Saul opened his eyes, the room still dark as the sun had yet to rise. He stretched out in his bed, moving slowly enough to avoid making any noise that might wake his room mates as they rested. A smile played across his lips as he considered the previous week.

It had been a blur. He had split his time between lessons from both masters and training against massive monsters in the afternoons. The strange monolith seemed to be able to agitate endless hordes into existence.

Saul’s days had been packed with action. Training with Alwyn and Telwyn dominated his mornings, while afternoons were spent fighting monsters. In the evenings, his exhaustion had been so complete that he would eat dinner in a fog and then sink into a deep slumber. Through the bond he shared with Basi, he had felt his companion experienced a similar level of fatigue. He didn’t encounter Ishan often outside of their training sessions, but the man seemed as fatigued as he was.

Despite the trials and tribulations they’d endured, Saul could see a clear improvement in his power. His sessions with Alwyn had been extremely fruitful. Not only could he shoot, and more importantly, see further than ever before, she’d trained him in the art of moving archery. He now had an ability to dodge and evade foes while using his bow that still needed improvement, but would no doubt prove useful in future battles. She had even trained him further in the art of stealth.

Between his new abilities gained under her tutelage, he had a good chance of ending battles before they ever truly started, sniping enemies and vanishing before their allies had a chance to exact revenge.

Telwyn hadn’t been idle in his instruction, either. Saul’s footwork was better than ever. He was now capable of nimbly stepping across the wooden pegs to close the gaps between himself and the spear master, and his abilities with the spear itself were growing by leaps and bounds. His base was more solid, which meant his attacks and defenses came from a place of greater strength. The elf had trained Saul’s techniques as well, helping him to find flaws and inefficiencies in his moves.

The secret to mastery of the spear was actually simple: There weren’t that many basic techniques or moves that could be executed. There were feints, stabs, blocks, parries, reverse attacks, and sweeps. These techniques could be combined together in many different ways, but the limited number of options meant that his biggest improvement would come through mastery of the basics.

Through eliminating inefficiencies in his movements, he could increase the speed and precision of his attacks. Through increasing speed, he could increase power, and through greater precision, he could increase the damage that each attack caused.

Telwyn had even indicated that through further training and refining of his Qi, he would be able to use it to propagate attacks from his spear at a distance. It was related to his mastery of the Way of the Spear. The elf hadn’t answered any further questions, he had merely indicated that it was of utmost importance to continue increasing his skills, and to continue convening with his weapon.

It was time to see just how far he’d come. ‘Status.’

Name: Solomon Andrews

HP: 260=>360

Class: Ranger

Level: 11=>14

Talents:

Cultivate

Befriend Animal

Cultivation Level: Basic

Abilities:

Attack

Shoot

Track

Strength:

47=>56(+8)

Intelligence:

39=>45(+8)

Dexterity:

50=>59(+8)

Willpower:

32=>38(+8)

Endurance:

42=>51(+8)

Experience:

28,242

Another huge improvement. That’s awesome. It’s too bad that I get diminishing experience returns from monsters as I grow higher in level, but it just makes sense...

Next he checked his skills:

Talent Type:

Talent Level:

Talent Description:

Cultivation

Basic, Lvl V

You have broken through the barrier and unlocked your second dantian. Energy infusion is more effective, and your senses grow stronger

Befriend Animal

Basic, Lvl I

Your connection to your animal companion confers you both greater synchronicity and abilities. Your animal shows greater intelligence.

Archery

Intermediate, Lvl I

Your growing mastery of the bow increases your damage, range, and ability to reload.

Single wielding

Foundation, Lvl II

You are able to use a single weapon in combat without hurting yourself

Dual wielding

Foundation, Lvl V

Your hands are able to move independently of one another to some effect, ensuring your attacks are likely to land.

Dodge

Basic, Lvl III

Your footwork and ability to slip attacks leaves your enemies hitting nothing but air.

Two Handed Weapons

Basic, Lvl II

Your attacks with two handed weapons fall swiftly with true aim.

Way of the Spear

Basic, Lvl III

Through your growing understanding of the spear, your attacks are more precise and inflict greater damage

Way of the Bow

Basic, Lvl II

Through your growing understanding of the bow, your attacks find enemy's vital spots more easily.

He rolled to the edge of the bed and stood. He crept to the small closet where his armor and underclothes were hanging, drying from the previous evening. He dressed swiftly and left the room, leaving Ishan and Basi sleeping peacefully. He crept into the kitchen to avoid waking any of the masters. He prepared one of the quietest meals he knew, grabbing a hunk of cheese and bread and slipping outside.

He took a seat on one of the logs near the fire pit, eating his meal as he looked up at the stars in wonderment. The constellations are different. I wonder if there are other planets that support life here. He had always loved outer space, and being on a different planet with a different solar system didn’t dampen that excitement at all. Qi flashed in his eyes as he activated Telescopic Sight.

Suddenly, an already star-filled sky grew orders of magnitude brighter. It was so intense that he had to fight down an instinct to shield his eyes. He scanned across the massive expanse, paying particular interest to a few points that seemed extra bright. He focused upon them as intently as he could, his vision seeming to zoom further until he could just make out hints of spherical shape - Other planets!

I wonder if any of the species here have advanced telescopes. Space is so cool! His gaze wandered over to their massive moon, large mountains and craters visible to his eye. He could see deposits of different colors, different from the general grayish color he was used to, swirled through the dirt. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Alwyn’s voice came from behind him.

He jumped up from the log, qi fading from his eyes as he let his telescopic sight skill end. He turned to look at her with a slight flush in his cheeks. She was standing there in a silvery shift that somehow hung loosely from her form and left little to the imagination. He made a concerted effort to keep his eyes on his face. “It really is. Your sky is very different from what we have back on Earth.”

She smirked at him, “Just the sky, then?” She seemed to move one leg in a way that did… interesting… things with her shift. His eyes remained on her face, a look of great concentration visible. She relaxed her posture with a laugh, “Just teasing you. I came out here to congratulate you on your progress. What you - All of you - have done is really impressive. It takes a lot longer for us to train most of our warriors. Qi can explain some enhanced growth, but even putting that aside, it’s impressive.”

He smiled softly, “I’ve had great teachers. Basi as well. I can’t speak for Ishan… He seems to spend a great deal of time cursing his master.”

She responded with a nod, “Relwir has earned a reputation as a harsh master, but he’s an excellent teacher.” A soft giggle escaped her lips, “He doesn’t inspire many fond thoughts from his students though. Telwyn and I aim for a softer approach.”

He looked away from her and towards the horizon as light began to shine over the peaks of the trees. A slight orange tinge was starting to show in the sky. “Time will tell. Ishan does seem to have greater control over his spells, or at least more mana. He hasn’t seemed drained at the end of our afternoon sessions.”

If he were being honest, Saul wasn’t sure that he was ready to face whatever mysteries awaited them in Efnelion. Despite his misgivings, he could tell that he and Basi were both much stronger than before. Ishan seemed to have grown a lot stronger as well.

They passed the sunrise in silence, the sun’s rays putting on a dazzling display of color. Saul sat there and enjoyed the peace, grateful for Alwyn’s quiet company. He didn’t expect that he would have many opportunities for relaxation in the coming days. He just drank in the wondrous sights before him.

When the day broke, he withdrew his bow from his inventory and inspected it. The string seemed to be in good order and he didn’t see any cracks. Nearly time for an upgrade. A look over to Alwyn showed her disapproval at the quality of his weapon. He shrugged as if in response, then began to polish the weapon.

He reached out with his Qi while he polished the weapon, willing his energy into the weapon even as he helped prepare it for the upcoming battle. It wasn’t something that the masters had taught him, just a habit, but he felt as though pouring his intent and energy into the weapon helped to strengthen it.

When he was satisfied with the bow he dismissed it and withdrew his other weapon. The spear, purchased from a dwarf craftsman, was of much higher quality. He polished the haft of the weapon, feeling the quality of the wood beneath his fingers as he pressed his Qi forward. He wasn’t sure how long he spent polishing his weapon, but when he looked up, he saw Ishan was sitting on the log across from him. “Morning!” He greeted his ally.

Ishan nodded, but his attention seemed to be focused inward. Saul looked around and saw that the rest of the masters were outside now. Basi had joined him on the log at some point.

He stood and moved to stand in front of them and Basi seemed to come with him, looking specifically at Telwyn and Alwyn as he spoke, “I want to extend my gratitude to all of you. You all have put a lot of energy into helping us improve, and I know we leave here better for it. Thank you.” He bowed deeply. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Basi dip lower to the ground in an approximation of a bow.

That brought a smile to all of them. Well, all of them except Relwir. Telwyn spoke up, “It has been a pleasure to instruct you, Saul. I just want to wish you the best of luck!” Alwyn, and the other female master who he’d learned was named Selin, nodded supportively. Relwir frowned in his direction. He took that to be a well wish from the perpetually grumpy elf.

Before long, Ishan was standing beside him. “Relwir, a word alone please?” The elf’s eyebrow raised slightly, but he nodded and walked with Ishan to stand beside the cabin.

The two of them were back a moment later, a small smile on Ishan’s lips and a surprised look on the elf’s face. He cleared his throat and spoke up, “As far as I can see, you have all made great progress. Congratulations! Go with our blessings.”

The three of them set out on their journey to Efnelion. Along the way, Saul and Ishan discussed the best way to approach the problems surrounding their mission. “I’m telling you, we should start out investigating the disappearances directly. Sneak around the town, get a feel for what’s going on.” Ishan was saying.

Saul shook his head, “Doesn’t it make more sense to speak with the leadership first? If they know anything, we’ll be able to suss it out and go from there.”

Basi hissed from his spot between the two. Saul felt a flash of amusement from the bond. Is that at our expense? He sent the thought to his pet. Another hiss. Stay out of it! Saul thought with false anger. More amusement flashed through their bond.

The dark skinned wizard gave an exasperated sigh, “That’s foolish and you know it. If they are behind the disappearances, they’ll be hostile and we will be in the center of their power. Best to handle things one at a time.”

He’s not wrong… Saul stepped over a particularly thick root. “Okay, okay… You’re probably right. Let’s skirt around the edge of town and investigate the disappearances first.

They managed to make it to the other side of Efnelion without much trouble. Their growing power meant that most of the creatures in the woods couldn’t pose a threat to them.

More importantly, Saul’s newly increased abilities meant he could detect trouble more easily. They made great use of his track ability to evade elf patrols. Despite the use of the ability, they had one close encounter with a patrol from Efnelion where the patrols were particularly dense, but a quick spell from Ishan had rendered them invisible and undetected.

Once they had the gate in sight, they began their search. They wandered around the forest for hours. They began in close proximity to the path that went between the doorway and Efnelion, looking for any signs of disappearances. Most of the time, their search seemed fruitless, but eventually Ishan called Saul over to him. “Look at this.”

On the ground was a cowl, bloodied with faded trim that was difficult to place. It looked like it had been ripped from someone's head.