“How far do you think we have?” Liliana asked the fox at her side. She was checking her map for the campsite Silas had suggested.

Her companion offered her a yip in answer and Liliana rolled her eyes affectionately as she glanced around the road. Since learning a few illusion spells she could actually walk down the road like a normal person, rather than play-acting a fugitive and fumbling through the woods. She’d still needed to leave the manor through the woods but once she was about an hour out the pair had made their way to the road. It was much easier to travel along a maintained road than the forest, that was for sure.

It had been nerve-wracking, the first few times she’d passed other travelers on her way. Yet despite recognizing several of the faces as servants of the manor none had given her more than a cursory glance. Liliana thanked Vita for giving her Light affinity and enabling her to learn Illusion magic. She could finally walk in the light of day without fear of being caught and dragged back to her father and stepmother.

Polaris paused and circles her, yipping as he glanced behind them before bounding off ahead of her and coming back. Liliana chuckled as she shook her head.

“I wonder when he’ll make himself known too,” Liliana answered the fox who snorted and danced around her, obviously full of energy that had a little outlet at the moment. They weren’t chasing after random monsters right now, they had a clear goal. They didn’t have time to detour to chase after other prey. Well not until they’d made camp.

Liliana was referring to the person who had been following the pair since the manor. Liliana hadn’t noticed him, she had no detection skills of her own. Something she now realized she was sorely in need of. No, Polaris had sniffed out their tail about an hour into their trip. It had nearly sent Liliana into a panic until she realized the tail hadn’t done anything, despite the many infractions she’d already committed. The naginata she carried across her back would be enough to get her dragged before her stepmother and severely punished. Yet their shadow hadn’t confronted her, or run back to the manor to grab the guards to drag her home. He had just followed her.

Liliana had her suspicions of who was following her. There was only one person in the manor who had any kind of shadow class that would be strong enough to give even Polaris pause in locating him. Her father had a water affinity, Alistair was a Light focused sword and shield fighter. Her step-mother wouldn’t be caught dead following Liliana, and her focus was Light and Illusion magic. Silas hadn’t mentioned any of the guards being far progressed in a Shadow or stealth-based class, it wasn’t something they needed and would be a bad choice considering their jobs.

It only left one person, her little stalker was Emyr Bealstal. The question that was burning in Liliana’s mind though was why. Why would he follow her? As well, how long had he been watching her? She and Astrid had been careful about sneaking out, they always were. Liliana’s rooms weren’t even in the same wing as the rest of the family’s and the guest rooms. So Emyr had to go out of his way to even happen to see her sneaking out.

Did he [Identify] me that first day? Liliana wondered, ice running through her veins at the thought that her act had been found out so quickly. It made sense, she hadn’t run into Emyr since then. Why else would he be following her, unless he’d seen she was not at all who she seemed to be. In the game, Liliana had enjoyed playing Emyr, though he wasn’t her favorite character he wasn’t her least favorite either. He had an interesting family history. The youngest son of a military family he was raised to become a knight. His family wasn’t awful, but because his father was a general and his mother was part of the royal guard he didn’t often see them. He had three older siblings, a brother, and two sisters. The youngest of them was four years older than Emyr, so she’d have just graduated from the Academy this year and was likely starting her journey.

Because of that Emyr’s father had called in a favor with his friend, Duke Rosengarde to take his son as a foster for two years before he went to the Academy. It was why Emyr was now haunting the halls of their manor. In the game, Emyr filled out the role of an awkward introvert almost perfectly, quiet and standoffish on the outside but rather kind to his friends, once you got past his exterior. He was frightfully awful at social interactions because of the little interaction he got growing up as a result of his family always being too busy for him. His only friend was Alistair and he was far from a good role model. He also seemed to fit his Shadow affinity well, always quiet and skulking around and ever curious about secrets.

Liliana should’ve known her act wouldn’t have held up against someone like Emyr who lived for secrets and mysteries. She’d slipped up, she’d forgotten her game knowledge of him in exchange for the knowledge of her new body. The memories of a cold and uncaring boy who would never give her a second look. She had assumed he wouldn’t bother to [Identify] her because he’d never seemed to place any value on her.

Now she was stuck with a stalking shadow who saw her as a curious mystery he didn’t have an answer for. Liliana could only hope she kept him intrigued enough that he didn’t get bored and turn around to return to the manor and inform her family of her actions before she’d completed her plan.

Liliana shaded her eyes and checked the sun, then the map in her hands. She hummed as they passed a mile marker and nodded.

“Should be about another four hours before we get to the camp,” Liliana informed Polaris, though she pitched her voice a bit to carry. She resisted the urge to throw a glance over her shoulder, she didn’t want to give Emyr the pleasure of knowing his stalking unnerved her.

“This was supposed to be a fun Quest,“ Liliana grumbled to Polaris as they continued on.

“You can come out now, Emyr. I know you’re there,“ Liliana spoke up as she settled down around her campfire. Silas had insisted she get the [Wilderness Survival] skill as soon as he’d learned she was going on this trip and wouldn’t let him come with her. As a result, she could make a fire with the firestone given to her, cook over the fire, and set up her tent. The sound of Silas yelling ‘Faster! What if it’s storming and you’re about to die of hypothermia! Faster!’ still haunted her nightmares.

Polaris yipped as if to punctuate her comment, starring intently at a patch of shadows that looked much the same to Liliana as the rest of the shadows. However, as she watched she caught the shadows moving slightly, despite no wind shaking the trees. For several minutes the pair stared down the shadows, but no one emerged. Polaris got bored and flopped down, staring at Liliana with wide eyes begging for food. Liliana sighed and dragged her own eyes away.

“Fine, be like that then,” She muttered as she pulled out a piece of jerky and tossed it to Polaris, who jumped to catch it. She pulled out an apple and chucked it into the shadows, quirking an eyebrow when the apple vanished as if consumed by the shadows.

“Doubt you brought your own food, however, I won’t be giving you anything else unless you come out,“ Liliana warned the silent boy. Still no response. With a frustrated growl, Liliana turned from the shadows and grabbed her weapon. Polaris jumped up, eyes eager.

“Polaris, hunt,” Liliana ordered, and the fox hopped up, dashing into the trees. Liliana followed eagerly, she didn’t need to hunt and with the light fading, it’s perhaps not the most advisable course of action. But if she doesn’t move the anger simmering in her at Emyr’s silence would make her do something truly stupid. Even though he’d been following her for the entire day, and who knew how long before that, he still didn’t deem her important enough to speak to.

I’m nothing more than a particularly interesting bug to him. Well, I’ll show him. Liliana thought bitterly as she dropped into [Stealth] following Polaris easily through the forest, her Speed was finally enough to match his.

Polaris froze and Liliana stopped beside him, eyes catching what had caught his attention. Her lips widened into a vicious grin as she saw her prey.

Silver Stag

Level 41

A majestic stag, its coat blessed by the moon itself. Its Earth Affinity has evolved to be Metal Affinity. Its coat is hard to cut, reinforced by the very metal it commands. Its antlers are sharp as knives, as are its deadly hooves.

Rank: 8

With a thought, Liliana activated [Will-O-Wisp] and sent the floating lights to surround the stag. Immediately the creature’s head shot up as it looked around and saw itself circled. Its eyes widened and it snorted, pawing the ground and lowering its head a bit as it regarded the new threat.She hadn’t had a chance to fight a Silver Deer yet, she’d never gone far enough to hit their territory. She had been curious about them as their coat and antlers sold fairly well because of their inherent durability. She remembered them from the game, they weren’t common spawns and she remembered farming them to raise funds early on. Excitement filled her as Liliana wondered if the stag’s attack pattern would match the game.

Liliana activated [Tempo] and [Dance Of The Daystar] at the same time, rushing out of cover as she came in behind the stag, her naginata cutting through the air and the sound of metal clashing filled the air. Her naginata barely bit into the creature’s hide as she spun away. The stag turned to face the newest threat, shaking its head and fixing her with a glare. Liliana grinned as she spun around, feet tracing a pattern across the ground as she moved. [Tempo] guided her as she set the silent melody to the battle. The Stag charged her and Liliana noted its speed was inferior to hers as she danced away from its deadly antlers. The stag reared, turning on its back hooves to try and lash out at her but Liliana easily circled the creature. She slashed out once more with her weapon and poured a bit more strength into her strike as she did. Her blade found a bit more purchase but still not enough to truly damage it.

So the ballet of their battle proceeded, Liliana, teased and taunted the creature with strikes barely enough to pain it. The stag would rush her and she would evade as if she was nothing more than a ghost on the wind. As it collided with brush and trees Liliana noted the strength behind its charges and attacks. Its antlers sheered through branches thick as her arms and its charges splintered trunks thick as she was. She couldn’t afford to take a single hit from the creature, but as [Tempo] worked on the stag its rushes and attacks became sloppier until it was stumbling as if drunk. The many small cuts Liliana had made had healed, the creature’s Vitality was too high for her attacks to have truly hurt it.

Fairly similar to the game. It’ll lock on, build up its charge for several seconds, charge, then rear. It’s got the same high as hell Vitality, Endurance, and Strength as the game. Liliana mentally noted, finding some small relief that the creatures in this world seemed similar to their game counterparts if a slight bit different. It gave her hope that the higher-level creatures would keep the same kind of attack patterns as the game as well.

It’s time. Liliana decided as the stag stumbled and almost lost its footing. Liliana moved, lethal intent behind each movement as she closed the distance. [Enhancement] activated and strength surged through Liliana’s veins as she drove the blade of her naginata into the eye of the stag. The one part of it that wasn’t protected with a coating of metal. As she pushed her entire enhanced strength behind the thrust there was a moment of resistance where Liliana feared it wouldn’t be enough before her blade sunk into the creature, piercing its brain and putting an end to its life. With a shudder, the stag collapsed and Liliana dropped her spells.

With the disappearance of her [Will-O-Wisp], Liliana realized night had fallen and she hastily called the spell back up as darkness tried to consume her. No longer blind Liliana summoned her notifications.

You’ve killed a Silver Stag.

+20,500 Experience

+10,250 Experience from Boon

[Polearms Master] reached level 39.

[Will-O-Wisp] reached level 9.

Breathing a sigh of relief Liliana looked at the stag. Normally she’d harvest them where they dropped but she had a camp today, and cooked venison sounded rather good. Ripping her naginata free, Liliana grabbed the stag by its antlers with her other hand and started to drag it through the forest and back to her camp. Polaris popped up as she walked, taking the role of guiding her back to the camp.

It was far slower to walk back as she had to stop several times to free the stag of grasping branches and bushes but finally, they made it back. The campfire was suspiciously roaring as if Liliana hadn’t left it alone for over an hour.

If he thinks I’m going to thank him, he’s got another thing coming. Liliana grumbled mentally as she sat down. She pulled out her skinning knife and set to work on the stag. It was difficult at first until she started from the kill wound, then she easily settled into the familiar rhythm. Working the antlers off took her activating [Enhancement] once more to saw them free but finally, Liliana had all the parts she wanted. The hide was rolled up and placed in her dimensional bag with the antlers and core. She had divided up the meat, giving herself enough to eat for the next few days and leaving the rest to Polaris, who was happily feasting on this rare treat.

“If you want any, you’ll have to come out,” Liliana called out as she started cooking the meat, working in spices Astrid had packed for her. She recognized the names of the spices labeled on them from her studying of local alchemical herbs but she wasn’t sure what they tasted like. She had to go off smell, matching scents to the flavors she’d enjoyed in Astrid’s cooking.

Emyr remained in his shadows as Liliana cooked and the girl shrugged as she fussed over the food. She had very little experience cooking, just what Silas thought was sufficient for [Wilderness Survival], and she was afraid she’d burn the meat. Checking the meat constantly she finally decided it was good enough when the aroma sent her stomach roaring like a trapped beast. She hoped her little bit of [Wilderness Survival] would be enough to keep herself from accidentally poisoning herself. What an embarrassing way to go, ‘Here lies Liliana Rosengarde, killed by her own bad cooking’.

She stored what she wouldn’t eat and then dug into the large steak she’d made for herself, closing her eyes in happiness as the flavors exploded over her mouth. It was a bit burnt along the edges, but she devoured it anyway. An entire day of traveling and a fight did much to work up an appetite, and hunger was the best spice. The food would never be called gourmet, and it couldn’t even compare to Astrid’s cooking. But it tasted divine to Liliana as she scarfed it down, not caring about proper etiquette. The only person to notice was Emyr, and Liliana cared not one bit about impressing her stalker. He’d already seen her running around in the woods like a wild child, she doubted this would shock him now.

When she finished her food Liliana walked over to the nearby creek to clean up and walked further off to relieve herself before she returned to the fire. Her eyes were heavy but she laid her naginata across her lap and began the tedious process of cleaning and maintaining the weapon. She fell into a trance-like state as she cleaned, sharpened, and oiled the weapon. When it was sparkling and like new she grabbed it and looked towards the shadows she thought Emyr was lurking in.

“Fine, if you’re just going to skulk there you can take first watch. Polaris will take second and he’ll wake me up for third,” Liliana called out as she stood up. She banked the fire and crawled to her tent, snuggling into her sleeping roll. Despite being outside in the wilderness with only a fox and a questionable noble to protect her she had little trouble falling asleep.

“We should be maybe a day away from where the sighting for it was,” Liliana told Polaris, excitement obvious in her tone and movements. They had been traveling for three days now, and her target was so close. She could almost feel the creature, just waiting to bond with her. She could be Bonded with it as soon as tomorrow and on her way home, victorious and strong.

Liliana hummed as she walked, spinning her naginata around her in dizzying patterns as she kept her muscles warm and her mind occupied. Words from a song she’d almost forgotten sprung to her lips and a smile quirked on her face as she found the title of the song rather fitting. Provided the creature she ran into was an Evanesce Tiger of course.

Polaris seemed to enjoy her song as he danced to the beat of it, yipping along as if he was harmonizing with her. The sound of sweet laughter surrounded them between the words of the song as the girl delighted in the silliness of her fox companion.

Polaris froze mid yip, his hackles rising and a deep growl erupting from his chest. Liliana felt fear fill her as she followed the direction of the fox’s growls. Polaris had never growled, not once in the time she’d been bonded to him. Not even when she’d fought Zephryn. Her heart thundered in her chest, blood pounded a staccato rhythm in her ears as she turned to see what had caused such a reaction in Polaris.

A blood-curdling howl filled the air as a wolf stepped out of the nearby tree cover. The wolf was far bigger than any Liliana had seen in zoos back on Earth. Its head came to her chin. Taking a step back Liliana felt herself pale as another wolf followed the first, then another, and another. Soon an entire pack of six stood down the girl and the fox.

“Fuck,” Liliana spoke as she faced down the wolves.

Alpha Shadow Wolf

Level: 60

The strongest wolf of her pack, the Alpha gains strength from her pack. A master of the shadows, this wolf can sink into the shadows and emerge from them to attack prey from all sides.

Rank: 7