"Good morning," I greet the boy at the door, who's only ten years old. "The Elder Hunter wants to see us?"

"Yes, sir," he nods. "She said to tell you and Cam to come down to her shop."

"Alright," I tell him. "Thank you. We'll be on our way in just a minute."

He nods, then leaves, taking off at a jog to do whatever his next job is, if he has one. I let Liam know that it's time for Cam and I to head out, and that he should treat today as a free today.

"Will do," Liam tells me. "Good luck."

"Thank you," I tell him. "Come on, Cam. Let's head down."

Cam and I pull on our boots and jackets, then leave and make our way down to the Elder Hunter's shop. Well, I pull on my right boot, and Cam carries my left. I can't wear it with the bracing on my left leg, but after it's healed, I'll be able to.

Inside are the Elder Hunter and five men, all of the guests appearing to be in their early twenties. Two have swords, two have spears, and one has a bow. The man with the bow is leaning against one wall, while the melee fighters are seated to either side of the table, leaving the side opposite the Elder Hunter empty.

Are they really Soul Strikers? Even considering that strong Hunters take up to three times as long to age, they wouldn't be older than their early thirties, at the most. And that would be stretching it. I wouldn't put any of them older than twenty-one or twenty-two.

"Welcome, welcome," the Elder Hunter tells us, indicating the cushions across from her. "Please, have a seat."

"They're younger than I expected," one of the swordsmen says, patting the empty cushion beside him as he looks at me. "Come, I'll take care of your leg."

I move to sit beside him, and he pulls off the leather bracing.

"We already heard the Elder Hunter's report," he tells me as he examines my leg, the tips of his fingers glowing as he runs them across the injured area, though I can tell he's only checking the injury with magic, not healing it. "But would you mind giving it to us personally?"

"Are you really Soul Strikers?" I ask. "You look a bit young to be normal ones, no offense."

"We are," he reaches up and pulls down the neck of his shirt, allowing me to see a gold-lined Hunter's Brand with 48 inside of it. Above his Level is a golden pair of S's, with the one on the left inverted from the one on the right. After allowing us to see it for a few moments, he returns to checking my leg. "We're one of those rare groups that are younger than normal. We're all twenty-four or twenty-five, and we were the youngest team to ever become Soul Strikers. We met almost fifteen years ago, as apprentice Hunters, but we became friends after a few months of running into each other. Eventually, we just teamed up and began hunting together.

"We quickly rose through the Levels," he continues. "Strategy hunting stronger monsters. It caused quite the uproar in the cities, hearing about a team as young as ours. Within a year of the youngest of us reaching eleven, we were all already Level 9 or higher. By the time we were thirteen, we were all Level 20 or higher. Now, our weakest is Level 43, and our youngest is about to turn twenty-five. The eldest of us is less than a year older than him."

He nods, then meets my gaze.

"You have a remarkable healing, if this happened only a few days ago," he tells me. "Your bone is already pretty healed, when it should take at least three or four weeks to get to this point. I'm going to have to rebreak it, then mend it that way. It's going to hurt a fair bit, but once I'm done, it'll be as if you were never injured."

"That's fine," I tell him. "And yeah, I've always been a fast healer, and becoming a Hunter only sped it up."

"Okay," he tells me. "Might want to bite something."

"I'll be fine."

He nods, then the tips of his fingers glow once more as he runs them along the injured area. I grit my teeth as pain spikes through me, my bones breaking once more. I can feel them moving around, even without him physically moving them himself.

Cam is watching with interest. This level of healing magic, where the magic moves things back to where they should be, is something that's far beyond him right now, but I can tell by his gaze he wants to eventually reach that point.

The Soul Striker works for several minutes before he finishes.

"There you go," he says. "Should be good as new, now, though I'd recommend letting it rest a little bit longer, just so the pain fades before you put weight back on it."

"Alright," I say. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he tells me.

"How much do I owe you for the healing?"

"You survived a Tier Six, five Tier Fives, and dozens of Tier Fours," he tells me. "That's rather impressive, and reminds me of an adventure we had when we were, oh, thirteen?"

"You were fourteen," the archer comments.

"Yeah, fourteen," the Soul Striker nods. "We were hunting a Tier Six. It was the first time we'd decided to fight one, and thought we knew everything we needed to know. Turned out, there were four others. If it weren't for Aiden noticing them early, things probably would have went a lot differently. Anyway, this one's on me, don't worry about it. It isn't often I have to perform that kind of healing, so we can call it even as me practicing on you. Plus, the Gate warned us that a Star-Level might be close to forming in the area. Their sense of time is off, so it's likely the Tier Six you faced.

"And regarding that," he says. "Would you mind telling us what happened? There's nothing quite like hearing it from the one who actually went through it."

I tell him about what happened, about our thought it was just a single pack led by a Tier Five, only to discover it was a larger pack made up of several smaller ones, what the monsters were doing, and our quick discovery of the Tier Six.

When I get to the point about escaping, they all seem impressed, and I get the feeling that the Elder Hunter neglected to tell them the most important part of the story in regards to my survival: how I escaped.

"Wow," the other swordsman says. "You got lucky with that last-bid attack. I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say that you manifested your sacred weapon then? Seth was making the same thing guess you came in."

"It would explain the stronger attack," Seth, the first swordsman, nods. "And the circumstances were right for it. We all agreed it was likely, though the Elder Hunter here was as stoic with her response as they all would be."

"I did," I answer. "Though I didn't know until she told me after examining the event."

"Can we see it?" Seth asks.

I stand and take a couple of steps back, then summon my sacred weapon. The Soul Strikers all stand and gather around me, examining it. Their appraising gazes gives me a nervous feeling. How does it compare to the sacred weapons they have? Our weapons are a manifestation of our soul, which means they grow stronger as we do, and they can change in time, too. Their sacred weapons are probably extremely impressive.

"You know," one of the spear-wielders says. "I'm kind of envious. Yours shows clear signs of being a spear which can harness every element. Mine can mix water, wind, and lightning, but that's it."

"You can tell it can harness the elements?" I ask.

"Those markings," Seth indicates. "They're 'null element', meaning no element applies. When that happens, the sacred weapon is always all elements. Two of us have null element weapons."

The group of them step back, and Seth and the archer manifest their weapons. Seth's is a staff, six feet tall and made of a pitch-black material, white patterns stretching from end to end. The archer's bow is brown, with a series of white circles towards each end, the string nonexistent, yet the bow is still curved as if there is one there.

"Liam would die to see those right now," I mutter before realizing it.

"Liam?" Seth asks.

"My little brother," I explain. "He just became a Hunter a few days ago, but has looked up to us as heroes of a sort for the last few years. Would you be okay with showing him your sacred weapons after taking care of this?"

"How old is he?" Seth asks as they release their weapons, and I do the same.

"Ten," I answer. "Just turned it a few days ago. We've been training him against the hares and squirrels outside of town, though he's taking today off. We figured you might want us to lead you there directly, to save time."

"That would be appreciated," he says. "We can leave now. Based on what you told us, it shouldn't be anything we can't handle."

"Alright," I say, and Cam stands and hands me my boot. "Should we leave now, then?"

"Yes, please," Seth tells us as I pull my boot on. "Lead the way."

The seven of us leave, showing the Gate our brands on the way out. Once we're outside of the town, Seth suggests we use flight magics to head there, for an even faster trip. I nod, then take off into the air.

Normally, Cam and I don't fly over longer distances because it only invites flying monsters to attack us. However, their archer seems ready to take care of that, his bow in his hands before he even takes off into the air.

As we fly, Seth asks us how we manage the area, and we explain about our strategy hunting and allowing some monsters to reach higher Tiers in order to give us better experience or better resources to bring back to town. They tell us tales of them doing the same thing when they were lower in Level, getting us laughing with some of their exploits, and Cam and I share some of our stories with them, too.

At the same time, the archer confirms my theory that he's going to take care of anything that might come our way, as he takes out several monsters during our trip. It's only as we're flying now that I realize how lucky I was to have managed to fly as far as I did after the attack. Monsters should have come after me that day, yet none did.

That was one stroke of luck I faced after the fight.

"-and then it set Pierce on fire," Seth continues one of their tales, and one of the spearmen nods. "We couldn't figure out how to put out the flames, either, so we just tossed him in a lake."

"Which was how," Pierce continues the tale. "I discovered the lake had a kraken in it. Krakens are giant monsters that are a mix between an octopus and a squid. Always Tier Five at the minimum. They're also very territorial. Didn't take too kindly to me evaporating some of its home. If it weren't for Kris noticing and launching his spear when he did, I probably would've been halfway to its stomach before escaping."

Cam and I laugh at the image of a flaming Pierce fighting a kraken in a lake, then I tell them we're here.

"There's the Tier Six," I spot the gaia wolf below and point it out to them. "It's a gaia wolf."

It's in the wolves' camp, surrounded by the five Tier Fives, and I'm guessing most of the pack is present right now. I can see at least four dozen adult wolves and almost a dozen pups.

"That scar must be from your attack," Kris comments.

On the left side of the gaia wolf's neck is a long spot of pale fur, streaking upwards at a slight angle. It wasn't there before, and matches up with what little my fuzzy memory of the moment says about my attack, so I'll agree with him on that. Other than the scar, though, the gaia wolf looks unharmed.

At the moment, it's devouring the heart of some boar. Suddenly, it turns and looks at us, only for a hole to form in its head, blood spurting out. For a moment, the gaia wolf simply stands there, as if it hasn't registered it's dead yet. Then, it tumbles to the side, unmoving.

I look at the others, and spot the archer with his sacred weapon drawn, a shimmering violet string of magic pulled back. A glowing circle of light is in front of his right eye, and he releases the string. Not a sound is made as he does, but I know that he released something. A wind arrow, no doubt.

Since it's made of wind, I can't see it easily. Turning my attention to the back to the pack, I find another downed wolf. The archer doesn't waste any time, more wolves finding holes in their heads in rapid succession.

"Wait here," Seth tells Cam and me, then the four melee fighters soar down, drawing their weapons and fighting everything that attempts to escape.

Well, other than Seth, who uses magic to fight. They're fast and efficient, killing everything with a single, precise strike. It's akin to what a fight between me and a bunch of Tier Ones would be. They're swiftly butchering monsters in a battle I would not be able to defeat. They're easily winning a fight I would lose. A fight I did lose. The strongest of these monsters was taken out with a single attack.

Once every last wolf is slain, the archer begins his descent, releasing his bow, and Cam and I follow. I know my awe at their abilities is probably clear on my face, but I don't care. That was just impressive. Cam and I will never reach that level of ability and power.

We don't need to, though, because fights like this will be rare. In fact, this may be the only time we ever face such an encounter with monsters. As long as we have the ability to protect our town and gather resources for it, that's what we care about. It doesn't mean we won't work to grow stronger, but the ability to simply decimate such a large and powerful pack of wolves isn't a necessity for us.

"That was impressive," Cam breathes as he looks at Seth. "You're not a swordsman?"

"I use it from time to time," Seth answers. "But I focus mostly on magical attacks and healing."

"That bow is impressive," I tell the archer. "Your sacred weapon, I mean. Can you make an arrow of any element?"

"Thanks," he says. "And yes, I can. It isn't really much different from me making an arrow out of sacred power with a normal bow. The main difference is they hold much more power to them, and they don't cost me any sacred power."

"They don't?" I ask.

"Nope," he smiles. "When I use my sacred weapon, I only pay the upkeep cost, the cost everyone pays to have it out. The arrows cost me no sacred power at all. At least, as long as I only use a single element for them. If I mix elements for an arrow, then I have to pay a little extra sacred power."

"That sounds nice," I tell him. "Must be real useful in big fights."

"It is," he nods.

"What was that thing on your eye," I point at my left eye. "I've never seen a spell like that before."

"This?" He asks, summoning the strange magical circle again.

"Yeah," I nod.

"It's a spell cast using wind and light magic," he answers. "Called 'eye of the eagle'. Or 'sniper sight', for those who want to use a simpler term. It enhances my vision, allowing me to see further things as if they are much closer. When I use it in tandem with my sacred weapon, my aim becomes even better, my arrows meeting their targets even faster. It's not something I can explain the reasoning for, though. Everyone with a sacred weapon is like that – we discover that certain spells enhance our ability to use our sacred weapons, but can't quite put into words why."

"It's still impressive," I say.

"You should've seen him in our fight against our first Single-Star," Kris tells me, and Cam and I look at him. Cam was examining one of the wolves as the archer and I spoke. "It had attacked us out of nowhere, having recently moved into the area we were in to avoid being attacked by the Soul Strikers pursuing it. We were all around Level 36 at the time, and manifested during the fight. Our beloved friend here had lost his bow."

Kris walks over and puts an arm across the archer's shoulders, the archer's face turning a little red at the story.

"And was casting spell after spell at the monster," Kris continues the story. "The rest of us were being pushed, and hard, and it was all he could do to even annoy the Single-Star, and annoy it he did. It went after him, and that was when he manifested, drawing on his soul and pulling out that bow.

"Man did the tables turn once all five of us had sacred weapons," Kris tells me. "Especially this guy's. If he wants it to, his bow can release dozens of arrows at once. It's the only sacred weapon known to be able to do that, too, and he could do it from the start."

"I could only do four," the archer pulls out of Kris's hold. "And it took all five of us to take down the Single-Star."

They did that before they were even Level 40? The Elder Hunter said the power gap is simply too great between a Single-Star and anyone under Level 40, even a team of five Level 39s, for them to manage it.

Yet they succeeded? Is this just a tall tale? Or is it serious?

"It's truth," Seth tells me, his tone serious, and I realize my expression told them my doubt. "Though it's not a widely-told story. We were the first team to ever kill a Star-Level monster before Level 40 in recorded history, which made it a big deal. We were also the youngest team to ever kill a Star-Level monster. If word went around about us, it might have led people too young or weak to thinking that they could do it before Level 40, too. The Guild wants to avoid that, so not many people are told.

"You two," he says. "Seem to have level heads, and the Elder Hunter here told us it was okay to tell you about it. You can ask her for confirmation after we return, if you still have doubts. It was only through extreme luck that we managed to defeat the Single-Star monster we faced. Had we not all manifested our sacred weapons, we would have died for sure. As it was, the five of us spent several weeks recovering from the fight."

"We collapsed immediately after it was over," the archer tells us. "Exhausted and battered. The Soul Strikers hunting it found us shortly after and brought us back to town. The townsfolk were told that we had been attacked by a Single-Star monster, and that they made it in time to rescue us, and that another team was dealing with the monster while they brought us back to safety."

"Anyway!" Seth claps his hands. "Enough talk! Let's help Pierce and Jared field dress these wolves. I'm sure their hides and meat will be quite helpful to your town."

"I don't think anyone would be able to afford to buy them from you," I say, but start working, helping Seth shift the gaia wolf onto its side so we can open it up. "We're really out there. Most people just have enough money to buy something from the merchants who pass through, and most of that comes from trading stuff to the Elder Hunter when the merchant arrives."

"We don't always sell the loot," Seth says. "Sometimes, we just give it to the folk we helped. We'll sell most of this to the Elder Hunter, and she'll likely give it to whoever would use or process them for free. She has no need of money, and everyone ensures she has food regardless of what she does."

"Oh," I respond.

I've never thought of that before, but he has a point. The Elder Hunter rarely spends money on anything, usually only giving it as a reward. She receives however much she needs to replenish her stock of it with the coming merchants, the escorting Hunters delivering her funds and other resources on behalf of the Guild. At the same time, we in the town do make sure she has food and other things she needs.

"That said," he tells me. "Do you want this one?"

"The gaia wolf?" I ask.

"Of course," he says. "It's the monster that caused you to manifest your sacred weapon. Even if we killed it, it holds importance to you because of that. We have the horns of the Single-Star we faced in our main base as a memento. While most Hunters manifest their sacred weapons through training and being of a high Level, those who do it early often have the monster which caused it turned into gear, or part of them preserved. It would be rude of us to steal that time-honored tradition from you, and we would give the gaia wolf to the town, anyway. Its hide can make some quality leather, or a nice set of jackets."

I think it over as we return to field dressing the gaia wolf. It takes both of us to pull out the offending organs to ensure a decreased chance of the beast going foul inside before it is processed by Nick. That's only natural, though, considering the size of this beast. One of us has to hold it open as the other pulls things out.

"I might take the pelt, then," I say. "But the rest can be given to the town. The meat can be eaten, even if it's not as good as the plant-eating monsters, and the bones can be turned into stronger tools than the bones of the weaker wolves."

"Okay," Seth says. "So, after we finish dressing these, want to hunt some other stuff? I'd like to see what you two can do, and we'd be willing to give you some pointers after watching you fight."

"I'll admit," I say. "That I was hoping you guys would teach us a little before leaving, but I wasn't expecting you to outright offer it."

"Why not?" He shrugs. "If we can help weaker and less-experienced Hunters become better at protecting themselves and their towns, then there's no reason not to. We'll stay a few days, at least, just to make sure of things. We can teach you a few things while here, too."

"In that case," I say. "There's a certain snail I was planning on taking care of once my foot was fixed."