Mira crouched down in the snow and studied the tracks she had managed to find.

  “It’s a day old,” she said. “It leads further up the mountain. It’s likely gone to lair for a few days to digest its meal.”

  Jamis looked west over the mountain to where the edges of the Cursed Forest began. “What do you think is in there?” he asked.

  “It’s filled with bandits, monsters, and barbaric tribes,” Helen answered, looking down at the forest with derision. “They live there because they aren’t welcome anywhere else and would rather live as animals than embrace civilization.”

  “Barbaric tribes?” Jamis asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “She means the myrmidons, not people like your old clan,” Felrick said. “They are the people of Kelesa, Goddess of War and Conquest. And obviously, they worship her, which tells you pretty much all you need to know about them.”

  “Maybe it tells you! You forget we’re not from this world,” Torvin said.

  Felrick sighed. “It means they are savages in the truest sense of the word. Not all of them, of course. Some of their tribes have become civilized. The clans that hold to their old ways live in the wilderness, constantly at war with each other and frequently raiding towns and villages bordering the forest. They steal women, Gifted children, goods and cattle.”

  “They sound like trouble. Why hasn’t your kingdom dealt with them?” Torvin asked. “I’m sure a few royal knights could rout them.”

  “They are all Gifted,” Helen said bitterly. “Only those with the Gift are allowed to reproduce in their society. They breed their warriors and train them to feed off the beasts of the woods. While the royal knights are stronger than all except maybe their chieftains, they simply have more Gifted than we do.”

  “It’s best to let them fight amongst themselves,” offered Felrick. “The forest is land contested between the Kingdom of Dracon and Camelot anyway, so us making a move could be seen as a land grab which could start a war.”

  “Maybe with Dracon,” Helen argued. “I’m related to Prince Arthur. We’d find a diplomatic way to resolve the issue.”

  “That sort of issue only gets resolved through a marital alliance, and he’s already getting married,” Felrick said. “I’ve only met Guinevere a few times, but she isn’t the sort to allow her husband to take multiple wives or mistresses.”

  “We should get moving before the wind gets rid of any more tracks,” Mira said, interrupting the conversation. “We’ve already camped on this freezing mountain once, and I certainly don’t want to do it again.”

  She led the party up-mountain, following the tracks before the icy wind could blow them away. Her wings flapped now and then, throwing off the snow that clung to them and keeping them from freezing.

  ***

  This time, no one woke me up in the night. I’d removed all potential undead in the area.

  This earned me a full night’s rest but also meant I didn’t progress my quest. It was still early, and I took out my journal and sketchbook, removing my shield and the cursed skull and beginning to draw them in my sketchbook.

  I had always liked drawing, and was careful to copy the runes exactly.

  Whatever they meant, I was sure they were crucial for the enchantments, and I wanted to learn how to make them.

  As I held up the skull and finished copying its runes, a notification popped up.

  This was new, the first time I had attained a new quest. This one said it was from the System and not a god, unlike the ones I got from Kelesa. The reward was interesting but raised some questions, such as what was the Old Magic, exactly?

  The quest had offered itself to me while I was examining the runes, so I had to guess that they were somehow linked. Or were they? This was merely blind supposition.

  I stowed away my sketchbook and went over to where I had set the Nemean hide to cure. There, I wiped off the remaining brain matter mix that hadn’t dried and hung the hide over the fire like a tepee before cutting down some extra pine boughs for smoke, putting them on the fire. I knew that smoke and brain matter were somehow linked to tanning, but the specifics eluded me. Again, I felt as if I was making up so much of this as I went along.

  I took the bones of the Nemean lion, having had Jand and the others take all the meat off the night before. They’d been drying the skeleton which had left me with a nice shiny stack of clean bones to choose from. I grabbed a leg bone, a little over three feet in length.

  Taking the claws of the Nemean lion, I gathered some loose rock and set to work, using Compress Earth as the binder and fixing the claws out along the bone, so they created a spiked club. I picked it up and tested its weight.

  It was heavy, weighing around five to six pounds, three heavier than my warhammer.

  A notification popped up, and I quickly read it.

  I would need to practice with this to get used to the weight. In so doing, I would hopefully also naturally raise my Might Attribute.

  We started to pack for our journey, rolling up and storing our gear.

  There was a problem when it came to carrying it since most of the people to whom the stuff had belonged were now dead. I fixed the problem by storing most of the items in a few of the canvas tents, tying them up like knapsacks and levitating them beside us.

  I took the Nemean hide off the fire and washed it off in the river, rubbing some ash, animal fat and mint leaves together for a soap before hanging it over one of the tents I was levitating, and then we set off. Jand led us vaguely north. He didn’t really know where we were going, but he was the closest thing I had to a guide at that moment.

  I had to slow down to not outpace my vassals, my boots propelling me several yards with each stride. I kept a lookout for more herbs to use. I’d made a tea last night, and the black veins on my arm had completely disappeared. Based on the fact that my life had been saved several times by these plants, I would probably need more.

  I found some more Red Yarrow and made sure to gather as much as possible whenever I came across a patch of it.

  Scanning for more plants and materials, I asked Jand about the local flora and fauna.

  He showed me a patch of bread leaf, and we stopped to gather it for our supplies.

  We kept moving, stopping after we’d been hiking for five hours. I could see my vassals were exhausted, and I scouted for a place to camp. Finding a cave set into a cliffside, I cautiously approached it, having wrapped myself in the Nemean pelt, also carrying my warhammer and club. The cave wasn’t too deep, only around fifteen feet.

  I brought my vassals to the cave, and they started to set up camp while I went exploring. I would swing my club as I walked, then let it rest when my arm got tired. I kept practicing as I looked around, scanning for any new herbs and eventually finding a patch of what looked like violets, but their flowers were bulbous, and their violet striped with blue.

  I created another jar and gathered around forty of the bulbs from the patch, persisting in hunting and dropping to the ground when my Foresight flashed a warning. Something flew down from the tree and snapped its teeth at my neck before soaring up and landing on the branch of a tree. I wheeled around and looked up at a bizarre creature.

  A gliding wolf? And it’s a higher rank than the Nemean lion, I thought disbelievingly. Then again, it also said the lion was an adolescent. The alpha’s limbs were different from those of a regular wolf, and its paws were wider with hooked claws that it used to grip the tree. Its fur was a greenish brown, providing camouflage amongst the upper branches.

  Its eyes were wide and round like an owl’s, with massive pupils and bright saffron irises. My Foresight activated, showing the back of my neck being ripped open, and I dodged to the side as another wolf whizzed past me.

  “Dominion,” I tried on the alpha, but again, as with the Nemean lion, there was little or no impact. “Why isn’t this working?” I growled.

  Surprised by the System’s information, I spun to the side, lashing out with my club and managing to score deep jagged cuts in the wolf’s side as it attempted a glide-by attack.

  “Not much point to that then,” I grunted. “I’d rather have the rank points right now.”

  I levitated Quin’s maul, having started to take it everywhere with me. I used my club instead of my warhammer and my shield, the Nemean pelt hanging over me like a poncho or serape, protecting my torso and upper arms.

  The alpha howled.

  I felt a sudden spike of searing pain in my head, its intensity almost driving me to my knees. I resisted the sonic attack and levitated two dozen spearheads, launching them at the wolf. The creature jumped into the air, emitting a gust of wind from its body, sending it rocketing toward me. I slashed out with my club, but the alpha rolled in the air under my weapon and lashed out with its teeth, nipping my thigh and ripping out a chunk of flesh.

  Through gritted teeth, I barely contained a scream, spinning my maul, catching another gliding wolf that had tried to sneak-attack me from behind.

  Another rushed me, but I teleported fifteen feet away to give myself a chance to catch my breath. The wolf landed where I had been and looked confused for a moment before my maul shattered its spine, and it lay on the ground, whimpering.

  I leaped forward and smashed down with my club, ending its suffering.

  After this, I warily eyed the trees.

  The wolves blended in with the trees. My low Perception made it hard for me to spot them, but now and again, I caught a flash of yellow eyes.

  I rolled to the side as the alpha attacked again, letting loose another howl to try and stun me as it lunged in from behind. I whirled and deflected its jaws with my shield.

  It yelped as the shield retaliated, damaging it with its reflective ability.

  Although I lunged forward, it was only possible to inflict a minor wound on its foreleg before it soared back into the trees. Then, three wolves came in from behind.

  I dodged one while another leaped onto my back and tried to savage my shoulder, its teeth audibly cracking on the Nemean pelt. I felt the crushing force of its jaws. It didn’t pierce my skin, but blunt force-crushing damage was not pleasant either.

  One dodged my club while another darted in and bit at the back of my knee.

  I felt a sharp spike of pain, my leg starting to drag. Swearing, I grabbed a potion I kept in my pocket. Tucking my club under my arm, I downed the potion fast, dropping the bottle and leaping to the side as the alpha attacked me again. The wounds closed, and I breathed heavily, getting a little pissed as the fight dragged on.

  I focused on one of the wolves, and the System prompted me again.

  Are they all Gifted? I wondered. Probably. If rank points are ‘XP,’ then they’d all get a share whenever they take something down. Something like me, for instance...

  I rolled to the side again, and shield-crashed into the wolf, ringing its skull. I lashed out with my club and ripped into its neck.

  Another alpha came in from the side and bowled me over.

  We rolled on the ground as it tried to rip my throat out, others quickly joining, swarming all over me. Two bit down on my boots, and I could see them frantically shaking their heads as they tried and failed to get through artifact leather.

  I held apart the alpha’s jaws and focused on the objects I was suspending.

  The alpha tried to dodge, but my hold on his jaws now served to keep him in place as the maul smashed down on his back, three stone spearheads piercing his side.

  The wolves holding my legs yelped, also skewered by spearheads.

  I shoved the alpha off me and teleported five feet, managing to land firmly and pausing for breath.

  The rest of the pack didn’t run the way I thought they would but rushed me in one mad frenzy. I shielded my front and put my back to a tree. Filled with my own rising fury, I met their aggressive charge. The next minute was a blur, a mad scramble to kill and stay alive as I spent every point of Stamina and Mana. I had to kill the pack as they ripped at me. One of them managed to pull my cloak off, and they bit and clawed at my flesh.

  I came to, heaving for breath on the ground. I drank a potion and felt my head grow clearer, but a few of the larger wounds didn’t fully close. Sighing, I pulled out some cauter fennel I had chopped up and packed it into my wounds.

  Again, I bit back the searing agony as I felt the flashes of heat cauterizing my wounds. I was drenched in blood, uncertain sure which was mine and which had come from the beasts. I drank another potion to recover my lost blood and shakily stood up. Draining though it was, the battle had also bestowed on me a wealth of rank points to spend.

  I need to start working on my other quest, I said to myself, picking up my cloak and dismissing the notification.

  I had acquired another title that increased my damage with a certain material. I had various titles like that, so how could I get them to combine to be more effective?

  On dismissing the notification, a new one popped up.

  The eyes of the Alpha Gliding Wolf flew out of its skull, hovered before me, and turned to a mist which seeped purposefully into my own eyes. I winced.

  As my Perception increased, there was a pain like a needle jabbing into the back of my eyes and a ringing in my ears. The sensation faded, and I looked over my new ability before dismissing it.

  “I’d have preferred some sort of flight ability,” I grumbled but took my win, glad I’d attained at least one ability from the fight, considering the number of Gifted creatures I’d killed. I now had forty rank points at my disposal. Whilst it was a significant number, I already knew it would be used up incredibly quickly. Just to increase Telekinesis once would cost me six rank points. If I spent every point I had, I could increase it to Rank Ten right now. I was tempted to do that, but realized I should probably increase my other abilities.

  Compress Earth was one away from Rank Five, and I might get a new effect for it.

  Foresight played a crucial role in all my fights and I should upgrade it, something that would also help to increase my Perception above ten.

  For now, I deferred it, levitating the bodies of approximately sixteen wolves.

  The wolves were light; I guessed they had to be able to glide even if they were magical, and only the alpha weighed more than a hundred pounds. I carried the dead pack back to camp and set them down for my vassals to skin and harvest. As far as I could tell, their pelts weren’t magical, but they could probably still be useful.

  I left them to their work and found a stream noticed while taking a walk. I began to scrub off the blood from my embattled body, finding the water freezing cold, but quickly getting used to it. It turned a reddish brown as dried blood flaked off my skin and clothes.

  Next, I returned to camp, letting my cloak hang to dry; we’d be attacked again by undead tonight and needed to prepare for it.

  First, I decided to upgrade my Compress Earth.

  Sitting down in my tent, I took a deep breath.

  “Raise Compress Earth by one rank,” I told the System.

  These choices were all interesting. The first one would let me fabricate more durable creations, which was useful; however, I had little problem with my current creations breaking. The second option was, again, more of a construction ability that some sort of builder mage or support-caster would choose.

  The third option was very interesting. I wasn’t sure what qualified as ‘uncommon stone’ but it sounded like these stones would create more interesting constructions.

  I decided to go with the third option which seemed as if it would enable me to do a wider range of interesting things in the future.

  I smiled, remembering that bronze had a Hardness value of around four, so even just compressing dirt could create some impressive stuff. I wanted to increase it further but reminded myself I needed to invest in Perception.

  Thirty-five points remained, so I should increase Foresight to Rank Five.

  “Increase Foresight to Rank Five,” I told the System.

  The second rank-up passed, and my eyes began to water so much I could barely read the notification. I dismissed it and tried to block out the quickly growing sense of unease. Then, it started to get even worse. Again, I was stopped by the pain of those needles jabbing into the backs of my eyes, and the terrible ringing rising in my ears.

  Oh shit! I had just made a terrible mistake in raising my ability so fast. The notification for the third ability came and again, I dismissed it and moved on.

  The pain intensified as my senses were jabbed by more and more needles. The maddening ringing increasing with each second made it hard to think.

  The fourth ability notification arrived, but my eyes were closed as the light around me suddenly became blinding. I dismissed it and moved on to the next.

  I had fallen back. My hands pressed fruitlessly to my ears, trying to block out the sound as I gritted my teeth to keep from screaming.

  I gritted my teeth as I focused on the notification, reading the available options. The choice was pretty straightforward. Only one of these options was applicable in combat, the others only hypothetically useful. I went with the ability to see different possibilities.

  My headache worsened.

  “I never want to upgrade that Attribute again,” I groaned, sitting up and wiping away the tears of pain. I could see better now, and every sound was crystal clear to my ears. I was able to hear the words of my vassals dozens of feet away as if they were right outside my tent.

  I sighed and looked at my other abilities.

  I had twenty-six available rank points to work with and several abilities still at Rank One, but it was clear which one I needed to increase. My speed was great, especially with the boost able to be activated from my boots, but there were still several times when I’d needed to be faster and hadn’t been. I ran my hands along the still-healing burn marks on my chest where I’d had to cauterize wounds incurred by the Nemean lion.

  “Increase Heightened Speed by one rank,” I said. I’d learned my lesson: don’t queue up a bunch of rank-ups all at once!

  There was a twisting in my body like snakes crawling under my skin. The muscles on my legs, arms, and back writhed. I gritted my teeth again and waited until the pain was gone. I took a deep breath. “Raise Heightened Speed by one rank,” I told the System.

  Despite having waited, the pain was even greater, feeling my muscles pop and pull and reconnect as they swelled before shrinking again. My skin expanded and retracted. I breathed out as the rank-up finished, the pain ending as abruptly as it had begun.

  “Increase Heightened Speed once,” I said.

  The familiar notification appeared, and the pain returned even greater than before, every new rank more intense than the other. I breathed out and in, focusing on not giving in to the pain. Eventually, relieved that the ordeal had ended, I breathed out again.

  “Raise Heightened Speed once more,” I told the System.

  I was in so much pain, there was no way to focus on the options, so I skimmed them briefly and chose the only one that wouldn’t cost me anything extra. Using my speed was already taxing on my body. I didn’t need to add anything else to the cost.

  As soon as the notification appeared, it disappeared and was replaced by another one.

  The muscles of my body began to writhe and twist, my heart like a jackhammer trying to punch through my ribcage. My torso expanded and then deflated before expanding again. I spasmed on the ground and kept twitching for ten minutes, even after the changes had passed.

  I lay there until I finally caught my breath. Looking over my notifications, I saw what my choice for my Speed and ability increase had given me. Although unsure how useful running on water would be, at least it was now an option if I needed it. In addition, my Speed Attribute was now twenty-four, including the bonus from my boots.

  I sighed in relief as the pain faded completely. I had just spent fourteen rank points on upgrading my skill to Rank 5 and only had twelve points left. I wanted to raise Telekinesis again, but only had enough points to upgrade that skill once. I needed to upgrade Dominion, so it could hopefully work more effectively on Gifted and give me more uses of if it per day.

  Also, my Spirit was close to twenty and pushing it past the mortal limit might trigger another of those mutations. In my chest was a fast and rhythmic thud, thud, two hearts pumping away. I looked down at my shirt; it seemed oddly tighter and pulled up as if a size too small. “Did I get bigger?” I asked myself, and sure enough, feeling around my torso revealed lean muscles where they hadn’t been before.

  They weren’t thick muscles but thin and honed for fast movement as opposed to heavy lifting. My shirt was definitely a little smaller on me.

  Surely, I’d grown at least an inch taller!

  I wasn’t ready to raise my Attributes again just yet.

  Time to take a break. I’d raised Compress Earth, and wanted to make some fortifications for our camp in readiness for the next inevitable assault from the undead. I levitated small boulders and rocks the size of my head and stacked them, fusing them all together with Compress Earth, creating high walls around our camp.

  Now, I climbed up the cliff above our camp, drawing the dirt and stone into a watchtower ten feet wide and twenty feet tall. The interior had handholds and footholds forming a ladder, leading to a wide top with a slate-thin roof of stone.

  I made the cave bigger, compressing the earth outwards and flattening the floor. This created a forty-feet-deep cave which would give us all some more space. I even made a chimney up through the rock with a fireplace for cooking. I didn’t think we’d be here that long, but enjoyed the work and took frequent breaks to let my Mana replenish.

  It was sunset by the time I was done, and I collapsed into my tent, almost instantly asleep.