Its body came to a shuddering halt as I pulled my knife from its flesh. It was a terrible, two legged, featherless biped, covered in mounds of undulating red flesh. It let out a final shrieking croak as it fell still.

Hell chicken slain!

You’ve earned 196 XP! Congrats!

Level up!

Error- Conditions not met. Reverting changes.

I gritted my teeth, feeling the EXP wash over me before dissipating in the air. It was only supposed to be 10 experience before the next level, but even 15 times that didn't level me up.

‘Fuck. Still. No level. This is the tenth one...’

“Good EXP?” Lee, the party’s , and leader, asked with a smirk.

“Yeah.” I spoke without looking up. I could feel Oz use his [analyze] skill on me. There was an awkward tension between us before Oz spoke.

“We’re out of time. We should head back.” Oz pulled and casually flipped a metal device from his pocket. With a tinging noise, the dials along its face shifted, projecting an image of a semi translucent arrow pointing towards the distance.

“Is that a Thaumatic Compass?” I asked, unable to resist. “Don’t those cost hundreds of dollars?”

“Yep!” Matt, the party’s replied cheerfully, tossing a huge bag of luggage to me. I barely caught it, nearly falling to my knees. I adjusted, slinging it over my shoulder. When it came to fighting, the party had taken care of all of the work. However, I was still sweating… from carrying their luggage. I carefully navigated around the pile of hell chicken corpses that had disappointingly failed to increase my level.

“Is this how you make most of your money?” I asked, curious. ‘If I could have even half of what it takes them… to carry around magical artifacts so easily.’ I bit my lip.

“This is how we make all of it.” Matt said, dropping an arm around my shoulder. “You know, I’m curious… if you don’t mind me asking, what system do you have?” I fidgeted, looking away from him.

“The black system.” A prepared response. There were several different systems that a person could have access to, most often differentiated by their menu’s color. No one would have access to more than one. The black system was my go to response, because it was a system that was nearly impossible to level up, as it only recognized feats.

“Is that so?” Matt leaned into my face. I turned, meeting his gaze, and attempting to nonchalantly nod my head. “Killing mobs ten times your level… that’s a good idea. I don't think I’ve ever met anyone who uses the Black System. But that sounds like quite the feat.”

I smiled. “I thought so too.” The rest of our journey back to the gate passed in awkward silence. I could tell they thought I was hiding something from the tension in the air and the looks I would get from the corner of their eyes. It was probably half an hour before Oz raised a hand, telling our party to stop. He held his compass in the air, his face a mask of concentration before an arrow appeared in midair… leading back towards where they came from.

“What?” Lee exclaimed in shock. Oz waved his hand in a shushing motion before walking back towards the party, activating his compass again. An arrow pointing behind him appeared. “Shit.”

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“The gate… should be right here.” Oz said, looking up into the sky.

“But this place shouldn’t even have a boss. Isn't this an unranked gate?” I paled, realizing what was happening. The gate had closed behind us… either the stabilization holding it in place failed, or, there was a boss that needed to be cleared before we could head out. Oz was already quick at work, moving the instruments on his compass. He held it up as he tweaked it, before cursing under his breath. A new, red, arrow popped into existence, pointing away from the gate.

‘This can’t really be happening.’ I closed my eyes, focusing on the flow of mana. Most people had some basic sense of it. Mine was… a little different. I tasted the flow of mana, the deep, earthy, and aromatic taste of the exit gate still lingering in the air. Farther away… a spicy, hot flavor.

“It looks like there's another gate nearby. A huge mana source.” Oz let out a breath of relief. “However…” he paused.

“What is it?” Lee interjected, his gaze sharp.

“It’s far. Really far. If we take Damon with us… it could close by the time we get there.”

“Shit.” Lee exhaled. I looked between them, panicked.

“I don’t think it's a gate.” I interrupted.

“What?” Oz’s face contorted. “Do you have an [analyze] skill?”

“Well… sort of. I can sense the mana. It's… different.” Lee put his hand on my shoulder.

“It’s okay. We will stabilize the gate and come back to bring you through.”

“No… seriously, Lee. I don’t think that's a gate!” I tried to convince them more enthusiastically, waving my hands in a grandiose motion, and dropping the bag from my shoulders. Matt caught it.

“Just trust us.” He spoke confidently. I sighed, staring off at the distant, rocky, red horizon. “We’ll be back in a flash.” Matt broke away in a sprint, abruptly ending the conversation. Dust and rock was kicked into the air as he leapt forward across the ground. ‘What's his level… fifteen? Twenty?’ I watched the party’s backs become distant blurs as they shot over the ground, filling the already oppressively dusty, red air with more dust. Even the wizard sprinted faster than a master class athlete. ‘Even if it is a boss… they can handle it, right?’

Sure they could. I folded my arms, pacing around in a circle, before sitting down impatiently. The soreness in my legs made the motion stiff.

It must have been thirty minutes already. Maybe it will take a bit longer than that. I looked up to search for the sun. I didn’t find it. The sky was choked in a red fog, and the light across it seemed evenly spread. ‘That’s weird… because Ares has a sun. And a moon.’

I admired the sky, a red fog, almost like a swirling mass of clouds. I bunkered down, leaning against a muddy red rock. My muscles ached from the hours of fighting, even if I was just finishing the kills, not to mention carrying around the party’s luggage. ‘I’ll just rest for a minute…’ I closed my eyes, feeling the tension drain from my body.

I awoke with a start. Falling asleep on the other side of the gate is a terrible idea. My hand fumbled as I reached for the knife in my pocket. I breathed heavily, adrenaline rushing to my brain as I examined my surroundings. The horizon was completely empty, and eerily quiet. I opened my phone. ‘Shit… the battery is almost dead?’

I squeezed my nose. It had been four hours since the party left. It shouldn’t have taken nearly that long. Maybe they were waiting at the gate? Even if it was a boss… they should’ve killed it, and it would be open. I closed my eyes, focusing my senses, and following the trail of mana in the air. It was thinner than before- vaporous, like an aftertaste.

There was only one thing to do.

I rose, with a groan, and a stretch, before walking towards the source of the mana.

It was a multi hour long hike before I approached the origin of the mana. Dry, hard packed dirt slowly gave way to weathered tufts of plants that ranged from brown to as red as the soil they sprouted from and the sky they grew under. The flat landscape was now dominated by towering reeds, segmented like bloody pillars of bamboo piercing towards the sky, but thick and wide like the trunks of trees.

The sound of babbling water echoed through the red forest, completely alien to anything I had seen on Ares. Sure, the ground and sky there were red, during the day time, but the plants, the creatures, and even the water? I no longer held any illusions; I was in a gate that had led to a world that was either unexplored, or that I held no knowledge of. The forest, clear of the typical dense foliage, was soft, absorbing the sound of my footsteps as I pushed through it.

I was glad for that, never more so than when I finally reached the source of the mana. Its huge, hulking form peacefully resting belied the fact that it was undoubtedly the king of this forest, when I more stumbled than walked into its den. There was no sign of the party that I had come here with, other than the blood pooling under the wolf’s shuddering form, each breath releasing wheezing, stuttering gasps. I was unable to see where it was wounded, its fur’s crimson hue matching the blood pooling beneath it.

I froze, staring at it, wondering if it would awaken. The air was filled with the sordid scent of burnt flesh and the irony stench of blood. It was thick enough to taste, overwhelming my senses. As my heart rate slowed, I could see the singed fur that outlined the beasts back.

Slowly, cautiously, I backed away. Each step through sinking dirt brought me farther from the sunken alcove it occupied in its perturbed rest. Then I felt something hit my back. I shouted in shock, covering my mouth, and staring at the wolf. It didn’t wake. I turned around, afraid of what I would find, only to see that I had backed into one of the towering red bamboo shoots. I heard a long, windy groan from behind me, and the sound of the wolves lurching, staggering rise.

I ran.