《The Beast of Kulain》 Prologue + Chapter 1 The young man trudged through the snow, his ragged clothing barely staving off the mountain wind¡¯s chill. He shuffled forward almost losing balance as his foot knocked into a rock, hidden under a white blanket. His movements were jerky and erratic, his breathing labored, and his skin sickly and pale. His eyes were squinted shut against the wind¡¯s assault and he kept moving forward only through sheer determination. A groaning noise startled him, his body jerked still. He peered around for any sight of what could have made the noise, then it assaulted him. The hunger. He moaned, clutching his stomach, his eyes brimming with tears only to freeze as they fell down his face. A long pointed tongue flitted out of his mouth failing to wet his chapped lips, his mouth watered and he reached into the pack hanging from his torn clothing, grabbing a slab of partially frozen red meat. He greedily wolfed down the meat, still raw, and revelled in what little blood coated his mouth and throat. Wiping his red hands in the snow he continued his trek up the mountain, his dark hair whipping around in the wind, frozen at the tips. One hand still clutched at his stomach, as if by force alone, he could silence the hunger. Upwards he climbed, as he had for the past two days. His body was tired and cold, and he shivered with every step. The sky had begun to darken, and the young man decided to try and find shelter for the night. Somewhere the wind would howl less, and his frozen body could thaw. He trekked until the moon was high in the sky, following the path towards the top of the mountain. His eyes were falling shut, slowly closing, as exhaustion caught up to him. He sniffled and wiped his nose with his sleeve, as he turned the corner and passed a large rock that had been obscuring his vision. Around the bend was a small cave, if you could call it that, it¡¯s size was more akin to a cupboard, or a closet. Ice formed around it¡¯s mouth, that along with the large stone that had obscured his vision kept most of the wind out. The boy fell to his knees and crawled into the alcove, curling into a ball, he wrapped his arms around himself to keep away the cold, and finally his eyes fell shut. ----------------- I woke with a start, the cold ground under me biting through my travel clothes, if they could be called clothes in this state. I strained my senses searching for what awoke me, I heard the same noises I heard when I fell asleep. Wind howling, snow crunching, and the whistling of wind through the crevices. I peered out into the dark, wondering if they were still chasing after me. It had been so long since I left, it was amazing they had followed me thus far. I closed my eyes, stretching my hearing, listening for anything different. I listened long and hard until it became clear, the snow was crunching rhythmically, as if a group of men were walking in a line. The sound was too close for me to leave my small abode and attempt to run again, the only thing I could do was hide deeper into the small hole and hope they passed me by. If only fate were so kind. I stared out of the entrance, safely hidden in the deep shadows of my new hiding hole. Rough leather traveling boots crunched deep into the snow, one pair after another, until a whole line of four people walked past me. With a sigh of relief I waited until they were further away until I began to climb out, or at least I would have if at that moment my stomach had not thundered out it¡¯s abuse. ¡°Did you hear that?¡± a gruff voice sounded out. ¡°No, what was it?¡± another voice asked. ¡°Hush, you daft fool!¡± the gruff voice whispered out again ¡°The beast is near.¡± Suddenly quiet again, my heart thundered in my chest, I scrabbled to leave my hole knowing it was too late to attempt hiding again. On hands and knees I crawled back down the path, the dark sky above watching over me as I shuffled out of sight and behind the large rock to the side of the path. I knew I couldn¡¯t outrun them, not as tired and weak as I was now, I needed a distraction. Something that could give me just enough time to run and find a new hiding place. I crouched down on the snow covered ground and hastily scrawled a rune in the side of the stone, using a small knife from my pack I began a series of runes forming a glyph. Eci for the trigger, a small circle with a straight line from the top that extended a little ways out the bottom. This would activate the following runes when an entity not marked as an ally crossed nearby. Trei a circle with a triangle in the center. This was for making a noise to distract, it held an array of choices, while it couldn¡¯t recreate something as complicated as a human voice it could easily replicate a wolf howl, or in this case the noise of snow rumbling down the mountainside. Deilt a freestanding square, tilted on its side, a line across the center. It was a rune used to amplify other runes, in this case making the rumbling noise louder. Finishing the rune I slapped my hand against the stone, sharp cold biting against my bare skin, only to be thrust away by the boiling feeling of mana in my veins. The mana heated my blood, causing the veins to constrict in my arms and lift them until it looked like there were small vines straining under my skin. I reveled in the feeling of heat from my center as it coursed down my arm, I felt a warm line of blood drip from my nose and stain the pristine white beneath me. The first rune lit up a dull red as my blood infused mana seeped through my palm, spilling into the grooves and following the lines of the rune before sliding to the next one and continuing its arduous job. It flowed like a living thing, a snake sliding across stone with no resistance, as the last rune filled with mana and blood they flashed bright red before falling back to their natural grey stone color. Feeling drained by such a small usage of mana proved how tired I was, standing up and turning I walked back down the path and out of sight from where the men were coming. I sighed before slapping my hands into my cheeks attempting to regain feeling in them, my back hunched deeper and my steps were slower, more unsure. Where could I go? If they chased me up this mountain what was to say they wouldn¡¯t follow me where ever I went. Sighing again I trudged along the blank white path, only sparsely populated by shrubs clinging on to life through stubbornness alone, the sheer mountainside to my left, stretching endlessly upwards, and another sheer drop ten feet to my right. I knew these men and those with them wouldn¡¯t give up, no matter where I went, anger flashed inside of me, anger at being hunted, anger at being driven from my home, anger at being betrayed. A dull throb began in my head, in sync with my tired steps. A smile curved my lips up as I heard the rumbling noise behind me, followed swiftly by shouting and quick footsteps in the opposite direction, why they ran further up a mountain they thought was having an avalanche I couldn¡¯t say. The trick wouldn¡¯t last long, as even these men would be able to see through the ruse, not many people are dumb enough to think an avalanche consisted of one part sound and zero parts deadly snow slide. I laughed out loud for the first time in a long while, it sounded hollow, strange, as if I was listening to someone else and not myself. The hunger clawed at my insides again, tearing swathes of agony through my entire body, my eyes snapped shut at the feeling, and a low keening whine made its way from my lips. The stale and frozen leftovers of my hunt at the beginning of this mountain trek were no longer satisfying, having lost most of their delicious juice. I reached into my pack feeling around until I grabbed hold of the final piece of wolf meat, sinking my teeth into it, feeling disappointed at the lack of blood. I still devoured the piece whole, ¡®At least the bones still snap¡¯ I thought to myself. I sucked the marrow from the last bone and pondered what I could do about my current situation. I felt the sad emptiness of my pack, no longer containing meat, I felt my small knife and rune book hidden away in the side pocket. Soon the hunger would erupt again, as even now I could feel the gnawing weakness of my limbs and the unsteadiness of my body. It would only grow worse without any flesh to devour, even the unsatisfying frozen meat helped somewhat, and I hadn¡¯t seen a single living creature here besides the four men chasing me. If I kept going down the mountain following the path I took up, it would take another two days, by then the hunger and cold would have sapped away any strength I had left, I would be too tired and weak to hunt. I needed to get food now, and luckily, there were four volunteers just begging to sate my hunger. My laughter reverberated in the cold air, as the snow crunched under foot. I could smell the hunt, and it was good. ----------------- ¡°What the shit are you sayin¡¯ right now?¡± the bulbous man asked. ¡°I¡¯m sayin there is no damn avalanche you dumb whores¡¯ son!¡± I shouted at the man, his pudgy face screwing up in anger. ¡°If you don¡¯t take that back you¡¯re gonna regret it!¡± ¡°What¡¯re you going to do!? If you try anything I¡¯ll break your arm boy!¡± The fat froglike man looked startled, he obviously had never been threatened before. I had only volunteered for this hunt because my father had always said that real men took care of their own, I was now regretting it. ¡®I knew he was going to be useless, if his father wasn¡¯t a lord I would kill him and his guards and dump their bodies where no one would see, it would be a service to us all¡¯. This useless noble had thought he would come along on a simple mission to hunt down a dall¡¯in, a man turned beast, ruled by his base instincts and a slave to his hunger. Most couldn¡¯t speak in full sentences, let alone set a trap cunning trap like this one had. Most dall¡¯in hunts consisted of entering a dall¡¯ins¡¯ territory and confronting the beast, it would become enraged at the trespass and charge at you presenting an easy target for someone skilled. No one knew what caused men to turn into dall¡¯in but the main theories involved magic, curses, hexes, and of course, my favorite, drinking and premarital sex, both theories spread by the church. The noble¡¯s guards shifted anxiously at our little exchange, I gripped the short sword at my right hip and the dagger at my left. The bow on my back was unstrung but if the guards were ordered to kill me it wouldn¡¯t help anyway, the fat noble¡¯s heavy breathing and angry eyes spoke volumes of his self control. I was a little worried he would try something stupid, but I was confident I could take him and his guards. The toad sighed heavily and the fight went out of him, ¡°I¡¯m going to bring this up with father, let¡¯s get this done the sooner we are home the sooner he will have you in the stocks.¡± the noble said smugly. ¡°If you survive.¡± I muttered. ¡°What was that?¡± he asked. ¡°Nothing¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Alright, where do we go now hunter?¡± the flesh ball wheezed, his breathing labored ¡°If you don¡¯t hurry up and find this beast, I¡¯ll have your pay reduced.¡± ¡°It probably doubled back and set the rune trap, so we just need to go back down the path and get it¡¯s trail again.¡± This man was absolutely useless, I wouldn¡¯t have taken him at all, even with his father¡¯s pressure if it weren¡¯t for the fact that the man¡¯s guards were helpful. They hadn¡¯t said a single word since the start of the hunt, but it was always nice to have extra blades, especially in this case. This dall¡¯in seemed different, it was more cunning, and I had never heard of dall¡¯in using mana, let alone runes. They just didn¡¯t have the brain power. The man nodded to his guards and we set off at a calm pace, cautious of any more rune traps. The beast¡¯s tracks were easy to follow, at first they were near invisible but as the hunt wore on and the beast tired it was easier to follow. ¡®I always found dall¡¯ins¡¯ to be sad creatures, bereft of what made them human, a slave to their hunger. They are dangerous though, and had to be taken care of, not even a king would be safe if he turned dall¡¯in. They would eat their own child if they were hungry enough. Yet still I wonder how this beast felt about being run out of it¡¯s town at the first sign of turning, betrayed and turned in by those it loved.¡¯ I was startled out of my reverie by the sight of blood on the pristine white snow path, the snow was disrupted, as if something was dragged through it, it led straight down the path and then turned sharply out of sight as the winding path curved around the mountain. ¡°Ha! The dumb beast cut itself.¡± the noble laughed uproariously ¡°It can¡¯t hide now, stupid animal.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t trust this.¡± it was too suspicious, a conveniently placed blood trail that just so happens to lead out of sight, I was naturally disbelieving of such a thing. ¡°You¡¯re just paranoid old man, Jel, Kel, go on ahead see what¡¯s around the bend.¡± he ordered bravely. The two guards looked at each other, sighed and walked towards the turn, their leather armor creaked ominously in the moonlight. Jel walked ahead of Kel in a tight single file line, both holding their swords out ahead of them. Jel turned the corner followed by Kel, ¡°There¡¯s just more blood he-¡± followed by a startled yelp ¡°Jel no!¡± the second of the twin guards called out. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you! Die! Die! Di-¡± a dull thud resounded out in the cold night air, I stood transfixed by the sight, blood pooled around the corner, and a sharp laugh cut the air. The hair on my skin stood at attention and goosebumps mottled my arms. A cold sweat ran down my back, fear gripping my heart. ¡°Who¡¯s next, the fat one or the old one?¡± a hissing voice coiled around us ¡°Fat or old, fat or old, fat or old.¡± a childish giggle followed the question, like the dall¡¯in found the idea funny. It stepped out from around the corner, ragged clothes hung around its frame, a small pack hung by a strap on its shoulder, it looked like a tall young man, dark hair framed darker eyes, contrasting with the too red lips, in its hand was a small knife, only one palm long, covered in slick blood. Dripping. Dripping. Dripping. I stood transfixed, the noble next to stood stock still, mouth agape. His shock was understandable, his two guards had enchanted blades, they were both great swordsman and had been trained and groomed for this very role. To be killed so swiftly and without even scratching the dall¡¯in, it was surprising to say the least. The noble¡¯s fat neck was quivering in fear, the dall¡¯in apparently found this quite funny as he pointed at the noble, a wicked smile on his face, and a terrible laugh on his lips. ¡°You.¡± was all the beast said, before the ground beneath him crumbled and the nobles legs sunk to the knee before he realised what was happening. An unmanly yelp escaped his bulbous lips as he fell. The beast dashed forwards, knife in hand poised to slit the toad¡¯s throat. The knife came in flashing silver before being I struck it to the side, finally stunned out of my shock by the animal¡¯s sudden movements, I moved into action to defend the noble, I couldn¡¯t care less if he died but without him my pay would be nearly non existent as his father would take his wrath out on me. Short sword in my right hand and dagger in my left I moved to strike the beast, coming in with a quick thrust with the sword at its throat, surprising me with its speed the beast ducked my blade and parried my knife with its own as I thrust again. It dodged my thrusts and slashes again and again, like a snake, it moved with unnatural grace before striking with frightening speed. If fear had gripped me before, terror took its vice like hold upon my heart as I looked into its eyes. A mad gleam shone through in those dark orbs, a piercing glare held me transfixed as its dagger weaved its way towards my eye, startled I let my knees buckle and dropped with all haste to the ground, wind whistling above me. On the ground I kicked out towards the things leg, CRACK, a satisfying noise burst through the air as its leg buckled beneath it. I scrambled back and stood up, the beast writhed on the ground attempting to put weight on its leg to stand up, only to fail and slam into the ground again. Several small cuts leaked blood on my body, a cut above my brow blinding me in one eye. I took a step forward to thrust my blade into the injured beast and finish this wretched business, looking at its face I saw it¡¯s mouth twist up into a grin, its razor sharp teeth interlocking, it wasn¡¯t a human smile it was a predator¡¯s grin. I thrust forward, yet as soon as my blade started to move, a series of multiple interlocking runes burned to life on its arm. A bright red glow flashed out and its arm and hand struck out like a viper to take hold of my arm. A sickening grinding noise sounded out as it¡¯s magically strengthened arm and hand crushed the bones and ground them together. I screamed in agony and dropped my sword, my mind locked up in pain I couldn¡¯t even bring myself to stab with my dagger in the other hand, the beast crawled towards me, one leg bent unnaturally, and its eyes screwed up in focus. It crawled towards me, leaking blood. It loomed over me, and its jaw cracked and distended, its mouth opening unnaturally wide, it placed my entire head in its mouth, tongue coiling like a living beast. And the last thing I heard before my skull broke apart like a piece of pottery, was the blubbering and crying of that disgusting toad. ----------------- Setting up my ambush was a lot of work, trying to think of a way to lure them into a series of traps was more difficult than I thought. I set up a series of earth fall glyphs on the ground before pushing the snow back over. The glyphs I used were: Dis Circle rune with two triangle facing opposite directions in the center. Command rune used as activation for other runes, activated using your will, range of 15 feet. Gai Square rune. Rune dictating earth. Fal Three downward lines parallel to each other. Used in tandem with other runes to control them, cause them to fall. Combined with Gai rune it makes those standing upon the designated area fall into the earth. With these three runes I created several fall glyphs in the area before the corner turn, hoping someone would stand on them. I also created two fall glyphs with a proximity trigger around the bend where I waited behind a series of small rocks piled on top of a larger boulder. I also created a body glyph, body runes of any kind were illegal in nearly all of the civilized world and at the very least taboo elsewhere. The problem with using them besides the fact they are illegal is that if you lose control of the rune or glyph it will drain you of mana and blood. All glyphs and runes are powered by a combination of blood and mana, most people draw their runes and power them, when they have given enough energy they remove their hand from the rune to sever the flow. The problem with powering body runes is that you can¡¯t remove your power from the rune after activation without extreme focus and control of your mana, since the runes is connected to you. Failure to do so could drain a full grown man of his life in minutes. I created a simple strength rune, although nothing is simple when it comes to body runes. Beld small droplet shape, similar to a teardrop. Used to specify the type of rune in this case, blood or flesh. Dur triangle shape missing the bottom line. Strength, changes meaning depending on what your runes are on, on a stone it would make it harder to break, when using body runes it makes you physically stronger. Using these two runes I enchanted my right arm, making my grip and arm stronger when activated. Getting the Beld rune was a difficult prospect, through back alley dealers and rogue mages I was able to obtain it. Even before the changes began my morality when it came to progress was lacking, though after, morality at all is quite suspect. After setting my traps I carved my arm with the strength glyph, and used the blood that leaked to set a trail of blood towards my ambush. Finally the four hunters came into view, I peered around the corner at them, one was more fat than man while two of them had well kept armor and blades. In the back was an older looking man, he had scars on his arms and face showing his time as a fighter. The fat man said something which set the older one to scowling, after a moment the fat one said something to the similar looking warriors and they began to walk towards the traps. I debated activating some of the earth fall glyphs, they walked over several of them before I decided to wait until they turned the corner and activated the proximity triggers. The first one turned the corner and neared the first trap but barely missed it, he peered around, completely missing me as I hid behind rock and snow. He called back to his group telling them I wasn¡¯t there before taking a step back, he fell in range of the glyph and his legs were suddenly engulfed in snow and stone. I stood up slowly, still exhausted after using so much mana. The man that fell was flailing wildly attempting to get up, I drew my dagger and sprinted at the man, my blade was about to pierce his throat when I hesitated, I had never killed a person before and my hands were shaking. He looked up at me and opened his mouth to scream, a voice ancient and timeless crashed through me, Spill blood for me child of mine, feast of flesh and bone, I offer you blood and flesh.Will you drink deep and eat much? For if you do my path will become yours. Strike now. The voice shook me out of my stupor, unknown feeling welled within me, bloodlust so powerful that my knees felt weak, joy so pure that sleet addicts would weep, and a hunger so deep it felt as though there was a hole straight through my body, there was no pain in this hunger, just emptiness. I struck without another thought, my blade entering his neck before tugging deep inside him to rip out his throat. Blood poured from the wound soaking me, I looked up from my first kill, his eyes still wide and arms flailing. I looked up from my kill at the other, his eyes were wide with shock at first before changing to anger, then to rage, and finally to hatred. It seemed as though his eyes were red and he let loose a roar, screaming nonsense as his sword streaked towards me. In his rage he forgot about how his brother had fallen into the earth, and he suffered the same fate. His legs fell into a hole that had not been there before, a sickening crunch sounded out as his upper body tried to carry forwards with its momentum, but his legs could not follow. The joints in his knees wrenched and his bones cracked, he cried out but found his voice missing, and in its place blood poured forth. After killing the two brothers the voice came back, carrying with it a sense of more, more power, more strength, and more promises, Drink deep child, eat your fill, the time has come. Sate yourself. I leaned down in front of the second kill lapping at the blood pouring from his throat, bliss poured through me like a wave, warmth filled my throat and mouth as my tongue snaked out into the fountain of blood, drinking deep. I opened my mouth wide, my jaw making a cracking noise I took a large bite out of his throat, the warm meat not even putting a dent in my hunger. I stood up, I needed to kill the others, maybe with all four I could sate myself, at least temporarily. Walking around the bend I saw the old man standing with the fat one. They looked comedic standing there, mouths agape, the fat one like a frog waiting for a fly to fall into its grasps, I contemplated aloud which one to eat first, only the fat one was standing on a earth fall glyph. An image floated through my head, of the noble falling, his fat trailing after him attempting to catch up. A laugh escaped my lips and the two of the men seemed afraid. ¡°You.¡± I said pointing at the toad and activating the glyph. The hilarious scene I imagined came to fruition as the fat one fell, his body jiggling as he struck bottom. I charged the man stuck in the ground aiming at his throat only to be stopped by the older man, his eyes were still wide with fear but his movements were sure and quick. His sword and dagger flashed forwards, I dodged down avoiding the sword and knocking the dagger of course with my own, he attacked with a wild flurry of stabs, thrusts, and slashes. Many connected but were only superficial. I saw him hesitate and launched my body forwards, feeling faster and stronger than I ever had before. My blade flashed towards his eye, closing in quickly, then suddenly the man fell to the ground and kicked my knee hard. I felt it pop out of its socket and felt my leg crack and sag underneath me. The man stood up and hesitated as I struggled to stand, leg sagging beneath me twisting out of place further. I scrambled with an animal¡¯s wild survival instincts, attempting to rise as death came closer. I forced myself to focus as his blade closed in on me. A smile flitted to my face, showing my sharp teeth, splattered in blood. My arm flashed the same red color as my teeth and my arm flew out crushing his arm, he screamed in agony. I wrenched my arm to the side forcing the bone to crack and shift out of place even further. Eat. I obeyed. My mouth opened wide like a snake and I took his entire head in my mouth before snapping shut with a satisfying crunch and splatter. The skull provided satisfying resistance before the warm insides filled my mouth with a delicious treat. The fat one whimpered and attempted to wriggle his way out of the trap, if he had more upper body strength he could easily pull himself out, but with his bulbous upper half and lacking lower he was trapped. Hunger was filling my mind, but with an effort of will I forced myself to wait, dragging my body towards the noble I left a trail of blood behind me before snapping my mouth around his head like I did with the old man before him. Where the old man was lean and gamey, this one was greasy and sweet. I reached down and tore his body out of its cage placing it next to the old man. I smiled, and dug into my hard earned meal. After I gorged myself eating more than double my bodyweight in flesh, I felt a tugging sensation as my left leg twisted and pulled. A wrenching agony lanced through it as my leg whipped around into its original state before clicking into place. I was thoroughly soaked in blood, my ragged clothing no longer even a semblance of what is used to be. I stood up testing my new leg, bouncing on it a few times before stripping and taking the cloak from what was left of the old man, the clothes were torn beyond use as even rags. I turned away from the gory scene, taking a deep calming breath. My body felt lighter, and my mind faster. I stalked over to the two trapped men around the corner, lifting them up easily before stripping them and taking the clothes that fit the best. Hiding my head in my darky grey cloak, and clothing myself in a black tunic and rough spun pants, I slipped on a pair of leather boots. I took their corpses and dug into a nice after meal snack, their meat was tougher but the liver and heart were veritably bursting with flavor. As I was finishing with my final morsel, a bright white light burst in front of my eyes blinding me. A searing feeling coursed through my mind, images of blades clashing with another, sparks flying, blazed through my mind. I reeled back rubbing my eyes, my long pointed tongue flicked out of my mouth to wipe up the blood around my lips, I wiped my hands in the snow and stood. I grabbed the blades next to the corpses and stared at them, along the flat of the blade were runes and glyphs. I had never seen them before yet inherently knew what they meant, as if I already knew what they were. I held one of the blades awkwardly, and instinctively knew I was standing wrong, I also knew that my grip was slack and that I should move it up the hilt. I took the two sword belts and tacked them onto my waist, one longsword on each hip. Some time during the fight with the old man my bag¡¯s strap had torn, I stored the knife in my boot and the book of runes into a pocket inside of the cloak. Breathing deep the coppery scent of blood I looked off the side of the mountain path and watched the blood red sunrise, and perfect white clouds, like a mirror image of the blood spattered snow all around me. Chapter 2 I had set off down the path less than two days ago and had made better time than I would have suspected, these changes my body had undergone had increased my endurance and speed. I had only been average when it came to such things so this had come as a shock, along with the razor sharp teeth and strangely long tongue. My mind hadn¡¯t fully understood what had happened to me these past few weeks as I hadn¡¯t the time for self reflection, but now with the four hunters that had been closely following me I took some time to think as I walked. My stomach full and steps light I rounded the final corner before the last stretch of stone path would lead down to the bottom of the mountain, the icy cold snow and piercing winds long left behind. The area near the bottom was flush with grass, a veritable sea of green stretched out over rolling hills, dotted with splashes of color in the form of flowers and herbs. There was a large span of trees farther away and to either side of me stretched the Kuran mountain range, disappearing from sight along the horizon. The sky had turned the bright blue of mid spring, with only a tiny amount of color mottling the leaves in the distance to betray autumn¡¯s coming. I peered around the corner I had just come to looking for any signs of other hunters in the party chasing me, and was rewarded with the sight of smoke coming from behind a nearby hill. There was a man standing utterly still atop the hill in front of where the smoke was coming from, presumably where the camp was set. His eyes scanned over the vast field in practiced sweeps, and with my newly strengthened eyes I could see the slight rise and fall of his chest that betrayed his statue like appearance. He seemed to be alone, unless there was someone near the smoke behind him. I realised it was be extremely difficult to pass him by if he was part of the hunter group. I didn¡¯t know the specifics of the size of the part but it seemed there were around 6, four that had come after me and died and another two I had spotted scouting one of my previous hiding areas, a small ditch in the forest I had claimed as my own. The sentry hadn¡¯t seemed like he was going anywhere very soon, so I decided to find a nice comfortable ditch of dirt and wait. I reached into a pocket in my newly acquired cloak, and pulled out my rune book. While the amount of runes were not paltry in quantity many were severely lacking in the quality department, only being rank C or D, my best being a high ranking B rank rune, the body modification rune. None of them were the best of their particular type but they served well enough, especially considering I had barely any offense runes. Rune magic was one of the least popular types of magic, considered easy to use compared to the Word based magic. Rune mages were considered inferior because they had to write their will upon the world to effect it, many Word mages used rune magic for specific jobs, like enchanting but considered rune mages that couldn¡¯t speak the Language beneath them. I found the whole business exhausting, the constant back and forth between Words mages and runes mages so similar to the nobles fighting amongst themselves. When I was younger, more naive and bright eyed, I hoped that the mages would be different than the nobles that had lorded over me. Yet, if anything, the mages were worse. The squabbles were very similar but while the mages had to adhere to the king¡¯s law, even if they circumvented this to certain degrees, the mages could cause your tongue to blister in your mouth, and your fingernails to rot if you offended one. While there was a system in place to keep the mages in check, why would a magister spend the time and mana to find why some low ranking mage, that can¡¯t even speak the Language without Shattering, had suddenly developed a very severe case of maggot infested eyes. Most magisters wouldn¡¯t spend their time and effort in such a way, while there were some that took their job seriously most did it out of a sense of duty, not because they cared. There were some that did care, like Magister Jeil, he cared for you even if you couldn¡¯t speak the Language like me, but even he had turned on me at the first sign of change. I frowned, then sighed. I really needed to stop making myself think about that. It wasn¡¯t helping with my already endangered mind, who was to say I hadn¡¯t gone mad and really was a dull¡¯in as everyone said, I had some symptoms. A deep hunger, and sharp teeth being the main ones, but I had never heard of dull¡¯ins¡¯ having the ability to think like I had, I even planned ahead and set traps for those annoying hunters. That voice was another thing, now that I had thought about, it seemed even stranger the more I considered it. Was it madness? Did I have some strange voice urging me on to do whatever it is I was doing? I sighed again and looked back down at my book, snapping it shut and securing it away in my pocket. The sun had moved partway across the sky signalling I had been thinking for quite some time. Standing up I straightened my cloak and brushed away the dirt, sending my two newly requisitioned blades swaying. Another thing that seemed stranger the more I thought about it was that blinding flash oflight I had seen after my meal. After the flash I had known more about swordplay and what the runes on the blades meant, I had never seen some of the runes and knew absolutely nothing about swords. Thinking about the fight in general seemed extremely foolish in hindsight, going against three trained swordsman and a meatball was a bad idea to say the least. Even with the traps I set, it was a miracle I had been able to kill the older man, his sword fighting was beyond what I could understand. A pattern had formed in my mind, after eating three swordsmen I had gained information on swordplay, and the two similar looking ones had probably known the runes on their own blade which would explain why I knew the runes. This epiphany set my mind spinning once again as I remembered all my meals since the changes, some garden variety snakes, one D ranked king viper I had trapped with a glyph, a wolf, and some roots and berries. I hadn¡¯t noticed any specific changes after these meals but I did feel abnormally quick. Maybe the men had provided more because of their size, or perhaps their Core level was higher than I had thought, the old man had seemed around C level when I had fought him, low leveled in the grand scheme but he was tempered with experience, another reason why my one on one fight was even more ill advised, though I couldn¡¯t accurately say the strength of the two trapped ones. I couldn¡¯t quite get a feel on my own Core level after the changes, before they had occurred I had been a low level B rune mage, this meant I could use simple runes and form them into glyphs of up to four. The more combinations available meant more potential power, but now after changing I couldn¡¯t feel anything inside me, it was like my Core was gone altogether. What didn¡¯t make sense was that if there was no Core I had no way to do rune magic, there was a reason that there weren¡¯t hundreds of thousand of mages running around tearing apart reality all the time. Most people lacked a Core, while this didn¡¯t mean much in your daily life, if you wanted to be an adventurer or, like me, a mage scholar, then you needed a core. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. I was startled out of my reverie, realising I was just standing in the middle of the mountain path. Where any kinds of beast could sneak up on me, even with their peculiar lack on my first trip up I didn¡¯t want to get complacent. The thing that startled me was a series of yelling and shouting from the location of the camp and sentry, I peered around the corner yet again and saw the smoke rising up, yet this time it wasn¡¯t the wispy stream of a campfire, it was a torrent of grey black smoke racing ever upwards. The sound of metal clashing against metal was interspersed within the screaming and yelling. The smell of burnt flesh wafted over to me, setting my mouth to watering, the smoky savory scent spoke of someone¡¯s testament as a cook. I frowned realising that whatever was happening down there would probably not leave anything left, if it was bandits they would burn the meat beyond edible and if it was a beast, then, there wouldn¡¯t be much left. I noticed the sentry was absent and took the opportunity to sprint down the last stretch of stone before the end of the mountain, the stone under my boots thumping with every footstep. The wind blew past my hair sending it back in streamers, and the cloak I had obtained billowed out. The sound of screaming and fighting still filled my ears as I reached the bottom, I quickly sprinted to the right and followed along the ridge of a hill, down wind, to hide myself from whatever was going on, not wanting any part. My stomach was not in any danger of rebelling soon, and I had no intention of being seen. I followed a series of hills edging my way around the bowl of the valley until the sound of battle faded, I didn¡¯t know if it was over or I was just too far away but I had reached the beginning of the forest. New noises filled my senses as I ran over the ground, avoiding twigs and dry leaves. Nearly silent I made my way deeper into the forest heading east away from the sun. ----------------- Nearly a week had passed since the incident in the mountains that left four dead, I had roamed the forest until I found a small stream of clear water. Since then I had settled into my makeshift shelter, I ranged in a small area around it setting simple glyph traps that would trap any small animals they caught. This made it easy to catch forest hares and the occasional fox. I had a sense of the forest that was missing in my first mad dash through it, as I wasn''t being chased to my knowledge, and this time I could watch the water run down the river, and listen to the birds sing in the trees. My hunger was not gnawing at me, I had a comfortable enough lean-to and a supply of water. The green trees mottled by color letting in some sunlight on my little paradise that gave a sense of peace. It truly was an annoying place. I was bored with this small clearing I had made myself, I hadn¡¯t heard from my little mind friend and I was almost sure the whole voice was a hallucination caused by the stressful situation. I had killed four men, while this held no where near the impact it would have before I was chased out of my home, it was still new. I sighed and lifted the headless rabbit to my mouth again before coiling my tongue around its small lifeless body and eating it whole. Do you doubt me child? ¡°What!?¡± I gave out a startled sound. I am ever with you now, you have taken the first steps, now you must follow this path to its end. ¡°What the hell are you talking about?! What are you?!¡± I shouted to no one in particular. I am the void in your stomach, ever wanting, I am the tongue in your mouth, ever thirsting, I am your desire, and your fulfillment. You need only follow the path laid before you and obtain what you wish. So the voice is obviously not made up. I thought deeply, its words struck a chord with me. I had no idea what path the voice was talking about but it seemed a decent enough sort, offering me my deepest desire was a nice thing too. If only I had any idea what that was. My father had been a scholar, and I had revered him, so I followed the same path after finding out I had the ability to carve runes. Yet after fulfilling that wish, it left me tired with daily life. Awake, read dusty tomes, research a dead language, ask for permission to carve a glyph, wait for a response, carve the glyph, record the results, repeat. Day after day, the wonder I had felt after learning I could do magic had faded. It was absurd, the day dreams of every child in the world turned out to be menial labor conscripted to those unlucky enough not to be ¡°real¡± mages. No rune mages were let onto the battlefield, they were left in the rear creating weapons and enchanting blades. Thankless and bored. The stories of men carving the sky, and the tearing down mountains were left to mages with the power of the Language, no one asked for a rune mage in their adventuring party. Who would want to wait for minutes as someone scrolled through their books looking for just the right series of runes to cast a fireball, or heal a wound when another could do it with some words and a wave of the hand. Even rune mage¡¯s enchanting didn¡¯t need one to be there, go to the market and have a wand crafted with the spell ready and you can use it. The thing rune mages lacked was power, they could do incredible feats of magic but ¡°real¡± mages could do it better. Ever since the start I had been complacent in my desires, unwilling in my dreams. I hadn¡¯t the power to do these things, I told myself then. I couldn¡¯t stop an army with my blade or crash down the heavens upon them. Yet now, this voice told me I had the power to achieve my desires, it told me I could wrest the things I wished for from the hands of those I wanted. It spoke to me. ¡°What do I need to do?¡± And so it said. ----------------- Deep in the earth, in halls of blackest stone that reflected cold magelight down their lengths. A small dark room flickered withlight, not the cold blue magelight, real burning flame. The reason was this room wasn¡¯t a normal room, it was a prison. A god¡¯s prison. The stone around it blocked out all incoming mana, even that which was found in the air. The floor was cold and inert, the chains that bound the being within were mundane yet strong. Its emaciated body hung by its hands and its middle was bound in bands of blackest steel. And its eyes reflected the flickering light. It laughed darkly, a laugh that spoke of unending torment that had just hinted at its end. Then in a deep rumbling voice that told of an endless hunger it spoke out. Drink deep, and eat much. You will need it for what is to come. ----------------- Chapter 3 Chapter 3 The voice had given me a simple command, all I needed to do was to feed and become stronger for when the time came. I had begun to desire something more filling than small game. I also wanted to test my new ability to consume knowledge, I wanted to know if I could steal unique abilities that some people had, if I could do that I could become insanely powerful. Although as I was I needed to use traps to obtain my meals as I wasn¡¯t physically up to the stronger meals yet, my magic would help to bridge the gap but it wouldn¡¯t do it entirely. I needed more information on offense magic, but first I was going to look for something more substantial to fill my stomach. The incident that had caused the sentry to be distracted and leave his post came to mind, was it just a wild beast on the hunt or was it bandits looking for an easy pay day. I decided to go and find out, I stalked through the undergrowth of the forest, navigating expertly through the area I had claimed as my own. The inner darkness of the forest was slowly beat back as sunlight streamed through the treetops, the leaves not as densely packed. I had traveled at a brisk pace for several hours not even breaking a sweat with my newly enhanced form, when I finally came across the entrance to the valley. The smoke that was there before was still drifting softly in the air, carried on invisible current, swaying and eddying like water. I crouched low hiding in the tall grass which brushed past my face tickling it and attempting to lift my hood from my head. One hand pulling down the hood the other gripping my knife, I hadn¡¯t any real idea how to fight with a sword yet even with the information I had eaten, so I decided to stick with what was most comfortable. I made my way west, slowly edging my way towards the campfire, once I got close enough and the smell of roasting meat and the sound of chatter filled my senses I lay down on the soft grass and edge my way slowly up the hill towards the dip where the camp was positioned. As I crested the hill on all hands and knees the campsite came into focus, three tents were positioned in a circular pattern around the fire. One looked as if it had seen extensive use, its outside a patchwork of hides and leather held up by sturdy sticks, one of the others was a dull green in color, slightly larger than the first but dwarfed by the third. The third and final tent in the clearing was a vibrant red in color, it had golden thread around the edges and looked to have been in used by a noble of some sort. Around the campfire was an assorted group of six men and one woman, each of men looked gruff and battle hardened, soldiers perhaps, if it weren¡¯t for the what they were talking about. The men were all large and strong looking, broad in shoulder and tall. Yet all were dwarfed by the woman that sat on the grass next to them, she had dirty brunette hair tied back in a braid and was easily a head or two taller than the rest of the men. She had an unpleasant face and and a crooked nose that seemed too large for how small her eyes were, she peered around the camp with her face screwed up in concentration. On the ground next to her was a large two handed great sword, the blade had a few obvious runes on it and was nearly as tall as she was. While she didn¡¯t seem to take any part in the conversation the others were having, the other men talked jovially about how they were going to spend their ill gotten gains. One spoke of a particular lady of the night that he wished to spend time with while the rest talked of thing best not heard in polite company. The sun was high in the sky and the light reflected dangerously off the assorted weaponry these people had, each one had at least a shortsword and a knife, while most had an assortment of blades secured on their person. They were obviously not just for show. The sight of such powerful morsels set my stomach to rumbling, but I knew I had no chance to take them on without using sneak attacks and setting traps. While it didn¡¯t seem any had a Core to cast magic, I didn¡¯t know if this was because I didn¡¯t have a Core now so I couldn¡¯t sense others or if they truly were magicless, that didn¡¯t mean they had no power. While the Core allows mana to be absorbed from the environment and infused into your blood, most people who practiced dealing death in a more mundane fashion found themselves relying more on their physical strength, speed, and skill. After becoming strong enough, or practicing specific skills these warriors could obtain something similar to a Core in function but not execution, they would create their Center. While a Core allowed for magic to be take from the environment and bent to your will, a Center would allow you to use the energy inside a living thing to create similar phenomenon on a more physical scale. Allowing greater speed, strength, or even special techniques like sending your strikes further using the wind. Something only those born with a Core could normally do, while it is extremely difficult to create your Center, most serious adventurers or in this case soldiers turned bandit, would spend long hours doing so. While the six men may not have one the giant of a woman most certainly did, she gave off a palpable sense of danger, it may be what magic I had left or my new instinct like knowledge but I could feel the hair on my arms stand up when I looked at her. I would have to kill her first. ----------------- Night had long since fallen, leaving the whole area feeling dangerous. The bright flowers and herbs nowhere to be seen, the inviting beautiful forest now a haunting and dark place. The bird song had ceased and been replaced with the occasional wolf howl or cough from the sentry of the camp, he sat at the camp fire peering around occasionally into the darkness. His choice of position was an amateur one leaving the fire to damage his night vision, making it easier to sneak into camp. During the night I had set about recreating my body modification runes to help with this night''s slaughter, the strength glyph on my arm had faded so I set about meticulously and carefully replacing it with an identical glyph on each of my limbs. I had a strength glyph on each of my legs and arms, under each eye I also carved the glyph for dark sight, enhancing my already strengthened vision. Blood dripped slowly down my limbs and face as I crept my way towards the bored guard. When they had settled in for the night the scary woman had gone into the red tent alone, leaving two to each of the others. Silence followed in my wake, and soon blood would too. ----------------- I yawned, guard duty always was boring, nothing had happened since we stumbled upon this small party of what seemed to be hunters. Though why they had such an expensive tent was a mystery, the only ones that had been there for four whole days were a man and a woman. They were both decent fighters but stood no chance when Breni came down upon them, her giant great sword tearing apart their bodies along with the earth they stood upon. I remembered the look on the woman¡¯s face when her companion was ripped down the middle, and her face after we had taken turns with her. It was pretty funny in hindsight, considering how similar the expression were. I sighed and leaned back on the stump I had turned into a makeshift stool, nearly losing my balance from the liquor we found in the red tent. I pinwheeled my arms and chuckled, I opened my mouth wide to yawn again but all that came was blood, it poured down the front of my tunic and pooled between my legs, viscous and shifting like a living thing. My vision dimmed as I heard a strange slurping noise, like the sound of a dog lapping at water. ----------------- The first kill had been easy, he seemed too unfocused to have made any sense as a sentry. Especially considering he hadn¡¯t even been able to cry out when my knife carved a red smile onto his throat. While he seemed useless in life, in death his blood was quite sweet, it had a bitter tang to it afterwards but it was overall enjoyable. I stalked from tent to tent starting at the patchwork on on the outer edge, the first tent went without a hitch as I slit two throats and came back out, my hand covered in blood. I realised I needed a backup plan that wasn¡¯t just slit sleeping throats, so I went back to the stump the sentry had been sitting on and carved several pieces out of it. I took the wood and carved simple glyphs onto each, the first was a simple sound glyph like I had used to fake the avalanche so long ago, the second was a glyph which when used on a low Core or Center level creature would cause disorientation, and the last made a simple bright flash of light, potentially blinding onlookers. With these three glyphs secured in my cloak I stalked towards the green tent, this tent was much closer to the red than the patchwork, there was no reason to attempt to fight the giant woman. So as long as my plan worked I wouldn¡¯t be need the glyphs at all, but I had a nagging sense otherwise.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. I pulled back the tent flap and made my way in, the tent opened noiselessly and I padded carefully next to the man on the left, his chest rose and fell in even patterns. His face was pocked with small scars and his brow was furrowed with countless lines. I raised my blade to his throat and slashed, the blade met scant resistance as its sharpened edge cut cleanly through skin and flesh. His wiry frame held more strength than I accounted from and when his eyes flew open and he began struggling I wasn¡¯t able to hold him down like the previous two. His arms flailed wildly and strange gurgling noises took the place of words as he struggled to survive, though he didn¡¯t know it, he was already dead. The light in his eyes faded and his mouth stopped flapping, the first one dead I turned to the second, expecting a peacefully sleeping target, but what I got instead was a broad shouldered man with close cut hair rolling to the side and grabbing a sharp looking blade. He raised it in a practiced motion and leapt at me, a roar on his lips. I scrambled back, not expecting a fighting opponent as I made my way out of the tent. He followed me and shouted to the red tent. ¡°Breni! Wake up now!¡± he nearly screamed. ¡°What d¡¯you want you half brained pig sticker!?¡± The giant woman barreled out of the red tent and straight into the clearing, the campfire flickering dangerously on her greatsword. She gaped for a moment at the blood strewn about the area, the man on the stump laid back blank eyed against the ground. She glared about before laying her focus on me, a strange pressure weighing down on my limbs. ¡°Who in tha nine hells d¡¯ya think you are!?¡± she roared ¡°Boyle go get th¡¯men so we can slaughter this fool!¡± The man trotted off to the patchwork tent know his sleepmate was dead, I turned to follow after him when a sudden movement caught my eyes. The woman who had been standing nearly ten feet away had traversed the distance instantly, her blade arcing down quicker than should be possible with such a massive weapon. With a mad noise she crashed the blade down and I rolled for all I was worth to avoid it. The weapon slammed into my left arm with a horrible wrenching noise, black blood spattering the ground around me. Her eyes widened at the sight, surprise evident on her face as she glared at the blood on her blade. Taking the opportunity of her confusion I reached my hand into my cloak and took out the three glyphs, each one glowed a brilliant red before I threw them together at the woman¡¯s face. She closed her eyes and flinched back at the throw, saving her from the bright light but not the loud bang and the confusion glyph. She opened her eyes dazed and began swinging her sword lazily, tearing furrows out of the ground with each strike. I scurried away further from the terrible blade, it¡¯s edge still wet with my blood, dirt and grass flew up in a mad dance as she spun around, dazed. Even in her weakened state, deafened and confused, she quickly regained control of herself, eyes sharpening and strikes becoming more sure. I watched amazed still at the way she could swing a sword weighing at the least 70 pounds of metal around like a dagger. She began to move towards me with controlled slashes and thrusts, corralling me back towards the way her companion ran, knowing I had little time as I desperately rolled and dodged, a desperate play seemed my only option. Focusing my mind down to a knife¡¯s edge my arms and legs flashed a familiar blood red before I exploded towards the woman, my left arm outstretched sending waves of pain through the wounded limb. I flew through the air before grabbing onto the blade and pushing with all my strength to the side, I almost lost control over the runes, feeling the familiar drain upon my reserves. While my increased strength was not enough to directly combat the monster of a woman, it was enough to force the blade slightly out of position, allowing me to blow past her defenses and stick my knife into her abdomen. She clutched her stomach in shock and stared at my mangled hand, she raised her great sword above her head, arm shaking, to bring it down once again, but before it could begin its earthbound fall I ripped the blade once to the left and right opening a wide gash in which her guts spilt loose, joining her blood on the ground. Her hand released its grip and the blade fell with a thud, her knees buckled and gave out at almost the same time she lost consciousness, never to wake again. ----------------- I had left at the order of Breni to go and get Cerl and Yoin to join in tormenting the poor bastard who attempted to kill me in my sleep, it was a shame my bedmate died. I sighed and shouted out their names waiting for a response from the small patchwork tent. I waited for a while before grunting and thrusting aside the flap to reveal a grisly sight, the men bot had ragged slits along their neck, blood pooled like a halo. Cerl had a strange looking tear on his chest, like a beast had taken a bite. My eyes widened as I took in the scene, I backed out of the tent slowly before making my way in shock back to the campfire. The sound of ground smashing letting me know that our leader was having her fun with the invader, serves him right. It was hard to believe that he had killed our two trained woodsmen and my bedmate without them waking, then again I doubted I would have been awoken by it if I hadn¡¯t already been awake taking care of some natural urges. I came into view of the campfire and smiled as I watched the fight, the idiot was rolling around like a mad thing, barely dodging each strike and getting torn up by the earth style abilities that Breni used. Then his arms and legs flashed red and he flew forward impossibly fast, his entire body a blur as a torrent of blood flew from his hand, mangled beyond recognition when it parried the great sword. His other hand however, plunged into Breni¡¯s stomach along with the blade, bringing forth a flood of blood and guts. My leader staggered to her knees before collapsing, I watched in utter shock as the figure that had killed Breni stooped down bringing his mouth to her stomach before distending his, no¡­ its jaw to an impossible degree. It took a wide bit out of her, devouring guts whole barely waiting to chew. Its teeth were sharp as daggers and it shivered with glee as it feasted, I stood, frozen in abject terror as the thing devour the insides of my leader, the strongest of us, there was no way she could be dead. I stood hidden behind my green tent, watching, only able to move my legs to run when my eyes fell upon its mangled hand. The torn flap of flesh fell away, and pure white bone branched out of the arm like a tree taking root, flesh seemed to bloom like flowers and skin appeared out of nowhere. The once mangled limb come back to full form in but a moment, my legs no longer locked up I turn and ran back towards Arlute City. A strangled scream resting in my throat. ----------------- The meal was satisfying to the extreme, after a week of small game the soft flesh and tough bone along with the indescribable flavor sent waves of pleasure through me. My mind flashed white like the first time I had eaten like this and knowledge flooded in, I knew the way it felt to have your Center form a solid wall of stone, of the feeling that you could break stone with your fist and I knew that to form a Center you needed to had an affinity with an element. I hadn¡¯t known anything about Centers before this night besides in the general sense of what they were. But now I knew details that were in none of the books I had read, nor did I know that the best way to use a greatsword was to let gravity do most of the work for you if you couldn¡¯t swing it like this woman had. After the white light had faded I looked around at the six carcasses around me, I looked down at myself and noticed my clothes were drenched and stained. Sighing I stood up to search through the tents for some clean clothes, after searching the patchwork tent I found a cloak similar to the one I had, and in the green tent I had found a set of tunic and trousers that fit snugly. Looking down at myself while I dressed, I noticed the lean muscle I had built, and it was with a satisfied smile that I put the clean clothes on. The red tent held a large mirror that I inspected myself in, having not done so since so long ago. I looked very different, besides the aforementioned changed my skin was paler, my eyes were darker than before with and extremely large iris and pupil almost entirely engulfing the white. My tongue was long and I had extreme control over it, along with my sharp teeth and ability to distend my jaw I looked decidedly non-human. I walked back out to the field of corpses and saw something glint in the moonlight, it was on the corpse of the huge woman. I walked over to it and reached down to the strange silvery light, it had no specific shape I could tell and my hand slid through it like it wasn¡¯t there at all. When my hand passed through it my skin formed goosebumps, and my mouth began watering again despite having just eaten. Focusing my will like when I had used magic before I grabbed at the light, but this time my hand came into contact with something, and when it did my eyes rolled into the back of my head and I heard the voice chuckling. Well done, you have taken the second step upon the path, free me and eternal power will be only the first thing I shall grant you. Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Darkness. My vision was a distant memory, I couldn¡¯t see anything. I don¡¯t know how long I lay on the grassy field stained in blood, yet when my vision came back. It was with a torrent of agony, my heart seized in my chest and my stomach felt like it was boiling, I clutched at my throat which felt like it was locking up, strands of blood and spittle dripped from my chin. I tried to scream, I tried to cry but no sound came from my strangled throat, and darkness swallowed me again, but this time took my consciousness and not just my vision. I awoke to the growling of my stomach along with the aching of my muscles, the sun was high in the sky drifting lazily through white clouds. I had to have been here for at least half a day, maybe more. I attempted to sit up and my head swam with dizziness, regretting the decision I lay back down on the cold grass. The campfire had long since died out, only coals and ash remained. I felt a distinct buzzing in my body, different from mana yet similar, it felt like it was coming from inside of me while mana felt like it came from outside in. Shaking my head to clear it I attempted to sit up again and succeeded, the ground around me was scorched in specific patterns that looked like a glyph ring, yet I didn¡¯t know a single one of them. I reached into my brand new cloak and took out my rune book, then set about meticulously copying the strange runes, the longer I looked at them the more I noticed something was off. If I attempted to look at on for too long it felt like my eyes would slide off of it and focus on something else, as if the runes didn¡¯t like being looked at. It took longer than I would have thought to copy them all, and in the end they took up multiple pages. I had so many questions, about who this voice was that said he was locked in a prison, what these runes were, and what this buzzing in my body was. I sighed heavily knowing the only place that would have this information would be the Great Archives in Eltri, the capital of Kulain. There was no way that I could pass as a human for an extended period of time, the magical defenses of the city were extreme and would easily be able to tell that I was not what I appeared to be, even if my teeth, tongue, and eyes didn¡¯t give it away. Since the Archives were out I decided to attempt to ask for information from the only thing I had talked to that I hadn¡¯t killed yet. The voice. I didn¡¯t know if I should try talking in my head, or out loud but decided I may as well attempt both. After several minutes of talking to thin air I was about to give up when I heard the grand voice again. What is it you need child, I am locked away I cannot speak long or frequently. I need information if I am to succeed in this task, what can my ability do, I have been able to learn things I didn¡¯t know and my body seems to become stronger with each meal. What can I do? I do not have much time, yet I can see it was an error to not explain this to you, you are my champion, tried and tested. So I have gifted you, you have a portion of the power I had when free, the ability to Devour. You are part of me now, and the more powerful creatures you consume will sometimes gift you their strength, you can obtain their unique racial abilities, if you consumed enough dragons you might even obtain their ability to breath fire. Though that is only in theory, I have never gifted a mortal before, so the specifics are hazy. If it works as intended, the more you eat, and the more powerful beasts you eat, the stronger you become. So I just need to hunt more powerful prey? Indeed. Where can I find them? The mountains were empty when I traveled up them. They were empty from my power, you were too weak to combat them and survive, so I warned them off, now, you have become more. Travel south, down the mountain range, and when you reach Mount Lurin begin your hunt, there were many interesting creatures their when I last walked this mortal world. My time has run out and I must be away. Wait! When I ate the warrior woman there was a golden ball, what was that? That was here Center, otherwise called the Soul or Core by you humans, all the same, and all different. You have consumed it, as you will many others. They will not always appear, but when they do it is a sign you will be rewarded after your meal. I truly must be off, goodbye my child. Do not fail me in this. After the conversation that had enlightened me to the true extents of my ability I was left feeling bewildered, the potential was insane. The ability to take powers was amazing, could I devour slimes and melt myself down? Eat a pack of razorwolves and obtain knife like claws? Ideas were tumbling around my head, and were then suddenly silenced as my hunger made itself known again. I sighed and stood up from my seated position, stretching my body with satisfying pops and cracks before making my way south as the voice suggested, and as I walked I was left wondering why I felt slight trepidation at the voice¡¯s parting words. ----------------- I watched distantly as the landscape passed in a blur, my body running on autopilot with my mind elsewhere. I traveled south with the mountain range to my right hand side, as I ran I thought about what my plan was for becoming stronger and hunting the beasts at Mount Lurin. I didn¡¯t know what kinds of beasts were there but I needed a general plan of action, the first step would be to find water and secure a space for shelter. I knew which mountain was Lurin as it was supposedly the tallest mountain in the Kuran range. The rough terrain was traversed easily as my legs pumped underneath me, I had been exploring the new energy in my body, it was extremely similar to mana but it seemed to be generated from inside of me. It had a lot of similar properties but the applications were different, where magic was more suited to effect the outside world this energy seemed more inclined to effect my body. One simple application was to increase strength in my limbs, similar to the strength body glyph I had used previously but much safer. Unlike the glyph it had no chance to shatter your mind like a glass pane, instead the only danger I had found was that in using too much energy too quickly caused some exhaustion. The speed it allowed me to go when using my crude application in the legs was nearly double my top sprinting speed, I couldn¡¯t use it for too long, but the more I could use it the longer it was available without exhaustion the next time. As I overcame a hill the mountain came into view, it pierced past the clouds and showed no signs of stopped. I wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if its peak was in the heavens. The distance I needed to traverse to get all the way to the base of it would take at least three days even with my increased speed, the energy from my Center was helpful beyond words. The way it was used was very different from runes, it required no words or physical form to activate the power. It was controlled like a second set of arms, intuitive and natural. I didn¡¯t know the rules or full extents of its capabilities but the constant buzzing feeling was comfortable, knowing I had something to rely on besides my runes. Even with my limited knowledge of the Center I still knew that each person had a different affinity for it, similar to how mages have affinity. An earth affinity Center user, otherwise known as an enchanter for their ability to ¡°enchant¡± their bodies, would be able to use their power to become more sturdy, or stronger. Where as a wind affinity enchanter would be quicker and could use their power to cut easier. Similar rules applied with all kinds of magic. I had been running non stop for several days and my body was leaden and tired, the sun had set in the sky so I found a depression in the ground where two hills met and curled myself into my cloak, I swiftly fell asleep in the patch of tall grass and dandelions. I was awoken by the sun beating down on my eyelids, brightening the dark void of sleep. I grumbled and sat up stretching out my tired body before setting my eyes on the forest not too far away, I needed food to sustain myself. I set off towards the forest and made my way their in a matter of hours, my mouth was dry and my stomach complaining as I followed a set of verl¡¯ik tracks. Small dog like creatures with elongated snouts and protruding fangs, they hunted in packs. I set off down the path, brushing my way silently through the deep green foliage. A cool breeze whispering through my clothing, cooling my skin. The sound of running water caught my attention and I lowered myself to the ground, and stalked towards it.Stolen story; please report. The direction of the water coincided with the verl¡¯ik tracks, I brushed my way through a pair of bushes and hid, peering through the foliage I saw a pack of four verl¡¯iks drinking at the creek. They lapped at the clear water, and every once in awhile peered around with their small beady eyes. Making sure I was downwind I padded towards the closest one, until it was barely feet away, my form still obscured in the deep brush. I infused my legs with energy from my Center and launched out towards them, kicking up a cloud of dirt that hung suspended in the air. I closed in on the beasts almost instantly as gripped at its muscled neck, slamming it into the hard ground, cracking the bones on a rock. The other three turned towards me and their fallen packmate, before snarling, their hackles rising behind them preparing to leap, the two further away started to circle to my left, away from the creek attempting to flank me. I stayed low to the ground and quickly took my dagger from by boot, holding it threateningly towards the beat the size of a small dog, the sound of dirt crunching next besides me betrayed their attack. The beast in front charged while the two at my side flew at my through the air, they worked in sync, like they knew each other''s thoughts. Most prey they hunted attempted to flee when it was faced with this situation, but I charged forward, under the two verl¡¯ik next to me and thrust my dagger into the throat of one. It let out a pitiful keening whine before collapsing to the ground and spasming, I turned quickly not sparing a second glance at the creature before using my empowered legs to charge at the final two. My knife flashed out and sliced one across the neck while my hand reached out and attempted to grab the others throat, the knife connected solidly and put down the creature while my hand grasped only air. I was thrust onto my stomach with a weight on my back, bucking, I flipped it off of me before tossing my knife at the creature¡¯s face. Whether by luck or some twist of fate it connected solidly in the creature''s eye, sinking deep into its brain before it collapsed. I sighed, noting the tears in the back of my cloak, learning from the past where I had to find new clothes every time I fed, I removed my cloak and tunic before setting in for a nice meal. The meat was stringy but the blood brought with it the same satisfaction it always did. I tore deep into the last of the verl¡¯ik before walking to the nearby creek and thrusting my head under water, wiping away the remaining blood. I shook my hair sending flecks of water into the surrounding forest before looking back at the clear water, reflecting my face. I looked nearly the same as the last time I checked in the fancy tent, but this time in my dark eyes, the huge iris had small flecks of light shining and reflecting like the stars in the night sky. I splashed some water on my face before donning my clothes and setting back out of the forest and on towards the mountain. ----------------- The man ran towards the city gates, his clothes bedraggled and his hair in disarray. He had wild eyes that spoke of manic desire, and his breathing was labored like he had run without stop for days. He had arrived at the gate of Varinwoode, the closest city to where the attack had taken place. He used to live here working as a guard before taking up the life of a bandit, guard life hadn¡¯t been paying enough for his tastes, and the boring work was not something he looked forward to. The war between Kulain and Valtis was a drain on resources, and guards were in short supply, which in turn made banditry much easier. It couldn¡¯t exactly be called a war yet, but the drafting of farmers and the increase in metal being bought was sign enough for most. Enterprising individuals such as the man at the gate had the brilliant idea to go and prey on the less fortunate. The man, formerly the bandit known as Boyle, stood outside the gate. Pleading with the guard to be let in, he shouted and threatened before reverting back to begging and groveling. He didn¡¯t want to spend another night out here with that thing still alive, he had seen what it did to Breni and didn¡¯t want to suffer the same fate. That monster was not something he wanted to deal with, especially after seeing it regrow a hand. He had told the guard what had happened multiple times, but somehow failed to mention they were bandits who had been attacked not simple travelers, but the guard responded the same every time. ¡°By order of the Count Alagin, this gate will not open for anyone once the night bell tolls.¡± he stated blank faced. ¡°Please! You gotta let me in! There''s a monster out here!¡± Boyle shouted indignantly. ¡°By order of the Count Alagin, this gate will not open for anyone once the night bell tolls.¡± ¡°You may as well come down and kill me now!¡± Boyle shouted again, fear evident on his face, ¡°You can¡¯t do this please!¡± ¡°By order of the Count Alagin, this gate will not open for anyone once the night bell tolls.¡± ¡°I have money, please! I can¡¯t spend another night out here!¡± he pleaded, his knees carving rivets in the dirt road. ¡°By order of the Count Alagin, this gate will not open for anyone once the night bell tolls.¡± Boyle sighed defeatedly, his face haggard and lost. He would have to spend another night out here, when he was so close to the city. He needed to warn the Count of this monster, he could ask the adventurers guild to put out a subjugation quest for the good of the people. A single tears streamed down his face as he lay down in the cold grass alongside the road leading into Varinwoode, and closed his eyes again. ----------------- I stood at the base of Mount Lurin, my eyes wide in awe at the sheer magnitude of it. The creatures had become more aggressive and powerful as I made my way closer, but nothing of note had happened. The monsters still weren¡¯t anything serious, a group of low ranking C adventurers could deal with them. More of the leaves in the forest were more colored than before, signalling that autumn truly was nearly here, and with it the weather had become slightly colder. I took the first step on the path up the mountain, small outcroppings worked as makeshift stairs as I climbed my way up to a more flat area. The wind whipped around my face, biting into my skin as I climbed, my hands finding divets to hold onto and my feet spread wide to stand on footholds. I had climbed for nearly an hour before I made it to a plateau, a cave entrance greeted me, its gaping maw open wide. I peered into the impenetrable darkness of it before taking stock of my surroundings, up above me higher up the mountain were a pack of gultin, goat like creatures with dark grey fur and a single eye. They leaped up the mountain side, latching onto impossible footholds, before launching up further out of sight. To the left and right of the cave I had found were flat paths populated with sparse shrubbery, small thorn bushes, and common herbs. It was impossible to tell which path would lead where so I made my way towards the cave, I had infused my eyes crudely with energy from my new Center and it allowed my to see in the previously dark cave. While the entrance was bright enough the cave seemed to veer off sharply into an even darker area, the entrance had small groups of mushrooms dotted around the area and strange green beetles flitting from patch to patch. I took a step into the cave and felt a rush of cold air, like earth itself sighed out. Slowly making my way deeper and deeper into the cave I came to the turn and peered around the edge. I was greeted with a dome like room of rough stone with dark lichen hanging from the ceiling, the floor was white and two pathways, besides the one I was in, broke off from the room. One on the left and the other on the right, they looked nearly identical, the only difference being in how the mushrooms and lichen were placed. I stalked into the center of the room, still cautious, when my foot crunched into something, I took my first real look at the ground and realised the floor wasn¡¯t just white, it was bone white. The floor was littered with bones, rib cages of various animals, skeletons of unknown creatures, and suspiciously human looking skulls. I felt the same rush of air as when I entered, this time it had a definite direction, it came from the right passageway. I turned to the right and was greeted by two huge eyes, they were yellow with dark slits down the center. They seemed to glow hellishly in the dark cave, I took a slow step away from whatever it was when a huge hiss burst out, it sounded like a chorus of snakes, each hiss layered over another. I turned and ran, my feet kicking up dust as I went, pieces of bone flew behind me in my desperate attempt to escape. I heard a deep rumbling, like a boulder shifting, not daring to look back I kept up my breakneck pace until I burst through the room with mushrooms and beetles and out of the cave. I finally turned to look at what was behind me, a demon in truth, it had at least a dozen mouths, all with forked tongues flitting out. A pair of horrible yellow eyes bore into me, its snake like face covered in sickly dark green scales. Its body was like a caricature of a human, bursting muscles that looked like tumors, a huge body with proportionally big legs. As I looked into its terrible eyes I knew that I was dead, this monster would rend me apart with its huge clawed hands as soon as it grabbed me. Then I noticed that it wasn¡¯t moving past the cave entrance, it stood there stalking back and forth, its tongues flitting out discontentedly. The creature stood in the darker shadows of the entrance and stared daggers at me, a concert of hisses broke at as it dropped to all fours and ran back deeper into the cave. I let out a breath I didn¡¯t know I had been holding and dropped to my knees, my mind awhirl. Well, now I know the voice wasn¡¯t lying about stronger monsters. I laughed out loud at the situation, wondering what it would have looked like to a passerby, a monstrous looking man being chased out of a cave by a monstrous look monster. My laugh turned bitter as I realised the creature would have eviscerated me, a deep bubbling feeling burst inside of me as I made my mind up. You will be the first. ----------------- Chapter 5 Chapter 5 The plan to kill the strange monster I had found in the cave was the foremost thing in my mind for the time, I had been killing the gultin and eating them raw for the past two days. There had been a noticeable increase in my jumping height along with my ability to instinctively pick out the best handhold and areas to place my feet when climbing. They were not very hard to hunt, and while the big horns on their heads were dangerous I didn¡¯t get close enough to get hit, the tactic I used to take them out was simple. Using small glyph traps similar to the earth fall traps I used so long ago on the other mountain, I would place them in points I knew the herds would travel. When they inevitably did the ground beneath their hooves would crumble and they would be sent tumbling down to me, automated hunting and delivery. A contented smile flitted onto my face as I reminisced. I hadn¡¯t spent my whole time hunting gultin though, I had carved the most complicated runes I could into the top of cave entrance. Several four rune glyphs could be seen in the dim glowing mushroom light, the beast hadn¡¯t left the cave entrance so a reasonable assumption was the light had scared it off, maybe even hurting its eyes, being accustomed to the dark caves. This theory was further supported with how the creature had hidden in the darkest shadows of the cave, as if trying to hide from the light. The glyphs on the ceiling should break open holes big enough to let in light, if not I could just run away again. Blood red light bathed the inside of the the cave entrance, once the runes flashed brighter I stepped away and went to rest. These complicated glyphs take a lot out of you, I made my way back outside, the moon was hanging high in the sky and the stars twinkled against the impossibly black backdrop. Going to the small alcove on the right path near the cave I tucked in and closed my eyes, as soon as sleep was about to reach me I heard a shuffling noise, like rocks being dragged. Peering out from my secluded spot I looked in the direction the sound was coming from, the cave. My heart locked in my chest as I saw the behemoth shuffle out, it as moving slowly as if try to sneak along. The strange thing was its dozen or so mouths were no where to be seen, instead there was just one. Holding my breath and trying to wedge myself deeper in away from it, I peered out as its snake tongue flitted out periodically, it seemed to be testing the air. For what? I was soon answered as the monster abruptly turned towards me, its hulking scaled body shuffling directly towards my hiding spot. Its tongue flicked out more often, and it started to speed up, it was only fifteen feet away and I needed a plan. It was way beyond my ability to defeat it in a fair fight, and the only traps I had set up were in the cave. And those would probably only create holes big enough to let in light, which wouldn¡¯t help at night. I cursed, knowing that I wouldn¡¯t stand a chance if the creature cornered me in my alcove. I crawled out on hands and knees, as soon as I was out I heard a chorus of hisses. Turning towards the snake like beast I noticed it had multiple mouth seeming to bubble up from under its skin, soon it had its signature dozen mouths, each one hissing at me. Its great heavy feet sending pebbles and loose rocks tumbling as it sped towards me, I reached deep inside and infused my legs with energy, I felt the signature buzzing as my body rocketed towards the creature. It reached out a massive clawed hand, letting my body drop I skidded across the rough stone ground and between its legs. Pushing myself up onto my feet I didn''t stop to look behind me as I ran straight for the cave entrance. My legs pumped in rhythm with my racing heart, the blood in my veins started moving faster, and heating up as I forced more energy to circulate through me. I shot forwards and corned the entrance like a draft horse, my legs skidding along the ground before coming to a shocking halt. I ran into the entrance, spinning around looking for the spot where I put my glyphs, I found it from the red glow clashing against the blue green glow of the mushrooms. I focused my will on the activation rune, the glyph flashed red again before a deep rumbling caused pebbles to dislodge from the ceiling. I heard a heavy crash behind me, knowing the creature had caught up I turned around and took out one of the enchanted swords, knowing a mundane knife wouldn¡¯t stand a chance against its thick hide and scales. I spun on the spot and leapt towards the downed beast, still scrambling to stand up after crashing into the wall. The blade slammed into the things side, I had aimed for the skull but with it struggling on the ground accuracy was a difficult concept. The blade pierced an inch deep before coming to a grinding halt, deep purple blood leaked out the side of the creature, hissing along the blade¡¯s edge and pooling on the floor, carving a small hole. The creature let out a noise along the line of a hiss and howl, pain evident in the noise. It slapped its massive hand against the blade, a cracking noise rang out as my hand snapped, letting the blade fly deeper into the cave. Clutching my wounded hand the beast finally stood up, it leapt at me, hate filled eyes pinning me in place. The creature flew straight towards me, a memory flashed through my mind, I remembered my first fight, a similar situation but I was on the other side. The old man had dodged my knife by dropping to the ground, taking a page out of his book the creature flew over me before crashing into the wall with a resound bang. The already weakened wall from my glyphs couldn¡¯t hold up under this assault and crumbled, a deep grinding noise shook me to the bone as the ceiling started to cave in. I was too deep into the cave to make my way out before I was caved in, my only option was to go deeper in. Kicking up stone and mushrooms I bolted into the cave, my opponent however was not as lucky and the roof blanketed it. A deep darkness swallowed me as the moonlight was cut off, a terrible screech echoed out from the monster as it was buried. A sigh left my lips when the noise cut out, relief washed over me, right up until the moment when I heard more stone grinding. Infusing my eyes to see what was happening as the noise didn¡¯t sound as dangerous as the cave in, I saw the rocks that buried the creature shifting and groaning. ¡°God dammit.¡± Knowing that anything that could survive a cave in was something that was beyond my current ability, I turned right around and ran as fast as my legs could carry me. Curses left my mouth in a nonstop stream as I went deeper and deeper into the cave. ----------------- Boyle had finally made his way into Valinwoode, he had attempted to go to the Count¡¯s house but found that he was not receiving anyone unless they brought information about his missing son. Apparently he had gone missing during a routine dall¡¯in hunt that his son had gone on to alleviate his boredom. Boyle knew he wouldn¡¯t be allowed in even if the Count wasn¡¯t busy looking for his heir, but he had to try anyway. His next stop was the local Adventurer¡¯s Guild, he made his way to the town center, south from the Count¡¯s manor. Crossing through snaking streets, and slipping through crowds he made his way there. As a major trade hub for the country, the market area was alive with people. A huge hive of potential customers milled about, or for the less savor individual, potential targets. There were hundreds of people, some in rich garb of various gaudy styles and colors, indicating their allegiance, or the less fortunate clothed in home-spun tunics. They all walked among each other, from stall to stall, or from storefront to storefront. Many people had brought in and set up temporary stalls, selling things from weapons and trinkets, to fresh baked good and alchemical ingredients. Past the stalls were the more permanent storefronts and various guilds, many professional stores had more rare ingredients and gear, most displayed in the store front to entice customers. Alongside these stores were the various guild halls, from the Thief¡¯s Guild, to the Mage¡¯s Guilds they were arrayed around the town center. Boyle made his way towards one specific guild, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, it had a warm from, made from evenly cut wooden planks, and warm colored logs propped around the double door entrance. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. On the three story building, above the door, was a skull from some unidentifiable creature, right next to a sign with the guild¡¯s insignia, a sword pointing towards the skull, signifying the buildings purpose. Boyle strode up to the door and pushed them open, they swung open easily revealing the interior bustling with various types of people. The inside was as warm as the outside, the wood was a light brown color and the various tables and chairs were only a few shades darker, mage stones hung from chandelier-like contraptions bathing the inside with an orange glow. To the left was a bar with various armored individuals asleep at it, whereas to the right was the quest board, a wide section of the wall marked off to hold quest papers pinned to the wall. Each quest had the title of it with the requirements for completion, under it was the reward and the required rank. Rank was based off of various things, level of purity when it came to your mana or energy, combat skill, experience and various other variables. There were many magical ways to test your rank, but most adventurer¡¯s opted to go the mundane route and take the rankup tests. Boyle made his way over to the bar, reaching into a pocket in his tunic and taking out a coin pouch. He hadn¡¯t much left, but he was willing to offer it all for a subjugation mission to take out that monster, he hadn¡¯t slept since the incident without nightmare of its enormous mouth hanging over him, the remains of his group trapped between it teeth, blood and drool dripping of its chin. He shivered just thinking about the dreams, he reached the bar and sat on a free stool next to an unusually muscular elf woman. Sighing he waited for the barkeep to come over, the barkeep in this building was also the guild leader. Making it convenient to get a hot meal and copious amounts of booze, while also giving a quest request. He had waited only a short time before a gruff man had walked over to him, the man¡¯s face was scarred and his arms, which were bare not covered by his shirt, were criss crossed in old wounds. The man¡¯s eyes were like clouds in a storm, a dark grey that seemed to look through you, not at you. His mouth was turned down in a perpetual frown, while his left leg seemed crippled as he walked with a limp. ¡°Drink?¡± he asked bluntly. ¡°Yes please, cheapest you have.¡± The man walked away without another word, grabbing a bottle low on the shelf behind him he brought it to the man, and set the whole bottle on the table. ¡°One silver.¡± Boyle reached into the bag and handed him the coin. ¡°I also have a quest that needs undertaking, at least rank B, maybe higher.¡± The man¡¯s eyebrow rose up, his first show of emotion since the start of the conversation. ¡°What is it?¡± he asked with his characteristic lack of words. ¡°Some monster killed my friends, I barely escaped as it was feeding.¡± he shivered as he recalled the fight ¡°It looked like a man, but its mouth had teeth like knives, and it was so fast.. I couldn¡¯t¡­¡± he trailed off. ¡°More information.¡± Boyle took a deep swig of liquid courage before coughing and continuing, ¡°Its arms and legs glowed red, and it slit the throats of my comrades in their sleep¡­ I was only spared because I was awake when it attacked. I tried to warn her¡­¡± ¡°It slit their throats?¡± said the man using the longest sentence yet. ¡°It used a knife, it carved her stomach open, she was high rank C, she could have passed the B test¡­ and it carved her open like a fish.¡± he closed his eyes and took another long drink. ¡°Sound like it was a man, talk to constable.¡± ¡°Please! That was no man, it was a monster.¡± he begged ¡°Look I have money, it had two enchanted swords on it, that¡¯s gotta be worth something!¡± He poured the contents of his pouch onto the bar, revealing 13 gold, 7 silver, and 12 copper. ¡°That¡¯s all I have, please! I can¡¯t sleep knowing it¡¯s out there!¡± ¡°Quiet, you¡¯re causing a scene.¡± his cold tone silenced Boyle immediately ¡°Wait, you said he had two enchanted swords, that can¡¯t be a coincidence¡­¡± he trailed off. ¡°What about them?¡± ¡°The Count¡¯s son, his bodyguards both had an enchanted blade. They were in near that area, hunting a dall¡¯in.¡± the guild leader paused, his brow creasing. ¡°I¡¯m sure the Count would offer a sizable sum to hunt this creature, if what you say is true.¡± Relief was evident on his face, ¡°Yes! Yes it¡¯s true, we need to go to him right now.¡± his words had started to slur. ¡°Rest for now boyo, you can have a room on the house. Go.¡± Too tired and relieved to argue Boyle stumbled up the stairs towards the room after collecting his money, his mind set on a good night¡¯s sleep. ----------------- My breath was heavy in my ears as I ran deeper into the cave, I had gone left when I reached the bone room but after that the twisting paths had robbed me of all direction, I didn¡¯t know where I had gone but I couldn¡¯t hear the pounding noise of the monster¡¯s heaving feet. My legs felt like lead and my mind was a formless soup, I could feel my heart attempting to pound its way out of my chest like a disgruntled prisoner. I had long ago run out of energy from my core, back to my usual speed I kicked up cloud as I ran, I had seen many creatures I couldn¡¯t name, but none had chased me, probably because of the potential apex predator after me. Just because I couldn¡¯t hear it, didn¡¯t mean it wasn¡¯t still following me, this thought kept me running even past the point where I was only running on fumes. I couldn¡¯t hide from the creature, its sense of smell was better than a razorwolf¡¯s, I needed to fight it as I couldn¡¯t out last it in a battle of endurance either. A straight fight was definitely not happening as I didn¡¯t have a chance even before my hand was broken, I needed to set a trap, I sighed, it was becoming annoying that I had to use traps in every fight. While I did love the feeling of a well laid trap being sprung, it couldn¡¯t compare to the feeling of a blade singing right past you, or tearing into someone¡¯s chest and ripping out their heart as they tried their best to kill you. Coming to a halt I checked my surroundings looking for a good spot, I was in a pathway that looked the same as all the rest, a curving path made of rough stone with barely anything in the way of plants. The only thing breaking up the monotony of the stone were stalactites hanging from the ceiling, an idea sprung to mind. The sword had managed to pierce the scale and hide, if just barely. If I could get something with a sharpness rune, like what was on the sword, and have it fall on the creature with a thousand pounds of force, it could be enough. I decided on a relatively large stalactite on the roof, I put a rune for earth on the base of it along with a separate rune and a will activation one, making aglyph capable of separating it from the roof. I only managed to reach it using the last energy from my newly acquired center, along with the leg strength from eating the gultins to make small foot holds up the wall to allow me to latch on next to the stalactite. After carving the glyph for earth seperate, my mana levels were dangerously low, I only had enough mana to carve the sharpness rune onto the top of the stalactite. I climbed down and found a comfortable spot to rest until the thing got here, I didn¡¯t rest for long until I heard the pounding of its feet. I attempted to push myself up but mistakenly used my broken hand, causing me to grit my teeth and let a hiss of pain out. When I finally stood up the noise was much closer, the ground under me vibrated with each step. Pulled out my last remaining sword, knowing my non enchanted knife wouldn¡¯t be up to the job. I help it in my left hand, and dropped into a ready stance. Even though I had the knowledge in my mind, my stance was still awkward because I was a novice. The creature turned the corner into my corridor and skid along the ground, before breaking free of momentum¡¯s hold and charging at me. The creature¡¯s clawed feet dug furrows in the stone ground, a testament to its strength. The creature was in worse condition than when I had last seen it, its front was scratched up but from what I could see, its back was in much worse condition. It looked as though sections of its scaled hide had been torn away, leaving exposed flesh and blood open to the air. The creature bellowed in rage and charged at me, I tried to lead it towards my trap but I was too far to the side, I lept to side at the last second to dodge it, landing awkwardly on my broken hand. More jolts of white hot pain coursed up my arm, leaving me stunned. Before I could get back to my feet I heard the creature coming towards me, it wasn¡¯t charging as before, but carefully stalking. This frightened me more than the mad charge, as it looked like the creature was learning. It knew I was smaller and more nimble than it, and when looking at my defenseless form it took its time coming to me. It came closer and closer, its mouths curved up in mocking grins, until it was directly underneath my trap. With a snapping noise all one thousand pounds of stone crashed down on the creatures exposed back, the flesh sagged under the weight before snapping and letting in the stalactite to wreak havoc on its insides. The stone sunk deeper in, piercing through organs until it came out the front of it body with a sound like paper tearing. It chest tore open revealing the behemoth of stone, the stone spear slowly slid forward tearing the wound even wider before falling to the ground with a clatter. The creature stumbled forward, eye uncomprehending to the wound in its chest, it took two steps before falling flat on its face with a muffled bang, never to rise again. I closed my eyes and laid back down, exhaustion flooding my mind like a dam broken. I listened to the sound of wind whistling through the tunnel and of the creature¡¯s blood hissing and spitting on the ground. I felt the cool stone under me and the dull throb of my broken hand. I smelt coppery blood and viscera, and tasted it in the air. I felt all these things until I sunk deep into the endless sea of unconsciousness . Chapter 6 Chapter 6 I woke to a hot pain in my side, it felt like my skin was bubbling and peeling off. I sat up with a start, breath coming through clenched teeth. I looked towards my side, my clothes were burnt through and my left arm up to the shoulder was raw and blistered. I let out a hiss of pain and looked around for what burned me, on the ground in a pool around the monstrosity I killed was its thick purple blood, still hissing and spitting, carving its way into the stone. I took several hasty steps back almost stumbling over rocks and weeds. My footsteps echoed in the air, a foul smell permeated the area. I looked back towards the creature, its chest caved in from back to front, guts spilled haphazardly around it. Floating several inches above its nonexistent chest was a light similar to that of the woman¡¯s he ate, the only difference was instead of a comforting golden glow, this one was a dark purple color that seemed to devour the light around it. The orb¡¯s dark outline gave it a silhouette against the cave background, I took a step towards it, making sure to avoid the ever growing pool on the ground. The closer I got to it, the colder the air seemed to feel, my hair stood on end and an uncomfortable feeling settled in my gut, coiling around like an icy snake. I came to the edge of the blood pool, I was unable to get closer to the body because of it, taking several steps back I leapt towards the body, soaring over the acid blood and landing with a sickening crunch on the thing¡¯s stomach. The stomach caved dangerously and I crouched low to keep from falling, pinwheeling my arms I managed to keep my balance. I reached towards the glowing light, using the same technique I had before I focused my will on the orb and grasped it in my hand. As soon as I made contact my blood went cold, it felt as though thousands of gallons of ice water were replacing my blood. My body felt like it was becoming too full, my veins stood out against my skin, black as coal, my veins started to writhe and twist sending cold agony through my body. I clutched my head as the cold reached my brain, the pain of my broken hand and burned arm were forgotten in lieu of this new feeling, it was as if a wrathful imp was stabbing my head with razor sharp icicles. I collapsed under the pain, my arms twitched in front of my eyes, hand clenching and unclenching as my last lunch was set free. I looked in horror as my hands and arms formed dark scales, nearly black in coloration, they seemed to be popping out from under my skin. Blood leaked from around the scales, but it wasn¡¯t red as usual, it was black. Tears coursed down my face and I felt my body start to shake again, I knew that my body couldn¡¯t handle much more, and once I reached my limit death would not be far behind. I needed to heal my wound and rejuvenate myself, I had no healing magic and the only way I knew to heal on such short notice was to feed. The only meal within reach was the creature I was laying on, yet I had seen its blood melt through sheer stone. It was either die from melting inside out, or from whatever changes I was undergoing, steeling myself I rolled my body so I was facing down towards its stomach. Opening my jaw wide I stuck my head into the hole left by my trap, and closed it around the first morsel I could find. My mouth exploded in pain, a hot burning was felt as its blood flowed down my throat. I felt blisters forming from the acid, and being smoothed away as whatever happened when I ate ran its course. My mouth and throat followed this cycle of burning and unburning as the rest of my body healed much slower than usual, the skin on my left arm reformed and was replaced with the scales, my right hand snapped back into place with a sound like a tree being felled. I ate more and more of the flesh while my skin turned into scales and my blood froze in my veins, my entire body was covered in the scales, their seamless interlocking pattern making it look as though they were one single piece. The only place not covered was from my neck up, and even there I soon felt the creeping feeling of my skin changing, when it reached my mouth I heard a tearing noise, and only then did I let myself scream, a new form of pain ran through me with all the subtlety of a charging warhorse. I felt the flesh and skin from each side of my mouth tear until it reached my ears, a terrible grin was torn onto my face, as the rest of my head was covered. As soon as it reached the top of my head the pain suddenly stopped, and icy cold permeating my body disappeared. I flopped to the side, my head exiting the chest cavity of my dinner. A huge breath left my lungs and I closed my eyes for a moment, before I felt like I was falling. My eyes snapped open and I realised immediately I was indeed falling off the corpse, straight into the pool of blood below. I panicked and let out a cry, it felt strange when I noticed my mouth was nearly twice as wide. I splashed into the blood and noticed I felt no pain, a strange heat was felt as my clothes burned away under me, but I didn¡¯t feel like my skin was melting off. I stood up unsteadily and stumbled away from the pool, looking at my pitch black hands. I reached up and ran one over my face, noticing how my mouth was extraordinarily wide, if I had any ideas of going into a city before, they were now thrown out the window. I sighed before looking inside me, towards where my Core, and Center resided. As usual I couldn¡¯t see my Center, but my Core hung suspended in a strange purple miasma, I reached towards it and felt my body grow cold again, my skin seemed to flip in on itself before switching back to my usual pallor, and my mouth shrunk down to its usual size. I stared at my hands, flexing them and wiggling the fingers, I patted my face making sure I looked like normal, or as normal as usual. I felt like everything was in order, and now that I was back to normal I was alerted to my hunger by the usual means. My stomach grumbled and I looked back towards the remains of the behemoth, I took a step into the puddle before I felt the usual burning sensation of acid against skin. I jumped back and realised my error. Whatever form I had unlocked from this things ¡°soul¡±, for lack of a better term, had allowed me to step into the acid blood without injury. Stripping off my clothing I reached inside of myself to the purple miasma and ¡°touched¡± it, my skin flipped and a shining black carapace replaced it. I felt a strange tugging at the ends of my mouth, and soon felt the usual tearing sensation of it widening. I stalked towards my ready to go meal and chowed down, tearing it apart with relish, my tongue flitted out, seemingly of its own accord, to lap at the acidic blood on the ground. Once the meal was complete and I swallowed the scales whole, I got dressed again and decided to do some physical testing, with and without my new form, and after that it was time to test what other abilities this ¡°soul¡± allowed me. ----------------- I had completed my physical tests, strength, speed, and endurance had all been tested. All of them had progressed substantially since my last meal, I could run faster and longer, I could move rock that had previously been beyond my grasp, and the speed allowed for better swordplay, leagues beyond what I had previously achieved. That was only in my usual form, once I changed into what I dubbed ¡°monster¡± form, after changing I was able to move in ways that were previously impossible, I could nearly bend over backwards and punch holes through stone, the only issue was, unless I was extremely careful my grip would shatter the sword I had. So that led me to my next series of tests, finding what else my monster form was capable of. After changing back and forth between normal and monster form so much I no longer had to focus as much to change, it could be done with a though and the process was underway. I reached to the miasma inside and the change happened, I felt my senses heighten and a new sense of my body became apparent. I could feel the way my muscles shifted under my ¡°skin¡± and the way my magical energy fluctuated, I reached out towards the miasma, but made sure not to turn back. Taking a metaphorical handful of it I attempted to focus it into a usable form, it seemed to compress into a more liquid state, bending and splitting as I willed it. I attempted to focus it into my hand, the hand went cold as if I stuck it into a frozen pond, and I felt the skin harden. I could ¡°see¡± the tendons shifting and the muscles contracting, I moved the energy into my fingertips and attempted to push the power out. My fingertips stretched and pointed like claws, but the energy wouldn¡¯t leave my body. Stalking over to the cave wall I slashed in a diagonal line and felt scant resistance as the claws cut through the sheer stone. From my tests I also learned I couldn¡¯t stay in this form indefinitely, after too long, around 3 minutes, the cold feeling would come back and I would have to switch out of the form or pass out from exhaustion. Apparently using the energy as I had had reduced this time limit drastically and after only one minute I felt about to collapse. Switching back to my normal state I donned my clothing, which were more like rags, and tried to find a way out of this cave. I strained my senses, listening for anything that would indicate a way out. It took only a few minutes before I felt a fluttering against my skin, a draft. I followed the cave corridor towards where the wind was blowing, I turned multiple corners before stumbling across a small opening in the wall. It was too small to crawl through, but luckily I had just learned of a new way to remove stone. I switched forms and clawed quickly into the wall, cutting out small sections around the hole until it widened enough to go through. Switching back, I crawled through the hole into the bright sunlight, the sky was overcast and hinted at rain. The swollen clouds floated lazily along, uncaring for the battle of life and death that had just occurred under their heavenly forms. I couldn¡¯t tell if the sun was rising or falling, so I decided to wait until it was apparent which way was west and which was east. Laying back against the cold stone I sat lazily, gazing around. The mountain path I was on was populated with various kinds of herbs and shrubs, each one a host to various kinds of insect life. Far below me was an open green area followed by sand, and then¡­ ocean. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. I smacked myself in the forehead as I realised my stupidity, I didn¡¯t need to wait until the sun told me where to go, the ocean could do that just as easily. I had entered on the south eastern side of the mountain and emerged on the north eastern edge, this let me decide which way I wished to go. I could head north west towards the sea, but there wasn¡¯t much I could do there, or I could go back the way I came, this was equally unnatractive as I didn¡¯t think I could pretend at being human. I was then reminded where I was, I was on the largest mountain in the mountain range, I had brand new abilities to test and a perfect hunting ground for it. A wide smile split my face as I cracked my knuckles and stretched, preparing myself to hunt. ----------------- Boyle and the guild leader he had met, earlier he learned his name is Gorm, paced in front of the count¡¯s manor gate, waiting for the answer for an audience. They had alerted the guard of their need to see Count Alagin, and had been waiting since he left nearly an hour ago. The manor gate was impressive yet functional, with sharp pointed tips on the top and an artistic design of metal on the gate itself. The pair dealt with their annoyance differently, Boyle bit his nails nervously and let out the occasional groan, while Gorm paced in glum silence. They both let out relieved breaths when they saw the guard walking along the path towards them, he held the Alagin standard in his left hand, a red flag with a majestic griffin baring its claws. The man took his time as he made his way to the gate, seemingly in no hurry. ¡°I hope he gets whipped for wasting time when the Count learns we have information about his son.¡± Boyle huffed. ¡°Quiet boy.¡± The soldier finally made his way to the gate, and with a mock bow he opened it. ¡°The Count will see you, come along.¡± he drawled lazily. They followed in mute annoyance after the guard, and he led them further down the path towards the manor. The manor functioned more as a place for entertainment than a defensible fort, the front had many windows on all floors and was made of wood. The doorway had a tiled pathway that connected to the path, and multiple freestanding marble pillars stood at attention on the sides. The trio walked up the doors and opened them, hey swung open noiselessly and were greeted with an open room. A plush red rug led its way deeper into the home, multiple hunting trophies of various fantastical animals adorned the walls, and magical lanterns cast brilliant light over the whole area. A troop of guards stood like the marble pillars outside, motionless and resolute, warning off any potential intruder. A middle aged man with salt and pepper hair stood at the end of the line of guards, he had sharp features and his splendid red clothes marking him as the Count. ¡°Bring them to my study. Make sure they don¡¯t track mud.¡± he said with nary a glance back as he turned away. Boyle started to walk forward and call for the Count when a hand grabbed him and pulled him back, he turned and saw Gorm holding him and pointing at the mat next to the door. ¡°Wipe¡± he said. Getting the message Boyle wiped his muddy boots, scraping as much as he could off the bottom. One of the guards in the Alagin livery indicated for them to follow as he turned and walked the way the Count had. They followed him down halls filled with priceless paintings, Boyle wondered why they were allowed so close with only one guard until he turned around and saw three others following them. They walked in near silence, the only noise was the clanging of armor and weapon, along with the heavy tread of boots, Boyle couldn¡¯t help but feel he wasn¡¯t a guest but a prisoner. They reached the Count¡¯s study room and followed the guard in, the room itself was large but not overly so. Ahead of them was a large darkwood desk, covered in piles of papers and books, a large magelight hung suspended in the air. To the left and right the walls were covered in bookshelves, Boyle stared with his mouth wide at the sight, he had never seen so many books. ¡°Close your mouth boy. This is nothing compared with the library.¡± the Count said condescendingly. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I heard you right, I think you meant to say ¡®Sorry your lordship¡¯¡± ¡°Sorry your lordship.¡± Boyle mumbled out. ¡°Better, now why are you both here?¡± he asked coldly ¡°I would like you to know that before you answer that the only reason you are here is because Gorm was with you, without him you would not be allowed in, and even with him I would hope to not be disappointed.¡± Boyle gulped as cold sweat ran down his back, ¡°I kno- I mean I think I know what happened to your son.¡± The count¡¯s eyes widened, then narrowed down like a predator looking at its next meal. ¡°This better not be a joke, boy.¡± Boyle swallowed again, ¡°No, I saw someone, more monster than man with two enchanted swords.¡± The count stood up abruptly, ¡°What!? This is all you have!? You come to my home, and taunt me with new of my son! Only to tell me that you saw someone with two enchanted swords!?¡± Gorm stepped forward seeing that the Count was dangerously close to becoming violent, ¡°I know your son had two guards with him, each had a sword like Boyle described. I also know you son was in the mountains hunting, the same place where Boyle said he saw this man.¡± The count simmered down, he took his seat again and straightened out his clothing. ¡°This is still nothing but useless information and happenstance, how does this help me find my son?¡± Boyle stepped forward again, a glint of determination in his eyes, ¡°Your son was hunting a dall¡¯in right?¡± ¡°Yes, and?¡± ¡°Well the man who killed my friends, the one with the swords, he had teeth like a dall¡¯in and he¡­ he ate my friends corpses before I ran¡± he managed to choke out. ¡°Now that, that is something interesting.¡± a vicious grin crept across the count¡¯s face. ----------------- I had hunted what I could up in the mountains, and while they provided small boosts to my physical traits nothing major had happened, I had been hunting gultins and other relatively easy to kill creatures, but now I had something to kill that set my blood to boiling. The creature had eluded me thus far, its grey pelt letting it blend in easily with the surroundings. My new quarry was a huge mountain cat, it had been talking me and I it for the past six days. The creature was always just around the corner from me waiting, yet always just out of reach when I went after it. We had been in several fights, I had managed to score several strikes against it, but even my claws in monster form only managed to cut a couple inches deep. The beast had wounded me several times but I had managed to get away and feed, each time I looked back the thing was right there, waiting. It had an unnatural glint of intelligence in its eyes, I wanted so badly to tear it apart. It seemed as though it was always taunting me at my lack of ability, it almost felt like it wasn¡¯t really hunting me, just toying. Surely today will be the day I kill it, I kept telling myself, yet each time I was proven wrong. I had tried setting traps for it, but it never fell for them, I had tried to win our fights when I was ambushed but it always came out on top. It was infuriating. In my rare moments of peace I had tried using the miasma in human form without turning but hadn¡¯t managed it, the same went for using energy from my Center or mana in monster form. I hadn¡¯t managed to make either work without a sharp pain in the back of my skull ruining my concentration. At the moment I was sneaking along a rocky outcropping in the direction I thought the cat was in, I hadn¡¯t given up trying to sneak up on it yet. I came out into a wide clearing of strangely smooth stone, it was a half circle area with the usual plants and insect life. The cat was nowhere to be seen, and I didn¡¯t see anyplace it could have hidden yet. I had an idea, if I couldn¡¯t see it, maybe I could use my other senses. Focusing energy on my sense of smell and hearing I paid close attention. I could smell a faint earthy smell of clean stone from the recent rain, and I could smell the distinct herbs. My ears picked up on the shivering of insect wings and¡­ a faint shuffling noise coming towards me. I inhaled deeply, attempting to smell for anything out of place again, I could smell wet fur. My eyes shot open and I peered in the direction the smell and noise came from, a rather indistinct patch of stone I had previously written of as a rock was moving slowly towards me. It moved so slowly and fluidly I wouldn¡¯t have been able to sense it if I hadn¡¯t know it was coming. Deciding pretending to not know it was coming was my best course of action, I decided to attempt something new. If I didn¡¯t the creature would either kill me, or this cat and mouse game would continue, and I was getting rather tired of it. I discreetly infused a small amount of energy into my left forefinger, my control over this energy was magnitudes better than before, and after I learned I could shape the miasma I found I could do the same with this. Sharpening it in my left finger I started to scrawl the simple, and forbidden, body rune for strength into my right arm. I was going to attempt to infuse it with mana in this form and change into monster form, then if all went well, use it in monster form. After the distinct red glow faded away, this time tinged with slight purple and black spots, I dismissed my energy and waited. If this worked I might be able to kill the creature, and if not it was back to running anyway. The cat was closing in on me, it would soon get ready to pounce. Its hackles raised up and its tail swayed back and forth, like a grey lightning bolt it flew through the air. I switched forms, cold flames burned through my body and my face tore, I reached for the mana I usually had at my beck and call, but it was distant. This was a problem, the cat was tearing through the air at high speeds, desperation in my attempts I focused my mind down to a razor¡¯s edge and reached. This time I managed to grasp the tiniest amount of mana, but with it came near blinding agony, clenching my teeth, I focused my will onto the rune buried under my scales. A dark red glow burst forth, shining lights through the miniscule gaps between scales. This all happened in nearly an instant, I pivoted on my heel and thrust my hand forwards, inky black claws formed at the tip. I aimed for the cat¡¯s wide open mouth but missed, my hand collided with it¡¯s chest. Up until this point the best I had managed against the obviously magical creature were shallow cuts, but with my rune strength and monster ability my hand cut through the its chest. Crushing each rib like a tree branch, my hand rooted around inside of it, the familiar icy cold sensation starting at my hand and pulsing down my arm. I clasped a familiar organ, beating in a rhythm and squeezed. Blood seeped out of the wounded animal as it let out a pitiful yowl, the once majestic hunter reduced to a corpse at my feet. I let go of it¡¯s insides and the body fell with a thump, dead as it hit the ground. A mad smile split my face nearly in two, blood dripping down my arm and beating a pattern against the unforgiving stone. ¡°What¡¯s wrong kitty?¡± I knelt down and cupped my ear towards its now silent mouth, ¡°No response, that¡¯s kinda rude.¡± I tore off one of its legs and dug in, succulent flesh giving way to my maw. ¡°Oh well¡­ More for me!¡± ----------------- A terrible laugh echoed down the mountainside as a beast tore apart its prey, it¡¯s too wide mouth spread in a massive grin. Its dark eyes and moon white pupils along with flecks of light swirled like the night sky, as a manic gleam told of a hunger that was never to be truly sated. Chapter 7 Chapter 7 I hung upside down off the cliff, hanging onto the overhang with my legs. My hands were splayed wide and they fluttered in the wind, threatening to tear me from my precarious perch. I smiled down on the world, it all looked so small and funny from up here, the big blue under me and the wide green fields and trees above. A giggle escaped my lips as I saw my best friend Edmond next to my legs. I pulled myself up and cupped him in my hands. ¡°I know that Eduardo. Yeah it would be kinda funny wouldn¡¯t it.¡± I snorted at his wit. Edward was my best friend in the whole wide world, he kept me company and told me jokes. He didn¡¯t get along with the voice, but the voice was being rude lately. The voice wasn¡¯t answering my calls and I was getting lonely, good thing Eddison was here for me. I put Edwick back in my pocket and ran my fingers over his cold hard surface, it was comforting. My clothes had long since deserted me, which was rude considering I was on a mountain. Its pretty cold up there. I was nearing the south eastern edge of the mountain again, the same area I had first come to, though this time I was much higher up. The wind was chilling and cut straight to the bone. The sparse plant life below was nearly non existent up here, replaced with snow and tears. It had been a boring couple of days since my last satisfying kill, the cat who¡¯s heart got popped. Eddy whispered to me from my pocket, I took him out and help him in front of my face, staring intently. ¡°What do you mean I suck at this? I¡¯ll have you know I¡¯ve hunted multiple monsters. I¡¯d also like to remind you I could drop you off the side of the cliff and you couldn¡¯t stop me.¡± I said with a smug grin, ¡°Of course I¡¯d do it, just watch, one of these days Ed, bing, bang, zoom, and off you go.¡± After I silenced Ed I walked to a small uninhabited cave I had commandeered from an uncooperative previous tenant, he hadn¡¯t taken kindly to me. I still had the scars to prove it. I hadn¡¯t been just hunting and sleeping, though mostly that was my main routine. By the firelight in that small cave I had practiced using my miasma and Center energy. I had refined my control over the miasma and could create single claws on specific fingers instead of whole hand transformation. I had tried more to transform my body into the monster form in only specific parts, with limited success. While I couldn¡¯t just change my hand, I had managed to change everything but my hand. One could say that was progress. My physical skills were still improving with leaps and bounds, but my fighting abilities were still limited to wild flailing and subterfuge. It was gonna get dark soon so I decided to practice with my sword knowledge and develop it into a usable skill. I had all of this information from my meals but I hadn¡¯t learned to translate it yet. But tonight that was going to change. I set Ed down on the far side of the cave near a nice patch of mushrooms, he likes those, and took out my sword. The blade shimmered in the firelight. I dropped into a ready stance and held my blade out parallel to my front foot. I went through basic attacks I had learned from the first mountain meals. I could translate some of my practical knowledge with knife fighting to the basics of sword fighting. The basic slash, thrust, and parry came easily since I technically already knew how to do them, and had done in some fashion with the knife. I spent nearly the entire night drilling myself with basic sword forms and attacks. I drilled until sweat dripped down my body in streams and my legs buckled with exhaustion, and only then did I rest. ----------------- I woke to sunlight pounding on my eyelids, I woke on the cold stone ground temporarily blinded by midday¡¯s light. I turned over back towards where Ed was, and what do you know. The lazy bastard was still there, in the same spot as before, he hadn¡¯t even moved an inch. ¡°You know, it would be nice, just once, to wake to you cooking me something nice.¡± I sat up and yawned, ¡°What do you mean I don¡¯t cook for you? You don¡¯t even eat.¡± I grabbed my sword and sheathed it in its scabbard. My sword belt was hanging on by a thread, the same went for my pants. I had a pair of rags for a shirt, and I seriously felt deep down that if I was welcome in civilized company some lucky tailor would make a fortune off me. I tucked Ed into his small pouch on my belt and went out of the cave to brave the morning. I looked out over the valley and forest, peering further towards the nearby city of Valinwoode. A procession of people had left it several days ago, some couple dozen strong. They had slowly made their way towards the mountain range, cutting down wildlife as they went. Their armor glinted in the sunlight, marking them as soldiers or adventurers. My bet was on adventurers because some of them had truly spectacular looking weaponry. Swords as large as two men were tall, or staves with some precious gem or other on top. They looked ready to sack a large town, I really felt bad for whatever they were after. Putting them out of my mind I made my up the mountain, through winding paths and precarious overhang, slowly making my way towards the hunting ground. The whole way I circulated energy from my Center around my body, refining my control and strengthening it like a muscle. I did the same for the miasma energy, switching back and forth from man to monster. As I entered the clearing I had scouted out yesterday Ed picked that moment to make a joke, ¡°Shhhh!¡± I whispered, worrying someone had heard him. The joke wasn¡¯t even his best work, sometimes I wondered at his sanity. The clearing ahead of me was made of stone similar to the stone everywhere else, but here there was clear signs of wildlife passing. Small tracks in the light amount of snow, followed by larger tracks and the sudden disappearance of the smaller tracks. This alone was enough to tell me that something hunted here, and nothing got my blood pumping like hunting a hunter. I also needed something to test my new sword skills on. Whatever was here wasn¡¯t a pushover as I could see some tracks of dangerous animals that suddenly disappeared in the snow. I couldn¡¯t tell what it was that prowled this area, but it was large. The tracks it had left were large and had four huge toes, tipped in large claws. It looked like it was four legged, maybe a cat or wolf creature that had gorged itself on other magical creatures. I decided to find a small rock topped with snow to hide behind. I peered over the top of my hidey rock, occasionally smacking Ed when he got too rowdy. The plain clearing had several large rocks scattered around, this area was secreted away off a small path I had found when stalking a weird cat with a eyes atop small stalks. The area was vaguely circular, surrounded by sheer stone, the only openings were the one I came through and the larger path that came from somewhere else on the opposite side. I had waited for a pretty long time, or at least it felt like it, until from the other side of the clearing came a giant ugly head. It had a beak like a bird, though it obviously wasn¡¯t, the rest of its body was absolutely massive. It had wings that were folded on its back, small blue veins criss crossing the leathery wings. It had two massive eyes, with piercing yellow pupils that seemed to shift in size and shape, its body was covered in fur and under the surface was a surplus of muscle.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. The thing stomped into the clearing, its four massive clawed feet digging through the snow and into the stone. It was similar to a hunting cat in shape, but that was where the similarities ended. I was here to test my sword skills, I was going to attempt this fight without sneaky underhanded tactics, although I did like those. I felt I needed to push myself, testing my limits. Today wasn¡¯t a hunt as I had been doing before, stalking and then killing abruptly, today was a battle. I looked towards Ed secreted away inside a pouch on my belt, his stoic unchanging expression bolstering my resolve. I drew my sword and stepped into the clearing, ¡°Ed that¡¯s rude, just because he looks like a deformed monstrosity, doesn¡¯t mean you can just call him names.¡± the strange monster looked over to me, and roared, spraying spittle all over my rags, ¡°On second thought, maybe he does deserve it.¡± I stepped forwards, snow crunching under my bare feet. I circled around it slowly to the right, the creature seemed cautious. Probably because all of its prey fled, and now when faced with this strange looking creature it was stumped. Why doesn¡¯t the smelly two legs run? It was probably thinking, making fun of me. I was definitely getting tired of how rude everyone was, even Ed was rude to me sometimes. I sighed to myself, as me and the bird but not bird continued to circle each other. I made the first move, dashing towards its stomach with my sword ready to catch in its flesh. The creature leapt back, using its wings to propel itself further. As soon as it landed it used its powerful back legs and wings to launch itself at me, attempting to skewer me on its beak. I rolled to the side, lashing out with my sword towards its leg, it connected, but just barely. The blade only managed to scratch its thigh. But that was enough to make it mad. The thing reared up on its hind legs like a horse and slammed down, the ground around me shook and I lost balance. As I toppled back the creature used its wings again to propel itself, flying towards me at incredible speeds. I rolled desperately to the side and barely managed to dodge its beak, but its foreleg managed to claw out at me. I didn¡¯t manage to dodge that. Its leg scored a long set of four deep cuts on my back, spaced at even intervals. My back bled profusely onto the white snow, but if I had learned one thing in the mountains, it was that hesitation led to death. I rolled back onto my feet, staggering slightly. I turned towards where the wannabe bird flew past me, and was greeted with the sight of it loping towards me. I lowered myself closer to the ground and prepared to dodge, its front claws lashed out in a series of wild slashes. Each one coming within inches of me. I only managed to dodge thanks to my recent diet of powerful creatures. As a heavy overhand paw swipe split the air towards me I rolled back and lashed out with my sword. This time the blade connected solidly, splitting one of the creatures toes in half. The thing roared at me again and leapt back again. I sighed, this was getting annoying, any time I made progress the thing just ran. I needed to take the wings out first if I wanted any chance at killing it before I bled out. I knew I could probably kill it with my monster form but I was here to get better with my blade. I ran at the creature and leapt towards it while it was still recovering. The thing was not used to being wounded by its prey and I managed to take advantage of it. I landed on its right shoulder and climbed up. I heaved myself onto its back, clinging to the dirty fur. I stabbed randomly around, attempting to hit something important while the thing spun wildly and attempted to buck me off. I held on tight with one arm and swung like a madman with my other. I felt resistance, then warmth and I cut near the base of one of its wings. The wound erupted in hot red blood, showering me and clinging to my skin. The creature redoubled its attempts to shake me off. I swung around like a child clinging a horse for the first time, nearly losing my grip as I kept at my savage hacking. My blade bit deep into the things flesh, causing more blood to pour down onto me. Blood seeped between my fingers, loosening my grip until I couldn¡¯t hold on. I went flying through the air, pinwheeling as I went while gravity had no hold on me. I was abruptly snatched back down to earth by a solid rock wall. A pile of snow shook itself loose and landed on my head, knocking me to the ground. I managed to stand up, swaying like a drunk. I had lost my sword when I landed. I looked around for it until I saw a piece of metal glinting under a snow pile. I stumbled towards it, lost in a haze until I heard a familiar angry roar. The creature had evidently decided that it was done writhing on the ground, and now it had its sight set on me. I wasn¡¯t close enough to grab my sword before the weird bird arrived, and I didn¡¯t wanna use my powers. So I decided to let Ed have a go, maybe he could hold him off until I got my sword. I reached into my pouch and withdrew my bestest of friends, his solid form cool to the touch. I cocked my arm back and threw him with all my might, which was a considerable amount. He flew through the air, and whether by skill or luck, he landed square in one of its eyes. The creature stopped its sudden forward charge and skidded to a halt. It was only seven or so feet away and my sword was at hand. I reached into the snow pile and withderew the blade. The creature was roaring and clawing at its eye, attempting to extradite Ed from his new abode. I stalked towards the beast and thrust my blade into its open maw, piercing through the roof of its mouth and into whatever served as its brain. It fell to the ground in a heap, the snow around it got blown away. I reached into the eye socket and pulled out my steadfast companion, secreting him away in his pouch. ¡°Great work Ed, if you had a mouth, or stomach, or a digestion system in general, I¡¯d share. But as it is, I think it¡¯s all for me.¡± I cracked my knuckles and settled in for my lunch. ----------------- ¡°Why are we going to Mount Lurin again?¡± asked a short bearded dwarf, though his scales on his skin spoke otherwise. ¡°Do you even listen, or is your head hollow. I¡¯ve told you twelve times already, we are tracing its mana signature.¡± replied an exacerbated man. ¡°Yea, but, how do you know it¡¯s the right signature?¡± ¡°Because the creature¡¯s description matches that of a man who supposedly turned into a dall¡¯in. And the creature we are hunting was reported as looking like a dall¡¯in, ya know, razor teeth, eating human flesh. The works.¡± ¡°Sure, sure I get that. But how do we know that this is the creature, I mean there could be dozens of monsters matching that description out here.¡± ¡°I seriously doubt that you get it, but the only way to know for sure if this is the right one is to go there now isn¡¯t it.¡± ¡°I guess so.¡± The pair was walking in the center of a group of nearly three dozen adventurers. The Count had offered a sizable sum of gold along with a choice of magical weapons in his treasury to the one that brings home his son''s killer, preferably alive. The group of adventurers arrived at the bottom of Mount Lurin. Many of the more physically keen ones began to climb, while the less physical more magical individuals floated up using various means. Some flew, other were carried by huge birds made of smoke, and one even used a magical carpet. They all arrived at a plateau and arrayed themselves out, talking amongst themselves. The mage trackers told everyone where to go. In front of them was a cave, and there were paths to either side. The magical tracking spells they used gave a general sense of the direction they needed to go. That was how they arrived at the mountain, but now they were here they needed a more fine tuned way of tracking. Spells were used to follow the path their quarry had taken, this led them straight ahead towards the cave. Many of the mages were thankful this creature didn¡¯t know how to hide his mana signature, or else they might not even be able to find him at all. They discussed amongst themselves, excluding the non magical adventurers from their dialogue, while the non magical people did the same. ¡°Why are we all here, I could kill any beast in these mountains on my own.¡± said one of the more muscle bound warriors as he traveled through the cave entrance. ¡°Just because you passed your B rank test, it doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re hot shit. And anyway, if we were all commissioned then there has to be a reason they sent all of us.¡± replied another more portly individual. ¡°Don¡¯t make fun of me again, or I swear on all the gods you will regret it.¡± growled the first warrior. ¡°Truly I am sorry, my words were not my own. Forgive me, please I beseach you.¡± said the other with as much sarcasm as he could muster. The huge warrior laughed, but it sounded fake as it left his lips, ¡°Tell me your name and we can settle this later, pig.¡± ¡°Oh deary me, I didn¡¯t realise I was speaking with a master of verbal wit. I am but a humble warrior by the name of Ched, please do forgive my transgression young master.¡± A vein leaped out of the warriors forehead, and his face turned beet red with barely constrained rage. He turned away and walked further ahead in the column, but not before saying ¡°My name is Reddik. Remember it.¡± Ched chuckled to himself as he walked through the cave, but his laugh along with all conversation halted as they entered a circular room. All eyes were trained on the floor, at the bones scattered around. They lay in mounds and piles, crushed underfoot by something massive. Many bones were obviously humanoid, and many of the more weak willed adventurers had to focus on keeping their lunch. Chapter 8 Chapter 8 A satisfied burp escaped my lips as I wiped my mouth on the back of my hand. I had taken to using my monster form to eat my meals, as the bigger mouth, and greater strength made eating a breeze. I stood up and stretched my newly healed back, reveling in the feeling of my muscles compounding and becoming more dense, of my eyesight sharpening, and the familiar satisfaction as I licked my lips. My joints popped and creaked, and I wiggled my toes in the snow. The wind was whipping around me as usual, and Ed was prattling on about some nonsense, something about how all gods were chumps, and how if they came face to face he¡¯d give em a nice bop in the nose. Ed was oddly passionate on that point. I stood up and sighed, life had been good to me for a while. Filling meals, fun hunts, and as much friendly conversation as I could hope for. I stalked back the way I came, humming a popular lullaby from back home. The lilting melody echoed off the stone walls around me, and a smile curved onto my face. I made my way inside of my cave house and settled down next to the fire pit. I decided that I had been ignoring my magical abilities as well as my physical ones. I had already started to remedy my sword skill, or lack thereof, but my magic skills had been lax. I hadn¡¯t tested the magical side of my new self too thoroughly yet. I settled down into a meditative pose, focusing on my inner ¡°soul¡±, as usual I couldn¡¯t see my Core but I knew it to be there. I still felt the familiar buzzing of mana, so I had to have one¡­ right? I scratched my head and sighed again, I didn¡¯t know the details of what had happened to me but there was no point thinking about it yet. I looked back inside toward the small glowing orb floating in a purple miasma, my Center. The purple miasma seemed to be another kind of energy, but it functioned differently than any I knew of. It seemed to only be able to modify my body, similar to the basic usage of a Center, but it felt like I was misusing it, or not using it to it¡¯s fullest. I had a basic idea of what people did to level up their Center. Some meditated and absorbed and refined energy. Some had help from mages to forcefully level up their core, usually to disastrous results. And some devoured the hearts of their enemies, don¡¯t look at me, I don¡¯t judge. Since I didn¡¯t have a mage on hand, and I knew first hand that heart devouring didn¡¯t seem to affect my Center, I settled on meditation. I infused my eyes with energy from my Center as a training aid, it allowed me to see energy in the air. They appeared as thin wispy lines in the air, their colors and density would signify their affinity and quantity. The most common in the air around me was, you guessed it, earth. Shocker. I metaphorically reached out a hand to grab some, and was met with slight resistance. It seemed like there was something there in the air, but I just couldn¡¯t reach it. The feeling was akin to holding out your arm while running, feeling the wind push it back, as laughter bubbled in your throat and the tall grass tickled your legs. Like when Jorn called out your name ¡°Hey! Val come over here, the croakers are hopping along together. Look!¡± and you would follow, then you would both come across a group of the four legged creatures, hopping along, croaking with each leap. You would start laughing again, then fall back and stare at the boughs above. The sunlight streaming down, tinkling on the creak. You would turn to Jorn, a smile on your face, ¡°I gotta get home soon, ma is cooking some stew, she¡¯ll have a fit if I¡¯m late.¡± and you would see his smile fall ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we can come again tomorrow¡± and his smile would com- I rocked back, stunned at the vivid memory. I had nearly forgotten what it was like to be warm, and loved. I had nearly forgotten my only friend. I didn¡¯t feel like meditating after that, but I needed to. I closed my eyes and swallowed down foreign emotions, before reaching out for the energy again, I didn¡¯t know what my affinity was so I just took all the energy I could reach. It took a while before I managed to grab some strands of energy, but when I did, I felt like I knew what to do. I stuffed them haphazardly into my Center, and felt a rush of energy each time. After nearly an hour I was sweating rivers. My body was clammy and soaked, and I felt more tired than I had after nearly eight hours of sword practice. I wanted to just lay down and sleep, but I couldn¡¯t neglect my sword fighting either. I stood up and nearly fell over, I picked up my blade and started my training, or abuse, depending on if you asked me or Ed. ----------------- Reddik stompedd angrily at the front of the column, alone amongst mages. He had left the company of the warrior in the back and middle, settling in with the mages. At least he tried to, the mages ignored him like an annoying itch, they pretended he wasn¡¯t there until he left. Reddik hated the annoying fat warrior in the back, and knew if he stayed to close to him he would do something bad to him. He couldn¡¯t do that, at least not yet. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Thinking about hurting the chubby individual made the corner of his mouth twitch, almost like a smile. He walked forward along the curving stone pathways, he couldn¡¯t tell if he was going down the same tunnel as before but the guides swore they were making progress. After hours of walking down a seemingly endless tunnel, many of the mages shouted out at seeing light up ahead. They picked up their pace and raced out, attempting to be the first back into the light. Once the group made it into the clearing many of them sat down right where they were, groaning about this ache or that. While the self appointed leader mage called for everyone to get up and move, many just waved him away. The tall man walked around looking for a single individual still standing, and only managed to find a couple. They included a mage, Reddik, and one other warrior. ¡°What are your names?¡± he asked. ¡°Reddik¡± ¡°I am Vernin, high C rank mage, at your service.¡± The unnamed warrior scoffed at him, ¡°And still the enlightened mages use that barbaric ranking system. A wonder anyone can get anything done.¡± the man, nearly reaching Reddik in height, ran a hand through his salt and pepper hair while sighing. ¡°Oh? And what makes it so barbaric?¡± Vernin asked haughtily. ¡°It may work for the basics, but back in my day we used word that meant something. None of these letter ranks. The lowest was Initiate, Apprentice, Adept, Expert, Master, and Grandmaster. Now those words carry weight!¡± the man¡¯s eyes were bright. ¡°So what, you use a ranking system from a bygone age and call it something special. Dozens have done the same.¡± ¡°Ahhh, but they aren¡¯t special are they?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I said¡­¡± Vernin looked confused ¡°Are you daft?¡± ¡°But the others aren¡¯t special, this one is!¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the first!¡± he declared excitedly ¡°And you know this how.¡± That seemed to stump the older man, ¡°I just do.¡± Vernin looked away and scoffed, Reddik didn¡¯t seem to be paying attention, probably thinking about strangling kittens. The leader of this sad group looked relieved it was finally over, he stepped forward ¡°So do you want to tell us your name?¡± ¡°Nah¡± ¡°Okay¡­.¡± he rubbed the bridge of his nose, ¡°Well my name is Brent, and I¡¯m the leader. Any objections?¡± This seemed to finally grabbed Reddik¡¯s attention, ¡°Actually yes I do, who voted for you and why are you the leader?¡± ¡°Reasonable questions. One, the Count chose me, and two, because I¡¯m stronger than you.¡± he punctuated the statement by stomping a foot on the ground and barking out a harsh word that grated on everyone¡¯s ears. The ground under his leg gave way and seemed to crawl up his leg, latching on like armor. Soon he had his whole leg covered in stone. Reddik gulped at the sight, only a mage could use words of power, and making armor showed high skill and control over his mana. ¡°Understood.¡± Reddik cowered slightly, but inside he was fuming, and the vein on his forehead betrayed that face. Brent didn¡¯t miss the look and noted to himself to keep an eye on the towering man. Brent clapped his hands, ¡°Well, let¡¯s be off! It¡¯s time to scout.¡± he said merrily, activating his tracking spell with a few quick words. ----------------- ¡°What do you mean the sum of the whole is greater than its parts? That doesn¡¯t have anything to do with why I shouldn¡¯t eat all of the snacks at once.¡± Ed had recently started spouting nonsense at me whenever he had the chance, it was starting to irritate me. I sighed and stuffed him deep in his pouch, making him quiet. I reveled in the silence and stepped out of my cave. The sun was high in the sky, and clouds drifted across. The stone ground was solid and reassuring underfoot as I stepped closer and closer to the edge of the cliff. Something about standing on the precipice of it and peering down, seeing the vast world dwarfed by distance always set me to laughing. The same way that kulks tried to fly only for their massive bodies to drag down their ever hopeful wings. I set off merrily down my mountain path, greeting all the landmarks on the way for good luck. ¡°Morning cracked wall! Howd¡¯ya do stunted shrubbery? Sorry about the husband old pile of rocks, there''s always more rocks in the pile!¡± this continued for a couple minutes as I made my way towards a new area to kill stuff. I had found tracks for another new animal that I had never seen, the thing had really weird tracks, but I wasn¡¯t one to judge. I set into a sprint, enjoying the feeling of motion. My feet slapped into the stone, making slapping noises as I went faster and faster. The scenery blurred by and I soon found myself at the hunting grounds, but something as different. There were new tracks, but they seemed familiar. Four sets of boot tracks ambled about the area, leaving imprints in the snow dusting. They must have been here recently as the small amount of snow would have been blown away by time. The tracks came in, walked around for a while then went back the way they came. I might not be the sharpest cleaver on the block, but I pride myself on not being the dullest. I knew there was almost no chance of these being coincidental tracks, I was secreted away on the tallest mountain, in a remote region of it that was blocked off by a labyrinth of tunnels. I needed to know why they were here, so I did what I did best, I hunted. ----------------- Reddik was bored. They had walked for a while, following the trail that was only visible to Brent. He was dying to fight something, and now he was being told to turn back. ¡°We have gone far enough from the group, let¡¯s return and come back once we are rested. I feel like the dall¡¯in is close.¡± ¡°You feel it?¡± Reddik asked increduously. ¡°Yeah, my tracking spell tells me it has been in the clearing recently. Probably hunting.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s go! We can kill it and return!¡± Reddik nearly shouted. ¡°No! If the Count deigned to send so many adventurers there has to be a reason. I will not risk myself and my comrades because you got antsy!¡± ¡°Fine.¡± Reddik only managed to restrain himself out of his self of self preservation. The group walked in silence through the desolate mountain top. The only sounds were of the occasional cough or grunt, and the sound of boots crunching snow. None of the men were too observant of their surroundings, so they didn¡¯t notice when the tracks behind them changed from four pairs, to five.