“Alright, you remember? Head to the river and follow it until the fork. Once there, head northeast for about a day's walk. That should lead you right to the outskirts of the village. And remember-”

  I groaned loudly, cutting off the old man mid sentence, “Yeah yeah yeah… Get to the gate before sunset right? Damn, you’ve made me recite this like a bajillion times already. Even a deaf man could recite back word for word what you were saying!”

  He harrumphed loudly and leaned back in his chair, jabbing his finger at me, “Bah! Of course I have to make you repeat this! You have the attention span of a jarblong!”

  I grunted and stuck my tongue out at him, “Ha! What a stupid insult! I don’t even know what that is! Hell, for all I know, you could be complimenting me! The hell even is a jarblong you old fool!?”

  He glared at me and slammed his fist into the table, “A jarblong! How do you not know what they are!?”

  I glared back at him and spread out my arms mockingly, “Bah, you're just making up words now, aren’t you!?”

  Wess glared at me and narrowed his eyes, “You little… Alright, new rule while you’re away! While you're in town, make sure you get acquainted with the library there! Either you learn more about the monsters you’re going to be fighting on your own, or I am going to teach you the hard way!”

  I went to open my mouth to snap back, but paused. No… He wasn’t wrong. Since waking up in the wolves den I knew pitifully little about this world. The old man had taught me a couple of things about the world over the course of this last year, but not too much. He was much more focused on getting me physically ready the whole time, not that I was complaining of course.

  I sighed and shook my head. No, Wess wasn't wrong at all, I'd have to make that one of the first places I went after I got into town. I seemed to have a pretty good grasp on how to speak this language, I’d just have to hope that I could read as well…

  The old man eyed me before standing up with a nod, “Alright, at least it looks like I don't have to impart the importance of the library to you, so I won't mention it again. Now, onto the real reason I wanted to talk to you before you left.”

  He walked over to that door I had never seen him enter, and grasped the handle before pulling on it. For a brief moment, the entire door shone dark red. Then spiderwebs of black darkness spiraled out from the center, before turning hard and heading towards where his hand gripped the handle. The darkness covered the gleaming silver handle, and then poured up his arm, covering it with a searing noise, filling the air with the smell of burnt flesh.

  Wess bared his teeth and roared, tearing open the door and exposing the room behind. His arm was covered in black darkness, and though it looked like he should have been in intense pain, he turned to me with a wide grin. He gave me a wink and stepped to the side, spreading out his darkened arm with a flourish and presenting the room.

  I didn't say a word, my eyes wide as saucers as I looked from the darkened arm to the room. No wonder he never wanted to open the door… and no wonder he always told me to stay away from the room. If it hurt that much each time you just wanted to open it… whatever was inside must be unbelievable.

  My eyes hungrily took it in, my body slowly walking forward of its own volition. I hadn’t expected a rather large room, and it wasn’t, but… it was still much larger than should have been possible. The ceiling stretched up farther than any of the other rooms, and stalactites of an odd material hung downwards, glowing as if lit from within. The floor was made of a pitch black material, almost as if a piece of the night sky had been taken and placed there. There were wide veins of deep blue that spider webbed across it, glittering and flowing like ocean waves and streaking along the walls.

  Speaking of the walls… There was rack after rack full of various different weapons, ranging from staves, to bows, to axes, and swords and falchions and rapiers and mauls… It was almost as if there was an entire garrison's armory there, and each of them glimmered with power, much like Xian’s axe had. Below them there was row after row of deep brown chests that had been pushed up against the back walls in order to create more room for a large space in the center with several heavy looking weights and a sparring mat.

  Oddly enough, there were even several human sized windows along the one empty wall in the room, which was especially weird since I never remembered seeing windows like that on the outside of the house… Even though I had looked inside every window on the outside of the house. I’d seen the living room, my room, a couple of spare rooms, a storage room, and even several rooms full of items that I had no idea what they could possibly do. Hell, I’d even caught a glimpse of the old man’s room, well, before he had beaten me to a pulp for looking and told me to stop peeping.

  I cautiously stepped forward into the room, and then turned my eyes to the old man, “So this was what was in this room? How does this all even fit in here? This house isn’t this big or tall enough for a room this size, and those windows don’t look like any of the ones on the outside of the house either…”

  The old man grunted and smacked me on the back, forcing me to take another step forward into the room, “Well, that’s not the hardest thing for a mage to do. Once they manage to figure out the spell for spatial manipulation of course. I happen to know a mage from way back when, he offered to help me out with this room in exchange for some of my crops. Stubborn old bastard wouldn’t stop asking me for ways to pay me for more… bah! He became a regular customer though, you’ll probably meet him once you get back, he had to go to the southern desert lands for a time.”

  I nodded and peered at the walls and chests closer, hoping to maybe learn something new about the old man's past, though I didn’t have too high of hopes. After a moment of realizing there wasn’t anything on the chests or weapons that would lend me any clues, I cautiously peered through the windows, hoping to maybe catch a glimpse to show me where in the house the room might be located. Just as I was looking through, I gasped as a huge expanse of silver scales suddenly flashed by, a swarm of bubbles blowing around it as its powerful tail powered it through the water. I stumbled back as it suddenly stopped, and a giant eye peered through the window, with a backdrop of red and an explosion of silver and gold replacing the iris. It slowly blinked, before lifting upwards and leaving the window unobscured, which in turn revealed a huge rocky basin, full of burbling dark red lava.

  In wonder I glanced at the other windows, hoping to see more of the volcano, or perhaps another amazing creature, but instead they showed entirely different scenes that slowly shifted about, almost as if they were moving lenses into another world. The one on the right that I had first peered through was of a bright clear blue ocean, and a coral reef full of wildly colorful and vibrant fish and wildlife. Another showed a barren desert, wind blowing the white sand along the tops of the dunes as snake humanoids slithered along, their many arms each holding onto various different weapons. There was another that showed a dark green and brown jungle, and a three headed panther that was stalking a large feathered bird, its massive beak glinting gold in the few rays of sunshine shining through the treetops. There was even one window that peered into a land that was covered in a couple inches of pitch black water, a forest white leafless trees spread out as far as you could see. Amongst and throughout, there was an endlessly shifting mass of shambling skeletons and withered beasts, their empty eye sockets glowing crimson red.

  Chuckling, Wess walked into the room and shut the door behind him, “Like the views? Haha, yeah those spatial mages really are something actually… That spatial mage really was something of a prodigy you know. I knew that doing the room was an easy enough spell to learn, albeit hard to practice, but when he just kept asking me how he could ever repay me… well I just threw out that I’d love to have a spatial doorway put in! The damn mage didn’t even blink before saying yes… so in payment for more of my crops, I had these installed.” The old man took a long deep breath and folded his arms, grinning at the doorways, “See… I used to be quite the adventurer Will. Back before I retired that is. This farm and the forest are a nice place to relax and retire of course, but there is so much more to this world than just this small country… The one thing I had been missing these last few years was this, windows to different places I’ve traveled to before. The deserts of Alqui, the oceans of Szinst, the forests of the Pale One, and the Jungles of Gaurdu… Oh how I miss delving into thosee wild dungeons and fighting the monsters of those lands! Haha… However, that is besides the point! The whole reason that I called you here was for this!”

  He walked over to one of the chests on the floor, and pressed his palm against the top, a flash of dark green light circling the edges of his palm. It reached out into the air, hungrily snapping about before stabbing into the dark bracer that had formed upon his arm, changing into a series of beautiful crawling vines. With a grunt, he cracked it open, and I stepped forward, excitement coursing through me at the thought of whatever powerful artifact that must be inside. The old man stepped aside with a chuckle, revealing… a simple brown knapsack.

  He reached in and grabbed it, offering it up as he turned back towards me, “Alright Will, I don’t want to ruin your first experience of adventuring, but I figured I should give you at least the bare requirements to start your training. Within this knapsack I left your pay for all your help these last few days, a couple changes of clothes, a hunting and skinning knife, and a simple bedroll.” He walked over to me and dropped the knapsack in my hand, causing me to grunt at the extra weight. “Oh, and I almost forgot, there should also be some bread, soup and jerky. That should tide you over for those first few days before you start making enough money. I know it isn’t much, but I find that giving the younguns too much before they begin their journey always ends up leading to disaster…”

  I raised an eyebrow as I checked out the knapsack, but after a moment I shrugged and tossed it over my shoulder with a grin, “Thanks old man, I appreciate it. This house has been comfortable, the food was amazing, and the training was… rigorous. You know, I think I’ll miss you for this next… wait, how long does it normally take for someone to get past the first boss?”

  The old man leaned his head back and laughed, the joyous sound echoing throughout the entire house. He didn’t answer me immediately, but gave me a wink and then shooed me out of the room. He closed the door behind him and placed his hand on the handle, the smell of burning flesh filling the air once more as the dark bracer that had covered his arm streamed off of him and back into the door. After a moment, the sound of hundreds of locks sliding into place reverberating through the air, which was quite odd considering there hadn’t been that noise when he had first placed his hand on the doorway.

  He turned to me with a sigh, wiping a cold damp cloth along his arm that he had procured from seemingly nowhere, “Oh, well it depends on a lot of things kid. How long you choose to go in for, how many delves you do, the quality of your equipment and how strong you are able to get before you begin the floor… It took me about a month, though I have to be honest, I had some pretty piss poor gear, levels, and armor. For you though? Hmm… probably three or so years.”

  I rolled my eyes and glared at him, “Three years? Are you shitting me, you old codger? How weak do you think I am that I can’t get through one floor of a dungeon? It can’t be that hard, can it?”

  He raised an eyebrow before slapping me on the shoulder and staring me straight in the eyes, “Look kid, it has nothing to do with how weak or strong you are. The dungeon is a constantly changing and adapting thing, each group of people that enters will encounter the same kind of enemies for each floor, but they will have wildly different strengths and attributes. Even if it’s the same person, based on if they have leveled up, acquired better gear, or learned new skills, they will encounter a slew of stronger beasts and traps.” Wess sighed and folded his arms, “Even taking all of that into account, I would still put you on a fast track through the dungeon. You are a wildly adaptive and powerful hunter, and one of the very few that I can fully expect to actually manage to survive my training… No, it has less to do with your personal strength, and more to do with how you are going to go through the dungeon. I expect you to get through the first floor and past the boss without the aid of healing spells and potions, not counting that regenerative ability of yours of course, or without the aid of a party. In order for me to accept that you are truly ready for your next phase of training, I want you to solo the first floors of the dungeon.”

  I felt my eyes widen at the realization. That… that was going to make this really hard. I had never been in a party with other people before, but I wasn’t idiotic enough to think that I could delve into a dungeon without one, especially after some of the stories that the old man had told me… Having other people in the party might make the monsters more difficult to kill, but the extra pairs of eyes, aid, and utility more than made up for it.

  I pursed my lips and leaned back considering that. Not being able to form a party was hard enough, but not being able to purchase healing potions or use healing spells would definitely be even more problematic. My unending vitality could heal virtually any wound I incurred, but it was much too slow. In a fight it would not save my life before the enemy realized I was slowly healing and proceeded to stomp me into a puddle over and over, which was something that the old man had shown me on several occasions.

  On top of that, being on my own also made any interaction with monsters much more dangerous, especially if I had to fight the floor boss by myself. I couldn’t rely on a scout to keep watch of the surroundings, a tank to block dangerous hits, a healer to instantly heal me, or even a tank to take the big hits and attention of the monsters. That would all be on my shoulders, which would also severely limit how much I could bring into and out of the dungeon. Even after taking all of those hurdles into consideration, three years though…

  I let out a long sigh and shouldered my bag before walking towards the front door, “Alright old man, I accept those terms. I’ll see you in two years, and then I’m going to complete your training like it's a breeze.”

  The old man leaned his head back and laughed long and hard, “Yeah sure! I’ll remember that Will! Please, best my expectations… It’ll be amusing to see how hard you fall short! Hahaha! You better not forget my rules though! Especially when you think about crawling back here and begging me for a break!”

  I rolled my eyes and sighed, before reaching out and opening the door, taking in a deep breath. It was irritating that the old man thought so little of me, but I couldn’t help but smirk. He’d put forth a challenge, and I was a sucker for beating any challenge that was placed before me…

  I raised my hand in farewell, and shut the door, smirking at the sound of Wess’s laughter. That old man… I couldn’t wait to see the look in his eyes when I came back from beating his challenge early.

  I eyed the sun, which was already midway through the sky, and sighed. It really was about time I started heading off anyways, I had spent much longer than I had thought in the old man’s room. I needed to start heading off now, especially if I wanted to get to that gate before nightfall.

  I could make it there easily, especially if I kept sprint activated the whole time, but I really needed to be careful about running into any other monsters or beasts. I cracked my neck and let out a long breath, exalting in the sun’s rays. I didn’t really know what Sparbrook had in store for me, but I was excited. Excited to make my own way, excited to find other people besides that old codger, and excited to see how strong I could get. Ha! This world wasn’t even close to ready for me!

  I rolled my shoulders and laughed loudly, before I bared my teeth at the woods in a manic smile. I reached into the void and pulled, activating sprint and causing a surge of power and strength to rush through my legs. I roared, and exploded into motion, charging forward into the forest and dodging around trees like they were nothing, the whole world blurring around me as it felt like I flew forward.

  I managed to make it about two hours before I was forced to stumble to a stop, my lungs screaming at me to take a break and my legs burning as if my veins were full of lava. I fell to my knees and threw up, groaning as my vision went blurry for a moment. Holy fucking shit… I’d gotten stronger, especially with all of the training the old man had put me through, but having sprint activated for too long really just was too much for my body to take. I groaned and rolled away, staring up at the forest branches above me as I waited for my heart rate to settle. I’d just… rest here for a while longer before I started again…

  I dragged in another breath and squinted my eyes as I looked up at the sun. I probably had about another two hours left before sunset, which put me right on track with what Wess had told me, even with the break that I was taking. Good… good! I had been a bit worried about getting to town in time, but it looked like I had nothing to worry about.

  I sat up and unslung my knapsack peering inside at what Wess had packed me. I could see that he hadn’t been joking when he had said that it was only the necessities, but I had hoped that he might have snuck me an axe or a blade or something neat… Though I guess I couldn’t be surprised that he didn’t.

  I sighed and rummaged around inside for some jerky, careful not to slice my hand on the unsheathed knives within. I really didn’t want to meet the town guards covered in blood, let alone my own. After a moment, I grinned as I felt my hand clasp on a familiar bag and I took it out, my eyes taking in the air tight bag that the old man had shown me during some of our training sessions. He’d told me that a mage had imbued it with a spell that would keep any food that was placed inside safe from diseases and stop the rotting process, which was incredibly useful for whenever you wanted to travel long distances and keep fresh fruits and meats with you.

  I thanked the old man silently, before reaching in and pulling out a couple pieces of jerky and taking a bite of one, indulging in the delicious taste. I hummed to myself, and kept my eyes closed as I used my spatial awareness to perfectly tie it up and replace it in the knapsack.

  I ripped off another piece and leaned back while I caught my breath, my eyes scanning my surroundings. I had ended up stopping in front of a large rock formation, and was currently lying in a rather convenient clearing that spread out in a large circle around me. I really couldn’t have asked for a better place to stop, and the space would allow me to see any threats that may try to sneak up on me first, especially if my spatial awareness didn’t catch them.

  The trees in this part of the forest were particularly large, and funnily enough, they were also cone shaped, the branches and thick, broad leaves blocking any sign of the tree trunk. Not only that, but the base branches stabbed out and into the ground, before stabbing back upwards, forming spikes that exploded outwards like a sharpened barricade. It looked dangerous, and I imagine that most creatures steered clear from these trees, but not all creatures.

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  I could see little creatures darting in and out of the spikes surrounding the trees, their sizes ranging from being the size of a mouse, to roughly the size of a cat. Oddly enough, they were entirely round, almost like rolling dandelions, and they chirped angrily at my intrusion. Though I could tell that the vast majority of them didn’t care too much about me lying there, as long as I stayed put. Which was definitely not a hard ask of me.

  I let out a long sigh and closed my eyes again for a brief moment. I’d been sprinting for what felt like all day, even though I knew it had only been about two hours. It had been easy enough to follow the river as it snaked through the forest, and this was the first time I had abandoned it, choosing to rest away from the unprotected river banks.

  Wess had trained me to the point that I could run for hours at a time now without needing a break, but I wasn’t a machine. I did still need to take breaks once I hit my limit, though thankfully it was only for about a half an hour before I could start running again. In the meantime though, I did have to keep my eyes and ears open, especially since I was basically just a sitting… duck.

  A rustle noise came from my left and I felt my heart freeze, struggling to keep my breathing and body to seem as if I was still unaware. I strained my ears towards the sound, reaching out with my senses and spatial awareness, hoping to catch whatever it was before it caught me. There wasn’t anything until… another rustle. And then another, and another until I could hear the loud footfalls of a massive beast, rapidly moving towards my direction.

  Excitement and bloodlust surged through me as my eyes shot open, and I shot up, glaring at the rustling trees, “Oh you big old bastard, come on out already! I’ve sensed you for ages now, and I’ve been itching for a fight all day! You better make this worth it!”

  The loud footfalls suddenly went silent, and nothing moved for a long moment, not even the little fluff balls that had been so active earlier. Then, a loud hiss snaked through the forest and I saw eight bright red eyes appear, each of them peering at me.

  I hissed back at it and rolled my eyes, “You gonna take all day or what? You know, I have far better things to do you oversized rodent. Are you scared or something?”

  It hissed again, this time with a noticeable tinge of anger and annoyance, and then stomped out into the clearing, knocking aside a tree and breaking it right in half in the process. I laughed as I took it in, flexing my claws. It was big, with its shoulders being right around my head height and its body rippling with lean muscles. Its sides were covered in spines and quills, and as it stalked around the edge of the clearing, I watched as its six thick scaled legs thumped into the ground with power. It hissed again, and its long snakelike neck reared up and swayed back and forth, baring its mouth full of blackened fangs.

  I laughed and charged forward, slashing my claws at its exposed side. It hissed again, leaping backwards in surprise at my sudden attack. I followed after it, baring my teeth and slashing at it over and over again, activating claw as often as I could. It dodged each attack, and narrowed its eight eyes at me, watching every movement I made like a hawk. Then, it went on the offensive, lashing out with its claws and snapping its jaws at me with lightning fast reflexes.

  My spatial awareness screamed at me and I dropped, watching as its blackened maw snapped shut right over my face. With a roar I reached into the void and activated pierce, stabbing my claws up. They stabbed into the underside of its jaw and it hissed in pain as I dug them in, causing a waterfall of steaming blood to pour onto me.

  It dropped its weight down, but I rolled out just as its chest slammed into where I just was, wincing as I wrenched a couple quills out of my arm. I sprung to my feet and leaped backwards as its claws flashed through the air again, just barely skimming my arm, creating three thin lines that welled up with blood.

  Slowly we circled each other, carefully eyeing each other's moves and focusing all of our attention on the other. It was a wild animal, but I could tell that it was also incredibly intelligent, which was incredibly problematic when it was combined with its incredible vision, defensive spikes, and the extra offense and power afforded by its three pairs of limbs. I cautiously waited for an opening, and I could see that the beast was as well, though unfortunately, I realized far too late that I was much too focused on waiting for the opportunity, and not making sure to keep an eye on my surroundings.

  Pain lanced through my leg as I suddenly rolled my ankle on an exposed tree root, and as my balance wobbled for the briefest of moments, the beast jumped on the opportunity. With a hiss, it leaped forward, its quills standing on edge and its claws and may spread wide, aimed at my vital points. It reeked of death, and most creatures would have cowered in fear, but I couldn’t help but grin as I saw that it had exposed its vital points as well.

  I roared with laughter and dropped to the ground again, spreading out my spatial awareness in order to tell when the beast was in the perfect position. I waited half a heartbeat, then two, before I saw the perfect strike light up like a beacon and I exploded upwards, smacking into its exposed stomach. I roared and wrenched on the void again, activating blow and slamming both of my fists and head into its chest, impaling myself on its quills, but also caving in its chest and lungs.

  Its hiss of surprise was cut short as it wheezed and hacked up blood as I flipped it over, shattering the quills that had been standing straight up. I could feel the surge of pain rip through the beast, but I wasn’t done. I spat out a wad of blood and ripped out the quills that had pierced through my hardened skin like it was nothing, and straddled its long neck, locking my eyes on its disoriented face.

  With a roar I reached into the void, activating claw, blow, and pierce over and over again, striking out and attacking the beast in an unending cycle of destruction and carnage as my bloody fists and claws rained down on the beast. Its hisses and snapping maw were turned into a pile of pulp, its throat was ripped into shreds, its quills and scaly skin flayed from its flesh, and its somehow still beating heart was ripped out and tossed aside. Rage poured through me as I stabbed my claws into it, and only when it was an unmoving pile of gore did I stop. The red abated from my vision and I leaped backwards, wildly gasping for air as my lungs burned.

  I shook my head groggily and began to walk away, staggering across the sea of roots and thick grass, when suddenly an intense pain blossomed from my shoulder. I roared in pain and looked in astonishment at the seemingly totally fine snake head tearing into my shoulder, and then glanced back at the mutilated creature below me, my eyes widening as I saw that it had split down the middle and been parted. Realization quickly dawned on me that the damn thing had molted its carcass and been rebirthed as good as new. Just like I was whenever I died… ha! So this is what it was like seeing that from the other side! I laughed wildly and spat blood, the taste of iron filling my mouth once again as those damned blackened teeth tore even deeper into my shoulder, sending a searing pain lancing throughout my veins.

  It was agony, and as I thrashed and slammed my fists and claws into its body and face, I dimly realized that the damned thing had somehow managed to grow even larger when it had been reborn. Rage coursed through me once again, and I bared my teeth and bent my head around as much as I could, reaching into the void and ripping the power I needed from it, activating both pierce and bite, ripping into and through its scaly flesh.

  Rotten blood filled my mouth, and with a roar I ripped out a huge chunk out of its flesh, sending a stream of blood throughout the air and coating the grass and rocks a dark green. The beast bit down harder on my shoulder, but my hardened body and durable drake bones were able to slow it down just enough that it was unable to bite clean through and rip my arm off.

  I laughed wildly and activated bite and pierce again, biting down even harder than before and carving another huge chunk of flesh from its neck. The smell and taste of the rotten blood filled the air and my mouth as the wound gushed hot dark green blood, coating me head to toe and soaking into my clothes. Still I dug my claws into its sides, and activated bite and pierce once more, ripping the third massive chunk out of its neck.

  The beast hissed and gave up on biting me, panic pulsing through it as it finally realized that its venom was doing absolutely nothing to me. It chose instead to start clawing and tearing at my arms and chest, each of its six claws battering me and destroying my innards from the force of its blows and slashing attacks.

  Even though I had strengthened my body through the old man’s workout regimen, I couldn’t help but roar in pain as I felt its claws slice through my skin and bounce along my ribs. My side was soaked in blood as my Unending Vitality struggled to keep up and heal the damage, but I continued my work.

  My heart beat wildly, my mouth was bared in a wild grin, and I drug in breath after breath as I reached into the void over and over, asking, no, demanding that it gave me the power to defeat this beast. It was reluctant, but after sensing my will, it offered up the strength, and with a roar, I activated each of my skills as soon as I could. Blow, Bite, Pierce, and Claw were all used in a bloody symphony of destruction and mutilation that not even the newly reborn and strengthened beast could escape. It growled and hissed and bit, but all it could do was hold on until it finally, with one last hiss, keeled over, dead.

  I stared at its unmoving body, half expecting it to rip open once more and be reborn, but it thankfully stayed still, and I leaned my head back with a hearty laugh. Suddenly my aching and torn apart body was hit with a rush of power, and I stumbled to my feet, giggling at the sweet feeling of euphoria. I grinned down at the beast, before I glanced at my new status, humming to myself in satisfaction when I realized this was the first time I had leveled up since I began my training with the old man.

  Level Up!!!

  Name: Will

  Race: Chimera

  Level: Seventeen(New!)

  Title: Dire Slayer

  Abilities:

  Enduring Heart

  Unending Vitality (Incomplete)

  Death's Favoured (Incomplete)

  Skills:

  Sprint (Veteran)

  Claw (Beginner)(New!)

  Sword Slash (Trainee)

  Pierce (Trainee)(New!)

  Hammer Bash (Novice)

  Bite (Trainee)(New!)

  Blow (Trainee)(New!)

  Leap (Novice)

  Axe Smash (Initiate)

  Acid Resistance (Passive)(Initiate)

  Hardened Body (Passive)(Initiate)(New!)

  Spatial Awareness (Passive)(Novice)

  I shook myself and rolled my shoulders, still smiling. That was a gods damned good fight! I’d been training with that old man for so long, I was worried I had gotten rusty… but it looked like I still had it in me! I laughed and staggered away from the corpse, my eyes passing over my status update happily. I hadn’t expected so many improvements from my first fight, especially since even the old man’s training hadn’t resulted in so many improvements…

  Although I couldn’t just say that the training with the old man had given me hadn’t done wonders for my physical body, and had also allowed me to gain many new skills… It just looked like I couldn’t get as strong in that environment. At least, not compared to fighting to the death like I had with this damned thing!

  I eyed the bloodied beast for a moment, before I walked over and searched through my pack. The level up was amazing, and I was excited to see that I had improved the proficiency of many of my skills, but… there was something else I was hoping to gain from the corpse. I hummed to myself as I moved aside my clean clothes and food bag, only stopping as my hand clasped onto the handle that I was looking for. I laughed and pulled out the skinning and butchering knives that Wess had left for me, turning to the beast's corpse with a wild grin. Oh hell yeah, I was eating well today!

  I went to work skinning and butchering the carcass just like old man Wess had shown me, setting out the hide to dry and setting the innards aside and most of the meat onto skewers that I made from the nearby spiky tree barriers. The bones were carefully cleaned and set in a pile by my knapsack, and right as I began to pile all the inedible pieces of meat together, I heard the first rustles in the underbrush around me.

  I sighed and stood up, allowing my newly sharpened eyes and senses to confirm what I had already assumed before I picked up the extra meat and innards that I'd set aside earlier. I carefully placed each piece of meat in a large pile at the edge of the clearing, before stepping back and going to where the beast's corpse was and gathering the rest. The rustling in the underbrush, which had become louder and more and more frenzied, finally paused, and as I kept on stacking more and more on the small piles, I heard an excited and satisfied chirping.

  I set down the last piece, and bowed to the forest, before I turned and headed back to where I had been making the fire. The chirping and chittering that had been getting louder and louder went dead silent behind me. Then a little sea of the fluff ball-like creatures poured forth from the forest, pouncing on the little piles of meat that I’d left for them. By the time I reached my fire and turned back to them, it was empty, with not even a sign of the little creatures, or the several piles of meat and innards. I chuckled and kneeled over the fire, lighting it like the old man had shown me and setting the hide and meat skewers closer so they could begin to cook.

  I leaned back and let out a sigh as the smell of the cooking beast filled the air. Wess had taught me a lot over the course of training me, and one of the first things he had taught me was to always leave a sacrifice for the Ewin’s (The small black fluff balls). Apparently if they didn’t receive a sacrifice, they had the bad habit of overwhelming you and taking a sacrifice by force… usually by devouring your flesh like a pack of piranhas.

  I sighed and leaned back, exalting in the warmth from the fire. I guess I could just stay here for the night… I hadn’t expected such a fight while I was traveling through the forest, but I really couldn’t just pass up a chance to improve like that. My eyes traced the clouds in the sky, and I looked up at the sun with a frown. There was something itching in the back of my mind, telling me that I was forgetting something… something… important. Something to do with the sun I think? Wait, why was that important again? I really feel like there was something… hmm… I ground my teeth together and glared at the setting sun, wracking my brain for whatever could possibly be so important…

  After a long moment, I shrugged and let out a sigh, giving up on the feeling for now. I guess I’d remember soon if it was that important I guess… I sighed again and reached out towards the fire, snagging one of the glistening meat skewers and staring at it hungrily. Wess made good food, and I knew that this wouldn’t compare, but there was something special about eating something that you had hunted down and killed yourself. I tore a piece off and winced at the searing heat that burned my mouth. It was good, but I hadn’t been patient enough.

  I sighed and turned back to the fire, tossing in a bit more wood and watching as the flames hungrily devoured it, slowly wrapping around the piece and blackening it. I leaned back against the rock formation behind me and stared at the curling flames, allowing my mind to wander again. I had noticed the little ewin’s while I was racing through the forest, but I had been surprised to see that they were here. Especially since I hadn’t really seen them around the old man’s place. He’d told me about them of course, but he’d never had to do it whenever we went hunting it… huh, how odd.

  I guess I didn’t mind sharing my kills though, and even after killing that damned dire bear, whenever I had run into struggling creatures around the old den, I had shared parts of my kills with them whenever I could. I hated the idea of not using every part of the beast, and the various small creatures of the forest always seemed to be around and hungry for morsels… Besides, I did enjoy hearing all of their little chirps, especially the colorful little birds with snakes for tail feathers that would fly in, snap up a piece, and then let out an unbelievably beautiful melody. I sighed and closed my eyes at the happy memory. Maybe I would see them before the sun… set…

  I gasped and shot up, my face going pale. Oh damn it! That’s what I had forgotten! I needed to get to the town before the sun set! I cursed loudly and leaped up, running over to the fire and stomping it out quickly. I went to snatch up the hide and my knapsack, but after a brief hesitation, I grabbed the extra meat that I had set aside and placed all of it by the edge of the clearing, where I had placed the other sacrifice. I gave the forest and the rapid happy chirping a nod, before I rolled up the hide and placed it in my knapsack.

  I groaned as I looked at the sun again and cursed, reaching into the void and activating sprint. My newly leveled up and energized muscles surged with power and strength, and I dashed off into the woods smacking aside any branches and leaves that got in my way.

  I used leap to fly over a fallen tree and groaned as I watched the shadows begin to really lengthen. Damn it, damn it, damn it! I got so distracted by that fight I just absolutely forgot about that deadline! I growled and activated blow, slamming my fist into a tree and smashing a large chunk out of it as I raced by. Oh gods fucking damn it! I only had about an hour or so until sunset and I hadn't even seen an outlying farm! I groaned again as I leaped over a creek and spun around a tree, powering forward as quickly as I could. There really was no way I’d get there before dark… but… agh… oh well, there was not much I could do for that. Hopefully the guards wouldn’t mind too much.

  I continued racing through the trees, feeling my breathing coming harder and harder as I pushed myself to the edge of my limits. I ran harder and harder, until I surpassed the first hour, and then the second, and began to creep up on the third. Still, it wasn’t fast enough, and I growled as I watched the shadows lengthen.

  I picked up the pace again, ignoring the birds and the animals that chirped and growled at me as I flew by them, because I knew that they didn’t even have enough time to truly get ready to fight the blur that was me. My lungs were screaming, my legs were on fire, and my body was struggling to heal me even as I broke it more and more. My vision started to go dark from the lack of oxygen, and then I saw it.

  Before me there was a large rocky hill, and past it the forest thinned our and vanished, revealing a massive clearing, lined by trees. There was a sprawling town surrounded by large wood and stone walls, and outside of it was farm after farm, some full of roaming livestock, and others full of row after row of flourishing crops.

  I laughed hysterically and picked up the pace, exploding out of the forest and flying down the hill towards the most unpopulated looking farm that I could see. I guess I could knock on one of the farmer's doors and ask if I could sleep in the stables for the night, but I really didn’t want to be too much of a bother, and so I flew around the plowed fields, towards where I could see the gate in the distance.

  I hesitated as I watched the sun set, placing the entire world into a dusky gloom. I slowed down to a walk, trying to drag in as much air as I could and calm my heart rate. I know that Wess had been so insistent that I get into the town before sunset, but… the sun had just set, I should be fine right? They wouldn’t throw a fit about one poor soul sneaking in immediately after sunset… right?

  I sighed and looked down at my bloody clothes, grimacing as I glanced up. I needed to change my clothes before I walked up to the gate. The guards might let me in a bit late, but there was no way in hell that they’d let a bloody stranger in.

  I ducked behind a stable near the gate, glancing around before stripping the bloody clothes off. I reached into the knapsack and took the rag out and wiped off all of my sweat and blood, throwing the rag in a pile with my bloody clothes. After that I switched into my extra set of clothes and cautiously made my way over to the trough of water, peering in and taking a quick glance at myself.

  I was definitely not going to win any beauty contests, but I was presentable enough that I imagined that the guard wouldn’t be too worried. I’d just have to tell them that I was out hunting, and had a rather hard time killing the beast. I let out a chuckle and dipped my hands into the trough and washed off my face, shaking my head and hair before heading straight towards the gate.

  As I got closer, I couldn’t help but laugh again as I saw it was still open, and with a grin I forged ahead, my mind full of how nice the bed and a nice hot meal would be. Though, as I got nearer and nearer, I noticed something was… off, about the entrance.

  I slowed down to a jog, and frowned as my feet clopped along the ground. I crouched and stared at the… stones? They were all arrayed out purposefully, and there was even sand and clay running between them all. How… odd? I carefully walked closer to the gate, and peered through at the dark buildings that laid beyond, cocking my head to the side. I had assumed that there would be guards about, or that I would see some sort of life moving about, but there wasn’t even the slightest hint of movement.

  I sighed and readjusted my bag over my shoulder with a grunt. Ah shit, was I really going to have to sleep in some poor farmers stable? I guess I’d have to find somewhere to sleep huh? I wonder if I could find a… oh where did that old man tell me I should go? Was it the Old Haunt? Or was it-

  Suddenly I was snapped out of my thoughts as I felt a cold, sharp line press against my throat, the edge of it so sharp that I could feel a thin bead of blood already start to form. I frowned and stopped moving, glancing down at what looked like a sword that was pressed against my throat, the edge of it gleaming in the dusk. The hell was a sword doing against my-

  Before I could even think another thought, the blade vanished and a boot slammed into my back, sending me stumbling towards the gate wall. I stretched out my senses, catching the scent of danger and dropped, hearing something whistle through the air right where my head had been.

  I growled and leaped up, spinning around and looking behind me, baring my fangs at whatever had dared to attack me. I was expecting a goblin or some other sentient beast, but to my surprise, it was instead a lightly armored guard, dropped into a fighting stance and pointing their gleaming blade at my throat.

  I frowned as they lashed out at me with their sword again and I leapt backwards, just missing the edge of it. The hell were they doing? It wasn’t like I was harming anyone, and I had cleaned up and everything! The only thing I was doing was entering the town… after… sunset…

  I sighed and let my body flow into autopilot, dodging each attack from the guard as they flashed forward and viciously attacked. They had suddenly procured a solid wood club, and it was flying through the air viciously, working in concert with that gleaming short sword from before. It was an odd combination of attacks, and even with all of the training from the old man, I wasn’t near fast enough. I ducked and dodged and spun and dropped, struggling to avoid the sharp edge of the blade and the hard edge of the club without striking back. I knew that if I seriously harmed the town guard, there was no way I would ever be allowed in. I’d just have to wait for them to get tired or frustrated, but… that was easier said than done.

  The sword flashed in the moonlight, turning from the cool silver to red as it drew more and more of my blood. The club smashed into my side, then my hip, my arms, and then my leg, cracking painfully against my shin. I growled and ducked a particularly vicious sword slash before charging forward, tackling them at the waist. They grunted as they were forced to take a few steps back, and then twisted their sword around and stabbed it into my side, creating a hot gush of blood. I bared my teeth and growled, before wrapping my arms around them, straining backwards and flipping them with all the strength I had. To say they hadn’t been expecting that move was an understatement, and they slammed into the ground, yelping in pain.

  I laughed and dashed forward, placing my hand on my side to staunch the blood and leaning on the gateway, “Ha! I win! Now, would it kill ya to just wait a second before-”

  I felt something slam into my skull, cracking my skull and lighting my entire existence aflame with agony. My eyes rolled into the back of my head and I slumped to the ground, darkness flooding my vision. The last thing I heard was a deep voice admonishing someone and a boot crushing down on my chest, knocking out whatever air was left in my lungs and sending me straight to oblivion.