The muscles stiffened in my jaw. A stale dryness made its way across my tongue.

  Nana was Gold-ranked; the strongest ranker I’d met in Vizhima. We had parted ways only three weeks ago, which wasn’t enough time for her people to be wiped out of existence.

  A sinister voice crawled into my head: It is.

  “You lie,” I told Dilwan, unable to think of anything else.

  “I lie?” the elf chieftain spat. “Do you think I have nothing better to do than trade tall tales with you? Are the Dark Elves in Harkonean capable of resisting a goblin horde all on their own?”

  I muttered something unintelligible.

  “The entire northern part of the forest has been overrun!” he said. “Any elf unfortunate enough to occupy or visit those parts is now long dead”—his lips quivered—“including my daughter.”

  Paz pulled me away. “Come, friend. There’s much yet to discuss.”

  “But, this—”

  “I know,” Paz said with a calm tone. “I know. We’ll search every rock if we have to, every hill, crevice, and dell. But, you can’t focus on that. Not now.”

  We huddled together with the rest of the group. Medekeine had shifted back into human form, but his eyes remained reptilian to retain the vision benefits they provided.

  Kajal offered me a sympathetic glance. “I think it’s smart to accept Dilwan’s offer.”

  “Smart?” Medekeine squawked. “Joining a train of refugees would only slow us down.”

  “They’ll be gone by tomorrow,” Kajal said. “Besides, Dilwan is right. We know nothing about the current state of Dreadwood. Learning what we can from him is fair payment for helping his people. You also glean more information about the goblins, in turn. How is that not a win?”

  Paz pointed at his ears. “You know the elves can hear you, yes?”

  “I do.”

  . . . Which was Kajal’s way of confirming her intent. She wanted to show the elves that we could be trusted. And, part of that trust involved letting them listen in on our discussion.

  However, I wasn’t interested in any of her diplomacy. Dilwan’s words plagued me all through our debate. Nana and Mavari were among the first friends I’d made—in this life and the other. Were they truly dead? Nilen and Hanno, too. What about Tybalt? I hated the dude but not enough to wish him a cruel fate at the hands of goblins.

  I stumbled around in a daze after we dispersed to help the elves establish a perimeter.

  Even if the Nanduli? survived, Harkonean was burned to the ground. The weight of that news trumped every other issue, including the confirmation that a Fear user stood among the ranks of the goblins.

  Paz and Kajal watched me with worried expressions as I went through the motions. Eventually, Kajal approached.

  “You can stop now, Damien,” she said. “Rest up.”

  “No—”

  “That’s an order. I won’t pretend to understand the situation, but nothing Dilwan says is final until you confirm it with your eyes. Rest now. We need you for tomorrow.”

  I didn’t argue—mostly because she was right, but also because my displeasure could only be directed at myself. I had abandoned the Dark Elves to find allies and earn spirit orbs: a decision entirely of my making.

  I wasn’t proud enough to believe that my presence would change the overall outcome of the battle. But, Nana could have survived had I been there to help her.

  My heart ached something fierce.

  Ultimately, I found a secluded spot in the forest and focused on the one thing that could occupy my thoughts.

  Stats.

  I had to get stronger. If the goblins had soldiers that could fight on par with gold rankers, then I needed more power to compete.

  The fight with the Primal Dread Monkeys had strengthened me by two levels, granting four stat points in total. I chucked them into Endurance, bringing the total to 20, and got a [System] message:

  You have upgraded an attribute. [END] has changed from Common to Greater.

  You have gained a 2x base boost to the hidden stat: Defense.

  Your health and stamina meters have also been reinforced.

  True enough, the red and green bars in the upper left corner of my sight lengthened by a substantial margin. Health and Stamina increased silently in the background the higher up one went, but Endurance provided a noticeable boost.

  Mavari had once told me that she considered Endurance to be the most important stat. And, thinking of Mavari . . .

  No. Stop that. I wouldn’t go down that route. They all lived. They had to. I would accept nothing less.

  Completing the stat distribution left the technique choice as the only matter unfinished. I closed my eyes and activated [Meditation] by way of my usual yoga pose. The forest faded into utter blackness . . . which was a wild thing to say, considering how dark it was already under [Nightfall].

  A giant [System] screen towered over my head.

  Please, choose a skill.

  Just you wait, gobbers and rival Fear users. I’d show you why I alone throughout heaven and earth deserved this affinity . . .

  My eyes returned to the [System] screen. Hold on. Choose a skill?! Didn’t that mean I would get options from the Assassin class, rather than my affinity?

  What the hell, man? Could you not see I needed a boost to match the enemy’s [Nightfall]?

  The [System] screen unraveled into options, as though ignoring my complaints.

  [Blindsight] [Greater]

  Gotten tired of dealing with Tricksters and pesky Assassins? Say less, comrade!

  This technique grants the ability to see with both eyes closed, even through thick smoke! Compared to [Dark Vision], [Blindsight] is superior. You can see perfectly within a range of 50 meters regardless of lighting or vision-obscuring effects.

  It also allows the user to see through [Stealth] and most kinds of invisibility, making it a must-have for battles with rogues. This technique is so rare, that other rankers would trade their sons and daughters for it.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  . . .

  You sadly can’t trade techniques.

  PS: This skill in its current state does not permit seeing through physical barriers and obstacles. Get your mind out of the gutter, lout!

  Cost: 5 VP/min.

  Oh, wow.

  My elven perks offered utility similar to [Dark Vision], but [Blindsight] was a significant upgrade by all metrics. It was a pity that it couldn’t see through obstacles, but its ability to detect hidden enemies was definitely its biggest strength.

  The note at the bottom also implied additional functionality as one climbed up the ranks. It was very possible for [Blindsight] to become overpowered in the future. Combined with [Nightfall], this skill would allow me to terrorize enemies in Dreadwood.

  But, I needed to check the other one first. It read:

  [Impostor] [Greater]

  A Trickster’s bread and butter!

  Were you born ugly? Do you have a hideous nose or odd rabbit teeth? Do you sport a washboard on your chest rather than bountiful blessings?

  Were you born into the wrong body? Were you born into the right body but enjoy kinky play anyway?

  Suffer no more!

  This skill allows you to assume the appearance and mannerisms of anyone you desire . . . as long as they classify as humanoid. A loss of over ten percent HP in a single strike undoes the technique. You can maintain the transformation for an entire day otherwise and may refresh it at the start of each day.

  Do note: The transformation caused by this technique is thorough, down to the very bits!

  . . . It includes those bits.

  Cost: 30 VP.

  I chuckled despite myself. The dual nature of the [System] notifications never failed to amuse me. Also, why did the [System] offer me, an Assassin, skills that belonged to the Trickster class?

  Did it have to do with the quality of enemies I’d killed? Or was there some overlap between both classes? Probably the latter, but I wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

  Sadly, as riveting as [Impostor] was, it did nothing to help my damage. [Blindsight] worked better with my build . . .

  Or maybe, that was the point.

  Nicola was a crowd-control Mage and already on track to become an efficient scout. Paz was an off-tank melee damage dealer who could also buff his allies. I was only good at killing, which was all an Assassin needed. But, unless I expanded my moveset, I ran the risk of becoming hyper-specialized.

  [Impostor] it is, then.

  The void faded into the forest with my selection of the skill. A few of the sturdier elves moved in the distance, helping Logain to set up a watch. With nothing left to do, I found a corner and settled to sleep.

  I dreamed of bloodshed.

  We repelled attacks from a few more monsters that night. The others handled it, however, allowing me to sleep.

  The next morning, the Wood Elves prepared for the final phase of their exodus.

  “Just keep heading southward,” Kajal said. “You aren’t far away from the border. Ezin will be eager to hear all you have to tell.”

  “Thank you,” Dilwan said and shared parting words with his rankers.

  Only two of them remained now after the fight with the monkeys. Those two would be responsible for protecting the refugees, who numbered about thirty strong.

  As the Wood Elves set out in the opposite direction, Dilwan turned to us. “Well, what now?”

  [Nightfall] had faded a few hours before dawn, leaving the sun to once more take hold of the forest.

  Dilwan looked the same as I’d estimated last night, with rust-red hair, ochre skin, and green, oval-shaped eyes. He wore a strap of fur around his shoulder to signify his position. A necklace of trinkets dangled on his neck. His paunch rumbled audibly without breakfast. And, why was a guy like this considered Nana’s peer?

  Kajal answered his question. “We’ll find your missing people as promised. Do you have any idea where to begin?”

  Dilwan grimaced. “It has to be the site of the attack, a few kilometers north. Hah . . . what am I even doing? I should be heading to safety, not jumping back in the fray.” He stared at his feet.

  After a short moment, he composed himself. “We need to abandon the wagon if we are to move with haste. It will attract too much attention. The goblins have grown bold enough to patrol the areas they’ve conquered.”

  “We’ll ditch it only as a last resort,” Kajal said. “But, we can travel with it at no cost to speed. We have a div in our employ.”

  “A div?! You mean those monsters of destruction? The same ones who can go toe to toe with Gold rankers?” Dilwan gave me a curious look.

  “I’m not the div,” I said.

  “I would be surprised. But, that’s not the reason I’m looking. I can tell an Irithiel by those eyes alone.” He frowned. “What were you doing frolicking with humans while your kinsmen fought for their lives? With your power . . .”

  “Damien’s a hero of the Labyrinth,” Kajal said. “But, he’s no superhero. You don’t need to place more expectations on him.”

  “A hero of the Labyrinth, huh?” Dilwan shook his head. “If only we could face chimeras rather than goblins. Nybala might have survived.” He struck down the path, muttering to himself, “What even is a superhero?”

  The rest of us followed after him.

  With the invasion throwing the local fauna into a frenzy, we didn’t leave the path for fear of sudden encounters. Every creature seemed on high alert in Dreadwood, including the trees, the birds, and the wild god’s freaking pets.

  I ended up at the back of the convoy alongside the div. Dilwan handled navigation just fine, which freed me up to keep an eye on the rear.

  The div glanced at me with a perplexed expression, brown eyes shaded by a curtain of black hair. Her small pre-adolescent frame shuddered as she pulled the wagon along, somehow defying the laws of physics.

  “Sorry,” I said. “I just realized that I never asked your name.”

  She kept her eyes on the path, ignoring my question.

  It was a heart-wrenching sight. Ancient spirit or not, she still looked like a ten-year-old girl. And, even though she could manage it just fine, it was wrong to have her pull the wagon after us . . . dressed like a slave: barefoot and rags.

  None of my shoes fit her tiny feet. Only ranker-grade items possessed the ability to adjust to the size of the wielder. However, I still had the top hat that I’d worn to the guild funeral. It should at least provide some shade from the sun.

  Without thinking, I retrieved it and placed it on her head.

  The div gasped. “Master?”

  “What are you doing?” Medekeine roared and charged at my position. “What did you do?!”

  “I gave her a hat,” I said after my initial shock. “Surely, in this heat—”

  He knocked the top hat off her head. “You don’t get to that! You don’t get to give her anything!”

  The div let go of the wagon and cowered from his wrath. “I’m sorry, master! Don’t hit me, please!”

  “Stop acting up!” Medekeine said. “When have I ever laid a hand on you?”

  I reached for my dagger but stopped myself. This wasn’t the time to give in to emotions. There was a lot about this world that I needed to learn. And, what if, in giving the div the hat or even a sock, I had committed a blunder like in that one fantasy series?

  “Explain,” I said.

  Medekeine snarled. “Maybe, you should have considered that before doing whatever you wanted.”

  “She’s a div, elf,” Logain said in his place. “They don’t get to keep possessions. The more of it they own, the stronger they become.”

  I glanced at him and then at the girl who cowered at our feet. How was that even—

  “There are many stories,” Logain continued, “of unassuming people treating bound or wounded divs with kindness. Cots, clothing, accessories . . . even cutlery. It never ends well. Once a div regains lost power by tying itself to its possessions, bloodshed quickly ensues.”

  “Then, send her away,” I said to Medekeine. “If she is such a security risk, why keep her around?”

  The dwarf’s face purpled. “You try to embolden my slave, then tell me how to treat it?”

  “Not it. Her. She’s a living being.”

  “She only lives as long as I permit!”

  Paz interspersed his spear between the two of us. “Back off, shorty. I don’t like your attitude.”

  Medekeine growled. “Div.”

  Without warning, she sprang from her position and kicked Paz in the neck.

  He blocked it with his forearm and skidded a few inches backward. “Ouch.”

  I restrained again from summoning my dagger. “Call her off.”

  “Why?” Medekeine smirked. “He threatened me first.”

  Kajal loomed behind him. “Call. Her. Off.”

  A strange presence shimmered in the air behind her, like the pressure of wind rolling down a mountain. She fixed a look of pure granite at the dwarf: a perfect return of the no-nonsense woman I had seen back then at the tavern.

  Dilwan snorted. “You call Wood Elves barbaric, yet you fight among yourselves with minor provocations. You couldn’t find a better way to settle your issues?”

  “Oi,” I said. “I’m not going to take that from the lowlives who isolated my people.”

  Medekeine ordered the div to stand down and glowered at Dilwan as if affronted at the very thought of a Wood Elf chastising him.

  Logain pointed at a distance above the treeline. “That’s not normal, is it?”

  Smoke.

  A dark stream of it rose in the north.