Thundering paws crashed against the ground like boulders sent chills up Brand‘s spine. He darted around ancient trees only to hear them snap like twigs when faced with his pursuer’s power.

Looking out into the shadow-covered forest, Brand saw Tanya’s glowing cat’s eyes. without a doubt, she could handle the mess he made with a few giant lions, but first he had to reach her.

The creatures chasing him were so close he could smell their breath and feel its warmth on his back. The sensations moved his legs faster toward Tanya only to realize the eyes in the distance didn’t belong to her. They belonged to the Fel Wolves that had led him into an ambush like a lamb to the slaughter.

15 giant wolves encircled him, the smallest being ten feet tall making mundane wolves look like rodents in comparison. Their powerful barking would have burst his eardrums if he were without magic. Nonetheless, his bones might as well be stale bread if one bit down on him.

A Fel wolf went in for the kill making a booming sound when Brand moved just in time to avoid its teeth. He jumped onto its back to flee only to bite down a scream as its fur erected into needles that pierced right through the iron soles of his boots and into his feet.

As if to inflict some payback, he stabbed into the beast with two spears, each weighing a few hundred pounds. The weapons ripped through the wolf while Brand made his way between another’s legs to start his run anew.

As he entered a clearing, Brand throttled his mana to make up for having no trees to hinder the wolf's movements. Just before they got close enough to pounce, the hard ground exploded into sand and swallowed the giant predators. They have been able to fight their way out, but hands made of earth wrapped around their bodies holding them in place.

Brand didn't stop to see if his team's ambush worked. He kept on running until he passed Godric whose hands were on fire. The swirling heat coalesced in his palms as he pointed them at the giant wolves.

“I hate the smell of burnt hair,” Godric said and thrust his hands out unleashing death.

A concentrated torrent of fire jetted from his hands hitting the beast with terrible fury. Howls of pain were drowned out by roaring flame turning flesh to ash and sand to glass. Godric’s armor began to glow brightly, the heat slowly moving up his arms to engulf his chest plate. Loving the armor’s shine, he increased the fire even more until it shone like molten metal.

The heat coming off Godric would have burned Brand if he didn’t protect himself with the faintly glowing runes of his fortress aura, but he couldn’t defend against the smell of burnt hair making him gag. He walked to the pyro adding shields to himself as his defensive aura made it available.

“I think you got them!” he shouted at him over the unending barrage.

Godric ceased his attack then siphoned the heat from his armor returning it to its silver color. They both walked up to the bodies as they were pushed out of the ground. From several feet away, Rohaan emerged from a mound of sand. He dusted himself off as he made his way to Godric planting a deep kiss on him when they met.

Brand looked away. “I’m not the weird one for not wanting to see you two trade spit.”

Rohaan broke his embrace and scowled. “So, what is it you do with my sister?”

“I kiss your sister,” Brand said readily. “What you do is just, wrong.”

Godric laughed. “Let him pout. Where I’m from they burn gay men.”

“Aren’t you the king?” Rohaan asked.

“And you don’t burn,” Brand added.

Godric laughed harder than before. “That doesn't mean I control everything, and I don't need to be burned to be killed.”

The sound of a distant crash of shattering trees sent Brand and his team back to the fact they were still in a monster-filled forest. The air around Godric rippled as he heated the air in anticipation. Sand surrounded Rohaan and hardened with sharp spikes along the surface like armor. Brand gritted his teeth and materialized his ax and raised every shield he had ready for any magical assault.

An oversized lion burst from the woods trailed by a massive bear with arms nearly as long as its body with bone spikes coming from its head, back, and limbs like weapons.

“Love, can you sink that thing?" Gothic asked with obvious worry.

“No,” Rohaan replied then turned to Brand. “I am out of mana because someone brought back 15 monsters instead of one.”

“Quit your bitching if you don’t want to die,” Brand warned. He turned to Godric. “If I keep that thing busy do you have enough mana to roast it?” Godric shook his head no. “Find then.”

Brand pointed at one cluster runes on his arm. “Put whatever mana you have left into this.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Godric demanded.

Brand grabbed his hand placing it against the tattoo. “Stop asking questions and do it. If we can't kill that thing the monk take every we've got!" He looked to Rohaan. “You should run just in case this doesn’t work.” Although Brand knew he would never leave Godric behind.

Visibly paling with the effort, Godric imbued the runes with the last of his mana. Pain bloomed in a perfect line across Brand’s arm as the magic made its way through his body coalescing into a spear glowing with piercing magic but the shaft itself had a more orange hue thanks to Godric’s mana.

Brand throttled his mana kicking up sand and wind as he did. Taking a moment to line up his shot, he threw the spear right as Tanya passed over his head. The projectile soured, slamming into the bear’s chest, burying itself deep within.

“Now!” Brand shouted to Goderich. “Turn it into fire!"

“Flame Blossom,” Godric said with a snap of his fingers.

A pillar of fire exploded from the bear’s chest and mouth along with its tortured screams. It fell to the ground rolling towards them as its fur caught fire bringing with it the stench of smoking fur.

Rohaan and Godric sank into the ground while Brand sky-stepped before being crushed by the massive bulk of the monster. Tanya circled it staying at a safe distance opting to attack only when needed. By the cuts in her lion, it was obvious she’d taken some damage before making her way here. She used the time to mend Leo but never let her guard down.

A few minutes later, the bear stopped thrashing but unfortunately wasn’t dead. It lay in a heap with smoke still coming from the wound in its chest. It wouldn't recover so Brand decided to helo the beast bringing an ax down on its neck as he fell back to the ground.

Tanya left Leo’s protection and joined him along with Rohaan and Godric. “I can't believe we kill a horned Bear."

"What kind of beast core does it have?” Brand asked.

“B ranked usually,” Tanya replied.

Brand found a comfortable patch of unburned fur to rest on. “Let’s get to work then. There are 15 corpses in that smoking pile over there.”

Rohaan stomped up to him angrily. “Are you seriously not helping, again?”

“You might as well stop asking because I’m never helping,” Brand replied. “Contrary to what everyone thinks, these runes hurt like hell when I use them. So I’m not butchering those monsters when any of you can do it. And I’m not doing it by hand.”

“He’s got a point,” Godric agreed.

Brand bowed to him mockingly. “Thank you for volunteering, your grace. We peasants appreciate your sacrifice.”

"I'm a king," Godric said like it somehow mattered in the Hall. "I don't butcher monsters."

"And I'm a dirty peasant that can kick your ass," Brand said.

"Bullying royalty holds a death sentence you know," Godric said but he smiled and freed a carving knife joining Tanya and Rohaan in their bloody work.

“Nine D ranks, two C ranks, and a beautiful B rank from the bear. That’s more than enough to fill our quota,” Tanya said, hugging the egg-sized core of the bear. “Do we add this to our collection?”

They all nodded then collected the cores into a pile. One of Tanya’s lions popped its head out of the ground swallowing the cores then sank back down.

“That’s over 50 cores now,” Brand said. “What do you think the Hall does with the portion they keep?”

“I bet they sell the ones they don’t experiment with to merchants that sell them to our households,” Tanya answered.

“So, we’re free labor,” Rohaan said annoyed.

“Hardly,” Brand observed. “They train and supply us with rescue, so it’s only fair. Even if they take all the cores when they do it’s safer than hunting in the wild. But enough talk, we need to replenish our strength.”

Brand cut his palm then used the fresh blood to draw a spell circle on a patch of smooth ground. With its completion, the written spell began to draw in nearby mana. Everyone soon began to feel refreshed as their mana recharged at a faster rate. The concentration of power would usually attract monsters and other teams but Brand’s blood being used as an ingredient infused the mana with his focus. The only noticeable effect on the area was the air pressure increased slightly and their clothes became charged with static electricity. Without being told, even Brand’s team wouldn’t have known what he did.

“Let’s head for the rift when we’re rested,” Brand said, hearing explosions in its direction. “I think I know a way to get cores even faster.”

****

Mildrith sat on a comfortably cushioned chair in complete contrast to the wilderness around her. In truth, it was more of a throne that she’d built herself to perfectly conform to her body. Unlike the throne the king sat upon, or any that tried to emulate its greatness, Mildrith’s had plush cushions, holders to accommodate a small picnic, and a back that could recline allowing her to look up at the starry sky in peace.

Instead of hunting monsters like most, Mildrith always headed for the small rift between worlds where the beast was more dangerous and numerous. Then she’d just look at dancing lights in the sky that went on for miles.

Her peace of mind was ruined by dirt and rocks raining down on the mana shield suspended around her. She set the back of her throne up straight already knowing who’d disturbed her. As expected, Noreen was failing spectacularly to stop a 14-foot man-shaped tree from disturbing her stargazing.

The creature shaking the ground with each step was known as a Walking Stick. With its flesh covered in layers of a bark-like substance, the best way to kill one was with a powerful piercing attack to the chest. Noreen seemed to not be capable of such a spell. She rather bombard it with flaming arcane missiles from her metallic orbs like throwing pebbles at a steel door hoping to break it.

Mildrith groaned. It seemed that every mage used fire when they were pressed, regardless of its effectiveness. It was a clear sign of Noreen’s ignorance despite her focus and well bread family. She would have never been allowed to accompany them if her name hadn’t ended with Damascus but being named had its privileges.

“Please, I need help!” Noreen cried as the walking stick came within a few paces of her.

Garland, who was between Noreen and Mildrith kept his voice natural like a lecturing teacher. He couldn't afford to embarrass a named noble any more than Mildrith could turn her away when she asked to join her team.

“Fire is not going to help, neither will swinging that sword," he said. "And use your damned focus and stop using fire," he said moments later when she hadn't listened. "It shouldn't be your first choice, or do you want to fight a giant on fire instead of just made of wood?”

When Garland finished speaking as if in prophecy, the walking stick came alive with fire. A deep droll echoed from its mouth as it charged faster at the terrified mage.

To her credit, and absolute stupidity, Noreen stood her ground. She released her blade using her focus to suspend it in the air. The tip turned towards the monster and with a hand gesture went it flying.

“Did that stupid girl not enchant her blade?” Mildrith thought right before the blade bounced off the walking stick’s shoulder harmlessly.

It was time to retreat. That's what Mildrith would have done for any monster that got that close but in her panicked state, Noreen opted to use what she thought was her trump card.

She pulled off the thin sleeve over her right hand revealing several runic tattoos and aimed like her arm was a canon primmed to fire.

Whatever she was planning didn't work.

Where Mildrith assumed a grand display of arcane fury was supposed to be unleashed Noreen's arm into chunks of sparkling energies and blood mist. A guttural scream escaped her on the way to the grassy floor without any hope in the world of defending herself.

The walking-stick, spurred on by the sent blood in the air, came within arm’s reach of Noreen that could only cry while staining the grass red.

Alda's heavy armor plating slammed into the walking-stick saving Noreen and caving in its chest with the blow. The collision sent the monster barreling into Midgard's tree line with blood oozing from cracks in its skin.

Wounded but not beaten, the walking-stick tried to regain its footing. Before it could, Garland raised his staff creating three spell circles as he did. Mana passed between them creating an orb of violent white energy.

“Rot!” The spell enveloped the monster creating a dome that trapped sound and the malignant forces that tore at its bark-like armor reducing it to a puddle of putrid liquid.

Noreen’s mistake was the last straw for Mildrith. Ever since the Jabari tore through the lower ranks of the hall’s students, many tried to implement runic tattoos for themselves. Unlike Brand, their understanding of mage craft was rudimentary at best.

He’d spent time preparing the runes he used and altering them for his body. Unlike the rush of those trying to do the same, he at the very least was competent with his mage craft and didn't just copy runes onto his skin and hoped they worked.

“What do you want us to do with her?” Alda said to Mildrith gesturing at their fallen ally who'd fallen into the mercy of unconsciousness.

“Treat the idiot’s arm and let’s get out of here,” she replied. “We don't want the monks showing up claiming that we needed rescue.”

Alda made her way over to the injured girl holding a red potion bottle. Unfortunately, she lost her opportunity to pour the life-saving concoction.

A ripple in the air came at her, quickly swiping at her back with claws she couldn’t see. Enchanted plate and chainmail saved the cultivator from a bloody end but the armor on her back peeled off with blood steadily flowing from the thin slashes she received.

Alda swerved, backhanding whatever blindsided her with the audible clank. The ripple flew backward several feet landing upright. It lost its camouflage, revealing a horse-sized panther with white stripes lining its fur and most notably, three tails longer than its body, each tipped with a blade.

Mildrith decided to stop being a passive observer. She created three golden swords of mana above her head, each made with professionally lain enchantments.

“Fly,” she said mentally launching the weapons as if from a crossbow but faster.

Meeting the panther in less than a second, the blades exploded on the ground hailing down stones on everyone’s head.

When the dust cleared, Mildrith expected to see a shredded corpse, but only a crater was left in the ground.

“I know I didn't miss,” she thought, confused. “Even if I did, it couldn't avoid the explosion completely.”

Alda flew backward as something slashed her front, once again tearing metal from her body. At the same time, the panther reappeared standing several feet away.

“It can cast illusions!” Mildrith shouted.

She created a dozen more blades scanning the area for the ripple and found it above Noreen, the ghostly silhouette of its head coming down to bite the girl’s neck.

A monk appeared in the middle of the field, from where Mildrith did not know.

“We’ve lost,” she thought as the monk raised his hand which glowed with mana.

She didn’t have the precision needed to not accidentally kill Noreen. It was over, a hard day’s work gone in a matter of seconds.

Someone appeared from the tree line marking where Alfheim ended, and Midgard began colliding with the panther forcing it to drop its camouflage. By his dark skin, it was clearly Brand foolishly trying to fight a beast that tore through heavily enchanted armor like it was paper.

The monk vanished, seemingly satisfied that the situation was in hand. But it made no sense to Mildrith. Brand was obviously protected against most magic but that didn’t mean teeth and claws couldn’t kill him just as easily as a sword could.

The panther flung itself back and forth as Brand wrapped his arms around its neck in a futile attempt to break his grip. Several of the runes on his body started to glow, stopping the panther's trashing abruptly as he brought it to the ground creating a depression a few inches deep.

Mildrith recognized the runes as gravity magic. She’d only heard it used as an enchantment on weapons and sometimes fortresses. Even those with the focus never use it on themselves but she figured when wrestling a monster, being ten times your own weight it could help.

Using his added weight, Brand kept himself pinned to the ground never breaking his hold. He stayed to the panther's back avoiding its tails and claws laughing as it struggled. With a twist and an audible pop, the beast fell silent, It’s neck obviously broken.

“Holy shit that was badass!” Garland exclaimed. “I thought that thing would be eating you for lunch.”

Brand started walking towards Noreen pulling out a potion from his trousers. “I’m a big fucker that’s hard to kill.”

“Hard to kill indeed,” Garland agreed.

Brand poured the contents of his potion on Noreen. “This should keep the monks away.”

The rest of his team appeared from Midgard’s tree line. King Godric was of course part of it, along with one of the landless Akram noble, and Tanya.

Mildrith tried and failed to keep her expression neutral at seeing her sister. She'd been trying for months to gain Godric's friendship if not affection, but she’d been respectfully ignored. It only made sense; Tanya had the Bryer focus. She would be more important in the years to come so why even lend an ear to anyone else.

Brand looked over Noreen's body as his team gathered around him. He placed a hand on her, lighting more of his ruins. The stubble of her arm stopped bleeding completely as he smiled devilishly to address Mildrith.

“You’re lucky I was out scouting, or she probably would have died, or more likely, you’d have no beast cores thanks to the monks having to save her.”

“True,” Garland said openly, making Mildrith want to smack him over the head. She didn’t like admitting how close her team had come to failing the day’s lesson.

“So how are you going to thank us?” Godric asked, rubbing his hands together like a greedy merchant. Tanya was also smiling for the first time Mildrith had ever seen.

“Something is wrong,” she thought, wanting to conjure more weapons to protect herself. Brand and the ramian noble were smiling too as if...

“I expect a little reward for my hard work,” Brand said, pointing to Mildrith's beast cores that were suspended in a mana bubble. “Half of those will suffice.”

“What the fuck does that mean?” Alda said, dripping with anger as she finally reached the group.

“You wouldn’t have any cores if I didn’t jump in,” Brand replied. “So, I expect to take half."

“Taking half,” Mildrith repeated, emphasizing the works. Brand just remained silent letting the words said linger in the wind.

What they were saying in a way seemed fair. Mildrith had to admit they would have no cores if Brand had not interfered. What bothered her was feeling like if she said no to his proposal, he would simply take the cores. She was being shaken down like some merchant on the road by bandits.

“I'll give you three C rank cores,” she offered.

Tanya smiled wider while Brand laughed. “That’s not going to work. I expect half,”

This time his works holding a threat.

“And if we say no?” Garland asked now in a more serious mood.

“Then we take them all,” Brand said as if it were obvious.

Everyone fell silent and just stared at one another for a long moment. Mildrith knew she was at a disadvantage. Alda was hurt and Noreen was down. Brand had his entire team well-rested and excited to fight. There was also the problem of Tanya. Could she actually win against a true Bryer like her sister?

“You have no honor,” Alda said, breaking the silence. “You come at us when we are wounded and down a member like common thugs.”

“Is that what you think people do in a situation like this?” Brand said mockingly. “We should give up the advantage because we’re just that nice? Should I make one of my team sit this out?” He pointed to Noreen who was between both teams. “If she was still conscious, should I only use one hand while fighting her?” He pointed back at Mildrith. “Should I not use the spells I know will break that fancy shield of yours because it puts me at an advantage?”

“No,” Mildrith agreed. “You're right.” She released a deep breath. “And here's our answer. Alda, take him.”

Brand began conjuring a weapon but was slower than Alda’s spoken word. “Blitz.” She charged forward faster than anyone could see or react to tackling Brand.

By the time Tanya turned her head to look, Alda and Brand crashed into the tree line. Godric put his fiery hands up, Garland brandished his staff, sand rose from inside Rohaan’s loose clothing, Mildrith created a dozen swords, and Tanya formed a lion around herself. Then all hell broke loose.