“Go home and take care of your mother, I have to go!” My father yelled as the bells tolled.

  “Dad I can help, I’m stronger than you are now!”

  “I know, that’s why I want you to protect your mother and sister.” As he responded he grabbed my shoulder and squeezed it hard. Trying to convey the trust he was putting in me.

  Looking into his eyes I could only nod. “I will try and invite mom to the party. Be safe dad.”

  As soon as I spoke, my father turned and ran off without hesitation. Taking a deep breath, I turned toward home and quickly tried inviting my mother to my party. Within seconds, her frantic voice echoed in my mind, filled with worry. 'Where are you, Jace? Where is your father? Hurry and get home!'

  Dad had to go, probably to help deal with the situation. Nixy and I are heading home now. Keep everyone there; I’ll be there soon.

  With our exchange done, I took off with Nixy at my heels, racing toward home. I was fortunate that I wasn’t too far away, but at the same time, unlucky for not having been there when everything started.

  The timing of this couldn’t have been worse, right after we had finished dealing with Droat. It felt too precise to be a coincidence, making me wonder if there was a deeper connection I hadn’t seen yet. Whoever orchestrated the assassination attempt on the twins seemed to be escalating their plans, and the idea that they might be aiming to bring down the entire city gnawed at me. It all lined up, the Dungeon portal, hidden by an illusion, positioned strategically to the northwest, as if placed to divert attention.

  Then there was Ravros the Damned. Honestly, that name alone sounded like something out of a bad fantasy novel. How does someone even get a title like 'the Damned'? But I was getting distracted. Ravros had been positioned northeast of the city, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that there were more threats lurking just beyond my sight, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

  It made me wonder if there were more things that were around the city that I had not seen. From what I had gathered from my father there was a hundred or so creatures near the Dungeon. There were also a hundred or so with Ravros. Did I catch them both earlier than was expected? If that was the case, it could be that I had unintentionally made the group rush their plans. Yay for accidents.

  As I sprinted through the streets, a thunderous crash echoed from the direction of the school. My gut told me it was a terrible idea, but I couldn't ignore it, I had to check it out. I knew Robert and Evelyn would have headed there as well, likely trying to contact their father. It was the quickest option compared to reaching the castle from my house. Besides, if they attempted to reach the castle without an escort, they’d probably end up in trouble anyway.

  Running as fast as I could, I heard a low growl start to build in Nixy’s throat. It was not a sound I had heard before. Even when she was around Ravros, she did more hissing like a cat than anything. Looking over at her, her hackles were even starting to raise. It made me wonder just what we would find.

  After a few hundred feet we turned the corner and found a scene of utter chaos. Robert was standing between a boy that I did not know, what I could only describe as a monster, and fifty or so goblins. Behind Robert was Evelyn, already bleeding and somewhat out of it, but still holding a small blade between her and the creatures.

  The monster loomed thirty feet tall, an intimidating fusion of gorilla and werewolf, its sheer bulk exuding raw power and primal fury. Thick, dark fur covered its muscular frame, streaked with eerie blue lines that pulsed with an unsettling glow. Beneath the coarse hair, its pale, stone-like skin gave it an almost statue-like appearance, contrasting sharply against its bestial features. The face was a nightmarish blend of wolf and ape, framed by a broad brow and lined with razor-sharp fangs that gleamed in the dim light. But what truly sent a chill down my spine were its eyes, burning with an inner fire of pure anger and relentless hate, as if it existed for no other purpose than destruction.

  Taking only a moment to assess the situation, I knew I had to act fast. I immediately used Identify on everything around me. The goblins didn’t reveal anything noteworthy, their levels falling within the range of twenty to thirty, a typical, albeit troublesome, threat. However, the boy standing near Robert caught my attention. There was something different about him, something that made me pause.

  Derek Aureus (U) – Level 24 – Talent: Augur’s Gift

  Dreadfang Alpha – Level 83

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Due to the fact that it was just a creature, I knew that it would not have a rarity next to its name. Creatures did not have a class; therefore, they could not have a rarity. That did not mean that it was weak however. If I were to guess, using the Urthog as an example, I would guess that it might have a penalty to reaction time, though it would also have a percentage increase for its strength, endurance, and constitution at the very least.

  “Nixy take care of the goblins. I guess I will take care of the big one. Maybe I should have chosen the Urthog, at least then it wouldn’t be so much bigger than me.” I muttered the last part with a sigh. Then I used Arcane Step to appear besides Robert. “Having a party without me I see. Not very nice. I’ll handle the big guy you take Derek. Oh, and see if you can use this.” I said while dropping the sword I had gained from Grull.

  “I think you left some stuff out about what you can do Jace. As for the big guy I don’t think either of us can deal with that thing. It’s an Alpha Dreadfang, it usually takes a couple groups of adventurers to take one of them on.” Robert stated while reaching down to pick up the sword. When he grabbed it, it didn’t budge even with him straining. It was at that point I think he realized I had held it casually, his head snapped toward me with wide eyes, “You definitely left some stuff out.”

  Slicing his finger on the blade he let a drop fall on the blade. It immediately absorbed the blood, and Robert was able to pick it up like it weighed nothing. I might have grumbled at the fact that I had not thought about that.

  I winced a little at his wording, knowing that I had been hiding a lot from them, but I still say that I had only known them for a little over two weeks at this point. I planned to push the conversation off for as long as I could as well.

  “Don’t worry, Nixy will take care of the goblins. I just don’t want her to accidentally kill Derek. As for the big guy, well if I can’t beat him, I can at least hold him off till backup gets here. And sorry Evey, I don’t have anything for you at the moment. At least nothing that I suspect would help.”

  Evelyn, just nodded at my words, obviously more concerned with the giant gorilla that was in front of us, than with me pulling things out of thin air. “I don’t think I will be much help guys.”

  “Call out what you see, think of us as an extension of you sis. Take charge and be a leader. We can handle the fighting.” Robert said, trying to get his sister involved. I had to agree with his idea though. That’s basically what the Grand Elder did to allow herself to do magic.

  Mom, it looks like I might be a little late. There is a big monster that is trying to kill the prince and princess.

  Be careful, Jace. I’ll send a group of guards your way as soon as I can, but please stay safe, we still don’t know the full extent of the danger, and I can’t afford to lose you. From what we've gathered, there was an army hidden to the south, and they've mixed in monsters. We need to figure out how they’re controlling them. Thankfully, it looks like you spooked them by taking down the Dungeon and Ravros, so their numbers are only in the thousands, not nearly enough to take down the city, but still enough to create a distraction while they target the royals. My father's voice carried a weight of urgency and concern that sent a shiver down my spine.

  Don’t worry about your mother and sister Jace. I’ll take care of them. Marian’s voice came to my mind. Almost making me lose concentration of what was going on around me. My dad had not mentioned that Marian was now a part of the system even when we spoke to Travis. Now was not the time, but I would need to figure that out.

  “Who are you? What are you doing here? I did not see you when I looked at this moment before.” Said a sneering and overbearing voice. While I am glad that the bad guys usually sneer when they speak, it does make me feel like it’s a sort of fiction trope.

  “Well, obviously you didn’t see me, I just arrived. Didn’t you see me just appear right here? Any who, I think we should get this party started.” I said and I stepped to right behind Derek. Using one of my shields I smacked him toward Robert before using Arcane Armor and getting ready to step again.

  Right as I was about to use Arcane Step to land on top of the Dreadfang, it roared. Let me tell you, whoever made the sounds for King Kong did an amazing job. The power behind the roar was enough that it interrupted my Arcane Step something that I had not even known was possible.

  With the fact that it was able to interrupt my Arcane Step causing me to take the fight a little more seriously, I stepped again. This time without being interrupted. I landed on the Dreadfang’s face and using my Arcane Manipulation to the best of my abilities, I created a sturdy spike and pushed Arcane Detonation and Arcane Surge as hard as I could. Trying to do as much damage as possible.

  When my spike struck dead center between its eyes, the Dreadfang froze for a split second before the Arcane Detonation backfired harder than I anticipated. The explosion sent me flying backward, knocking the wind out of me before I even had a chance to react. As if that wasn’t enough, the Dreadfang swatted me mid-air like an annoying fly, sending me hurtling into the school’s outer wall with bone-rattling force, shattering a large section on impact.

  If not for Arcane Rejuvenation and Arcane Surge working overtime to reinforce my Arcane Armor, thankfully upgraded to level 3, I might not have survived. Even so, the armor shattered on impact, and I hit the ground with a force that left me groaning in pain.

  Groaning, I pushed myself out of the rubble, wincing as pain flared through my body like a dull throb. Dust clung to my hair and skin, coating my tongue with a gritty taste that made me cough. I wiped the grime from my face and squinted through the settling haze, my eyes locking onto the Dreadfang. It shook its massive head, clearly disoriented, and I allowed myself a brief moment of satisfaction. At least I’d managed to rattle it. Not exactly a victory, but it was something.