Shoveling through snow sore and stiff might've been on my list of things to never do again. My movements came with a manner likened to a rock. That was to say, I was impressed I moved at all.

"Take a break, Vak." John swept his brow, sweating despite the cold. Planting his shovel, he looked to me as he caught his breath. "It's thanks to you I can even move. You've got it worse than I do." He tightened his armguards, then picked up his violet shovel again.

I sat back on a mound of snow. "Thanks." I groaned.

It was getting dark, but the night didn't seem too void of light. John said that was simply the nature of the nights here. The real trouble was under the canopy. Looking past this particular section of sky-blessed ground, the area under the trees was nearly pitch black.

It was a white beacon that shined in the sky, a straight pillar of light that I doubted would be there in permeance. I wondered exactly if I was going to see a quaint building with a well-written sign labeled "[System Shop]" or if it was simply going to be a slot machine sitting in the snow.

The motions of the camp died down as people finished up their work. John and I had made good progress, enough so that he could finish the rest without too much trouble. It was a simple square foundation, just big enough for there to be decent enough space between us if we were to lie down. The roof was a cover of branches adorned with white leaves, piled with snow to seal the whole thing.

"Won't the leaves make it colder?" I asked, trusting John to already be aware of their properties.

"We'll be warm enough." John retorted. "You're worrying with that blanket over your shoulders?" He said amused.

I exhaled. "Alright, alright, you're the expert."

We both went inside the small little hut and found it spacious enough after testing. Lying down, my thoughts nearly drifted away at the comfort I felt, the soft bedding-

"Falling asleep already, huh?" John's yawn cut into my drowsiness. "I knew that cloak of yours was comfy." He said tiredly.

Something made me open my eyes and I saw John sitting up. "What's up?" I asked him.

"I think it's Hale outside." He ducked outside, and regrettably, I followed.

Hale was standing there just like John had said. He was taller than me and fixed us both with an approving look. His clean-cut hair was odd in a group full of beards and unshaven men. Even the women had less than messy hair. "We're sending a few of us to scout out the [System Shop] if you two are interested." He said without preamble. "If you're staying the night we ask you take a shift of night watch."

I yawned, sore and tired. "They're leaving immediately?" I asked.

"Once they're ready, yes." He ran a hand through peppered hair. "I thought you two might be interested. Your contributions must be high if you've been picking off as many of the tuskers as I come to think. It might be worth your time."

John smiled tiredly looking at me. "Not sure about you Vak but I'm too tired." He turned to Hale. "I'll be sleeping but if you send someone over to tell me where to stand and where to look, I'll crawl out of bed and keep watch."

"And you?"

"Too tired. It's been a long day, Hale. You have no idea." I yawned again. "Send someone to wake us when it's our turn."

Hale nodded, turning. I watched him approach a group of men and women of which I spotted Garth and Kevin mingling. I was too tired for any scrutiny. By the time I blinked away my daydreaming John had already crawled into the hut.

I pulled my cloak tighter, feeling the warmth, and swaddled myself up on my side of the space.

The next thing I knew I was immediately being woken up. I blinked blearily at the man's voice, he was crouching into the entrance. "Vak and John, right? I can show you the watch spot." He said. The words didn't process immediately, but I nodded. He ducked back out.

John was snoring. Loud. It was a miracle nothing had found him up in those trees. I saw Gibber nestled into his neck, lightly snoring in the same way. "Two of a kind you two." I said. Shaking them, "Wake up, John. Our turn for lookout." I slept like a baby, but that didn't stop another yawn from escaping me.

John grumbled but woke himself up. Sitting up and shaking it out.

I found the guy outside, he unlike most had an actual weapon. A sword, but it must've been [System] bought from the odd markings and design. We followed him quietly, making light talk. There hadn't been any activity tonight but that was most nights, apparently.

"We're keeping lookouts in pairs and battle capable because of today." He said in way of explanation.

"Can't blame you." I responded.

There would be three other pairs of lookouts placed on each side of the camp. All we had to do was yell if he saw something funny.

John and I found a small mound of snow against a tree to prop up against. The guy let us know not to get too comfortable and fall asleep before leaving. I hadn't even gotten his name.

I occupied myself with my [Powers] to stay awake.

Buff: [Mana Eye]

You obtain the ability to see the mana that permeates the world. The world is doused in energy, among them, the stuff of magic shines brightly. Your eye can see it.

My vision burst into light. I was blinded, still groggy, I was glad I was sitting. I flinched reflexively and my vision set itself.

"You okay, Vak?" Came John's voice, I noticed Gibber snoring and nestled in his neck.

He held a bow and arrow lazily at his lap. Except, it was brighter than anything I've ever seen. I saw mana as tendrils and mist coming from and surrounding nearly everything. I couldn't for the life of me pin a color to the light. But John's? His was a color I wouldn't forget. Violet.

"Yeah, mana vision." I said in explanation.

John sat up straighter, curious. And maybe finally waking up. "Well? What do you see?"

I pointedly looked at him. "I see violet." I said.

Mana wasn't entirely a foreign concept. It was the thing that let you do magic, the energy used to make fireballs. I read enough fantasy for that to be ingrained. Like the books, I bet it could have had any number of rules. My reality wasn't exactly predictable.

"Makes sense. I do begin to feel a drain if I use my [Violet Shaping] too much." He nocked his arrow idly, looking out into the snowy trees.

"I can't remember ever feeling that."

I forewent refraining from using the rest of my [Powers] for the simple curiosity of experimentation. I wasn't sure if I felt the drain because I wasn't sure if I used mana in the first place. But thinking on it, that must be the case, right?

"[Armor Roll], [Weapon Roll]." I said aloud, more for John's sake than mine.

Armor: [Flexwood Cuirass]

A breastplate and backplate made from the flexwood a semi-magical species of tree that does as its name implies. The wood itself is just as thick and dense as regular wood with the advantage of being both lighter and flexible.

Weapon: [Brass Knuckles]

A weapon intended to be worn around the fist. This metal guard surrounding the knuckles increases the effect of your blows.

I paid acute attention to both the [Flexwood Cuirass] and the [Brass Knuckles] as they formed on my person. The intense light was akin to a rainbow if every shade of color were made darker, more chaotic. The light settled down, becoming solid on my torso and hand.

"So it is magic." I hadn't had any sense that my mana was being drained.

"Odd. I doubt my [Fortess Mind] or [Perfect Imagery] would use any mana." John thought aloud. "They're more of a mental thing."

"So maybe not all [Powers] then." I offered.

"Maybe the [System Shop] will clear things up if we get a good look at what's for sale." John stood up, suddenly staring into the woods. "You hear that?"

A second later I did, the noise having suddenly risen above my perceptive threshold.

Calls for aid! Warning shouts from the distance! I shot up to my feet our casual talk suddenly overtaken by the task at hand. In the distance, a man I hadn't yet met was running toward us, waving his arms. To his sides, Garth ran forward with him and Kevin was throwing slices of water backward. The [System Shop] scouts.

"Help! Monsters!" The man yelled, his voice just loud enough to reach us.

"John, I'll run back and alert the rest of the lookouts." My weapon was useless here if they were already running. [Brass Knuckles] would be useless. "You good?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Go for it." He reached upward and hauled himself up the tree. Perched, he drew his violet bow and aimed forward. "I'll bail if it's too much." He whistled lightly and I saw a red-scaled shape scurry out from his clothes.

The snow became a blur under my feet but moving through it came much easier to me than expected no doubt a consequence of doing so for the entire day previous. I dodged out of the way of trees, stepping on roots where I noticed them and hitting as much solid footing as I could.

"Monsters!" I called, waking up the nearby structures. "Monsters!" My heart raced but I already saw someone take up the call. A rough-looking man who looked like he was surer of himself than I was.

The stranger was obviously just woken up but his eyes were sharp. "I got it, young man. Help them if you can. I know Hale keeps the combat ones as lookouts." He turned and began yelling. "Wake up! Lookout's spotted something!"

I turned immediately.

Running through the snow I could hear their voices calling for aid.

Buff: [Surefoot]

Your body moves instinctively, knowing exactly where to place your feet. Moving through rough terrain and unstable footing becomes as easy as walking on flat ground.

Weapon: [Sacrifice Dagger]

Lives taken by this weapon are channeled into both mana and health. Wounds inflicted by this dagger are harder to stymie and bleed longer and harder.

Armor: [Young Armormeld Rootsprite]

A shapeshifting spirit bound by the forms of each piece of armor in a set. The intelligent rootsprite will assume any one of the armor forms most beneficial to the wearer.

Instantly, I felt a weight both in my hand and my shoulders. My run was uninterrupted, however, as my feet found their places in the snow where I had never thought to place them before. [Surefoot] was a boon in this terrain and I made great time.

Suddenly, I was wearing something across my chest. An instant later, something stuck into me right where my heart would be. I pulled an arrow out of my chest, seeing the armor under my cloak, the [Young Armormeld Rootsprite]. I looked up, chastising myself for staring at my feet.

I saw something standing up holding up a bow that was as large as it was tall. All I had time to see were the uncharacteristically long arms for a humanoid and the ashen grey skin that didn't look like it belonged to anything I've seen before. After taking that in, a violet arrow buried itself in its back.

"Vak!" I heard John yell. "They're just up ahead, I'm covering them as much as I can but some made their way in front of them! Careful here!"

Something thudded against my back and I turned, finding another one of the tall humanoids. The grey-skinned creature matched Hale in height. The arrow it already had nocked might've indicated the weight I felt poking out of my back.

This time, I didn't hesitate and barreled forward, lunging with [Surefoot] in a way that might've seen inhuman. As for the [Sacrifice Dagger], I didn't try anything particularly spectacular other than sticking it in the creature's throat. Unfortunately, it grabbed me at the wrist, failing at twisting out my grip, before throwing me to the snow. My feet found the ground before any other part of my body, and I lunged forward again, coming in lower than I would normally have confidence doing. My dagger sliced, going for wounds than anything fatal. Iron filled my lungs and blood, as red as any human's, painted the snow like rose petals.

It ran away, panicked, and I let it, seeing John sight it from above. The arrow that appeared in its head allowed me the fantasy of mercy. I perked up, feeling energized and thought it the effect of the [Sacrifice Dagger]. I felt the bruise on my wrist lighten, the soreness in my back and neck ease. My movements became a little easier.

My [Powers] died and I ran below John. "John, have anything for me?" I directed to him, heart racing.

A violet sword and shield fell to the floor unceremoniously. "I don't know how long I can keep three different shapings up and active." He warned. "They might disappear on you, Vak. Be careful." I picked them both up, feeling them solid in my grasp.

"I'm used to-"

One of the humanoids came into the clearing, charging straight for me from a tree that was nearby but out of John's line of sight. It screamed with a rusty shortsword, raising it for my head. Maybe I was numbed to the sheer horror I should've felt, the absolute fear of my life on the line, in that moment, my reaction was something even I didn't expect.

I turned and charged back.

"Shit." John spat, his voice so comically inconvenienced, actually calmed me. "I got your back, Vak." He called down. "Take him slowly!"

There was a certain bluff to my movement, the steel in my gaze, the lack of hesitance. I blocked the shortsword, feeling it clatter hard and slide off my shield awkwardly, sending my whole arm to the side and tingling with numbness. He recovered for another swing, but my own missed his neck and chopped at his arm. His left arm, bare, reached for my sword arm lodged deeply into the meat of his right, but a violet arrow thunked into his shoulder stunning him with pain and sending his chest off balance. My sword came clean as he tried to painfully reset his stance, but too late, my weapon found his throat.

I immediately widened our distance, knowing it was a killing blow. My breath came rapidly.

Garth rounded a tree followed by Kevin and the man I didn't recognize. "Vak! It's just you?" He stared at the body before me. "Did you warn the camp?"

Kevin noted the corpse but payed it no further mind save for a short glance at me. He looked up. "John." He said both in hurried greeting and simultaneous indication.

"Hey guys." John waved, bringing the stranger's attention upward. "And you, stranger."

"Timothy." The man shortly introduced himself. "Five more of them incoming." He said aloud, then looking upward scrutinizing John's bow and the arrow plunked in the corpse's chest. "They have magic users. Can you prioritize them?"

"As much as I can through the trees. You don't want to run?" John replied, his eyes sharp on the forest behind everyone.

I picked up fast, my adrenaline no doubt firing off my brain. "Camp's too close, we'll risk putting people in danger." My words were fast, between breaths.

Garth cut in. "Hale and a few other's should be here in a minute if the warning was sounded." He looked at us. "Glad you were the lookouts closest."

"Shit. Heads up." John called above.

Snaking tendrils of what I could only describe as pure black reached out from behind one of the thicker trees. Kevin sent deadly high-velocity water at them, managing to shave a few off. I tried John's violet sword and found the shadows shriveled up fast, even when I missed.

"Shadows!" Timothy called. "Kept on us defense the whole run here. [System Shop] was guarded." He said quickly, huffing. "They're close." I wasn't too sure on how he knew that, but the certainty in his voice brooked no argument.

And just like that, three stepped from behind the trees. They were dressed in leather, wearing too little in the way of warmth for the weather.

I stepped in front of Kevin and Timothy when I noticed they both reflexively moved back. Garth, on the other hand, stepped forward with me.

Suddenly, the first one grunted bleeding from a cut opened on his face.

"Tough motherfuckers." Garth grumbled, his fist returning from a straight jab.

Then there was chaos.

The first two approached with swords. One with a shield in the offhand and another with a small dagger as his secondary. I had the pleasure of facing the one with two blades.

Something about the way of the fight, John's spread awareness, told me I wouldn't have so much a cushion if I were to go up against this thing. So I let him approach and merely acted the part of confidence. I had no idea if smiles were universal, but it was the emotion I displayed as I watched him cautiously approach.

Arrows flew into the trees beyond and the humanoid growled upwards at John. That single glance gave me insight into what it wanted to do, it wanted John out of that tree. And I was standing in its way.

It ran at me and I didn't like my odds with two of its arms swinging sharp things around.

I kept my shield up to my face as if to brace for an impact, my sword however swung backward it what might've been a fancy brandish. Instead, with as much force and speed as I could muster from that arc, I threw the damn thing underhand, blade over hilt.

I didn't like my odds, so I took a whole other risk.

Buff: [Spring Healing]

The natural healing properties of rare healing springs are with you wherever you go so long as you have water. Any contact with water your body treats as rejuvenating healing.

Weapon: [Heavy Crossbow]

A large crossbow with maximum stopping power. The hand crank meant to reload the bolts as they're shot requires immense strength or the right technique.

Armor: [Sparkfire Gloves]

Enchanted gloves that seek out outgoing ammunition and ignites them. Physical objects that normally cannot hold a flame are enchanted on the spot to do so. [Sparkfire Gloves] must be nearby as the ammunition becomes ordnance.

The creature crossed both blades in surprise and managed to avoid getting skewered save for a deep cut on his shoulder as a result of the flailing blade. The violet sword didn't so much as clang as it did reverberate, knocking the creature off balance and planting itself blade first into the snow.

It looked smug as it turned to me.

Unfortunately for it I now had a [Heavy Crossbow] already loaded now pointing straight at its chest.

I wasted no time pulling the trigger I felt my finger comfortable rest against, and my [Sparkfire Gloves], as their name implied, sparked, setting the large bolt on fire. The [Heavy Crossbow] did not kick me in the chest like a horse's hoof. Instead, the recoil of the weapon pulled me forward if anything. And then the weapon's sheer weight caught up with me, nearly having me drop it in the snow.

I heard the sound of his blades meeting the bolt but that did nothing to stop it from shattering them in a shower of sparks and fire and sinking right into his chest. The heavy thump didn't disappoint, sending his body slightly into the air and backward like a movie, but all the more realistic for the flailing limbs and sudden jerk. His body ignited and he stayed down, coughing blood and fire.

Garth's opponent fell to the floor, the larger of the tree fell over bloodied. I hadn't seen what happened but it looked absolutely beat. The third, wielding both sword and shield had managed to block John's arrows by raising his protection. He had fared little well against Kevin's magic, earning him scores of bloody gashes across his lower half.

Shadowy tentacles erupted from nearby, causing Timothy and I to hit the snow hard. I abandoned the [Heavy Crossbow] and dodged the tentacles. The contact with the ice activated my [Spring Healing] and the short exposure combined with the [Sacrifice Dagger] from earlier had my sore areas feeling like night and day.

I came back up in a flurry of snow, scrabbling for the [Heavy Crossbow]. I grunted at the effort but had to abandon the weapon as I was pelted by high-velocity ice chunks. They stopped at my [Cloak of the Frozen Icicle] though, reminding me of its ice resistance. Reflexively, I held up my [Sparkfire Gloves] and they ignited the ice midair, melting them in a flash of heat and spraying water over me. I only felt better because of [Spring Healing].

My [Powers] all ran out before I could reap any more benefits.

We were being harried from all directions. The shadows brought us closer snapping at limbs unprotected. The ice chunks wore us down, coming from odd angles and striking our joints. My cloak managed to stop most of them, but their senders were invisible to us, hidden in the trees.

Then the air became heavy.

And despite that weight, Garth's voice was light. "Thank god, they're here."

Hale walked into view, confident. He stalked past us and to the only one of the humanoid warriors still standing - the one with the standard sword and shield. The warrior had fallen to the knee, struggling even as I watched him raise his sword for a last swing. Garth's fist swung out, and the warrior's shield was nowhere to block the invisible strike. His jaw boggled, and he fell over, planting deeper in the snow that was normal.

I sat back, moving from the edge of the trees where the attacks had come from.

The mages were incapacitated when we found them. Weaker than the warrior, they were flat on their backs. Useless when hit with Hale's field. Kevin walked over slicing the air with his hand - the motion was mirrored with a cut of razor-thin water.

"Ready to report, Hale." Kevin said tiredly. The man, even without his labored breathing, sounded exhausted.

Oddly, I felt none of that exhaustion. My body felt energized in what I could only thank my [Powers] for.

Hale put a hand on his shoulder. "Save it for the morning, Kev. Rotate the lookouts, we'll talk about it after a nights rest." He said, grimacing. "Nothing else followed you?"

"Not that we saw." Timothy replied, looking outward. "I don't sense anything either."

"See anything moving, John?" Garth called upwards.

The reply came quickly. "Not anymore." I managed to catch Gibber at his shoulder, peering intently around.

The trek back was longer than I remembered, having run through the trees and back in a much shorter time. Wordlessly and with the promise to speak later, everyone split up. Without really speaking, sharing only tired glances, we found our hut. I crawled in with lethargy, numb to the events of the day.

My body wasn't tired, but my mind had been awake much too long.

I needed to sleep.