Lena was happy. She had conquered her first dungeon, collected rare materials, and had been rewarded with a powerful artifact. All that was left to do was save a princess, kill a dragon and repel an invasion to become a real Hero. She giggled. Maybe she could even get rewarded by a real king at some point or be granted a noble title? She couldn't help but smile at that thought. A few years ago the best thing she could imagine for herself was to earn a hot meal and a pat on her shoulder from an elder for killing a bear. Now, things were different.

She had lost a lot, that was true, but she had also been granted a chance for a future that surpassed everything she could have ever wished for. It might not be easy all the time but she wouldn't discourage herself. Be it dungeons, dragons, or empires she would embrace everything and build herself a new life. A new future.

As she followed the river towards Knightfall she regularly checked on her core in order to see if something changed. Much to her happiness, the distortion didn't grow and the increased mana drain remained normal too. After two days of travel without any changes, she was nearly convinced that it related to her core evolution. Even if she couldn't be sure what such an evolution would entail it would most likely come with a massive boost of power, which she very much appreciated.

At this point, Lena was pretty sure that she overpowered most adventurers and soldiers, but she also knew that there were many powerful individuals that she couldn't defeat yet, even if she blasted them with her most powerful spells. Eshen had already warned her about the royal Archmages and certain sword saints but there were meant to be more. Also, with her nature as an undead, people wielding certain types of magic even if technically weaker than her could still be dangerous to her.

All in all, another boost in power was something she very much appreciated. The more power she got, the better.

As Lena strode near the river and mused over new spells, she suddenly heard sounds of a battle ahead of her. Without much thought, she took up the pace and rushed towards where the river bend ahead of her.

Soon she reached the battle. It was a group of three humans who fought against a large number of crab monsters the size of boars. Dozens of the red monsters swarmed the small group, forcing them to slowly retreat toward the river. The large warrior at the front did a great job at holding the large crabs off of his companions with his large shield, but it was clear that he wouldn't stand for long. The other two people tried their best at picking out smaller crabs with their swords, but the monsters were simply too numerous. When the large warrior with the shield took a heavy hit by a much larger and spiked crab the result of the battle seemed inevitable.

Lena adjusted her mask and summoned her swords. Time to be a Hero.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. There were just too many. They had been prepared to fight maybe a dozen of these monsters, but not an entire lair. Not only was she out of mana and had to fight with her sword, but the monsters blocked their escape route.

Fuck.

Grant was holding back the main bulk of crabs, but he couldn't hold off all of them. Another large crab ran past Grant and towards her, with its sharp pincers held high, ready to lacerate her soft flesh. She swung her sword down and gasped as it immediately bounced off its hard carapace. But just before the crab could close its large pincers around her legs another sword pierced its face. The crab dropped dead to the ground.

"Aim between their carapace Seph!" Levis said while retrieving his sword.

She couldn't bring up enough energy to reply and only nodded before she readied her sword to face the next crab that ran past Grant's shield. Her muscles ached and her lungs burned like fire as she struck down again. This time she manage to cleave off one of the monster's pincers and the crab recoiled in silent pain.

"Watch out!"

Sephila dodged just in time as a large spray of water struck where she stood a second before, leaving a deep furrow in the dirt. As if their sharp pincers weren´t enough. She thought.

Not only were these crabs extremely durable but they also possessed water magic strong enough to pierce armor. Without a second of pause, another two crabs rushed towards her. She wasn´t sure how long she could keep on fighting.

She was about to shout for help when she saw Grant being flung back by a much larger spiked crab. It was at least twice as big as the others and its pincers had cruel-looking barbs all over. The monster´s giant bulk was nearly as tall as she, and Sephila had no thought that its pincers could cut her in half with ease.

"Grant?" She shouted concerned.

"I'm okay. Concentrate on yourself." He said, his voice muffled by his helmet. He wasn´t okay. She had seen the large dents in his shield, the unending assault had taken a toll on him.

Sharp pain brought her attention back to the monsters in front of her, and her sword followed. The tip of her blade burrowed itself in the face of a crab killing it instantly. While she kept the other monsters at bay with her weapon she looked down on her left leg showing a deep red cut.

Fuck.

They couldn't hold out for much longer. She was exhausted and injured, Grant was probably injured too, and Levis's state wasn´t much better. Even if he was a much better fighter than her, he wouldn't be able to defeat all of them. She managed to slay another crab but it was instantly replaced by two new ones. She was sure that she could still flee easily herself, even with her wound, but Grant and Levis couldn't.

She deflected another pincer attack when she heard Levis scream in pain. I need to flee. She didn't want to leave the others behind but there was no chance that they would survive. There was no point in dying with them. Just as Sephila made up her mind to escape alone, dark lightning ripped through the crowd of monsters in front of her.

Five crabs exploded instantly, two others lay broken on the ground. Another lightning bolt ripped apart a group of monsters, leaving only bits of smoldering flesh and carapace. For a moment all she could see were dying crabs, bolts of dark lightning literally exploded monsters, sending dirt and gore flying. Then she saw him.

Like a whirlwind of blades and thunder, a black warrior shredded through piles of crabs. Too fast to see any detail the black figure ripped apart one monster after another, sharp blades cleaving through the crab's hard carapaces as if they didn't exist. An occasional lightning strike ripped apart entire groups of monsters. Before Sephila could realize what happened the last monsters that had attacked a few seconds ago were sliced into pieces.

Sephila decided to profit from the sudden change to rejoin her companions. Without being attacked by giant crabs she found them quickly. She slowly made her way towards them, evading corpses while trying not to put too much weight on her injured leg. Luckily they hadn´t been far away.

Grant stood over Levis who was bleeding heavily from a deep wound in his chest.

"How is he?" She asked the large man.

"He got struck by one of their spells, but he's gonna make it." The deep voice of the warrior was reassuring but she knew how dangerous these spells were. Grant was the only one from their group with any sort of heavy armor, and even he had to dodge the crab's spells. The old warrior seemed battered but even after protecting her and Levis for so long he still stood strong and upright.

"I´m fine. I just need a jug of ale and a good night's rest." Levis said, pailing slightly more. He would survive, but it would leave a nasty scar.

She tried to forget the fact that she was about to let them both die and flee like a coward a minute ago. Even if she didn´t know them for long it wasn´t right. She would try to make up for it. Thankfully they were saved in time.

Sephila turned around to see for their savior. The black warrior stood right in front of the last monster that just cast a powerful water bolt. The spell hit the warrior point-blank in the shoulder but he didn't even flinch back. It was as if the monster's spell was nothing more than a splash of normal water.

A soft female chuckle could be heard as the warrior walked forward and brought his armored boot down on the crab. A disgusting crunch later the monster was dead.

"Well, that was kinda fun." The warrior said, standing in the middle of corpses.

It was a woman Sephila realized. The long black hair and the elegant curves of the masterfully crafted armor clearly identified her as female. She wore a delicately carved black mask that covered her entire face. Her night-black armor covered nearly every inch of her body, from her feet to her neck. Even her hands were protected by brutal-looking gauntlets that ended in vicious claws.

This woman had managed to kill over fifty rank two monsters in under a minute, and she didn't even seem exhausted. The magic she had used was frighteningly effective and was nothing Sephila had ever seen. What put her on edge tho was the fact that she couldn't perceive a single wisp of mana from her.

Sephila was about to address her when the woman suddenly walked past her and kneeled beside the injured Levis.

"Here you go, you will be up in under a minute with that." The woman said, handing Levis a small glass vial with a glowing red liquid.

A healing potion!

They were costly equipment and only used when absolutely necessary. Even high-rank adventurers were not using them freely.

Levis seemed hesitant to accept such a precious potion, even with his injury he was aware enough to understand what he was offered. Grant didn't have such qualms. He took the vial from the women and forced the content down Levis's throat.

A moment later new skin grew over severed flesh, and she could only watch in awe as the deep cut in Levis's chest closed in mere seconds, leaving fresh pink skin. They all turned towards the woman.

The first one to speak was Grant.

"I must thank you for your help there. Without your intervention, this evening wouldn't have ended in our favor." He took off his battered helmet and looked at the women.

"My name is Grant, the man you just healed is Levis and the blond beauty there is Sephila. If there is anything we can do to repay you for your help please say it."

"I just happened to be in the area, it's no big deal. But since you offered, I'm on my way to Knightfall and could use a guide, or at least someone who can answer a few of my questions."

Just who is this woman?

Lena waited until the young man named Levis got back to his feet. He was quite handsome. Short black hair, dark eyes, and a sharp chin made him quite the womanizer she thought. He wasn´t nearly as handsome as Eshen of course, but to compare these two might not be fair to begin with. She turned to the small blond woman and handed her a healing potion too.

"Here, before you bleed out." She said.

The woman, Sephila, seemed reluctant to take the small glass vial.

"I´m not gonna let you bleed out after healing your friend. That wouldn´t be fair." She tried to reassure her. After a moment of hesitation, she took the potion and drank it. Why was she so reluctant? Lena had learned to make healing potions in order to heal others, as she couldn´t use them herself. Her ring contained a large stock of healing potions, normal mana potions, and a variety of others utility potions and elixirs. Even if they hadn´t any effect on her she wanted to be able to help others.

The man named Grant seemed to be the leader of this group. His grey beard reminded her of the elders in Maryda, even if he was physically much, much stronger. With his bulky metal armor and large shield, he dwarfed Lena with ease. Nonetheless, he was far weaker than her, all three of them were. The amount of mana in their bodies was minimal, while Grant seemed to have a little more than Levis and Sephila.

As she observed the mana flows in them, she noticed something. Sephila´s mana was odd. It wasn´t as pure as that of the others, but she didn´t know why.

"Well, it is getting late and I think we all need a bit of rest after this fight. While we rest we can answer your questions, Miss...?"

"Oh..right. I´m Lena. Nice to meet you." She answered, taken slightly by surprise. She hadn´t even presented herself and was already prying on their mana like some crazy undead.

"And yes, a bit of rest would be a good idea." The only reason they hadn´t collapsed already was probably because of her presence. They had probably fought for hours. Even if she didn´t need to rest herself, Lena would be able to get a few more information from them.

It turned out that had a small camp not far from the river bank. But to her surprise, they didn´t straight-up return there. Even as exhausted as they were, profit seemed to be more important than rest. They cut out all sorts of parts from the dead monsters and put them in large leather bags. Luckily, or unluckily for them, she had destroyed most of the crabs and they collected only about four bags of materials before they all returned to their camp.

Soon enough all four of them sat around a small campfire that slowly cooked a few pieces of crab meat. Once again Grant was the first to speak.

"So, how can we help you, Miss Lena?" He asked.

The fact that he called her Miss was a bit strange, but she could get used to it. She smiled behind her mask. Perhaps I can get a noble title one day. Then people would call her Lady Lena. But first, she had questions.

"I´m on my way to Knightfall to get myself registered as an adventurer, and I don´t know how it works or what to expect. If you could clarify how it works, and what to look out for it would be helpful." She said, doing her best to be polite.

"Wait, what? You aren´t even an adventurer yet?" Levis interjected loudly. The young man seemed shocked.

"Well, no." Lena had no idea why that was strange.

"The village where I come from didn´t have an adventurer guild so it wasn´t possible." She said.

"You have to excuse him, Miss Lena. Most people with your level of power are either already adventurers or are part of other organizations and don´t need to register themselves." Grant said. Lena found that he was rather protective of Levis. Something to ask later. She thought.

"If you want to register yourself as an adventurer as fast as possible, then Enklen would be better as it is nearer than Knightfall." He continued.

"But I think you should register yourself in Knightfall."

"Why?" She asked. If there was a city with an adventurer Guild nearer than Knightfall she could start taking missions earlier.

"For most people, it isn´t important where they register themselves as they are still relatively weak, but for someone more powerful like you, it would better to register in Knghtfall. Are you familiar with the Guilds classification?"

"Not really." She admitted.

"Adventurers are classified in seven ranks, rank F being the lowest and rank S the highest and each one going from one star to three stars. With time you grow stronger and increase your rank, which allows you to accept better missions." He explained.

"If you register yourself in Enklen you will start at Rank F and you can only accept according missions. If You register yourself in Knightfall tho you can pass certain tests and get the chance to start at a much higher rank." Grant said while slowly turning the crab meat on the fire.

Lena just realized why Eshen had told her to go to Knightfall first. If she could start at a high rank she could fight stronger monsters and collect monster cores far easier. The crab monsters were barely rank two and from the dozen she had killed, none had formed a core. It was the logical thing to go to nightfall first. But she wanted to be an adventurer as soon as possible, and she needed to earn a few coins before reaching Knightfall.

"I can register myself in Enklen first and pass the test in Knightfall later no?" She asked.

"Yes, I don´t think that they will reject you." He answered.

"Great, then it´s decided. Can you show me the way to Enklen then?" She asked eagerly.

Grant and the two others exchanged a few looks before he answered.

"I think that we all agree that you saved us today, so the least we can is to accompany you to Enklen. Since our mission is finished we can receive our pay there too."

"Thank you, that would help me a lot." She said with a wide grin beneath her mask.

They continued to chat for a while and Lena learned that they were a rather fresh adventurer team. Grant had been a normal soldier for a long time before retiring. Levis turned out to be Grant´s nephew and together they had decided to become adventurers. The young Levis for the adventure and Grant for the additional income. It was nice to chat with normal people, to be treated normally, even if they still called her Miss.

The young woman, Sephila, was a bit weird. Lena learned that she joined the other two only recently, and this mission had only been the third that they took together. She seemed rather distant from the other two and rarely talked. But Lena caught the woman multiple times observing her. Together with her strange mana, Lena decided that Sephila was just strange. As long as she didn´t start attacking her Lena didn´t see a problem.

After a while, the crab meat was declared cooked and Grant started to hand it out. When he offered her a large piece of crispy meat on a stick Lena shook her head.

"Thanks, but I don´t need anything." She said.

"I know that you´re strong, but everyone needs food. And I swear that it tastes even better than it looks." Levis said, while demonstratively bitting into his crab meat.

Lena knew that refusing it would be considered rude, and if she never ate anything in front of others it would become suspicious. Luckily, she and Eshen had thought about something that would not only let her not offend anyone and raise less suspicion, but also answer the question of why she wore a mask.

"No, I really don´t need anything. I´ve got a mana mutation that prevents me from eating." She said while gesturing to her mask at the same time.

The reactions were diverse. Grant only nodded acknowledging before returning his attention to the fire. Levis gave her a compassionate look and tried to avoid directly looking at her face, or mask. Both were reactions that he had predicted. What she hadn´t predicted was Sephila jumping up, throwing her crab meat into the fire, and storming away with a furious look on her face.

"Did I say something bad?" She asked confused. The point behind her statement was NOT to offend people after all.

"I don´t know either. She is a bit strange and prefers to be alone most of the time. But she is a pretty good mage for her rank and rather capable in a fight. She will calm down eventually." Grant answered.

Lena nodded and leaned back. She closed her eyes and let the scent of the forest engulf her for a moment. Thankfully her lie worked for Grant and Levis.

Mana mutations were poorly known phenomena and extremely rare. They were basically mana-induced injuries, mostly coming from powerful spells. Often these injuries would permanently cripple or weaken a person if they didn´t kill the person directly. In rare cases, tho, the mana from the spell would seep into the body and merge with it. The results were often more terrifying than good and most people died from the aftereffects.

In rare cases where they survived, the victim would develop certain abilities or sustain physical changes. Growing horns, tails, an additional arm, poisonous blood, improved hearing, changing skin color... The mutations could be anything. Some people even developed powerful mutations that would make them even more powerful than before. And since the mutations were anchored in their mana the mutations were hereditary, not that it happened often due to obvious reasons.

In Eshen´s library, Lena had read much about this subject and it was an appropriate excuse for the fact that she couldn´t eat, at least not eat as other people did. The downside was that people would think she was disfigured freak. It was good since people would avoid looking too closely at her, but it also meant that people avoided looking closely at her. Lena was still technically a girl after all.

With a deep sigh, she opened her eyes and stood up. Her love life was a problem for another day.

"You should go to sleep. I´ll stand guard and wait for Sephila." She said, earning a thankful look from Grant.

Soon both men were asleep and Lena was once again alone under the start sky.