him options to quickly close in on his target. His cloak contained those two enchantments, [Shadow Step] and [Air Walk], but he didn¡¯t trust his reserves to get him that high. [Shadow Step] would be worthless for flying, and [Air Walk] wouldn¡¯t get him more than five or six steps in a row.


    Each step he took drastically increased the cost of the next one, which made it impractical for attacking the owl. But if he couldn¡¯t get up to it, there was a simple alternative: bring it down to him. Assuming he was right about its purpose, it wouldn¡¯t want to lose track of him. All he had to do was disappear into the brush and it would be forced to swoop closer to get a better look.


    And if it wasn¡¯t a spy for the [Beast Tamer], then he was wasting his severely limited time. This shouldn¡¯t take more than a minute, though. Just need a good spot that¡¯s hidden from an overhead view. There, perfect.


    It was a small gully, so narrow that the walls practically touched in spots. A creek meandered through it, and trees grew at the top, their roots curling out of the walls. Unless a bird landed directly above it, it would be near impossible to see who was walking through. It wasn¡¯t enough to just head in, though. He needed to make the owl lose track of him so it would swoop down to investigate.


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    [Shadow Step] took care of that. From a hundred feet away, he activated the ability on his cloak and darted into the gully before the effect faded. The cloak would need an hour or more to recharge enough to use its enchantment again, but it had done its part.


    Now we wait.


    The minutes stretched on, and Velik started to doubt his plan. Either he¡¯d been paranoid about the owl, or he was right and it was too smart to fall for the trick. Whichever it was, he was wasting precious time. He watched it flit by through the paper-thin gap, nothing more than a blur against the moonlight each time it passed by.


    He knew it was looking for something, and that it was probably him. That was great, but unless it actually landed to peer into the gully, it didn¡¯t matter. Just when he was about to give up, a soft, nearly inaudible ruffle of feathers caught his ear. His eyes, which had been locked overhead, snapped off to the side, where the owl was perched on a branch at the entrance to the gully.


    Clever little bastard decided to get a look in from the outside instead of above. Good for you, but you still made a mistake.


    [Shape Shifting] was a powerful enchantment, and with the spear¡¯s [Mana Drinker] to keep it fully powered, Velik didn¡¯t hesitate to remake the weapon into whatever shape was the most useful at any given moment. It took a fraction of a second to taper its tip down into a javelin, then he activated the [Power Surge] enchantment on his ring and whipped his arm forward.


    The spear flew through the air, almost screaming over the half a second it took to reach the owl, then it took the beast right in its fluffy, feathered chest. The owl was thrown from its perch, its talons ripping the branch to shreds, and it slammed into the trunk of the tree behind it.


    [You have slain a bonded night watcher owl (level 20).]


    Shit. I knew it. Run, you asshole, but know that I¡¯m coming for you.


    Velik reclaimed his spear and started following the trail the ghostwalker cat had left for him. It didn¡¯t take much longer to find a little campsite, with evidence of four or five more monsters and one person wearing boots. The monsters had gone off in every direction, and the human footprints disappeared without a trace.


    Which of these things is big enough for you to ride? Velik wondered as he examined the prints. These ones, the bear tracks, I think. They look a bit deeper over here. The ground¡¯s not really any softer, so¡­ a bit of extra weight on its back?


    If that was the case, the [Beast Tamer] had made a mistake. Bear-type monsters weren¡¯t known for their impressive speed, not over long distances. Worse, if it had a rider, it would be forced to stick to open trails. That would make it easier to track. All that assumed it wasn¡¯t a trick.


    He gave the campsite a once over, paying close attention to the hoof prints one of the monsters had left and what looked like wolf tracks from at least two monsters, possibly worgs. There were no more cat paw prints, at least not that he could see, so Velik hoped the person he was tracking was down to just those four monsters, but he couldn¡¯t eliminate the possibility of another flyer.


    With only an hour or so left before the sun came up, he started off after the bear. If he was wrong, he¡¯d take out another of the monsters, leaving one left for the human controlling them when Velik did finally catch up with whoever it was. If not, well, it¡¯d be over soon. The tracks weren¡¯t that old, probably not more than half an hour.


    They ran when I killed the owl. Somehow, they¡¯re sharing senses with their bonds. Must be a class skill.


    Five minutes later, the trail entered a wide, shallow stream. Velik stood at the shore and scanned up and down both sides, but he didn¡¯t see a spot where the bear emerged back out. Unfortunately for his prey, this particular bear had a strong enough musk that Velik could still smell its passing. He didn¡¯t like scent tracking¡ªhumans just weren¡¯t built for it, no matter how high their mental got¡ªbut he was confident he could do it well enough to figure out which way the bear had gone.


    A few minutes after that, he spotted tracks climbing back out of the stream a mile to the south. Velik followed along grimly, his spear clutched in his hand. When an ear-splitting roar shook the leaves overhead, he wasn¡¯t surprised. A moment later, a fifteen-foot-tall bear covered in coarse, metallic brown fur charged out of the brush at him, each step sending up a deafening boom.


    Some sort of sound magic. Great. And I can¡¯t forget that it might have reinforcements, Velik thought as he leveled his spear. A moment later, the bear crashed into him, gladly accepting a gash across the face in exchange for throwing Velik thirty feet backward into the stream.


    ¡°Come on, then,¡± he said, climbing to his feet just in time to skip off to the side. The arena wasn¡¯t ideal, not with the water coming up to his thighs but barely reaching the bear¡¯s ankles. Worse, lightning crackled across its jaw, a bad combination if Velik had ever seen one.


    He bared his teeth into a feral grin and launched himself at the monster.

 Book 2, Chapter 34

    Meeting a bear that was twice his height and ten times his weight in a straight charge wasn¡¯t going to end well. Regardless of any differences in their physical stats, Velik wasn¡¯t going to check a creature that size with raw strength. As the gap between them closed and lightning crackled around the monster¡¯s teeth, he did the smart thing and changed direction. Predictably, the bear¡¯s massive paw¡ªbigger than Velik¡¯s skull and with six-inch daggers for claws¡ªlashed out to cut him off, and that was its first mistake.


    Velik met the offending limb with the tip of his spear and triggered [Dread Lance]. The skill was draining, and maybe he¡¯d need those reserves to fight the bear¡¯s master, but he wanted this fight over with quickly. He had better prey to hunt; the bear was just a distraction.


    Or maybe not, Velik thought, his jaw dropping when the burst of energy cleared. The fur had been scoured off and the bear¡¯s front limb was a slab of raw meat, but it was still attached. Nothing had ever withstood [Dread Lance] before, not monsters, not stone, and not steel. It must be some sort of triggered defensive skill. There¡¯s no way it took that hit naturally.


    For the bear, it seemed more angry than injured. It stumbled over its mauled leg, but that didn¡¯t actually slow it down more anymore than tripping over a rock would have. The next moment, it was lunging at him, lightning still dancing in its mouth. Velik jerked backward just in time to avoid snapping teeth, but the few inches of open space wasn¡¯t enough to insulate him from the monster¡¯s next attack.


    Lightning leaped through the air and jolted him, locking his muscles up just long enough to stop him from retreating. The bear didn¡¯t hesitate, either. Its broiled leg came back up, claws leading, and tore Velik¡¯s chest to ribbons.


    Move, damn it! His legs weren¡¯t responding though, and if they didn¡¯t start working soon, he wasn¡¯t going to be able to avoid getting mauled to death.


    Velik threw himself backward. The movement was the opposite of his normal graceful stride, all power and no coordination, and it resulted in him sprawled on the edge of the water, staring up at the stars. He had just enough time to think to himself, This is not going well, then the bear loomed large over him. Its shaggy bulk blocked out his view of the night sky, leaving him nothing to see but a mouth full of sharp teeth descending on his face.


    Desperately, he called on the [Power Surge] enchantment on his ring, not to stop the bear from tearing his head off, but to help counteract the muscle spasms that still had his whole body twitching. He didn¡¯t know if the enchantment would work, but it was his best idea in the moment.


    His fist shot up, connecting with the bear¡¯s lower jaw hard enough to snap its head to one side and, more importantly, giving him a second to escape. Whether through luck or magic, Velik wasn¡¯t sure, but either way his legs scrabbled against the pebbles and found enough purchase to shoot him out from between the bear¡¯s legs.


    Things were still a bit jittery, but he was back on his feet. His spear was in the water somewhere, probably of no use until he had time to find it. With all the fighting, too much mud had gotten stirred up for him to see it, but it was heavy enough that it wasn¡¯t going to be swept away. If he got lucky, he might be able to reach the spot he¡¯d dropped it and blindly scoop it up, but that would depend on how much space he could put between himself and the monster.


    Dagger it is, then. You¡¯re the perfect target for [Burden of the Beast] anyway.


    Shaking out the last of the twitchiness in his hands, Velik pulled the dagger free from his belt. It was a powerful weapon, but against something as well-armored as this monster, he was going to have to be careful. Fortunately, it had a whole leg that he¡¯d stripped all of the armored fur off of, as well as parts of its chest, flank, and shoulder. It wasn¡¯t ideal, but he could make it work.


    Velik darted in, leaping over a slashing paw as he got close, and slashed the dagger across the bear¡¯s denuded limb. Blood welled up behind the cut, and [Savage Rhythm] started its work. A second slice joined the first, then he flipped off the bear when it tried to roll back into the river and crush him under its bulk. Undeterred, Velik waded in and stabbed it a few more times.


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    At first, nothing seemed to be happening, but his dagger wasn¡¯t called The Sixth Plague for nothing. The bear¡¯s thrashing grew weaker with each passing second and the brown, muddy water quickly started to shift to a redder hue. It was actually almost insulting how easily he¡¯d turned the tide of the fight after it had nearly killed him in the opening round.


    That kind of arrogance was dangerous, he knew. It led to carelessness, and for all he knew, the bear had another skill or two in reserve. Even if it didn¡¯t, it quickly grew desperate enough to do something that Velik could scarcely credit it with the intelligence for.


    It activated its lightning bite skill while its mouth was in the water. Bolts of lightning shot out in every direction, shocking the monster, but also staggering Velik and locking up the muscles in his legs. He stumbled forward, the dagger loose in his grasp, and slammed face first into the bear¡¯s still-furry back leg, drawing small pinpricks of blood across his cheek.


    Groaning in pain, Velik pushed himself away. They were both hurting now, but unlike him, the bear¡¯s self-inflicted paralysis left its face underwater. It struggled feebly, no doubt trying to get a gulp of fresh air, but Velik threw himself bodily onto its shoulders and forced its head back down. He was under no illusions that it would drown, not with a physical at least as high as his own. It would take the better part of an hour before that became a danger, but the water was blinding.


    Working by feel, Velik flipped the dagger in his hand and drove it down into the bear¡¯s eye. Immediately, its thrashing turned frenzied and huge bubbles of air burst out of its mouth as it tried to roar. Mercilessly, Velik worked the blade back and forth, then tore it free and stabbed the other eye for good measure.


    The bear slumped down, a dead mass of muscle and fur, and Velik rolled free. He ignored the notification until he¡¯d reached the spot where his spear had fallen, then mucked around until he recovered it. Only once he was properly armed again did he check what the system was trying to tell him.


    [Savage Rhythm has advanced to rank 6.]


    [Burden of the Beast has advanced to rank 3.]


    [You have slain a bonded spark fur bear (level 47).]


    [You have been awarded 3 decarmas.]


    [You have advanced to level 42. +2 Physical, +1 Mental, +2 free points.]


    Velik immediately dropped the free points into mystic, the same as he¡¯d done the last ten levels or so. With [Dread Lance] becoming such an important part of his skill set, and [Burden of the Beast] also drawing on the stat, he wanted it up past 50 before he considered allocating future points anywhere else.


    That was¡­ rough, he admitted to himself as he glanced back at the monster. A healing potion¡ªone of the good system store ones, not the cheap alchemist-mixed variety¡ªwould get him back in shape in a minute or two, but the fight had not gone well. I couldn¡¯t handle four more monsters like that, not all at once. I thought they¡¯d be more like that big cat, but this thing was way tougher and faster. Is that a proximity thing with its master, or just a difference in personal power between the bear and the cat?


    Either way, he¡¯d come too far to give up now, but Velik was going to have to be more careful moving forward. Falling into an ambush would probably get him killed, and it was obvious by now that the [Beast Tamer] he was pursuing was high level and dangerous.


    Velik followed the bear¡¯s trail deeper into the woods, an easy task considering its bulk was so large that it had shoved aside several trees to squeeze past them and left deep prints in the mud where it walked. A few hundred feet in, he found the spot where it had turned around, presumably letting its master off to continue alone, and doubled back to confront Velik at the stream.


    No other animal prints. What happened to the rest of its minions? Maybe a pre-arranged meeting spot elsewhere? If I could catch up to whoever this person is before then, they¡¯d be defenseless.


    Encouraged, he tracked the [Beast Tamer] deeper into the forest, stopping only when he found a man sitting on a wide, flat stone in the middle of a glade. His legs were crossed and his eyes were closed, and a short spear was laid out in front of him. He was wearing leathers, presumably enchanted to function as armor, and an actual bracer of something that Velik was certain wasn¡¯t plain steel adorned one of his forearms.


    Velik lurked at the edge of the ring of trees, his eyes flicking back and forth as he looked for signs that the man¡¯s monsters were close by. When nothing presented itself, he cautiously considered how best to launch his attack. Smarter to kill him now, but I can¡¯t get answers out of a corpse. A wounding shot then.


    Decision made, Velik once again called on his ring¡¯s [Power Surge] enchantment and lunged out of the trees at the man¡¯s back. The man rose smoothly to his feet and turned to meet Velik, his spear in his hand and the arm with the bracer raised like a shield.

 Book 2, Chapter 35

    The man¡¯s bracer crackled with power and a translucent pane of glass materialized in the air in front of him. Velik¡¯s spear struck it, sending cracks spider webbing across its surface. They sealed back up as quickly as they¡¯d spread, leaving the pane whole and almost invisible once more.


    ¡°Aggressive,¡± the man noted casually, like he hadn¡¯t just been the target of a brutal attack. ¡°I bet that¡¯s served you well hunting monsters. They¡¯re not hard to outsmart, and too much caution can be a handicap.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask your bear?¡± Velik shot back.


    Anger clouded the man¡¯s face, but he just said, ¡°We all knew the risks. Killing you is worth the price.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Velik demanded. ¡°Why me? What did I do to you?¡±


    He slammed the spear into the pane again, but without the momentum of his charge behind the weapon, it had no visible effect. Circling around it wasn¡¯t an option either; when he tried, the man just turned with him to keep the translucent barrier properly positioned. Maybe I can go over, though.


    ¡°To me, personally? Nothing. You¡¯ve just been sticking your nose in places it doesn¡¯t belong and threatened to upset everything we¡¯ve been working toward for years. It¡¯s not so much what you¡¯ve already done as what we¡¯re afraid you will do soon. It¡¯s better for everyone involved if you disappear before it comes to that.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty chatty for a man who¡¯s supposed to be trying to kill me, not that you¡¯re doing a good job of it. So far, I¡¯ve done in three of your pets and it looks like you left the rest behind.¡±


    ¡°They can be replaced,¡± he said coldly. Then he lifted his spear right as Velik was about to jump the wall, and a flash of blinding light burst out of the metal tip.


    Velik blinked once to clear his vision, trusting in his high physical to counteract the effect, and executed his plan. The moment his feet left the ground, however, a pair of spectral wolves manifested on either side of him. They were a matched set, five feet tall at the shoulder and covered in a long, thick coat of cool blue and white fur.


    In unison, they both slammed into him from either side, pinning him between their bodies and the barrier. The man took a step back and the wall vanished, allowing the wolves to push Velik to the ground and pin him there.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make you a deal,¡± the [Beast Tamer] said as he squatted down in front of Velik. ¡°Give me the class orb and I¡¯ll kill you quick. Otherwise, my spirit wolves are going to tear you apart one bite at a time. They tell me the meat tastes better when it¡¯s eaten while you¡¯re still alive, and I¡¯d hate to deprive them of their treat. So make it worth my while, or¡­¡±


    ¡°The class orb?¡± Velik gasped out, confused. He tried to shift, but the wolves didn¡¯t merely have a lot of weight like the bear had. They had some sort of skill or racial ability to make them unmovable, anchored to reality in a way that physical strength couldn¡¯t shift.


    ¡°You know the one I mean.¡±


    He did, but he wasn¡¯t sure how the [Beast Tamer] knew about it, or why he wanted it. Velik doubted the man would answer, but it didn¡¯t hurt to ask anyway. ¡°Why do you want it?¡±


    To his great surprise, the man laughed. ¡°For the obvious reasons, of course.¡±


    ¡°To¡­ change your class?¡±


    ¡°What? No, you idiot. To add that aspect to my class. How do you have a gold pin from the guild and not know that?¡±


    Velik hadn¡¯t heard of anything like that, and nobody had ever so much as hinted that it was possible. He¡¯d considered Chalin¡¯s class orb to be a clue to the whole mystery and nothing more. Even now, the orb was just sitting in the bottom of his hip pouch, but there was no reason to tell the [Beast Tamer].


    ¡°Left it back with the guild,¡± he lied.


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    ¡°No, you didn¡¯t. Oh well. I tried to be merciful. Angu, Tezu. Tear him apart.¡±


    Velik¡¯s Ravensfeather Cloak wasn¡¯t fully recharged, certainly not enough to give him even a full second of time on [Shadow Step], but he only needed a moment. If he was right about what was happening, the wolves were holding their position by bridging the gap between two different versions of reality. Hopefully the shadow world he was going to slip into wasn¡¯t the other one.


    He activated the cloak and the wolves vanished completely. Velik rolled to the side and sprang to his feet, his spear in hand, then the cloak ran out of mana and forced him back into the real world. Without hesitation, he drove his weapon into the side of the closer wolf¡ªTezu, he thought¡ªand ripped it down the monster¡¯s flank.


    Black monster blood spurted, but this time it was tinged in glowing blue and white just like the monster itself. There was no time to consider what that meant, though, not when the wolf was already pulling itself free from the spear and spinning in place to snap at him.


    Its twin leaped over the injured wolf, bearing down on Velik, but he wasn¡¯t about to let them get him with the same trick twice. He willingly gave ground as he fended both wolves off, but he kept an eye on their master and a look out for a third monster. There¡¯d been something hooved that he still hadn¡¯t accounted for, and having it come at his back right now would make things difficult.


    At the same time, these wolves didn¡¯t look anywhere near as tough as the bear had been. The next time one of them lunged at him, Velik unleashed a [Dread Lance] directly into its face. The wolf was instantly vaporized, and in a literal sense. Instead of being showered with gore, the front two-thirds of its body melted away into wispy blue-white smoke. Its back legs and tail seemed normal enough, flopping over and giving a few feeble twitches as blood seeped out into the grass, but the rest of the monster swiftly vanished.


    What is up with these things? So weird.


    With only one wolf left to contend with, Velik almost immediately gained the upper hand. [Savage Rhythm] took over, but [Burden of the Beast] didn¡¯t seem to have any effect on the monster. For all that, he was still drawing copious amounts of blood from the wolf, and the injuries were slowing it down. Strangely, the blood was turning to vapor just like the other wolf had, but as long as the monster died, he¡¯d worry about that later.


    At least, that was what he thought until the [Beast Tamer] joined the battle. No longer armed with a simple spear and a magical bracer, his whole body was now wrapped in blue-white energy and what looked like the wolf¡¯s skull overlaid his head. Their eyes lined up and glowed an opaque white, and the man moved with more speed and strength than Velik had ever seen another person exhibit.


    ¡°Did you think a spirit beast that easy to kill?¡± he snarled as his spear slashed through the air. Velik¡¯s hand snaked out to slap the shaft below the tip aside, only to receive a cut across his forearm for his troubles. ¡°Did you think you were going to win this, stupid boy?¡±


    Normally, [Dread Lance] took some time to recharge. Velik had been steadily growing his mystic over the last few months in an attempt to allow him to use the skill twice in a row, but he wasn¡¯t there yet. As a temporary fix to that problem, Velik had invested in something the enchanter had called an invoker¡¯s pendant. Its sole purpose was to temporarily boost his mana regeneration, and he called on it now.


    Within seconds, the [Energizing] enchantment had done its work and the only decision left was whether to destroy the wolf or the man with it. If he blasted the wolf, there was every chance that its essence or whatever it was that leaked out of the body would just join its twin in empowering his enemy. Besides, it was already half dead. Finishing it off with [Dread Lance] would be overkill.


    I wish I¡¯d gotten a few more answers out of you, but I¡¯ll settle for just removing you as a threat, Velik silently told the man.


    In terms of spear play, [Spear Warden] was far superior to whatever his opponent was using. It was only the reinforcing skill that channeled the spirit wolf¡¯s power that was allowing the [Beast Tamer] to hold his own against Velik, though the mobile glass pane shielding him whenever he called on the magic of his bracer certainly didn¡¯t make things easy.


    Velik skipped his spear off the magical shield, allowing it to be angled up just like the last time the man had blocked him that way. As expected, the counterattack came low and was aimed for his groin. Not eager to take a spear in the crotch, Velik had backed off last time. Instead of repeating that exchange, he hopped a foot straight up, letting the spear pass between his legs and reangling his own weapon to dive into the man¡¯s shoulder.


    [Dread Lance] obliterated the spirit wolf shell protecting the [Beast Tamer] and pulped the man hiding inside it. There was an immediate kill notification, but Velik brushed that aside to deal with the remaining monster. It hadn¡¯t hesitated, despite the death of its master, and was already lunging for Velik¡¯s face.


    Before it could get there, an arrow slammed into its skull, piercing through one side and coming out the other. Torwin stepped into the glade, his bow in hand and another arrow on the string. ¡°Gods damn, boy, you couldn¡¯t have waited an hour for me? I¡¯ve been chasing after you all night!¡±

 Book 2, Chapter 36

    The two hunters stared down at the body, which was itself a crushed, bloody slab of meat. The [Beast Tamer] had avoided the worst of the damage with his magical barrier, but enough of [Dread Lance] had slipped through to kill him. Bits of skin were still stuck here and there, but most of it had been torn away.


    ¡°That looked like it hurt,¡± Torwin said, a strange hitch in his voice. ¡°Who was he?¡±


    ¡°No idea. He said he wanted that class orb I got as a quest reward, the one with Chalin¡¯s class in it. He thought he could add it to his own class somehow.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s tricky to do, but possible,¡± Torwin said. ¡°Risky, though. Class orbs are rare enough that there hasn¡¯t been a lot of experimentation on the subject. Most people who get their hands on one just use it to change class for a safer upgrade to their personal power.¡±


    The old [Ranger] squatted down and started turning out the body¡¯s pockets while Velik looked back at his notifications. The expected kill notification was there, along with a small surprise.


    [You have slain a bonded primal spirit wolf (level 39).]


    [You have been awarded 2 decarmas.]


    [You have slain a human soul binder (level 48).]


    [You have been awarded 3 decarmas.]


    [Apex Hunter has advanced to rank 7.]


    Getting so many skill advancements in the same day was unusual, but he supposed he¡¯d just been close to ranking them up. A good, tough fight had pushed several of them over, and hopefully meant he¡¯d soon be making advancements in his other skills. If he was lucky, he¡¯d see something merge together.


    ¡°Aw, fuck,¡± Torwin said. ¡°I was afraid of that.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Velik asked, snapping back to attention.


    The older hunter held up a small gold pin between two fingers. ¡°Found it in his pocket. I was hoping it was a coincidence, but¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait, this guy is a member of the guild?¡± Velik asked.


    ¡°Up until about three minutes ago. His name was Gorlath. When I saw that bear, I thought it might be him. This proves it.¡±


    ¡°What is it with your guild, Torwin?¡± Velik demanded, suddenly angry. ¡°First all the politics and being treated like crap. Then the mercenaries and this guy trying to kill me?¡±


    ¡°The guild¡­ Well, it was different when I was young. Then money started coming into it, new people got into positions of power from outside the guild. It made sense at the time. A bunch of people who wanted to kill monsters didn¡¯t have the skill sets needed to organize the place once it started expanding to multiple cities. Why not bring onboard the people who did?¡±


    ¡°Okay, but why me? What did I ever do to these people? If anything, it feels like they should have been excited to have me join. I¡¯m good at killing monsters. I¡¯m not a political threat. I don¡¯t want anything to do with that. All they had to do was leave me alone and I would have happily done jobs and brought money in to fill the guild coffers.¡± Velik jabbed a finger at the body. ¡°Instead, I get this. Why?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Torwin said. ¡°Gorlath wasn¡¯t a nice man, but as far as I know, he¡¯d never stoop to murdering someone just to get ahead. Something¡¯s changed, and I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s just politics. You¡¯re a threat to someone, somehow. Velik, I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t know this would happen. It shouldn¡¯t be happening, and whatever this is, we¡¯re going to figure it out.¡±


    The pair worked in silence for the next ten minutes, harvesting spirit wolf blood and stripping Gorlath¡¯s corpse of anything valuable. That included the bracer, the spear, a ring, and the man¡¯s belt buckle. Anything else that might have been enchanted hadn¡¯t survived Velik¡¯s killing blow, and of course, whatever decarmas he¡¯d had on him were gone now. There was a reason people with families kept their fortunes in banks, after all.


    Finally, Torwin picked up the bloody remains and started walking. ¡°Attempted murder or not, he¡¯s still a member of the guild. I have to return his body so they know that he¡¯s dead. We¡¯ll just leave the cause of his death a mystery for now,¡± he explained when he saw Velik¡¯s curious look.


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    ¡°Where are the others at?¡± Velik asked after a few minutes.


    ¡°Giller and Jensen are still back at King¡¯s Crossroad dealing with the marshals. Aria probably found a room at the most expensive inn that would still let her in this late at night, and Sildra is¡­ hrmm¡­ actually, I don¡¯t know. She¡¯s either with Jensen or Aria.¡±


    Considering she was the most vulnerable member of their group, it was probably smart to keep track of Sildra¡¯s location if they were splitting up, but Velik couldn¡¯t find it in himself to care. She was undoubtedly safer than he was, whoever she was with. Then again, she does like to go wandering outside the walls at night. It wouldn¡¯t surprise me much to find her in the woods with us. Maybe she¡¯s trying to grab another level while she can.


    ¡°What¡¯s a [Soul Binder]?¡± Velik asked suddenly, remembering the unusual class he¡¯d seen on the kill notification.


    ¡°No idea. Why?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what his class was.¡±


    ¡°Who, Gorlath¡¯s?¡± Torwin asked. ¡°No, he was a [Beast Tamer] like we thought.¡±


    ¡°Not according to the system,¡± Velik said. ¡°Level 48 human [Soul Binder].¡±


    ¡°Sounds like some sort of mage class with a focus on controlling others, maybe some sort of hybrid [Necromancer]. But the animals were alive. Even spirit wolves are technically alive, not actual spirits.¡±


    ¡°There was one I never saw,¡± Velik pointed out. ¡°Something with hooves. A deer, maybe?¡±


    ¡°I killed that one,¡± Torwin told him. ¡°Needle horn buck.¡±


    That accounted for the last of the tracks Velik had seen, but still didn¡¯t explain Gorlath¡¯s class. Though maybe the explanation is simple. He was after my class orb. Maybe that wasn¡¯t the first one he used. Maybe he altered his original class and it evolved into that.


    Velik shared his theory, but Torwin just said, ¡°It¡¯s a mystery. Could be that. One class orb shouldn¡¯t trigger an evolution like that. Normally it would just unlock a new set of class skills related to the orb used up. But if he used two or three? Or it¡¯s possible he just evolved it naturally at some point and never told anyone.¡±


    They emerged onto the road a few minutes later, right about the time pre-dawn light started brightening the eastern sky. Velik could feel [Duskbound] starting to slip away, and after the night he¡¯d had, he was ready to catch a few hours of sleep. ¡°I think I¡¯m just going to find our campsite and wait for everyone to catch back up,¡± he told Torwin.


    ¡°Will you actually be there when we get on the road again?¡± the old man asked, his voice solemn. He was seriously asking Velik if he planned on sticking with the group or disappearing.


    ¡°Unless something else attacks me,¡± Velik told him.


    ¡°Well, if that happens, try not to kill anyone if you can help it,¡± the [Ranger] said. ¡°Maybe a bit more restraint than you used on the mercenaries.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s only so much I can do when someone is trying to kill me.¡±


    ¡°Do you want a different dagger? Maybe one that¡¯s not enchanted to make whoever you stab bleed out?¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s the whole point of the dagger,¡± Velik said.


    Torwin sighed. ¡°Just do your best.¡±


    They split up there, Torwin going north back to King¡¯s Crossroad and Velik finding their old campsite. He settled into a tree nearby, finding a perch twenty feet off the ground with a good amount of growth to shield it from casual inspection. It wasn¡¯t the most defensible spot, but he¡¯d made do with less in the past. With his back to the bole and his eyes facing the road back to the west, he let himself doze for a few hours while his body recovered from the night¡¯s exertions.


    * * *


    It was never fun carrying a body, especially not that of someone who¡¯d betrayed the Monster Hunter Guild¡¯s principles of protecting humanity from the monsters that lurked in the night, but Torwin was determined to see the grisly duty through. He still had six or seven miles to go before he reached the gates, and then of course there¡¯d be all sorts of explanations he¡¯d have to give. It was going to be nothing but a headache.


    He''d expected to have the road to himself¡ªcounted on it, even¡ªso he was both surprised and annoyed to hear two voices coming his way. Briefly, he debated ducking off into the fields just so he wouldn¡¯t have to satisfy some random traveler¡¯s curiosity on why he was carrying a bloody corpse, but then he realized he recognized the voices.


    ¡°¡ªdon¡¯t blame him, honestly,¡± Sildra said. ¡°He was right about them wanting to question him.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but running when he did makes him look guilty, and because we have no way to prove the mercenaries were lied to, we were relying on their goodwill. If he¡¯d stayed, they might have taken our word for it, but now he¡¯s wanted for questioning,¡± Giller replied. ¡°And despite what Jensen said, I¡¯m not as optimistic as him that he can smooth the whole thing over.¡±


    Ah, that¡¯s a bit of luck, then. Shame the other two aren¡¯t with them, but then, neither of them are much for getting up early, and even less so when they never went to bed in the first place. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if we lose the whole day to King¡¯s Crossroad.


    Torwin kept walking forward, the body in his arms. The road curved around a hill ahead, and he knew as soon as he rounded that, he¡¯d see his two traveling companions. At least, that was the plan until he heard Sildra gasp and say, ¡°There¡¯s a monster nearby!¡±


    Instantly, Torwin was on alert. He hadn¡¯t sensed anything, but that cat had gotten close without being noticed either. Gorlath¡¯s body hit the road and he pulled his bow off his shoulder. An arrow formed on the string and Torwin hurried forward to connect with the other two.


    Just then, Sildra appeared at the curve. Her eyes instantly locked on Torwin, then snapped over to the corpse behind him. ¡°Torwin, look out!¡± she screamed, her finger raised to point past him.


    He glanced back in confusion. There was nothing there, nothing but the body. ¡°What?¡±


    Gorlath¡¯s form twitched once, then leaped to its feet. ¡°Guess the game¡¯s up, huh?¡±

 Book 2, Chapter 37

    Torwin instinctively recoiled away from Gorlath¡¯s body. His skull had partially collapsed, the damage so thorough that even if Gorlath had somehow lived through it, he wouldn¡¯t be physically capable of speaking. Whatever this thing was, it was able to use magic to overcome that handicap.


    What the hell is it? Some kind of undead? Velik said he had a [Soul Binder] class. Maybe it was just waiting for the right moment to attack me.


    Without hesitating, he let the first arrow fly straight for the heart. Some undead had to protect that, though Torwin wasn¡¯t sure if whatever was in front of him was one of those. Its arm snapped up, blindingly fast, and caught the arrow through the meat of the forearm, so maybe Torwin had gotten lucky with his guess.


    ¡°Now, now, that hardly feels like a good way to greet an old friend,¡± Gorlath said. ¡°And here I was all set to surprise you, too.¡±


    Before it could say another word, pale silvery light burst into existence all over it. The undead flailed in obvious agony, scrambling to escape the attack, but the light clung to it, burning it and scouring away its flesh. With it so obviously unable to defend itself, Torwin unleashed another arrow at its heart. This time, the missile struck true, but if it had any effect at all, it was lost amidst Sildra¡¯s skill.


    That might have been the end of whatever the monster was, except right at that instant, the sun crested the horizon. As abruptly as it had appeared, the pale light vanished, leaving Gorlath¡¯s corpse charred but still upright. ¡°The druid bitch,¡± it rasped out. ¡°I really am having the worst luck today.¡±


    The undead monster titled its head and peered over at the sliver of sun, then it let out a dry laugh. ¡°On the other hand, it¡¯s the night druid bitch, isn¡¯t it? Maybe I¡¯m not so unlucky after all. That all you¡¯ve got? Come on, do it again.¡±


    Damn thing¡¯s too smart. How does it know about Sildra¡¯s skills or their drawbacks? I deliberately kept that vulnerability of hers out of my report. Did Jensen say something to someone about it?


    Either way, Torwin had been killing monsters longer than Sildra had been alive. Her [Lunar Flare] might have made short work of the monster, but it wasn¡¯t the only way to finish it off. Torwin started firing off arrows as fast as he could, alternating between drawing physical ones from his quiver and using the magically generated ones his bracer gave him.


    Each shot was imbued with [Hailstrike] to give it some weight, and Gorlath wasn¡¯t fast enough to dodge them all. It was struck a dozen times in a handful of seconds and staggered back several steps, but, true to its undead nature, it was hardly phased by the damage. Even the arrows sticking out of its chest didn¡¯t slow it down.


    So what was with it blocking that first shot to the heart? Some sort of feint to get me thinking it was some other kind of undead? Just what the hell is this thing?


    His biggest concern was that if he allowed the fight to drag on, Gorlath would summon up some other creature it had bonded to back in life. It might have replaced its class before its death, but that didn¡¯t mean it was going to lose access to its skills. The best way to stop it from pulling off any unpleasant surprises was to destroy it before it got the chance.


    Suddenly, Gorlath bounded forward in great, leaping steps. More arrows pummeled it, sticking into the meat of its limbs and torso or sometimes outright blowing a hole straight through it, but that didn¡¯t slow it down in the slightest. It also wasn¡¯t aiming for Torwin. Instead, it was locked on Sildra, who immediately realized she was its target and started running.


    Smart girl. She knows she can¡¯t do much once the sun comes up. This¡¯ll give me a few more seconds to¡ªOr that works, too.


    A war hammer came flying through the air, spinning end over end so fast that it was barely more than a blur, and smashed directly into Gorlath¡¯s chest. It was hurled from his feet to fly backwards to near where it¡¯d started, then the hammer jerked itself free with a sickening squelch. It flew back toward the hill, where Giller was standing. She stared down at the monster with a thunderous scowl stamped on her face and slowly advanced.


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    A shield floated in the air to her left, and a sword matched it to her right. Her hands were empty, but with her [Ferrokinesis] skill, she didn¡¯t need to hold a weapon to make it deadly. The war hammer dripping gore on its way back to her was proof enough of that. ¡°Torwin,¡± she snapped out, her voice carrying down the road. ¡°Care to explain why you were bringing a monster to town with you?¡±


    ¡°I thought he was dead!¡±


    ¡°And I thought you were a gold-ranked monster hunter. How could an undead fool you?¡±


    ¡°Well, he didn¡¯t act much like an undead. He was just a body until a minute ago!¡±


    He shuddered to think of what might have happened if he¡¯d been just a few minutes later coming up the road. Sildra¡¯s [Eye of the Moon] could only detect monsters as long as the sun wasn¡¯t up. Without that skill to warn him that Gorlath had turned into a monster, he would have brought the body right into town, past the walls and defenses, where it could have gotten into all sorts of trouble.


    And that was not normal behavior for a monster. The only other time he¡¯d seen anything that smart was when they¡¯d wiped out the infestation of corrupted seed bearers up on the frontier. They¡¯d needed Sildra to root those out, too. Come to think of it¡­


    ¡°Did you get the kill notification?¡± Torwin asked Giller.


    ¡°No,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m surprised it¡¯s not moving. I guess I did more damage than I thought.¡±


    Or it¡¯s faking again, Torwin thought to himself.


    ¡°Hit it again,¡± Sildra called out.


    The hammer sailed back out, this time crushing the remains of Gorlath¡¯s head while Torwin winced. That¡¯ll make it even harder to confirm it¡¯s his body. This is going to be a mess once I get his remains back to the guild. What do I even tell them? Some monster got into him?


    ¡°Still no notification,¡± Giller said. She walked down the hill to approach the body, her war hammer hovering in the air above it. ¡°You know, this looks really bad. Maybe we should move this off the road in case someone comes by.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get close to it until it¡¯s dead,¡± Torwin said.


    ¡°Maybe I won¡¯t get a notification,¡± Giller replied. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ already dead, you know?¡±


    ¡°Undead still give kill notifications.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Hitting it again, then.¡±


    The hammer came down, and Gorlath rolled to the side. The undead was barely even in one piece at this point¡ªhad actually left an arm behind as it dodged out of the way¡ªbut that didn¡¯t seem to be slowing it down. Torwin hit it with three arrows, sending the undead into a spin as it struggled to keep its balance. It ended up doing a single complete rotation as it stumbled forward, then it hurled itself bodily at Giller.


    Smirking, she pulled her shield into place to block the undead. With twenty feet of open air between the two of them, it was easy to get her defense into place, but when Gorlath rebounded, something red and slimy broke free of its crushed chest cavity. It looked like the world¡¯s largest blob of snot, and it moved far faster than the body it had just been attached to.


    Torwin might have expected it to swerve around Giller¡¯s shield in a foolish attempt to finish its attack on the woman. That would have been an impressive feat, but, ultimately, a futile one. Perhaps the thing that used to be Gorlath had realized that as well, because it didn¡¯t try. Instead, it went for the most vulnerable person in the group.


    Two arrows pierced through its body, ripping away chunks of blood-red slime but not knocking the attack off course. If it had been coming at him, he still could have dodged. Sildra had only enough time for her eyes to widen in sudden shock. Then it smacked into her, splattering across her face and chest.


    The slime wiggled like it was alive, which Torwin realized with a start might actually be the case. He¡¯d had eyes on Gorlath¡¯s corpse from the moment Velik had killed him, and he was absolutely sure nothing had crawled inside it. Whatever the slime was, it had already been there. Just like those corrupted seeds, except in this case, it didn¡¯t kill the host. Maybe it¡¯s symbiotic somehow?


    The slime writhed around, forcing itself down Sildra¡¯s throat in a flash. Torwin was halfway there, arms outstretched to try to grab hold of it and tear it free, when it disappeared. A moment later, Sildra started screaming.


    ¡°What the hell is happening?¡± Giller demanded as she sprinted the rest of the way to the road. ¡°Sildra? Answer me!¡±


    The only way Torwin knew to get a parasite out without killing the host was powerful healing magic. Some sort of antidotal purge might work, but he didn¡¯t have anything like that and he wasn¡¯t sure what it was called. Desperately, he opened the system shop menu on his status interface and started skimming it for something that would help, the cost be damned.


    Before he could come up with a solution, the scream cut off and silver light started welling up from the back of her throat. A new scream started, this one a lower pitch than Sildra¡¯s. Torwin stared at her, slack-jawed, then glanced at Giller.


    ¡°I¡­ Uh¡­ I think she¡¯s got it covered,¡± he said.

 Book 2, Chapter 38

    For the last two weeks of her life, Sildra hadn¡¯t felt comfortable. She was far away from every place she¡¯d ever known and every person she¡¯d ever met, except for Jensen. He¡¯d done his best in a sort of awkward but sweet way, but it was incredibly obvious that he was obsessed with his project. He¡¯d seemed paranoid when he¡¯d described what was going on, but she¡¯d gradually started to believe he was right about someone trying to sabotage him.


    Then came an ambush in the middle of the night. If there¡¯d been any doubt left in her mind, it vanished there. Finding out Velik was still being targeted by people she¡¯d grown up with was distressing, but he hadn¡¯t seemed surprised¡ªjust confused. He¡¯d disappeared, to absolutely no one¡¯s surprise, and Torwin had gone to track him down.


    All of that had been stressful and bewildering, often leaving her feeling like a child tagging along with her parents to something she knew was important, but didn¡¯t understand and that no one would take a minute to explain to her. She¡¯d just done her best to keep her mouth shut and fade into the background.


    But this? This thing. This I understand.


    It was the enemy. The corruption. Morgus had blessed her specifically to fight back against this threat, and for everything else she wasn¡¯t sure how to handle, she knew what to do here. She was a [Druid of the Crescent Moon] now, and while her skills were weakest during the daylight hours, she wasn¡¯t as helpless as she¡¯d been a few months back.


    When she¡¯d evolved her class with the class orb her god had granted her for helping to save the frontier, a new skill had appeared on her list. At first, the system had prevented her from taking it. Her two skill slots were full with [Lunar Flare] and [Eye of the Moon]. That had ended when they¡¯d merged together into [Lunar Judgment], freeing up a skill slot to take the new skill, [Fragment of Starlight].


    It was a simple change to her build, not one that was useful most of the time, but here, it had a chance to shine. The skill allowed her to use any of her other skills within the limited radius of a few feet as if it were still nighttime, which meant that while she couldn¡¯t smite the monster with [Lunar Judgment] from fifty feet away now that the sun had come up, it had made a huge mistake trying to crawl into her body.


    Burn.


    And it did. To her, the light was comfort and warmth and clarity. To the monster that thought it could take her over like it had done to that poor man, it was death. She could vividly remember watching a man she¡¯d known for twenty years literally puke up organs to make room for the corruption growing in his body¡ªthe same corruption that was coming for her now.


    The process of expelling the monster was, if anything, even more unpleasant than when it had forced its way into her body. It was violent, tearing at her throat and forcing her jaw wider than it was designed to open in its haste to escape being immolated by her magic, but Sildra fought back against that, too. If it got too far away, she wouldn¡¯t be able to kill it, so she used her hands to help hold her mouth closed.


    There was just one problem with that strategy. She wasn¡¯t like Velik or Torwin with fifty levels in a class that stacked physical, and she needed to breathe. After thirty seconds, she was forced to let the monster flee. It jetted from her mouth despite her intentions, freeing up her chest and leaving her to heave up globs of dark blood, both hers and the monster¡¯s.


    I hope someone has a healing potion. Jensen told me had a few for emergencies, but he¡¯s not here¡­


    The pain was terrible, worse than anything else Sildra had ever felt, but she¡¯d survive long enough to have her revenge. The monster, whatever it was, had been weakened greatly in its attempts to possess her. [Lunar Judgment] had hurt it, but not enough to kill it. Whatever it was, it was far stronger than the corrupted seed bearers who¡¯d destroyed her hometown.


    That just meant she¡¯d need to keep trying. The skill was draining, but she¡¯d had hours to recover from the ambush and she was angry enough to ignore the creeping sense of exhaustion trying to weigh her down already.


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    The red blob, now stained with both its own and her blood, didn¡¯t get far. It seemed to be angling for the body it had just abandoned, but it couldn¡¯t move much faster than a man might walk. She chased after it, hammering it again and again with [Lunar Judgment]. Pale moonlight roiled across its form, burning away its life little by little.


    Torwin helped, too. He didn¡¯t directly attack the monster, but arrows rained down in front of it, forming a cage that it was forced to slip through. Though its form was malleable enough that even the arrows pinning it to the ground could be broken or slid past like they weren¡¯t there, the process slowed the monster down.


    Giller¡¯s shield slammed onto it, then lifted back into the air before smashing into the ground again. Throughout all of that, Sildra never let up, not until she felt the familiar kill notification in her mind.


    [You have helped slay an elite agent of corruption (level 48).]


    [You have been awarded 2 decarmas.]


    [You have advanced to level 16. +2 Mental, +2 Mystic.]


    [Lunar Judgment has advanced to rank 4.]


    [Fragment of Starlight has advanced to rank 2.]


    Immediately, she felt the radius of [Fragment of Starlight] expand a few feet farther from her body. It wouldn¡¯t make much of a difference, but it was a start. If she could get the skill to rank 10, she¡¯d be able to affect targets fifty or sixty feet away at any time of day. That would be huge. Someday.


    All three of them relaxed at the same time. Both Torwin and Giller turned to stare at Sildra, who croaked out through blood-smeared lips, ¡°Can I have a healing potion?¡±


    Then the pain and the exhaustion caught up with her and she collapsed on the spot.


    * * *


    Torwin was already moving before Sildra dropped. He¡¯d seen new hunters push themselves too hard plenty of times and have the exact same reaction, though admittedly, doing so while hacking up a monster that had forced itself into their chest cavity was a new one for him.


    Regardless, her request for healing was easily managed. Every smart monster hunter kept some emergency healing on hand and enough decarmas on their status to buy some of the more esoteric remedies if the situation called for it. In this case, he wasn¡¯t sure how bad the internal damage was and opted not to be stingy.


    Wincing slightly at the price of a system store potion possibly being wasted, he uncorked the vial with his teeth and tipped the contents into Sildra¡¯s mouth. A few moments later, her eyes flickered open and she started coughing.


    ¡°Easy,¡± he said, holding her tighter when she tried to sit up. ¡°Relax for a second. Drink the rest of this before you try to move around, then give it a few minutes to do its work before you stand up, alright?¡±


    Mutely, she nodded and did what he¡¯d asked. This is going to be some trauma for her. What that monster did¡­ I guess this is where we find out if she¡¯s got what it takes to commit to her path now that she¡¯s been hurt.


    Torwin hoped she¡¯d be alright. She¡¯d been helpful during his investigation, one of the few people from Deshir who had. It was obvious she was important to Jensen, though Torwin wasn¡¯t sure to what extent exactly, and though Velik didn¡¯t show it, she was probably important to him, too. More than that, Torwin couldn¡¯t help but feel responsible.


    He was the strongest in their little group. He should have protected her. Worse, he¡¯d literally brought the monster to Sildra, carrying it in his arms. If she hadn¡¯t had some way to hurt it from inside, she¡¯d likely be dead. Maybe not dead, he thought, remembering that Gorlath had been alive until Velik had killed him, but possessed in some way? A hostage? Either way, this is the better outcome. We got lucky.


    ¡°Care to fill me in on what that thing was?¡± Giller asked, interrupting his thoughts. ¡°I¡¯m not exactly a monster hunter, so you¡¯ll have to forgive me if I¡¯m not familiar with this particular variety.¡±


    ¡°The guild has never seen anything like this,¡± Torwin said with a shake of his head. ¡°Not until a few months ago, at least.¡±


    ¡°This thing was hiding inside a body. Is that how they get into towns and cities? Find a corpse, crawl in, and wait for someone to carry them inside the walls?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so,¡± Torwin told her. ¡°It¡¯s worse than that. I think it was already inside him before he died. I saw Velik kill him. That body never left my sight.¡±


    ¡°That reminds me,¡± Giller interrupted. ¡°Who is he?¡±


    ¡°The [Beast Tamer] who sent that cat after Velik, except Velik said the kill notification called him a [Soul Binder]. He¡¯s a gold-ranked hunter named Gorlath.¡±


    Giller looked back at the body and let out a low whistle. ¡°Well, this is a colossal fuck up, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s worse than it appears,¡± Torwin said grimly. ¡°If this thing was already inside him, walking around, talking to his friends, living Gorlath¡¯s life, and nobody knew about it¡­¡±


    ¡°There could be more of them,¡± Giller finished the thought. ¡°Oh, gods. Whole cities could be infested.¡±


    Or maybe just the leadership of the country¡¯s premier Monster Hunters Guild. But for how long? And how much damage have they done?

 Book 2, Chapter 39

    ¡°I take a three-hour nap, and you guys have a breakthrough in the mystery without me,¡± Velik said, annoyance creeping into his tone. ¡°Off my kill, no less.¡±


    The five of them¡ªminus Aria¡ªwere gathered at the campsite they¡¯d been using last night. She¡¯d promised to catch up today, though she hadn¡¯t specified how, and Jensen had arrived ten minutes ago. Velik had already viewed what was left of Gorlath¡¯s body before Torwin had buried him in a shallow grave half a mile east of the road. His plans to return the body had been set aside for a very simple reason.


    If whatever had infected Gorlath and, presumably, taken control of him was in other high-ranking guild members, then giving them the body back would make them want to know where the agent of corruption was. When it didn¡¯t report back in with a new host, they¡¯d know something was up. It was best for everyone involved if the death went unnoticed for a while.


    How long that would last for, none of them knew. If Gorlath had some predetermined check in time, they weren¡¯t going to accomplish much, but it might give them a week or even a month to address the issue. That was the question, though¡ªwhat they were going to do about it.


    ¡°If it¡¯s anybody¡¯s kill, it¡¯s mine,¡± Sildra said. Her voice was still a bit hoarse, but she otherwise seemed to be fully recovered from her ordeal.


    ¡°You weren¡¯t even there for my kill,¡± Velik countered. ¡°Without that, you guys wouldn¡¯t have discovered the corruption.¡±


    ¡°Does it matter who gets the glory?¡± Torwin asked tiredly. ¡°This could bring down the whole guild.¡±


    ¡°Let it,¡± Velik said.


    ¡°I understand they haven¡¯t treated you well. Maybe this is why. They consider you their enemy, and rightly so. You destroyed that dungeon and killed all those seeds of corruption growing here. Maybe this thing, an agent of corruption, is what they turn into eventually. Picture what happened to the frontier, except they don¡¯t kill their hosts. This one kept Gorlath alive and even expanded his capabilities. How dangerous are they? How many people have they taken over?¡±


    ¡°Alright, I get it,¡± Velik said. ¡°We have to go save the guild from its corrupted leadership.¡±


    ¡°And doom my financial independence in the process,¡± Jensen muttered.


    ¡°Delay, not doom,¡± Torwin said. ¡°Those treasures aren¡¯t going anywhere, and even if this particular one does, we¡¯ll find a new one. It might not even need to be in Slokara if this lead pans out.¡±


    Velik shook his head. ¡°I have a feeling this is just a part of something bigger, just like Chalin was. We¡¯re looking at lopping off a branch, not cutting down the tree.¡±


    ¡°Maybe, but it¡¯s got to be an important one,¡± Torwin said. ¡°Taking control of the organization that hunts monsters would be a great way to spread while remaining undetected. Anytime anyone notices something, they¡¯d bring that information right to the guild. It¡¯s the perfect camouflage for a group of parasitic, mind-controlling monsters.¡±


    Morgus, why did you give me this quest? Velik silently asked. If he¡¯s right, this is too big. I thought I¡¯d be finding some mad wizard or a powerful monster and killing them. I can¡¯t fight an entire institution with thousands of people just as strong as me. I don¡¯t even know where to start.


    ¡°We need to know if Sildra¡¯s skill can detect this variant of the corrupted seed bearers while their hosts are still alive before we do anything else,¡± Jensen said. ¡°Without some way to find them, it won¡¯t matter what we suspect. We can¡¯t prove it.¡±


    They all looked to Sildra, who just shrugged back. ¡°You wanted me to stay away from the guild hall so they wouldn¡¯t get suspicious about what you were doing. I didn¡¯t sense any monsters by the inn I stayed at.¡±


    ¡°You still need them to be outside at night to find them?¡± Torwin asked.


    ¡°Aboveground, at least,¡± she said. ¡°The skill got better when it ranked up, then slightly worse when it merged with [Lunar Flare]. If someone is in a house, but the door is open, or the shutters, I think I could tell. If they were in the cellar, well, I don¡¯t know. It hasn¡¯t come up much. I can find monsters that are just inside caves, but not if they¡¯re deep enough in.¡±


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    ¡°Better than nothing. I¡¯m assuming your position in or out of the cave isn¡¯t relevant.¡±


    ¡°Correct,¡± Sildra said.


    ¡°So to even find out if you can spot one of these monsters inside a living body, we need to get the guild¡¯s administrative force out on the street at night,¡± Torwin mused. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ well, for some of the workaholics, we can just stake out the guild hall and check them out when they leave. Most of them won¡¯t stay that late, though. We¡¯re going to have to find out where they live and investigate them one at a time.¡±


    ¡°What happens if we don¡¯t find anything?¡± Jensen asked. ¡°I recall some of those people being petty enough to not appreciate you digging into their lives.¡±


    ¡°Then he¡¯ll be out on his ass, just like I was back when we were young,¡± Giller said.


    Velik wasn¡¯t sure what the story was there, but he knew it had something to do with why Giller and Aria didn¡¯t get along. Whatever that reason was had been buried under a mountain of petty grudges they liked to drag up in a way that only family could. The sheer breadth of the topics both sides could draw from was staggering, but they¡¯d thankfully agreed to limit their sniping to low-level hostility instead of active fighting after the first day.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope it doesn¡¯t come to that,¡± Torwin said dryly. Then he sighed and added, ¡°But if I¡¯m right, this could cause the whole guild to collapse. What are the odds that the corruption would be limited to Cravel?¡±


    ¡°One step at a time,¡± Jensen said. ¡°If you¡¯re right, we need to figure out everyone who¡¯s hosting a parasitic monster and whether we can kill them without harming the people. If not, we¡¯re going to be gutting the guild leadership and we¡¯ll need to cover our asses so we don¡¯t end up on the executioner¡¯s block.¡±


    ¡°So what¡¯s the first step?¡± Velik asked. He was impressed with how well Jensen was handling the whole thing, especially since the urgent need to deal with this problem had completely derailed his own expedition. Getting funding to try again might be impossible, but if that was the case, Velik would help himself once they cleared out the corruption. He wasn¡¯t rich by the standards of noble families, but they could start small and expand as time went on.


    ¡°To do something about Aria,¡± Jensen told the group. ¡°She¡¯s a gold-ranked monster hunter, same as Torwin. We have to tell her something, but I¡¯m not sure if it should be the truth.¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t it be?¡± Sildra asked.


    ¡°Because if you can¡¯t detect these monsters like you did with the weaker version, then she could be compromised.¡±


    That was a horrifying thought. Velik didn¡¯t know what skills the woman had, but she was capable of spying from a distance and teleporting quite a ways. For all he knew, Aria could be watching them from the comfort of her bed right now. If she was on their side, her skills could be invaluable at figuring out who to trust. If not, it might already be too late.


    ¡°Trust her,¡± Velik said. ¡°She¡¯s going to know something is up anyway.¡±


    ¡°And she¡¯s not stupid,¡± Torwin said. ¡°If we try to hide things from her, she¡¯ll find them out anyway. All we can do is hope she¡¯s not compromised. For that matter, we can only hope that no one here is, either.¡±


    It was left unsaid that Torwin considered himself, Sildra, and Giller safe. As the trio that had killed the monster, that was a powerful indicator that they weren¡¯t on its side. Presumably, Velik was included in that group as well. He¡¯d been Gorlath¡¯s target and it was obvious that the corrupted group considered him an enemy.


    That just left Jensen and Aria from their team. Jensen had gotten the mercenaries turned over and convinced the marshals that they didn¡¯t need to capture Velik, so that was a mark in his favor. It wasn¡¯t definitive, but it was more than Aria had done, which was precisely nothing. She hadn¡¯t been involved in any way beyond being there.


    Then again, Velik had spent days alone with her. If she was going to try something, she¡¯d had plenty of opportunity, especially when he¡¯d been fighting that swamp hydra. ¡°I think she¡¯s probably safe. She already had a good chance to take me out when I did the gold trial. Unless she was caught and infected in the last few weeks, I think she¡¯s still human.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get her caught up,¡± Torwin said. ¡°I know her best out of everyone here who doesn¡¯t hate her.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t hate her,¡± Giller said.


    ¡°You don¡¯t like her, either.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s hardly my fault. She¡¯s not a very likeable person.¡±


    Velik silently agreed, but he didn¡¯t think it would help to voice that opinion. Instead, he steered the conversation back to their upcoming plans. ¡°Can we get back into Cravel without anyone finding out? That would be ideal for spying on the guild.¡±


    ¡°If we¡¯re willing to spend some money, sure,¡± Giller said. ¡°I¡¯ll have to report back to my boss, though. He needs to know the vault expedition is on hold.¡±


    ¡°Wait a day,¡± Torwin said. ¡°We can have Sildra vet him first. If he¡¯s clean and feeling cooperative, maybe he¡¯ll let us use one of the Blendstin properties as a base of operations. That would make things easier.¡±


    They kept making plans for another hour, until a patch of darkness spread across the empty air and Aria stepped through. ¡°I thought you¡¯d all be farther down the road by now,¡± she said with a yawn.


    ¡°Something came up,¡± Torwin said, stepping up. ¡°We need to talk.¡±

 Book 2, Chapter 40

    In hindsight, Velik shouldn¡¯t have been surprised at how easy it was to get back into the city unnoticed. He¡¯d imagined some clandestine plot that had infiltrated all levels of society with enemies and spies lurking around every corner. The corruption, if it even existed at all, wasn¡¯t that widespread. In the best case, Gorlath was an isolated incident and everything they were doing was pointless.


    They wore their hoods up and kept their heads bowed. Giller put a small bag of coins in the hands of the gate guard, gestured to the rest of their group, and all six of them rode their horses right into the city. Nobody stopped them. Nobody even looked in their direction.


    ¡°I was really overthinking how complicated that was going to be,¡± he admitted to Jensen a few streets later as he dismounted from the horse. Now that they were past the gate, he had absolutely no desire to ride that thing.


    Jensen tied a lead to Velik¡¯s former mount and looped it around his saddle horn, then got moving again. The horse, well trained and with a docile personality, just plodded along, unconcerned with the status of its rider. ¡°It was never in question that the gate guards would let us through,¡± he explained. ¡°Just whether we could get in without them logging it. And since there were no officers around to oversee them, they were happy to take the bribe.¡±


    They¡¯d deliberately timed their entrance into the city to take place in the evening just as the sun was going down, when Sildra¡¯s [Lunar Judgment] would have its full range of detection. She rode next to Torwin and in front of Aria, who swayed in her saddle as she focused on one of her skills. Jensen was next to her just in case he had to help keep her upright, and Velik, now on foot, brought up the rear.


    Giller led them on a roundabout course that eventually got to Gold Town from the west end. She stopped in front of a mansion a few blocks down, one that had no lights in the windows and only a single man sitting at the gatehouse.


    ¡°Captain Giller,¡± the guard said, jolting upright when she walked up to him. ¡°You were supposed to be out of the city.¡±


    ¡°I was. And now I¡¯m back. I¡¯ll be heading inside. Tell no one of this, but send a runner with a message for Master Blendstin to let him know I¡¯ll be arriving at the main house shortly to update him on some complications. Use someone discreet.¡±


    ¡°Ma¡¯am,¡± the guard said. ¡°There aren¡¯t any runners here, though.¡±


    ¡°Then you go do it,¡± Giller snapped.


    ¡°But¡­ the gate, ma¡¯am.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll send one of the other guards out to take your post. You go. Now.¡±


    The guard saluted, then started hustling down the street. Velik watched him go until he turned a corner, then looked back at Giller. She was already past the gate, and the rest of their team was filing in single file on their horses. ¡°Stables are to the left,¡± she told them. ¡°Here, take mine, too.¡±


    After handing the reins over to Torwin, Giller marched up to the mansion. Curious, and with no desire to spend any more time near the animals, Velik followed her up. He could hear people inside, and he wondered what she planned to tell them.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need your help,¡± Giller told him when he walked up.


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t offering any,¡± he said.


    ¡°Just didn¡¯t want to help with the horses, huh?¡±


    Velik hid a grimace at the thought. ¡°I don¡¯t really like them. They¡¯re a lot of work.¡±


    ¡°They certainly are. I always hated grooming them when I was in the army. There was this farrier who couldn¡¯t get his head around the idea that not everyone loved horses like he did. He kept trying to invite me on a romantic horseback date.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯d that work out for him?¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Oh, he got shot in the eye with an arrow and died of infection during a barbarian border raid. Shame. He was kind of cute, just a bit bumbling.¡±


    Oh. That was not what I expected her to say.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ¡°I thought you were part of the Monster Hunters Guild when you were younger,¡± he said, trying to change the subject.


    ¡°And then the army, and then personal security. Give it another twenty or thirty years, and we¡¯ll see how many times you change your job. Eventually, you get sick of risking your life and retire. Or you don¡¯t and you die. Men like Torwin, thirty-year veterans of monster hunting, they¡¯re rare. And even he doesn¡¯t tend to take on gold-ranked missions unless he has to anymore. That¡¯s probably why he¡¯s still alive.¡±


    With a comment like that, it¡¯s almost like she¡¯s trying to get him killed. I guess she¡¯s not superstitious. But don¡¯t say anything about me to anyone. I¡¯d just as soon not die a trite, pointless death because you taunted the gods.


    They entered the mansion then, and as impressive¡ªand expensive¡ªas it had been on the outside, stepping through the doors forcibly reminded Velik what people who had far too much money tended to do with it. An enormous marble statue, fully twelve feet tall and featuring a well-muscled, mostly naked man with a spear stabbing it down into a monster, dominated the entry hall.


    Velik stopped to gawk for a second. Is that¡­ No, it can¡¯t be. But¡­ the proportions are right.


    Giller pulled up short when she saw what he was looking at and started cackling. ¡°Oh, I forgot about this! Master Blendstin dragged the sculptor to one of your fights as ¡®inspiration¡¯ for this statue.¡±


    Up until three seconds ago, Velik had given no thought to why they were using this particular property. Giller had promised that no one was living there and that it was close enough to the homes of some of the guild¡¯s more prominent members that it would be easy to spy on them. Now, he wasn¡¯t sure he believed that was the only reason.


    ¡°No, really. I swear, I forgot he had the statue put in the Hillguard Estate,¡± Giller said, but it was obvious she was trying to contain her smirk.


    Velik gave the statue one last withering look, then strode past it. ¡°Where will we be setting up and when can we get started?¡±


    * * *


    It turned out there actually wasn¡¯t much for Velik to do. Aria was using one of her skills to look at people from a distance, and it apparently didn¡¯t care about things like walls or roofs blocking line of sight. She was cagey about how far she could send the skill out, but it was far enough to watch him fight a hydra from the edge of a swamp. So it probably reached the guild hall and beyond from their current location.


    Giller left to go sort things out with her boss once she got everyone settled, leaving Torwin to wander into the cellar, where he promptly returned with a cask of some sort of liquor and tried to talk the rest of them into sharing a drink. Jensen had a few. Sildra and Velik declined.


    ¡°You should have a drink with us,¡± Torwin told her half an hour later. ¡°I can see you fidgeting. You¡¯re nervous. This will help you relax.¡±


    ¡°No, thank you.¡±


    Shrugging, the old [Ranger] tossed back the shot he¡¯d been holding out. ¡°I miss the days of having a low physical stat, sometimes,¡± he said somewhat sadly.


    ¡°Just means you need to drink more to feel the buzz,¡± Jensen told him. He held up another shot glass. ¡°Here, start with this.¡±


    Velik found himself getting agitated, but he couldn¡¯t really say why. No one else seemed to feel that way, though. Unsure of what he was supposed to do, he walked out onto the balcony and hopped over it to land in the garden below. It was perfectly tended, every planter lined up square with the next and the flowers spaced out in exact patterns. Someone probably thought it looked amazing. Velik was stuck on how fake it all was.


    It seemed like every time he turned around, he was struck again by the realization that this life wasn¡¯t for him. He was wild, uncouth, at home in the wilderness and awkward around other people. For months now, he¡¯d been trying to make himself into something he wasn¡¯t, and it had been an unmitigated disaster.


    When this is over, I just need to leave. I¡¯ll find some small town where they don¡¯t care much about manners and build myself a home nearby, so I can visit when I want, and be alone when I don¡¯t.


    Torwin found him, still pacing around the garden, half an hour later. ¡°Something on your mind?¡± he asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Just thinking about what I¡¯ll do next when this is over.¡±


    ¡°Plenty of options,¡± the older hunter said. ¡°Hopefully the guild will be a lot better place than it is right now.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think the life¡¯s for me, and I don¡¯t really need their help to find monsters to hunt,¡± Velik told Torwin.


    ¡°Could be, yeah. At least you can say you gave it a shot. I hope you¡¯ll try again once we get things cleaned up. If you still don¡¯t like it then, I¡¯ll help you however you need. That¡¯s the most anyone could ask of you.¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± Velik said. He wasn¡¯t willing to commit to another round with the Monster Hunters Guild, not after the last few months. ¡°Did you need something, or just come out to chat?¡±


    ¡°Aria found a few of the mid-level guild administrators out at some event in a park a mile from here. She¡¯s taking Sildra to check on them. I¡¯m going along to play muscle in case things go bad.¡±


    ¡°You want me along, too?¡± Velik asked.


    Torwin shrugged. ¡°We¡¯re not planning on attacking tonight, no matter what we find. You can relax.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll relax when it¡¯s over,¡± Velik said. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Suit yourself,¡± Torwin told him. ¡°It¡¯s this way.¡±


    Together, they hurried out of the mansion and followed their companions onto the street.

 Book 2, Chapter 41

    Nelspir was sure that what was left of his hair was going to fall out from stress. That [Vault Seeker] kid hadn¡¯t folded like they¡¯d all expected, and while the guild master was secretly laughing up his sleeve at the whole situation and silently applauding the guy, he was still the one expected to clean up the mess. That was hard to do, since nobody could find him.


    At first, he¡¯d thought the elder Alderworth had simply reclaimed his wayward offspring and was keeping him sequestered somewhere on the family grounds. When none of the spies inserted into the family¡¯s staff had reported laying eyes on Jensen, they¡¯d turned to searching some of the countryside property the Alderworths owned. That hadn¡¯t turned up anything either.


    And I can¡¯t fix this if I can¡¯t find the little shit. Where did you run off to? Nelspir silently grumbled to himself while he chipped away at the unending mountain of paperwork that ran across his desk. He wasn¡¯t sure why he even bothered, some days. It wasn¡¯t like he had much power left anymore. He was practically a figurehead, though maybe ¡®scapegoat¡¯ was more accurate.


    But, as always, he knew that if he resigned his position, that would just give people like Pevril uncontested control of the guild. It was all he could do to keep them from running the place into the ground as things stood, and their work was too important to let it go without a fight. The bronzes and silvers were just trying to keep people safe and earning a living, never mind the games being played at the top.


    The door creaked open, and Orlesia stepped in, a stack of folders held in her arms. ¡°Sorry, boss,¡± his assistant said as she kicked the door closed behind her. ¡°I know you already did this stack, but¡ª¡±


    ¡°But someone has an issue with my decisions and is challenging everything I do to keep me chained to this desk until my heart gives out and I die here,¡± Nelspir finished for her. It wasn¡¯t what she¡¯d been about to say, but it was his prerogative as both the guild master and a grouchy old man to be blunt.


    ¡°You do look a bit under the weather,¡± Orlesia said.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know what the weather is. I haven¡¯t been outside in days.¡± Haven¡¯t even had time to look out the damn window. Can¡¯t remember the last time I ate.


    ¡°It¡¯s important to take care of yourself,¡± his assistant scolded. ¡°Here, set these aside for an hour. There¡¯s a play at one of the local amphitheaters in a park in Gold Town. Let¡¯s go see it. You can relax and get a hot meal on the way. Then you get a good night¡¯s rest and this all won¡¯t seem so bad tomorrow.¡±


    Girl knows me too well.


    Nelspir loved plays. Everything always worked out for the hero in the end, at least in the plays he liked to see. It wasn¡¯t much like real life, where teams sometimes came back missing people, or the monsters wiped out a town before anyone could even get there. It was nice to just pretend that the good guys always won and the bad guys got what was coming to them, even if it was only for an hour or two.


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t. I¡¯ve got too much to catch up on,¡± he said after a moment of daydreaming. The pile of work on his desk wasn¡¯t getting any smaller.


    ¡°Did I mention the Greystone Troupe is the one performing?¡± she teased.


    Nelspir groaned. Of course it¡¯d be my favorite troupe. Well, the paperwork will still be here tomorrow. I¡¯ll just come in a bit early to get started. Besides, I can barely remember what it feels like to sleep in my own bed.


    ¡°Alright, alright, you¡¯ve convinced me. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    * * *


    Pevril watched Nelspir walk across the lobby and out onto the street, Orlesia next to him. Perfect. Now don¡¯t mess this up. It was hard enough to arrange this opportunity, and we might never get a chance this good again.


    * * *


    ¡°Why are there so many people?¡± Velik asked, aghast at the size of the crowd.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Because it¡¯s a cheap show, people are easily amused, and they have nothing better to do,¡± Aria told him. ¡°Now stop distracting me. It¡¯s not easy to keep track of anyone with so much movement.¡±


    ¡°It was a rhetorical question. You didn¡¯t have to answer it.¡±


    Aria cracked open an eye and squinted at him suspiciously. ¡°How do you even know what that word means?¡±


    ¡°I hired tutors when I got here.¡±


    Velik was extremely aware of how lacking his education was, and that a few months of casual lessons weren¡¯t nearly enough to bridge that gap. He¡¯d tried, though. That counted for something. Several of his tutors had said so.


    Before Aria could fire off some glib reply, Torwin appeared from around a group of teenagers heading for the amphitheater¡¯s seats. ¡°Any luck?¡± he asked.


    ¡°No. It¡¯d be easier if people would stop interrupting me,¡± Aria told him with a scowl.


    ¡°Well, sorry to make it worse, but I just spotted the guild master walking in a minute ago right about the same time Sildra sensed a monster.¡±


    Aria stared at him in silent shock for a moment before uttering a single, ¡°Fuck.¡±


    ¡°That about sums it up,¡± Torwin said. ¡°She¡¯s trying to get closer so she can confirm who it is, but realistically, what are the odds that it¡¯s not Nelspir?¡±


    ¡°Not great. Maybe he¡¯s meeting some co-conspirators here. Has she gotten confirmation on those other three I pointed out yet?¡±


    ¡°That it¡¯s them specifically? No. But that¡¯s the other thing. There are five monsters here, and one of them feels different from the others. We¡¯re not sure what that means.¡±


    This whole plan is falling apart, Velik thought. We can¡¯t confront anyone without letting the guild know we¡¯re here. Sildra¡¯s the only one they won¡¯t recognize on sight, and Aria can¡¯t find anyone. I don¡¯t even know why I came. There¡¯s nothing for me to do here. I could have just stayed at¡ªwait, where is Sildra?


    ¡°Torwin,¡± Velik said slowly. ¡°Did you leave Sildra by herself?¡±


    ¡°Only for a few seconds. She¡¯s right there, by that peach tree.¡±


    Velik looked over to see a woman that for a second he thought was Sildra, but then she turned her head and he got a good view of her profile. ¡°That¡¯s not her,¡± he said.


    ¡°Oh, hell,¡± Torwin swore. ¡°What else could go wrong tonight? Aria, find her.¡±


    ¡°Already working on it,¡± Aria said. ¡°Two hundred feet down that path on a bench by the edge of the park. There are three men near her. One of them is talking to her and the others are flanking the bench. Looks like they¡¯re trying to cut off her escape.¡±


    ¡°I see it,¡± Torwin said, but Velik was already moving.


    His spear was too conspicuous, but he had his dagger if he needed it. Against three guys who were probably all low-level, though, he doubted it would be necessary. In truth, Sildra could almost certainly defend herself. The problem was that her method of fighting was extremely flashy, and they were trying not to draw attention to themselves.


    ¡°I¡¯m not even a little bit interested,¡± Sildra told the leader of the trio. ¡°Quit hassling me before I give you a reason to regret it.¡±


    ¡°Pretty little slip like you? What are you going to do, pout at me? You got enough physical to be fun, not enough to fight, girl.¡±


    Velik had to make a deliberate effort not to put on the speed. Blitzing across an open park with hundreds of people in it would be just as bad as Sildra lighting somebody up. He was still moving faster than he wanted, but he could hear the conversation from a hundred feet away and he needed to intervene before things escalated.


    Then Sildra was on her feet, her knee raised into the sleezeball¡¯s crotch and a hand on his shoulder. He let out a wheezy groan and toppled over from her slight touch. ¡°That enough physical for you?¡± she asked his prone form.


    The other two moved to restrain her, and Velik started mapping out his path to get there. But then she surprised everyone by launching a hard kick into the side of one man¡¯s knee and an elbow up into the other¡¯s jaw. ¡°I don¡¯t know how you guys do with city girls, but you picked the wrong victim this time,¡± she told them. ¡°Now, I see my partner coming this way, so I suggest you pick your friend up off the ground and clear out.¡±


    The men did just that, and Velik slowed down his jog to a walk. Damn, where¡¯d she pick those moves up? I know she doesn¡¯t have a brawling skill.


    ¡°Velik,¡± Sildra hissed, turning toward him. ¡°Where¡¯s everyone else? We¡¯ve got a problem.¡±


    ¡°We do?¡± he asked as he stopped next to her. Torwin was only about fifty feet back, but he¡¯d seen that Sildra had things in hand and wasn¡¯t rushing.


    ¡°I think I spotted the guild master, and he¡¯s not the monster,¡± she said. ¡°The girl with him is. She steered him toward two other monsters, and they dragged him into that alley over there.¡±


    Torwin appeared next to her as if by magic. ¡°Which one?¡± he demanded. She silently pointed a finger, and he stared into the darkness. ¡°I don¡¯t see them. Maybe they¡¯re in one of the houses. Velik, you hear anything?¡±


    ¡°I hear too damn much right now,¡± Velik said.


    ¡°Come on. If Nelspir¡¯s clean, we need to save him right now. He could be our best bet to flush out the rest of the corruption.¡±


    Without waiting for anyone else, Torwin jumped the bench and rushed off into the alley across from the park.

 Book 2, Chapter 42

    Was it too much to ask to just have a few hours to myself? Nelspir lamented when he noticed Reldin and Talimar coming toward him. They were retired hunters who¡¯d reached silver before transitioning into admin work, and both were staunchly loyal to the faction Pevril headed up. No doubt, they¡¯d spotted him and decided to come harass him with more inquiries about which way he was leaning on various upcoming guild issues.


    ¡°Guild Master,¡± Reldin said politely.


    At Nelspir¡¯s side, Orlesia gripped his arm. He frowned and glanced at her for a moment before returning his attention to Reldin. It wasn¡¯t like her to be grabby, not unless she was scared or felt threatened by the men.


    ¡°Reldin,¡± Nelspir returned. ¡°Talimar. It¡¯s nice to see you, but I¡¯m trying to take a break from work, not do more of it. I¡¯m only here to watch the play.¡±


    ¡°My apologies, sir,¡± Reldin said. ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s a bit of an urgent matter. It¡¯s come up quite suddenly. If you could come with us, I¡¯ll fill you in as we walk.¡±


    Nelspir rolled his eyes. Young hunters thought everything was urgent. The truth was that an extra few hours, or even days, very rarely had any lasting impact on anyone involved in whatever situation it was that had unexpectedly sprung up. He¡¯d thought these two were experienced enough to know that, but apparently, he¡¯d given them too much credit.


    ¡°What could possibly be so important that it needs my attention right now. I¡¯m sure you two are more than capable of handling things without my direct oversight. Just take care of it, file your report, and I¡¯ll review it in the morning.¡±


    ¡°No can do,¡± Talimar said as he moved to flank Nelspir opposite of Orlesia. ¡°This is something only the guild master can handle. You need to come with us.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid we really must insist,¡± Reldin said apologetically.


    ¡°The play doesn¡¯t start for another twenty minutes,¡± Orlesia said. ¡°Maybe we can take care of whatever it is in time?¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Nelspir asked in exasperation.


    ¡°Faster to show you than to try to explain it,¡± Talimar said. ¡°Come on. We¡¯ll get you back in time to watch your precious play.¡±


    ¡°Oh, fine. Let¡¯s go then.¡±


    One night. Just one night off. Was that really too much to ask for, Darshu?


    The four of them walked out of the park, but instead of turning to the main road, Reldin led the group toward an alley. ¡°We can save a few minutes if you don¡¯t mind walking through some muck,¡± he announced. ¡°With any luck, it¡¯ll help you get back soon enough to pick a good seat.¡±


    With an impatient sigh, Nelspir gestured for the man to lead on. I swear, if this is some joke Pevril¡¯s playing just to piss me off, I¡¯ll find a way to make him pay.


    Something flashed by him, striking Talimar and sending him sprawling into the dirt and nearly throwing Nelspir from his feet when he got clipped by the younger hunter. Only Orlesia¡¯s grip on his arm kept him from planting himself in the ground next to the clerk.


    What the¡ªTorwin?! What are you doing?


    Before he could react, silver light started leaking out of Reldin¡¯s mouth and eyes. The man shrieked in sudden agony and began calling on his skills, attacking wildly with lashing tendrils of magical force. They whipped about, trying to find whatever was hurting him, but his blind thrashing did nothing more than shatter a nearby window and fling up chunks of dirt and mud.


    Torwin smacked into a wall, thrown by Talimar somehow. That didn¡¯t make sense. He was half Torwin¡¯s level, though he was a warrior class, if Nelspir remembered correctly. Still, the level gap alone should have precluded Talimar¡¯s victory in a contest of raw strength. Yet the proof was right in front of him.


    That was the last thing he saw before a thick rope of force struck him across the face. He had just enough time to curse Torwin and Reldin both as his feet left the ground, then the world went black.


    * * *


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    Looking back on it, Velik could clearly remember every decision he¡¯d made over the last three minutes, but he couldn¡¯t for the life of him figure out exactly how he¡¯d ended up in some strange family¡¯s kitchen with three unconscious men on the floor and one woman tied up, screaming into her gag.


    ¡°Look, I know this isn¡¯t ideal,¡± Torwin was saying, only to be cut off by the owner of the house.


    ¡°My window! You broke it!¡± the man bellowed. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you people?¡±


    ¡°And we¡¯re really sorry about that.¡±


    ¡°And you smashed my stove!¡± the man¡¯s wife added on. ¡°Not to mention the hole in the wall here.¡±


    ¡°I will pay for all the damages¡ª¡±


    ¡°I would fucking hope so!¡± the man said.


    Nelspir groaned at Velik¡¯s feet, and his eyes flickered, but no one else seemed to notice. ¡°What happened?¡± the guild master mumbled.


    ¡°You got thrown through a window and landed head first on an iron stove,¡± Velik told him, squatting down.


    ¡°You!¡± Nelspir¡¯s snapped open. He jerked away from Velik, but didn¡¯t get far before bumping into one of the other men. ¡°You attacked us! When I¡¯m done with you, you¡¯ll be lucky to be out of jail. And you can forget about your guild membership! I¡¯m going to¡­¡±


    He trailed off when he saw the young woman he¡¯d been with bound and gagged a few feet away from him, then noticed Torwin struggling to keep the family whose home they¡¯d inadvertently invaded calm.


    It started so simple. We caught up, we were ready to pull Nelspir away from the monsters. None of them were even that strong, level 30 at most. How did we end up going through a window and destroying a kitchen?


    It was Sildra¡¯s fault, he decided. She¡¯d tried to kill one of the monsters while it was still in the person it had taken over, and that was when everything had gone crazy. The monster had unleashed every skill its host possessed with no consideration for its allies or the environment around it. Nelspir had gotten caught in the frenzy, thrown through the window, and everybody else had followed along in an attempt to secure or rescue him.


    ¡°Settle down,¡± Velik said when the guild master tried to rise. He slapped a hand down on the old man¡¯s shoulder and pushed him back into a seated position. ¡°There are things going on that you don¡¯t understand, and we need to get you caught up. The short version is that those three are monsters pretending to be human, and it looks like they were about to add you to their ranks. So, you¡¯re welcome.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s preposterous,¡± Nelspir said, but then he faltered.


    That¡¯s right. You remember what it was we found up at the frontier. It¡¯s not impossible anymore.


    The girl¡¯s screams got louder through her gag, probably in some attempt to manipulate Nelspir into standing up for her, but Sildra¡¯s [Lunar Judgment] didn¡¯t lie. She¡¯d held off on trying to burn the monster out of them for now after the first two guys had passed out, but only because of Torwin¡¯s quick thinking. If killing the monsters also killed the hosts, they needed Nelspir to be a part of it so he could see the notification. He had to know that they weren¡¯t just murdering random guild admin staff.


    So, a simple gag was made for the woman, and her hands were bound with a belt that Velik honestly struggled to believe she couldn¡¯t break even without a physical-focused class. Sildra loomed over her, ready to ignite the monster inside the woman¡¯s chest if she so much as tried to free herself. That was probably what was really ensuring her cooperation.


    The couple that owned the house started yelling again, this time coming back around from the damages to the bodies all over the place. Honestly, they were remarkably brave for a pair of middle-aged non-combatants who definitely weren¡¯t any higher than level 25.


    Aria appeared at the window and took in the situation at a glance. ¡°Boys,¡± she muttered. ¡°Always making a mess. I don¡¯t know why I thought you¡¯d keep them in line, Sildra.¡±


    ¡°What are you doing? Don¡¯t climb through my window!¡± the wife shrieked. ¡°There¡¯s enough of you in here already!¡±


    ¡°Oh, shut up,¡± Aria said as she entered the kitchen. ¡°Gods, this was a disaster. Here, take this and go away.¡±


    Decarmas started appearing out of nowhere and landing at the woman¡¯s feet. Her eyes went wide as she quickly started tallying up the sum, but narrowed again when she took in Aria¡¯s appearance. ¡°Oh, sure, that¡¯ll fix the damages, but what about the inconvenience of having to live with no stove to cook on and half a missing wall, huh? That¡¯s not even mentioning scaring us half to death and the fact that you¡¯re obviously breaking the law? You think you can just buy us off, do you?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Aria said simply. She made a show of looking at the home, which looked normal enough to Velik, then sneered and added, ¡°Here, for your ¡®inconvenience.¡¯ Go buy a home that isn¡¯t a dump.¡±


    Another stack of decarmas appeared, maybe two hundred or so, and the couple greedily snatched them up. ¡°Let¡¯s go for a walk,¡± the husband said. ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be gone by the time we come back, and we never saw what happened if anyone asks.¡±


    After hustling out the door, the team was finally alone with their prisoners. ¡°Was that really so difficult to think of?¡± Aria asked Torwin. ¡°Or are you just that cheap?¡±


    He rolled his eyes and reached down to haul Nelspir to his feet. ¡°Okay, we¡¯re in a bit of a crisis situation here, so let me explain what¡¯s happening.¡±


    ¡°Unhand me!¡± Nelspir demanded, slapping the old [Ranger] away. ¡°To be treated like this. My own hunters brawling with each other, right in front of me. And then this one starts trying to spin ridiculous lies about it!¡±


    He jabbed a finger at Velik, who stared back at him blankly. ¡°I didn¡¯t lie.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s right, old man,¡± Aria said. ¡°We¡¯ve got a problem. It¡¯s like this¡­¡±

 Book 2, Chapter 43

    ¡°Black rot and damnation,¡± Nelspir swore. ¡°How deep do you think this contamination goes?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d have a better idea than me,¡± Torwin told him. ¡°You¡¯ve been working with these people for years. How many of them have changed from how you remember them?¡±


    ¡°People change, Torwin! We get old. Our priorities shift.¡±


    The new gold, Velik, dragged Orlesia to her feet and shoved him at Nelspir. ¡°It¡¯s pointless to argue about this when there¡¯s an easy way to show you the truth. Cook the monster.¡±


    ¡°What about the host?¡± Torwin cut in before they could do whatever ¡®cooking the monster¡¯ was. ¡°We don¡¯t know if it¡¯s safe for them.¡±


    ¡°Have a healing potion ready then,¡± Velik said. ¡°If this one is anything like the one that tried to get in Sildra, it¡¯ll try to run.¡±


    ¡°What¡­ what are you going to do?¡± Nelspir asked as he held his personal assistant steady. She was looking at him, fear in her eyes and still whimpering through her gag. He didn¡¯t want to believe that she¡¯d betrayed him, but part of him couldn¡¯t help but recall her grabbing his arm. It had merely seemed strange at the time, but now that he looked back on it, he recognized the action for what it was.


    Nelspir was no stranger to tactics. Orlesia had one side of him, with a grip on his arm to prevent him from running when Reldin and Talimar approached. Talimar had moved to the other side, and Nelspir had a suspicion that if he¡¯d refused to go along willingly, they¡¯d have dragged him instead. It would probably have been loud when he fought back, but maybe they had something prepared for that.


    And if he was right about all of that, it meant that regardless of Torwin and Aria¡¯s wild story, Orlesia had aligned herself with Pevril¡¯s faction. Firming his resolve, he helped hold his assistant upright. She tried to turn herself away from the strange girl who¡¯d accompanied the hunter trio into the house, but Velik reached out and forced her to turn back.


    ¡°You going to be able to get out with that gag in place?¡± he asked seriously.


    The hell kind of question is that?


    But Orlesia just glared at him hatefully, an expression Nelspir had never seen on her face before. Velik didn¡¯t appear bothered by it. He exchanged a shrug with Torwin, then produced a wicked-looking knife from his belt and said, ¡°I¡¯ll cut it off if we need to. Don¡¯t let go when she starts thrashing. This is going to be painful.¡±


    Pale silver light welled up from Orlesia and she started screaming into her gag again. Seconds ticked by with no change. ¡°This is torture,¡± Nelspir gasped out finally as he struggled to hold Orlesia upright. ¡°Just stop. You¡¯re wrong about her.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not,¡± the unknown girl said. ¡°Morgus himself showed me the truth.¡±


    And then suddenly, unexpectedly, Velik was there with his knife, slicing through the gag. Nelspir distractedly noticed he did it without so much as scratching Orlesia¡¯s skin, but his attention was mostly taken up by the thick red vomit spewing from her mouth. It arched through the air like a living creature, flying for the shattered window, only to be intercepted by Aria. She produced a leather sack out of her mother¡¯s pendant and caught the vomit in it.


    ¡°Gotcha, you little bastard,¡± she crowed in triumph.


    Orlesia slumped down, unconscious and with blood dribbling down her face. Nelspir held her upright and Torwin tipped a potion into her mouth, one of the powerful system-bought ones. At least they¡¯re not sparing any expense after what they did to her. Small mercy, that.


    ¡°That¡¯s the monster that¡¯s possessing people,¡± Torwin explained. ¡°The last one we found was an elite agent of corruption. This one looks similar, though a bit smaller. It probably isn¡¯t as powerful, but we¡¯re going to kill it. You need to help, Bertrim. You need to see the notification.¡±


    A spear unraveled from Velik¡¯s arm and shifted into a more traditional form. He glanced over at Nelspir, then handed him the weapon. ¡°Here,¡± was all he said before stepping away.


    Strength suddenly flooded Nelspir¡¯s limbs, so much that he took a moment to look at his status. 15 physical and 5 mystic on this thing? And it¡¯s so heavily enchanted that it¡¯s making my hand tingle. Where did that kid get such a powerful weapon?


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    Then he was back in the moment. Nelspir was retired now, but he¡¯d been an excellent front-liner back in his day, trained in all sorts of weapons. Muscle memory took over, and, still holding Orlesia upright in one hand, he spun the spear deftly to bring its point down. He stabbed it into the bag, once, twice, and a third time, and then pale silver light erupted through the holes.


    [You have helped slay an agent of corruption (level 22).]


    ¡°Oh, Gods. It¡¯s true. Orlesia, you were under a monster¡¯s control?¡±


    She still wasn¡¯t fully awake, but the healing potion seemed to be doing some sort of work. ¡°Boss?¡± she croaked. ¡°Where¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t push yourself,¡± Nelspir interrupted. ¡°Just rest. We¡¯ll talk later.¡±


    He handed his assistant off to Aria, who pulled her over to a chair and sat her down. Nelspir spared her a single glance, then his face hardened, and he looked down at the other two monsters hiding in human bodies. ¡°What about them?¡± he asked.


    ¡°We¡¯ll do the same,¡± Torwin said.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°What? Why not?¡±


    ¡°These fuckers invaded my home. They¡¯re trying to take my guild from me. We need more people on our side, and they need to see the proof. Leave the monsters in there for now. A live demonstration will do more to convince everyone we need to talk into joining us than words ever could.¡±


    Nelspir had to remind himself that Talimar and Reldin weren¡¯t the enemies. The monsters living inside their bodies were. He wasn¡¯t angry at those two men. They were the victims. The things they¡¯d done over the past few years, trapped in their own bodies and helpless to control their actions, were not their fault. As sorry as he was to keep them waiting for even another minute, he needed them to serve as proof.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he said, gesturing to his three golds. ¡°We¡¯ve got a long night of work ahead of us if we¡¯re going to purge this corruption from our ranks, and the more time we waste, the longer our people suffer.¡±


    He started to stride off, only to come up short when Velik reached out to grab the spear Nelspir was holding. ¡°I¡¯d like this back.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Nelspir said, blinking. ¡°Right, sorry. I got caught up in things.¡±


    Feeling a bit sheepish now, he took a moment to slow down and think. It wasn¡¯t as simple as striding out the door and waging war on his enemies. He needed a way to transport two unconscious bodies across town, and to make sure they stayed unconscious the whole time. That was easily solved with one of Aria¡¯s portals, though. He also needed someone to take care of Orlesia while she recovered, someone he could trust.


    But he wasn¡¯t a guild master for nothing. Logistics was a field of study he was well-acquainted with. ¡°Here¡¯s what I need,¡± he began. His gold hunters watched in silence as Nelspir laid out his plan.


    * * *


    It was far more complicated than Velik felt was necessary, but he was more than willing to admit that planning wasn¡¯t his strong suite. If it had been him, they would have just scouted out people one at a time, killed the monsters where they found them, and called it quits once they ran out of targets. Torwin and Aria were the ones who were convinced that would just send the rest into hiding when they realized what was happening.


    To be fair, they were probably right. But after months and months of tedium, he needed to do something. Hunting down Gorlath had been a good start, and it had led directly to them discovering this whole plot to take over the Monster Hunters Guild. That was just proof that direct action meant good things.


    No. Don¡¯t talk yourself into doing something stupid just because you¡¯re not out in the deep wood anymore. You¡¯re smarter than this¡ªsmart enough to know better than to ruin a good plan just because you¡¯re impatient.


    At least the plan didn¡¯t require Velik to do anything more than be there. Truthfully, they didn¡¯t even need him. They needed Sildra. She was their monster detector and the only one with a skill that could attack the monster directly while it was inside the host. Velik was only going along because Sildra wanted him there. She¡¯d said it was intimidating meeting so many powerful people so quickly, which was ridiculous, but if it helped get them closer to killing the source of the corruption, he was willing to indulge her.


    After the second showing, they had another eight senior guild members on their side. He recognized one of them as one of the instructors he¡¯d been more favorably disposed to, if only because the guy was fair and impartial. An honest shake was all Velik had wanted to begin with, so he¡¯d preferred it that way.


    Now they were all gathered in the mansion Giller had commandeered as their base of operations and scheming on who they thought were likely targets and how best to get to them, a job better left to them. The only thing he cared about was finding out if Pevil was a monster, too, or if the man was just a massive asshole.


    Sadly, the general consensus seemed to be that not only was he likely a monster, he was at the very least high up in their hierarchy. He might even be the monster in charge. It was going to be hard not to hate the man after they saved him, but Velik would survive. Of course, if it turned out he actually wasn¡¯t a monster, Velik was fully planning on punching him in the face.


    Smiling to himself, he found a chair in an out-of-the-way room and sat down to relax. The others could plot and scheme. He was happy to just ride along until the end.

 Book 2, Chapter 44

    For Velik and Jensen, it was two weeks of boredom. Aria was being put to use as a scout. Torwin helped vet people with his extensive knowledge of the guild¡¯s old guard. Even Sildra had a purpose, even if it was just to do laps around the city to confirm who¡¯d been taken by monsters. Giller wasn¡¯t directly helping, but when she¡¯d arrived with Blendstin the night they¡¯d rescued the guild master, there¡¯d been a lengthy discussion which everyone had walked away from satisfied.


    For all that everyone else was busy, Velik had nothing to do in the city. He couldn¡¯t resume his activities at the guild hall since he wasn¡¯t supposed to be in Cravel in the first place, not that he really wanted to sit through more lessons in the near future. He couldn¡¯t attend tutoring sessions, though again, he wasn¡¯t too disappointed about that.


    But they didn¡¯t want him leaving the mansion, and he wasn¡¯t accustomed to being trapped in one place, especially not a place he was uncomfortable in to begin with. Jensen was fine. He spent his time relaxing in one of the building¡¯s studies or libraries or something like that, sipping on fancy tea and eating expensive pastries.


    It¡¯s a big house, but it¡¯s too small to live my life in. The food is good, but the beds are too soft and everything smells too strongly. It doesn¡¯t mask any of the underlying scents they¡¯re trying to cover either. It just makes it all worse.


    He¡¯d gotten restless and gone exploring on the third day, which led to the discovery of a sort of gym and training room in the basement. It wasn¡¯t nearly enough to challenge him, having been designed for someone with maybe 20 or 30 physical to use, but it was better than nothing. Still, there were only so many times he could do laps before boredom took him again.


    Tonight, however, something was going on. At first, Velik hadn¡¯t paid much attention to the unusual amount of people in the mansion. Someone was always coming or going, and sometimes it was more of the former than the latter. This time the number kept growing, and once it tipped past thirty extra people, he dared to hope that they were finally going to do something.


    He found Torwin quickly enough. The old hunter was with a few other golds that Velik didn¡¯t recognize, but which [Apex Hunter] assured him would be a tough fight if it came to that. All of them stood around a table while a man that Velik was reasonably certain was a guild receptionist gave them directions.


    ¡°Two of you are here at Malt Street,¡± the receptionist said. ¡°Two more on Brackard. I want three here at Celebaun. Remember that Phun is damn near platinum, and that¡¯s just what we¡¯ve got on record. He¡¯s not going to make it easy to take him in.¡±


    The receptionist finished rattling off instructions, then turned to Velik and said, ¡°You¡¯re not part of this briefing.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s fine,¡± Torwin said. ¡°He can come with the team that goes after Phun. Morgus knows we¡¯ll need the help.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± one of the other golds said. ¡°Did you see how much gray is in Torwin¡¯s hair?¡±


    ¡°What hair?¡± another one joked.


    ¡°Hey! I¡¯ve still got plenty on the sides and back,¡± Torwin protested.


    ¡°You mean on your back,¡± the first one said.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind,¡± the receptionist said, his voice snapping like a whip to cut through the chatter, ¡°we are on a tight deadline. These strikes must occur simultaneously if we¡¯re going to succeed. So stow the crap and get serious.¡±


    Who is this guy? He can¡¯t be some counter boy the way they¡¯re all listening to him.


    ¡°And as for you,¡± the man said, turning to face Velik again, ¡°If Torwin takes responsibility for you, you can go along. Otherwise, stay out of this. We don¡¯t need any wild cards screwing up the plan.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Velik said dryly. ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware that I needed your permission to go places, but I¡¯m glad I have it.¡±


    A flicker of [Apex Hunter] was all the warning he got before the receptionist was standing in front of him, a foot planted on Velik¡¯s chest. The next thing he knew, he¡¯d crashed into the wall behind him. The man appeared again, looking down at him the same way someone might observe a bug they were considering crushing under their heel.


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    ¡°Let¡¯s get things straight, rookie. However irregular your induction into the gold ranks might have been, you are still a member of the guild, which means you¡¯re under my command. If you don¡¯t like that, feel free to turn in your pin and get the fuck out of my way.¡±


    Velik blinked up at the guy for a moment, then leaped to his feet. The kick had been fast, but there hadn¡¯t been enough force behind it to injure him. That was certainly deliberate. ¡°And who are you, again?¡±


    ¡°Voldrar Emberson, ranking platinum and field tactical commander for the Cravel branch of the Monster Hunters Guild.¡±


    How did [Apex Hunter] miss this guy? And why did I think he was a receptionist?!


    Somehow, the man shifted back into a significantly meeker form. It wasn¡¯t even that he was any different, just that his posture was more slouched, and his expression became softer. Whatever he¡¯d done when he¡¯d¡­ disciplined¡­ Velik, it was temporary. Or maybe this is the disguise and the real Emberson came out for a few seconds there.


    [Apex Hunter], traitorous skill that it was, no longer regarded Emberson as a threat, even though Velik knew better. The man walked back around the table, normal as could be. ¡°Now then, we have one hour to get into places. If there are no questions, you¡¯re all dismissed. Torwin, take the newbie with you.¡±


    Chuckling to themselves, the golds all split up into small groups. Torwin beckoned Velik over, then introduced him to the other two golds on his team. ¡°This is Jerva and Gwin. And the guy who just met Emberson is Velik.¡±


    ¡°Fun first meeting, right? Did better than me. He threw me down a well when I met him,¡± Jerva said.


    ¡°Mound of cow manure. I went right through it and out the other side,¡± Gwin muttered. ¡°I¡¯d have loved to just get a love tap into a nice, clean wall.¡±


    ¡°And you all just tolerate this?¡± Velik had to ask.


    ¡°Emberson¡¯s not so bad once you get to know him. You just have to understand that he really hates people being rude or disrespectful. Be nice around him, and you won¡¯t have any issues.¡±


    Velik thought back to the golds ribbing Torwin about his hair and his age and wondered why nobody else had ended up kicked into a wall. Seems a bit hypocritical. Whatever. It¡¯s just another reason to finish this business up and get out of here.


    ¡°Who are we going after, and is there anything special I should know?¡± Velik asked, changing the subject.


    ¡°Phun. He¡¯s¡­ fun,¡± Jerva said with a smirk.


    ¡°Shut up. That was terrible. And Phun¡¯s an egotistical jackass. Can¡¯t blame that on the monsters. He¡¯s always been that way. Thing is, he¡¯s stronger than any of us. That¡¯s why we have the big team,¡± Torwin said. ¡°Come on, I¡¯ll fill you in on what we know he can do and then we can speculate on what new tricks he might have picked up if he¡¯s anything like Gorlath was.¡±


    ¡°Still can¡¯t believe he died to the newbie,¡± Jerva said. ¡°Got to hand it to you though, kid, at your age, I barely made it into bronze. I heard they made you take care of that swamp hydra.¡±


    ¡°That was him?¡± Gwin asked. She looked over at Velik with sympathy. ¡°Tough break.¡±


    ¡°The carriage ride there and back was the worst part,¡± Velik said.


    ¡°Worse than trawling a swamp to fight with the monster that doesn¡¯t know how to die? How could it possibly have been? Jerva asked.


    ¡°Aria was his evaluator,¡± Torwin explained.


    Both golds stopped and said, simultaneously, ¡°Ooooooh.¡±


    ¡°Boy, you must have really pissed some god off,¡± Jerva added.


    ¡°He passed,¡± Gwin said. ¡°Couldn¡¯t have been that bad.¡±


    They passed through half a dozen rooms that Velik couldn¡¯t begin to divine the purposes of while they talked, ending near a servant¡¯s entrance that had a small foot path leading to a back gate. Once they were outside, Jerva said, ¡°Don¡¯t keep us in suspense, newbie. Tell us the story.¡±


    ¡°Save it for later,¡± Torwin interrupted. ¡°Velik needs to know about Phun now. You can pump him for entertainment when we get back.¡±


    Velik didn¡¯t much care for that idea, but he kept his mouth shut. If having to listen to a chatty hunter was the price he paid to get some fresh air, it was worth it. He¡¯d just keep his answers short and to the point until the man got the message and left him alone.


    ¡°Alright. Phun. Good news is that he¡¯s got a hunter class like you. Last we knew, it was a rare, though we¡¯re not sure if that¡¯s actually true or something he lied about and pretended to let slip a few years back. Either way, we don¡¯t know what the actual class is, which means he¡¯s got enough mental backing it up to resist an [Identify]. We do have some ideas about his skills, but it¡¯s gossip from hunters who¡¯ve worked with him before.¡±


    ¡°So don¡¯t assume I know everything he can do and expect to be surprised a few times,¡± Velik said. ¡°This isn¡¯t my first fight, Torwin. Stop hedging and tell me what the guy¡¯s working with.¡±


    ¡°Cocky and impatient,¡± Jerva said. ¡°Oh, to be that young.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d put money on him over you, Jerva,¡± Torwin told the man.


    ¡°Please. No chance. Did you see the way he folded under Emberson?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re an idiot,¡± Gwin said as she smacked Jerva¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Ignore them,¡± Torwin told Velik. ¡°Alright, so Phun¡¯s build¡­¡±

 Book 2, Chapter 45

    The four of them stood in a street on the east side of the city, part of a district tucked away in a corner and so small Velik hadn¡¯t even realized it existed. He¡¯d thought Gold Town¡¯s property was expensive¡ªand it was¡ªbut it was nothing compared to where they were now.


    There were only twenty or so homes in the entire district, and it wasn¡¯t that the houses were nicer or even bigger. It was the sheer acreage of the property. Space inside the walls sold for a premium price, but whoever¡¯d built up this district hadn¡¯t cared. Each estate had a twelve-foot-tall fence topped with another three feet of curved and barbed metal spikes. Bladed wire was woven between the spikes¡ªpossibly steel, but probably something much stronger.


    According to Jerva, the estates held five acres or more, each and every one of them. Out in the countryside, that was nothing special. Here, securely wrapped in the city¡¯s wall and right next to the beating heart of trade and commerce that was Cravel¡¯s market district, having so much land sequestered for personal use was an exorbitant luxury.


    And it was one that Phun had funded through his many, many exploits as a gold-ranked monster hunter, one that many believed was next in line to ascend to platinum status. His estate was less than half a mile away, but they¡¯d stopped short of reaching it for a very simple reason. They¡¯d hit a snag in their plans.


    ¡°He was supposed to be alone,¡± Jerva hissed quietly. Even from this distance, they had some concern of being overheard by a hunter with a reputation for catching everything around him. The background noise of the city would help disguise their activities, but none of them wanted to take chances.


    ¡°We knew it was a risk,¡± Torwin said. ¡°That¡¯s why there¡¯s three¡ªfour, really¡ªof us.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s his visitor?¡± Gwin asked.


    The old [Ranger] shook his head. ¡°Someone familiar. I couldn¡¯t quite make out the voice.¡±


    Torwin had been their forward scout, traveling on silent steps a thousand feet ahead of the rest of the group. They¡¯d halted on his command and waited for him to make his way back to where they were standing a minute earlier. None of the others had heard anything at all, but no one doubted Torwin¡¯s claims.


    My senses are just as good as his, though, Velik thought. Maybe better.


    He closed his eyes and listened, letting [Apex Hunter] fill his mind with all the sounds of people living their lives. There were coughs and grunts, the scraping of tools and cookware, wood creaking against old nails, soft sighs and murmured words, and the breeze dancing through the many trees around him. All of those came to him and were discarded, along with a thousand other noises that didn¡¯t matter.


    Then he heard a voice he recognized, one so quiet that he wasn¡¯t sure what it was saying. Whatever it was didn¡¯t matter much. Velik knew the tone and cadence. ¡°Pevril,¡± he said.


    The others halted their quiet argument and looked at him. ¡°You sure?¡± Torwin asked.


    ¡°I am,¡± Velik said.


    ¡°He¡¯d be easy prey on his own,¡± Jerva mused. ¡°Gold-ranked before he retired, but a weak gold. And it¡¯s been fifteen years. He¡¯s got to be rusty by now.¡±


    ¡°But supporting Phun is a different story,¡± Gwin countered.


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Torwin finished unhappily.


    ¡°We might have to call it off,¡± Jerva said.


    ¡°We can¡¯t. Every target needs to be taken tonight.¡±


    ¡°Then we need more hunters,¡± Gwin said.


    ¡°Why?¡± Velik asked. ¡°If the three of you were enough to beat Phun, then do that. I¡¯ll deal with Pevril.¡±


    Jerva snorted. ¡°Fresh meat thinks he¡¯s¡ª¡±


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    Torwin cut him off. ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°I would like nothing better,¡± Velik said, a grin spreading across his lips. ¡°I owe that son of a bitch some payback. Whether he¡¯s actually corrupted or not, I¡¯m going to enjoy kicking his ass.¡±


    * * *


    None of them labored under the delusion that the night¡¯s shadows hid them. Certainly, it did nothing to hinder their eyes, and it was to be expected that their targets would pierce that veil just as easily. Speed was their only ally, so it was with perfect synchronization that they leaped the wall.


    Phun¡¯s estate reminded Velik a lot of back home. It was the same kind of trees, the same smell, and even some of the same animals. It lacked the monsters that had infested the frontier for most of Velik¡¯s life, but that was an improvement.


    They¡¯d made their plans before proceeding onto Phun¡¯s estate. The trio who¡¯d originally been assigned the job would attack the monster pretending to be the prestigious gold hunter. Velik would separate Pevril from the battle and keep him occupied.


    He could tell the others didn¡¯t have faith in his abilities, with the possible exception of Torwin. He wasn¡¯t a real gold, not like them. He hadn¡¯t climbed the ranks and vetted himself on a hundred missions. What he was, was an unknown variable, one neither Jerva or Gwin liked gambling their lives on.


    They were halfway to the manor when a window on the third floor blew out of its frame and soared a hundred feet through the night sky before crashing into a tree. A man appeared in the opening and leaped free, laughing wildly as he landed in the grass. He stood well over six feet tall and held a wicked axe in one hand. The other was empty, but with a twist of his wrist, a javelin materialized by magic.


    Still roaring with laughter, Phun threw the javelin in their direction. Jerva¡¯s eyes widened and he uttered an, ¡°Oh shit!¡± before he dove into a roll. The javelin blew past him, ruffling his hair as it went by, and slammed into a tree a few hundred feet back with an ear-splitting crack. The tree listed sharply, then pitched over to crash to the ground.


    They weren¡¯t kidding about him being strong!


    ¡°I wish I could say I was surprised to see some weak, skulking golds playing at thieves, but those who can¡¯t survive on their own strength always resort to such tactics,¡± Phun bellowed, now holding his axe in both hands as he raced forward to meet the group.


    Torwin fired on the run, arrows arcing so fast that he had a dozen in the air before the first struck the house behind Phun. Despite his size and the speed of the missiles, the corrupted hunter easily danced through the barrage. Even the ones that hit him did no more than stick out of the man¡¯s skin like war decorations, ignored like they weren¡¯t much of an inconvenience.


    Velik¡¯s job was to peel off from the group and intercept Pevril at the house. Whether he tried to fight or run, the head instructor needed to be captured. In his head, Velik understood that. But in his chest, a raging need to challenge the giant hunter burned through him. It sang in his veins, carried by his blood until it filled up every part of him, a primal need to test himself, to see who was really the better of them.


    With great reluctance, Velik pushed past that urge. It was easier when he reminded himself that his revenge for the months of humiliation he¡¯d endured as an iron waited in that manor. If he was lucky, Pevril would put up a fight. It would be more fun that way.


    Velik flowed away, off to the right, and prepared to rush the house. Seeing him attempting to pass the fight by, Phun started yelling, calling him a coward and demanding he stand and fight. When Velik ignored the jibes, a new javelin appeared in the giant¡¯s hand. It flew at Velik, who twisted mid-step to avoid it and kept running without so much as breaking stride.


    His ears told him where his prey was, fleeing deeper into the house. Running, huh? We¡¯ll see how far you get before I catch up to you. For the moment, Pevril was still on the third floor, and Phun had left an easy way in. Velik leaped, his spear slithering down his arm to take on its full form, and sailed through the broken window with both feet leading.


    He hit the floor in a roll that ended with him back upright and running. Pevil already had a lead, and Velik wanted to run him down before he escaped into the city. Barely even seeing the expensive¡ªand to Velik¡¯s thinking, tacky¡ªd¨¦cor, he rushed through the manor house.


    Outside, the crash of steel on steel echoed through the grounds. Each beat was so loud that it shook the house itself, rattling windows in their panes and tossing trinkets from their places on shelves or tables. Doors swung wide of their own accord if they weren¡¯t securely latched, but Velik ignored them in his pursuit.


    He could hear it, the beating of Pevril¡¯s heart up ahead. It was a beacon that called for Velik to follow, no matter where his prey might try to hide. He passed through a kitchen, the fire banked in the hearth and a few cold cuts of meat laid out on a platter. A servant who¡¯d been prepping the late-night snack gaped at Velik as he tore through the place.


    Not so fast, Velik thought, hearing Pevril closer now. The heartbeat was louder, faster, panicked. He knew he was being hunted, that he couldn¡¯t escape. The thrill of the chase sang through Velik, and with a sudden surge of energy, he burst through a side door out into the yard opposite the one the others fought in.


    There, not fifty feet away, was Pevril. He was attempting to flee into a stand of trees that ringed the backside of the estate, but he hadn¡¯t made it in time. His heart betrayed him to Velik¡¯s ears.


    [Apex Hunter has advanced to rank 7.]


    It was time. Ignoring everything else, Velik closed in for the kill.

 Book 2, Chapter 46

    Upon seeing that he¡¯d failed to escape, Pevril spun in place and put a sneer on his face. ¡°Ah, my little failure of an iron,¡± he said. ¡°So full of himself, so indignant that anyone might refuse to bow down to his supposed greatness. How much money have you wasted persuading your betters to back you on your little quest for revenge?¡±


    Whatever Pevril¡¯s goal was¡ªmaybe to distract Velik, maybe to anger him and shake his focus, or maybe to just buy some time¡ªhe failed to achieve it. Velik charged right in, his spear leading, and cut the distance between the two of them in an instant.


    Assuming he could trust what he¡¯d learned when the team was discussing the rest of the guild, Pevril had a very strange class called [Flame Warden]. It was the result of his youth spent as a common [Soldier] serving as a foundation to build [Fire Mage] on top of, the latter being provided by a class orb he¡¯d won for serving with distinction in some campaign or other.


    It was a strange hybrid class, a mixture of physical and magical, one that forced Pevril to keep all three stats balanced in order for his skills to properly function. He pulled a thin rapier from his belt, and its length immediately ignited in flame. Turning sideways, he lunged forward, the tip of his blade finding Velik¡¯s spear and circling around it.


    Pevril was strong, at least compared to other mages. There was definitely a hint of skill usage behind the parry, as well. It came too fast and with too much power to be anything else. Velik¡¯s spear shifted against his will, just an inch to the side, but the new angle would see the weapon pass right by Pevril without ever touching him.


    It would also leave Velik himself open to be run through by that flaming blade, and he had no desire to experience that. The instant their weapons met, Velik activated the [Shape Shifting] enchantment on his spear and caused the shaft to curve. He stepped to the side, avoiding Pevril¡¯s thrust and setting himself up to sink his spear into the man¡¯s stomach on its new course.


    That might have been the end of the fight right there, but Pevril¡¯s free hand came up and unleashed a torrent of flame that engulfed the front half of the spear and threatened to do the same to Velik if he let it. Foiled again, Velik broke away, narrowly avoiding the scorching fire, but still caught in the wash of heat. His gear was all enchanted, though, and none of it combusted.


    More heat pulsed out of Pevril¡¯s body, this time spreading all around him to keep Velik from even approaching. ¡°Poor, simple, stupid monster hunter,¡± he taunted. ¡°No idea what to do when you have to fight an opponent with a brain? Too bad for y-hrrk!¡±


    Velik¡¯s dagger zipped through the air, thrown at speeds too fast for the average warrior to perceive. Even with all Pevril¡¯s levels, his class was focused on fighting with fire magic, not enhancing his senses. That, combined with his egotistical rambling, ensured that he never even noticed Velik pull the dagger.


    The Sixth Plague did its job, infecting Pevil with its [Weakness] and [Blinding] enchantments. With a snarl and quivering hands, he grabbed hold of the dagger and ripped it free. Blood sizzled for a moment and the wound closed, a thin red scar left in its place. ¡°Nice try. I think I¡¯ll keep this. It¡¯ll make for an excellent¡­ let¡¯s call it a training tool.¡±


    The thrown dagger hadn¡¯t been Velik¡¯s attack though. It was merely the distraction. The blazing aura surrounding Pevril was too long to reach without getting burned, and Velik was well past the time when he¡¯d been forced to charge a fire elemental to get at its core and kill it. He had plenty of other options right now. If Pevril had actually been paying attention to the class he¡¯d supposedly been instructing, he¡¯d know that.


    Maybe he could have done something to prevent Velik from hitting him.


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    The spear drove into the ground, its tip still four feet from Pevril¡¯s shoe. Even as the arrogant instructor opened his mouth to mock Velik again, light arced down the length of the shaft and sparked on its tip. [Dread Lance] exploded outward, catching Pevril in its wake and throwing him back to slam into a tree at the edge of the stand he¡¯d originally been running for.


    Velik pulled his spear free and advanced on his prey slowly. Pevril was still alive; his heartbeat gave that fact away. His breathing was ragged, and his legs were raw meat. One pant leg and boot had been obliterated by [Dread Lance], and what was left of his clothes was torn into rags. Velik¡¯s dagger lay on the ground halfway between them, and he casually scooped it up as he walked by.


    ¡°You know,¡± Velik said, his first words since he¡¯d caught up to his tormenter. ¡°Part of me hopes you aren¡¯t corrupted. Part of me wants you to just be the enormous asshole I know you are. I mean, nobody seemed to think your behavior was that out of character, so maybe this is the real you. Gods, I hope it¡¯s true.¡±


    He came to a stop ten feet away from Pevril, who was staring up at him with hate and struggling to pull himself to his feet. ¡°Well?¡± Velik prodded. ¡°Which is it? Are you a monster or a man? Either way, can you keep fighting or are you ready to surrender?¡±


    ¡°Stupid kid,¡± Pevril snarled. ¡°You think you¡¯ve accomplished something tonight, don¡¯t you? You don¡¯t have a clue what you¡¯ve stuck your foot into. If you were smart, you¡¯d have left well enough alone when you killed that aberration up north.¡±


    ¡°You really don¡¯t know anything about me at all if you thought I was just going to call that a win and get out of the game. No, I know there are more of you. I know you¡¯re planning something. It¡¯s not going to work. I killed your last dungeon alone. Now there are dozens of us.¡±


    ¡°Please, that thing barely qualified as a dungeon. It lacked purpose and strength. Its fruit killed the host. I¡¯ve heard how hard you struggled to claim that victory, and it¡¯s meaningless. A real agent doesn¡¯t eat its host from the inside. A real agent strengthens its host, takes it in new directions and unlocks new powers.¡±


    [Apex Hunter] spiked in his head, a sudden warning that things had gotten drastically more dangerous. Pevril disappeared in a burst of roiling green and black flames, the tree he¡¯d been leaning up going up like so much tinder. Above Velik, the fire eagerly leaped to nearby trees, alive and hungry and uncaring how green the wood was.


    Back on the ground, the fire swirled away from where Pevril had been standing to reveal nothing there. His heartbeat had vanished, perhaps swallowed up by the roar of fire. Or maybe this was some sort of teleport.


    He backed up from the fire. Already, the heat rolling off the evil-looking flames was browning the grass and scorching the dirt beneath the trees, and Velik could see the damage spreading another foot or two with each passing second. What he couldn¡¯t see was where Pevril had gotten to. If he¡¯d disappeared and left the fire behind as a distraction, it was a good one.


    Not really my problem, though. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll piss Phun off if his trees burn down, but the fire can¡¯t spread past the wall. It¡¯ll burn itself out. The only question is whether Pevril is already out in the city or if he¡¯s hiding somewhere nearby.


    Something moved in the flames overhead. Velik froze, [Apex Hunter] now screaming a warning to him that his role had shifted from predator to prey. He peered up into the strange, green-black flickering light, looking for Pevril. If anyone had a class that would let them sit unharmed in an inferno, it was him.


    Then the form detached itself from the tree. It didn¡¯t look like a person, not really. It had a body easily eight-foot tall, maybe more, but it also had fiery wings and long, curving horns coming out of its head. Black skin, roughly textured and oily, flexed and crinkled as the monster moved. Fire clung to its body, burning despite lacking the fuel it needed.


    It glided by overhead, circling once before alighting on the grass behind Velik to trap him between the burning trees and itself. New fire started spreading where its clawed feet touched down, not that the monster seemed to care. A flap of its wings sent scorching hot air over Velik, burning his exposed skin and heating the head of his spear so much that it started to glow.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t planning on using this,¡± the monster spoke. Its voice crackled, giving Velik the eerie impression that it was living fire speaking to him. ¡°You¡¯re not worth it. But I have to be sure. There¡¯s no room for error. Better to go for overkill than to risk letting you escape.¡±


    Pevril? What did you do to yourself?


    He didn¡¯t realize he¡¯d spoken the words out loud, not until the demonic creature made of fire and fury started laughing. ¡°Your information is outdated, I take it. I took this host¡¯s pitiful class and reforged it into something truly formidable. Tell me, fake-gold hunter, do you have any tricks for dealing with hellfire? No? Too bad for you.¡±

 Book 2, Chapter 47

    Hellfire was a known quantity, observed and documented from encounters with demons by hundreds of monster hunters over the years. The color varied but was usually two-toned and never the standard orange-red of a normal fire. Its properties seemed to be linked to the variety of demon conjuring it more than the color, which meant that there were multiple pages of information about specific effects a hunter might need to be prepared to counter.


    One thing they universally agreed on was that it clung to whatever it got on. Nearly impossible to smother and able to fuel itself just as well on skin and bones as it could on bark or paper, there¡¯d been more than one account of a hunter slaying a demon, only to succumb to the hellfire left behind. It was a profoundly dangerous substance.


    Pretty much everyone who¡¯d had to deal with hellfire agreed it was at its absolute worst when conjured up by a demon with some form of pyrokinesis. Even absent that, it still spread far quicker than normal flames, but something about having the flames actively chase their victims inspired a visceral dread in just about everyone who¡¯d had the misfortune to come across it.


    So, of course, that was exactly what Velik had to deal with.


    Pevril swept his hands out, and the flames rushed forward at his urging. Velik darted to the side, narrowly escaping immolation for a moment, but he couldn¡¯t stop running. Hellfire didn¡¯t just chase after him, it spread wide to engulf more and more of the ground. Long arms of it reached out and circled wide, cutting off his escape routes and creating an arena he had no choice but to stand his ground in.


    That was a good way to get himself killed. The walls started closing in, growing thicker as they tightened around him. It was possible he could escape, but that assumed Pevril himself did nothing but stand there. Somehow, Velik doubted his opponent would be content to watch him slip out of the noose.


    If he couldn¡¯t flee, then there was only one choice left: put down the threat.


    Pevril grinned at Velik¡¯s rush, revealing a mouth full of black and green fangs. Little bursts of fire reached out from between his lips as the grin transitioned into a laugh, and the demon raised clawed hands into a fighter¡¯s stance. ¡°Come on then, show me that you¡¯re worthy of the title you tricked them into giving you. Or show me that you aren¡¯t. Either way, you¡¯re going to die.¡±


    You talk too much.


    This whole fight really drove home how much of a problem his lack of a ranged skill was, but unfortunately, his class just didn¡¯t provide that option. Trying to force it would result in picking up a weak skill that wouldn¡¯t perform to the level he needed it to, which meant he needed to be creative. He used his spear¡¯s [Shape Shifting] to give himself as much reach as possible, then smoothly danced outside Pevril¡¯s reach while stabbing at him.


    Keeping the claws at bay wasn¡¯t an issue. He even sliced open the pebbly, almost reptilian skin a few times to reveal burning blood that sizzled and hissed as it dribbled down Pevril¡¯s body. No, the real problem was that every swipe the demon made sent gouts of hellfire into the air. Some of that latched onto Velik¡¯s spear, but its powerful enchantments and the fact that it was a legendary-ranked weapon kept Velik somewhat safe.


    It took him a moment to figure out why, but once it clicked, he immediately started trying to figure out how to use it to his advantage. When he¡¯d upgraded his weapon with a champion seed, it had gained [Mana Drinker], which drained mana from those it struck. Hellfire, apparently, was fueled by mana. The flames that licked the length of the spear were sputtering out before they could reach him, and that meant Velik had a way in, if he was reckless enough to use it.


    Pevril wasn¡¯t stupid. He noticed right away that the weapon wasn¡¯t being reduced to cinders like it should have been, and Velik had no doubt the demon had a few ideas of his own on what to do about that. Ideas amounted to nothing if there wasn¡¯t enough time to do anything with them, though.


    Velik slashed his spear through the hellfire swirling around Pevril¡¯s body, not even aiming for the demon. He just wanted to confirm he was right before he risked his life literally jumping through flames. As expected, the hellfire caught on the spear and, instead of igniting it or consuming it, quickly dwindled to nothing. Just to be sure, Velik dragged the spearhead across the ground and saw the hellfire extinguished in its wake.


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    Perfect.


    He had a way to cut through it and a way to remove it if any got on him. The rest was just dealing with a bit of pain and healing himself after the fight was over. If he could keep Pevril alive, so much the better, but the fight had gotten dangerous enough now that it wasn¡¯t a priority to him.


    Velik leaped forward, skirting a patch of hellfire and letting [Savage Rhythm] take over as he struck Pevril again and again. The demon blocked where he could, but his skin wasn¡¯t tough enough to stop the spear from cutting into it, and he lacked a class that lent itself to proper unarmed combat. Velik¡¯s speed built up, even as hellfire clung to him, igniting his boots when he stepped in it and spreading up to his leg.


    Curtains of flames flashed across the air, forming walls to block Velik¡¯s attacks or trying to sweep through him. Always, his spear was moving, cutting through the hellfire, tearing the mana out of it and funneling it into the [Mending] enchantment that kept the spear whole despite the abuse Velik put it through.


    [Savage Rhythm] wasn¡¯t a skill that lent itself to defense. It wanted unwavering aggression to reach its peak, but unfortunately, Velik couldn¡¯t kill hellfire to satiate the skill. It would ramp up a bit when he had the chance to strike at Pevril directly, then bleed away again just as quickly when he was forced to divert his attention to fending off the all-consuming flames Pevril wielded with ease.


    Work on the flames, damn you. I¡¯m being aggressive. Every swing is me getting closer to taking this bastard down! That¡¯s what you want.


    The skill refused to listen though, which meant the bulk of Velik¡¯s defense fell to [Apex Hunter] fueling his awareness of the battlefield and [Spear Warden] helping him shape it. The woods behind them were fully aflame now, practically a signal beacon in the middle of the city. That was sure to draw attention soon, but there was no telling who would come running. It could be an ally, but the local forces would accomplish nothing besides adding a body count to the fight if they showed up.


    Or it could be an enemy¡ªsomeone else controlled by an agent of corruption who could tip the odds in Pevril¡¯s favor. For the moment, they were equally matched, but Velik had another [Dread Lance] ready to go. He just needed to find the right moment to use it, preferably one in which Pevril was off guard. His demonic form was far quicker than his human one, as evidenced by the fact that despite being struck dozens of times, Pevril had taken nothing more than flesh wounds. Even those had healed up seconds later.


    Center mass, right in the chest where the agent is. If Pevril dies, well, sorry, that¡¯s how it goes. This thing is too powerful to hold back.


    On the other side of the house, the brawl between Phun and the rest of Velik¡¯s team was in full swing. Crashes and yelling intermingled, sometimes loud enough that Velik was sure the neighbors had heard it. No one came to investigate, however. Velik had been listening for that, and to keep an ear on the fight. He didn¡¯t need Phun ambushing him if the battle circled around the estate.


    On the other hand, if the human side of that conflict came out on top, he could use a bit of help subduing Pevril. It was best not to hope for that, though. In his demonic form, Velik¡¯s former instructor had already shown off the ability to fly. He could disengage from this fight whenever he wanted, which made it all the more important to end it with a single, decisive blow.


    If only I could keep this speed buff up.


    Attacking the hellfire directly wasn¡¯t doing it. That just wasn¡¯t how the skill worked. But Pevril seemed to need his limbs to help him control how he moved it, so maybe there was something there. The next time the demon swung an arm around to bring a curtain of hellfire up, Velik drove forward instead of retreating. Normally, he¡¯d move back a step to give himself room to slice through the flames, but this time, his spear came up from below, stabbing into Pevril¡¯s elbow and forcing his arm straight up.


    The hellfire flew up into the night with a whoosh, skimming past Velik¡¯s head and leaving [Savage Rhythm] intact. Snarling, Pevril snapped his other hand across to grab the spear, but Velik simply turned it at an angle in his hand and sliced deep into Pevril¡¯s palm. His speed increased again.


    Over and over, the demon tried to send scorching hellfire in Velik¡¯s direction. Each time, rather than backing up to give himself room to defend, Velik pushed in, forcing Pevril¡¯s hands out at odd angles and ruining his control. Five hits turned into ten, then twenty.


    [Savage Rhythm has been folded into Spear Warden.]


    [Spear Warden has become Aspect of the Wind Tamer.]


    [Aspect of the Wind Tamer set to rank 1.]


    It was only the sudden shift in how his skills reinforced his movement that prompted Velik to check the notification mid-battle. The mere act of thinking about it was enough to fill his mind with the information¡ªno need to read the actual words. Instinctively, he understood what the merged skill did.


    All the control over his weapon [Spear Warden] had granted him was still there, but with [Savage Rhythm] a part of it, his speed and precision were greater than ever before. The restriction that had forced him to be recklessly aggressive had been diluted with a greater understanding of the most effective way to win a fight. His speed would still increase as he fought, but the skill would no longer break if he lost bloodletting momentum.


    In short, he could now attack and defend without losing his rhythm. And he had the perfect test subject to explore the skill¡¯s limits right in front of him.

 Book 2, Chapter 48

    The skill merger was an unexpected surprise. After how many months he¡¯d spent trying to push those two together with no luck, Velik had given up and hoped to revisit the issue once one or both of them were a higher rank. Whether it was the strength of his opponent that had made the difference or just his shift in thought as to how to use [Savage Rhythm] to control Pevril¡¯s hellfire attacks, Velik wasn¡¯t certain. Either way, he wasn¡¯t going to complain about it.


    His spear lashed out in every direction, practically at the same time, cutting through the hellfire closing in on him and forcing Pevril onto the backfoot. Wings of fire gathered on the demon, opening wide and flapping once to send a wash of flames over Velik even as they propelled Pevril backwards.


    ¡°So you can use a spear. Congratulations. It¡¯s a peasant¡¯s weapon,¡± Pevril sneered at Velik. Hellfire swirled around the two of them, but with [Aspect of the Wind Tamer] lending Velik even more speed and his spear¡¯s [Mana Drinker] beating back the flames, he stood untouched.


    That¡¯s probably as good of an opening as I¡¯m likely to get.


    Pevril was squishy. A [Dread Lance] would kill him, which had been Velik¡¯s goal until thirty seconds ago. Now that he had a way through the hellfire, he needed a way to incapacitate Pevril instead. It needed to be fast enough to prevent the man from flying off when the battle turned against him, which Velik suspected he was already on the verge of doing.


    A sudden explosion at the house sent chunks of stone and wood flying in every direction. Debris rained down on their battle, a problem for Velik specifically because Pevril was more than happy to send up a thin screen of hellfire to ignite the refuse. Even the stone burned, the hellfire having no issue clinging to it as it chewed through the mana invested in it to keep itself alight.


    ¡°Hah!¡± Pevril barked out. His wings spread, this time angled to propel him into the air. ¡°Have fun with that.¡±


    Swatting aside debris as it crashed down around him was easy, but doing it while preventing Pevril from fleeing was a different story. Already, his demonic form flitted around in the air, twenty feet up as he also worked to dodge or deflect chunks of flaming stone and wood. Unlike Velik, he had no fear of the hellfire clinging to it, which did make things a bit easier.


    No choice then. Missed my shot earlier thanks to the interference, and better he¡¯s dead than free.


    Velik used his spear like a shield as he dashed after Pevril, keeping it tight in front of him and using it to knock aside anything in his way. He ducked under a shard of spinning glass, visible more so because of the hellfire clinging to it than for any other reason, then tensed and leaped straight up.


    Pevril saw him, and his eyes widened in sudden fear. Desperately, he forced his flaming wings into a powerful stroke to lift him higher, but it was too late. The spear dug into his foot¡ªpierced right through it¡ªand [Dread Lance] detonated.


    Velik was thrown free, his spear still in his hand, and Pevril spiraled through the air to slam into the side of one of the burning trees nearby. He rebounded off it with a wet smack, black blood splattering everywhere as he crashed into the ground. Both his legs were gone below the knee, and the one attached to the foot he¡¯d hit was missing another few inches up past that.


    It wasn¡¯t a clean hit, but under the circumstances, Velik was willing to call it a win. Unfortunately, it was extremely likely that the agent of corruption inside Pevril was still alive. In fact, with no new kill notifications, Velik was certain they both had survived. He climbed to his feet and ran toward the demonic form, now lying still in the grass. All around them, hellfire started to dwindle as it lost its connection to Pevril and his mana.


    By the time he reached Pevril, the demonic form had melted away to reveal the familiar human beneath it. He was unconscious, his breathing shallow and blood pumped from his severed legs. Loath as Velik was to do it, he knew it was better for everyone if he captured the man alive. Pevril wasn¡¯t the man who¡¯d tried to make Velik¡¯s life hell; that was the monster living inside him.


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    Velik pulled out a system-store healing potion and poured it down the man¡¯s throat. He wasn¡¯t sure if that would be enough to save him, even after he took Pevril¡¯s belt and used it as a tourniquet for one of the legs. The other got strips of cloth cut from Pevril¡¯s shirt¡ªnot as effective, but better than nothing.


    After all this, if you die on me now with a thousand decarmas worth of healing potion in your system, I swear I¡¯ll drag your corpse around with me until I find a necromancer to bring you back so you can answer my questions, Velik promised Pevril¡¯s unmoving body.


    A minute later, Pevril¡¯s eyes flickered, but didn¡¯t open. Velik could hear his heartbeat stabilizing, or rather, hear it taking on the rapid thumping of a man caught by fear. He¡¯d woken up, realized Velik had beaten him, and was likely desperate for a way out.


    Or maybe he¡¯d just woken up in extreme pain and the wild heart rate was a natural reaction. That was also a distinct possibility. Either way, Velik didn¡¯t think Pevril had much of a fight left in him. ¡°You know, in a way, you¡¯re lucky,¡± he said. ¡°My original plan was to kill you. It¡¯s just how things worked out that you survived. Though I suppose I¡¯d understand if you didn¡¯t feel particularly lucky about being captured. Who knows what¡¯ll happen to you now, right?¡±


    ¡°Gods, just kill me and spare me the indignity of listening to you run your mouth,¡± Pevril muttered.


    ¡°I would, but there¡¯s the distinct possibility that there¡¯s an innocent man enslaved to your will in that body. I imagine he probably has some friends or family that would like him rescued from the monster that captured him, and that is what we monster hunters do, right? I feel like you said something like that in one of your culty sermons a month or two ago.¡±


    Since he was stable enough to be moved now, Velik grabbed Pevril by the back of his collar and started dragging the now-legless man away from the trees. Most of them were still standing, but the hellfire had chewed through the ones on the outer edge and made a mess of the place. Velik didn¡¯t trust what was left not to come crashing down on his head, and he was eager to make a quick exit to the relative safety of the open lawn.


    The fighting had died down on the opposite side of the estate shortly after part of the manor house had been destroyed, and it appeared that Phun had been captured or killed. Velik wasn¡¯t sure which, but he could hear Torwin and Gwin talking. Jerva¡¯s voice did not join in, which probably boded ill for the chatty hunter.


    ¡°You think Phun¡¯s got a wagon or carriage somewhere on the property I can toss you into?¡± Velik asked. ¡°I¡¯m sure I don¡¯t want to answer all the questions I¡¯d get carrying you through the city in my arms.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ bastard,¡± Pevril wheezed out, apparently pained by the rough handling of being dragged across the battlefield.


    ¡°Not a lot of sympathy on my side of the conflict,¡± Velik told him. ¡°That whole fighting to survive thing tends to beat it out of you real quick. At least, that¡¯s how it was for me growing up.¡±


    He hauled Pevril around to the front of the estate and was amazed to find it almost completely destroyed. Stone paths had been uprooted and shattered. There were dozens of holes in the building, some small enough to barely fit Velik¡¯s arm, others so large he could walk through them. A few outbuildings and sheds had been completely flattened, and some sort of small fountain that had graced the center of a garden off to one side was now a block of ice.


    Torwin stood near that, staring down at the bloodied and battered body of Phun. Gwin was next to him, and Jerva was collapsed into a lawn chair, looking just about as bad as Phun himself did. Still, as far as injuries went, Pevril was the clear winner of the group.


    ¡°You caught him,¡± Torwin said with a weak smile. His face was stained with blood from a long cut right near his hairline, and he was cradling one arm in the other with his bow slung over his shoulder.


    ¡°Things got a bit hectic when he transformed into a demon and started slinging hellfire,¡± Velik said, ¡°but yes, I managed to subdue him.¡±


    Jerva cracked an eye open and took in Pevril¡¯s condition. ¡°He still breathing?¡±


    ¡°For the moment. Awake, too.¡±


    ¡°Good. Let¡¯s get them both back and get the monsters out of them before they decide to stir up more trouble for us,¡± Torwin said. ¡°There¡¯s a carriage house on the far side of the estate. I¡¯ll go bring it around to load up our¡­ our guests.¡±


    The [Ranger] left them there. Gwin stared down at Phun the whole time, a complicated expression on her face, but Jerva just let out a low whistle. ¡°Guess you¡¯re not so bad in a fight after all, new guy,¡± he said. ¡°I would have paid good money to watch Pevril get thrashed.¡±


    The guild instructor just sat there, held upright by Velik¡¯s iron grip on his collar, and glowered at them all.

 Book 2, Chapter 49

    Not everyone made it back that night. While Velik¡¯s team was ultimately successful despite the complication of Pevril¡¯s presence, four other teams failed to subdue their targets and took casualties in the attempt. Not only was the number of golds working to cleanse the monster infestation from the guild down now, but the enemy had no doubt become aware that they¡¯d been exposed. Rescuing those people from their captors was now going to be that much harder.


    None of that was Velik¡¯s problem. Nobody really considered him part of the organization, nor was he asked to go out on secondary strikes aimed at mitigating damage. The truth was that, as far as the guild was concerned, he was still an untested and unreliable element. This group might not be controlled by monsters, but they hardly treated Velik any better than the official guild had.


    That was why he found himself in the infirmary the next morning, where a few dozen men and women were recovering from their wounds. Monster hunters were tough, one and all, and that combined with magical healing in the form of skills or alchemical concoctions meant that only the most severely injured were still on bedrest.


    That included Pevril, which made it easy to track the man down. Velik was hoping the real Pevril wasn¡¯t a jackass like the monster pretending to be him had been, but he suspected he was in for a disappointment. An agent of corruption was a master at imitating its victim, and if it had behaved that way, there was every chance that Pevril wasn¡¯t much better.


    Hopefully, saving his life counts for something, Velik thought to himself as he found Pevril¡¯s bed. His eyes traveled down to the foot of the bed, where the blanket lay flat for the bottom few feet. Guess they couldn¡¯t fix that, though. That might make it a bit hard to get what I want from him.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± Pevril asked, his voice hoarse. He hadn¡¯t even opened his eyes to see who was there, which didn¡¯t bode well for the interview.


    ¡°I wanted to ask you some questions.¡±


    ¡°Boy, I¡¯ve had enough questions to last me a lifetime. For the first time in years, I can choose when to close my eyes and when to open them, and right now, I want them closed. Now piss off; I¡¯m not in the mood to be harassed.¡±


    ¡°Well there¡¯s a fine thank you for saving your life,¡± Velik said. ¡°Would have been easier to just kill you, you know?¡±


    ¡°Then you should have,¡± Pevril told him bitterly. ¡°It would have been better than the way you left me.¡±


    ¡°What, you¡¯re too poor to afford limb regeneration? I thought you were a guild bigshot.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ thing¡­ pretending to me was. All the money it earned or stole went toward its activities. I have nothing, and your half-baked insurrection is so limited in manpower and resources that I couldn¡¯t even convince them to send anyone out to save my daughter.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s in danger?¡± Velik asked sharply.


    ¡°I have no doubt she¡¯ll be taken as a pawn to use against me. They won¡¯t know that I¡¯m useless, just laying here in a bed. The monster always used her as a hostage to my cooperation. I watched it lay down its plans to hurt her if I ever did anything to disrupt operations.¡±


    ¡°You can fight against their control?¡±


    Pevril sighed and scrubbed a hand across his face. ¡°A little, if you¡¯ve got the right stats for it. A high mental helps. Mystic can be useful, but gear does nothing. Any benefit you gain from it, the monster gets, too. Mage-types were avoided as targets if possible because they have the biggest potential to wrest control back at an inopportune moment for the monster.¡±


    Velik hadn¡¯t spared a thought for Milly since exam day. She¡¯d hated him, and he¡¯d been happy to ignore all of them. The old team had passed their tests and become bronze. He¡¯d been the only one to fail, a deliberate sabotage to get Aria out of the guild while they slipped one of their agents into the guild master. Ironically enough, it had made no difference. He¡¯d finished the hydra hunt so fast that they hadn¡¯t had time to enact their plan anyway.


    ¡°Make you a deal,¡± Velik said. ¡°You want someone to go get your kid? I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    ¡°You?¡± Pevril snorted. ¡°You have the time for that? No one else around here seems to. ¡®Not a priority right now,¡¯ were their exact words.¡±


    Stolen novel; please report.


    Velik shrugged. ¡°Nobody¡¯s asked me to do anything, and frankly, I don¡¯t give a fuck what they want. This deal is between you and me. You want your daughter back where you can keep an eye on her? Fine. I¡¯ll go find her for you. In return, you answer some questions for me.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯d never agree to go with you, not after everything the creature did to alienate you from your training team,¡± Pevril said.


    ¡°Write her a letter or something. I don¡¯t mind pretending to be a courier. I¡¯m sure she¡¯d believe I was being given a crappy job because the guild couldn¡¯t trust me to do any real gold-ranked work. The way you all treated me makes that a perfectly believable lie, right?¡±


    ¡°For what it¡¯s worth,¡± Pevril said slowly, ¡°I know how strong you are. I know you could have killed that bull in a single strike, that you held back on purpose to allow the rest of your team to do what they were supposed to. It¡¯s not often I agreed with that monster, but I would have failed you even if it hadn¡¯t been in control. You don¡¯t belong in bronze rank.¡±


    ¡°Great to know,¡± Velik deadpanned. ¡°Weird direction to go, insulting the person you want a favor from, but sure.¡±


    ¡°And you don¡¯t understand why you failed. Admittedly, the game was rigged. If you¡¯d done everything right, the monster would have found some other reason. It needed you to take that gold trial with an evaluator. But the real reason you failed isn¡¯t because you didn¡¯t do your part correctly. It¡¯s because you knowingly allowed your team to go through with a reckless plan doomed to failure, one that put their lives at risk. You didn¡¯t communicate with them. You didn¡¯t help them. You weren¡¯t part of the team; you were just there.¡±


    Alright, well, that¡¯s fair enough. He¡¯s not exactly wrong when he says I wasn¡¯t interested in working with them.


    ¡°Like I said, great to know. Now, about those questions of mine¡­¡±


    ¡°Get me a pen, an inkwell, and some parchment,¡± Pevril told him. ¡°I¡¯ll answer whatever questions you have while I write Milly.¡±


    That was easily accomplished. The house had a study not too far from the infirmary that Velik pillaged for the required supplies, and while Pevril laboriously started scrawling out the letter on a piece of parchment laid out against the back of a leatherbound book, Velik asked his first question.


    ¡°This organization, there are multiple groups in different areas, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Pevril said. ¡°I don¡¯t know where, though. Each group is kept separate. I only know the name of the man who collaborated between all of us. Your team is working on hunting him down already.¡±


    ¡°Was he in charge of the¡­ I guess¡­ the situation up north?¡±


    ¡°No one was in charge of that,¡± Pevril said. ¡°As far as I know, nobody even knew it was happening. The monsters think someone was doing an experiment on the side that got out of hand, or that it was something left over from a previous generation that was forgotten about until your friend became the new dungeon up there.¡±


    Velik grappled with that for a moment, then said tightly, ¡°Are you trying to tell me that the moment that ruined my life was an accident? That someone¡¯s negligence cleaning up their toys resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people, including my entire family and my best friend?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t make you special,¡± Pevril told him absently. ¡°Mistakes happen, and sometimes lives are lost. Keep up this job, be a real monster hunter, and you¡¯ll make your own mishap that costs someone¡¯s life. It¡¯s inevitable.¡±


    ¡°Somehow, that doesn¡¯t make me feel better.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not supposed to. Good hunters internalize that fact. They fight against it every day, knowing that they¡¯re not always going to succeed. They try anyway. It¡¯s the ones that don¡¯t care about their mistakes costing other people¡¯s lives that I have to weed out. I thought you might be that kind of hunter, with your arrogance and your disdain for the rest of your team. I¡¯m still not convinced I was wrong.¡±


    At least he¡¯s honest, even if he is an asshole.


    ¡°If you were trying to destroy the monsters, and I don¡¯t just mean the ones infesting the guild, I mean rip that problem out of the world at its root, how would you do it?¡± Velik asked.


    ¡°Me? Well, I¡¯d probably start by getting my legs regrown. That might take a few years, unfortunately. I imagine by then, your friends will have things well in hand. If you really want to make yourself useful, there is a place you could explore. It¡¯s dangerous, a dungeon where new agents are created. Destroying that would certainly be a harsh blow to their plans.¡±


    ¡°Where is it?¡±


    Pevril glanced up from his letter and frowned at Velik. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you when you bring me my daughter back. How about that?¡±


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t part of our deal,¡± Velik objected.


    ¡°I¡¯m altering the deal, then. Milly is more important to me, and I need to know you¡¯ll bring her back here, alive and well, and not go running off to get yourself killed in a dungeon. Once I have my daughter, then I¡¯ll tell you where the place is.¡±


    He didn¡¯t like it, but Velik understood the reasoning. Pevril didn¡¯t trust him, and keeping back this scrap of information to use as a piece of leverage was a smart idea from his perspective. On the other hand, Velik had already given his word that he¡¯d find Milly, so he was a bit offended by the lack of cooperation.


    ¡°Fine. Where¡¯s she at?¡± Velik asked.


    Pevril took a moment to wave a hand over the letter and speed the ink¡¯s drying. ¡°She and her team are doing a bronze-ranked job southwest of here, on the coast. It¡¯s some sort of scalewark tribe tearing up fishing villages, easy enough to kill individually, but with a lot of numbers.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll find her,¡± Velik promised. He paused, considering whether he trusted Pevril enough to ask the last question on his mind. It was something he¡¯d been turning around for a few weeks now, but ultimately, he decided it was better to sit on it.


    Pevril gave him the letter, and two hours later, Velik was out of the city along the south road. His only stop was to purchase a new backpack enchanted to keep water out of it. After his experience in the swamp, he wasn¡¯t eager to suffer any more aquatic adventures without something like that.