《Rebirth: Infernus Book 1》 Chapter 1: All aboard! Chapter 1 : All Aboard! Billy dragged his suitcase up the stairs cursing heavily. Why did everywhere else have escalators except for this stupid train station? He breathed a sigh of relief as he finally made it to platform 2. A quick glance around told him that Doncaster train station had not changed. There was still the dirty coffee shop, the horde of expectant pigeons and a spattering of customers. Everything had gone wrong today. First of all, there was his mother¡¯s coffin. His brother and he had paid for the upgraded version but the funeral home insisted that their records did not show this. Of course, it was difficult to make a fuss at the funeral with all of the guests there. And by then it was too late. Then there was the priest talking about Maggie Delaney, whoever she was. And to put the cherry on the cake the catering service had turned up an hour late and only provisioned for forty guests even though Billy had paid for sixty. Luckily, he had made it to the train station on time. His booked train, the 15:45, had of course been cancelled due to technical problems. And now he was waiting for the next train. If he hurried to the underground station, he could still make it to Heathrow on time for his flight but only just. He looked at the information board and cursed. The due platform had changed. He now had two minutes to get to platform 7 - which meant going down the stairs again and up the other side. Billy dragged himself and his suitcase to platform seven, with seconds to spare. He sucked air painfully into his lungs. He definitely needed to start exercising again. He always intended to - but who had the time? Tomorrow he would start with a gentle jog around the condo compound. Or maybe the day after - he would need to rest after the long flight. He looked at the information board - the train was of course delayed by five minutes. He hated waiting, but it was better than having to rush around like this. He hated rushing far more than he hated waiting ¨C after all the British were trained from birth to wait. They had it down to an art form. He pulled his phone out of his pocket. There were no messages. Charles, his brother, was probably upset that Billy had left without more than a cursory wave and goodbye. Billy thought about returning for Christmas and patching things over ¨C after all Charles was the only family, he had left other than an aunt and some cousins that he had not seen in over twenty years. It had also been a few years since he had spent time in England. Perhaps it was better to put away their childhood arguments and rivalries. He had no time for that sort of nonsense anymore. Trying to kill time he looked around the train station. He liked to observe others as they waited ¨C a slice of life. The key was to observe without appearing to be. Look at the clock, look at the notice board, then look at the people. But not for too long. Then look away as if you were looking for something else. He saw two young Asian girls, one in a wheelchair waiting on the platform about ten metres to his right. The girl in the wheelchair wore large round spectacles and had a practical bob haircut with a long fringe. The other had her hair in ponytails tied with an extravagant length of pink ribbon, draping down her shoulders. She even had a matching pink hairband. They were both still wearing their school uniforms. Commuter students then, he thought. The two girls had their heads close together, chatting away and giggling. To his left, a few metres away, a skinny man with long brown hair and a hipster beard chatted to a dusky-skinned woman in ripped jeans whose head was half shaved, the other half died blue. The two appeared to be arguing. He thought they might be lovers, but their body-language said otherwise. The woman was definitely the more animated of the two. Other than a sad-looking platform attendant they were the only ones in the station. A quiet time at Doncaster station he mused to himself. Still, it was only approaching 4 o¡¯ clock in the afternoon. It would get busier later.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. A flicker of blue light caught his attention. But as soon as he looked it was gone. Maybe just one of the signal lights he mused. He then noticed a person on the opposite platform. Despite his instincts, Billy found himself staring. The man was tall and wore a pin-striped suit and bowler hat. And was that a monocle? Very unusual for Doncaster station or anywhere else in this day and age, but then it took all sorts. The man even had an umbrella on his arm. Very unusual indeed. Billy had heard about cosplay but this was something else. Maybe some TikTok stunt. He forced himself to look away. It would not be proper to be caught staring. He looked at the clock again. Two more minutes for the train. He thought about having another look around but decided that would make him look weird. Instead, he checked his phone for messages and then his suitcase. It was reassuringly still there. Finally, he heard the noise of an approaching train. The 15:58 to King¡¯s Cross was only a few minutes late. It was a modern miracle! The lights of the train were dazzling as it slowly approached the platform. He looked away for a moment to see the man in the suit on the other side of the platform. He still could not make out any of the man¡¯s features. As the man saw him looking, he raised his hand and tilted his hat in Billy¡¯s direction. Billy looked away; his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. To be caught staring - how rude! He tried to watch the train drifting closer, but his eyes uncontrollably tracked back to the man. The man raised his umbrella over his head and started to open it. Billy could see a pulsing blue light emanating from the tip of the umbrella. The man looked like he was squeezing the glowing light out of the umbrella. The light increased in intensity until it was as dazzling as the train¡¯s lights. Then suddenly everything went dark. Billy felt like he was being smothered in blackness. He could not see anything. He could no longer feel the platform beneath his feet. He could no longer smell the rank acrid station smell that every British train station seemed to have. He could sense nothing. *** Billy did not leave consciousness ¨C it just felt like he was drifting in the void for what seemed like an age until there was a sharp twisting sensation. Pain seared through his head. ¡°Welcome to Infernus!¡± The voice boomed around Billy, making the pain even worse. ¡°You will soon be entering Infernus Alpha. Here you will experience adventures that you have never dreamed of. Through danger and constant striving, you will find you path to power.¡± The voice reminded him of the airport announcer calling his flight. ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± Billy shouted. ¡°But be careful adventurer. The path to power is never easy. Prepare for the tutorial stage.¡± ¡°Answer my question,¡± Billy shouted even louder. ¡°Your questions will not be answered. It is just a recording,¡± another quieter voice said. The voice dripped into Billy¡¯s ears like honey. ¡°Who are you? Where am I and what am I doing here?¡± ¡°You have a lot of questions Billy Preston.¡± ¡°How do you know who I am? What the hell is this?¡± ¡°Think of me as a friend of sorts. I am here to help you ¨C to free you from your boring life. With my help you will find power beyond your dreams.¡± ¡°I have some pretty weird dreams,¡± Billy muttered to himself. Then aloud he said, ¡°I liked my boring life.¡± The other laughed ¨C the noise harsh and strident, tearing into Billy¡¯s ears. ¡°Did you really? Don¡¯t bother lying, Billy, we both know the truth. You were just another ant ¨C working every day to make someone else rich. Not that your work was very inspiring. Even your dreams were dull and insipid. Where is your passion? Even your wife left you ¨C bored to tears by your bland personality. This your moment Billy Preston. I suggest you grasp it with both hands. After all, few get a chance like this. Today is your lucky day!¡± Billy stopped the bitter reply that initially came to his mind. He could sense that the other was toying with him. He was not going to give them the pleasure of seeing him squirm. ¡°Do you have anything useful to tell me?¡± he asked simply. ¡°Useful? Maybe not! But you have choices in front of you Billy. And who knows, maybe you will become an important piece in the game. It has to be better than your previous life, right? So humdrum!¡± ¡°Why me?¡± ¡°Why not? Yours is not to reason why...¡± ¡°Mine is to do and die? Not a great selling point.¡± Billy was really getting pissed off by the other¡¯s condescending tone. ¡°You could at least tell me your name.¡± The other laughed again. Billy raised his hands to his ears futilely trying to stop the discordant noise. ¡°Time to go, Billy Preston. Good luck!¡± Billy felt himself wrenched away as the world around him twisted again. ¡°The tutorial will start in 3, 2, 1...¡± Chapter 2: Welcome to Infernus Chapter 2 Billy tried to move his body. The ground beneath him squished. Squish? Everything was still dark but he could hear the strident sounds of insects. Grasshoppers? That was unusual. Normally there were only the bloody pigeons in a train station, he thought. He had never heard grasshoppers in a train station before. He was used to hearing them outside of his apartment in China, or were those crickets? For a moment he wondered why the world around him was still so dark but then realized that he still had his eyes closed. He opened his eyes and saw a blue sky with a few wispy clouds. The sun was higher in the sky than he expected. He moved his hands to push himself up from the ground. His body felt sore and tired but that was not unusual, especially after going up and down the stairs in the train station. He regarded himself as being quite fit, for his age, but the suitcase was heavy. The ground beneath him felt spongy and moist. That was unusual. He winced, assuming he was touching some foul excrement on the platform or maybe some kid had dropped their drink. Yes, it was definitely someone¡¯s drink. He felt embarrassed. Fainting in a train station would really top off his day. Maybe no one had seen him fall. And that strange dream he had had. Where the hell had that come from? Hopefully, the other passengers were too busy looking at the train to notice him. Oh no, the train! He needed to get on it. As he clambered to his feet, he finally realized that this was not Doncaster station anymore. As he looked around, all he could see was twisted trees, clumps of long grass and what looked like fetid pools of water. He was a little relieved that he had not been lying in excrement. This was definitely not Doncaster. The ground beneath him squelched. He could see the man and woman to the left of him and to his right the two young students. All of them seemed to be doing what he was doing and getting their bearings. But there was no wheelchair. And no suitcase. Where was his suitcase? He checked his pockets. His phone and wallet were gone too. Both of the students were still sitting down and the one with ribbons started crying. The other tried in vain to comfort her. The young man and woman also looked to be in shock. the airport-announcer voice declared in Billy¡¯s head. He turned wildly but other than his fellow wannabe passengers he could see no one ¨C just grass and trees. Seconds ticked by. Billy found himself holding his breath. He saw looks of confusion on the others¡¯ faces. Which way is south-east, Billy thought. And what is an Induction Centre. ¡°What is going on?¡± The young man exclaimed. ¡°Is anyone else getting weird messages in their head?¡± Billy said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what is going on. This is messed up!¡± ¡°Where are we?¡± the young woman demanded in an angry voice. They all just looked at each other wordlessly. The sobs of the still-crying girl cut through the silence. ¡°Permanent death? What the hell is going on? What is this some sort of game?¡± The young man said finally. ¡°What the hell is happening?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Billy said. ¡°But we should probably try to find this induction centre thing.¡± ¡°Transmigration,¡± the young Asian student with glasses who was comforting her friend said. ¡°We have been transmigrated.¡± ¡°No Yuki,¡± the other girl said with a sob. ¡°This is Isekai though. Our bodies are here so we were physically transported somehow.¡± ¡°Not truck-kun, train-kun,¡± the girl with glasses said. ¡°This is not a damn book or anime,¡± the young blue-haired woman said angrily. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what the process was, we are here now! We have no phones and no one to come help us.¡± ¡°Wherever here is,¡± a man muttered, from behind Billy. ¡°At least the weather¡¯s nice.¡± Bily turned round sharply to see the platform attendant standing behind him. The man was rubbing his spectacles before placing them back on his face.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Billy sighed. Whatever happened standing around debating would not help them. ¡°I assume you all saw the message. We need to get to that Induction Centre. Look, my name is Billy. If we work together, we should get there without any problem.¡± ¡°I am Yuki,¡± the student with pink ribbons said. ¡°And this is Su Li. Su Li cannot walk.¡± ¡°They see that,¡± Su Li said in strong accented English. ¡°They saw me in the wheelchair.¡± ¡°I will carry Su Li,¡± the young man said. ¡°The name¡¯s Trevor.¡± ¡°I am Martin,¡± the platform attendant said. The girl standing by his side walked over to Su Li and easily picked her up. ¡°I will carry her - your arms are like noodles, Trevor. Now point us in the right direction.¡± She turned to glare at Billy. ¡°The name is Lorna by the way. And don¡¯t think that because you¡¯re the oldest you are our mighty leader.¡± ¡°Ask permission first,¡° Su Li said angrily. ¡°I am not a sack of rice.¡± Lorna looked flustered for a moment. ¡°Sorry!¡± Trevor looked at Lorna for a moment and then sighed. ¡°It is this way,¡± he said, pointing to his right. ¡°How do you know,¡± Billy said. Trevor chuckled. ¡°My inner voice told me so.¡± He took a few steps and then paused after no one followed him. ¡°Just kidding. I thought to myself I would love to have a map right now and one appeared in my mind.¡± Billy thought Trevor might be fooling with him. But when he was sure no one was looking at him he tried to visualize a map appearing and the map appeared. The map seemed to fill his mind. Most of it was greyed out except what he assumed was his current location which was marked with a blue cross. There were no cardinal directions marked but he assumed that vertically up on the map was north and that he was currently facing north-east. At least he hoped so. ¡°Well, what are we waiting for?¡± he said. ¡°If you see any long enough branches or something that can be used as a weapon, pick it up. We have no idea how dangerous this area is and the quest description was kind of ominous.¡± *** Billy had thought that walking two kilometers would not have been difficult even with his old legs. At fifty-five he still kept himself reasonably fit running in the park or walking to work. But walking through marshland was very different. Trevor had tried to steer them along the more solid ground using his stick to prod the ground, but even the more solid ground was swampy. The mud sucked at his feet ¨C each step draining his strength. The air also was humid. He sucked in another moist breath and kept going. Billy, Trevor and Yuki each carried a gnarled branch that they had pulled from some of the surrounding trees. Billy had been hoping for something that could have been fashioned into a spear but the trees here were too twisted. Martin had picked up a large rock. Billy had no faith in the man being able to do any damage with it. He still looked in shock. They all did. From his internal map he could see that they had barely covered half of the distance and he was already drenched in sweat. He could see that the others were no better. Lorna in particular seemed to be struggling. She looked super fit but the extra weight of carrying Su Li must really be dragging her down. ¡°Let¡¯s rest for a few minutes,¡± Billy said. Trevor who had been quietly leading the way returned and nodded. Lorna eased Su Li to the ground and then sat heavily herself, the ground squishing beneath her. ¡°We need to keep going,¡± Yuki said. ¡°I don¡¯t feel safe.¡± ¡°You are welcome to carry her,¡± Lorna replied. Her face twisted into a scowl. ¡°Sorry, Yuki,¡± Billy said hoping to ease the tension. ¡°But this old man needs to rest. You can keep a lookout.¡± ¡°Do you know where we are going?¡± someone said in his ear, making Billy jump. He turned to see Martin standing close to him. He had forgotten that Martin was even with them. ¡°You can see the minimap right?¡± ¡°What is a minimap?¡± Billy sighed. Clearly, Martin was not a gamer. ¡°Yes, Martin, we know where we are going. We should be about halfway there.¡± So far they had not seen many signs of life, but the grass was long and it would be easy for animals to hide without them knowing. Once or twice Billy thought he had heard rustling noises in the thick grass to his right. Billy did not sit worrying that his muscles would tighten up. Instead, he leaned against a nearby tree. ¡°I don¡¯t like this place,¡± Yuki said. ¡°Ai!¡± Su Li said. ¡°This place sucks. What to do?¡± ¡°Get out of here as soon as we can,¡± Yuki said. Of the two girls her English was clearly the better. But Su Li seemed to be the one with the calmer temperament. ¡°There has been no danger so far,¡± Trevor said. ¡°Maybe we are worrying about nothing.¡± As if Trevor¡¯s words had called it from thin air a red frog the size of a cat jumped out of the bushes and landed in front of Billy. ¡°What the fuck!¡± Billy said. He stepped backwards; the branch forgotten in his hand. The frog¡¯s large eyes blinked. Then it jumped forwards and butted Billy in the chest with its nose. Billy was thrust back and fell heavily to the ground. <-2 hit points> He stumbled hastily to his feet. The frog opened its mouth and thrust out a thick purple tongue. He could see a black haze rising from the tongue. Now he noticed two short horns jutting from its head. ¡°Shit! Shit! Shit!¡± He raised the branch in his left hand to try and ward off the beast. He wanted to run but he knew it was pointless in this swamp. Suddenly the frog¡¯s tongue sped out of its mouth and speared Billy¡¯s left hand. Agony surged through his arm and he dropped his stick. <-3 hit points. You have been poisoned for ten seconds losing 2 hit points per second.> Billy cursed. He did not even know how many hit points he had. His hand was burning. Another hit like that and he was probably dead. He tried to ignore the pain and bent to pick up the stick. He felt overcome by a strange fury. The last few days had been difficult enough with his mother¡¯s death. Now he had been dragged into this shit-hole world. Anger long locked inside surged out and with a cry of fury he rushed at the frog swinging the stick as hard as he could. To his surprise he landed a solid blow on top of the frog¡¯s head. Of course, the stick broke ¨C the wet wood splintering. A strange laugh came from Billy¡¯s mouth. He had hit the thing as hard as he could and even with a critical strike the damage was less than what the frog had achieved with its tongue alone. In a blind rage, he jumped on top of the frog and ripped into it with his fingers. At first, its leathery slimy skin resisted him but then, just behind the head, he found a soft patch. He dug in. His fingers sank deeply into the flesh. Deeper and deeper. A number of messages surged into his mind but he ignored them and just tried to dig deeper. He could feel the frog try to squirm away but it appeared to be helpless ¨C its tongue and poison being the only real weapons it had. Finally, a new message appeared. Billy fell away from the frog ¨C all of his energy depleted. This was not the way this happened in computer games. ¡°Gross man!¡± Trevor said. Billy opened his eyes and looked down. He was covered in purple goo. To his side was the frog¡¯s corpse oozing purple blood. ¡°Epic!¡± Su Li said. ¡°You the man, Billy!¡± Billy could only gasp for breath still feeling the poison sapping his hit points. He prayed that he had started with more than 25 hit points. Chapter 3: Through the Marshes Chapter 3 ¡°We need to get going, right now,¡± Lorna said. ¡°There are probably more of those things out there.¡± Billy rose to his feet, still breathing heavily. He felt woozy and his head throbbed. He calculated that he had lost 25 hit points to the frog. He did not know how many more he had left but it could not be many. Finally, he said. ¡°You are right. Those things do poison damage. We are in no position to fight off more.¡± Yuki started crying. She sunk to her knees and wrapped her arms around herself. ¡°Hey, Yuki!¡± Trevor said. ¡°It¡¯ll be all right. We don¡¯t have to go far.¡± ¡°I hate it here,¡± she replied sobbing. ¡°I hate everything here. I just want to go home. Why can¡¯t I go home?¡± ¡°Listen, Miss Princess,¡± Lorna said, each word slow and sharp. ¡°If you don¡¯t move you will die. I am not going to die with you. So, get to your feet and start walking or we will leave you behind.¡± ¡°I hate you!¡± Yuki said. Su Li snorted. ¡°These people are trying to help, Yuki. Come on!¡± Yuki slowly stood up. She glared at Lorna but did not say anything. Lorna just shook her head and gently picked Su Li up in her arms. ¡°Lead the way, Trevor.¡± Trevor gave them all a long look before shaking his head. With stooped shoulders he turned and started walking. Lorna and Yuki were right behind him with Martin and Billy bringing up the rear. Martin said, ¡°Together we can make it, Yuki.¡± ¡°What do you know? You will probably die first.¡± Billy smiled to himself. No good turn goes unpunished. Yuki reminded him of his niece ¨C spoiled and never having worked for a thing. This was probably the first time she had encountered any problems like this. He just hoped that she would come to her senses soon enough. Whatever world this was surviving was not easy here. The name enough was ominous enough. He followed the others concentrating on putting one wet step after another. His whole body was wet now and he could feel his jeans chaffing his thighs. His breath felt heavy in his chest. The others too did not seem to be fairing any better. The sounds around them were also increasing and he caught glimpses of movement around them. ¡°We need to move faster,¡± Su Li said. ¡°More creatures are coming!¡± ¡°I am moving as fast as I can,¡± Lorna said. ¡°How far now, Trevor?¡± Trevor turned around momentarily. ¡°I think we are nearly there. About four hundred meters.¡± ¡°Then why can we not see anything.¡± ¡°Patience,¡± Billy said, his voice now rasping. ¡°Let¡¯s just keep going.¡± A few minutes later the ground beneath their feet became more solid. Lorna lowered Su Li to the ground, her arms shaking with effort.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°I can¡¯t carry her anymore,¡± she said forlornly. Billy could tell that she was disappointed with herself. ¡°Put her on my back,¡± Trevor said. ¡°Piggy-back style.¡± Billy nodded. He lifted Su Li up, and she put her arms around Trevor¡¯s neck. Billy then adjusted her legs so that Trevor¡¯s arms supported them. Clearly, she was unable to grip with her legs. He realized she must be completely paralyzed from the waist down. ¡°Hurry!¡± Yuki screamed. Billy turned to see more frogs coming out of the marsh. There were also a few cat-sized creatures that looked to be a cross between a lizard and a snake. If the frogs were poisonous, he hated to think what a bite from these snizard creatures would do. He also did not fancy his chances unarmed against them, or even armed if he was honest with himself. Trevor did not say a word but started off in a loping run. The gait was uneasy with Su Li on his back. Lorna, Martin and Yuki quickly followed leaving Billy staring at the oncoming creatures. With a growl, he motivated his shaking legs into a stumbling run. Trevor had better be right about the distance. He did not think any of them were going to be able to maintain this pace for long. After a minute of running, with the creatures rapidly closing he saw a low building in front of them. ¡°Keep going,¡± Lorna said. The ground now was firm underneath and their pace had improved. Billy was just starting to think they would make it when a flock of birds rose from behind the building and surged towards them. ¡°Get down,¡± he yelled. They all flattened themselves to the ground except for Trevor who, carrying Su Li, could merely sink to his knees. The birds scratched at them as they flew past. Billy just managed to lower his head in time to protect his eyes but the rest of him was not so lucky. <-5 hit points. Warning you only have 25 percent of your hit points remaining.> Billy did a quick calculation. He had suffered 30 hit points of damage which meant he had 40 hit points to start with. That also meant he only had 10 hit points remaining. The group rose to their feet, both Su Li and Yuki now sobbing. Billy could see blood streaming down Trevor¡¯s face. Trevor struggled to his feet ¨C his legs shaking as he rose. The frogs and snake creatures were now only meters away. ¡°Run!¡± Billy said. ¡°I will slow them down.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be a fucking hero,¡± Lorna said. ¡°We make it together.¡± They set off again. This time Yuki was in the lead. Of all of them, she seemed to have the most energy left ¨C either that or it was just plain old adrenaline. Despite Lorna¡¯s words, Billy knew he had to do something. The frogs had now hopped ahead of the snakes and were only one leap from overwhelming the group. He stopped running and turned hoping to slow down the demonic creatures. He sensed someone else stop next to him but did not have time to see who it was. One frog leaped towards him. Billy lifted his knee up catching it under the bulbous chin. He felt a satisfying crunch and the frog went up in the air. It landed in front of the other frogs stopping their momentum. Billy laughed and turned. Martin was there next to him with the stone raised defiantly in his fist and a determined look on his face. Another frog leapt forward, this one bigger than the others. It smashed Martin to the ground, its tongue lancing into his face. Billy tried to shoulder barge the frog off of Martin, but the frog was too heavy. ¡°Run!¡± Martin said. He tried to hit the frog with the stone but it seemed to have no effect. The building was just meters away. Already the others had all reached the doorway ¨C everyone except himself and Martin. Billy smashed his knee into the frog¡¯s head and it lurched to the side far enough for him to pull Martin away. Martin stood up shakily ¨C his face covered in blood. He tried to move forward, pulling Martin with him. All his legs could manage was a shaky lurching movement. He knew he was not going to make it. Nearly there you old bastard, he thought to himself. But then he felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck. Martin went down under the weight of a couple of frogs pulling them both to the ground. <-3 hit points. You have been poisoned for ten seconds losing 2 hit points per second.> Shit, Billy thought. I am dead now. Still, he was not going to stop and let these creatures chow down on him. He crawled forward still pulling at Martin who was struggling to push the frogs away. Just a few more meters but it seemed more like kilometres. He fell to his knees sobbing. Darkness took his vision as he stopped fighting the tides of weariness and pain. He distantly felt something touch his body. Chapter 4: The Perfect Body Chapter 4 Billy¡¯s eyes opened as what felt like a huge surge of electricity flooded his body. I¡¯m alive, he thought while looking around in shock. I¡¯m alive! He could still feel the poison draining away the last shreds of his life. How am I alive? He sat up and received a bigger shock. He was naked and this was definitely not his body. This was the body of his dreams ¨C his teenage dreams. The body was flawless. Every muscle seemed to be so clearly defined. Even his belly button had disappeared. Where am I, he thought. And what happened to my body? He looked around. He appeared to be sitting on a table made from some off-white substance that was smooth to the touch. ¡°Bro, you are awake. We thought you were dead and then this machine thing took you to this room and the doors closed automatically.¡± Billy stood up and turned. Trevor stood there with a big smile on his face. He held up a hand to cut off Trevor¡¯s rant. ¡°Did everyone make it?¡± Trevor¡¯s smile faded. ¡°Martin died. Well, we think he did. There were too many frogs and those other creatures.¡± ¡°Snizards,¡± Billy said softly. ¡°What?¡± ¡°The other creatures - snizards. Cross between snake and lizard.¡± ¡°Oh, right¡± Trevor said after a telling pause. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Billy. I should have done better but¡­¡± Billy cut him off. ¡°It is not your fault.¡± He felt a surge of anger for Martin as well as some guilt. Martin died because he stayed back to help him. But it was not anyone¡¯s fault except for the bastard who brought them to this world. ¡°It is not your fault either, Mr. Billy,¡± Su Li said from the doorway. ¡°If Billy had not tried to be a hero perhaps Martin would be alive,¡± Lorna said. Billy looked over. The three girls were all standing in the doorway behind him. He was so glad to see that they had all made it. It was not hard to see from Lorna¡¯s sour expression what she was feeling but he ignored her. He was just glad they had made it alive. They all looked pretty much the same except cleaner. Billy blinked¡­ Su Li was standing unaided. ¡°Su Li you can walk,¡± he said, feeling stupid as soon as the words left his mouth. Su Li grinned. ¡°Damn right I can! And look at you! So young looking and fresh.¡± She licked her lips. ¡°Su Li!¡± Yuki said in shock. ¡°I think you are not Yuki¡¯s type,¡± she said grinning even wider. Billy realized he was still naked and hastily covered up his manhood. ¡°Turn around! Give a man a chance to get dressed.¡± His cheeks felt like they were on fire. He had not felt this embarrassed in many years. He had forgotten what it felt like to have an eighteen-year old¡¯s body with an eighteen-year old¡¯s hormones. Saying that even as a fifty-year-old he was not comfortable with people seeing him naked. Yuki just continued eyeing him up like a piece of meat. ¡°I am soon to be eighteen,¡± she said proudly. ¡°And I am just looking.¡± ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Lorna said. ¡°Give him some privacy. Trevor, find him some clothes or something. We will talk about other things later.¡± Lorna herded the girls away from the room leaving Trevor and Billy both standing there awkwardly. They both looked around the room finally finding a drawer with a white robe in it. The material was soft like a cotton polyester blend. Billy put on the robe and tightened up the rope belt. It was not exactly the warmest of clothing but it was better than nothing. More importantly, it covered his new body. ¡°So, what happened to you guys?¡± Billy asked. Trevor smiled and then sat on the table. ¡°When we entered the building, we all received a message. The inner voice requested we go to rooms similar to this one. No one wanted to leave your body. The girls were distraught over Martin¡¯s death. You were dead too you know. I checked your pulse. Anyway, after a few minutes your body disappeared so eventually we went to our designated rooms.¡± Trevor paused and looked around. ¡°All the rooms seem identical. When we lay on the table this induction process started. Something about body reefing and identity matrix imprinting. It also gave us some information while we were being processed. Apparently, we are able to gain experience and level up like in role-playing games. There are also skills we can master like meditation and mana manipulation. It also mentioned something about being able to temper our bodies and souls or something. Yuki said it is like some of the Xuanhuan cultivation novels she likes to read.¡± ¡°So how does this work?¡± Billy asked. ¡°How do we level up? How do we cultivate?¡± ¡°That we don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Looks like I have some catching up to do,¡± Billy replied wryly. ¡°And a new body to get used to.¡± ¡°What happened to your body?¡± Trevor asked. ¡°I have no idea. I was dying ¨C it felt like I died. I felt like I was drifting. Then I heard this machine voice in my head. I must have given me a new body.¡± ¡°You kind of look like you did before but different if you know what I mean.¡± ¡°I know. It is like a perfect version of me.¡± ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t say perfect,¡± Trevor said and then laughed. ¡°Apparently, our souls and memories have now been stored in the ¡®system¡¯, whatever that is. If we die, we get brought back by the ¡®system¡¯.¡± ¡°So, we can actually die?¡± ¡°Yeah, but not too often. There was a warning. Our souls can only take so much. Each time we die our souls fragment until eventually we cannot be brought back!¡± Billy nodded. It made sense. A person could only take so much pain. From what he remembered his death had not felt good at all. He did not want to relive that experience. ¡°Come let¡¯s join the others,¡± he said after a long silence. ¡°And let¡¯s find some food. I am starving! You can fill me in on the rest later.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. They searched the whole building but could not find any food anywhere. They did find some fresh water and several sets of boots that resembled white sneakers. Billy tried on different sneakers until finding a pair that fit. The sneakers were lined with a soft fur so even without socks they felt snug and cozy. They also found a small store of simple weapons. There was a selection of different-sized knives, a few different types of staff, and some spears. The building itself seemed to be hexagonal, with a large open space in the middle that only contained a large round table and chairs. Other than the induction rooms, there were several empty rooms, as well as the store room where they had found the water and weapons. They sat in a central space, except for Su Li who seemed to be happily testing her new legs. For a while, they briefly talked about what had happened until they finally lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. Being young the others had not experienced many changes during the initiation procedure. The only significant difference had been for Su Li. The machine had detected her physical handicap and made corrections. It had even regenerated enough muscle for her to support herself. Trevor did think that his body felt a few years younger but it was impossible to prove. The biggest discovery was the status menu. ¡°Just try it,¡± Lorna said. ¡°It is just like a game. There are levels, experience points plus a whole lot more.¡± ¡°How do you activate it?¡± Billy asked. ¡°In your mind, dum dum,¡± Yuki replied. Her fingers drummed on the tabletop. ¡°Like with the map. Think status!¡± Billy did as asked. Immediately his mind filled with a series of screens and menus. The most prominent one was labeled .
Basic Details
Name Billy Preston
Race Refined human (F)
Class n/a
Cultivation style n/a
Level 0
Hit Points (HP) 49/49
Stamina 90/90
Experience points (XP) 20
XP needed for next level 80
Stats
Strength 9
Agility 10
Constitution 9
Intelligence 13
Wisdom 13
Perception 12
Willpower 12
Synaptic speed 10
Affinity and Control
Mana affinity 12
Mana control 0
Psychic affinity 5
Psychic control 0
There was another menu labeled which he chose to look at next.
Skills
Athletics 1
Hand to Hand 1
Observation 1
He assumed those skills had been awarded for what happened over the last few hours. It looked like none of his real-world skills had been acknowledged. Other than those screens there were five other menus: History, Itinerary, Quests, Spells and Special moves, and Titles and Achievements. The [History] menu just had three entries; , , and . The other four menus were blank which made sense as he knew no spells and he had nothing to his name except the white robe. Billy sighed to himself. This was just like a game. Except for they had no rule book and no starter pack. Mentally he asked, ¡°System help!¡±, but there was no response. If it had not been for the brutal nature of their introduction he ¡°So, what next?¡± Trevor asked. ¡°We have no food and no idea where anything in this world is.¡± ¡°Food and shelter are our biggest concerns,¡± Lorna said. ¡°This place gives me the creeps.¡± ¡°Are you sure there was nothing else said when you were inducted?¡± Billy said. ¡°Nothing,¡± Lorna replied. Billy went to the weapons room and pulled out all of the weapons. There were four staffs, two spears, two maces and six knives with blades ranging in length from 15 to 25c. All looked very basic. He put all of the weapons on the table. ¡°I think we should explore a bit he said finally. We can¡¯t sit around here forever and if we want to go back to our world, we need to find a way out of here.¡± ¡°You saw those frogs and snakes,¡± Trevor said. ¡°Snizards,¡± Billy said automatically. Yuki looked at him with big eyes. ¡°You died, Billy.¡± Billy smiled at her. ¡°And yet here I am.¡± In fact, he felt a surge of energy and excitement. Something he had not felt in a long time. He was in a new world and in a new body. He wanted to pick up a spear and show those frogs who was the boss. ¡°Martin did die!¡± Yuki said. ¡°Where is he?¡± Lorna stood up. ¡°Billy is right. I do not like to say this, given what happened before, but we can¡¯t just sit here. We need food and there is no point waiting until we are too hungry to think straight. I suggest that Billy and I scout out the nearby area. You guys could try meditating or some other shit. Su Li needs to get used to her new legs.¡± ¡°You¡¯re both crazy,¡± Trevor said. His fingers were white from gripping the table. Lorna opened her mouth but Billy cut her off with a gesture. ¡°We are going to need to take some risks. You three rest up and see if there is anything here we have missed. Lorna and I will not go far and won¡¯t be gone for long.¡± The other could only look at them as both Lorna and Billy took up a spear and a knife each and walked out of the room. Billy knew that the youngsters needed time to adjust but he did not think that coddling them would help. There was no longer the veneer of civilization to protect them. Sometimes real life dealt you shit cards and you just had to do the best you could with the hand you had. As they were walking towards the exit, Lorna suddenly said, ¡°I am still not happy about earlier. Heroes do not live long.¡± ¡°I did what I thought I had to. Better me than all of us.¡± Lorna chewed on her lip. ¡°My real name is Loreana, you know.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°My mother is Indian so chose an Indian name, but my father is Irish and always called me Lorna. They argued over it endlessly. Such a small thing.¡± She turned to look at Billy. ¡°I am not going to see them again, am I?¡± Billy tried to smile but it turned into more of a grimace. He had never been good at keeping his emotions off his face. ¡°If there is a way back, I will help you find it.¡± ¡°We argued about everything. Especially me and mother. Nothing I did was good enough. Do you have any family?¡± ¡°No children, but I have a brother and a niece. There won¡¯t be many people missing me,¡± he added ruefully. He doubted his brother would miss him at all. Now that he coming to terms with what had happened, he could feel a spring in his step. It was good to be alive again. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s see what¡¯s out there!¡± Chapter 5: Beware of the Squirrel! Chapter 5 Billy stepped out of the Induction Centre to see that the frogs and snizards were no longer to be seen. The corrupted beasts, it seemed, had little patience. He signaled Lorna that it was clear. Lorna stepped out and looked around. The spear looked comfortable in her hands. Billy felt like he was holding a live snake in his sweaty palms. He knew it would take some time before he was comfortable carrying a weapon, mind using it. Billy realized that he had not observed much in their dash towards safety. If they were going to survive out here, he was going to have to be more observant and alert. Just that flock of birds could have wiped them out earlier. There were dangers everywhere. The area around the building was clear for about a twenty-metre radius. There were more trees and undergrowth here than the swamp earlier and the ground was much more solid. It was also thankfully less humid. The sun was lower in the sky which probably meant they only had a few hours of daylight left. ¡°What do you think we should do?¡± he asked. ¡°We could try to kill a few mobs to level up.¡± ¡°Mobs?¡± ¡°You know mobiles¡­game characters.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t a game, Billy.¡± ¡°I know, but it feels similar.¡± Lorna sighed. ¡°I think we need to get some idea of this area first. And I do not want to go back to that stinky swamp again.¡± Billy had been hoping to get his revenge on a few frogs. With an actual weapon, the frogs should be easy to kill, especially as he now knew about their tongue venom. The snizards might be a different story. But he knew Lorna was right. He would have to wait for his revenge. They needed to get more knowledge of this area as well as find food. He had no wish to eat demonic frogs ¨C even the snakes were more appealing. So even the system wanted them to explore. Before he could act another quest appeared. The system seemed to be getting more snarky too. Lorna and Billy looked at each other, her brown eyes searching his for something. ¡°You got the messages?¡± she asked. ¡°Yes. Finding food and shelter is our priority. We have two days.¡± Eventually, she shrugged. ¡°Shall we?¡± ¡°OK,¡± he said finally. ¡°Lead the way.¡± While everything around looked normal, green trees, green plants, and brown branches, he could not shake the feeling of alienness. This was not the Earth, but it seemed similar. The differences were as small as a different smell or a different shade of green. He had expected an alien world to feel more alien. He knew that nature had its diversity but here everything was nearly familiar ¨C even the sky was only a slightly different blue with a subtle hint of green. If it had not been for the weird creatures that had attacked them he would have thought he was still on Earth. Maybe this place had a familiar feel because it was the starter zone. He was sure that Infernus had plenty of surprises in store for them. They had only just reached the overgrown area when Lorna held up her hand. She pointed slightly to her right with the spear. There, twenty meters away, a huge squirrel sat in a tree watching them ¨C a huge squirrel with massive incisors jutting from its mouth. The creature was larger than the frogs had been. It was nibbling on a red lump it held between its front paws. Billy could swear that the squirrel¡¯s eyes were blood red. Its claws were as long as his fingers. He was tempted to throw his spear at it, but he did not overestimate his own martial prowess. Unless this body was vastly different from his old one and had superhuman abilities he was not going to hit even something that big. It did not appear to want to move yet. Almost like it was summing up whether they were worth the effort of killing them. He looked at it trying to find some clue until a ding popped up in his mind. In front of his eyes, red text appeared just above the squirrel¡¯s head. Fiendish squirrel: level 5. Favorite food: you. ¡°Back away,¡± he whispered. ¡°Just back away.¡± They slowly edged back towards the potential safety of the Induction Centre. Billy was shaking and dripping with sweat by the time they had returned to the building even though the squirrel had not moved at all. ¡°Fuck me!¡± he said. ¡°We are not ready for that.¡± Lorna looked at him. ¡°It was big but still just a squirrel.¡± ¡°A level 5 squirrel eating meat. Where do you think the meat came from? We are not ready for that yet, if at all.¡± She nodded. ¡°Then let¡¯s go the other way but stick to the edge of the swamp. It looks like the ground rises over there.¡± Billy knew that in stories protagonists found convenient caves to shelter in, but from his experience, caves were rarely near flat swampy areas. To find a cave they would need somewhere a little hillier. Still away from the squirrel was as good a direction as any. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you were a girl scout,¡± he mumbled. She laughed. ¡°Actually, I was for a while. There was this cute boy who was in the scouts so I joined up. I quite enjoyed the camping but the rest was pretty blah. And then I saw him kiss another girl. So ended my scouting days.¡±Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°Shame,¡± he said. ¡°Oh, I did learn some skills. I know to make a fire and built a basic shelter from branches and shit. But they didn¡¯t teach me how to kill evil bloody squirrels.¡± ¡°Come on, Lorna. Let¡¯s find something we can kill.¡± They moved forward, both of them scanning around as they softly stepped on the ground. Billy could not help wincing every time a stick snapped beneath his feet. ¡°Hey! I¡¯ve gained a skill.¡± Lorna said in surprise. ¡°What is it? I gained earlier when looking at that squirrel plus a few from before when I fought the frog.¡± ¡°It is called, Soft Step. It allows me to move with a ten percent reduction in noise.¡± ¡°That will probably increase as you level it. I guess some skills can be gained from practice.¡± She nodded. ¡°I was never really into games much. Regret that now! Come on!¡± Slowly they moved along. The saw one or two birds in the distance but so far nothing much. They were about to stop and return to the Induction Centre, not wanting to get too far away from the building when they heard something rustling in the bushes. Lorna held her finger to her lips and readied her spear. Billy gripped his own spear more tightly. Crawling out from the brush with its back to them came a creature that looked like a normal rabbit except with weird-looking eyes. For a moment he lowered his spear but then he remembered his skill. He stared at it for a few seconds until yellow text appeared above the rabbit¡¯s head. Chaotic rabbit: level 1. Favorite food: anything. Now this was more his style. The rabbit still had not seen them but occasionally lifted its head to sniff the air. Billy hoped it had never smelled human before. He motioned to Lorna and she nodded. She moved forward slowly with her spear top pointed towards the ground. In one swift movement, she impaled the rabbit. She pulled back the spear and then lifted the rabbit up by the ears. ¡°We have food,¡± she said victoriously. ¡°I got 10 experience points plus I got a soft-step skill.¡± ¡°Congrats!¡±,¡± Billy said. He looked at the scrawny rabbit. ¡°I don¡¯t think that will feed us for long. We will need some more.¡± Before she could reply a large bird zoomed out of the trees and snatched the rabbit from her hands. Billy could only watch as the bird flew away with her prize. Lorna let out a little scream. With a couple of deep breaths, she regained control and then said. ¡°Let¡¯s keep hunting. Where there is one rabbit there will be more. It took them a couple of hours to kill three more rabbits. They would have had more but Billy missed his first few thrusts plus with his clumsy feet he has problems sneaking up on the rabbits. Fortunately, Lorna never missed. As she was the one with the better skills for hunting he left the majority of the kills to her. She had even increased her [soft step] skill to level 3 as well as gaining a [spear mastery] skill. The sun was starting to set so they decided to head back to the centre. Billy had collected wood for the fire as well as a few long sticks that could be used for spits. Lorna carried the dead rabbits, holding them close to her. From the look on her face, he pitied any other creature that tried to steal her food from her. They had just taken the first few steps back to the Induction Centre when a six-legged creature emerged from the undergrowth. Billy immediately used his [analyse] skill. Mutated fox: level 2. Favorite food: rabbits. ¡°Level 2,¡± he whispered. ¡°Let¡¯s just back away. We have what we came for.¡± The fox was much bigger than the foxes he had seen in documentaries. The fox, however, seemed to have it¡¯s gaze locked on the rabbits. As they backed away it stalked towards them. ¡°I don¡¯t think it''s going to let us go,¡± Lorna said. ¡°We could make a run for it.¡± ¡°Something tells me turning our backs is an even worse idea.¡± ¡°What if we threw it a rabbit?¡±Lorna cursed. ¡°Better than fighting it I guess.¡± She threw a rabbit hard. The corpse landed ten meters behind the fox. The fox snarled at them for a few seconds and then turned, grabbed the rabbit corpse and sped away. Billy let out a long sigh which cut off when two more foxes emerged. One look at Lorna and he knew that she would be giving away any more rabbits. He placed the firewood on the ground and gripped the spear in his hands. ¡°Once I get their attention, run,¡± he said. ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid,¡± she said. ¡°You can¡¯t fight them both off.¡± ¡°Just do it. The others need food and if I die, I will come back.¡± ¡°This time we stay together,¡± she snarled. She quickly tied together the ears of the two rabbits and slung them over her shoulders. ¡°I wonder what fox tastes like?¡± ¡°OK, I will go in front and grab their attention. You stay behind me and do what you do best and stab, stab, stab!¡± She looked reluctant but nodded. He moved forward. The two foxes snarled as he approached. He held the spear across his chest. He knew all he had to do was to fend off the foxes. Lorna would do the rest. One of the foxes rushed forward and leapt to bite his thigh. He pushed it back with the butt of the spear and then cried out the other fox bit deeply into his other leg. <-5 hit points. Bleed effect -1 hit point per second.> ¡°Shit!¡± The pain was unbearable. Even the frog poison did not feel this bad. Luckily, Lorna was prepared and she stabbed deeply into the fox biting his leg. The fox pulled back whimpering with blood gushing from its chest. ¡°How¡¯s that for a bleed effect,¡± Billy crowed. Still, they had to finish this quickly or the bleed effect would kill him. Even though the injured fox had retreated, the other fox still took up his attention. It was all he could do to keep it away, moving the staff from side to side. He had not even dealt one hit point of damage. Lorna ran forward to attack the injured fox. A quick death would make this battle easier. He could only watch as she side-stepped the fox¡¯s lunge and then thrust her spear into the back of the fox. Two more quick thrusts and the creature lay dead at her feet. Billy however was not so lucky. The injured fox danced to one side and then another and then leapt at his face. He dropped his spear and caught it in his arms, falling to the ground. They rolled around with the fox snapping at his face and Billy trying to hold it away. Its back claws lashed at his chest. <-2 hit points. Bleed effect ¨C 1 hit point per second > <-2 hit points. Bleed effect ¨C 1 hit point per second >. ¡°Crap!¡± He could feel his life dripping away. And then Lorna¡¯s spear butt flashed into the fox forcing it away from him. A second later it was dead, impaled on the ground. ¡°Got to stop the bleeding,¡± Billy said between clenched teeth. His chest was on fire from the claw lacerations and his leg was throbbing. Lorna grabbed handfuls of leaves from the ground and pushed them against his leg, clamping her fingers tightly against the wound. Billy forced himself to move and applied pressure through the cloth of his robe to his chest wound, hoping to stop the bleeding. A few more seconds passed when, finally, a message appeared. Billy let out a groan and lay back. The bleeding maybe stopped but the pain was still there. He still had 10 hit points left. <2 mutated foxes killed. 20 XP points gained> Lorna sat on the ground next to him. ¡°Death keeps knocking at your door, Billy.¡± Billy laughed. ¡°I am making a great meat shield.¡± ¡°Well, we have more meat now, and I did get another 20XP. I am near to leveling up. But we need to move before anything else comes. The good news is that my [spear mastery] is now level 2.¡± Billy quickly checked his status screen. He had gained one new skill [pain resistance]. At level 1 it reduced the pain felt by 2%. ¡°Let me bind your leg up and we can head back,¡± she said. She ripped away the sleeves of his robe to bind his legs and then ripped away a significant length of cloth off the bottom part of his robe to bind his chest. Billy could only imagine what he looked like in his bloodied and torn robe ¨C more of a mini-robe now. With her help, he rose to his feet. Using the spear to support his weight he somehow managed to balance a fox corpse over his shoulder and to carry the bundle of sticks in his other hand. Together they slowly walked back to the Induction Centre. Chapter 6: I am the Firestarter! Chapter 6: I am the Firestarter! Billy was exhausted by the time they had reached the Induction Centre. He glanced at his status screen. He still only had 10 HP left and his stamina was now 5/90. He threw the wood and the fox corpse to the floor and sank to the ground. Lorna put her corpses on the floor too, opened the door and called the others outside. The others came out and had various looks on their faces as they saw the dead animals and Billy¡¯s disheveled state. ¡°What happened this time?¡± Trevor said. Lorna just held out her knife to him. ¡°You know what to do. I need to clean Billy¡¯s wounds before they get infected.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t I clean Billy¡¯s wounds?¡± Trevor replied. Lorna just thrust her knife flat against his chest. ¡°You do it or the girls do it. I don¡¯t care. Once I have cleaned Billy up, I will start a fire.¡± Trevor wordlessly took the knife and then bent to sort out the animals. It did not take long for Lorna to clean the wounds. They also found spare robes in the other rooms. Billy quickly donned one. He was still hoping to find some underwear or at least a loincloth. He was not used to having his bits swinging so freely around. But cutting up a robe for the purpose seemed an extravagance for the moment. By the time they had returned to the others, Trevor had begun to skin the animals. Billy could only admire the smooth clean strokes he used. The guy had definitely used a knife before. Seeing him looking at Trevor, Lorna said, ¡°Billy is a good cook. We also were at medical school together. So, we know where to cut.¡± Trevor looked up from his work. ¡°Yep, you are looking at a medical school dropout who turned into an amateur chef.¡± Lorna just smiled. ¡°Hey, we lasted two years. It was a tough gig.¡± She pulled Billy aside and whispered. ¡°I only went because my mother wanted me to be a doctor. Trevor however really wanted to be a doctor but found the exams too tough.¡± Out loud she then said, ¡°Give me your knife, Billy. You rest here, and see if you can recover somewhat. The girls and I will start the fire.¡± By now there was little light to see by but he could see Lorna take a piece of flatter wood and start slicing it so that it was flat on both sides. She then took a long straight stick and shaved off the bark. She carved a divot in the wood and after drilling a bit with long stick she carved a notch for the hole. While she was doing this Su Li and Yuki were busy collecting dry grass. He could see that Su Li was still shaky on her legs and moved quite slowly around the clearing. Soon, next to Lorna, there was a pile of dry grass and shredded bark and another pile of smaller twigs. She placed the flat wood on two stones, with the pile of dried leaves and bark underneath. Lorna took the straight stick and stuck it in the notch she had carved. She placed her palms together on either side of the stick and moved them slowly down the stick twirling the stick rapidly as she did. She continuously repeated this watching the notch carefully. Within a few minutes black powder began to fall from a small hole in the bottom of the board. Lorna increased the speed of her hands and soon Billy saw smoke form. Lorna shook the flat board and then moved some of the kindling across. With a couple of steady breaths flame blossomed within the kindling. With the girls help she arranged smaller pieces of wood around the flame, building the fire gradually until the clearing was lit with the steady glow of a warm fire. Lorna leaned back and sighed. ¡°That was easier than I expected,¡± she said softly. ¡°Oh?¡± Billy said. ¡°It was like the fire wanted to start. Normally it takes more than a few goes. Luckily the grass and wood around the induction centre is very dry. That helps enormously but it was more than that. The fire wanted to start. I could feel it.¡± Billy wondered about what she said. The fire wanted to start. In a world where magic was possible maybe that was not far from the truth. ¡°When I looked at my status screen there was a menu showing affinities,¡± he said finally. ¡°Do you think that has something to do with it?¡± She blinked for a few minutes. ¡°Mine now says that I have an element of fire a my psionic control is now at 1. There is also now a fire affinity of 5%. Hmm¡­ interesting! I now have the skills survival and fire-starting.¡± ¡°Maybe our affinities will change over time. I wonder if we can control that?¡± She shook her head. ¡°There is too much we don¡¯t know. Most of the stats make sense. For example, strength is for strength of our muscles. I have played enough games to know those will probably change as we level up. We discussed some of this earlier while you were reforming. None of us are sure what the actual difference between mana and psionic are though Trevor thinks that mana is more about using external energy where as psionic is about using mental energy.¡± Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°And then there are the cultivation methods,¡± Billy said. ¡°Yep. Well, this is supposed to be a tutorial so maybe we will find out some of this information.¡± By the time the fire was in bloom, Trevor had skinned the rabbits. He grabbed some of the longer and thicker sticks and thrust them into the ground to form a crude spit. Everybody relaxed as the smell of roasting rabbit started to fill the air. ¡°You two have done this before,¡± Billy said. Trevor smiled. ¡°I have always liked the outdoors. I used to force Lorna to go camping a lot. She was never particularly keen except when it came to making fires or playing about with knives.¡± ¡°I watched a lot of survival videos,¡± Lorna said somewhat defensively. ¡°I like to try out their ideas.¡± They all sat and watched the fire for a while. Su Li and Yuki gossiped quietly to each other while the others sat in silence. It seemed a quiet and companionable moment after such a hectic day. It was Billy who stated the obvious. ¡°We are going to need more wood.¡± Everybody looked at him and he shrugged. ¡°There were some bigger pieces over there in the forest,¡± Lorna said. ¡°Come on, Trevor, grab Billy¡¯s spear. Yuki you can come too to help carry.¡± ¡°I want to go,¡± Su Li said. ¡°Not this time,¡± Lorna replied firmly. ¡°If we need to run you will slow us down.¡± Su Li pouted but she nodded. ¡°Be quick,¡± Billy said. ¡°It¡¯ll be pitch black soon. And watch out for that squirrel.¡± Billy was left sitting uncomfortably with Su Li. He had been a secondary teacher in the UK before working abroad in an international school but he had never been that comfortable socializing with children. And then there was the way Su Li had eyed him up after his Induction. That was not a pleasant feeling. ¡°You know you are trying too hard,¡± Su Li said, breaking the long silence. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I know you feel like you have to protect us. You died once already and nearly a second time. Lorna said you are trying to be a hero.¡± Billy just nodded. ¡°You are just children. I could not forgive myself if something happened to you.¡± She smiled, ¡°And you feel like a failure because you know you can¡¯t protect us from everything. But that is because you want to run before you can walk.¡± She giggled. ¡°Listen to me. I have never run before. But just like me you are learning to walk, Billy. My legs and your body are new. This world is new to use. It takes time.¡± Billy wondered about such wisdom from a teenager. But he knew she was right. It was not surprising he had been so bad at fighting. He had never actually used this body before and everything still felt off. He had never really done much fighting even when younger. The few sporadic sessions of martial arts training that he had done were not going to help him much. ¡°I feel stupid and like I am the adult and should be responsible for you guys,¡± he said. ¡°But look at me. My stamina has gone to shit and my hit points are so low a strong wind could kill me.¡± Su Li looked at him. ¡°Your hit points are not returning? Try to meditate. I tried it earlier. Felt good!¡± ¡°Why do you say that?¡± ¡°Just try it. Trevor and Yuki couldn¡¯t get it but I did. I now have the meditation skill. Very helpful for you I think.¡± Well, another skill would not hurt. He had tried various things in his life, martial arts, yoga, and most recently tai chi but never meditation. Still all of those had elements of meditation. He crossed his legs and just focused on steadying his breathing, just like when he was doing yoga and tai chi. With his eyes closed he slowly breathed in and out, not trying to empty his mind but trying to just feel each breath. He could still feel the pain in his chest and his leg. With each breath, those pains eased until, eventually, he could barely feel it at all. The sound of the others returning brought him back to reality and he opened his eyes. He opened his menu and focused on his [meditation skill]. To his surprise, some more information appeared. [Meditation: meditation increases the rate of regeneration and recuperation. At current level you will regain 1HP per minute and recover 2 stamina per minute. At current level you can only meditate while seated. Note: you cannot meditate while in active combat.] Billy quickly checked his stats and he was delighted to see that he now had 25HP and 35 stamina. He must have been meditating for fifteen minutes. He looked at his leg and chest. Whereas before the wounds had appeared raw and potentially could reopen now they had scabbed over and looked partially healed. The pain was now just a nagging ache. Billy looked at Su Li and gave her a quick nod. She grinned at him and winked. ¡°Gotta look after my man!¡± He groaned but knew she was teasing him. Still, he had to admire her mental fortitude. How many people would take being dumped into this world so well? He knew at her age he would have been in permanent shock. ¡°Any problems?¡± he asked the returning trio. Their arms were full of wooden branches and Trevor had been heavily laden with some thicker logs. ¡°None,¡± Lorna said. ¡°Though there were some noises in the distance.¡± Trevor dumped his load with a load groan. ¡°Good thing nothing attacked us. Carrying this we would not have been able to defend ourselves.¡± ¡°We needed the wood,¡± Lorna said. Yuki just nodded. ¡°I need a shower. This place is icky.¡± ¡°Tomorrow we will look for running water to wash in,¡± Billy said. ¡°The water in the centre should be reserved for drinking.¡± ¡°Just a few litres left,¡± Trevor said. ¡°Right let¡¯s get this food ready. I am starving!¡± Lorna sat next to Billy and let Trevor get on with tending the fire and cooking. Within minutes she had sunk to the ground and was snoring. He assumed that her stamina had also bottomed out. No one here was super-human and they would have to manage their physical resources better. It did not take that long for the rabbit to finish cooking. Trevor pulled the cooked rabbits from the fire to cool before adding a haunch from the fox to the spit. With Su Li¡¯s help he placed the rest of the uncooked meat inside the centre in one of the empty rooms. Billy was delighted to get another message after tucking into the meat. The food itself was quite bland and a little tough but the reward was sufficient. Ding! He thought. With this and meditation it would not take all day to recover. If he could persuade the others, they would be able to grind some mobs to get stronger. He knew they needed to get stronger and if learn how to fight. It would be better to do it before something worse than the frogs or squirrels came along. But for now, well-fed and with the fading light making the area seem eerie the group decided it was time to sleep. Trevor banked the fire using some larger logs and the ashes, hoping to preserve some embers for tomorrow while Yuki roused Lorna and helped her inside the centre. Interlude 1: What a farbak! Interlude 1: What a far''bak! Gar¡¯nik the Effulgent looked at his monitors. He could not believe what he was seeing. He adjusted his spectacles with one tentacle, but the monitor did not change. ¡°Lar¡¯min,¡± he called out. ¡°Look at this far¡¯bak. I think the systems are on the blink again.¡± His colleague stepped over from his own console. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°Look at the error and history logs!¡± ¡°I am looking¡­ and?¡± Gar¡¯nik wanted to growl. He had worked with this grash¡¯buk for too long now. How Lar¡¯min had been placed here he had no idea. The rumour was that he was related to the big boss. Everything had to be explained to him in painstaking detail ¨C even the obvious. ¡°Think, Lar¡¯min. How are we getting any messages mind error messages when we haven¡¯t even launched the beta test.¡± ¡°Maybe someone is running a test simulation.¡± Gar¡¯nik raised his tentacles in the air. ¡°We are the ones who run the simulations.¡± After the problems they had faced during the alpha development and testing stages they had needed to completely overhaul the system as well as place other measures in place to support the users. During the first hour of the alpha test 50% of the participants had died. During the second hour a level 20 major boss had somehow been teleported into the beginner zone. It had been carnage and set them back hundreds of cycles in development. Even now Gar¡¯nik and the development team were working on semi-autonomous systems that would interface with users to help them in the early stages. Gar¡¯nik had called them IMPs ¨C individual monitoring programs. These would essentially be a guide to the users as well as help monitor for further problems.. They both started to run scans on the system. After a few more minutes Lar¡¯min said. ¡°If the beta has not been launched yet why does the register show five thousand users?¡± Gar¡¯nik frantically pulled up log after log. ¡°Five thousand initial users, starting with five who entered the beta system nearly a cycle ago,¡± he mused to himself. ¡°Now only four thousand five hundred and ninety-seven are still alive.¡± He opened some more logs. ¡°Four hundred and three users suffered permanent death before full induction took place.¡± He leaned back in his chair a look of horror on his face. ¡°Ai grak bar! This is not possible. The protocols in place send the users straight to their allocated induction centres. How did they even get into Infernus in the first place?¡± He ran through as many analysis programs as he could think to use. None of them showed how the users had entered the system. All he could get was Error #5234. Invalid access detected. ¡°We need to tell the big boss.¡± Lar¡¯min too now looked horrified. ¡°Can¡¯t we just¡­¡± He waved his six arms aimlessly. ¡°Just¡­¡± ¡°We can¡¯t delete the logs, we don¡¯t have access rights. Others may have seen this too now. There is no covering up this far¡¯bak. We need to tell the supervisor. Whoever hacked the system needs to be stopped. We also need to put some emergency systems in place. These users will die if we don¡¯t.¡± ¡°But the IMPs are not ready yet. You know how glitchy they are.¡± ¡°We need something. Look they are not even getting the beginner quests.¡± Gar¡¯nik leaned back in his ful¡¯men and thought for a few minutes. ¡°Alright. For now, schedule the release of the beginner quests once the induction process is complete. Anything is better than nothing,¡± Gar¡¯nik paused. He blew out loudly through his four nostrils. ¡°And then get working on readying the IMPs. Strip the code down if necessary. A little support is better than nothing. Those poor souls have no idea what is out there.¡± ¡°What are you going to do?¡± For once Lar¡¯min looked agitated as if he could sense the true gravity of the situation. ¡°I am going to go and tell the big boss and hope he is in a good mood. Otherwise, you are on your own.¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Chapter 7: Fiend or Foe? Chapter 7: Friend or Foe? Billy woke up feeling refreshed and excited. Today was the day he was going to shine, or so he told himself. He checked his status screen and then frowned. His stamina had completely refilled but he had only had an increase of 4 hit points. With only 29 hit points he felt less confident about his goal to get the others to grind some levels. He then remembered about meditation. He sat on the floor and got into position. It took him a few minutes to calm himself and to steady his breathing. Then he closed his eyes and again focused on his breathing. This time the feeling of peace and calm came to him more quickly. After a while, he also felt he could something else flowing through his body, easing his injuries. He did not try to focus on them as he was worried that would break his meditation but instead just opened his senses up more and attempted to just feel. There was definitely something there ¨C something being absorbed by his body. He was nearly there to being able to feel it when he was rudely interrupted. ¡°Hey Billy,¡± Su Li shouted. He came to with a start. He focused on the skill. [Meditation level 2: meditation increases the rate of regeneration and recuperation. At current level you will regain 2HP per minute and recover 3 stamina per minute. At the current level you can only meditate while seated. Note: you cannot meditate while in active combat.] Well, that went well and checking his status he saw his hit points were now full. He was ready to battle. Or nearly. He needed to learn how to fight too. ¡°Billy, open your eyes,¡± Su Li said. ¡°Come on!¡± Billy opened his eyes and smiled at her. ¡°Good morning to you too. What¡¯s for breakfast? Did you make coffee?¡± He could see she was almost bouncing with energy. She pulled a face at him. ¡°There was some of the fox meat left but we ate it all. It was too tough for your old teeth anyway.¡± ¡°My teeth are as good as yours now.¡± ¡°Bah! Come outside. Yuki wants to train us.¡± She laughed. ¡°Come on! You are too slow!¡± Billy laughed too. There was something about Su Li¡¯s energy that was infectious. He followed her outside to find Trevor and Lorna doing some stretching exercises under Yuki¡¯s directions. ¡°Hey Billy,¡± Yuki said. ¡°Come to join the session?¡± ¡°Good morning, everyone,¡± Billy said. ¡°Warm-up time?¡± Yuki nodded. ¡°You gotta stretch.¡± ¡°Stretch for what?¡± ¡°For training,¡± Lorna said. ¡°Yuki says she knows a thing or two about using staffs and spears.¡± ¡°My father was a keen martial artist,¡± Yuki said. ¡°Yeah, I know ¨C Asian stereotype. And no he was not some frigging secret ninja, Su Li. He was just a black belt in karate. But he did show me some self-defense moves. We also had some fun with the Bo staff and the long spear. Not quite the same as these but similar enough.¡± To Billy¡¯s surprise, Lorna was the one leading the warmup. They did about twenty minutes of stretching and light exercise, ten minutes more than needed in Billy¡¯s opinion, before Yuki took over with some basic drills using the staff. Halfway through they shifted to drills with the spear. The drills went on for over thirty minutes until they were all covered in a light sweat. ¡°Let¡¯s rest,¡± Lorna said. ¡°Any of that dried meat, Trevor? We need to get some stamina back.¡± While Trevor was fetching the meat, Billy checked his status. Even that short training session had drained his stamina by two thirds. He had to get fitter than this. At least he now felt more comfortable holding a staff and after all what was a spear but a staff with pointy end? He laughed ruefully to himself. Yesterday had taught him that fighting with the spear was anything but that simple. ¡°Did anyone get a skill awarded for the training?¡± he asked. Only Yuki said yes. Yuki had been [spear mastery] at level 3, probably because of her past experience. She also had [staff mastery] at level 1. Lorna had already been awarded the skill before but she said hers was now at level 3 too. Billy decided that Lorna was probably a natural at most things. It also seemed that combat helped to level up the weapon skills. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. While they ate some meat and washed it down with the last of the water they discussed their plans for the day. ¡°We should split up to cover more ground,¡± Trevor suggested. ¡°Me and Billy can make one group,¡± Su Li said. ¡°And you three another group.¡± ¡°Never split the party,¡± Billy said almost automatically. He had only played party-based role-playing games a little, but he knew that rule well. ¡°We stick together,¡± Lorna agreed. ¡°Yesterday showed how vulnerable we are in smaller groups. However, we do need to find shelter today and some fresh water. I suggest that Billy and I lead the way with the rest of you about five metres behind. That way if anything attacks, we have time to react.¡± Billy nodded. Having forward scouts made sense. It is what they did in the movies. ¡°Sounds like a plan,¡± Trevor said. Before they left Trevor dug a hole in the ground and lined it with stones. He then took embers from the previous night¡¯s fire and placed them in the hole along thin strips of meat. He covered the meat with more stones. ¡°That should do,¡± he said finally. ¡°I think the meat will cook nicely by the time we return.¡± Billy was grateful that Trevor and Lorna had some camping skills. He knew little about such things and he doubted the two girls did either. *** After a quick trip to the bushes, they set off to look for shelter. The deadline for them to be kicked out of the induction centre was approaching quickly. Billy and Lorna led the way both carrying spears. Even though Yuki was better with the weapon she had not looked ready to take an active combat role. The others had a staff and a knife each. Billy and Lorna were spaced about two metres apart and five metres ahead of the group. They headed in the direction they had found the rabbits yesterday deciding that so far the mobs in that area had been relatively easy to deal with. Billy still felt some excitement but he grew more tense as they travelled further away from the induction centre. The way the creatures has chased them yesterday was still fresh in his mind as was his painful death. When it was just Loran and himself he had felt less responsibility. He knew that Lorna was better able to handle herself than he was. Now with the others that burden once more settled on his shoulders. He tried to push his negative thoughts out of his mind. With deep breaths, he steadied his nerves and focused on scanning the terrain ahead while trying to move as silently as possible. They had now reached the area where they had killed the foxes but, so far, they had not seen any animals. The area was now becoming more densely populated with trees so they moved closer together. They slowly covered another kilometre in this manner when Billy smelled something pungent to his left. He lifted his hand and the others stopped. Lorna quietly came over to where he stood. Billy pointed in the direction he had smelled something and to his nose. Lorna nodded and then signaled she would have a look. With her [soft step] skill he knew she would be the better scout. He crept forward as she moved silently between the trees. After moving about 100 metres she stopped. She crouched down and watched for a while before moving back to where Billy waited. ¡°There are three creatures there,¡± she whispered. ¡°They are quite small.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the others,¡± Billy said. Once they had returned to the others and moved away from the region, Lorna said, ¡°I think we should attack. These creatures have camped near a fast-flowing river. That is fresh water for us and what looks like a good place to camp.¡± ¡°Water is good,¡± Trevor said. ¡°But these creatures have done nothing to us. They could be friendly.¡± ¡°Let me look with you before we attack,¡± Billy said. ¡°We don¡¯t know their levels and as Trevor said let¡¯s not go blood crazy. They may be better allies than enemies.¡± Lorna and Billy this time approached together with the main group twenty metres behind. It took one look for Billy to see that the place would be an ideal campsite. To the left of the area was a group of closely spaced trees next to the river that essentially enclosed the area leaving just one main entry point. If it had not been for the smell they would never have found these creatures. Speaking of which¡­ He focused his attention on the small creatures. With their rat-like faces and their scrawny bodies, he doubted they would be that dangerous. They also seemed to be carrying some basic type of club as a weapon ¨C a stone lashed to a thick notched stick. Even though it looked primitive he did not want to get hit by it. He [analysed] one of the creatures. [Spindly rat fiend ¨C level 2. Favorite food: garbage.] He quickly checked the other two creatures. They were level 1 and level 3 respectively. The level 3 creature was busy smacking the smaller level 1 creature about the head. He was not surprised they had not detected their presence. They seemed preoccupied with cooking an emaciated rabbit over a spit. Well, he could not fault them for that. Just as he was about to move back the larger rat fiend looked in their direction. It sniffed the air and then with a shrieking noise it raised its club and charged at them. Billy cursed and fumbled with its spear, trying to untangle it from a vine that seemed to wrap around it. The rat fiend was now only metres away. Lorna stepped into the gap and Billy could only watch as the rat fiend practically ran onto her spear. The momentum of the rat fiend caused Lorna to step back and lose her grip on the spear. Billy growled at himself. The other two rat fiends were closing in. He dropped his spear and charged at them. He grinned at the look of surprise on their face before he wrapped his arms around them and brought them crashing to the ground. He found himself on top of the level 2 creature. He pounded it in the face with his fists, messages flashing repeatedly in his mind. Eventually, the final message came. The other rat fiend had by now risen to its feet and looked like it wanted to flee. Lorna¡¯s spear solved its dilemma. Before it could even move the spear impaled it through its chest. She calmly drew the spear back and then planted it one more time in the creature¡¯s chest. Billy rolled off the dead rat fiend. He slowly rose to his feet. He looked at his knuckles. They looked red raw from pounding on the rat fiend. But at least he had not been injured this time. He silently moved to pick up his spear. ¡°Sorry,¡± he said finally. ¡°I think the spear is not the weapon for me.¡± Lorna just grinned. ¡°You did ok, Billy. Together we took down three creatures. And look you are not injured.¡± Billy nodded grimly. ¡°I can do better. Well at least that was 20 more XP. And my [hand-to-hand] skill has increased to level 2. How about you?¡± Her eyes flickered as she checked her status. ¡°Ding, ding!¡± she said. ¡°I just leveled up.¡± Chapter 8: Fight for your right to party! Chapter 8: fight for your right to party! They all sat around in the clearing on logs and stared at Lorna. She shifted looking uncomfortable. ¡°Well?¡± Lorna finally asked. ¡°You leveled up!¡± Billy said. ¡°What does that mean? What are your stats?¡± She sighed loudly. ¡°I am now at level 1 with 100 XP. It looks like my HP has increased by twelve each and my stamina by 6. I also got a personal quest ¨C reach level 5 to choose a starter class.¡± ¡°How does it feel?¡± Yuki asked. ¡°I feel¡­ stronger.¡± ¡°What about your stats?¡± Billy asked again. ¡°What about them?¡± ¡°How have they changed?¡± ¡°They are the same.¡± ¡°The same? That can¡¯t be.¡± ¡°I can hardly show you can I?¡± ¡°Have you tried?¡± Trevor said finally. ¡°Tried what?¡± ¡°Tried showing them. Maybe you can show others your status screen too. Some of the books I read you could do that.¡± Her eyes narrowed. ¡°I knew it! I knew you had read books on this.¡± Trevor help his hands up. ¡°Just try it.¡± Her eyes flickered for a few moments. Billy wondered if her looked like that when accessing his own menus. His niece used to make that face when she had wind. ¡°No nothing,¡± she said finally. ¡°Wait,¡± said Trevor. ¡°Let me try something.¡± After a few seconds, Billy received a system message saying He accepted and he could somehow feel that he was linked to Trevor. Yuki and Su Li soon joined the party. ¡°Come on Lorna, accept.¡± She looked at them desperately for a moment and then accepted. ¡°Now try thinking party status,¡± Trevor said. Billy did that and immediately he could see the stats of the others. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. From what Billy could see both Su Li and himself were listed as altered humans. That was probably due to the need to readjust their bodies more than the others. He was more puzzled about how the hit points were calculated. It was sure it was somehow linked to constitution and the difference between Lorna¡¯s and everyone else was probably due to her being level 1. ¡°Hey Lorna,¡± he said. ¡°What were your total hit points before leveling up?¡± ¡°52,¡± she replied. ¡°They increased by 12 when I leveled up.¡± ¡°The same as your constitution,¡± Billy said quietly. ¡°That would mean that increasing our constitution would increase our health points,¡± Trevor said. ¡°Quite significantly as you level up,¡± Billy replied. ¡°It does look like we have a base of 40 plus the constitution. That is not a great difference at level 0 but imagine at higher levels.¡± ¡°In my comics, you can refine your body using cultivation methods,¡± Yuki said. ¡°That might increase the factor even more.¡± ¡°There is a lot we don¡¯t know,¡± Billy said. ¡°However, what we do know if that leveling will increase our ability to survive.¡± The other mystery was what were unassimilated stat points. If this had been a game, he would have assumed that these were points gained from leveling up that could be added permanently to the character¡¯s stats. This way characters not only got more hit points they could also become stronger or faster or well... or whatever they wanted. ¡°Did you notice the unassimilated stat points?¡± he asked. Lorna looked startled and then her eyes flickered again. ¡°Oh! I missed that.¡± ¡°Try to focus on the category and see if any information comes up,¡± he suggested. After a few minutes, her eyes widened. ¡°It says that unassigned stat points can be added to one of the eight main character statistics by channeling the new energy inside of me through the appropriate method. Affinities and control cannot be increased by this method. So, I can become superwoman?¡± Billy laughed, ¡°Using the appropriate method. Whatever that means.¡± ¡°Well I tried adding to my strength stat and nothing happened.¡± Su Li stood up excitedly. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s like Yuki¡¯s comic books. You know¡­¡± She looked at each of them for a minute. ¡°Don¡¯t you guys read comics?¡± She struck a painful looking pose and then said in a strained voice, ¡°By the power of the stars I call down ¡­. ASTRAL SWORD.¡± She then brought her arms down slowly as if wielding a giant sword. Billy laughed. ¡°Oh, you mean like Seafarer Moon?¡± ¡°Or Dragonorbs Sigma?¡± Trevor said. ¡°What are those?¡± Su Li said. ¡°You guys are so old.¡± ¡°Dragonorbs was an old cartoon that was on TV when I was younger. In Dragonorbs the characters could increase their power by fighting, training and learning new techniques.¡± Yuki sighed. ¡°She¡¯s talking about cultivation comics. She always bores says they bore her to death but she seems to remember a lot of details. Can¡¯t you see the cultivation part in the stats menu?¡± ¡°Hey, they were your comics!¡± Su Li objected. ¡°I just read them to be a good friend.¡± Yuki grinned at her. ¡°In cultivation, while being chased by beautiful fairies and goddesses, the main characters absorb power from the elements and form what are they called in English¡­?¡± ¡°Mana cores,¡± Billy said. While he had not read the comics, he had read some books that mentioned this. There was nothing like a good Litrpg or progression book to while away the time. Yuki nodded and carried on. ¡°But to do this they needed to use special techniques and even things like formations. We need to find a grumpy ancient master to teach us after making us do all of his chores.¡± Su Li danced over to Billy and kissed him on the cheek. ¡°I think Billy understands. I will be your fairy. All will envy my beauty. Together we will quest for powerful herbs and divine treasures that will unlock our true ancient bloodlines.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Yuki said. Lorna stood and brushed herself off. ¡°Well, I am not a princess or some fairy thing, whatever that is, and I don¡¯t know any special mystical techniques. The only grumpy ancient here is Billy. And I don¡¯t think he has some mysterious techniques to show you. Right now, we need to sort out our shelter. I suggest that Trevor and I start working on this place while you three go back and get the meat and anything else that looks useful.¡± ¡°Just the three of us?¡± Yuki asked, her eyes widening. Billy could tell that she was scared at the thought. He could not blame her. Already she had seen Martin die and Billy almost die. ¡°We will be safe with you and Billy to protect us,¡± Su Li said. ¡°Yuki, we have a lot to do before nightfall,¡± Lorna said sternly. ¡°We all have to do our part. There should not be anything around that you three cannot handle if you stick to the route we took. You can take my spear.¡± Yuki nodded and picked up the spear. Su Li held a staff while Billy still had his spear. As they were leaving, Lorna grabbed his arm and whispered in his ear. ¡°Stay focused and don¡¯t take any foolish risks.¡± Billy nodded. Safety first. Then maybe they would let him level up. *** The girls chatted loudly on the way back to Billy¡¯s consternation. He did not say anything though, just kept his eyes open. They needed some forms of release and as Lorna said it should be safe enough. They were nearly back to the Induction Centre when a large red demon frog hopped out of one of the bushes. It looked to be grinning at Billy. He used [analyse]. [Corrupted frog ¨C level 2. Favorite food: insects.] Billy cursed. The one that had nearly killed him had only been level 1. This thing would be much harder to kill. ¡°We got your back, Billy,¡± Yuki whispered. Billy thought about running but he knew if he ran now, he would struggle to face his fears in the future. He needed to show to himself that he could this. He hefted his spear and settled himself into the basic stance Yuki had shown to him, with his left leg in front of his right and his weight comfortably balanced. At least this time he knew about the poisonous tongue. He motioned girls back to give himself some space. As if triggered by this motion the frog jumped forward. A second later its tongue lashed out. Billy side-stepped to the left. The tongue missed him by inches. Again, the tongue lashed out. This time he side-stepped to the right and then dashed forward his spear held close to his body. Before the frog could turn Billy was to the side of it. The frog was defenseless if he was not in front of it. He stabbed it repeatedly with his spear. With the first strike he achieved a critical hit inflicting 10 hit points of damage. After that, each hit drained the frog of 5 hit points until it was dead. He was also awarded with a new skill, [Critical Stab] which at level 1 gave him a 10% chance of a critical hit with any stabbing weapon. ¡°You did it, Billy,¡± Su Li said. ¡°And you are not injured or covered in goo.¡± ¡°Yay!¡± Billy said sarcastically. Still, he could not keep the grin from his face. ¡°Come on! Let¡¯s get the supplies.¡± He felt a lot better after killing the frog. While the battle with the rat-fiends had gone quite smoothly, with the frog it felt like he was in control of the fight and not just attacking blindly. Searching through the Induction Centre again they grabbed the spare robes, a couple of empty containers that had previously contained the fresh water and the fox meat that Trevor had left to finish cooking. Billy was not sure whether the meat would remain edible for long without proper storage, but he knew that historically people would cure and smoke meat to preserve it. He just hoped that dysentery was not a new enemy in his future. Chapter 9: Setting up camp Chapter 9 ¨C Setting up camp. When Billy and the others had returned to camp, he saw that Lorna and Trevor had already made huge progress on setting up the camp. Trevor was placing short sharpened sticks in the ground to restrict the open side of the clearing while Lorna was painstakingly weaving flexible branches in and out of the closely growing tree trunks. ¡°Hey Billy killed a frog,¡± Su Li declared loudly to the world. ¡°Yeah, we know,¡± Lorna replied. She wiped sweat from her brow. ¡°We got the notification.¡± ¡°This party thing is quite useful,¡± Trevor said. ¡°Speaking of which.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Billy said. ¡°What?¡± ¡°You are the leader, Billy, and that is final,¡± Lorna said. ¡°Now let¡¯s get to work. This shelter will not build itself.¡± Billy just stood there in bewilderment. It did not feel like he was the leader. Lorna gave the most orders and he had a feeling if the told her to do something against her will she would refuse. He had never much liked being a leader at work and he had a feeling that this was going to go the same way. Trevor took the meat from them and hung it from the trees using strips of bark. He then gave directions to the girls to look for more leafy branches as well as any vines they could easily harvest close by. Billy was instructed to keep watch at the front while they worked. Some leader, Billy thought to himself. The only one not giving orders was himself. Still, he enjoyed the moment of respite as he watched out front. He thought about all the things that had happened so far. With the quests and the ability to level up there was more here than just a system of getting stronger. It felt like the system was trying to guide them, but to what end he had no idea. Still there was something about the feeling he had when meditating that kept returning to his mind. He had been on the verge of something. He could not meditate while keeping watch but that did not mean he could not attempt something similar. He tried to reach out with his senses while doing breathing exercises. However, he could not seem to find the right level of calmness. He decided to practice one of the simple tai chi exercises ¡°move hands like clouds¡± ¨C an exercise that, according to his instructor, would help to regulate the flow of Qi through the twelve meridians. His instructor had also explained about energy flow and how the meridians could be balanced and widened through acupuncture as well as advanced qigong techniques, but then empthasized that cleansing exercises were vital to maintain a healthy body, otherwise, there would be restrictions in the flow of Qi. This could lead to a lack of general energy or even health problems. The important thing he had learned was that there were no true shortcuts. One had to build in strength through regular practice ¨C something he had not been good at. Fortunately, the basic exercises he had learned were simple enough that they could be done while keeping a watch on the surroundings. As he moved his arms, he could sense energy flows moving around him as well as moving in and out of his body. He shifted to a simplified Qi Gong routine utilizing some of the movements from the Ba Duan Jin routine ¨C something he had practiced regularly during lockdowns. After about ten minutes he was jolted from his reverie by another skill gain. He concentrated on the skill for more information. [Body Cleansing level 1: helps increase the efficiency and energy flow of the body. At the current level receive a 2% increase permanent increase to your constitution. Also regain health and stamina 2% faster while active.] ¡°Hey, Billy, what are you doing?¡± Su Li asked. ¡°Just exercising,¡± he said. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be helping the others?¡± ¡°Lorna told me to rest. My stamina was quite low. Can you show me your exercises?¡± ¡°I should be keeping watch.¡± ¡°We can watch together.¡± Billy thought that some of the exercises were not overly difficult for her and may even help her to regain some stamina. A little extra constitution did not hurt either. He was excited to see what he could achieve with better mastery of the [body cleansing] skill. He showed her the first basic exercise ¡°hold the hands to the heavens¡± and talked her through the choreography of breathing and movement. However, after about five minutes he could sense her concentration had disappeared. She stopped and laughed. ¡°I can¡¯t feel anything. I saw my grandparents do these types of exercises when I was little but they never explained what they were doing. And I was not very interested.¡± Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°They take some time to master. I am still a novice.¡± ¡°Maybe I will practice,¡± she said. ¡°But for now I think I need to help Lorna set up.¡± Billy shook his head ruefully as she ran off. He too had been impatient when young. She would learn. *** A few hours later they stopped for a quick lunch ¨C dried meat again. Billy wondered if they would be able to find or grow vegetables here. Most of the vegetables they were used to on Earth had been cultivated for centuries. There should at least be some forms of tuber in the ground ¨C it was quite warm here so yams were a possibility. Mushrooms would also be a possibility. The only question would be if they were edible. He did not fancy being the one to find out. As for nuts or fruits he had not seen any fruit trees yet, but maybe some trees would have edible nuts. Trevor, however, had a different idea. ¡°Why don¡¯t we try fishing?¡± he said. Billy laughed, ¡°I can barely hit a rabbit with the spear mind a fish.¡± ¡°I could try to make a fishing line. I just need enough hair.¡± Billy looked at him. ¡°You are going to make a fishing line from hair?¡± Trevor grinned. ¡°Good idea, right?¡± Billy sighed. Trevor laughed out loud. ¡°I should be able to make some sort of string from the trees around here. Saying that it will probably be easier for now to make a crude fishing line using strips of hide from the rat-fiends. I don¡¯t fancy trying to use sinew although that is a possibility for making a bowstring. The girls can try to catch some worms or insects and then they can fish while Lorna and I finish the shelter. That shouldn¡¯t take too long.¡± Billy looked over at the area where Lorna had been working. He could already see that she had nearly finished a large panel of woven branches which he assumed would form the roof. All that was needed was something to block the sides. ¡°What about beds?¡± Yuki asked. Lorna laughed, ¡°I am still waiting on delivery for the frames and mattresses. Until then you will have to settle for some dried leaves and the ground.¡± Yuki pouted but said nothing. This was definitely not glam camping. They would all be cramped up in a small space until they could arrange for something more suitable ¨C for that they would need better tools. After lunch Billy went back to guard duty. He again practiced his qi gong and tai chi exercises. He did not level up his skill so he was clearly missing some deeper insight needed, but he did feel fresher and more alert. He followed these exercises with some simple drills for the spear. While he was happy with his [critical stab] skill he envied Lorna¡¯s [spear mastery] skill. He was sure that it offered better offensive benefits. An hour of drills left him sweaty, with a better feeling for the weapon in his hands but he had not gained the skill he desired. Patience, he told himself. It will come. He went to the river to drink some water when a message popped up startling him. Billy smiled. Finally, he had leveled up. He gave two thumbs up to Lorna and Trevor who were sitting exhausted on the ground with a nice leafy canopy over their heads. They smiled at him and then leaned back to rest. Billy now had four unassigned stat points, just like Lorna, and he was determined to find a way to use them. *** The light was dimming and Billy¡¯s eyes were half-closed when he sensed movement in the bushes about fifty meters from where he stood. He could feel eyes on him and a chill went down his spine. He signaled to Lorna and Trevor and they quickly came over. By now Trevor had a gentle fire going with some meat and a couple of tiny fish cooking on spits. Billy had been surprised that the girls had caught anything after chatting so loudly. Billy whispered to Lorna that he had sensed something. Lorna went back to fetch her spear. The others quickly armed themselves. Together Billy and Lorna moved as quietly as they could towards the bushes while the others stayed in camp on alert. Before they were even close to the bushes a slight figure sprang up and sprinted away. Before it had a chance to completely disappear Billy was able to analyse it. [Rat fiend boss (minor) ¨C level 4. Favorite food: lemons.] Billy and Lorna looked at each other. For a few minutes they debated trying to follow it realizing that it could lead others to their location but given that darkness was quickly descending they decided to wait until morning. They had just returned to camp when more system messages appeared. Yuki in particular was frightened by the first quest and Billy knew she would be getting little sleep tonight. ¡°Why us?¡± Su Li asked. ¡°What do you mean,¡± Billy replied. ¡°Well, you actually talked to that sinister dude at the beginning. It sounds like we were chosen ¨C well at least you were. So why? What is so special about us?¡± Billy laughed. ¡°I am definitely not special.¡± ¡°I think Su Li has a point,¡± Lorna said. ¡°But it may not be because we are special. Personally, I think someone just decided to fuck around and we were the nearest randos.¡± ¡°I would like to think we are specially chosen,¡± Su Li said. Billy knew that no one would want to think they were selected for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He agreed with Lorna. They were chosen because they were there in the train station not because of any other reason. They were not the chosen ones selected to save the world. However, this did not mean he was about to roll over. He, for one, was determined to use this opportunity to get stronger. ¡®It does not matter why we are here,¡± Trevor said, as if reading his mind. ¡°We are here. Now we need to survive.¡± ¡°We need to get stronger, ¡°Billy said. ¡°And then one day I will find the bastard who did this.¡± They all looked at him. He shrugged. He meant every word. He was just level one now but there was a way forward. He may be a nobody but he refused to roll over. After a quick unsatisfying dinner, they set watch in pairs with two people guarding for four hours before another two took over. Lorna and Su Li took the first watch while the others tried to sleep. Billy was due to be on he second watch with Yuki. At first, he struggled to get to sleep. He had so many questions rattling around in his mind. The fact that they had started to receive questions and there was a shop somewhere filled him with hope. It meant that they were not alone in this and that meant that there had to be a way out of this. He tried to settle his mind with some breathing and meditation exercises and surprised himself by falling asleep after a few minutes. Interlude 2: Meet the Krangraks Interlude 2: Meet the Krangraks F¡¯rash rose unsteadily from the ground, his limbs trembling slightly as he shook off the disorientation that clung to him like a second pelt. He drew in the unfamiliar scents of this strange land. The air was thick with the tang of new prey. Yet, aside from his pack, there was no trace of other Krangrak¡ªno rival packs, no familiar scents of home. The blinding light that had brought them here was gone. Wherever here was. The other five members of his pack lay scattered around him, their white fur stark against the alien landscape. They stirred slowly, groaning softly as they regained consciousness. He looked around. The land was hilly and covered in swathes of reddish-green stuff he could only think was grass, ut it was not the purple of the grass back home. Here, the air was warm, heavy with the promise of rain. For the first time in as long as he could remember, there was no snow. His gaze lifted to the sky, and he froze. The heavens above were a strange, unsettling shade of greenish-blue, a far cry from the reddish hues he had known all his life. It was as if the substance of the world had shifted, leaving him and his pack adrift. L¡¯mang, his mate, was the first to rise fully, her growl low and cautious as she shook the dirt from her fur. F¡¯rash moved to her side, nuzzling the soft nape of her neck in a gesture of reassurance. One by one, the others joined them¡ªB¡¯lang, the youngest and most agile; B¡¯lok, his brother; K¡¯rek and his mate L¡¯mook, L¡¯mang¡¯s sister; and finally, the ever-watchful T¡¯ran. Together, they formed a tight circle, their breaths mingling as they took in their new surroundings. F¡¯rash felt a flicker of relief despite the strangeness of it all. Back home, during the long winter, prey had grown scarce, and the larger packs had become increasingly aggressive, forcing F¡¯rash¡¯s smaller group to the outskirts where the snow lay the heaviest. Here there were no rival packs of Krangrak to compete with. The unfamiliar scents on the wind spoke of new prey, new opportunities. His pack was thin, their ribs visible beneath their fur, but they had a chance to grow strong again here. Strange notifications appeared in his mind but he ignored them. He was hungry. They all were hungry. He signaled to B¡¯lang to lead the way. Without hesitation the young Krangrak bounded forward. The pack followed, moving swiftly across the alien terrain. F¡¯rash was aware of how conspicuous they were here. Their fur, once a perfect camouflage against the snow now made them stand out like beacons. Well speed and cunning would have to replace stealth. The hunt could not wait. He growled loudly and the others picked up the pace. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. *** It was not long before they spotted their quarry¡ªa group of three lizards basking on one of the taller hills. The creatures with their long snouts and spiny crest were unlike anything F¡¯rash had ever seen. They were not like their usual prey. Back home they had mostly hunted the long-legged long¡¯bak, with their furry hides and slow movements, or the succulent rounded krell¡¯sin, with their venomous spines. These creatures were smaller, their scaled skin a mottled gray and their claws long and sharp. Their heads lifted as the pack approached, their forked tongues flicking out to taste the air. F¡¯rash hesitated, a flicker of uncertainty passing through him. Were these creatures dangerous? But hunger overruled caution, and with a low growl, he signaled the attack. B¡¯lang and B¡¯lok slowly stalked directly towards their prey who appeared unconcerned by their presence. K¡¯rek and L¡¯mook moved to approach the creatures from the rear while F¡¯rash and L¡¯mang moved to flank the creatures on either side. When the pack were within twenty metres the lizards¡¯ heads lifted up again and started to scent the air. They probably have limited eyesight, K¡¯rek thought. Now that he was closer, he could see that the lizards had long sharp claws and, when their mouths opened, long sharp fangs. These were not the herbivores that normally hunted but it was too late to call of the attack. B¡¯lang and B¡¯lok flashed towards the lizards. The creatures moved slowly to meet the attack. B¡¯lang hit first, his claws scraping against the snout of a lizard releasing a spurt of blood. The creature lunged at B¡¯lang but he had already moved away. B¡¯lok, however, was not so lucky. His attack had harmlessly hit the armoured crest of the lizard and then when retreating he had passed too close to the last lizard who managed to scratch him across his hindquarters. F¡¯rash growled and the others all sprang into action. He targeted the lizard that had injured B¡¯lok, his powerful jaws closing around the creature¡¯s lower back. His incisors sank deep into the soft flesh, and with a vicious shake of his head, he severed the creature¡¯s spine. It collapsed, lifeless, beneath him. Another notification appeared in F¡¯rash¡¯s mind but the ignored it. The fight was not yet over. The other two lizards fell quickly under the coordinated assault of the pack, their movements sluggish and clumsy compared to the Krangrak¡¯s speed and precision. *** The pack rested after feasting. F¡¯rash allowed himself a moment of satisfaction. The hunt had been risky, but they had emerged victorious. The hunt had been blessed. B¡¯lok lay prone on ground but he would recover. He had trouble moving his injured leg but his brother had brought food his share of the kill over to him and he was eating greedily. F¡¯rash checked his notifications now that his belly was full and he realized just how blessed they were. The creatures, he learned, were called chaotic monitors, their claws laced with a neurotoxin designed to immobilize prey. The pack had been fortunate¡ªthe lizards were slow, and their numbers had been few.. One of the notifications was telling him about a quest to reach something called an Induction Centre. He ignored it. These open hills offered little protection, and the strange sky was already darkening with the approach of night. He growled and the others roused from their lethargy. From this vantage he could see the faint shapes of mountains in the distance. Higher ground beckoned, and with it, the hope of finding a cave or some other defensible shelter. As the pack climbed, F¡¯rash cast one last glance at the setting sun, its light casting long shadows across the alien landscape. There were dangers in this world of which they knew nothing but it held promise. Together, the pack would carve out a place in this world, and they would flourish. Chapter 10: Exploring Chapter 10: Exploring Billy greeted the sunrise with bleary eyes. Despite his fatigue he had to admit that the subtle shades or reds, oranges and purple were quite glorious here even if it was a slightly different shade to what he was used to. The air was fresher as well. They may have called this place Infernus but if it had not been for the crazy wildlife he would have said it was more of a paradise. His four hours on watch had passed in an endless blitz of questions and rants from Su Li. Even when she was supposed to be practicing the breathing exercises that he had demonstrated she could not keep still or quiet. One of her main topics had been her fishing prowess after catching two tiny fish yesterday. She had also got the [fishing] skill too. Trevor was the one who had carved the hook and made the fishing line from a fibrous vine that resembled ivy. Yuki had been the one to find some worms. But Su Li was the one with the skill. Still if it made her feel she was contributing then Billy would not argue. Morale was going to be important over the next few years. It was not long before Lorna and Trevor were up and bustling around. Yuki was dragged out of bed and replaced Billy on watch. ¡°Hey,¡± said Billy. ¡°What you guys discussing?¡± ¡°How to waterproof this shelter,¡± Trevor said. ¡°We have been lucky with the weather so far.¡± ¡°Also how to form some clothing,¡± Lorna said. ¡°Unless there are some unknown towns out there, we will have to have some change of clothing. Plus, you really need something to stop your nads from flying around. It is distracting when fighting plus somewhat disgusting. As it is, I think you and Trevor should do some foraging this morning. I could do with a diet other than fish and meat. And while you are out the girls and I can wash our underwear.¡± Billy had to admit he would feel more comfortable with some of underwear. He had thought about tearing up one of the spare robes but there were only four of them left and he had already ruined one. Another had been used to make a makeshift carrying bag. ¡°Are you sure it is safe?¡± Trevor said. ¡°You will be safe enough with Billy. Just don¡¯t wander too far.¡± ¡°Well, we also need to complete the rat fiend quest as well as the exploration quest,¡± Billy said. ¡°Did you check the quest menu?¡± Trevor asked. ¡°No!¡± Billy had not really checked his other menus. He tended to only look at the main status menu. ¡°The exploration quest now says 43% complete.¡± Billy quickly checked the quest menu. It showed the two active quests and Trevor was right. The exploration quest was marked as 43% complete. ¡°Well, I guess we definitely make some headway on that today,¡± Billy said. *** Billy and Trevor immediately set off after a quick breakfast of dried meat. Trevor was still carrying the staff as he still did not feel comfortable with a spear. They followed the river as they headed away from camp. Trevor was hoping they could find some edible water plants or some tubers in the ground near the river. While Trevor looked at different plants Billy kept watch. He also regularly checked the quest menu. The exploration quest updated slowly but after one hour the completion rate had only increased to 48%. As Billy watched, Trevor put bunches of reeds and other plants in the carrying sack. ¡°How do you know they are edible?¡± Billy asked. ¡°I¡¯ve no idea,¡± Trevor said. ¡°For all I know they could be highly poisonous and kill us instantaneously.¡± Billy looked at him in confusion. Trevor laughed. ¡°I am serious. There is only one way to find out for sure. And if it is poisonous then that could be useful too.¡± Billy looked at him and then quickly scanned the area. There was too much undergrowth around for his liking. Anything could be hiding in those bushes. Then a thought hit him. ¡°You know I have an [analyse creature] skill?¡± ¡°I believe you have mentioned it ¨C several times.¡± ¡°Well in some games there is are skills for analyzing items and plants.¡± ¡°And you think your skill will work on that?¡± ¡°Not me, Trevor, you! You are the one who knows about camping, cooking and how to make a rope. If anyone can pick up a skill here it is you.¡± ¡°And how am I supposed to do that? I know I picked up the [survival] skill yesterday but that was probably because of our campsite. I don¡¯t even know why it increased to level 2.¡± Billy crouched down next to him. In one game the skill for identifying plants had come from tasting the herbs. In another it came just from looking at it. ¡°Have you tried really looking at the plant? Really looking. That is how I got my skill.¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Trevor sighed. ¡°What do you think I have been doing? I get nothing.¡± ¡°Ok,¡± Billy said. He was not going to give up on this. Then try to really look at the plant, its leaves ¨C anything that makes the plant look unique. Look at the small features. If nothing comes then maybe just nibble a little of the plant. A little cannot hurt right?¡± ¡°If I spit it out, I guess not.¡± Billy could tell that Trevor was not really convinced. After a while, Trevor gave up staring at the plant he was looking at. After giving Billy, the stink-eye he reached down and pulled off one leaf. ¡°Just a little bit.¡± Trevor tore off a small piece of the leaf. ¡°If I die, it is your fault.¡± Without saying anything further he then put the piece of leaf in his mouth. He let it sit in his mouth for a little and then chewed. A second later he was spitting it out. ¡°Well?¡± Billy asked. Trevor continued to spit for a while. ¡°Man, that was vile. Tasted like ass!¡± ¡°Well ?¡± Trevor looked at him and then smiled. ¡°I got a skill [identify plant].¡± ¡°So what does the skill tell you when you look at the plant?¡± ¡°It says [Demon¡¯s Kiss. This plant is edible and can be used in certain potions.]¡± ¡°That is all?¡± ¡°Yeah. Better than nothing right? I mean it is only level 1.¡± ¡°So, what happens when you use it on a different plant?¡± Trevor pulled out one of the plants from his bag. ¡°Nothing. I guess I have to taste it.¡± ¡°At least until it levels up.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Again, Trevor pulled off a little of the plant and put it in his mouth. He spat it out after a few seconds. ¡°Ok that one is definitely not edible.¡± They carried on like this for the next hour. They found a couple of plants in the river that were both edible and did not taste too bad. They collected as much of this as possible and then they started digging in the ground. After a while they also found a couple of tubers that were also edible. There were not many of these around but they collected what they could. By now Trevor¡¯s skill was at level 2. ¡°How about we try some of these tree fungus things?¡± Trevor asked. Billy looked at the sickly green mushroom-looking stuff. ¡°I think we should not tempt fate. We have some food and we have made some progress. Let¡¯s return to camp. You can always try poisonous mushrooms later.¡± Trevor laughed and then hefted the sack. ¡°Alright, leader. Let¡¯s go!¡± *** When they returned to camp they found the others making mud bricks. ¡°I am taking mud from the river and hoping it contains some clay. If the sun is hot enough these will dry out nicely and we can start making a more permanent shelter. That will still take a few days.¡± Lorna explained. Billy nodded. Mud was one thing in plentiful supply. They would have to range quite far to find suitable stones and stones would be better used for a protective wall. Trevor showed them about his edible discoveries. They all seemed pleased at the thought of a change in diet. To the surprise of everyone they all received the [identify plants] skill after Trevor¡¯s explanation. It seemed that some skills were easy enough to teach. Lorna in particular seemed more pleased with the inedible plants. Billy could see her staring thoughtfully at the plants. He pulled her aside so they could talk. ¡°Poisons?¡± he asked. ¡°Poisons,¡± she replied simply. ¡°Not for hunting as that would foul up the meat, but if we encounter more of these rat fiends¡­ and who knows what else is out there.¡± ¡°Do you know how to make poisons?¡± ¡°I was good at chemistry. I did get into medical school after all. Without the right equipment and precise knowledge of the plants, it would be hard to make reliable poisins but with a bit of trial and error we should be able to make something from the plant juices.¡± ¡°It might be a good idea to level up the [identify plant] skill first,¡° Billy said. She nodded at that. ¡°I see the exploration quest has progressed.¡± ¡°Yes. I checked it against the map we have. By my calculations, we need to explore a 2km radius from the Induction Centre. You can see from the parts still greyed out where we need to go.¡± ¡°And we need to deal with these rat fiends,¡± she added. Billy nodded and they looked at each other. ¡°We could explore more while the others prepare lunch.¡± She agreed quickly. ¡°But after you need to clean up.¡± *** Billy and Lorna struck out moving away from the stream but keeping it in site. They went in the opposite direction from the one he had taken with Trevor. Along the way they discovered a few more plants, mostly inedible, but still found no sign of the rat fiends. Billy doubted that they were heading in the right direction, but at least they had not encountered anything dangerous. Other than the chirping from a few small birds high in the trees it was eerily quiet.. They stopped in their tracks when they heard loud noises behind them. They could hear faint screams and shouts and then silence. They quickly hurried back. Billy¡¯s heart pounded in his chest. If the other¡¯s had been hurt ¡­ They swiftly covered the short distance. They did not even try to be stealthy as they stormed into the camp. The place a mess. Their carefully built shelter was half-destroyed and some of the plants that they had brought back were strewn across the ground. From the marks in the dirt there had been some sort of confrontation. ¡°All of the weapons are missing,¡± Lorna said. ¡°I don¡¯t see any blood,¡± Billy replied. He was not sure if he hoped they were still alive. If that had died they would respawn somewhere. If they were still alive ¡­ well pain was real here and there were other things that could be happening. He pulled his mind away from such thoughts. Whatever happened, he would get them back. ¡°Billy?¡± a small voice came from above him. He looked up to see Su Li¡¯s face peeking out from branches high in the tree. Tears streaked her face. ¡°I think I am stuck, Billy.¡± It did not take them long to help Su Li down from the tree. Her arms were covered in small scratches but other than that she looked unharmed. ¡°What happened?¡± Lorna asked. Her face was twisted in anger and some other emotion that Billy could not place. ¡°I was climbing the tree when rat-fiends came,¡± Su Li answered. ¡°Trevor threw himself at them but there were too many. Yuki just stood there shrieking.¡± She hung her head. ¡°I stopped climbing and hid as quietly as I could. I should have done something. I should have¡­¡± Lorna reached out and gave her a big hug. ¡°Nonsense. You did the right thing.¡± ¡°Did you see what happened after that?¡± Billy asked. ¡°They knocked Trevor out. And then tied and gagged Yuki. They carried them that way.¡± She pointed with a shaking arm to the other side of the river. ¡°How many were there?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I think five or six.¡± There were only five or six. Billy thought that if Lorna and he had been there they could have stopped them. They had left the others and disaster had struck. Yesterday they had been so careful in keeping watch but today after their successes they had become lax. ¡°We are going after them,¡± Billy said. He could not keep the anger out of his voice. ¡°Su Li can wait by the Induction Centre,¡± Lorna said. ¡°No!¡± Billy said. His voice was measured and even despite his wildly beating heart. ¡°We go together. Right now! We are getting them back.¡± Chapter 11 – Lair of the Rat-fiends Chapter 11 ¨C Lair of the Rat-fiends ¡°We are not taking her!¡± Lorna declared furiously. ¡°We may need her,¡± Billy replied. He tried to stay calm even though his guts were churning inside. ¡°I said, no! She can hide somewhere safe until we get back.¡± ¡°Where is safe here? She is probably safer with us.¡± ¡°She can go back up the tree or wait at the Induction Centre.¡± ¡°You know I can decide for myself,¡± Su Li said. ¡°You can get hurt,¡± Lorna said. ¡°Billy has told you the pain of dying. Even with resurrection it will be excruciating.¡± ¡°And that is my choice.¡± Billy could only envy her calm in the face of Lorna¡¯s anger. ¡°You are too young to make that choice.¡± ¡°Oh really?¡± Su Li said her face bright red. ¡°I think you need someone with brains to make sure you don¡¯t get us all killed. Someone who can point out that the others are still alive but injured. You can still see their stats in the party.¡± Billy cursed. He should have noted that but was too distracted. Unfortunately, the group menu did not track the location of the members. But at least they were alive. ¡°We need her,¡± Billy said, trying to appeal to Lorna¡¯s brain instead of her heart. ¡°We have to weigh her safety against that of Yuki and Trevor. We will probably need her.¡± Lorna looked from Billy to Su Li and then back again. ¡°Fine! But if something happens Billy, it¡¯s all on you.¡± Billy nodded, cutting Su Li off with a hand gesture. They had won the argument but there was always a cost. It was better to let it drop. They would need cool heads to get through this. ¡°Ok, then grab your weapons. Let¡¯s cross the river and find their tracks. The faster we find them the better.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we wait until dark?¡± Su Li said. ¡°Can you see in the dark?¡± Lorna asked. ¡°This is not a movie. We don¡¯t know the terrain and we do not have torches or night vision goggles. Daylight is our friend right now.¡± Billy could see that Su Li wanted to retort. In the end she just turned away, fiddling with her knife. Billy remembered watching many movies where the heroes had had no problem seeing at night time even without torches. But this was definitely not going to work here. At night it was pitch black. There was no ambient light like near a city or even a small town. Before they set out, Billy checked the party interface again. He could see Trevor and Yuki¡¯s characters but their hit points were less than half. Trevor¡¯s health in particular was low. They found a place to cross the river only ten metres downstream where there were lots of rocks to ease their crossing. The rocks were slimy and difficult to stand on but by helping each other they crossed without issue. On the other side they quickly found the trail. The rat-fiends had made no attempts to hide their passage. Su Li was the first to spot signs of their passing. Broken branches and flattened grass gave a clear indication of the route they had taken. Following was easy as they seemed to be heading in a straight line. Lorna led the way now ¨C her steps barely making any noise. Trevor tried again to copy her. It took a while but his care was soon rewarded with another skill [stealth]. A heart-stopping whisper from Yuki behind him informed him that she too had acquired the stealth skill. Lorna and Billy stared at her until she bowed her head. Billy wished they had a party chat option although maybe it was a good thing. It could be distracting in the wrong circumstances. They followed the trails for another kilometre. The ground was starting to rise and become rockier. Lorna slowed down as if she could sense they were reaching their destination. Billy took a firmer grip on his spear and concentrated on each movement; slow and steady. They heard their targets before they saw them. Loud sounds from in front spoke of some sort of argument amongst their enemies. Lorna raised her hand to indicate for Billy and Su Li to wait. Each moment after she disappeared through the undergrowth passed agonizingly for Billy. Part of him wanted to rush in there and start swinging and stabbing. He calmed his breathing and tried to meditate. Su Li was reading his face carefully. She was only armed with a knife and he hoped she would not have to play a major part in this rescue attempt. Still, they might need the extra hands. He smiled at her and indicated for her to crouch down next to him. She did so and then unexpectedly put her hand on his. This was not the flirting or joking Su Li ¨C this was a teenager looking for reassurance. Billy squeezed her hand gently. *** Lorna returned after what seemed an eternity. She waved for them to follow her back the way they had come. After some distance she stopped and faced them. ¡°I think there are about ten of them inside what looks to be a natural cave with a wide entrance. There are two outside on guard ¨C though they are not really paying much attention. The others are inside the cave and difficult to see clearly.¡± ¡°Did you see Yuki and Trevor?¡± Su Li asked. ¡°They may be at the back of the cave. It is dimly lit but I saw two rat-fiends standing like they were watching over something.¡± ¡°Are they all armed?¡± Billy asked. ¡°Most appear to be carrying crude weapons of one type or another.¡± ¡°Can you bring me close enough to look,¡± he asked. ¡°I want to check their levels before rushing in.¡± ¡°That was my thought. We all stick together though.¡± ¡°So what¡¯s the plan?¡± Su Li asked. ¡°There always needs to be a plan.¡± At the moment, Billy did not have a plan. There were more than he had been anticipating. He felt they could have easily dealt with six rat-fiends or even eight ¨C but Lorna¡¯s count put their numbers at twelve at least. ¡°I think I have an idea,¡± Billy said. ¡°If we rush in, we will get overwhelmed by numbers. It is easy to fend them off in small numbers. We need to draw them out in groups.¡± ¡°We could create a distraction,¡± Lorna asked. ¡°Pull most of them away, kill the rest and then sneak Trevor and Yuki out.¡± ¡°Not with them injured. We would not get far. And they know where we are sheltering.¡± Billy looked grimly at them both. ¡°We need to face facts. We cannot allow them to live. We are going in there to kill.¡± Lorna nodded as if he was merely confirming her own opinion but Su Li looked more apprehensive. ¡°First, we need to reduce the numbers. Let¡¯s see what we are facing.¡± Lorna took them to a good vantage point. Well-covered by thick bushes, the three of them could observe the rat-fiends without too much risk. Billy could immediately see that the guards were too preoccupied in their argument to notice anything. With the noise they were making even Trevor could have sneaked up on them. The thought of Trevor brought him back to the task at hand. Each of the guards was level three and carrying basic spears that looked to be little more than metre long pointy sticks. They looked larger and better fed than the rat-fiends they had faced earlier. He looked inside the cavern. There were two creatures standing guard at the back who were also level three. The rest were scrawny looking and appeared to be only level one or two. Their weapons were little more than knives and hand-axes. As Lorna said, there were ten of them in total. They could easily deal with the guards but they would be seen and heard as soon as they did so. Also, he did not want to underestimate these creatures. They may look small and weak but most of them were a higher level than him and a pointy stick could do a lot of damage. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Silently they moved back away from the cave and made their plan. They had to get this right. *** Billy was practically blind to what was happening as he waited behind the boles of two large trees. Lorna fidgeted with her spear as she waited next to him. Suddenly they heard sounds from the direction of the cave. Angry noises and strange squeaks echoed through the woods followed by some laughter. They heard footsteps heading towards them. Billy quickly wiped his sweaty palms down his robe. The dainty figure of Su Li ran past them. She ran for a few more metres and then stopped. The two guards followed soon one of them sporting a bloodied eye. When they saw that she had stopped they too slowed down. With deliberate movements they stalked towards her still squeaking away at each other. Before they could take more than a couple of steps Lorna and Billy attacked. Billy had put his spear to one side deciding on using his hands. He barreled into the rat-fiend pushing it to the ground and then wrapped his hands around its throat. It thrashed around frantically but he held on firmly. Almost surreally he watched as Lorna smashed her target over the head with the butt of her spear. The rat-fiend fell to the ground either dazed or unconscious. It did not matter as Lorna stabbed it repeatedly until it died. Billy could feel the one he was strangling weakening in his grasp. He held on for a few more seconds until the second announcement. He was surprised by the first announcement. It seemed that they shared some of the XP when in a group but only when the group members were involved in the fight. When he looked at the stats, Trevor and Yuki had not received any XP. He calculated that he must have received 50% of the rat-fiend he had put down and 25% for the other that Lorna had killed. How it would work for their different levels he did not know. If Su Li killed someone she would get more XP than he would as she was still level 0. He let go of the creature¡¯s greasy fur and wiped his brow. He could not shake the feeling of being a killer from his mind. Frogs were one thing and self-defense another. He knew that the creatures would not hesitate to kill him but this felt different. He did not regret his actions but he would need some time to come to terms with what he had done. He nodded to Lorna and Su Li. The girl had done her job well. And Lorna was as solid as ever. ¡°Come on!¡± he said. ¡°We need to get back quickly.¡± The strategy was to hopefully be able to drag away at least two more rat-fiends when they came to look for the guards. That was plan A anyway. When they returned to their vantage point the other rat-fiends were still milling about the cavern but none of them seemed concerned about the missing guards. Lorna looked at Billy and he sighed. He had expected some of the rat-fiends to follow up on the missing guards. If they stayed like this it would need to be plan B. He watched the rat-fiends for a few more minutes and then signaled to her. Plan B was now in motion. Lorna moved towards the cave while Billy and Su Li hunkered down. Before any of the rat-fiends could react, Lorna rushed into the cave and stabbed one of the level 2 rat-fiends in the throat three times. She then smashed her spear butt against another¡¯s head and run from the cave. She paused just outside the entrance and then shouted, ¡°Come on fuckers! Let¡¯s dance!¡± The rat-fiends squeaked angrily at each other. Another notification came. The first creature she stabbed must have bled out. Well that only left nine and one of the them was still on the ground. The rat-fiends surged out of the cave, just leaving the two guards and the fallen rat-fiend, As a mass they attacked Lorna. She fended them off with her spear constantly backing away, leading them from the entrance. The plan was that once she was far enough away she would turn and run. Billy counted to ten. He could already see a few bloody marks on Lorna. She was unable to keep all of them away. Focus, he told himself. Once he felt the rat-fiends were far enough away. He dashed into the cave with Su Li a little behind him. He lowered his shoulder and charged the unfortunate rat-fiend who had just picked itself up sending it crashing into the cave wall with a sickening crunch. He then launched himself at the two guards. Each of the guards was armed with a crude axe. He thrust forward with his spear and stabbed one of them. Then he moved away. Again and again he kept moving in to stab and then withdrawing away from their attacks. Slowly he drew them away from the prone forms of Trevor and Yuki. Both of them appeared to be unconscious and tied up. He had been hoping they might have been awake and able to help, but he had not planned on it. There was point worrying about them now. From the corner of his eye, he saw Su Li stabbing the rat-fiend on the floor with her knife. In one quick motion she then sliced its throat. One of the rat-fiends took advantage of his distracted state and hit his arm hard with the axe, sending pain surging down his arm. Those weapons were crude but still hurt. Billy grimly held onto his spear. He stabbed at the creature managing to get a critical hit. He grinned at the creatures. He needed to finish this quickly to relieve Lorna. Before anyone could act, Su Li moved smoothly behind one of the guards and sliced its throat. It bent over, choking on its own blood. She thrust her knife again and again into its back. One down and one left, Billy decided to let loose. Ignoring the creature¡¯s attacks, he went into a stabbing frenzy. Stab. Stab. Stab. Billy was panting heavily. His stamina was low now and he only had 19 hit points left. One of his knees was swelling up and his arms were cut and bruised. He sighed and started towards the entrance to help Lorna. He could see from the party chat that her health had dropped below fifty percent. She had made a couple of kills in the notifications that he had not noticed during his fight. Movement from the shadows at the back of the cave stopped him. Moving forwards came a large fat rat-fiend holding a wooden stick topped with what he assumed was the skull of a frog, horns and all. Billy quickly analysed the creature. [Rat-fiend shaman (minor boss) level 5. Favorite food: Lemons.] Billy cursed. What the hell! This creature was level 5 and a minor boss. It was probably the same creature he has seen last night, although then it was only level 4. He had already lost 30 hit points. If he died now, the shaman would be able to kill the others before Lorna could return. He lifted his spear and walked towards the shaman. ¡°Blarg fik alk Mun?¡± the shaman said. He waved his scepter at Billy and the bodies on the floor. Billy raised his spear. He tried but could not help himself from saying, ¡°Welcome to the party, pal!¡± He moved towards the shaman only for the creature to wave its sceptre. A bolt of lightning surged from the frog skill to lance into Billy¡¯s boy. He has thrown five metres backwards. Billy writhed on the floor ¨C he could not stop his limbs shaking. The spear lay forgotten on the ground. The shaman had only waved his scepter and he had easily taken Billy down. How could he fight this thing? ¡°Blarg fik alk min?¡± Billy rose to his feet, spear forgotten. With a furious yell he threw himself at the creature. He saw the shaman raise his scepter and twisted aside, allowing another lightning bolt to speed past his shoulder. He hit the shaman head first, throwing them both to the ground. Billy scrambled on top of the shaman holding grimly onto the scepter. He figured that the creature could not cast spells without the scepter. Holding on was easier said than done. At level 5 the shaman seemed stronger than the other rat-fiends and they were equally matched. Except for one thing. Billy could feel his stamina bottoming out. Already his fingers were shaking and his breathing was rattling in his throat. The shaman gave a few squeals and a grunt. With a heave, it threw Billy off its bulk and then twisted around until it was on top of him. Billy could see the victory in its red squinty eyes. He opened his mouth to scream defiantly. Before any noise could leave his lips, Su Li appeared from behind the shaman and stabbed downwards with the spear. She stabbed into the bloated body again and again. Blood spurted onto Billy¡¯s face and into his mouth. ¡°That is my Billy,¡± Su Li screamed. ¡°Leave him alone!¡± She repeatedly stabbed the shaman until the creature died, its bulk still on top of Billy. Billy ignored the message. He needed to help Lorna. ¡°Take care of the other two,¡± he said to Su Li. ¡°I need to find Lorna.¡± As he passed, he stopped and patted her on the head. ¡°You did great!¡± He picked up his spear and ran quickly out of the cavern. His stamina was still low so he could only jog towards where he hoped Lorna would be. The trail was covered in blood and scuff marks. It was not long before he found a couple of rat-fiend bodies. He quickly checked the party notifications. It looked like she had killed four of the rat-fiends leaving four. Another notification appeared. Three against one now, he mused. He did not have to go much further to see Lorna with her back to a tree and blood streaming down her body. In front of her were three rat-fiends wildly running in and out to try to hit her but mostly getting in each other¡¯s way as Lorna blocked with the shaft of her spear. The three creatures were also bloody and torn. Billy did not hesitate. He thrust his spear into a rat-fiend¡¯s back. And then thrust again. There were two left. One of the rat-fiends turned around to receive Billy¡¯s spear point in its mouth. Billy pulled his spear back and then rammed it back again this time in the creature¡¯s chest, thrusting it to the ground. The last rat-fiend did not last long with both Lorna and Billy thrusting home their spears at the same time skewering the frantic creature. Billy looked at Lorna and caught her as she was about to fall. ¡°Did you get the others,¡± she asked as he lowered her to the ground. ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°That is good. Take them back to the shelter. I will rejoin you when I can.¡± ¡°What do you mean? Come on just rest and then we can go back together.¡± She smiled at him. ¡°My turn, Billy.¡± She lay back. Billy could only watch in amazement as her body disintegrated into sparks of golden light. The light drifted away over the trees. All that was left was the bloodied spear. Chapter 12 - Feel the flow! Chapter 12: Feel the Flow! Billy could not feel any joy at completing the quest. He knew that Lorna would be back but the cost was immeasurable. He checked the party interface. Lorna¡¯s icon was now greyed out. With a weary spirit he picked up Lorna¡¯s spear and trudged back to the cave. By the time he had returned Su Li had untied Trevor and Yuki but the two were still unconscious. He looked them over, but other than a few cuts, bruises and bumps on their heads they did not look critically hurt. Their stats seemed stable which seemed like a good sign. ¡°Lorna?¡± Su Li asked. Billy just shook his head. He looked around the cave and headed into the shadowed alcove that the shaman had been lurking in. There was not much there except for a mouldy bed roll and some bronze coins. Where the hell had they got a bread roll from? He could not imagine them baking bread. The coins were square with a circular hole in the middle. He doubted they were worth much but it was better than having no money at all. It also promised that there might be somewhere to spend money. Maybe there was some sort of civilization somewhere. He also picked up the sceptre, thinking it might help them unlock the mystery to the use of magic. Trevor and Yuki soon roused from their unconscious state. Billy allowed Su Li to fill them in on what had happened. Both were very groggy and could not remember anything after being attacked. They decided to head back to their own camp. While the cave would provide better shelter from the elements, none of them wanted to stay in this place. It was a slow journey back to the camp. Trevor had trouble walking straight and talked about how blurry his vision was. Billy was worried about a concussion, but it was not like they could check his brain. Yuki seemed to be the better of the two. She was, however, very quiet and unresponsive to questions. While they walked Billy kept an eye on their surroundings but for once it was quiet. They returned to the camp to be greeted by Lorna dressed in a robe. ¡°What took you so long?¡± she demanded. ¡°I gave up waiting and ran here.¡± Trevor hurried over and gave her a big hug, followed by Yuki. Su Li merely nodded and then grinned. ¡°Let¡¯s dance?¡± she said, and then giggled. Even Billy could not stop himself from grinning. ¡°It was all I could think of,¡± Lorna said, her cheeks slightly flushed. ¡°Better than Billy¡¯s ¡®Welcome to the party, pal!¡¯¡± Su Li said in a low gruff voice. ¡°You didn¡¯t?¡± Trevor said. ¡°Hey and what about¡­ ''That is my Billy! Leave him alone.''¡± Billy said. Su Li flushed. At first, it was just Trevor who laughed out loud but then they were all laughing out loud. The tension that had tied up Billy¡¯s shoulders slowly disappeared. After a while the laughter subsided and they looked at each other. ¡°I don¡¯t understand why we are laughing,¡± Yuki said finally. ¡°Why is funny about what Billy said?¡± This just set Billy, Lorna and Trevor laughing again while Su Li and Yuki looked at them if they were crazy. Billy would not be the one to tell them about a movie from before they were born ¨C in fact he was the only one here alive when the movie was released - a sobering thought. *** While the others tied up the camp and Lorna kept watch, Billy took some time for himself. He again looked over his status screen and menus. He was now level 1 with 58 hit points and 99 stamina points. Just Lorna he too had 4 unassigned stat points. They would have to work out how to use those. There were also the 2 skill books rewarded by completing the quest. He looked at the list of available skills. [Analyse item ¨C find the hidden properties of items.] [Frenzy ¨C boost speed and strength for 5 seconds. Suffer a 20% drop in all stats after the 5 seconds is over. Cooldown: 2 minutes.] [Improvisation ¨C make basic items from unusual materials.] [Stealth ¨C hide from enemies. Reduce the possibility of detection by 20% for 2 minutes or stealth is broken.] [Tailoring ¨C make basic clothing from raw materials.] [Tracking ¨C find the tracks left by enemies and friends. Everyone loves a stalker!] An interesting list. He already had [stealth] as did Su Li so he dismissed that immediately. [Analyse item] could definitely be useful as could [improvisation]. [Frenzy] was a double-edged sword and did not appeal to him. Still, it would be a group decision to make. Even though he was the party leader he knew decisions made with the help of the others would serve them better. He went over to talk to Lorna. They have not had a chance to talk since they returned to camp and he could tell something was bothering her. ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡± He asked her. She looked at him and smiled. ¡°Not too bad, considering.¡± She looked away and stared at the trees for a few minutes as if looking for answers. ¡°Don¡¯t die, Billy! It is not just pain ¨C something else happens. I can¡¯t explain it but I feel less. It is like I lost a part of myself.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Billy nodded. ¡°I expected something like that. Not everything comes back.¡± She sighed. ¡°Some of my memories seem hazy too. And I lost 50XP.¡± ¡°Su Li reached level 1,¡± Billy said. ¡°That¡¯s three of us. I hope we can figure out this unassigned points business. Oh, and then there are the skill books.¡± He explained to her the options. She too was undecided. She was keen on [improvisation] and [tailoring]. But there did not seem to be much point in tailoring without the right materials. Still her thoughts were that improvisation might help make up for the lack of suitable materials. ¡°You know that is the other reason we should avoid dying. If this carries on we are going to be going around naked.¡± She laughed and punched his arm. After a few minutes of silence, he excused himself. He wanted to try meditation again as well as his cleansing exercises. He needed to balance himself again. Once more in battle he had just rushed into a fight. Without Su Li there he would not have defeated the shaman. He was also a little excited about using meditation again. He felt he was close to reaching some sort of understanding ¨C a breakthrough that would help them all. He found a quiet place on the other side of the river hidden from the camp. He did not want to be disturbed this time. He started with the simple breathing exercises focusing on his breathing and his energy flow within his body. He then went through some of the tai chi stances and cleaning movements that he knew, keeping his breathing steady and controlled as he allowed his body to move. A few times he felt he was doing it wrong and had to recentre himself. Slowly as he adjusted his movements to better enhance the flow of energy within himself he again started to sense those same external energy flows, drifting around his body. The feeling was tenuous but as he slowly moved through his exercises he could feel the energy follow his movements. Now that he had a regular perception of the energy flowing around him he decided to try to pull some of it inside. He tried to breathe in the energy ¨C just a little bit. At first he struggled to even do that but eventually he managed to breath in one mote of energy. Even though he could not see it the mote shone brightly in his mind¡¯s eye. He willed it to join his internal energy flow ¨C his chi ¨C and move it around his body. For a brief second energy flowed before a powerful surge seared his synapses. He felt as though all of his nerves were on fire. Pain flooded his mind and he collapsed to the floor breathing heavily. ¡°Too much too soon, Billy,¡± he said to himself. To his surprise he received notifications. He quickly checked his status menu. He now had only two unassigned stat points left. Somehow by doing his exercises he had used two of them. His strength and constitution had increased. Was this cultivation? Had he found the secret to levelling up properly? Suddenly his insides heaved and he felt himself start to sweat. He fell to his knees and vomited foul smelling black goo. He tried to crawl away from the horrible mess but then he looked at his hands to see a rank black liquid oozing out of his pores. The smell alone made him want to vomit. And then he did. *** A short time later, Billy managed to drag himself to the river and wash. He did not bother to remove the robe as that also needed a thorough cleansing ¨C it had been covered in blood earlier and now rank black goo. The cold fast fast-moving water slowly washed away the toxins from his body. He was sure that the stains would never come out of his robe but at least it did not smell so bad. He emerged from the river and went to another clearing. He was dying to share his information with the others. He felt so strong and vibrant. But there was something else he wanted to try first. He sat on the ground cross-legged and started to meditate ¨C just meditate. He soon reached a point of tranquillity ¨C at one with himself. This time, his sense of the internal mana flows came more quickly ¨C a stronger understanding of what was happening in his body. He felt like he could feel places in his body where the flows were restricted. Reaching out he also could feel the external flows more strongly. He felt he could reach out and touch them. There was a pattern there. He did not try to do anything this time but just followed the patterns and observed the flows. Eventually, the flows seemed to separate. They were different he realized. It was not just one flow but more a network of energy flows. Some flows followed the movement of the branches of the trees, others followed the soft breeze pushing through the clearing. Different flows for different aspects? What were the different aspects of mana? He felt confident that earth, air and fire were three of them but were there more? Surely water must be one. He tried to sense water mana but he could not differentiate the different aspects except by the way they flowed. He felt a cool refreshing feeling flow through his mind. There was no emergence of black goo this time but he did feel exhausted as if he had not slept for days. His status menu showed that he now longer had any unassigned stat points. Somehow, through his tai chi and meditation, he had used the points. He just needed to figure out exactly how that worked. It was limiting if he could not control exactly how the points were assigned. He looked at his surroundings seeing that the light was beginning to fade. He has not realized just how much time must have passed. He immediately set out to return to camp. Lorna¡¯s face was frosty when he returned and it did not take much to figure out why. She must have worried about him being missing but did not want to leave the others alone. ¡°Sorry!¡± Billy said. ¡°I was just trying to work out a few things. I seem to have managed to assign the stat points that I got for levelling up.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± She merely said. ¡°Food is almost ready. You can tell everyone while we eat.¡± When Billy explained to the others while they ate Su Li was the only one who showed any excitement. Lorna was still cold towards him, and he could see thoughtful looks on the faces of Trevor and Yuki. ¡°I think we need to know more about this before experimenting,¡± Trevor said, finally. ¡°We have a way to increase our stats,¡± Billy replied. ¡°Yes, but we have no control over how those stats are increased. Will the same result happen for two different people? What if I want to increase my agility? Also, would the same thing work for the next level?¡± Billy understood his arguments. It would be better if they could control the improvements. ¡°In my comics the protagonist can increase their power through training but then has to make breakthroughs which means they increase their understanding of their techniques and their spiritual selves,¡± Yuki said. ¡°These techniques are usually taught to them by their elders.¡± ¡°Well we don¡¯t have any elders here,¡± Lorna said. ¡°We do, however, have to make a decision about the skills books.¡± ¡°I think we should get the tailoring one,¡± Yuki said unexpectedly. ¡°We can make clothes from animal furs.¡± Billy could feel her eying his torn and stained robe. ¡°True,¡± he said. ¡°But is that a priority? We only get to choose two.¡± ¡°The improvisation skill would allow us other options,¡± Trevor said. ¡°The identify item skill is the only other one that interests me but we don¡¯t really have many items to identify.¡± ¡°I think we should wait another day,¡± Lorna said. ¡°We still need to complete the exploration quest. We can do that tomorrow and also get the others to level up. I will be happier if we all are at least level 1. Plus, Billy and I are close to level 2.¡± Billy checked the completion rate of the quest. They were now 92% complete. The only area they needed to investigate was the one were they had seen the level 5 squirrel. They would need to be stronger to face enemies of that level. They could not keep relying on luck. He nodded in agreement. Tomorrow was another day. Chapter 13: Those Squirrels are Nuts! Chapter 15 ¨C Those Squirrels are Nuts! They set off early in the morning. As usual Billy and Lorna took point. The day was quiet enough until they had reached the Induction Centre. Out of interest, Billy tried the door. Yesterday Lorna had been reborn here. She said that upon awakening she had received a message saying she had to leave within two hours. They moved on with little conversation. After all they had a clear focus today. They had not gone far past the Induction Centre when Billy sensed the first signs of danger. At first, he could not understand what he was feeling. He felt dry mouthed and cold shivers flashed up and down his spine. Maybe his increased perception was paying off. Then he spotted it. A huge lizard, nearly two metres long, clung to a tree, its green and reddish-brown mottled skin blended in almost perfectly. He quickly used [analyse creature]. [Fire-tainted chameleon level 3. Favorite food: burnt flesh.] He signaled to the others. Lorna nodded and waited, holding her hand up for the others to stop. Billy moved close to her and said, ¡°A chameleon is clinging to that tree. I will attract its attention. You guys go in for the kill.¡± She nodded and moved back a little. Billy slowly moved forward trusting in his [stealth]. It was a passive skill that required him to move as silently and slowly as possible. He was within five metres of the creature when a twig broke under his foot. The chameleon¡¯s head lifted and its tongue scented the air. Immediately, its eyes went to where Billy stood. It rapidly descended the trunk of the tree. Its legs propelled it faster than Billy would have thought possible. It stopped metres away from him, its mouth opening widely. Before Billy could react, a ball of flame surged from its mouth striking Billy in the chest and burning a hole in his robe. ¡°Shit!¡± Billy said. He poked at it with his spear not wanting to over-commit ¨C after all he was just the distraction. The chameleon snapped at his spear which just bounced off its scales. He withdrew and started to circle it, so that the others could get behind it. Again, the chameleon opened its mouth and a ball of fire flew towards him. This time he was expecting it and dove to the ground in a tumble roll. The fireball flew over his shoulder. Billy quickly climbed to his feet. He prodded at it with his spear keeping its attention on him. . Crikey, only 2 hit points damage? The skin on its face was tough and leathery, obviously a natural defense. With that and the scales on the rest of its body this thing was a living tank. He saw Lorna and the others run in to attack. Lorna thrust her spear into the back of the chameleon but barely managed to penetrate the scales. Trevor and Yuki hit it with their staffs but the chameleon barely even noticed. It did notice however when Su Li dove onto its back and stabbed its eye. The chameleon went into a frenzy, turning rapidly to try and get at its prey and lashing about with its tail. Red liquid oozed from its injured eye. Su Li held on with one arm wrapped around its neck. She tried to stab at the other eye but could not balance and strike with the creature moving so much. With a shriek she fell off its back. Billy tried to distract it but could not get a good hit in. The creature now seemed intent on going for Su Li. ¡°Turn it over!¡± Lorna yelled. ¡°Flip it!¡± As she said that Su Li was hit by the chameleon¡¯s tail. She landed heavily and the creature rushed towards her. Billy dropped his spear and flung himself at the monster, pushing its head aside as it tried to bite the prone girl. Its snapping jaws just missed her arm. Billy locked his arms around the jaw. With his meager strength he knew he would not be able to hold it for long. To his surprise it was Trevor who reacted first. He thrust his staff under the creature¡¯s belly and tried to lever it over. The creature was too heavy for Trevor to lift by himself but Yuki was rushed to join in. She thrust her staff next to Trevor¡¯s and with a great heave the two started to unbalance the creature, it¡¯s legs on that side leaving the ground. Lorna charged in yelling wildly, and together they managed to flip the chameleon onto its back. Lorna thrust her spear rapidly into the beast¡¯s belly. The soft skin there parted easily under her strength and in a few seconds the creature died. ¡°Only 4 experience points,¡± Su Li said. ¡°Why is this so hard?¡± Billy looked at her. After one battle, he was already drenched in sweat. ¡°This is definitely not a game.¡± ¡°Billy, are you looking up my skirt?¡± Su Li said with a pout; still lying on the ground Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°What?¡± ¡°You are not my boyfriend, Billy and I am not that type of girl.¡± ¡°I was not looking!¡± ¡°It¡¯s ok, Billy. I understand. Now help me to my feet.¡± Billy gave her a hand and pulled her to her feet. ¡°Are you ok?¡± he asked. She dusted herself off. ¡°Bruised and battered, but ok.¡± She then kissed him on the cheek and whispered in his ear. ¡°A gentleman never looks! I forgive you this time but be more chivalrous in future. Girls want a shining knight not a creepy letch.¡± Billy sighed. He suspected her teasing was a way of releasing tension. He looked at the dead chameleon. Now it was dead it looked smaller .¡°We should skin it,¡± Trevor said. ¡°We are short on meat and the skin could be useful.¡± ¡°Take the fangs and claws too,¡± Billy said. ¡°Who knows what might be useful.¡± It was not a quick process to skin the creature. Trevor slowly cut away the hide clearly not wanting to ruin it. While he did this Billy took the opportunity to scout around, mostly to get away from Su Li who seemed dead set on driving him crazy. Their way forward led into a heavily wooded area. The trees here were straighter and taller than in the other parts that they had been in. But at least there was not much undergrowth. There seemed to be some sort of game trail leading forward ¨C a gently winding path. He looked around for the plants that Trevor had shown to him previously but saw none of them here. Lorna came over to stand with him. ¡°Maybe we should avoid lizards too.¡± ¡°Only 4XP each as we are a group,¡± Billy said. ¡°I think it is related to the highest level in the group. If we were all level 0 we would get more. Yesterday when we killed the rat-fiends the amount shared seemed to depend on whether we landed the killing blow. ¡°So, we either hunt in smaller groups, we be patient and hunt quantity or we look for higher level creatures.¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t fancy hunting frogs in the marsh and those snizards are likely to be highly poisonous,¡± Billy said. ¡°Me neither,¡± Lorna said softly. ¡°So, where then?¡± They looked at each other and said together, ¡°The squirrels!¡± ¡°I mean how hard can it be?¡± Billy said. ¡°They are just rodents. They should be easily squishy and what¡¯s the most damage they could cause? Even that level 5 one we should be able to take down together.¡± ¡°We just have to find them and squish them.¡± Even in Billy¡¯s head it sounded too easy. There was always a catch. *** They entered the dense forest somewhat fearfully. Billy had given the spear to Yuki so she could get more XP. She was also better with it. Lorna went ahead alone to try and find the squirrels with Billy and the others about fifty metres behind. They did not want to scare off the creatures. Billy figured the creatures would be more likely to attack a long person than a larger group. Given how fast they could move in the trees they needed the squirrels to come to them. Trevor and the girls had found stones. The plan was to find the squirrels, hit them with stones, knocking them to the ground and then finish them off. That was the plan. Unfortunately, minutes later that plan went out of the window. The squirrels had a plan of their own. They heard a loud bang and then Lorna¡¯s cry of pain. Before they could react, they saw Lorna running towards them with a group of squirrels not far behind, including the large beast they had seen earlier. Billy saw there were at least five others in the trees flanking them. ¡°Run!¡± Lorna said. But it was too late. A pine cone flew towards the group and exploded, throwing them all to the ground. Billy found his feet and lifted his spear to find himself facing squirrel fury. One furry creature leapt at him with claws extended, raking his face. And then another clawed at his leg. They were not going to last long at this rate. To his surprise, it was Yuki, her eyes wide and her cheeks flushed, who was the first to strike back. With a fast swing of her spear shaft she knocked one of the flying squirrels so hard it thudded into a tree, and then she pivoted in a fluid motion and thrust the end of her spear into the face of the large squirrel. The beast shrieked at her, its eyes flashing red. The distraction was all Lorna needed. She thrust her spear at the large squirrel, scoring a large gash on its back. The squirrel spat out another pine cone from its cheeks. This time Lorna was able to dodge it and the explosion did no damage. Billy decided to focus on the smaller squirrels, keeping them occupied while Lorna dealt with the big bad. With the agile, fast-moving creatures the staff was not much use to him. Once more he decided to trust in his hands. He dropped his staff, and when he saw a squirrel come leaping towards him, he punched it. The leaping squirrel was unable to change its trajectory in time. He could see these creatures had little defense. They could do this. Searing pain flashed up his back. One of the squirrels had run up inside his robe and was now clawing at his back. < Sadistic squirrel hits you: -3HP.> < Sadistic squirrel hits you: -3HP.> Luckily Su Li had seen his predicament. She kicked out at another squirrel as it ran towards her. It dodged her kick, but Trevor was there for the follow up. His foot sent it soaring into the trees where it landed with a loud thud. Su Li pulled out her knife and stabbed at Billy¡¯s back. Within seconds a notification came through. It was a steady grind from there to finish off the rest of the squirrels. By the end of it they all carried weeping wounds from the squirrels¡¯ claws. Lorna in particular, looked disheveled. It looked like a squirrel had tried to yank out her hair. Yuki was the hero of the fight. Her spear skills had kept the squirrels from doing too much damage. Although she did not hit hard, she hit fast and each hit seemed to stun the squirrels. Su Li was probably the next most effective as she quickly finished off any squirrel that came within reach. ¡°Exploding pine cones?¡± Trevor said. ¡°What the fuck next?¡± He then paused and his eyes flickered. ¡°Crap, only eight squirrels. I am still short of levelling up.¡± Billy looked at the party interface and notifications. They had killed three level 2 squirrels, four level 3 squirrels and one level four squirrel netting 320XP in total. The majority of that had gone to Yuki who had killed the large squirrel as well as a couple of the smaller ones. Yuki had levelled up but Trevor was only 12XP short. He also noticed that two of Lorna and Su Li¡¯s unassigned stat points had been used. Lorna had increased her strength and constitution by 1 each. Su Li had increased her agility and her constitution by 1 each. He cursed under his breath realizing that the large squirrel had only been level 4. They had not even taken on the on the level 5 one they had seen previously. So how?¡± Su Li asked. ¡°We need to level up,¡± Lorna said. ¡°Just a few more and Trevor can get to level 1, and I am close to level 2.¡± ¡°Yay!¡± Yuki said wearily. If Billy had any energy left, he would have looked around in disbelief. As it was, he just groaned and lay back on the grass. ¡°I need to rest, Lorna.¡± Trevor said. Lorna through her mouth. ¡°I will scout around while you rest.¡± It was not long before she returned breathing heavily. ¡°Come with me. There is something you should all see. We can pick up the corpses and level Trevor on the way back.¡± They followed her past the spot where she had first encountered the squirrels and emerged into a clearing. In the centre stood a large wooden shack, painted garishly in pink and yellow. Perched atop the roof, a massive sign flashed boldly with purple neon lights, proclaiming this to be: ¡°Dilchak¡¯s Emporium.¡± Chapter 14: Dilchaks Emporium Chapter 14 ¨C Dilchak¡¯s Emporium ¡°Welcome to the glorious Emporium of Dilchak the Unfathomable,¡± a loud voice boomed out. Billy looked to see a corpulent being in a sky-blue dress shirt standing behind a counter. Billy ignored the notification for now as he had a real-life alien in front of him. The alien looked bizarrely comfortable in what Billy could only describe as retro disco chic meets 90s rap. The blue shirt, which contrasted magnificently with the alien¡¯s purple skin, was unbuttoned to his navel and he had a huge medallion that covered most of his chest. The tuft of green hair on top of his head was combed into a quiff and a gold-rimmed monocle covered one eye. Billy tried using [analyse creature]. [no creature detected]. ¡°Well that was fewking rude,¡± the demon declared loudly while glaring at Billy. ¡°You think I am some sort of monster is it?¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± Billy said somewhat sheepishly. The demon continued to glare at him. ¡°How many speaking monsters have you met you idiot? Fewks sake! Well don¡¯t just stand there you beautiful little shits. Come in! This is my emporium of delights. Fewk me, you are all humans. I did¡¯nae know your kind was coming here. Took you long enough mind. I¡¯m surprised that creatures as weak as you made it this far. Some nasty fewking creatures in those woods especially for puny humans like you.¡± ¡°Just so you know it is considered fewkin rude it is to be anaysing a fellow sentient. And even ruder to try using a low-ass skills like [analyse creature]. By my fewkin hairy butt-crack if you do that again I will stick my boot up your arse. So fewking uncivilised! If you want to know, try asking, you muppet. Now are you here to buy or not?¡± ¡°You have a butt-crack?¡± Su Li asked while peering over the counter. Billy too looked to see that the bottom half of the demon was a mass of tentacles. ¡°Figure of speech, luv. Translation can be a bit glitchy like everything else around here.¡± ¡°So, what are you?¡± Su Li asked. ¡°Are you a fae creature?¡± ¡°Fewking fae? Do I look like a whiny fat-ass fae? Is my skin all sparkly or my hair flowing like a silken stream of gold. Fewking fae, indeed!¡± ¡°Well?¡± ¡°I am Dilchak the Demure, son of Dilrak the Deceiver, destroyer of Mun¡¯quen.¡± ¡°The Demure?¡± The demon coughed. ¡°Probably a translation glitch. Anyways¡­¡± ¡°But what are you?¡± ¡°I am a demon, luv ¨C a farquestrious demon from the fifth plane of Menquatarsius Prime.¡± ¡°Farquestrious?¡± ¡°Enough of the questions are you here to buy?¡± ¡°You are a demon?¡± Yuki asked in a small voice. ¡°Aye girl! Of course, I am.¡± ¡°But you can speak English.¡± ¡°Your accent is all over the place,¡± Trevor added. Billy noticed that Lorna had kept quiet during this exchange. He could see her fingers clutching her spear quietly. There was a rage building inside her. This time the demon laughed. ¡°What do you think we are lower realm humans? Of course I don¡¯t speak English. We have translators. Although I think this one is fewked. It makes my throat feel like a badger¡¯s arse after it has been buggered by a hundred other badgers.¡± ¡°Dude, not appropriate,¡± Trevor said. ¡°We have minors here.¡± ¡°Ah sorry! My bad! I have been waiting here so long since my f¡­. bloody uncle persuaded me to buy this franchise. Heaps of gold, he said. Fewkin wanker!¡± ¡°Dude!¡± ¡°Ah sorry. Yes, ok! Anyway, let¡¯s say you here what you are used to hearing. If you think a demon speaks in a particular way then hey presto! This whole place is adaptive ¨C well the tutorial part anyway.¡± ¡°You fucking brought us here,¡± Lorna said in a quiet voice. ¡°You fucking demons brought us to this nightmare.¡± ¡°Hey, lass. That was not us. Rightly speaking you should not be here at all ¨C no one should. This place was not due to open for months¡­¡± Dilchak paused for a moment. ¡°And it was designed for demons to use.¡± ¡°We shouldn¡¯t be here? Then why the need for the translators?¡± ¡°You think all demons speak the same or look the same. No, we are a diverse bunch. You shouldn¡¯t be here! But you are! Right, let¡¯s get to business. We gotta keep you wimps alive after all. Now, what do you need? By the looks of you, some clothing would be good and maybe some weapons, yes? You look like you¡¯ve been fewked over by a bunch of fewking squirrels.¡± Billy looked around. Most of the shelves looked nearly empty. On a shelf behind the counter there were three small glass vials of a red liquid. ¡°Ah, I see you are looking at my healing potions. Important for weak arse creatures like yourselves. Don¡¯t worry about the empty shelving. Some fewking idiot started the beta ahead of schedule. Dumb asses! I am still waiting on delivery of the rest of my stock. Only basic items available at the moment. But soon enough this place will be even more glorious.¡± ¡°We fewked those squirrels!¡± Su Li said proudly. ¡°Did you? Well, good for you, miss! Now, how can I help you all?¡± ¡°Perhaps you can explain what the hell is happening here?¡± Billy asked. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t survive five seconds in hell you soft meat-sack,¡± Dilchak said. ¡°A lower realm loser like you thinks he can get into hell¡­ don¡¯t make me fewkin¡¯ laugh. This is Infernus Worlds ¨C a lower realm training world ¨C for lower realm demons.¡± ¡°Look Mr. Dildog,¡± Yuki said. ¡°What can you tell us?¡± ¡°Dilchak!¡± Dilchak looked at them for a moment. ¡°Fewk, I have a soft spot already for your meat-sacks and if you die it¡¯s no good to me. This world is designed for training our soldiers. Rumor has it there is some big battle about to happen. So, a number of these training camps have been set up. Normally, getting stronger, even for demons, is a slow business. This place is designed to help speed up the process ¨C at least for the early stages. Get strong and survive, fail and die.¡± This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°And this is a beta,¡± Billy said. ¡°So were are guinea pigs?¡± ¡°Fewk, you can barely handle the squirrels mind guinea pigs. Leave those devils alone ¨C they will rip out your guts in a second. Nasty little blighters! You¡¯re not supposed to be here¡­ but as you are...¡° He broke out into a wide smile, showing three rows of sharp teeth. ¡°Come on! Let¡¯s do business! How much money you got?¡± Billy looked warily at the demon. He was not good at bartering. Luckily Yuki stepped forward. She fluttered her eyelashes at the demon and said, ¡°My apologies, respectable demon. We have limited means. Pray, tell us the range of merchandise you have and the price. We seem to be especially in the need of fine clothing.¡± The demon smiled even wider, his face almost splitting in two. ¡°Oh, I like you!¡± Lorna slapped her hand on the counter leaving the five bronze coins there. ¡°We have five of these.¡± The demon looked. ¡°Well, this is not going to get you very far. Even the most basic tunic costs eight bronze coins.¡± The demon¡¯s eyes fluttered for a moment. ¡°Oh, I see you also have credit. One silver piece each. One silver piece is worth twenty bronze. Twenty silver would be worth one gold. Not that you are likely to see gold coins in this area.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Lorna said. ¡°So, what can we get?¡± Yuki looked displeased about being pushed aside like that. From the way her eyes were narrowing, Billy could tell she was going to explode soon. He leaned forward and whispered to Lorna, ¡°Let Yuki handle this. She needs it.¡± Lorna looked at him and then nodded. ¡°Sorry, Yuki. I got impatient.¡± She then walked over to one of the shelves and pretended to browse. Yuki smiled at the demon again. ¡°Do you have many customers, sir?¡± ¡°No, girl, not many, but business will soon pick up. Wait until you see my marketing campaign.¡± ¡°Then maybe we can help each other. There must be things you need. Things that we can help you with.¡± ¡°Perhaps, perhaps!¡± The demon looked thoughtful. ¡°I always be needing herbs and other alchemy materials. There are other items that I can take in trade.¡± ¡°That is interesting!¡± Yuki said. ¡°Perhaps you can provide a list of things you need. Trevor here is a more than adequate purveyor of plants.¡± ¡°I can do that, little miss.¡± ¡°The name is Yuki.¡± Her eyes twinkled. ¡°You help us and we help you.¡± Dilchak looked at them all more carefully. ¡°Hmm¡­ Ok, Yuki. Here is some advice. The rest of you should fewkin¡¯ listen too. This is not a place for low level grunts like yourselves. A level one demon could kick all of your asses in a second.¡± He looked at Trevor, ¡°Level zero? You gotta do better than that.¡± ¡°Thought it was rude to analyse other sentients?¡± Trevor asked, his face flushed. ¡°Rude for you and you humans are barely sentient.¡± The demon paused, his eyes flickering again. ¡°It looks like you¡¯ve been doubly shafted as the support programs are not in place for the tutorial. So, I have been given permission to help you somewhat. Look, you need to level up and fast. You have five more days until the tutorial ends and you need to make sure you reach level five before that happens. Things only get more difficult after the tutorial.¡± ¡°What happens when we reach level five?¡± Su Li asked. ¡°You get your classes ¨C basic to start with.¡± ¡°Basic?¡± Yuki said. ¡°What did you expect, epic? You¡¯ve killed some vermin and you want the VIP treatment? Kill a dragon or even a guinea-pig and then you might be talking. Basic is what I expect you will get. Common if you are lucky. Classes and techniques make the difference.¡± Billy was glad to get the demon talking. ¡°What does level up mean, Dilchak, sir?¡± ¡°Ooh, Sir Dilchak. I like that.¡± The demon leaned forward on the counter. ¡°You can all call me that from now on. Sir Dilchak the Delectable.¡± ¡°More like Sir Dilchak the Deluded,¡± Lorna muttered. Dilchak ignored her and carried on. ¡°Levelling up is like¡­ Well, this should have been covered in your induction. And if you were demons, you would understand better but as it is¡­ Levelling up is when you have absorbed enough ambient energy to improve the power of your body, mind and soul. Levelling up is the process where the system aids you to use that energy to improve. Simple really even for meat-sacks like yourselves.¡± ¡°How are we absorbing energy?¡± ¡°Wow! You really don¡¯t know? That is the genius of Infernus. Normally, demons would gain energy by devouring things ¨C food, people stuff¡­ you know. However, other races do it differently. The fae use some sort of cultivation style ¨C directly absorbing energy from the environment. The wood elves have a spiritual system that helps them through trees and shit. And then there are the celestial gnomes who created an intelligent system that would directly integrate external energy into their bodies and minds. Oh that was funny when they were testing. Half of them blew up. Blood and guts everywhere. ¡°Which leads us to this, Infernus. We stole..err I mean incorporated idea from a lot of different places. You can gain energy by eating¡­very slow process unless the food is highly enriched like a phoenix sandwich. You can gain energy by killing, you can gain energy by completing quests, or finally by cultivating. Cultivating is kind of essential unless you want to go full murderhobo on us all. Us demons used to have that problem. We slaughtered and devoured everything we came across. Not sustainable though! So we stole..err, I mean discovered other ways of gaining power. Hence the system. The system will help guide your body in absorbing that energy and directing it where you want it to go.¡± ¡°We found it difficult to use unassigned stats.¡± ¡°Each to their own. That is what growth is all about. You have to find your own path. The system will help you but eventually you have to take off the training wheels. System skills are only baby skills. To get true power means you have to learn techniques and adapt them for yourself.¡± That was a lot to take in, Billy thought. The system sounded like a crazy mishmash of ideas. ¡°Anyway, still in development,¡± Dilchak said. ¡°Hence the beta testing. So kill, learn and grow is essentially it. Also, don¡¯t squander your resources. At this stage you have limited resources and you will have plenty of time when healing up. Better to get a tailoring skill and make your own clothes. If they¡¯re good enough I might buy them off you.¡± He reached back and brought forth a bolt of material. ¡°See this! This is good tough fabric. Not as tough as leather, but better than what your wearing. Two silver pieces and you can make enough clothing for all of you. Crafting skills and techniques are fewkin¡¯ gold mines if you have the head for it.¡± ¡°Interesting,¡± Yuki said. ¡°But don¡¯t think anyone can craft. You have to have the aptitude.¡± ¡°What about cultivation styles?¡± ¡°Hey! Those are the most important for your survival. Again, the style needs to suit the person. Most of all it must give you balance. Demons have only been cultivating for a short time. A friend of mine decided to cultivate only his strength. Fewkin¡¯ idiot used to tear himself apart every time he punched someone. Then, he would have headaches for days after. To reach the heights of power everything should be in balance.¡± The demon looked them over. ¡°So you each have a silver and you get to choose your cultivation manuals ¨C beginner level. That means basic.¡± He blinked a few times. ¡°There I have processed your claim. The system will give you a choice of five manuals each according to your current progress and aptitude. Don¡¯t worry you can upgrade later as you advance ¨C if you fewking advance. You can select the manual from your menu system. After, with your silver you can buy skills, weapons or supplies. As I said - limited choice right now so I will give you the best price I can.¡± Billy looked at the others. ¡°Let¡¯s go outside to do this.¡± They went outside. Trevor in particular looked edgy and Billy did not blame him. Every moment, he expected more squirrels to come flying out of the trees. ¡°I think we should do the skill books first from the previous quest,¡± Billy said. ¡°Personally, I think we need to choose the tailoring skill and the identify item skill.¡± To his surprise they all immediately agreed. Having a store within reach meant they did not need the improvisation skill so much. ¡°Ok, so who wants to be a tailor?¡± They all looked at each other before Yuki said. ¡°I love making clothes. If no one else wants it.¡± ¡°Done!¡± Billy said. Some of the others looked relieved at that. Billy was very relieved. ¡°As for the identify item skill I think that would work well with Trevor¡¯s current skill set.¡± Again, everyone agreed. Billy selected the skill books from the quest options. Light flashed in front of his eyes and then two small A5 sized books appeared in his hands. One had a blue cover and said ¡°Identify item: upgradeable.¡± The other had a green cover and said, ¡°Basic tailoring: upgradeable.¡± He passed the skill books Trevor and Yuki. Yuki was the first to open hers. The book shone with a blinding green light and then motes of light seeped into her body. ¡°Ooh,¡± she said. ¡°That tingles.¡± ¡°Did it work?¡± ¡°Yep. I know have [basic tailoring] level 1.¡± Trevor nodded and then opened his. Again, the book shone, with a blue light this time, and his body absorbed the motes of light. He smiled and said, ¡°Job done!¡± ¡°Ok,¡± said Billy. ¡°Now let¡¯s look at this cultivation reward. Has anyone looked yet?¡± ¡°Not yet,¡± Lorna said. Billy looked at his menu. The cultivation style stat was flashing and he mentally selected it. A menu showed five options. He mentally clicked on each one hoping for more information. Nature¡¯s blossom: Basic. Work with, not against, nature in all of its forms. Basic technique [nature¡¯s healing]. Scholar¡¯s spirit: Basic. You devote your life to learning in all of its aspects. Basic technique [basic insight] Berserker¡¯s scream: Common. Blood, pain and fury show you the way to destroy everything in your path. Basic technique [berserker¡¯s shout]. Aetheric defiance: Uncommon. Your path is decided by your own will and not by fate. Basic technique [heaven¡¯s body]. Death¡¯s embrace: Uncommon. Through endless slaughter you seek power and dominion. Basic technique [ghostblade]. Chapter 15: Finally Real Weapons Chapter 15 ¨C Finally Real Weapons Billy was surprised by the basic names of the cultivation manuals. He had expected something like ¡®Umbrageous Green Tiger¡¯ or ¡°Heaven Blows the Drunken Sailor¡±. Maybe those were reserved for more advanced methods. Also, despite what Dilchak had said, he had received a common and two uncommon options. Some of the techniques were fairly obvious, others less so. There was no descriptor for them. He would just have to try and guess. [basic insight] in particular seemed ambiguous. He was also not sure what the difference between a skill and a technique was. He knew he needed to pick something that suited his nature and not just jump at an attractive technique. He immediately discarded the Nature¡¯s Blossom option. He had no desire to be a healer or tree-hugger. He also did not like the idea of the Berserker or Death options. While it may reflect his current fighting style, that had developed from desperation rather than from choice or desire. He turned to the others. ¡°Do we need to discuss this before choosing?¡± ¡°No need,¡± Lorna said. ¡°I have chosen already.¡± ¡°Me too!¡± said the other three in perfect chorus. Billy sighed. Maybe he was overthinking it. In the end, he trusted his instincts and chose his desired option ¨C Aetheric Defiance. Now he could see its full description as well as the skill. Aetheric defiance: Your path is decided by your own will and not by fate. Basic technique [defiance]. Common technique [resurgence]. Uncommon technique [aetheric body]. Associated elements: air, fire and void. [defiance level 1: ignore debilitating effects for 10 seconds] [resurgence level 1: regain 20% stamina and 10% health] [aetheric body level 1: increase your speed and agility by 20%, reduce damage taken by 20%] Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Billy felt like he had won the lottery. He now had three new skills and they all looked useful. He opened his eyes and saw that the others were staring at him. From the party interface he saw their choices. Lorna ¨C Radiant heart: uncommon, techniques [blind (basic), fireblade (common), light surge (uncommon)]. Su Li ¨C Transcendent soul: rare, techniques [Soul absorb (basic), Soul sight (common), Soul attack (uncommon) Spirit walk (rare)]. Trevor ¨C Nature¡¯s embrace: common, techniques [nature awareness (basic), life touch (common)]. Yuki ¨C Water spirit: common, techniques [water spike (basic), water bomb (common)] . They were all interesting choices, but he geeked out over Su Li¡¯s. She had chosen a rare option. What would that mean for her power levels and techniques? They would need to work at understanding how this worked and how they would fit together as a group. ¡°Well,¡± Billy said, smiling. ¡°I think we are ready to bargain. Lead the way, Yuki.¡± *** ¡°Welcome back, feeble mortals. That didn¡¯t take too long. Now put your hand on my shiny red orb and I will see what is needed.¡± Billy winced at the mocking levity of the demon¡¯s tone. He wanted to trust Dilchak but something held him back. He was a demon after all and demons had created this place. Dilchak waved one hand and five red orbs appeared on the counter glowing ominously. ¡°I¡¯ll go first,¡± Yuki said. She placed her hand on the orb nearest to her. ¡°Ooh it tingles,¡± she said with a little giggle. ¡°Hmm!¡± said the demon. ¡°Interesting! You got a common manual? Not surprised ¨C you are definitely the cream of this crop.¡± He winked at her. ¡°And you already have the tailoring skill. Seems you are short on other skills though. Come on the rest of you¡­don¡¯t be shy!¡± The others, with different levels of hesitation, put their hands on the red orbs in front of them, leaving Billy the last to do so. With a sigh, he went over to the last orb and put his hand on it. It did indeed tingle. ¡°Ok that should do it,¡± Dilchak said. ¡°You have been assessed and found wanting.¡± He flashed a quick grin. ¡°I was right about you being a pack of fewkin¡¯ noobs. Luckily, you did not do too badly with your cultivation manuals - not bad at all. Two common styles, two uncommon and one rare. Someone has definitely put their finger on the scale for you. Those are upgradeable once you reach the right level.¡± Dilchak reached out and put the orbs away. ¡°Ok, let me fill you in on the basics. You have now chosen your basic cultivation manual. Those are upgradeable so long as you practice diligently and grow stronger ¨C becoming more individualized as you grow. However, you may find your manual is a bad fit for you, especially after getting your class. Once you reach level 5 you can choose a class. ¡°This again will help you increase your proficiency not only in your stats but also with your skills and techniques. Techniques are abilities that use mana and combine with your chosen class and cultivation style and affinities. For instance, if you chose the class of ranger and your cultivation used the element of fire, you might gain the technique for shooting fire arrows. ¡°Just a simple example. Any questions?¡± ¡°Are techniques like skills and can be learned from a book?¡± Trevor asked. ¡°I won¡¯t go into the technical differences mostly because I was shite at school and never listened. Ask my apprentice Carbun and he will nerd talk to you to death on the matter. ¡°They are similar but different is all you really need to know. There are guide books for techniques ¨C or there will be ¨C mostly basic. You also get techniques paired with your cultivation manual. Unlike the skill books you just used, technique guides need to be learned and then you need to master the technique. It won¡¯t just be given to you. ¡°Which means lots of fewking practice. Which is where you are now. Your chosen cultivation manual is accessible from your menu but you have to practice to be able to use the techniques. Don¡¯t think you can just go out there and blow the forest to bits.¡± ¡°And the unassigned stat points?¡± Billy asked. ¡°As I said earlier, those you can assign as you cultivate or as you develop in other ways. If you want to add to your strength, for example, you can do lots of weight training and they will be put there. Skills like meditation can help you add points to your intelligence and wisdom. Your cultivation style will allow you to be more precise once you gain enough proficiency.¡± ¡°And magic,¡± Su Li asked. ¡°I want to fly and shoot lightning from my fingers. Pew! Pew! It will be like Crouching Lorna Hidden Su Li.¡± Billy could not stop himself from laughing. She punched him on the arm. ¡°I¡¯m not joking, Billy.¡± Dilchak smiled. ¡°To use magic, as you pathetic fleshbags call it, you will first need to get stronger here.¡± He poked Su Li on the forehead. ¡°As well as learn mana control as well as mana manipulation. Meditation is also useful for regaining mana. Some of what you can do will depend on the path you choose to follow. If you follow the way of the warrior, you may want to focus on enhanced weapon skills and techniques. All techniques can be adapted with the right willpower.¡± Dilchak paused and saw their confused faces. ¡°Ok, enough talk. Let me see what equipment I can fit you with. Let¡¯s start with you.¡± He pointed at Billy. ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Yes. The spear and staff are not the right weapons for you. You would probably fight better with a fewkin¡¯ garden rake. With your cultivation style I think that these are more suitable.¡± He reached under the counter and pulled out a strange set of leather gloves that had four sharp prongs sticking out of the palm as well as a blade attached to the back. ¡°Quite basic but decently made. Put them on.¡± Billy held his hands up. ¡°Hey, I am not going to fight like a crazed animal.¡± Dilchak looked disappointed. He moved the gloves back under the desk. ¡°I¡¯m never going to get rid of these. ¡°Ok try this.¡± He put on the counter a basic looking war hammer. Billy picked it up. The metal head was black in colour and had a short spike on one side with a flat hammer part on the other side. The shaft was wooden but felt solid enough. He gave it a few swings. It was heavier than it looked but felt well-balanced. ¡°Intended for getting close in,¡± the demon said. ¡°Stab and pound! The beak is short so it won¡¯t get stuck in bones or fewking armour, but long and sharp enough to penetrate most metal armour. See the pain in their eyes when you grind them down.¡± He then moved onto Su Li. ¡°Ok, little one, daggers are good for you, but I think these will be better.¡± He went to the back and started rummaging in a box. Eventually, he returned triumphantly, carrying a pair of leaflike blades attached to chains. Here are your claws, little kitty.¡± ¡°Looks similar to kusarigama,¡± Yuki said quietly. Su Li looked at them dubiously. ¡°How do I use them?¡± ¡°Well, you can stab and slash with the blades similar to using a knife or short sword but you can also throw them like a dart. The chain can be used to whip or entangle opponents. They take a lot of practice to use well and a lot of agility to use perfectly.¡± ¡°Now for you, beautiful Yuki! The spear or staff seem almost perfect for you. You have clearly had some training. But maybe something shorter is better. Try this.¡± The demon put a shorter wooden staff with metal shod ends on the counter. The staff was just over a metre in length. Yuki picked it up and tried a few moves with it. ¡°It is heavier than I expected,¡± she said. ¡°Heavier than a jo.¡± ¡°You will get used to the weight as you get stronger. With the shorter length, you will be able to attack faster.¡± The demon grinned. ¡°Now twist and pull.¡± She did as asked and the staff came apart into two short-bladed swords. ¡°Sometimes you need some blade work,¡± Dilchak said. Yuki nodded and bowed slightly towards him. Now the demon turned to Lorna. ¡°Now this is an easy one. You already have picked up the spear mastery skill, which shows a good deal of aptitude.¡± ¡°This spear is fine for me.¡± Lorna said. ¡°True, true! But fine is not perfect. Take a look at this.¡± The demon went over to a rack where a few different types of spears and polearms were stacked. He reached down and picked out a spear with a dark red shaft and a short spear blade with crescent-shaped side blades on either side. The spear was about twenty centimeters taller than Lorna. ¡°This should do you well,¡± Dilchak said. ¡°It is more of a fewking poleaxe, but spear skills still apply. You will adapt quickly enough. The crescent side blades give you different options. As you can see the butt end is also weighted to balance the haft. Difficult to make these buggers and an acquired taste for sure.¡± Lorna grabbed the weapon and looked at it carefully. After a while she tested the balance in her hands. Eventually, she nodded. Assuming that meant agreement, Dilchak went to Trevor. ¡°Ok, now this is a bastard. You¡¯re not really a fighter are you? Normally, a bow would go well with a fewking nature boy like you but I can see that won¡¯t work for you. Hmm... well if you go down the druid or healer route you need to stay alive to keep the others alive, so how about something more defensive?¡± He reached under the counter and pulled out a simple wooden shield and a studded club. ¡°These are basic but easy to use and should work fewking well with your cultivation style.¡± The demon stepped back with a smile then again reached under the counter. ¡°Ok the last thing that a fewkin¡¯ bunch of noobs like you need is this.¡± He opened his hand to reveal five bronze rings. ¡°Spatial rings ¨C pretty shoddy workmanship. They¡¯re made by Bulbag, my stupid cousin. I swear that idiot is a danger to the world, but my uncle insisted on my taking him on. Now, don¡¯t get your little periwinkles tied in a knot over this. This ring has only enough capacity for eight different items and nothing bigger than this.¡± He gestured with his hands. ¡°You will need to carry your weapons, except maybe the little one. " He pointed at Su Li. "But you can put in food and plants etc. Perfect for foraging or exploring.¡± ¡°Now, normally this whole lot will cost you about twenty silver. I have been told to give you a one-time discount on behalf of the developers so I was going to charge you ten silver pieces, but because I feel sorry for you pathetic dweebs I will charge eight silver.¡± Yuki narrowed her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t forget the bolts of materials and a sewing kit.¡± Dilchak placed two bolts of cloth on the counter. ¡°We have brown and green.¡± He smiled. ¡°Then that will be nine silver. If you give me that rather tatty chameleon skin you are carrying there, I will call it eight silver.¡± ¡°You know we don¡¯t have that much money,¡± Lorna said angrily. Yuki lifted her hand. ¡°Let me deal with this.¡± She called Trevor over to identify the items. Billy stopped paying attention after that. He wandered around the shop. He was feeling dazed by all that Dilchak had said. He could feel his gorge rising. He was very much out of his depth and checking out the goods kept him from screaming. He could see that not only were there weapons, there were also other things like basic leather armor that he would like to have. In one section there was some basic food stuff like bags of flour and rice. At the back was a locked display cabinet with rings and necklaces. ¡°Enchanted items,¡± a soft sibilant voice said, startling Billy out of what was left of his wits. He turned to see a small purple imp hovering over his shoulder. ¡°I am Carbun the Curious,¡± it said proudly. ¡°Apprentice to the mighty Dilchak.¡± ¡°Please to meet you,¡± Billy said. ¡°How much would one of these rings cost?¡± The imp laughed. ¡°Outside your price range. Even the simplest ring would cost ten silver pieces. Do you want to know how they are made? I could tell you. Or I could tell you about skills and techniques.¡± The imp bobbed up and down in the air, making Billy realise that it was actually flying despite it¡¯s tiny wings and rotund body. Maybe Su Li¡¯s dream of flying was not just a fantasy. ¡°You see, you can think of skills and techniques this way. A skill is a very basic matrix. If you are thinking in three dimensions, which you shouldn¡¯t, then the difference between a skll and a technique is ¡­ well think of the difference in the pathways of a cube and the pathways in a dodecahedron¡­¡± Billy nodded while tuning out the little imp. It would seem that enchanting too was a lucrative profession and that skills and techniques were a complex business. His mathematical brain could feel that there would be similarities in the makeup of enchantments and techniques ¨C well at least in the basic underlying theories. At any other time, he would be enthusiastically drooling over exploring the theoretical side to these things. But, right now, his brain could not cope. The reality of the situation was still doing a number on his faculties. He had to keep moving forward or he knew he would be overwhelmed and just have a breakdown. He returned to the others to see that the negotiations were drawing to a close. Yuki had bartered the demon to accept their coins, their old weapons, and the lizard skin and meat. It seemed more than a fair deal and much better than he would have achieved. They were much better equipped than when they had left camp this morning, and survivability seemed more likely. They were about to leave when Dilchak shouted, ¡°Wait a minute! Where¡¯s my fewking head? Carbun get your spindly ass here and give me that list.¡± The imp flew over and handed Dilchak a small piece of paper. Dilchak handed the paper to Yuki before saying, ¡°This is a list of herbs and stuff you can gather for me. It is fewking short now because there ain¡¯t much of value in the beginner zone, so it will automatically update as you progress. Oh, and here. I was told to give you these.¡± Two notifications appeared. Chapter 16: A new path Chapter 16: A new path. They left Dilchak¡¯s emporium and stood in the clearing. The sun was now high overhead. Despite it feeling like a long day, it was barely midday, and Billy was feeling slightly disoriented. His eyes kept looking over at Lorna. Ever since the previous night she had been cold and distant. Not just to him but also to the others. ¡°What do you think we should do now?¡± Billy asked Lorna. ¡°Why are you asking me?¡± she snapped back. ¡°You are the leader.¡± ¡°Just asking for opinions,¡± Billy said. ¡°I suggest we pick up the squirrel bodies and head back,¡± Trevor said. ¡°I want to see what my cultivation style thing is all about.¡± ¡°I agree,¡± said Yuki. ¡°I have some ideas for clothing and will need as much daylight as I can get. Time to get you out of those stupid robes.¡± ¡°I want to get Billy out of his robe too,¡± Su Li said with a wink. ¡°Ok!¡± Billy said, doing his best to ignore Su Li. ¡°Let¡¯s head back.¡± He had been tempted to suggest that they hunt for a while so that Trevor could get to level 1 and Lorna and himself could get to level 2, but could sense that the group needed some thinking time. As they moved off, he noticed that Lorna was not moving. She just stood there and fidgeted with her new weapon. ¡°Lorna?¡± Billy asked. She looked at him. The anger in her eyes that had been there previously had been replaced with sorrow. ¡°I will not be coming back.¡± ¡°What? Look if it is about yesterday, I am sorry.¡± ¡°Yesterday, today - everyday! It is about everything, Billy.¡± Her cheeks grew red and she pointed her spear at him. ¡°I am tired of everything. Tired of carrying you ¨C tired of carrying these children. You are slowing me down. If we don¡¯t get stronger fast, we will keep dying. I have already died once and it was the worse experience of my life. And I am sick of being powerless.¡± ¡°We are stronger together,¡± Billy said. ¡°Are we?¡± ¡°Lorna!¡± Trevor said. ¡°Don¡¯t be like this. Let¡¯s go back to camp and talk about it.¡± ¡°I am sick of talk. Sick of wasting daylight and time on you. The demon was right. We are a bunch of stupid noobs who are going to keep getting our arses kicked until we get either get wiser or die for good. Well, this is me wising up. I am going to go and get stronger. I am going to stop babysitting you losers. I am leaving!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not fair,¡± Su Li said. Billy opened his mouth to say something but stopped when Trevor¡¯s hand dropped on his shoulder. Trevor just shook his head and Billy closed his mouth. ¡°Then go!¡± Trevor said. ¡°It is what you do best. You know where to find us when you have come to your senses.¡± Lorna looked at them both and then turned and ran off into the forest. ¡°Should I go after her?¡± Billy said. ¡°Leave her,¡± replied Trevor. ¡°She is always like this. Every time she starts to get close to something she runs. Every time she gets good at something she quits.¡± ¡°Will she be back?¡± Yuki asked. ¡°One day, I guess,¡± Trevor said. ¡°She usually comes back. Eventually.¡± Billy kicked at the ground. Again, he felt helpless. Just when he thought they were making progress something happened. He checked the party interface and saw that Lorna had already left. He guessed she did not want to share experience or have them spying on her, but it also meant that anything could happen and they would not know. ¡°She was right, you know.¡± They all turned to look at Yuki. There were tears in her eyes. ¡°She was carrying us. We¡­ I ¡­ need to do better. My father would be ashamed of me.¡± Su Li went over and put her arm around Yuki. ¡°If your father saw you fighting the squirrels he would be proud of you. But yes, we can and will do better. All of us. Won¡¯t we, Billy?¡± ¡°I am scared!¡± Yuki said. ¡°So scared. I woke up this morning wondering if it¡¯ll be the day I die or get taken by something worse than rat-fiends.¡± She shuddered. ¡°I always feel safer when Lorna is around.¡± ¡°We are all scared,¡± Trevor said. ¡°It is nothing to be ashamed of. Even Lorna is scared.¡± ¡°I am definitely scared,¡± Billy said. ¡°And sick to my teeth. But I will not give up. Let¡¯s go back to camp. We need to learn how to use our abilities and that won¡¯t happen standing around here.¡± It was a quiet solemn group that headed back to the camp. After picking up the squirrels, Billy started to realize the seriousness of their situation. Without Lorna to rely on he did not feel able to protect everyone. Yuki was right; they needed to learn how to protect themselves. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. *** ¡°She was wrong, you know,¡± Su Li said as they entered the clearing. ¡°You were the one who saved us in the beginning, Billy. You died to save us.¡± ¡°She was wrong about that,¡± Trevor agreed. ¡°But not about everything.¡± They settled into camp, Billy keeping watch while the others tended to the camp chores. Yuki in particular was in a rush to get things sorted so she could try out her new tailoring skills. As he watched, he opened up his menu and looked at this new cultivation manual ¨C Aetheric Defiance. Upon request, the cultivation option opened up into its own mini menu. Cultivation manual ¨C Aetheric Defiance. Cultivation stage: Gatherer Stage: 0 Mana Available: 36/36 MP Basic technique: Defiance ¨C unlearned. Common technique: Resurgence ¨C unlearned. Uncommon Technique: Aetheric body ¨C unlearned. Spells available: none The first thing he noticed was that it now showed information about the mana available. While he had seen mention of mana affinity and control before this was the first time he had seen this. It must have been unlocked when he gained his cultivation manual. He wondered if it was connected with the techniques available. There was even a menu option for spells available. Excitement overtook him, and he began to parse through the different options. Each of the categories opened up into a swathe of information except for the spells available tab which was blank. Billy realized there would be no shortcut. He would have to learn and understand each and then practice and practice. The techniques looked more like cryptograms rather than instructions and it was he would need better control over his manner to even begin to master the most basic technique. They all seemed to require a lot of mana too. Even the defiance technique would require 200 MP. He reviewed the defiance technique again as he felt that would the easiest to assimilate. He was surprised to see that even at the lowest level, it would allow him to boost his power while fighting. He reads through the instructions. The beginning to assimilate the process was not much different to how he usually meditated. What was different was how he proceeded after that. The key to learning and mastering the technique would involve being able to control the flow of mana within his body. He recalled what had happened when he had tried to work with the flows of mana earlier ¨C he knew that he would need to improve on that. Fortunately, the technique came with a primer ¨C a series of exercises he would need to master first that would improve his ability to handle the flow of mana within his body. He tried to follow the first stage of the exercise but his mind was not in the right place. He kept coming back to the incident with Lorna. He was not as confident as Trevor that she would be back. Every time he thought about it he felt chewed up inside. He went back to his normal meditation exercises again to clear his mind and settle his emotions. Once more, he tried to settle into the trance-like state needed for the meditation technique. His breathing slowed, and he could feel the mana energy moving around him, around the trees. His mind slipped as he reached for the flows. So close! This was definitely going to take some time to master. He pulled the war hammer from the belt of his robe and looked at it. He had never envisaged that this would be the weapon for him, and he was not sure if Dilchak was being genuine or trying to lure them into some trap. He grasped it firmly on and took a few swings and then tried to move while using the war-hammer. When he moved his arm he found that the weight of the weapon pulled his arm out of position and threw him off balance. He would need to become stronger and more agile to make the most of the war hammer, but he could sense the potential. Up close, he could do a lot of damage, and he also seemed to end up close to his enemies. ¡°Looking good, little dude,¡± Su Li said from behind him. ¡°Although I think you are overextending.¡± He turned around. ¡°Little dude? Just what language are you speaking?¡± ¡°Chinglish of course. It was a surprise to me that you all can understand me so well.¡± Billy smacked himself in the forehead. Of course, the system translated different languages. No wonder she could speak so fluently. And it probably explained the weird phrasing sometimes. She smiled at him. There was a tinge of sadness in her face as well as vulnerability. ¡°Look I have decided we can¡¯t be an item. Don¡¯t take it too badly, Billy. I¡¯m not ready to settle down just yet. But we can still be friends. I¡¯ll even let you hold my hand when you are scared.¡± Billy could not stop himself from laughing. Whatever happened she did not seem to lose her sense of humour. She may be annoying at times, but he realized that she was a much-needed part of the group. As was Lorna ¨C but he understood that maybe Lorna didn¡¯t understand that yet. Su Li sat down on the floor and watched him. ¡°I never thought I would miss my family and friends this much. I even miss my teachers and some of them were hateful even to a girl in a wheelchair.¡± ¡°Yuki is here.¡± ¡°Yes, she is! I think she is struggling here more than most of us and she hated her parents. Do you miss home, Billy?¡± He thought about it for a moment. ¡°You know something. I don¡¯t. Out here, life feels more real. I feel like I can achieve something.¡± ¡°Well, the ground is definitely real. I am glad to be able to walk but I miss my mattress! I miss showers! Damn I miss showers!¡± ¡°I think we need to focus on what we have. We have each other, Su Li.¡± She stared at him. ¡°We do. Oh, you need to go and see Yuki. She said she wants to measure you. She keeps muttering about inferior cloth and working with only two colors. Just remind her to keep her hands to herself. She can be very handsy. At least the tailoring keeps her occupied.¡± ¡°Have you tried practicing with your weapon? The chain knife thing looks interesting.¡± She pulled out the knives. He saw that she had wrapped the chains around her waist. Probably not the most convenient thing to do if they were suddenly attacked. ¡°Stab stab is easy enough, but when I have tried throwing them, that is difficult.¡± ¡°Have you tried swinging the chain and then releasing like rodeo style?¡± he asked. He mimicked the motion of swinging the chain over his head and then releasing. She thought about it for a moment. ¡°Ok, I need space.¡± She moved over until she was about five metres from a tree. She took one of the knives and then grabbed hold of the end of the chain. She slowly swung it around her head, gradually building up speed. The blade glistened in the sun as it revolved around her head until the chain and knife blurred into a silver circle. With a loud ¡°Ya!¡± she released the chain. The knife hurtled towards the tree, scraping the bark as it grazed the side. ¡°Close!¡± she screamed in delight. ¡°That was much better.¡± ¡°You need to practice. We all do.¡± *** For part of the afternoon, they practiced with their weapons. Even Yuki took a break from her sewing to join them for a while. Billy could tell by the way she moved with the staff she was already used to it, and it was not long until she was making fluid and rapid moves with the staff. While Yuki finished sewing and Su Li practiced more with her weapons, Billy took Trevor hunting for frogs and for food. It was not long before they had bagged three of the frogs as well as another salamander. The new weapons made the task almost easy. Billy was happy to reach level two and get Trevor to level 1. What was even better was that the new storage rings made the task of collecting food and materials much more convenient. They finished the night with Billy trying to lead them in meditation. It was a difficult task as he really had yet to understand what he was doing himself fully, but he was gratified when, after an hour, Yuki and Trevor had picked up the skill. They all still had unassigned stat points but he assumed that would be resolved once they better understood their cultivation paths. Chapter 17: Hammer of the Frogs Chapter 19 ¨C Hammer of the Frogs Billy woke in the morning to a cold breakfast and even colder weather. Dark clouds were gathering in the distance and there was a strong wind blowing through the camp. The brown trousers and green tunic that Yuki had made for him were more comfortable than his robe but certainly no warmer. If the temperature continued to worsen, they would need to think about warmer clothing and improving their shelter. They might even have to use the rat fiends¡¯ cave. After a brief discussion, they decided to split into two parties. With Lorna gone they were going to have to take some risks. Billy and Su Li were going to hunt frogs while Trevor and Yuki were going to look for plants from the list given by Dilchak. If they could start cashing in on their work, they would be able to purchase better equipment. Billy and Su Li headed back to the swamp. For once Su Li did not seem inclined to flirt or tease him. Her face was focused and her knives were ready. Neither one of them were taking the frogs lightly, not after their first meeting with them. They had not gone far into the swamp when Billy spotted the first frog, which appeared to be alone. Billy signaled to Su Li and they moved to a suitable position hidden by a large clump of swamp grass. The frog was level 2 so he thought it would be a great test for Su Li¡¯s new weapons. After yesterday¡¯s quick foray with Trevor he felt quite confident in his own ability to take down the frogs. He decided to let Su Li take the initiative while he remained hidden. With his war-hammer he needed to get close and he was still wary of the poisoned tongue. Su Li stepped out and whipped the chain around her head. Soon the air was filled with a whirring sound. She closed to within five meters and then released the chain. The knife flew towards the frog and struck it shallowly in one of its front legs. The creature immediately took a massive hop towards her. Su Li back-pedaled while pulling in her chain. She still held the other knife in her left hand but with her current skill level she would hold that for defense. The frog took another hop and was now level with Billy. Its tongue lashed out and was narrowly avoided by Su Li. Billy dove at the creature and swung his war hammer. The beak of his hammer sank into the creature¡¯s slimy skin. He noticed su Li moving to the other side of the frog and attacking with her knives. Before he knew it the frog died and the notification came. Now that they were only a party of two the XP was only shared between the two of them. The only problem was that Billy was now level 2 so he would need to kill a lot of frogs at this level. He would need to find higher-level creature to reach level 3. Still, for now, this was the perfect way to train with Su Li without too much risk. He gave Su Li a thumbs up and she smiled. ¡°Next time you lure the frog,¡± she said. ¡°I want to stab stab.¡± ¡°You have the distance and you need to improve your throw. You won¡¯t get better without practice.¡± ¡°Yah yah, teacher.¡± She stuck her tongue out at him. Billy cut out the tongue and they moved on to the next target. One down sixteen more to go. The next target did not go so well. They found a slightly larger brown and grey frog. Billy analysed the creature. He was not sure what hardy meant but level 3 should be achievable. Again, they followed the same battle plan. Su Li stepped out while he remained hidden. However, when she released her knife the frog sensed the attack and hopped out of the way, unfortunately landing too close to Billy. Before he could react, it leaped in his direction knocking him flying with its frog snout. The creature then lashed out with its tongue at Su Li who was still stood there in shock. She screamed as the tongue lanced into her thigh and fell to her knees. Tears started to stream down her face as she felt the poison burning into her bloodstream. Billy quickly rose to his feet and shouted. ¡°Su Li!¡± She looked up with dazed eyes but there was some sign of recognition. Billy lashed out at the frog but this creature¡¯s skin was tougher and his beak merely penetrated the surface. The creature ignored him and again its tongue lashed out at Su Li. To Billy¡¯s surprise Su Li had recomposed herself and deflected the tongue with the chain wrapped around her left hand. She then ran to the right side of the frog her right hand knife again swinging over her head. The knife flashed out and sank deeply into the frog¡¯s eye. The frog let out a strange noise like a squealing grunt. Billy took the opportunity to stab the creature in its left flank with extra force. This time his hammer sank in. It was not much but he hit the same spot again. Now he had the frog¡¯s attention. ¡°This one is mine, Billy,¡± Su Li shouted. ¡°Just keep its attention.¡± He stepped back drawing the frog towards him. He dove to the side as the tongue lashed out. Su Li took the opportunity to dive underneath the frog and both knives were driven deeply into the underside of the beast¡¯s mouth. Again and again she drove her knives until the creature died falling on top of Su Li. Billy lifted the frog off Su Li. He checked her wound. Apart from a block mottling it was a small puncture. ¡°How are you?¡± Su Li groaned. ¡°Hurts like shit. I will live.¡± ¡°Try meditating. It will speed up your regen.¡± The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Hard to concentrate right now. The poison burns. One tough frog!¡± They waited until the poison had worked its way through her system. Billy kept watch while she meditated. After ten minutes her eyes opened. ¡°I have added one more point to agility,¡± she said. ¡°I think I am near to understanding your meditation method. I could feel the energy moving into my body. Just one more stat points to go.¡± Billy was proud of her and a little jealous. The girl seemed to be a genius with meditation ¨C it came to her so easily. Still, she was physically still quite weak. The stronger she became the better. They set off again vowing to stick to the red frogs. They took down three level 2 red corrupted frogs in succession. Billy noted that Su Li¡¯s movements were becoming more fluid and she was gaining confidence in using the chained weapons for both defense and offense. Su Li had also reached level 2. Billy figured that they had picked off all the targets around the edge of the swamp. They would have to go deeper if they wished to find more. ¡°We have five tongues plus three from yesterday,¡± Billy said. ¡°Ready to go deeper for the rest?¡± ¡°Swamp stinks, Billy.¡± ¡°Yes, it does. It will also be more dangerous. Harder to move and harder to see what is coming. Remember what happened before. There are more than frogs in there.¡± ¡°Then we go slow and we hit hard,¡± she said. ¡°I think we can do this, Billy.¡± For a moment self-doubt made Billy pause on his tracks. His brain was telling him they would be safe to return to camp and to sort out their unassigned stat points. However, his heart was telling him that he needed to get stronger faster. For now he let his heart make the decision. The marsh smell permeated Billy¡¯s nostrils and he could already feel sweat dripping down his neck as they stepped through the spongy ground. His nice new clothes were becoming more and more soiled. Yuki would be furious. A couple of times his foot sank into softer ground and soon his feet squished with water seeping into his boots. ¡°Remind me to get better footwear too,¡± he whispered to Su Li. She nodded. Her own sneakers were probably not any more waterproof. Billy stopped when he heard sounds ahead. Unfortunately, the marsh grass here was too tall for him to see. He signaled to Su Li and then moved forward as stealthily as he could. He vowed to himself that he would work on mastering the some sort of movement skill or technique as soon as possible. His level 1 stealth skill was too low levelled to be much help. As he moved he also tried reaching out with his senses. He could sense something ahead ¨C something watery and foul at the same time. Was this mana he was sensing? He raised his hands and sprang forward. He burst through the grass to find himself facing three frogs, two medium sized red frogs and one larger purple frog. Fortunately, the frogs seemed as surprised as he was. He struck out at the nearest frog with quick punching attacks with the beak of his war-hammer. He managed to get in three attacks before he was thrown away by a jet of foul water that gushed from the purple frog¡¯s mouth. He raised himself from the ground, dripping in water now, to see that Su Li had joined the attack. She concentrated on the injured frog, striking deeply into its flank from one side as she used the frog¡¯s body to block attacks from the other frogs. The other red frog leapt over its colleague, but Su Li saw the attack in time and ducked beneath it. When the frog landed, Billy launched himself at it and sank his hammer into the creature¡¯s back again and again. He was just trying to keep it occupied until the first frog was finished. Soon, the notification came. Now that the first frog was dead, Billy worked on doing as much damage as he could to the frog he was on top of. He clung to the slimy skin with his right hand as he hammered into the creature¡¯s back. Again, another critical hit. He was about to strike again when the frog leapt in the air, throwing him away. As he climbed to his feet he was hit with another jet of water from the purple frog. Shit, the debuff was stacking. Billy¡¯s limbs were heavy and his guts were turning over. He stumbled; trying to move his wobbly legs. The purple frog leaped and hit him in the stomach. He had barely got to his knees before a red tongue lanced into his neck. Billy cursed. With the debuff and the poison he was only a couple of hits from dying again. They would have to finish this fast. But what was Su Li doing? As if summoned, Su Li appeared from behind the red frog. Foul, brown murky water dripped from her face. Her eyes gleamed fury as she stalked forward. Before either frog could react, she screamed and whirled both blades around her head. Faster and faster the blades rotated, the whirring sound seeming to mesmerize the frogs. This time she did not release but allowed out more chain until the blades started cutting into the red frog¡¯s flesh. The frog hopped up ¨C trying to move out of the way, but as soon as it did, she released the blades, and they sank deeply into its belly. She yanked on the chains. Purple blood and guts gushed out of the frog as the blades were pulled back into her waiting hands. The purple frog turned towards her clearly assessing her as the biggest threat at the moment. Billy used this opportunity. He stumbled forward moving as fast as he could. Every movement felt sluggish and he could only anticipate the frog turning back to him before he closed. Su Li however saw his movement and again started whirring the chains over her head. The purple frog opened his mouth but Su Li side-stepped the gushing water. She threw one of her knives at the frog but it merely glanced off the creature¡¯s hide. Billy was now within a metre of the frog. He bolstered his energy and surged forward as fast as possible. He reached under the frog, dug his free hand in the creature¡¯s soft belly and heaved upwards. Luckily, although the frog was large and bloated it was not that heavy. With one movement, Billy flipped the creature onto its back. The frog flipped its legs wildly but with Billy on top of it it could not right itself. Again and again, Billy sank his hammer into its belly until the notification came. Once the notification came Billy relaxed for a second. That creature was level 5. He realized he still had four seconds left of the poison debuff and about thirty seconds on the nausea debuff. He wanted to try something, so rose to his feet. He went through his body cleansing routine, forcing his sluggish muscles to move as smoothly as possible. Black sweat again oozed from his pores and dripped from his body. He carried on until he received another set of notifications. ¡°Are you ok?¡± Su Li asked. Billy nodded. ¡°Still alive. I managed to cleanse the poison from my body. And somehow, I received plus one to my willpower, but my unassigned stat points have not changed.¡± That bit confused him. He had assumed they could only increase stats through leveling up. What if that was just the easiest way to get stronger. After all, in their own world you could improve your strength and agility through exercise. ¡°I got an attack technique ¨C Whirling Air Blades. It says it mesmerizes my opponents for two seconds at level 1.¡± She groaned and sat down. ¡°That purple frog was nasty. When its water jet hit me, I flew off into the swamp. I got back as quickly as I could.¡± Billy could tell she had expected to find him dead. She looked at him and looked down at herself. ¡°We both stink!¡± Billy laughed. ¡°Yes, we do! But we don¡¯t suck. Ok let me meditate to get back my health. Then we can continue this hunt. We only need nine more tongues to complete the quest.¡± He quickly checked his stat screen. ¡°And I only need 298 more XP to level up.¡± ¡°I will help you finish this quest, Billy, but you will owe me.¡± She squished her feet in her shoes. ¡°And you can start by buying me some new shoes.¡± Chapter 18: The Victors Return Chapter 18 ¨C The Victors Return Billy and Su Li returned to the store feeling triumphant. The two of them had managed to collect the frog¡¯s tongues. Despite the fact they were both bruised and battered and smelled like a troll¡¯s underwear they were both smiling. The fact that they had also both reached level 2 helped. ¡°Fewk me!¡± Dilchak cried out when they entered the shop. ¡°What the fewkin¡¯ heaven is that smell? Was that you Carbun? I told you about eating those cockroaches.¡± ¡°Good afternoon, Mr. Dilchak.¡± Su Li said brightly. ¡°We have returned.¡± ¡°Well, well! Look what the goblin dragged in. You look like shite.¡± The demon let out a big bellowing laugh. ¡°Last time I saw something like that I had to flush it three times.¡± ¡°We have the tongues,¡± Billy said simply. ¡°So soon?¡± Billy emptied the horrible slimy things out of his spatial ring. ¡°Twenty tongues as agreed.¡± The demon surveyed the appendages. ¡°A bit mangled.. and what is this a purple one?¡± The demon eyes them both. ¡°That explains the smell. The tainted frogs are nasty creatures. Alright, you get a fewkin¡¯ choice then. Two silver pieces or a fighting technique.¡± They had already discussed this beforehand. While the fighting technique might be useful, they had yet to master the techniques they had. They decided that provisions were more important right now. If they could things like food it would mean less time needing to forage and that meant more time to master their techniques and power up. ¡°We¡¯ll take the silver,¡± Billy said. ¡°We are looking to buy some more supplies.¡± ¡°Wise choice.¡± The demon slapped the silver pieces on the counter. ¡°What are they for?¡± Su Li said. ¡°They look pretty gross for eating.¡± ¡°Ha! In some places these would be a delicacy. Some folks would eat anything even a scrawny little thing like yourself. But no these will be used for those who wants to work on their physical development ¨C you would call it developing a poison body. One of our alchemists will make it into a potion.¡± ¡°Poison body? Why?¡± ¡°Resistance to poison. The ability to create your own poisons just using your body. There is more than one way to power little missy. You have just started on the path to greatness.¡± He scrutinized the two of them. ¡°If you noobs want some advice ¨C sort out your foundation before you level up more. It looks like you have already done some body cleansing but this young thing is full of toxins. Body cleansing will strengthen your foundations and ease the flow of mana within your bodies. As you absorb more mana from the environment it becomes more important.¡± He paused for a moment. ¡°You are out of balance as well.¡± He pointed at Billy, ¡°You more than her. You need to understand your cultivation style as whole ¨C think of it like a puzzle¡­ a stupid fewkin¡¯ puzzle where the pieces fit together. If you try randomly putting the pieces together you will end up a fewkin¡¯ mess.¡± ¡°Can demons do cultivation?¡± Su Li asked. ¡°In a book I read it said they gain power by eating flesh or souls¡­ or something like that. Some seem to gain power by feeding off people''s emotions - like a succubus.¡± The demon''s horns started to glow. "That is propaganda! Succubi are not demons. They are distant cousins at best." He paused, seeming to regain his composure. "So, not so stupid, are you? As I said there is more than one way to power and the system here helps open up more paths. I can¡¯t tell ya much else but the system is designed to do one thing ¨C to speed up your ability to deal with mana. It interacts with its users and provides a means suitable for you ¨C something you will have some understanding of.¡± ¡°So it chose leveling and cultivation because of us?¡± Again, the demon laughed. ¡°As I said I cannot say much more about this. At least you weren¡¯t changed into vampires or such. Hate those things. All melodrama and broodiness. Thousands of years old and they still have the mentality of a fewkin'' teenager.¡± Dilchak paused again, his fat fingers drumming on the countertop. ¡°Let¡¯s just say the system chooses options for you based on you. If you had believed that eating mushrooms was the way to power then maybe that is what you would have to do. As it is you have ended up with some crazy mishmash. This cultivation thing is crazy weird even for me.¡± ¡°Hey, it is not our fault,¡± Billy said defensively. ¡°It fewkin¡¯ is what it fewkin¡¯ is. I guess we got lucky. You weren¡¯t the only race brought here. The system was not really designed for this ¨C so chaos wins. Look, the methods always lead to the same end ¨C power. Us mighty demons are able from birth to absorb mana from the environment and other things. We have our weaknesses but we don¡¯t need to eat flesh or souls to get stronger. We just need energy.¡± ¡°You said different creatures,¡± Billy said. ¡°Does that mean there are others here? Other humans?¡± The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. The smile slid off the demon¡¯s face. ¡°Humans? Can''t say. Others? Definitely can¡¯t fewkin¡¯ say. I am not fewkin¡¯ licensed as an oracle.¡± ¡°But we are not your only customers, are we?¡± Billy pressed. He could sense that the demon had let something slip. The demon grinned. ¡°You humans! Have you seen anyone else in here? Look around you!¡± ¡°If others have come here does that mean there is a way back?¡± Su Li said in a quiet voice. ¡°Human, there is now way back,¡± Dilchak growled. His hairy ears were now vibrating. ¡°There is only forward. I can tell you one fewkin¡¯ thing the only way out of here is to get stronger and move forward. Now are you here to buy or to cry?¡± Billy opened his mouth and then closed it. He realized that the demon was likely to clam up if he pushed him too far. ¡°Then what about the creatures we have been fighting? Squirrels, frogs ¨C tainted or not they are earth-type creatures.¡± Dilchak grinned. ¡°As I said the system chooses based on you. Once the tutorial ends ¨C which won¡¯t be long away ¨C you will find it is a fucked up world out there with creatures you would never dream of. And they won¡¯t be low-levelled.¡± ¡°What do you mean not long away?¡± Su Li asked. Dilchak sighed. ¡°They designed the tutorial to last for five days. Because of the mess they have extended it so I am not sure when it will end now ¨C but I can¡¯t imagine it will be for much longer.¡± ¡°And what happens then? Can we return to earth?¡± The demon laughed. ¡°When the tutorial ends the real adventure begins. No more extra lives. You die ¨C you die. And there is no level cap on the creatures. That is why you need to get to level five and get your class. That is why you need to work on your skills. That is why you need to sort out your cultivation.¡± Billy and Su Li looked at each other. He could tell that she desperately wanted answers. He was not sure what was concerning her the most. The risks once the tutorial ended or the chance to go back to earth. Even the chance of going back to earth seemed to bring some hope to her heart. He was not sure she actually wanted to return. He wasn¡¯t sure he wanted to return but the thought that it was possible would raise morale. He was sure Yuki would want to return and he would help her as much as he could. ¡°Let¡¯s get the supplies, Su Li. The others will be worrying about us.¡± They looked around and settled for buying a simple cooking pan, some plates made from a strong but light substance, some wild rice, something that smelled like onions but were a dark blue color and some mushrooms ¨C green of course. Su Li wanted to buy more but that was all they could afford for two silvers. They were just about to leave when Billy had a thought. ¡°Is there anything that we could buy to help us with our cultivation?¡± Dilchak sneered. ¡°Not with your finances. When you get more money, you can buy stuff to help with the body cleansing. Once your foundations are stronger you can even start tempering your body. But the fewkin¡¯ balance and understanding has to come from you. There is no magic way to a breakthrough.¡± ¡°Will you be needing any more frog tongues?¡± Billy asked. ¡°Not right now. Maybe some of the stronger creatures but you fewkin¡¯ noobs are not ready for that yet.¡± ¡°Will any of your other customers need anything?¡± Su Li asked. She had a sweet smile on her face and her eyes were wide. ¡°Bah! Get out of here you two. I will never get any more customers with you fewkin¡¯ stinking up the place. Finish that squirrel quest and then we will talk more.¡± They put their purchases in their spatial rings and left the shop. ¡°You know, Billy, I don¡¯t think you are boyfriend material after all.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°Yeah you really don¡¯t take good care of yourself and you still owe me dinner. I¡¯ll call you big bro¡¯ instead. I never had a brother.¡± ¡°Big bro?¡± She nodded emphatically. ¡°I know you are ancient but now you look so young it would feel strange to call you uncle or gramps.¡± ¡°Ok!¡± Billy said, too tired to argue. ¡°It¡¯s strangely quiet out here, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yeah, it is!¡± They both looked at each other and shouted, ¡°Squirrels!¡± They ran as fast as they could explosions sounding behind them. Once Billy looked back to see a myriad of red eyes gleaming back at him. *** They returned to the camp to find that Trevor and Yuki had yet to return. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Billy said. ¡°They will be back soon.¡± He definitely hoped so. He could see from the party interface that they were still in good health. ¡°Well, I am going to wash off this stink,¡± Su Li said. ¡°No peeking big bro. You are family now and need to protect my modesty.¡± She picked up one of the clean robes and started to undress. Billy flushed and turned his back. He too needed to wash so he checked his stained robe was in his spatial ring and moved further downstream. He undressed and quickly stepped into the cold fast fast-flowing water. The coldness of his water soon sank into his bones but he scrubbed himself as best he could. They would need to buy some soap when they had the money. He also took his new clothes and cleaned them the best he could. Fortunately, the material seemed easy to clean and stains were soon gone. There were a few tears, however, that he could do little about. Maybe Yuki would be able to repair it. He also cleaned the blood and gore off his weapon. Once his clothing was washed, he closed his eyes and sank into the water. It felt good to let the sun play on his face, and he could faintly feel the mana flow around him. At one point, he thought he saw different colors in the mana. ¡°Hey, Billy!¡± Billy stood up at the sound of Su Li¡¯s voice. ¡°Wow, your butt is so white!¡± Billy turned around hastily, nearly falling into the water. Su Li sat on a rock, idly chewing some dried meat. ¡°The others are back,¡± she said with a large grin. Billy quickly removed his robe from his ring and dressed. ¡°You know big bro, you shouldn¡¯t be flashing me now. It¡¯s kind of creepy for a brother to flash his sister¡ªgives a girl the wrong idea, you know?" She winked playfully, then spun around and skipped off, her giggles trailing behind her. Billy returned to the camp to find Trevor stoking the fire and adding more wood. Yuki was sitting on a log looking thoughtfully at a bolt of material. ¡°Hey guys!¡± Billy said. ¡°Happy hunting?¡± He went over to a branch near the fire and hung his wet clothes up. ¡°Not bad!¡± Trevor replied. ¡°We found lots of useful herbs and something called heavenly five-metal garlic. Su Li tells me you completed the quest and nobody died.¡± ¡°Nearly. But Su Li saved me.¡± ¡°We saved each other,¡± Su Li said. ¡°And we are both level two.¡± ¡°Well, our journey was quieter,¡± Yuki said. ¡°I killed a couple of wild rabbits but that was the worst danger.¡± ¡°Got my identify plants skill to level four,¡± Trevor said. ¡°Gives me more information now. Right, you guys go meditate or something and let me cook.¡± ¡°Before you do that we need to talk,¡± Billy said. After talking to Dilchak, he knew they could not continue the way they were. It took some persuading but the others soon realized he was right. They needed to focus on leveling up and understanding how cultivation worked. They need to learn how to assign those extra stat points and make the most of their abilities. To that extent, they would train for an hour after lunch. Rest for an hour and then go hunting. Billy wanted them all to get another level today and then be ready to tackle the squirrel quest tomorrow. Chapter 19: Karma Chameleon Chapter 19: Karma Chameleon While Trevor cooked, Billy looked through his cultivation manual. He could understand what Dilchak was saying. The techniques were part of the whole but what he had missed before was the mana control, meditation and body cleansing exercises that he needed to master first. It would be impossible to understand the whole without understanding each part. However, sometimes true understanding could only be gained through practice. Instinctively the body cleansing movement technique and the meditation method seemed more familiar to him. The mana control exercises were very different to what he had tried before. And all of these flowed together when developing the techniques. Something about the defiance technique reminded him of the way he had fought earlier. It would be more precise to say that they made him realize how badly he had fought earlier. These techniques showed where he needed to be ¨C each movement needed to be linked to the flow of mana within his body. Defiance provided a temporary boost to his resistances. This would be achieved by moving mana through the right channels of his body. But there was more to the cultivation method than just the techniques. He realized that if he used it correctly it would provide a power-up to his attacks and skills ¨C even when he was not using a particular technique. But to do that he would have to be in tune with himself. He started his breathing exercises and centered himself. As he meditated, he reviewed each memory of his attacks, not just his movements but his thoughts and emotions. He could feel his understanding deepen. As his understanding grew, he made a conscious effort to reach out to the mana around him ¨C not just trying to sense it but to also feel for the mana elements that defined his cultivation style. He sensed currents of air mana but fire mana eluded him. It must be quite thin in this area. Here earth and water would be stronger. He stood up and told Trevor he would be gone for a while. He crossed the river and headed towards the rat fiend cave. The cave was in a wide clearing and he felt it would be easier there to sense both air and fire mana. He knelt on the ground with the sun shining on his face. Once he was centered, he soon felt the flows of mana. Here, as he had thought air, earth and light were more prominent but there was also the distinctive feel of fire mana. To his surprise void mana was everywhere ¨C it was thin and wispy and pervaded the whole area. Unlike air and fire, it felt alien and somehow hungry. Billy was not sure how he was able to differentiate the mana types but it just felt right. Maybe the system was helping him. Gradually was able to isolate small streams of air and fire but he could not isolate the void mana. It resisted his control. He was not sure what to do next so he let go and opened his eyes. He remembered from teaching students that sometimes you had to take a different route if what you were doing did not work. To his surprise, he was awarded with notifications. . . . He was clearly heading in the right direction. The manual described the process he was trying to achieve as braiding mana. He needed to link together the three different types of mana and then somehow imbue his body with it. Instead of going back to the meditation he removed his clothes and worked through the body cleansing exercises in the manual. According to the instructions he would need to work through the exercises daily until his body achieved the state called earth purity. This was the basic level of purity needed for efficient mana flow through his meridians. Even one cycle of the exercises fatigued him. Even before the end of the cycle his legs grew shaky and it was all he could do to complete the cycle. His stamina was barely above zero. . Black beads of sweat had formed on his skin. There was no percentage bar to show him how far he had come. He would just need to repeat the exercises every day until his body reached the desired stage. He staggered over to the river to cleanse his body before donning his robe and returning to the others. *** After they had eaten Billy demonstrated his body cleansing technique to the others again. They talked about their different cultivation manuals and foundation. Billy thought that one of the reasons his body cleansing was easier was that he basically had a new body with less impurities. The others had to clean out so many more years of impurity. It was also likely that the more mana they took in the more impurities would build up. From what he could discern these impurities not only created a weaker body foundation but also hindered the processing of mana within their bodies. Billy thought back to what he had done earlier. Clearly it was more effective to only take in the right mana for their cultivation. Although at their level of experience that would be difficult to do. They others focused on their cultivation for a while Billy tended to other things around the camp site. There were many chores that needed to be done including collecting fire wood and disposing of the food waste so that they did not attract predators. Su Li and Yuki were the quickest to reach a breakthrough with their cultivation. Before long they both had managed a successful body cleanse as well as assigning two of their stat points. Trevor was only able to achieve a partial body cleanse but at least he had managed to assign one of his stat points. Billy theorized that as Trevor was older it would take more time for him to cleanse the impurities. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. The girls went to clean away the toxins from their bodies leaving Billy alone with Trevor. He realized that they had not spend much time talking and he knew little about him. ¡°Hey don¡¯t get frustrated, Trevor,¡± Billy said. ¡°It¡¯ll come.¡± Trevor shook his head. ¡°I am always slow. That is why I failed at medical school. I worked so hard to get there but couldn¡¯t keep up with the workload in the second year.¡± ¡°Lorna failed too. Medical school is difficult. It is an achievement to even get in.¡± Trevor laughed. ¡°Lorna failed on purpose. She never wanted to be a doctor but her family kept pushing. So, she failed out. Her parents haven¡¯t spoken to her since.¡± ¡°We all have our strengths,¡± Billy said. ¡°Perhaps this is a new opportunity ¨C a way for you to become who you want to be.¡± ¡°I am not much of a fighter, Billy. I am so terrified most of the time. I am pretty useless.¡± Billy grinned. ¡°No one here is useless. I think you will find you have more worth than you know. The first few times Lorna saved my ass.¡± He paused for a few moments and added some wood to the fire. ¡°Do you think she will return?¡± ¡°She¡¯ll be back. She gets like this. She could have been a doctor or an athlete or whatever she wanted but when people started to expect things from her, she got scared and ran. This time I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll be able to run away so easily.¡± ¡°Well, at least she is easier to understand than Su Li.¡± This time it was Trevor¡¯s turn to grin. ¡°Su Li is not that difficult for a teenager. She is just learning about herself. Plus, you are like her hero, uncle and teacher all rolled into one.¡± ¡°She is definitely handling it better than I would expect. I just wish she would stop teasing me.¡± ¡°Think about it, Billy. She must be pretty confused. She is walking for the first time. She is in this alien world. I think the teasing is just her way of handling it ¨C letting off steam. You have your psycho-suicidal rage and she has her teasing.¡± ¡°And what do you have?¡± ¡°I have my cooking. And if I can get some equipment from Dilchak I might be able to make some potions. Now my skill is at level 4, when I analyse some of these plants I now get information like ¡®is usable for healing¡¯ or ¡®can be used to strengthen mana¡¯. I think with some experimenting I could make them into potions.¡± ¡°That would be cool.¡± ¡°Yep! Now get me some more wood. I need to stoke the fire before we head out. And don¡¯t go peeking at the girls. Pervert!¡± Billy stood. He was glad to see Trevor showing some sense of humor. ¡°Don¡¯t forget you are up front today. We need to level you and Suki up so you are tanking for her.¡± Trevor groaned. ¡°Don¡¯t remind me.¡± *** Billy actually felt relaxed as they moved through the outskirts of the swamp. They had decided to test themselves against the snizards and chameleons. With the focus on Trevor and Yuki Billy was the rear-guard with Su Li ready to lend a helping hand to one side. He did not know how effective Yuki¡¯s staff would be against the more heavily armoured creatures but he felt they would be safe enough. Yuki was quick enough to dodge blows and Trevor had his shield. The biggest danger was getting caught unawares but extra mobs. The first creature they came across ¨C a level 2 chameleon ¨C was more of a test of endurance. It became a slugfest with Trevor bashing at its snout with his mace and Yuki striking at its legs. Fortunately, their stamina proved sufficient to finish off the creature. As Billy had anticipated there were only minor injuries to Trevor¡¯s legs and the group were soon ready to continue their hunt. A level 2 creature like this only provided 10XP a piece for Trevor and Yuki. If they wanted to level quicker, they needed to find the higher-level creatures ¨C which meant increasing the risk factor. They pushed deeper into the territory of the lizards, the numbers and level of creatures growing the further they moved into the deep grasses. Billy started to feel uneasy. Even with the sun high in the sky, the grass was getting more lush and it was growing more difficult to spot the camouflaged creatures. He knew there was a risk of being overwhelmed by numbers if they were not careful. They spotted two large beasts with fiery red crests ahead. Billy analysed them. [Corrupted fire chameleon level 4] Both were level 4 and were tall enough at the shoulder to reach his chest. The group looked at Billy who nodded. It would be a tough battle for them but he felt they were strong enough now. This time he signaled to Trevor and stepped alongside him. He motioned to him to go to the left one and hold it at bay while the other three took care of the one on the right. Billy started running towards his target signaling to the girls to take the flanks. The creature noticed him just as he was closing in and reacted slowly to his attack. His first strike was with the flat of the hammer - he knew from experience that their skin was hard to pierce so he struck at its head hoping to stun its brains. The strike vibrated up his arm but seemed to have little effect on the creature. Damn, he thought it was tough bugger. Before the creature could do more than snort Yuki and Su Li launched their attacks. Yuki¡¯s staff struck at the knee of its foreleg causing it do hiss in pain. Su Li¡¯s attack was even more effective as her thrown dagger sank into the chameleon¡¯s eye. Half-blinded and still surprised by the attack the chameleon lunged at Billy which he easily side-stepped. He back-stepped slowly pulling it away from the other chameleon which was now frenzily batting at Trevor¡¯s shield. Every time the creature swung at Trevor he hit it with the mace. Not trying to do much damage but merely holding its attention. Now that their targeted chameleon was disadvantaged, Yuki really went to town. Her blows hit harder and faster until with a loud snap the creature¡¯s leg gave way. Billy left the creature to the two girls to finish off and went to help Trevor who was starting to struggle. Obviously, it took a lot of stamina to hold off the powerful creatures and Trevor was stumbling away from every attack. Billy took a page from Su Li¡¯s book and swung with the bear of his war-hammer at the creature¡¯s eye. The creature moved its head in time so that the blow only struck the orbital ridge. Still, it was a more significant blow and blood oozed from the gash temporarily hindering the creature¡¯s eyesight. He definitely had the chameleon¡¯s attention. Billy danced away from another lunging attack. He may not have a lot of agility but the creature was slow and predictable. Or so he thought. A fire ball flew from the creature¡¯s mouth and would have hit him in the chest if Trevor had not put his shield in the way. ¡°Gotta watch for those!¡± Billy grunted. He had become complacent again. He danced to the side of the beast making sure he was not in direct line of fire and rained blows on the chameleon¡¯s skull. The creature turned as it tried to follow its movements but its size was a hindrance in such a battle. Billy knew he could finish the battle quickly but he wanted Suki or Trevor to land the final blow to maximize their XP contribution. Soon enough the girls joined him and eventually it was Trevor who landed the killing blow - now he had regained some stamina. His mace split open the chameleon¡¯s head putting an end to the battle. Billy had taken only 20XP from the battle but he knew that Suki and Trevor would get twice as much pushing them closer to the next level. They all sank to the floor. Amazingly none of them were injured but they were all low on stamina. Trevor in particular was gasping for breath. A quiet rustling close by made Billy lift his head. ¡°Shit!¡± he said as he saw a wave in the long grass headed towards them. Chapter 20: Skanky Skinks Chapter 20: Skanky Skinks The whole group forced themselves to their feet. The wave was nearly upon them and Billy could now see that is was a pack of snizards. Despite these creatures'' metre-long, greenish-brown bodies, they barely reached knee level. The tall grass provided them with an ideal camouflage. He used [analyse creature] on one of the incoming creatures. [Rabid skink level 3. Strength: speed. Mildly poisonous. Favorite food - spicy squirrel] Billy paused for a moment. his [analyse creature] skill at level 4 gave much more information. And these creatures had a name - skinks. ¡°Shoulder to shoulder!¡± he yelled. There were too many to fight the way they normally did and the skinks were way too fast to outrun. They had discussed such a situation and decided that the best solution would be to form a line of three with Trevor in the middle and Billy and Yuki on the outside. Su Li would stand behind them and attack when she saw opportunities. Billy had faith that Yuki was fast enough to dodge attacks but he was worried about Su Li. With her stats. If they were outflanked, she would be at great risk. The tide of skinks hit their defensive line with a fury. Legs flailed in a frenzied dance as they desperately attempted to avoid the snapping jaws. Billy and Trevor fought bravely but their attacks were largely ineffective against the ground-hugging skinks. Fortunately, the only attack the skinks seemed to have was their bite. Billy resorted to the well-tested strategy of stamping on them. Although the skinks were venomous, they lacked the chameleons'' resilience and were easily crushed. After a series of heavy stomps and forceful hammer blows Billy started to kill off his attackers. Billy ignored the notifications as he struggled to maintain his focus. There seemed to be gaping maws everywhere and the sinuous bodies merged into one mass of writhing flesh. Fortunately, Trevor and Yuki seemed to be faring better. Trevor had adapted to the attacks and was crouched low, using his shield to block incoming attacks. Yuki was efficiently using the reach of her staff to strike the skinks with a force that left them dazed. Su Li was quietly darting in and out of their legs as she stabbed at the vulnerable parts of the skinks. With limited space and reach she was not very effective but every little helped. The biggest danger was their stamina which has already been low after the previous fight with the chameleons. Billy could sense that Trevor was reserving his energy better this time - merely holding the skinks away while Yuki did the damage. Billy, however, was running on fumes. The frantic need to dodge and kick was draining his stamina quickly and he could not see an end to the tide of creatures. He had also been bitten twice already and he could feel the toxin slowing down his body. His mind, however, remained lucid. His thoughts flashed back to when he had perused his cultivation techniques. Those techniques would help right now. Suddenly, another skink exploited his moment of inattention to sink its teeth into his ankle. Anger flashed through him - he would not be beaten so easily. He could feel the mana flowing around him - just like when he was meditating. Desperately needing something - anything - to help he reached out to it and pulled it towards him. He could sense that air, fire and void mana were plentiful here. He grasped at strands of each and drew them into his body. His veins seemed to blaze and agony surged along his nerves but he did not quit. He drew more and more mana in and pushed mentally for it to circulate just like the instructions in his cultivation manual. His teeth bared. He screamed aloud and again pushed mentally. Like molten lava the mana started to flow towards his meridians. But he knew it was not enough. He needed to mesh the three types of mana together. The pain intensified as the air and fire elements intertwined, yet his grasp on the void mana continued to weaken. In a moment of despair, he abandoned the attempt to blend the void mana with the other two, opting instead to spiral the void mana. He then drew the air and fire strands through the heart of this spiral and applied pressure. Despite the void mana''s resistance, Billy persevered, squeezing with all his might until a sheath of void enveloped the air and fire braid. As a result, the torment in his body subsided, and the mana began to circulate more smoothly. Stolen story; please report. He could feel a surge of energy and the effects of the poison dissipated. He felt a boost to his stamina and he screamed again. He knew he could not hold onto this for long so he forced himself forward. He picked up a skink by the tail and started to thrash at the other skinks with it. He cursed when the tail came off in his hands - the skink¡¯s body dropping to the ground. He let go of the still-writhing tail and picked up another skink - this time by the head. He crouched and swung it in a semicircle, clearing away a space in front of him. Yuki caught on quickly and started to do the same with her staff. Each collision threw the creatures into each other¡¯s way and soon they were doing more damage to each other. Su Li used the space to step out to one side. She started to swing one of her blades on its chain. Billy knew this attack - whirling air blades. It proved to be even more effective against the soft-bodied skinks. Her knife scythed through the creatures. Parts of bodies flew everywhere. It was soon over and Su Li fell to the ground exhausted. Billy too fell to the ground; finally letting go of the mana threads. In his final instant, before slipping into oblivion, he read the last notification. Dang! *** Billy awoke with a scream. He now understood Lorna¡¯s description of dying. He felt mangled - his body was fine but he felt emotionally drained and mentally screwed up. It took all of his willpower to just sit up. Mostly he just wanted to lie there and sleep for days. Holding his throbbing head in his hands he reviewed the notifications. He had received 155 XP from the fight with the skinks. Unfortunately, he had lost 100XP from dying, otherwise he would be verging on level 3. Still, he was getting closer. The problem was he had low constitution and could not take the hits. Other notifications were also interesting. His use of mana, which had ultimately killed him, had resulted in an increase to his skills and techniques. [mana control: 3] [mana sense: 3] Defiance level 2: ignore debilitating effects for 20 seconds. Resurgence level 2: regain 30% stamina and 15% health. He had also received two new skills. [Hammer blow level 1: +20% to hit when using a hammer] [Skink sweep level 1: clear away attackers using the body of a skink] He had done something right when trying to access his techniques and something very wrong. Clearly, the way he had forced the mana through his channels caused a heavy backlash. When he accessed his status menu he found even worse news. [Mana channels damaged: status - mana channels too damaged to maintain mana flow] His mana was essentially at zero now. Looking at the status report he hoped it would only be a temporary issue. He looked around the room and found that the stock of robes had been replenished. He quickly donned one. Despite his aching body and mind he wanted to return to the others as soon as possible. ¡°Hey, Billy!¡± Bill turned around quickly, his hands reaching for a weapon that was no longer there. Su Li stood in the doorway. Her head drooped a little and her normal grin had disappeared. ¡°Su Li, how did you get in?¡± ¡°Err, the robe Billy?¡± Billy flushed. She too was not wearing one of the white robes. He could also now see the tears in her eyes. He walked over and gave her a big hug. He was not naturally a tactile person but he knew what she needed. Su Li started a strange mixture of sobbing and howling. It was like the sorrow was being wrenched from her in waves. Her body shook against him for what felt like hours as all Billy could do was to hold her and stroke her hair. Eventually she started to calm down and he stepped away. There were still tears in her eyes but the anguish seemed to have faded. ¡°Are you ok?¡± he asked in a quiet voice. She nodded. ¡°Was it a total wipe?¡± Are the others here?¡± ¡°No, I think they are ok. The party interface says they are a little injured but still alive.¡± Billy cursed himself. He had been too wrapped up in his own status to think of accessing the party menu. Some leader he was. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°I got hit by a couple of fireballs. Some stupid chameleon attacked us as we were resting.¡± ¡°They are hardly stealthy,¡± Billy said. She looked up at him and he regretted his words. ¡°Sorry, I know you were exhausted.¡± The grin appeared back on her face. ¡°No, you are right. We were still shocked by your death and were not paying attention.¡± She sat on the edge of the bed. ¡°I did not understand what Lorna meant about dying. I guess I felt it would be like a game and¡­ poof!... Su Li¡¯s back again!¡± ¡°Yeah, it hurts. Big time. The first time I did not feel anything - probably because the initiation stage had not happened. One thing is certain, I do not want to die again.¡± She nodded. Billy smiled as he looked over their party status. ¡°Well, on the bright side, we are now all level 2. And you and I are close to level 3.¡± ¡°There doesn¡¯t seem much point unless we can add those status points.¡± It was not like Su Li to be negative. He could tell she was still feeling the emotional pain of dying. ¡°Agreed. We need to work on that. Come on let¡¯s find the other two. I will feel better with my weapon in my hands as well as with proper clothing.¡± As if the system was listening to him a notification appeared. Billy and Su Li looked at each other. Dilchak¡¯s warning had come true. Another notification appeared. Chapter 21: The Name is Bond! Chapter 21: The Name is Bond! Billy woke the next morning just before dawn and went outside to do some early morning exercises. After returning with the others to camp they had talked for most of the evening. Most of the discussion had been centred on allocating the stats points. Given their current situation they came to the conclusion that physical stats were more important. Once the lost the chance to respawn they need tr obe physically stronger and resilient. He waved at Yuki who was on watch duty and went to an isolated area of the camp. He moved slowly through his exercises. He ignored the mana around him and just concentrated on his physical movements. He had a feeling that intent was a crucial part to allocating stat points. He stopped during a transition. Something had changed. He could not work out what had made him wake up. Something felt different. Billy jumped around but there was no one near him. ¡°What the hell?¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Billy then remembered the system notification from yesterday. At the time he had been too busy feeling sorry for himself after his death to pay it much attention. ¡°How can you aid me?¡± he asked. ¡°Can you assign stat points for me?¡± ¡°So how can you help me?¡± ¡°Can you teach me any spells?¡± ¡°How does using spells differ from using techniques?¡± ¡°What about psychic powers?¡± Billy nodded. ¡°Ok, so psychic powers are off the table for now. And for spells that will have to wait until I can buy some from the shop. So for offense I will need to rely on physical attacks.¡± ¡°Which means I need to get stronger and more resilient.¡± This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°How do I do that?¡± ¡°And where would I find one of these natural treasures?¡± ¡°So not much chance of me finding one and if I did find one almost guarantee that I would be killed?¡± ¡°So do you have any solutions more practical?¡± ¡°Ok, so I can do this and heal my meridians. That¡¯s not so bad.¡± Billy blinked¡­ and then blinked again. Just when he thought things could not get worse life just crapped in his face once more. ¡°Ten years¡­ and until then I cannot cultivate and I cannot assign stat points?¡± Billy breathed out¡­ well that was one thing then. He forced himself to focus on the positives of this conversation. ¡°Ok, assistant. First things first¡­ you need a name? Do you have a name?¡± Billy grinned. ¡°Then I shall call you Bond, Mia Bond.¡± ¡°No, you may not. Now Mia, how do I assign stat points? I have four available. I want to assign two to constitution, one to strength and one to agility.¡± What proceeded from there was a full on work out session involving a strenuous routine of stretches and exercises. Mia made Billy work until his stamina was almost zero and then let him rest for a while, meditating. After a whole morning of this he finally received the desired results. Mia did tell him that this was relatively quick to do because his physical stats were quite low. Each subsequent increase became much more difficult to do. Billy felt physically stronger, and for now, that was good enough for him. He practiced a few swings with his hammer, and it felt more comfortable. Looking at this stat sheet, he was satisfied with his progress¡ªespecially as he was close to levelling up again. He finally remembered the others and looked around. He could see from their undirected gaze that they too were deep in communication with their SAPIAs. Su Li was doing a series of strength-building exercises. Trevor was doing what looked like yoga. Yuki was working through forms with her staff. Billy did not want to interrupt them. He knew that this was what they needed to get stronger. Instead, he waited for his stamina to return fully and then went through some practice exercises with his war hammer. With Mia¡¯s aid, he was able to work on his stances as well as develop some finesse with his swings. Mia said that later they would be able to work through strategies for him to use while fighting. His practice exercises earned him the skill [hammer mastery]. He went over to talk to the others who were all now resting. ¡°Hey, Billy!¡± Su Li said. ¡°I called my AI assistant Jasper after the ghost, how about you?¡± Billy flushed. ¡°Hmm¡­ Mia Bond. Mia for my AI, and Bond because its designation is XY007.¡± Su Li laughed. ¡°How about you Yuki?¡± ¡°I was thinking of Zenzen but I decided on Yoda after that little annoying guy in those ancient movies.¡± Yuki giggled. ¡°Me advice you me will! No little of the mana you do.¡± Everyone laughed at that. ¡°What about you Trevor?¡± Bill asked. Trevor smiled. ¡°I just called mine, Bob! But I am sure he can fix the mess we are in.¡± They chatted for a while while Trevor prepared some food. Billy found out that they had all now acquired the skill [mana sense] and had also assigned some of their stat points. Like Billy, they had all concentrated on their physical attributes. Billy could not stop smiling for a while. In just one morning, they had all grown significantly stronger, and the mood of the whole group was lighter. *** After lunch, they were unanimous that it was time to tackle the squirrel quest. Trevor was somewhat reluctant but the notification about the ending of the tutorial and activation of the SAPIAs had made it easy to convince him that time was running out to grow stronger. From their discussions with their SAPIAs, it was clear that getting to level 5 was an important landmark that needed to be achieved before the tutorial. Mia had also told Billy that getting a skill or technique to level five was also an important breakthrough that would offer significant rewards. The best thing about Mia, in Billy¡¯s opinion, was that it would give him warnings when his health or stamina started to get low. He hoped that these warnings would help him to avoid dying in the future. Respawn or no respawn that would not happen again. With a nod to the group, he stood up and started to prepare himself. The rest stood and in silence they readied their weapons. It was time to test their new resolve and stats. Chapter 22: Scourge of the Squirrels Chapter 22 ¨C Scourge of the Squirrels ¡°I don¡¯t know why we are doing this,¡± Trevor said. ¡°We could just stay here. Safe. No reason to go after the squirrels.¡± ¡°Stay here?¡± Billy asked. ¡°Yeah! We seem to be safe here. We have killed the rat fiends, and it looks like the other creatures here are at a low enough level for us to deal with.¡± ¡°We could stay in our camp,¡± Yuki said. ¡°Just because the tutorial is ending doesn¡¯t mean we will be attacked. We could build some walls. We have the list of ingredients from Dilchak, which we could trade for supplies. Eventually, this nightmare has to come to an end.¡± ¡°Something worse always comes along,¡± Su Li said. ¡°Look at you two, ready to stop because of some squirrels. What will you do when some level 20 creature comes barreling through our campsite?¡± Billy almost laughed at how cute she looked with her hands on her hips glaring at the two of them. He knew she was right. There was worse to come, and there were other things to consider. ¡°Don¡¯t you two want to go home?¡± he asked in a quiet voice. ¡°Back to earth?¡± ¡°Well ¡­. Er¡­ ¡° Trevor looked confused. ¡°I am not sure.¡± ¡°Is there a way home?¡± Yuki asked. ¡°Well, we know three things,¡± Billy said. ¡°We know that we were brought here somehow which means there is a way of getting from here to our own planet. We know that Dilchak has dealings with beings in other places. And we know that we were not the only ones brought here.¡± ¡°Do you think there are others from Earth here?¡± Yuki asked. ¡°It is possible,¡± Su Li said. ¡°But maybe not like us. Not everyone we meet is going to be friendly no matter where they are from.¡± ¡°Another reason to get stronger.¡± Billy looked at the two of them. ¡°Even if they are humans, for some, the power will get too much. Look at us. With our stat points, we are stronger and faster.¡± ¡°There are always people who take advantage,¡± Trevor said. ¡°You are right! I don¡¯t like fighting, but I don¡¯t want to be powerless when we meet them.¡± Billy could see that Trevor had understood his message. There were bullies everywhere. ¡°But why do we have to fight with these people?¡± Yuki asked. ¡°We could help each other.¡± Billy knew that Trevor and Yuki were suffering from nerves. Their last outing had led to both himself and Su Li respawning. Even if they were stronger now this would still be a risky battle. ¡°We can¡¯t rely on others to help out,¡± Billy said. ¡°We need to be ready for the worst. Plus, I somehow feel that this place is designed to test us. It will not allow us just to sit back and do nothing.¡± Trevor stood and nodded at Billy. ¡°Ok, let¡¯s do this.¡± Yuki also nodded reluctantly. Su Li, however, had an excited grin on her face. *** Billy was in stealth mode. He moved as quietly as possible through the trees, keeping sight of Trevor as he watched his flank. He knew that Su Li was moving on the other side of Trevor, but he could not see her. The girl was a natural stalker. Yuki was easier to see as she guarded the rear. The plan was simple. They were using Trevor to draw out the squirrels. Billy and Yuki would protect Trevor¡¯s flank and keep the focus on them while Su Li moved into position. They were hoping to find a clearing with enough space for Su Li to use her whirling blade attack Not a great plan, as it relied on too many unknowns, but better than Yuki¡¯s idea, which was to burn down the forest. With his extra stats and improved combat experience, Billy felt more confident. He stopped moving as he sensed something ahead of him. His eyes slowly moved upwards, and he saw a level 3 squirrel intensely watching Trevor from high in the trees. The squirrel was out of reach, so Billy just kept monitoring it and stayed hidden as best he could. The squirrel chirped loudly and was soon joined by two others. These two were both level 4. No level 5¡¯s yet. Billy was sure that there were at least one or two more. He figured that these were the only squirrels capable of producing the nut bombs. Hopefully, they would be able to reduce the squirrel numbers before tackling the higher-level squirrels. They reached a small clearing. Trevor stopped moving and raised his shield and mace. Billy saw a flickering from where Su Li was supposed to be. It looks like she had made her move already. The girl was supposed to wait until they had drawn the squirrels in. Trevor must have also seen her, because he banged his mace against his shield and yelled. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. More branches moved in the trees around them. Billy tried to estimate just how many squirrels there were now. Too many was the only answer he could come up with. He had been hoping for a small battle to gain confidence, but it looked like between Su Li and Trevor they had drawn in more squirrels than he felt comfortable dealing with. The trees around them rustled as more branches shook. Billy glanced around, attempting to count the growing number of squirrels. Too many¡ªthat was the only conclusion he could reach. He had wanted a manageable fight to boost their confidence, but between Su Li and Trevor, they had attracted more squirrels than he was ready to face. A nut flew from the trees ¨C flying straight at Trevor. Trevor tried to deflect it with his shield, but as soon as there was contact, the bomb exploded, knocking Trevor back a meter. Luckily, he managed to stay on his feet because chaos ensued as the squirrels attacked. Squirrels launched themselves from the trees towards Trevor. One passed by Billy¡¯s hiding place, and he tried to grasp it but was too slow. He had known that he would be at a disadvantage in this battle, given the speed of the squirrels. Even with his increased stats, he was still not fast enough to keep up. That¡¯s why he had planned on stealth. Well, that plan was out of the window. He would have to try and pick off any he could get his hands on. It had only been a few seconds, but Trevor already had cuts on his arms and face. The tough fabric of his jeans protected his legs, but that would not last for long. The others were much more effective than him, even Trevor. The tall man had settled in a rhythm of shield and mace, using one to block and stun the squirrels and the other to hit them once they were stunned. To his credit, he was ignoring his mounting injuries and the pain that he must have been in. Yuki was helping Trevor as much as she could with her staff, moving quickly and accurately. She was not going for finishing blows but instead was using her staff to protect Trevor¡¯s back. Su Li was picking off squirrels one by one by spearing them with a thrown knife and then pulling them towards her to finish them off. Billy swung wildly, his strikes growing more desperate as the squirrels darted just out of reach. Only a few blows landed, and his stamina was fading fast. He needed to turn the tide¡ªhad to contribute something¡ªbut the fight was slipping away from him. The others, meanwhile, were holding their own with better efficiency. Even Trevor, despite his injuries, had fallen into a steady rhythm¡ªblocking with his shield, stunning with his mace, then crushing the dazed squirrels with grim precision. He must have been wracked with pain, but he fought on, jaw set. Yuki moved beside him, her staff a blur as she deflected attacks, guarding his back without hesitation. She wasn¡¯t aiming to kill, just to control the chaos, keeping the squirrels at bay. And then there was Su Li¡ªcold, methodical. She must have realised that the whirling bald attack would not work, so she resorted to other methods. A flick of her wrist sent a knife flying, impaling a squirrel mid-leap. With a sharp tug of the wire, she reeled it in and finished it off without a second thought. Billy gritted his teeth. Why was he the only one struggling? Billy calmed himself. He would run out of stamina soon, and this was not the way to fight ¨C this was not the way to win the battle. He had fallen into panic mode again. A sharp claw raked across his face, drawing a fountain of blood from his cheek. He ignored the pain and the squirrels and centered himself. He would not be able to use the mana surge like yesterday, but that did not mean he was useless. He just needed to fight better. He needed to use all of his skills. He could feel the squirrels as they moved around the clearing. Their movements seemed to use some small amounts of mana ¨C mana that he could sense and track. Relying on instinct his right hand flashed out. His fingers sank deeply into a squirrel that had been moving to attack him. With his hammer he finished it off. A growl left his lips ¨C echoing through the trees. The squirrels froze. Billy moved. He did not think ¨C he just moved. With mana guiding him, he surged towards two squirrels. He was able to anticipate their movements, and his hammer flashed out twice. He did not stop to finish them off but kept moving ¨C stalking his prey. The chattering from the squirrels stopped. Billy was no longer even aware of the system notifications. With quick economic movements, he moved and fought. He pulled himself out of his trance, panting when he realized there were no more squirrels to attack. He sank to his knees ¨C only a few stamina points left. Mia¡¯s voice sounded shrilly in his mind. That explained his utter fatigue and yay for level 3. The others gathered around. Trevor to sank to the ground with a loud groan. He was covered in blood and shaking. ¡°How many did we kill?¡± Billy asked. Yuki¡¯s eyes fluttered. ¡°About twenty, I think. Many fled once Billy started growling.¡± ¡°That was tough,¡± Trevor said. ¡°And so painful. Those little buggers!¡± Billy checked the quest menu. The quest was only 48% complete. That meant there were still over twenty more squirrels out there and they had not killed anything about a level 4. The level 5 squirrels must have fled. ¡°What happened, Su Li?¡± Trevor asked. ¡°You did not wait for the signal.¡± ¡°This,¡± she said simply. She reached into her shirt and pulled out a small furry bundle. ¡°I nearly tripped over her mother¡¯s body. The squirrels had already killed its mother. Poor thing was defenseless.¡± Billy used [analyse creature]. ¡°I hope it was worth it,¡± Trevor said. ¡°We almost wiped out there.¡± Su Li cuddled the cat. ¡°What else was I supposed to do? I couldn¡¯t let it die.¡± Billy stood. ¡°Let¡¯s discuss this away from here. Yuki, can you put the squirrel corpses in your ring? We¡¯ll decide what to do with them later.¡± They moved back out of the Squirrel Woods as it had affectionately been called. Once Billy deemed that they were safe, he suggested they eat some of their jerky and then meditate to recover health and stamina. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Su Li feeding some of the meat to the cat while stroking its golden fur. He let it go. He did not know if pets were possible in this place. That was a problem for another time. Once fully healed they set about discussing how to proceed next.