The immediate danger was over, or so he thought, as this was new territory. After driving away the pride in his last life, they hadn't stayed here long and moved on. He figured they should do the same now, but before he ventured into those demonic trees, he wanted to ensure he was a little prepared.

  He quickly opened the Talent menu. It was as easy as thinking about it, and the sub-menus popped up in his vision. The list of Talents showed up, just like Ajay had said. He wanted to explore the Elements, but he knew there were as many of them as there were stars in the night sky, and he had no time.

  Even shape-shifting was classified as an element. He supposed a demon's mind worked differently. Or Tibras took any and every class and put their core ability into Elements.

  He didn't know what would happen if they stayed here much longer as last time, they had ventured into the forest right after the pride's attack. He could risk it, but he rather liked his life and wanted to keep things as close to last time as he could because he actually made it all the way to the end. If he started making too many changes, there was no guarantee he would.

  So, instead of Elements, he went to Weapons, and many options were available.

  Daggers

  Swords

  Greatswords

  Axes

  Great Axes

  Warhammers

  Maces

  Great Hammers

  Claws

  Knuckles

  Staves

  Spears

  Halberds

  Scythes

  Whips

  Bows

  The list went on and on. Every sort of weapon imaginable was on the list, aside from guns, of course. Rey quickly spent a Talent point and selected Scythes. Unlike the Elements, the skills related to a weapon did indeed show up here and in the skills menu. He could choose the skills in either sub-menu. Why? The answer to that question still eluded Rey.

  There was only one skill that he could select for his weapon.

  [Scythe Mastery - Novice: The foundation of all scythe combat, granting you fundamental proficiency in wielding a scythe. You will have enhanced grip control, balance, and basic attack forms.]

  He placed it in his general skills section, which Rey figured should be called the Passive skills section, as it functioned like that. But he wasn't the boss of this system and didn't want to be. He was happy as long as his skills worked and helped him kill demons.

  As soon as he placed the skill in the General Skills section, the knowledge of how to handle a scythe came into his mind. How to slash with the weapon, swing it, and what sort of footwork he needed just appeared as if he had practiced with it for quite some time.

  He also saw the next evolution of the skill—[Scythe Mastery - Adept]. But it was blocked off until he got to the C Tier, at which point he would have to buy it with another Talent point.

  He shut off the panel mentally, and it went away, clearing his vision. Most of the others were done with the Talents as well. Some even looked like they had already spent their five initial Talent points as they talked amongst themselves, asking what Talents they'd picked.

  Filomena had picked the Lightning Element. She held out her hand, and lightning sparked between her fingers. Rey felt a longing for his old Element as he, too, had picked the Lightning Element last time and built all his Storm skills around it.

  His previous build was powerful enough that the denizens of Hell had taken to calling him the Skybreaker. He even took on the Storm attribute when he ascended to the final Tier. Losing all that hurt but now, he got to do all that again and pick the right powers.

  Jerry picked the same Element as last time—the metal element. He was practicing turning his arm to metal and back again. He was like a biker version of that metal X-Men, Colossus. Only this Colossus wasn't jacked or Russian; he was just loud, dumb, and annoying.

  Kassandra hadn't picked anything yet. If she had, she wasn't demonstrating her powers. The last time, she hadn't picked anything until they had a long chat about it when they reached the castle.

  "It's time we got a move along," Rey voiced his thoughts. "We don't know when the next group might come along sniffing dinner, especially since we cooked it for them." He hooked a thumb to the burning corpses of the Vorclaws.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "Okay, but where do we go?" Filomena asked.

  "Wherever you want to go," Rey passed her a dreamy smile, earning him a scowl. "I mean, where was it you pointed to last?"

  She looked around and pointed to her right.

  "Perfect. Let's go in that direction."

  Without waiting for any more discussion, which would've undoubtedly been very productive, he hefted his scythe on his shoulder and moved in that direction.

  "But wait, shouldn't we, you know, scout it out first?" Jerry asked.

  "Tell me, Jerry, would it be better that we all move together as one big group now that most of us have magic," Rey said. "Or should we send one or two of us to get eaten each time before we finally decide on another path?"

  His eyes darted in each direction as everyone looked at him. Finally, he huffed. "Fine."

  "Great!" Rey exclaimed. He stopped as he was about to walk past Jerry. "You should change your name. You're bringing shame to your namesake, and I loved the little mouse as a kid."

  Jerry gave him an irritated look. "What the fuck are you on about?"

  "Thank you for proving my point." Rey left him to ponder that as he walked toward the demonic woods.

  His entourage of eleven followed close behind. One quick look behind him, and he was reminded of the last time they did this. Everyone was huddled together with the same people. Phil with Gloria, something that stung this time as much as it had the last. Most of the ladies huddled together. Ajay walked alone as he had done back then, but Rey caught him stealing glances at the cute but ferocious Italian woman. Some walked by themselves like Jerry, the new blonde girl whose name he still hadn't caught, and, of course, Kassandra.

  She hadn't walked alone last time. He was with her, but it was best she stayed away from him. That was one future he was intent on changing. Their eyes met, and she smiled at him. He snapped his head forward just in time, or he would've walked into a tree.

  "Don't fall behind, folks," Rey called. "This place is-I mean, it seems like a maze in there."

  He was the first through the tree line, and immediately, the world seemed to shrink. It was as if someone had taken the walls of a room and pressed them close together so it seemed they were walking through a tunnel—a tunnel whose walls were made of dead, bleeding trees that had severed limbs for branches.

  Rey was used to this lovely vegetation, but the others were not. They kept fidgeting about, snapping their heads left and right at the slightest sound, even if it was the snapping or crunching of the dead wood underfoot.

  Rey knew these woods like the back of his hand. After all, he had mapped out every inch of it. They had nothing to worry about. He was taking them through the safest paths. Besides, if a lone demon saw a group this size, they would be the ones running. Despite their hunger for man flesh, they would choose survival over hunger.

  They passed a boulder with deep claw marks that looked like they must've been left by something the size of a truck. He made a left at the boulder and headed towards where the trees were thickest. The claw marks at the boulder both excited and unnerved Rey. This was the work of a demon that they were not ready to take on yet. Not even this entire lot would survive against Unokir for long.

  If everything still happened as it was supposed to, they didn't have long until the demon came to contest their territory. And they needed to be ready. It was good that they had the numbers now; they would need it.

  "What could've made those claw marks?" Kassandra asked, making Rey jump.

  He was so lost in his own world that he hadn't noticed her come up beside him.

  "Hey, what do you know, our all-knowing leader can get scared too?" She teased.

  Rey frowned. "All-knowing? And leader? I'm nothing close to that."

  "Really? Then, why have we all been following you?" She hooked a thumb behind her.

  He spared a look back, and she was right. Fuck. He didn't want to be their leader. He didn't know the first thing about leading. He just had intimate knowledge of the dangers that were coming for them. He could see how that knowledge could make others see him as a leader or a seer.

  He could not help smiling at that thought. It would be so lovely to fuck with people like that. Going to them and telling them of their impending doom. Ajay, avoid rooms with dark shadows that have eyes. Kassandra, avoid trusting a guy whose name starts with R, as he might lead you into a poison pool.

  "Why do you do that?" Kassandra asked.

  "Do what?" Rey replied.

  "Randomly go quiet like that. I know you're thinking something, but you don't seem the quiet type like what did you call him—IT support?" She snorted.

  "I just-I'm one of the think-think type of guys, okay," Rey said. "How else do you think I saved you all?"

  "Ajay saved us all, especially you," she replied. "If he hadn't figured out that Talents menu in time, those freaky lions would've ripped you apart. By the way, why did you take them on all by yourself, anyway?"

  "Because I thought I could," he replied and meant it. He didn't realize how weak he had gotten and how unfamiliar he was with the scythe. If the others hadn't wasted his time bickering, he would've gotten the Scythe Mastery skill prior to the pride's attack.

  "Oh, you have a hero complex," she said.

  "Hero complex?" He raised an eyebrow. "I've got nothing like that. I just wanted the experience and stat points."

  She chuckled. "Oh, yes, you do. It's written all over your face."

  Rey sighed. He would have to get used to this again. She used to tease him about every little thing. It was annoying, but he had grown to love that about her. He missed that the most when she was gone. No one to tease him about his mistakes, give him petty grievances or hold him close on those dreadful nights. After she was gone, he was all alone.

  But just seeing her here smiling and laughing was everything. He would make sure he changed her future, and the best way to do that was to put as much distance between them as possible.

  Rey huffed. "Whatever."

  He tried to move faster to put some distance between them, but she kept pace with him.

  "Where are we going?" Kassandra asked.

  He shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just hoping to find someplace with walls."

  "And you think we'll find something like that in this creepy forest?"

  We did last time.

  "I don't know, but it's worth trying, no?"

  She nodded. "I suppose it is, and hopefully, Hell has a source of clean water, or we're not lasting the next few days, let alone a year."

  Rey smiled knowingly. "Yes, we definitely need water."

  She frowned at him but said nothing. He could see the gears turning in her head, but he decided this was it. No more conversing with her when they got to the castle, which was coming in a few minutes. They didn't have to walk far when the tops of the castle could be seen above the trees.

  "Is that… a castle?" Kassandra asked.

  "Well, what do you know? It is a castle," Rey exclaimed.

  The others cried out in disbelief, saying how they could have gotten so lucky. Rey had to bite his tongue at that. All the while, Kassandra passed him looks that said she didn't believe that it was just their good fortune that helped them find this castle.

  Everyone picked up the pace, and after a few minutes, they exited the forest, and before them stood a filthy but mostly intact castle.

  "Home, sweet, home." Rey extended his arms to the castle. "Once we kill the demons nesting inside."