StelrLight

  Liam released me as Ginger and Pendragon walked up. “Do we o give you two a room?” While Ginger sounded like she was joking, the look that she shot me told a different story. I couldn’t tell if she issed at me or Liam. It wasn’t like I didn’t uand why she might be pissed at me. After all, she likely thought that I would chase after her brother. Yet this was the sed time that she had caught the two of us cozying up.

  Not that we were, or at least I didn’t think so. I sure as hell didn't see the asshole in that way. Of course, I didn’t see anyone like that. At least not while I was still in this body. Maybe I would resider after a heart-to-heart with a god or two. Preferably after they gave me what I wanted.

  “Now what?” I looked at Pendragon as I asked the question. I wasn’t willing to look at either of the other two. At least nht now.

  “There is a Hermetic Marmot nearby. Hunt it and kill it.” Liam answered for Pendragon who rolled his eyes.

  “Any advice? Information?”

  The only response I got, other than shaking heads, was “Watch the glow.” So helpful. I didn’t even know what glow he was talking about. Did its eyes glow? What about the air?

  I growled out my annoyance as I mentally cast my mana out for the third time ihan an hour. It broke within moments. The bastard didn’t even have to tell me why, I already knew. “ you at least point me in the right dire?” No one answered me which likely meant no. Great.

  Chisa Katana in hand, I kept my ears peeled as I stumbled my the slope. Sure, I could have started by going down the hill first but then I would have had to climb up twice the damn thing if the creature wasn’t down there.

  A sudden, soft skittering of rocks to my left caught my attention. The sound caused me to stop and look around. None of the three of them had moved to follow me so there was no way they caused the noise. While it could be the creature I was looking for, it could just as easily be a rock shifting or settling. Other than going over there and taking a look, there was only oher way to know.

  So I stayed still as I waited for something to happen. It was deadly silent save for the natural breeze that ever so helpfully blew toward the spot. The plete ck of noise and no way to smell what was over there was drivis. I nearly gave up and moved on when ater of pebbles filled the air.

  I raced toward the noise. As I came around a boulder, I found a tiny hole with dirt flig out. The dirt made a quiet hiss against the stohat was covered by the wind. Bde in hand, I didn’t hesitate to stab into the hole.

  Something squealed in surprised pain as my bde struething. It felt hard and firm. As the object was at the far end of my reach, I pulled my bde back to find a tiny drop of blood oip.

  Whatever I had hit came flying out of the hole. It moved so fast that its momentum caused it to fly a good way down the slope befravity brought it to the ground. It moved fast, faster than any creature I had e across. Still, I mao keep an eye on the blurry mass.

  As it skidded to a halt, I found myself looking at a groundhog-looking creature. I had no clue what the difference was, and holy, I couldn’t care less given the way the thing was looking at me. Its beady eyes looked like they wao murder me.

  Too bad it was below me. It would have to make its the hill if it wao get to me. Especially since I wasn’t going to give up the high ground, not when I didn’t know what the creature was capable of. So we stood there, staring each other down as we waited for the other to act.

  Without warning, the creature let out a shrilling cry. I saw the mana around it ripple moments before something lit up on its paws. Whatever they were, they looked like runes. Ones I didn’t know.

  On pure instinct, I mao twist out of the way just in time for the creature to pass through where my chest had just been. The thing was fug terrifyingly fast. I spun as the thing hit the ground just in time to see another symbol form on its fur.

  This time the symbol was on its bad it was one I reized. When its mouth opened, a torrent of fmes spewed out. It spshed over the ground around me as I used my mana to deflect the stream.

  Seeing this, the creature let out another scream as yet another symbol lit up. This one was on its forehead and it was lio the fire rune. Fire engulfed the creature only to disappear, taking the creature with it.

  For a mere moment, I thought the creature had just itted suicide. That thought didn’t st. Especially when the damn thing appeared above me with a pop of dispced air. I didn’t have enough time to move before the fming ball-o-death nded on my head.

  While the fire that licked at my skin tickled, it didn’t seem to do all that much. Of course, the fuckers razor sharp cws ah were a different story. Those things dug into my flesh as they sought to get to my yummy insides. As sudden as the attack came, Pendragon plucked the guy off my head.

  The creature scrambled as it tried to reach his hand. Even its fire did nothing to his hand. He made it look easy to deal with. “What did Liam say about watg for the glow?” He asked.

  Blood flowed down my face. Some of it tinued down, following my skin until it reached my nee. The rest dripped off my to nd on the ground. “Cause that is so descriptive.” I mao mumble as I forced as much mana into my healing spell as I could. My skin itched and crawled as the flesh knit itself back together. While it felt odd, it was reassuring to know I could heal myself.

  “You think that every creature yoing to face will e with a manual on how to face it?” Pendragon spat back. “Even if they did, it would be region-specifid I wouldn’t trust any information I didn’t gather or firm for myself. her should you.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “And why should I not trust information someoells me about a creature?”

  “Because it might be inplete, misinformation, or ft-out wrong,” Liam spoke as if he had experienced such false information. “While most will do so on act or without meaning, there are those that will do it for a variety of reasons. The biggest of which is greed.”

  I khey were right, but that didn’t mean I would dismiss what others told me. Instead uing the point, I returhe topic of versation back to the creature filing in mid-air as it tried to get away. “So what do I o know about this creature?”

  Pendragon and Liam both refused to answer. Pendragon simply shook his head while the uy took a few steps back. Ginger, she looked rexed as she sat on a boulder and looked to be brushing out her tail. The damned evil beast tossed the creature in my dire as he jumped back.

  As it spun through the air, I found that it looked almost gleeful. The thing k had been caught and that there was no way it could take on the big guy and survive. So it probably thought the guy was being almost kind as he released it. The only thing that stood between it and freedom was a weak creature that it had nearly beaten once. How hard would it be to take it down a sed time?

  So I might have been personifying the creature. Sue me. I didn’t hold back as I poured mana into my muscles. While the mana started to flow, I almost worried that one of them would bst the skill away before I could use it.

  Sure as shit, it failed moments before activating. Still, the mana that flooded into my muscles didn’t just sit idly before it dispersed. My muscles got a brief surge of power. Enough for my hands to accelerate my bde as it sshed up toward the creature.

  Sparks erupted as the edge ected with the creature's fur. They were magnesium bright and blinded me long enough that I didn’t notice my bde simply pushed the creature away rather than cut into its flesh. My only hint of an issue was the pitter-patter of feet as the creature sprioward me.

  Still blind from the fsh grehat was a result of my attack, I had no choice but to stumble-jump to the side and cut through where I thought the creature would be. Another fre of white turhe slowly rec world into another blind hell.

  Over and over, the creature jumped at me and I sliced at it. Either I got really lucky with the first hit or the creature was learning because I only experienced another eye-searing fsh every three or so attacks. But, with how fast the creature attacked, that was enough to keep my eyes out of ission.

  Other times, I either had to fight to keep my bance as the rocks under me slipped and slid around or moved too slowly. When that happehe creature took full advantage. Blood welled from where the cws sliced their way ay fad hands. Thankfully the creature seemed uo cut through my dress so even if it did hit me in the chest, it would be uo go after the fleshy and unprotected belly that all creatures seemed to love tet.

  I must have missed the creature enough times because my eyes had started to recover. The world around me was a mix of colorful blurs. One of which was running toward me. I don’t know how it happened but if I had to guess, just as the creature went to leap the rocks must have slipped forward. All I know is that the creature was going to miss.

  I didn’t bother to move as the creature sailed over my head. Which robably why the thing was able to catto my ears. Those bloody things were fug long and upright as they helped me avoid getting hit.

  My anger, pain, and annoyance came out in a rush of curses as the creature’s cws sliced through the cartige that made up my ears. I didn’t even bother to follow the rules Liam had put into pce at that point. Mana poured from me and ed itself around the creature. As the threads formed into runes, I pumped mana into each. Water spshed against the creature's fur and soaked in.

  A mere fra of a sed ter, my mana pushed into the creature's own fire ruhe thing burst into fme and promptly exploded. Blood and viscera went everywhere. While gruesome, I felt almost happy at the sight.

  “Well,” came Liam’s voice, “is one way to kill something. A bit overkill though.”

  I spun to face him. Whatever I looked and the expression that was on my face caused him to stop and lift an eyebrow. “Overkill?” I demanded. “How is that overkill? The fucker couldn’t be cut by my sword!”

  “It couldn’t be sliced by your sword.” Ginger corrected. “Its fur offered no prote against stabbing.” And they were only just now tellihis. I take it back, these fuckers were worse than Barti ever was. At least he tried to teach me. These three were just going to watch me nearly die over and ain.

  “If it helps, that is sidered the weakest creature for…” Liam started but had to stop as he looked up in thought.

  “At least a couple dozen miles.” Pendragon finished. “Mostly due to their o be alone and the ease at which you kill them.” Maybe I would just return to the starter town. At least there I would be retively safe from the weakest creature killing me. Wait, that wasn’t true. The bunnies nearly got me too.

  Damn it. Was the experience worth the time it took to kill it? At just over two thousand, not really, not when you sider the thing had just shy of twenty levels on me. Sure, it got me up to level thirty, but it would take, let me do some math, five more to reach the level.

  That was only the first of many though. If these were the weakest out here, I o gain quite a few levels to even have a hope of surviving out here without help. Judging by how much the sun had moved, I would be here the rest of the week hunting the things to gain any ground on Xander. And that wasn’t taking into at the dropoff in experience I would get as my level increased. Then again, what else did I have pnned? It wasn’t like I could just level up by sitting around.

  With a resigned sigh, I asked, “Are there any more of the things nearby?”

  “Why don’t you tell us.” Yeah, I should have expected that answer from Liam. Wonder what the pack would say if he died while out here. By act of course.