Abby loosed her silvery conjured arrow, guiding and empowering it with her skill, [Gust of Wind]. It required a clever touch because the skill itself was intended more for brute force applications than deft manipulation of the wind. When she’d originally selected the skill – her very first – she’d imagined herself conjuring frightful tornadoes, but the first time she’d used it, she had been severely disappointed by the simple wall of wind it had created. Her enemy at the time – a small creature that resembled a porcupine that breathed wisps of fire – had been sent flying, but it had done little to truly injure the thing. She’d been forced to dispatch it with a nearby rock, crushing it to death. Since that time, she’d spent hour after hour learning to use the skill in a more productive way, and by far the most effective method had been to combine it with archery.

The conjured arrow – another skill that she’d selected at level ten – flew with the speed of a bullet and unnatural accuracy, piercing the thick hide of the minotaur to plunge deep into its chest. It wasn’t enough to fell the beast, but it certainly slowed it down. In the space of a handful of seconds, Abby sent three conjured arrows flying, each impacting the monster only inches from where the first arrow had hit. She couldn’t help but grin at her hard-won proficiency, as evidenced by a single line on her status page:

Martial Path: Archery (Novice – Middle Proficiency)

Without it, she knew her arrows wouldn’t have even been able to penetrate the monster’s leathery skin, much less hit anything vital. What’s more, the upgrade to middle proficiency had extended her range by nearly half as she was able to eke out every bit of power from her mid-grade bow.

So, while she wasn’t the mage she might’ve imagined upon setting out in this new world, she couldn’t help but feel satisfied with her progress. With three silvery arrows sticking out of its chest, the minotaur’s fate finally caught up with it, and it stumbled to a halt, confused and in obvious pain. A moment later, it collapsed.

“I knew I chose well,” came a silky voice from beside her. She didn’t need to look in order to know that Julio had found her. “Such skill. I love a woman who can take care of herself.”

“Go to hell,” she said, dismissing the conjured arrow in her hand. As she turned, she rested her hand on a small hatchet at her waist. It was probably a futile gesture, considering that, even if she got the jump on him, Julio would probably win in a fight. He was too fast. Too strong. But that was to be expected, considering he was an entire stage ahead of her. That didn’t mean she was willing to back down, though. To show weakness to such a man was to invite attack. Or worse.

He laughed, the dismissive sound cutting through her like a knife. “So much fire!” he exclaimed. “My mother would’ve liked you. You remind me of her.”

“Okay, so that’s just creepy,” she said. “I don’t know if you know this, but an Oedipus complex is not attractive. At all.”

In an instant, Julio’s mirth disappeared, replaced by a savage gleam in his brown eyes. “That was not what I meant,” he growled, all hints of levity gone. In their place was an overwhelming sense of danger. Despite her power – and it was nothing to sneeze at – Abby felt like nothing so much as prey before a vicious predator, and it was all she could do not turn on her heel and run.

It was a silly thought. Not only would it be useless, considering the man was possessed of plenty of speed to catch her in short order, but it was also counterproductive. If Julio was a predator – and she knew he was – showing fear would only encourage him. And flight? Well, that would excite him in ways she didn’t want to think about.

“Then you shouldn’t have said it,” she said, her entire body taut with tension. She tightened her hand on her hatchet’s hilt. She might not be able to stand toe to toe with Julio, but she could extract a price should he choose to attack her. Whatever happened, Abby refused to go down without a fight.

“Um…boss?” came a voice from nearby. “What do you want us to do with the bodies? Are minotaurs worth anything?”

Neither Abby nor Julio acknowledged the underling’s presence as they stared one another down. Potential violence crackled in the air, waiting to be unleashed as neither backed down.

Finally, Julio blinked. Then, the spell was broken, and he let out another peal of laughter. “Just like mi madre,” he said, shaking his head with a grin. “Fierce.”

After that, Julio turned away like nothing had happened and addressed his men. All seven of them had gathered around, their expressions almost as bloodthirsty as their leader’s. Vladimir was there, too, his axe coated in a sheen of crimson blood. Judging by his stance, he had felt the tension, too.

“Take the horns. They’re moderately valuable,” Julio said, gesturing to the scattered corpses. “Burn the rest.”

Abby let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. She’d been closer to death than she had been in years, and she’d almost forgotten what it felt like. The adrenaline. The existential terror. The anger. It all coalesced into something wholly unique, and it had sapped her energy far more than the battle with the minotaurs ever could have. Still, she couldn’t be too upset, because it had all worked out surprisingly well.

She picked her way through the brush toward the minotaur she’d killed; it was at least a couple hundred yards away, but she covered the distance quickly due to her respectable agility of sixty-one. In seconds, she was hacking through the thick horn with her hatchet. The weapon was nothing special, but it made easy work of the valuable horns, which she then stowed away in her enchanted satchel. The pack was a new addition to her equipment, and it bore a series of inscriptions that nearly tripled its carrying capacity, all without increasing its weight. It truly was a marvel.

“We shouldn’t have come here,” Vladimir said, kneeling beside her. “They’re going to turn on us as soon as we’ve served our purpose.”

“I know,” she said, glancing around. They were only a few hours outside of Beacon, and they’d already been attacked by minotaurs. That the creatures dared come so close to the city was troubling, but even more distressing was the fact that Julio’s men hadn’t led them around the small tribe of bull-headed humanoids. Julio’s scouts were second-to-none, so there was no way the attack had come as the surprise they pretended it was.

“They were testing us,” she said, standing over the corpse. “Gauging our abilities.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” the big man stated. “What do you want to do?”

“We don’t have much choice, do we?” she said. “There’s a reason we took this mission.”

Indeed, the chance to evolve their races and continue advancing past level fifteen would justify just about any risk – even one so blatant as teaming up with Julio and his ilk. At least the mission itself wasn’t complicated. Drachnids were dangerous monsters that were far more intelligent than they had any right to be, but they weren’t overly difficult to kill. Culling the nest that had been plaguing the caravans that traveled from Beacon to the coastal city of Salvation would be a simple enough task, if a frustratingly tedious one – especially for a party of their caliber.

Vladimir, at level twelve, was the lowest level there, and they even had Julio, who’d already pushed past the bottleneck at fifteen. Abby was the second highest level, but none of Julio’s crew were lower than thirteen. There was a reason they were seen as one of the more successful groups within The Champions of Light, which is why they’d gotten the mission to begin with.

Abby sighed, looking around the forest. Unless she missed her mark – and she usually didn’t – it was going to be a long, eventful trip.

“We keep going,” she said. “You watch my back, and I watch yours, same as always. Can’t be any worse than that nest of wyverns we ran into a couple of years ago, right?”

Vladimir chuckled, stroking his beard. “In my defense, I didn’t know they breathed fire,” he said. “Besides, it all worked out, didn’t it?”

“Aside from you losing all your hair? And most of your clothes?” she said, grinning. “I saw way more than I ever wanted to see of you that day.”

“You liked it and you know it,” was Vladimir’s retort.

Abby retched, which only made Vladimir sputter. It almost felt like old times until Julio’s honeyed voice cut through their banter.

“Are you two done?” he asked, sauntering towards them, flanked by a pair of his men. Abby hadn’t even bothered to learn their names. Then, to Abby, he continued, “Keep it up, and I’ll get jealous. I don’t like competition.”

“There’s no competition,” Abby said, and Julio perked up – at least until she added, “Vlad is twice the man you are. In every way possible, from what I hear around the lower tiers.”

For a moment, Abby thought he would erupt into violence. Part of her wished the man would; at least then they’d be finished with the cat-and-mouse verbal sparring that he probably misconstrued as flirtation. But she knew how that would end, so she bit off another insult before it spilled out of her mouth.

“Funny,” Julio snorted. “Come on. We have a long way to go before nightfall.”

Then, the rakish man turned on his heel and marched away. He had seemed indifferent, but Abby had seen his white knuckles as he clutched the hilt of his sword. Julio had been a hair’s breadth from unleashing his power.

“You shouldn’t antagonize him,” Vladimir said. “From what I hear, he has a short temper.”

“I know,” Abby said. “Let’s go.”

And with that, she followed the man through the forest and to the nearby path where they’d been ambushed. Soon, they were on their way, walking along like nothing had happened. It was going to be a dangerous trip, indeed, but she was determined to survive. After all, there was no reward without risk, and the Fruits of Nascent Zeal that would help her evolve her race were plenty of reward to justify any degree of risk.