Darnell turned and grinned at me, showing off a glinting gold tooth, “So, I had just assumed you were new to town, but where do you hail from? Haha… I don’t really recognize your complexion, or the claws and sharp teeth… Maybe from the south? Or are you more from the jungles of the East?”

  I grunted in surprise, but hesitantly froze. Where… where should I say? I don’t even remember anything prior to the wolves… Prior to the Bear… and prior even to meeting Wess. I guess… if I could only remember the forest, I might as well say that right? Though, it might just be worthwhile making up a fake backstory.

  I let out a slow breath and chuckled, “Oh, well, I guess I grew up on a farm in the southern forests. Was dropped off at the doorway as a baby, and worked there until I was old enough to pay off my debts. Figured I might be able to make a living here, as an adventurer ya know?”

  Darnell chuckled and swung his warmace up and on his shoulder, “I see… We get quite a lot of new adventurer’s with stories like that. Dropped off as an orphan, go to the city and try to make it big… Just be careful kid. Being an adventurer is not as easy as we make it look. Death is always a threat, and you’re always at risk of dying.”

  I nodded and held up a hand, “I know, I know… Even traveling through the forest to get here, I had to fight this quill covered, snake necked beast… The damn thing almost got me, but thankfully I got it first. I even managed to level up!”

  Darnell’s eyes widened and they looked down at me, “Are you serious? You fought a juvenile Quam and lived to tell the tail? At your level! Hahaha! You must be quite the voracious one kid! Their venom isn’t enough to kill you, but I hear it is unbelievably painful! You must have some resistance skill, but still! Hahaha! Sprig! Would you get a load of this! This kid is insane!

  A small lithe person laughed and looked back at us, “That is rather impressive! It took me at least five years of adventuring before I managed to kill one of those damned things! Ah how I remember when I was a young woman… The joys of youth!”

  A short bulky person who was covered in quills grunted, cutting her off, “Bah! What do you mean the joys of youth Sprig! That must have been twenty years ago, and you haven’t changed at all! You timeless one! To someone like you, what’s five years of adventuring!? I managed to kill one in a year!”

  She giggled and flipped her long brown hair over her shoulder, running over to the tall and silent silver scaled beast-man at the front of the group. ”Oh you’re such a grouch Kwamp, it’s not my fault your people only live for fifty or so years! You’re just a grumpy old man because your quills have started turning grey!”

  Kwamp growled and waved his arm at her as she ran around the silver scaled lizard-man. They hadn’t told me their name, but Darnell had mentioned it was best translated to Slosht in human tongue.

  I had been wanting to ask them about why I had seen so many of them around town, seemingly doing chores, but when I had started to ask them, Darnell had walked up and pulled me to the side. Apparently their throat had been damaged during a dungeon run, and they couldn’t speak anymore, despite Sprig's best efforts.

  After a while of the back and forth between Kwamp and Sprig, Slosht’s green eyes flashed down to Sprig and they snatched her up, lifting her like she was a piece of fruit and setting her on their shoulder. A low hiss coming from deep in their chest, and they glared at Kwamp, who huffed and waved them both off, grumbling to himself as he walked away. Sprig laughed and patted Slosht’s head before leaping off and running behind Darnell, batting her eyelashes up at him and pouting at Kwamp.

  Darnell chuckled and waved her off, “Oh you know Slosht doesn’t take too kindly to being used as a shield! Besides, didn’t you get off rather lightly? Kwamp didn’t even smack you like he normally does! You have nothing to pout about!”

  She giggled and skipped off, giving him a wink before leaping up into the trees, vanishing in moments. Darnell flashed me another apologetic smile before walking up to Slosht and talking to him. I didn’t see him respond at all, but there was a lot of nodding and hand gestures that quickly flashed between the two of them. I guess that was how the two of them communicated… It might be worthwhile to figure out how to sign like that. I’d have to make a mental note of that…

  I sighed and dropped back, tailing the others as we continued walking through the forest. I tried to see if I could catch any sign of Sprig or any other monsters, but the forest was quiet. I’d already given up trying to find the other two that had vanished into the forest as soon as we had left the town gates, but it really irked me that I already had to give up on finding Sprig.

  Though… I guess I shouldn’t be too upset about that. They were all well over my level, had rarer and higher proficiencies of skills than me, and were bonafide veterans. It made me wonder how long each of them had been adventuring together, especially since they seemed to know each other so well, not even counting the fact that Spyr and Cryon, the two that had vanished off into the woods for recon, were apparently twins. Though I still couldn’t believe that fact, since they both looked as different as can be from each other.

  Spyr was a red skinned avian with a pair of fiery wings that allowed her to fly and get some amazing reconnaissance. She was the team’s air scout, but she was an incredibly deadly fighter as well. She had two khopesh’s that she dual wielded, and apparently had been blessed by the goddess with some fire magic as well. It made her a vicious fighter, but she mostly used it in order to speed herself up, making her by far the fastest person in town. Darnell mentioned that she could fly so fast, that the last time the town had a flight competition, she had won so handedly that she had to be disqualified.

  On the other hand, Cryon was a light snowy blue, and while he wasn’t able to fly like his sibling, he was able to phase through trees, water, and just about any object, leaving behind a frost like residue. He was even able to phase through the air which allowed him to float around almost like a wraith. On top of that, unless someone was specifically looking out for him, he blended in with his surroundings perfectly, becoming practically invisible. Darnell praised him as the perfect spy, if it wasn’t for the fact that he had the bad side effect of leaving behind a frost wherever he phased through that is.

  I rolled my shoulders and frowned. It was odd that Darnell had told me so much about all of them and their skills… Maybe it was just me, but I don’t think I would be just sharing all of that with an obvious newcomer… and not only that, but we had been walking for a long time now…

  I eyed the forest again and then Darnell and Kwamp, who were talking to each other in front. I knew that the town and farmers wouldn’t want to set up right next to a dungeon entrance, but I doubted they would be that far away from one. After all, the amount of materials and business that flowed around a dungeon entrance was absolutely incredible, it had to pay to be close to an entrance.

  I sighed and shook my head. The old man hadn’t taught me much besides the physical sides of combat and training, but that had been one of the things he had made clear to me. An adventurer's life was fraught with danger, but the treasures and money that could be made from it was enough to change anyone’s life. The thing was… even if this was an entrance most people didn’t use, and the Richter’s were taking me to a secret entrance… They should have told me by now, and more than that, I definitely should have seen someone else by now. That just… shouldn’t have been possible, right? Especially in an adventuring town? I frowned, and let out a long sigh, before I carefully made my way over to Darnell. I guess there was no harm in asking, I doubt that they were trying to kill me. Besides, its not like I had anything of value, and they knew that, especially after my fake story and how new I obviously was.

  I gave Kwamp a nod as I walked past him, and then turned to Darnell, tapping him on the shoulder, “Hey, Darnell, sorry to bug you, but I just had a quick question I wanted to ask you?”

  He turned with a grin and nodded at me, “Yeah of course Will, no problem! How can I help you? Don’t even feel bad about asking, I’m glad to help however I can! You know, I didn’t have anyone to help me on my first day adventuring? Oh the things I could have gotten done with just a little bit of help in those early days… Anyways, sorry for babbling on, what’s up?”

  I smiled, a little more at ease after listening to him talk, “Oh it’s probably nothing major, but I was just curious. Where are the other adventurers? We’ve been walking towards the dungeon entrance for a while now, but I feel like I haven’t seen a single person, group, or even any beasts?”

  Darnell frowned and glanced around, almost as if he had just noticed that as well, “Huh… well I guess you’re right! Usually you don’t see many people going to the west entrance since it’s so much farther than the others, but it is odd that we haven’t seen any other groups heading back yet…”

  After another moment of consideration, he put his fingers to his lips and let out a long, shrill whistle. I winced at the sharp noise, but patiently waited, my eyes watching the sky and forest like a hawk. I was curious to see if I could see Spyr or Cryon before Darnell, though I wasn’t keeping my hopes that high. Not after I had seen how fast Spyr had taken off earlier… It knew that it wouldn’t take that long considering that, but still, I was caught off guard when Spyr exploded into the clearing, like a rocket.

  With an eruption of leaves and color, Spyr slammed into the ground, a massive grin on her face. She laughed loudly and turned to the trees, just as Cryon floated out from them, a semi miffed, but amused look on his face. As he got closer to the group, he unphased and fell down, lightly touching down in contrast to Spyr’s meteoric crash. Spyr punched him in the shoulder, which he allowed to happen, and smirking they both turned to Darnell expectantly.

  Spyr laughed boisterously and stretched out, cocking her head to the side and blinking her flaming red eyes, “What’s the issue boss? Need us to check something out in particular, or did something happen? I’ve been itching for a fight! Pleeeaaase tell me there’s something around here I can kill!”

  Darnell chuckled before shaking his head, “No, nothing big happened. Besides, as our scout, wouldn’t you have seen any beasts or monsters first? Ha… No, I was talking to Will over here and he was worried because he hadn’t seen any other adventurer’s or groups. Normally I wouldn’t have noticed not seeing one or two groups, but… this is a bit odd not seeing any groups. Have you two seen anyone from overhead or in the forest?”

  Spyr cocked her head and frowned for a long moment, but Cryon was the first to speak up, their voice cold and halting, “Yes. Though, I have not seen many. There have only been a few. One was far to the left. Another group. Four strong. They were to the far right. Not many though. This is true. All going back to Sparbrook.”

  Spyr cut in loudly, huffing in annoyance, “Hey I was gonna say that! Yeah I’ve seen a couple, but, like, nowhere near as many as per usual! Like, I didn’t see the Crhons, the Lampa’s, or even the Zerk’s! So weird honestly!”

  Darnell frowned, but after a quick glance around at everyone, he let out a sigh, “Well, that’s quite unusual to not see any of those three groups… but not unheard of. Besides, if there was something bad happening, I doubt you both would’ve seen those others, even if they were heading back. The call or a warning definitely would’ve been put out, and Lynn would’ve told us or Will here before we left…” He frowned, tapping his chin as we all took a brief break, crowding around him. He eyed me, and then turned to everyone, “Well, we did promise Will that we would show him the entrance, so we might as well follow through eh? The others must be taking a day off. You know, thinking back about it, I think I did hear something about them getting a nice run the other day. Must be hitting up the Hanging Drop, those lucky bastards! Alright, well let's get a nice run ourselves eh guys?”

  He laughed and swung out his arm with a flourish, motioning for everyone to continue on. Kwamp grumbled and stomped along, Sprig, who had sneakily reappeared from the forest, stabbed little berries on his quills, and Slosht exchanged a look with Darnell before turning and following the two of them. Spyr laughed and whirled around, sending red feathers everywhere, before exploding into the air again, breaking a hole in the overhead canopy, while Cryon gave a bow before stepping back straight into, and through, a tree, leaving behind a frosty mark. I glanced at Darnell, expecting to see his normal grin on his face, but instead I saw a dark worried look as he looked off into the forest. Almost as if he felt my gaze on him, the look vanished as if it was never there, and he grinned down at me.

  He cleared his throat and shook his head, banishing the dark look off of his face, “Ah sorry about that Will. I was just thinking about the Crhons. We’ve had a little rivalry between us for a long time now… If we could get a good run today while they’re off taking a break, I think it’d be amazing for us as a team. But you don’t have to worry about that at all Will. I’m sorry if I worried you at all, but on our honor as the Richter’s, I will make sure your safety is prioritized if anything happens, okay?”

  I flashed him a smile and laughed, “Oh, don’t even worry about it Darnell! Like you said, I’m not a part of the Richter’s and you’ve already done me such a good turn by showing me even this far! No, thank you for what you’ve done so far, really! I wish you luck on beating those Crhon’s, eh?”

  Darnell smiled at me, before turning and walking after the others, shouldering his massive warmace. I eyed the forest, before closing my eyes and stretching out my spatial awareness, hoping to catch any sign or feeling of something wrong, but I got nothing. Even with us not seeing anyone, and everyone’s worries seemingly vanishing after Spyr and Cryon’s report, I still felt like something was… off. I sighed and opened my eyes, shouldering my bag and jogging after Darnell, catching him right as they rounded a copse of trees and almost passed out of my line of sight. I’d have to keep an eye out… but everything should be okay, right?

  I caught them, and even with everyone on high alert, we didn’t catch anything wrong in the forest or anything wrong as we made our way through. As we got closer to the entrance, Spyr and Cryon would appear almost at random, giving us a heads up if they saw any goblins, or other beasts ranging around the entrance. They could pretty easily destroy them considering their low levels, but Darnell leaned down and whispered that while they could very easily kill them, it was honestly more trouble than it was worth. It was also frowned upon by the guild and the others, as the lower level monsters were generally left for the newer or weaker members of the guild. He even mentioned that after they entered the dungeon, it might even be a good idea for me to kill one or two of them before heading back into town.

  I liked the idea, but I still was on edge the whole time. That feeling I had gotten earlier just kept on getting worse and worse as we made our way through the forest. I jumped at each crack of a broken twig, and the crunch of leaves under our feet made me grind my teeth together. Still though, it was an extremely peaceful and straight forward walk, and I even started to see more groups passing through the forest as we got nearer and nearer to the entrance. Seeing them actually made Darnell relax, though I could still see that Slosht was on edge, eyeing the forest and keeping their hand on their blade, ready to pull it out at a moment's notice.

  Finally though, we made our way into a large clearing, and my eyes locked onto the dungeon entrance. It wasn’t anything especially amazing or spectacular, but rather just a cave. It was actually smaller than the wolf den’s, with the opening’s only being about half the size of those den’s. In fact, it was such a small entrance, that I wasn’t even entirely sure if the Dire Bear could have fit through if it had tried. Honestly, the only thing that really distinguished it from any other normal cave was that the opening had various different glyphs and runes lining the rim. When I had asked, Kwamp had spoken up and gruffly told me that they were there to keep all of the more dangerous and powerful monsters locked within the dungeon. All dungeons that were near towns or settlements were usually locked this way, which is why the wilds near towns were relatively safe, as compared to the wilds in the deep forests.

  I whistled at the sight, and Darnell and the others grinned with relief, before turning to me and waving goodbye, “Alright Will, well, this is where we part ways! We’ll probably be in that dungeon all day, so feel free to head back whenever you feel like it. You remember the way back right?”

  I nodded and gave him a handshake and nodded at the others, “Thanks again Darnell, Kwamp, Sprig, Slosht, Spyr, and Cryon. I was really worried about being able to get here on my own, but with this, I get the feeling that the rest of my path is going to go smoothly! If there is ever anything I can do to help y’all out, please, just let me know!”

  Darnell smiled and clapped me on the shoulder, “You’re a good kid Will, and don’t even worry about it. Us adventurers have to look out for each other, because who else will?”

  Sprig gave me a wink and a hug, before skipping off towards the entrance, giggling the whole way. Both Kwamp and Slosht gave me a simple nod and a solid handshake, before they shouldered their bags and began walking towards the entrance as well. Spyr actually surprised me by slamming her fist into my side and laughing as I grunted and staggered back. She slapped me on the shoulder and congratulated me on being able to take a hit, before heading towards the entrance as well. Cryon phased through me when I went to shake his hand, smirking at me before giving me a chilling handshake, cooling me down after the fiery punch I had just received from his sister. Darnell just gave me a simple slap on the back and a boisterous laugh, heading towards the entrance after the others with a passing wink.

  I sighed, and looked towards the woods, a small smile cracking onto my face. There were mostly just goblins, zhaarst’s, zeal’s, fewn’s, oglebons, and piglints around the west entrance according to Cryon. The highest leveled beast around there was only around level 25, and those were few and far between and easily avoided.

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  I leaped into a nearby tree and hid my bag, before I dropped down and turned towards the woods with a crack of my neck. I laughed loudly and activated sprint, dashing off into the forest as I closed my eyes, straining my spatial awareness to map out my surroundings before I ran head first into a tree or any nearby monster’s. I had only really wanted to see the dungeon entrance, but I figured I should take up Darnell on his advice and hunt a creature or two before heading back. After all, it was only the morning, and I doubted it would really be that hard finding a place to sleep tonight.

  It was going pretty well, and I actually managed to find a couple monsters that were worth fighting, but I decided to hold off for now and check out my surroundings first. So I just dodged around them, and outran any that gave chase, losing them easily with my high proficiency sprint skill, as I searched for the perfect prey. I didn’t really want to risk being out of commision like I had almost been with the Quam, but I still wanted something that was at least close to my level.

  I dashed casually through the forest, making sure to keep track of trees and my path in order to make my way back at some point. Then I finally happened across the perfect enemy. It was just a single goblin, making its way through the forest. It was probably just a low level scout, but that was perfect for my first kill as an adventurer. I bared my teeth in a sharp toothed grin and ran even harder through the trees, not even trying to hide myself as I raced towards the goblin.

  The goblin turned at the sound of me flying through the undergrowth, and with a screech it raised its spiked club and charged towards me, spittle flying from its mouth. I roared and jumped, reaching into the void once more and pulling from it, reaching out and activating three of my skills at the same time. Power surged through me as I leaped, and then I activated claw and bite, extending my claws out and then snapping my teeth down towards its neck, my body and claws impacting the poor creature. Bitter blood flew and filled my mouth as I slashed into the goblin, but the goblin wasn’t ready to lose either. It screeched and tried to slam its club into me, but I wasn’t going to just let it get a hit in that easy. I roared and slashed down, but it kicked me off and I flew backwards, surprised at the sudden power behind the kick. It staggered to its feet, growling and holding onto its bleeding wound, its green eyes glaring at me as it gripped its club.

  I growled and flexed my claws, but I wasn’t really worried. I could see the mass amounts of green blood that the goblin was losing, and knew that it was only a matter of time before it keeled over and died. It wasn’t even fair to be honest, and just letting them bleed out and die slowly and painfully just didn’t sit right with me. I flexed my claws and paced around the goblin, the two of us circling each other, the goblins' life blood staining the forest floor. Then, the goblin stumbled on a branch, and I raced forth, activating bite and tearing out its throat. It gurgled and fell to the ground, going limp within moments as the life left its eyes. I bared my teeth and spat out a chunk of the goblin flesh. I’d only wanted to kill the one… but I needed more.

  I laughed wildly and flew off into the forest again, reaching out with my spatial awareness and flexing my claws as I spun around tree after tree. This forest wouldn’t be where I was hunting after this first week, but for now, it was mine. It was mine, and all of this prey was mine to claim. I laughed wildly and swung up and into a tree, leaping from branch to branch until I sensed yet another lone goblin. I dropped down from the trees and lashed out viciously, catching it entirely off guard. They didn’t even last as long as the other one, their neck snapping as my full weight crashed down on it. I growled and stood up, eyeing the trees once more as I considered where I was off to next. I decided to head to the left, just as a rock hard head slammed into me from behind, sending me flying through the air.

  I grunted as I slammed into a tree, and with my free hand I snapped out, digging into the bark and yanking me up and out of the way as the beast slammed into the tree below me, shaking the whole tree aggressively. I bared my teeth and roared down at the creature, which shook its head and squealed loudly and angrily stomping its hooved feet as it looked around for me. I eyed the horns sprouting out of the left and right sides of its head, and the thick black and green carapace covering its entire back. It’d be a bit of a pain in the ass to get through that… what to do, what to do…

  As I hung from the branch, considering how best to fight and kill the beast, I suddenly felt a searing pain rush through the arm holding onto the branch. I ground my teeth together, struggling not to make a noise, and switched to my other arm. I glared up at the branch, just in time to see a rather large tree snake hiss at me and slither away down the branch. I shot its retreating form a glare, and shook my arm, inwardly cursing as the venom raced through my veins, setting my arm on fire as my cells exploded and shriveled from the acid.

  The snake's venom must be ridiculously strong if it was able to just cut through my resistance… fuck, right as I was in the middle of fighting that damned beast! I looked down at the creature, surprised that it still hadn’t looked up. Instead it seemed to have chosen to bite and tear into an exposed tree root, turning it into a mulch before slurping it up. I grimaced at the disgusting sight, but froze as a thought raced through my head. If I could jump on its back, I’d probably catch it by surprise… and if I managed to do that, I might even be able to take my claws and use pierce to get through the sides of its hide that were particularly thicker. I’d just have to be really careful… I could tell that my arm had been weakened by the snake bite, so I only really had the one to work with until my ability healed my arm.

  I narrowed my eyes and slowly swung down the branch, careful not to make any creak or crack sounds. The beast hadn’t looked up yet, but I didn’t want to test the theory that it had forgotten me any more than I had to. I winced as my body struggled to fight off the venom, and shook my weakened hand, pain lancing through me. Damn venomous snake… I swear they were everywhere! Wait… venom… I smirked and swung back the other way, straining my senses to find the snake. If it hurt me this badly with my resistance… then maybe… just maybe… I searched amongst the upper branches until I finally heard the rasp of scales on bark. I grinned and pounced, wrapping my hand around its head while simultaneously letting go, falling straight down towards the beast.

  It hissed loudly and squirmed, alerting the beast of the threat above it, but it was much too late. With a wild laugh I slammed onto the hard bug like carapace and wrapped my legs around it, digging my free hands claws into a gap in the shell. I popped the snake's jaw wide and stabbed its fangs into the beast's eye, right as it looked up and squealed in anger.

  This of course caused it to buck and squeal even more, but I didn’t care, I’d managed to do what I had wanted. I released the snake which went flying through the air comically, and laughed as the beasts squealed and bucked, crashing into tree after tree and flashing through the air, slamming into anything that it was able to see. As the venom flowed through its veins, its pissed off squeals became weaker and weaker, but that didn’t stop it as it crashed into anything it could. With me on top of it still… I screamed in agony as I felt my legs and body being crushed by the weight of it crashing into everything.

  It was pure agony, but the sound of its squeals were worth it. I didn’t like the extra suffering from poisoning, but the damned beast was running around so hard and working itself up so much that it was rushing towards its own death in record time. Then the snake’s venom coursed through its blood and seeped into its brain, and it crashed to the ground, foaming at the mouth as its eyes seeped blood.

  I laughed again and fell off its side, flopping onto my back as I felt a rush of euphoria pulse through my body, mending my bones and biting back at the very last bit of venom pulsing through my veins.

  The normal message for a level up appeared in front of my eyes and I chuckled patting the side of the massive beast, “Thanks buddy, I was hoping for at least one level up today.”

  Name: Will

  Race: Chimera

  Level: Eighteen(New!)

  Title: Dire Slayer

  Abilities:

  Enduring Heart

  Unending Vitality (Incomplete)

  Death's Favoured (Incomplete)

  Skills:

  Sprint (Veteran)

  Claw (Beginner)

  Sword Slash (Trainee)

  Pierce (Beginner)(New!)

  Hammer Bash (Novice)

  Bite (Trainee)(New!)

  Blow (Trainee)

  Leap (Initiate)(New)

  Axe Smash (Initiate)

  Hardened Body (Passive)(Trainee)(New!)

  Acid Resistance (Passive)(Initiate)

  Spatial Awareness (Passive)(Novice)

  I groaned and sat up, flexing my toes and testing out how my legs felt. The bones still ached, but I’d probably be fine as long as I let my body healed naturally for a moment. Those dragon bones that Grim had made me out of really were pretty durable… I couldn’t even begin to imagine how strong a real dragon must be.

  I let out a long sigh and crawled over to the beast and looked it over. Seeing it from the side was quite different, and I frowned as I saw how odd its anatomy was. It had a bug-like carapace, but its body underneath was more like a boar. It had four legs, but there were massive paws instead of hooves. The edges of the carapace were serrated, and it had two different sets of mouths. One was on the boar's head, but below that there was another opening, the sharp fangs poking out of the sides of the smaller mouth. I eyed that, but after a moment I cracked my neck and got to work, slowly but surely ripping off a section of the carapace. Thankfully, it was pretty easy without the beast struggling, and I ended up using my claws to get most of it off. I wished I had grabbed my skinning knife from the bag, but oh well, lessons for next time. I sighed, and then placed my foot on the side of its skull, and after straining on one of its horns and for a long moment, I heard a loud crack, and the horn ripped off. I flopped onto the ground and laughed, holding the horn up to the light.

  It was light, much lighter than I was expecting, but it seemed to be rather hard still. Hopefully it sold for a lot… or at least enough to hold me over. I should probably check those other goblins corpses too… they probably had some loot I could sell, even if it wasn’t much.

  I shrugged and stood up with a groan. Damn beast hadn’t gone lightly, that was for sure! I reached into the void and activated sprint, grinning as I felt power flow through my legs once more. I let out a long breath and dashed off into the forest, heading back towards the goblins corpses. I hummed to myself, and closed my eyes, letting my senses reach out and keep a track on every little thing around me. The scent of the woods, the creak of a branch underneath a squirrel's foot, the call of a bird, and the feel of the wind’s breeze on my skin. All of these and more created the perfect image of my surroundings, even better than my sight could give me.

  It was because of that, that I was able to sense the arrow flying through the woods towards me, moving faster than I could ever have had the time to dodge in time otherwise. I grunted and dropped, feeling the air waver as it flew through where I had just been before. I growled and rolled forward, getting back onto my feet and taking off towards the clearing again. I wasn’t exactly sure what had shot that arrow, but I did know something for sure, and that was that shot wasn’t fired by some novice, no… that was a shot at someone moving 40 miles or so an hour in the middle of a dense forest. My sense of danger was at an all time high now, and my senses were on high alert as I flew through the forest, leaping up and pushing off of trees, dodging arrow after arrow as they shot through the air, and ducking under low hanging branches in my mad rush.

  I didn’t know who they were, what they wanted, or even why they might be shooting at me. I was a low- level adventurer, had no money, and had only just killed that weird beast. I doubted that was a great enough haul that someone would try to kill me for it, but I wasn’t just gonna give up my loot. I growled and flew up a tree, scaling it in a flash and snagging my bag before I jumped off of the top and slammed into the ground. I winced as the shock flew up my leg, but was thankful that I had made the jump when I heard the sound of an arrow thwack into the top of the tree where I had just been.

  I groaned and flew off again, heading towards the clearing once more. I doubted that I’d find any adventurers loitering about there, but I knew that if I could get deep enough into the dungeon, or in a big enough clearing, they would have to come down and meet me eventually… right? Hell, maybe I could even find the Richter’s! Or maybe I could even outlast this damned archer! Arrows couldn’t last forever, right?

  I groaned as I felt another arrow flash through the air, curving at me from behind me and to the left. I fell flat and rolled, dodging the arrow right as it split into two and stabbed into the earth where I had just been about to run. I sighed and waited there for a moment, staring up at the night sky.

  After I hadn’t been able to see the Richter’s or any other adventurer’s in the dungeon, I’d just tried to evade the archer. I’d thought that I could wait out the archer here in the clearing, and that they would eventually run out of arrows. Honestly, I thought it was a pretty good plan, if I don’t say so myself! Especially since I was never really at too much of a risk with my Spatial Awareness and reflexes. Unfortunately, the gods damned archer apparently had a fucking neverending quiver! I’d been running around and dodging arrows for hours at this point!

  I roared in anger and rolled, dodging yet another arrow. I lashed out and grabbed its haft, tearing it out of the ground and whipping it into the forest, not even caring that it wouldn’t hit anything, and also knowing that all I would receive was the light giggle that had been haunting me for the last few hours.

  Every time I raced into the forest to try and track them down, or chucked the arrow back, they would simply vanish or mock me with that giggle. All while shooting arrow after arrow at me! It was so irritating that I had even considered letting one of the arrows hit me and playing dead, hopefully to drag the little shit closer.

  I’d discarded that thought pretty quickly though… Especially after they had started shooting trick arrows and curving their arrows. I sighed and activated sprint once more, dashing through the forest again, right as another arrow slammed into the tree near me. No, there was no way that they would fall for that. The way they were attacking me? The power behind each of these shots? And the mocking giggles that echoed around me every time I entered the forest… yeah, that was all I needed to know. They knew exactly what they were doing, and unless I raced all the way back to town, I was pretty much screwed…

  I sighed as I realized that I had made yet another lap around the dungeon entrance and glanced upwards at the night sky. How long was I just going to be stuck here? I went to turn around and begin a new path racing through the forest, when all of a sudden I heard the sound of footfalls on rock.

  I froze, my heart and mind going numb as I realized what that had to be. I… I recognized those footfalls! And… they were the key to my victory. I laughed, and leaped into the air, my overwhelming jow almost causing me to miss the sound of another arrow flicking through the air. I landed and rolled aside at the last moment, just barely getting nicked by its barbed tip. I stood up, and cracked my neck, a slow smile spreading across my face.

  I heard that same laughter echo from the forest and I laughed again. That archer really had no idea how fucked they were! Hahaha! With a flourish and a bow, I waved goodbye to the forest and raced into the dungeon, a full grin on my face. I couldn’t see much by the torch light of the dungeon, but what I could see was just as I had seen the last time I had gone in. Just cold stone and dirt walls, the smell of the damp earth, and an odd dripping noise in the background.

  I heard the laughter of Darnell’s group and the sound of their footfalls stop, and I grinned, picking up my pace as I raced forward. I could tell that they weren’t that far away now, though they were still out of sight. I went to yell out hello, but then I heard the telltale signs of a blade being unsheathed. My smile faded and I frowned, right as I felt the group in front of me suddenly decrease by one individual. I started to slow down, but then something slammed into me, crushing me into the dungeon wall.

  I yelped as a knife pressed into my neck and I could feel a bead of blood form as Spyr’s voice growled through the air, “You have a death wish or something, huh? Like what makes you think rushing the Richter’s is a smart idea, huh?”

  I gulped and held up my hands, feeling that the others were suddenly standing around me and pointing their weapons at me, “Woah, woah, woah! It’s just Will! Remember, the newbie adventurer you were with earlier! Sorry for spooking you all! I just figured I should give you a warning before you head out there!”

  Spyr froze, before laughing hard and pulling back, slamming her fist into my gut, “Oh, Will! I know you’re new and all, but didn’t anyone ever tell you not to sneak up on an adventuring party, especially late at night? That’s like, the easiest way to get yourself eviscerated you know! Hahaha… sorry about the new scar kid!”

  I fell to the ground and sighed, rubbing my stomach where she’d punched me, “Hahaha… No worries Spyr, it should heal up here soon anyway. You really didn’t give me much of a choice to announce myself! I didn’t even have the chance to say hello before you slammed me into the wall, Spyr!”

  She laughed hard and went to the others, who had conjured a floating bright ball of light that spun overhead. They all seemed to be in a pretty good mood, with each of them hoisting a very full bag over the shoulders. Even Kwamp gave me a solid head nod before glowering off into the distance. I chuckled and shook my head at the sight. I knew that they were a solid adventurer group but damn! It really must have been a good haul down there!

  Darnell slapped Slosht on the shoulder and whispered something to them before making his way over to me, a wide grin on his face, “You know, I had hoped to see you around the guild Will, but I hadn’t been expecting to see you so soon! Did you forget the way back to town? You haven’t been waiting for us all day and night have you?”

  I gave him a smile and shook my head side to side, “No… I wish it was something as easy as that! I was doing some hunting out in the woods when I was suddenly attacked by an archer! I have no clue who they are, why they are attacking me, or what their goal is, but I have been shot at left, right, and center! I was hoping to just outlast their supply of arrows, but they seem to either have an endless supply, or an unending amount of quivers because I’ve been dodging arrows for hours! It’s really starting to piss me off actually!”

  Darnell chuckled, but stared at the entrance with a look of worry, “An endless supply of arrows you say? Ah shit… no wonder we didn’t see the other groups on the way here…” He glared at the entrance for a while before his eyes suddenly widened and he turned to me, “Wait, you said you’ve been dodging the arrows this whole time? Are you serious?”

  I raised an eyebrow, but shrugged anyway, “Yeah, I mean, it's not like it was that hard, the coward shoots from so far away that I can pretty easily dodge it. I would’ve just come in here and climbed down the levels, but honestly I don’t think I’m anywhere near ready, or strong enough to make it through and then turn around and face that ass wipe of a coward!”

  I spat on the ground and harrumphed, shooting a glare of my shoulder. When I turned back to Darnell and the others, they were staring at me with wide open jaws. After a long, and pretty awkward, moment, they all started laughing. Darnell had to lean on the cave wall, his eyes squeezed shut as he gasped for air, Spyr and Sprig were rolling on the ground, tears running down their eyes, and even Kwamp and Cryon were guffawing, holding their stomachs with both hands. The only one who didn’t laugh, of course, was Slosht, though if I wasn’t mistaken I could have sworn I saw an amused glint in their slit eyes. After a long moment, everyone pulled themselves together and turned to me.

  Darnell strode forward and clapped me on the shoulder, an almost wild look in his eyes and a mischievous smile slowly spreading across his face, “Hey Will, do you think you could distract the archer for long enough that we could figure out where they are and pin them down? You see, that… what did you call them… ah yes, ass wipe was it? Well, they’ve been a plague to us dungeon groups for years! They usually pin down groups with their arrows, pick off the weaker members, and then shoot one with a demand tied to it. Something along the lines of, drop everything you have and I’ll let the rest of you live, ya know? Thing is, no one has been able to figure out who they are, where they hide, and how to stop them… until now that is.” With a manic look in his eyes he slapped me on the shoulder and turned to the entrance, “Look, the capture or death of that bastard is a huge reward, and if you help us out with killing the little shit, I promise to split the reward evenly with you, eh? What do you think?”

  I grinned and held out my hand, “That sounds like a great deal to me Darnell! Though, if it's all the same with you, I want to add one little stipulation to that…”

  Darnell didn’t even glance down at me, but I felt his hand tense on my shoulder at that, “What’s up Will? You know, even split seven ways, I’m willing to bet that’s more money than you’ve seen in your entire life…”

  I laughed and slapped him on the shoulder as well, “No, no no no… you have me all wrong Darnell! No, if you’d be so kind, I’d love to kick that damn shit for brains once or twice, eh? I know they’re a strong archer and all that, so you don't have to keep them alive for me, but fuck me if I’m not gonna get in a good kick or two for how much they pissed me off!”

  Darnell laughed hard and squeezed my shoulder, giving me a warm smile after a moment, “You know what, I think I can arrange that for you Will. Now, I’ll let you do the honors and give the go command when you’re ready. You can just run out and to the left okay? Just give us a few moments after you race out there to properly get their attention, I’ll have Cryon sneak through the ground and Spyr and Sprig are gonna get some recon of where they are in the woods. Just give them as long as you can, okay? Hopefully they’ll be so distracted by you that they won’t even notice us tracking them.”

  I cracked my knuckles nervously and sighed. I couldn’t afford to mess up here. It sounded like none of the Richter’s had the spatial awareness skill, which was incredibly weird to me considering what Wess had told me about the lower levels, but oh well. That was probably why they had been so spooked by me running at them, and that was also why this archer was able to pick off so many other adventurers… It really wasn’t a common skill for adventurers to win these days.

  I grunted and turned towards the cave entrance. Well, there was no time like the present right? It's not like standing around was going to do anyone any favors. With a mad laugh I activated sprint and raced towards the cave entrance. Oh well, I needed to get their attention right? Oh yeah… I could do that.

  I leaped upwards, using every bit of power I had in my legs. Right on time really, as an arrow shot through the air, smacking into the earth. I laughed as I spun through the air and jerked to the right, feeling another arrow skim by my right ear. I spun about wildly as I hit the ground, before choosing a random direction and racing along as arrow after arrow flew my way. I jumped, spun, rolled, and dove, just barely missing the swarm of arrows, each one getting closer to hitting me than the last… or at least, that’s what I made it look like. Hell, I even let the arrows nick me here and there, drawing lines of blood along my body. My eyes flicked to the dark red droplets that spun through the air, and I grinned as I twisted, evading the arrows flying through the air all around me.

  I laughed maniacally, listening to the mad giggles of the archer echoing through the forest as I raced towards them. Ah, I never was the best at bluffing anyway, even when the old man had been trying to train me. The best way to distract this archer was just to really make them think I wanted them and only them. That there was no other plan or sneaky trick that I was trying to use. Just them and me, and fuck it, maybe I could even catch them on my own! I might have Darnell and them as a backup, but this fuck was mine!