It had been a week since Damon started working at the inn, and it hadn’t gotten any easier. The job was exhausting, Jully was relentless, and the constant noise wore on his nerves. Still, the food was good, the bed was warm, and—most importantly—he had time to train.

  Whenever he had a break, Damon pulled out the book from the Library of Souls. He couldn’t read a word of it—some forgotten language—but the illustrations helped. Slowly, bit by bit, he started to make sense of Shadow Movement. Progress was slow, but it was progress.

  And then there was... it. The presence in the corner of his vision. Always there. Always watching. Never hostile. Not yet.

  “If it wanted to hurt me, it would've by now,” he muttered one night. “Still, I don’t like being watched.”

  But not everything in the village was strange or secretive. In fact, he’d learned something useful: the village had a guild. Small, yes—but a real adventurer’s guild. A place to take jobs, fight monsters, earn coin.

  In the past week, Damon had gone from Copper Rank to Bronze. The ranking system was straightforward: Copper, Bronze, Iron, Silver, Gilded, Platinum. He wasn’t sure how far he’d go, but at least it gave him something to do.

  Today’s quest was his first official assignment—a creature known as a Tridem. According to the job sheet, it had the body of a bear and the head of a snake. Apparently, it was Bronze-level. That meant it should be manageable.

  Still... this wasn’t like the random beasts he’d taken down before. This time, someone would be expecting results.

  “Hey, Jully. I’m heading out. Don’t worry—I’ll be back before sundown,” he called from the doorway.

  “You better be,” she shouted from the kitchen. “And if you're late again, I swear—kneeling won’t be the worst of it!”

  Damon winced. His knees still ached from the last time. “I said I’d be back. Trust me—I’m not planning on getting yelled at again.”

  As he stepped into the woods, that familiar presence tickled the edge of his vision. Again.

  He grunted. “You’ve been tailing me for a week. If I ever master Shadow Movement, you’d better believe I’m coming for you first.”

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  Eventually, he found the spot listed on the quest paper: a clearing in the forest, next to a long, snake-shaped rock.

  “This has to be it… right?” he muttered, glancing around. “No sign of a monster, though. Just a rock that looks like—”

  The rock moved.

  The snake-like formation uncoiled, revealing glowing yellow eyes. What he thought was a boulder at the back? The beast’s body. Camouflaged. Sleeping.

  “Really? You’d think they’d mention something like that,” Damon said, stepping back. “Guess it’s not technically lying if the hunter’s already dead...”

  But he had no time to think. The creature struck.

  Wham!

  A massive tail slammed into his chest, sending him flying. He crashed into a tree with a sickening crack, coughing blood as he hit the ground.

  “Damn it…” he groaned, forcing himself to one knee. “I got careless.”

  He wiped the blood from his mouth and stood, eyes narrowing.

  “Alright. Let’s do this.”

  Damon pushed himself to his feet, breathing hard. His ribs screamed in protest, but he didn’t care. The Tridem loomed ahead, tail twitching, yellow eyes locked onto him.

  “Round two,” he growled.

  He rushed forward, blade flashing. His sword cut across the beast’s paw—just a shallow slice, but it howled and stumbled. Before he could press the attack, a massive claw caught his side and hurled him to the dirt again.

  He hit hard, the world spinning. Blood blurred his vision. A gash throbbed above his brow, running warm down his cheek.

  Still, he stood.

  His weapon hummed faintly in his grip. Not just steel—this blade had been forged by his master, treated with rare potions. Even a small wound from it could slow a creature like this. But slowing it wasn’t enough.

  Damon ducked another swipe and surged forward. He aimed for the heart—but the Tridem raised its clawed forelimb and deflected the blow.

  Then it lunged, jaws gaping wide.

  He didn’t flinch.

  At the last moment, he dove straight into its open mouth, driving the blade upward with both hands. The sword punched through soft flesh and into the skull above.

  The Tridem gave a violent shudder and collapsed, lifeless.

  But Damon didn’t come out untouched—one of its fangs had grazed his side. A faint burning spread through his body. Paralysis venom. Not fatal… but enough to drop him.

  “Perfect,” he muttered, sliding down beside the dead beast. “Jully’s going to love this.”

  By the time the paralysis wore off, the sun had long since risen. Damon dragged himself back to the inn, sore, stiff, and half-starved.

  He stepped through the front door quietly, hoping to sneak past.

  No chance.

  Jully was waiting by the counter, arms folded. The moment she saw him—

  Thwack!

  She smacked the back of his head.

  “You call this before sundown?” she snapped.

  “I got delayed,” he said weakly.

  “Delayed? You look like you fought a mountain and lost!”

  Damon sighed, shuffling past her toward the stairs. “Better than being late and dead…”

  He heard her ranting continue behind him as he limped away.

  Yeah… definitely going to be a long day.