For several minutes, the bear snuffles around the glade, examining the corpses in the hopes of finding a fresh heart. Since everything here has been dead for more than five minutes and Cam and I ensured the hearts were destroyed, it fails to find anything that would qualify.

That gives both of us enough time to recover the rest of our sacred power.

Now that the flying gaia bear has finished examining everything, it turns its attention to us. We could have attempted to escape during its checks, but neither of us had a doubt it was keeping track of us. It was prepared to act the moment we attempted to flee.

The fresh hearts of Hunters are a monster's preferred snack, especially once they're more powerful, such as a Tier Six monster.

Opening its maw, the bear lets out a sonic roar, which I counter with my own sonic roar. The bear's is much stronger than mine, however, and Cam and I are knocked off the stone wall. We catch ourselves with flight magic as the upper portion of the stone wall breaks from the bear's attack, then land in time for the bear to charge through the stone wall, its head tilted to the side to protect its eyes and maw from the impact.

A gust of wind around the bear's face pushes the dust away, and it rears back on its hind legs as Cam takes several steps back. Until Cam heals me, the bear will focus on me, especially since I'm the one who did the countering. For now, it perceives me as the threat.

But it's a Tier Six, which makes it intelligent enough to notice a healer is around and needing dealt with. Once that happens, I'll need to act to ensure it keeps its attention on me.

Holding out my right hand, I summon my sacred weapon. The flying gaia bear uses earth and wind magics, so fire and water would be the way to go for harming it. I could use lightning, but that's not its bane, so it won't be as effective.

As I infuse my spear with water magics, the white on the shaft and silver on the head turn a deep, rich blue, and I chill the water magic to a frosty temperature, a cold mist forming around the head of the spear.

Jabbing forward, I manage to slice into the bear's maw before it swipes at the spear, the force of the impact jarring my arm. Recovering, I begin my assault, a frosty trail following behind my spear as I attack.

The bear roars as I attack, then stands on its hind legs and extends its wings, flapping them twice. A powerful gale slams into me, sending me tumbling back, and I use a bit of wind magic to catch myself.

Folding its wings back against its back, the bear lets itself drop back down to all-fours, and when its paws strike the ground, a wall of stone rises up behind me, slamming into my back and sending me stumbling forward.

Nearly losing my grip on my spear, I catch myself, then move away from the wall, attacking the bear with my spear as I do. When the monster opens its mouth, I hold out my left hand and unleash a torrent of fire, then jump into the air, using wind magic to fly.

The bear releases a focused gust of air from its mouth to protect itself from the flames, then slams a paw into the ground. Spikes rise up from the ground and fly towards me, even without the monster looking at me. Somehow, it was able to track me.

Using my spear, I strike at the spikes, knocking them out of the air, then I fly to the side as the bear extends its wings and flaps them once before taking off into the air. I'm pretty sure it doesn't need to flap them, since it's using magic to fly, just like me.

Soaring forward, the bear attempts to swipe at me, and I shift to the side, striking with my spear, which cuts into its paw. The bear snarls, and I feel the wind assaulting me, cutting into me on all sides as dozens of wind blades form in all directions around me.

Hissing, I unleash a vortex of fire around me to burn through the air, warping it with the heat. That lightens the blow, but I need to end this soon. My sacred power is draining rather fast because of the spear, which is the only thing I have which can hurt it. I'm too weak for my magic to cause direct damage.

The attack ends, and a moment later, the bear slams into me. It performed a full-body tackle into its bane, likely realizing I couldn't see as a result of the vortex. My spell ends as my concentration is broken, and the bear brings us both back to the ground as I stab and jab at it with my spear.

We impact the ground, my entire body erupting into pain as bones break, and I immediately feel light magic at work, fixing me up immediately. Using condensed wind, I do my best to protect myself from the claws and maw of the bear as Cam heals me, hidden somewhere to avoid being seen by the bear.

At least, I think that's his plan, but it seems to fail. The bear pulls off of me and looks off in one direction, and I feel the healing falter. Then, the bear starts making its way in that direction, before charging.

The healing falters again, but Cam keeps it up, and the moment I'm able to, I rise and throw my spear, a frosty trail following it. My weapon slices into the bear's rump, and the monster lets out a roar as it twists around.

Holding out my hand, I summon the spear back to me, then immediately throw it again as the bear continues on its path. This time, it shifts to the side just enough to cause my spear to miss. Despite its large frame, it can move fast when it wants to.

As soon as my spear misses, I hold out a hand and summon it back, then throw it again. I repeat this until the bear returns its attention to me, the monster slamming both front paws into the ground. The moment it begins that movement, I realize what it's planning on doing and use air magic to launch myself forward, just in time to avoid being struck by the stone wall it attempted to summon behind me.

With the bear's attention back on me, I continue my assault. Using wind magic to jerk myself around, I manage to avoid most of the bear's attacks, but it's not easy. The bear continues to manage to strike me with its paws, stone spikes, and stone walls.

One out of every six of my attacks manage to land, and the bear is doing its best to avoid giving me a clean. Despite that, I still manage to wear it down as it wears me down. My sacred power starts to drop below ten percent as I deflect more stone spikes with my spear, but I feel confident I can end this soon.

Wrapping the head of my spear in fire, even as I keep up the water infusion, I watch as blue flames swirl around the spearhead, touches of white directly around the metal. I can feel the intensity of the heat, the power that comes from infusing my spear and wrapping magic around it.

Hopeful, I cancel the infusion as I evade being struck by a stone wall, the bear charging at me. It predicted my movement. I have a pattern, and the bear figured it out. Do I always move to the left? That must be it.

Infusing my spear with fire, the markings turning crimson, I watch as the flames grow more intense, and I thrust my spear forward, striking into the bear's shoulder as it tackles me to the ground. It snarls, then lifts its head up and howls in pain as I push the spear more.

Fire spreads from the contact point, rippling across the bear's fur as I push more power into it, burning through more sacred power to fuel the spear's effect. The smell of burnt flesh fills my nostrils, and I keep at it.

Gathering up sacred power, I form a layer of thick air over me, then push it up, angled slightly away from me. The bear is launched back, my shoulder wrenching out of its socket as my spear is forcefully removed from the monster, my grip tight.

Hissing, I sit up and pick up the spear with my good hand, infuse it with lightning as I wrap more around the head, then I throw the spear, a trail of sparks following it as thunder echoes out. The spear impacts into the bear's chest, and I grab my dislocated arm, approach a nearby stone wall, and hiss again as I pop my shoulder back into place using the stone wall.

Holding out my hand as I feel Cam's magic mending my shoulder the rest of the way, I summon my spear back to me and swap the lightning for fire, before approaching the stunned bear. It's sitting with its back to a tree, head hanging down with its stomach exposed.

When I reach the bear, I pull back my arm, then thrust my sacred weapon into the monster's chest. It doesn't penetrate deeply, and I know I won't be able to push it further with just gripping and pushing, so I take a couple of steps back, then perform a roundhouse kick, my foot connecting with the butt of the spear. It pushes in further from the impact, and I repeat it, before taking a couple of steps back and drawing on what's left of my sacred power, forming a condensed blast of air that I slam into the butt of the spear.

It pushes in the rest of the way, leaving me almost completely drained of sacred power as I feel my strength and sacred power capacity rising. Not wanting to go completely empty, I release my spear, then stagger back, collapsing to the ground.

This fight would have gone a lot differently if I couldn't use my sacred weapon.

Cam approaches me, his magic still working to heal my body, mending the cuts, scrapes, bruises, and various other injuries I suffered. He clears any monsters that form around us or which approach the glade, neither of us saying a word.

"-hear me?"

I jump at the voice that came from within me. It's not in my head, though. The voice sounds as if it comes from within my soul, just as Kris mentioned before.

"What is it?" Cam goes on alert, looking around.

I have no doubt that if I told him some monster were here, he'd prefer to take care of it so I could recover.

"I heard a voice," I tell him.

"Like what Kris mentioned?" He asks.

There is little I keep from Cam, so after Kris told me about the voices people who manifest their sacred weapons hear, I told Cam. It's been more than a week, though, and I haven't heard the voice, so we assumed the records were wrong or there was something else involved that I don't qualify for.

"Yes," I answer. "It said 'hear me', though maybe it was asking?"

"Can you hear me?" The voice asks, coming in loud and clear.

It's soft and melodic, light in tone and volume, yet full of a wonder and grace I can't put into words. I would be hard-pressed to tell if it's male or female, though. The way it sounds, it could be either.

"It's asking if I can hear it," I say.

"You can hear me?" The voice asks.

"Yes?" I answer, hesitantly. "Who are you?"

"I am-" the voice cuts off.

I wait for several minutes, but nothing else is said.

"It asked if I could hear it, then started to answer, then just went silent," I tell Cam.

"Strange," he frowns. "But you should tell the Elder Hunter when we return."

"I will," I nod.

We return to resting up as I think over the voice. Why did I hear it now, more than a week after I manifested my weapon? Was it because I reached Level 20? The way Kris talked, though, it sounded like Level 20 wasn't a requirement for it. I had to manifest my sacred weapon before then, but I'm sure it would have been recorded if the voice was only heard after reaching it.

In the end, I'm unable to come up with an explanation, so I return to rest, meditating to increase my stamina and sacred power recovery.

"So,"Cam says once I stand, recovered enough to move on, more than an hour having passed since I heard the voice. "Should we give up on the other area we were going to check today?"

"No," I answer.

"You're exhausted," he says. "You're wobbling a little."

"I am?" I ask, then find that I am, indeed, wobbling where I stand. However, I'm not the only one. "You are, too, Cam."

"I am?" He asks in confusion, before the ground begins to shake, the sound of leaves rustling filling the air. "What in the world?"

Cam and catch each other as we fall to the ground, everything just shaking as the land rumbles. The shaking lasts for nearly five minutes, birds flying into the air, fleeing the shaking world. We could probably fly as well, but instead, we just wait it out.

Once it ends, we look at each other, and I tell he's probably as worried as I am.

"Let's head back to town," we say in unison.

Please, powers that be, don't let something have happened to the town.

We take off into the sky, flying towards town. During the trip, Cam attacks the various bird monsters that come near us, killing a few and driving off others. As we fly, the land rumbles again, the leaves in the trees rippling, reminding me of the grass in the fields on a windy day.

Reaching the town doesn't come soon enough, and Cam and I fly to the Gate. There are no monsters near it, strangely. Did they all flee to somewhere due to the rumbling?

"Welcome back," the Gate greets us. "In this rumbling day. You look exhausted. And damaged. Is all well?"

"Is the town okay?" Cam and I ask.

"Yes," the Gate answers. "Why would it not be?"

"But the rumbling!" I exclaim. "What's going on? Is this some sort of monster?"

"Monster?" The Gate asks. "No, Rex. This is just an earthquake. I haven't felt one like this in maybe three hundred years."

"An earthquake?" I ask. "What is that?"

"It is when the earth quakes," the Gate answers as the world shakes again. "Though this is merely an aftershock of the big one. There is nothing to worry about. They happen all the time."

"No, they don't!" I exclaim. "I've never heard of earthquakes before! Let us in!"

"Very well," he opens up. "Enjoy the rest of your rumbling day."

Cam and I enter the town and make straight for the Elder Hunter's shop, entering it. She's sitting in her usual spot, but I can see the signs of wind magics being used in here, the air a little chillier and breezier, a few objects around the room holding mostly still, her clothes rippling.

"Wait it out," she tells us. "I'll be able to concentrate better once I'm not keeping everything from falling, my poor chickens are having it bad enough as it is."

Cam and I sit on the cushions, and the rumbling ceases a few seconds later.

"There we go," she says, and the breeze ends, her dress no longer rippling. "By your expressions, you are worried, and I am sure the Gate did little to alleviate your fears. They tend to think in different ways than us."

"It said we get these 'earthquake' things all the time," I say. "But we've never heard of them before."

"Yes, I'm sure," she smiles. "Earthquakes are a natural phenomena, a sign of nature's wrath or displeasure. This one was quite severe, even for an earthquake. The town will have some recovering to do. Your hunts the next couple of weeks will provide most useful, should you bring catches back. Most townsfolk will focus on simply dealing with the aftermath. Many homes will have been destroyed altogether. Though yours should be fine, the builders who built it should have taken precautions. You might find your things a bit shaken, though."

"That was normal?" I ask.

"Yes," she answers. "And we do, indeed, receive earthquakes all the time. However, nearly all are imperceptible to the common man. The Gate will notice them all, even the slightest of them. In my many years, I have come to learn to tell when we have them."

"The Gate," I say. "Said we haven't had one like this in three hundred years."

"Really?" She seems surprised. "Then it has been a long while since one that severe occurred. I remember having an earthquake here, oh, forty years ago? Nearly no one is around who would remember it, though. Perhaps my judge of its severity is off. It has been forty years, after all."

"The ground keeps rumbling," Cam speaks up. "What does that mean? Will it continue, now?"

"No," she smiles. "The aftershocks will grow weaker and fade, though we may feel them for a few days. Even now, they're growing weaker."

"Thank the powers that be," I breathe. "Can you do an appraisal on us? I gained two Levels today."

"Two?" She raises an eyebrow. "The only reason I can think of for why you would gain a full Level is if you fought a Tier Six."

"A flying gaia bear," I nod. "Which is weird. I've never seen bears before. Not here, anyway. We saw some on our trip to the city, but not here. Did they spawn because of the Swarm?"

"No," she answers. "Swarms never spawn monsters that aren't from that area. It is strange, indeed, but perhaps the bear was seeking stronger beasts because of the Swarm? It may have lived a little outside your normal hunting areas, saw the Swarm's effects, grew stronger because of it, then realized it could likely hunt stronger things and went deeper in."

"Ah," I say. "Okay."

"Now," she says. "Let us do the appraisals."

Cam goes first, discovering he reached Level 15, as we had been hoping he would do soon. It appears he was closer to it than he had expected, and he didn't mention it after the foxes because he'd noticed me seeming a little tense. Then the bear attacked, and he forgot about it altogether.

I'm appraised next, and the Elder Hunter confirms my two acquired Levels. She updates our brands, then collects our payments and gives them to us before she sends us on our way, so we can check on our respective homes.

A lot of the homes we pass do have damage to them, and I spot several which are simply collapsed from the shaking. Homes aren't built to stand up to such violent shaking from the land itself, and are often rebuilt every generation because of their poor quality. It will be at least two or three weeks before everyone has rebuilt their homes, but there are probably injured people as well. Those who were at home when the earthquake occurred, or working in a shop.

The shops are built of brick fired from clay, so they will likely have held up better, but there will still be damage and lost stock. I would like to help those who were hurt, see if anyone needs help, but I also need to check on Liam, and Cam needs to check on his famly.

I'm especially worried about Liam. He was likely resting at the house when the earthquake hit, so it's possible something fell on him, and he'd be there alone, without anyone to check in and see if he's doing okay.

"Bright and early tomorrow," Cam tells me once we reach the fork in the path where we part ways. "We'll need to make up for today's lost hunt to ensure things don't grow too strong."

"I'll see you then," I tell him, then we make our way to our individual homes.

When I reach mine, I'm glad to see it's still standing. Even if the Elder Hunter said it should be fine, I still held some worry over the state of the house.

Entering the house, I find everything put away, nothing looking as if it was disturbed by the shaking. That is strange, but it's possible Liam is okay and got to work cleaning things up as soon as the big one ended.

The books on the shelves are packed tightly together enough that these lighter rumbles might not disturb them.

As I open my mouth to call out Liam's name, I hear the sound of someone running, then the clomp of steps on the stairs as Liam descends.

"One moment!" He exclaims before rushing to the shelves and pushing the books all the way to the back. "There we go! Otherwise, they'd probably fall in the next shake. What is going on?"

I explain to him what the Elder Hunter said about earthquakes, and he gives me a confused look, then shrugs.

"Okay," he says. "I'm going back to my room to finish fixing stuff. I haven't gotten to your room yet, but it's probably a mess. The shaking, erm, the earthquake knocked everything off the shelves. The really big one."

"Are you okay?" I ask, examining him. "Not hurt?"

"No," he answers. "I was out back when the big one hit, and stayed out there for a bit. Then they got lighter, so I came inside, since the house wasn't falling down or anything."

"Good," I say. "Cam and I came back because we were worried something was attacking the town."

"Just the world," he says. "Back to my room!"

Liam charges back up the stairs, and I make my way upstairs and too my room. All of my stuff has fallen off the shelves, except for a single item. I begin picking everything up and setting them back on the shelves.

As I do, I notice an oddity. Something did remain on the shelf, completely undamaged from the shaking. In fact, it doesn't even look as if it's moved at all.

Resting exactly where I set it after buying it with not the slightest hint of damage is the crystal sculpture of an angel.