“You going to lie there marveling at yourself all day, boy?” Leo was far too caught up in his own progression to pay the old man’s sardonic comment any mind. How could he not be? The last three weeks of hellish training and sleepless nights were finally starting to pay off. He was currently enjoying himself for his afternoon break, the one hour he was granted each day when Zeld had promised him he could relax in peace and recuperate.

He was lying on the newly minted grass, his head propped up against Sparky’s midsection of incredibly soft yellow feathers, the three weeks having run even her boundless reserves of energy dry. She was collapsed over in exhaustion without even a trace of the usual electricity dancing around her body. So naturally, Leo was taking full advantage of her current helpless state as he admired the growth to his character sheet. It seemed fitting retribution for her part in his misery and torment over the past weeks.

He had distributed his three free attributes into Origin, Dexterity and Luck. The first two were easy choices as they fit more with the combat style he was trying to build. It allowed him to use more of his active skills while giving him an easier time of safely disengaging from a fight when need be.

Luck didn’t have quite as obvious a payout as the other two, but it was an attribute as important to his build as the rest, if not more so. The system had verbally acknowledged that he had acquired some of his skills through being “lucky,” and his True Mimic trait seemed to partially rely on the attribute. He didn’t know how much it affected the world around him, but he’d take all the help he could get.

In addition to his absurd skill leveling, which made even Zeld blanch, he had also started to develop an affinity for electricity. He was told it was a side effect of spending time with a bonded beast, which Leo interpreted as if I get zapped enough, I’ll eventually build up a tolerance.

Just as he was starting to doze off, a boot found his midsection. “Oof!” Leo gasped at the impact, rubbing his sore stomach. His demonic instructor was standing over him with a toothy grin, one he most certainly didn’t like the looks of. The old man was only ever in a chipper mood when he had thoughts of a new way to make his life a living hell.

“The fruits of your labor have been quite substantial, haven’t they?” Zeld started with a nonchalant attitude.

Leo nodded slowly, still wary of the old man. He still had a few more minutes left of his break period to protect him, but his hand inched closer to Aveth nonetheless.

“I don’t suppose you recall what I mentioned during our first training session about the dangers of your growth, do ya, boy?” Zeld spoke merrily, his smile gleaming in the bright light.

Leo felt the blood slowly drain from his face as he remembered the apparent danger of spontaneous combustion. It had been so long ago he had chalked it up to Zeld needing a reason to get him to take part in the ritual. “B-but I feel fine!” he protested weakly.

“Well, if you insist, I suppose we can alter your schedule to focus solely on physical training for the next month or so,” Zeld mused, rubbing a hand along his beard. Leo’s face must’ve shown the horror he felt as the old devil released a chuckle. “Or you can go take care of the imp cache residing in the northern reaches of the gard-” The old man paused mid-sentence, head tilted to one side and eyes suddenly sharpening.

“You’re not having a stroke on me, are you?” Leo asked hesitantly after a few quiet moments.

Then Zeld’s features eased. “Amira’s flock has reported intruders in an airship approaching our island.” His tone didn’t at all suit the news; it sounded exasperated, as if this was something he had to deal with on a frequent basis.

“Should I be concerned?” he asked nervously, quickly standing.

Zeld barked a laugh. “Only if I actually have a stroke scaring them off. Rumors got out about the treasures we have tucked away in here a while back, and now it seems like every half-wit adventurer and would-be fortune-seeker wants to try their luck.”

“Do you…want me to come with you?” Leo asked hopefully. He was eager to see more of the world’s inhabitants, even if it was from a distance.

Zeld laughed again. “Maybe when you’ve grown a pair of wings, boy! You stay here. The main opening to the garden is protected by the Chari, and the other openings are small and obscure enough not to be easily noticed. This shouldn’t take long.” With that remark, Zeld disappeared in a ripple of movement, leaving only gouges in the earth where his feet had been.

Leo stood there staring at the foot-sized craters for several moments, feeling justifiably useless. Being a resident of Erreth meant it was as much his duty to protect their territory as it was Zeld’s, yet at his current strength he knew he would be more of a hindrance than a help.

His previous accomplishments suddenly seemed much less impressive than they had before. At the rate he was growing, it would be a long while before he was able to achieve any of his goals.

Whether the threat of spontaneous combustion was real or not, he needed to grow even faster. Limbering up his sore body, he decided to take Zeld’s advice, and turned to his companions with newfound determination. “Who wants to go slay some imps!”

Sparky lifted her head from off the ground. His energy was infectious and she let out an excited cry of her own before hopping to her taloned feet. Pride, who had been taking a cat nap on the porch, got up more laxly, stretching out her front paws with a wide yawn before ghosting through the air over to them. Leo reestablished their mental communication link once more before taking a path that would lead him to the northern reaches of the garden.

* * *

Pride, keep them off my flanks! Leo called out as he cleaved his sword in a horizontal strike, bisecting the small greenish body directly in front of him. The small naked humanoid let out an anguished scream as its purple organs and blood sprayed its numerous neighbors. The imp’s death seemed to work the others into a frenzy, and they surged forward like a tidal wave, screaming in an unintelligible tongue. Just before he was overcome, a strong force of gravity pressed down and immobilized the swath of bloodthirsty cretins threatening to wash over him.

You have killed Wood Imp (Level 2). You gain 54 Exp.

They had encountered their first group of imps swarming over what appeared to be a human-sized mantis in the forest of plants. The mantis’s scythes rapidly tore apart one imp after another like it was cutting through a field, but even its quick strikes were not enough to stem the tide of ugly foot-high creatures who simply stormed over the bodies of their fallen kin as they attempted to bury the mantis with their own flesh.

They climbed all over the insect, using pointy branches and small rocks to stab and bash every part of the mantis’s hardened body. When their weapons broke, they gnawed at their prey with pointed teeth sharp enough to rip apart the bug’s thick carapace. The creatures were not as agile or strong as the forest wolves, but their numbers and lack of self-preservation made them far more dangerous.

But did they have to be so hideous, Leo thought as he stepped past the angular head of his most recent victim. The creatures had a pot-bellied humanoid appearance with a pointed head too large for the rest of their hairless figure. Their entirely black eyes were sunken back into their skull and they had two slits where their nose should be, but the worst part was the gooey substance that dripped from their body as if the lot of them had just been dunked in a pit of purple slime.

Why is it I ruin my clothes everywhere I go? he thought bleakly as he shook off more of the goop that had splashed on his body from the numerous imps he had already slain. As far as he could tell, the slimy substance had no adverse effects. It just made the creatures more slippery to get a hold of, and a lot more disgusting to fight.

His boot cracked across the head of an imp as he lashed out toward the sea of creatures with a violent kick. There was an audible crack from its fragile bones breaking as it flew backward to collide with another behind it, sending them both crashing to the ground.

Leo snapped back his leg quickly, trying to avoid the numerous tiny grasping hands. The reaction was only partially successful as all but one of the creatures managed to grab hold. The imp clinging to his leg immediately began stabbing into his greaves with its crude spear. Leo let out a snort of disgust as the creature’s wet body covered the leg of his pants with a layer of slime. At least the spear attacks were ineffective; Zeld had given him another worn set of armor similar in quality and type to the first. This caused all of the creature’s efforts to barely put a scratch in the thick leather hide.

He struck out with a fist at the imp, not wanting to waste mana on an Arc Bolt if he didn’t have to. The punch collided with the fiend, but the creature’s slimy coating managed to deflect most of the blow. His grazing strike managed to knock the imp off-balance and it flailed in the air, releasing the stick in its hand as it desperately sought to retain its grip.

Two more imps tackled his legs while he was focused on trying to get the first one off of him. Their added weight made his movements cumbersome, and he knew it was only a matter of seconds before even more piled on. Okay, I could use some more help now! Leo sent out a slightly panicked call as he swept Aveth in a wide arc to keep more of the rushing tide at bay.

His two beast companions were being generous, letting Leo harvest the majority of the experience while they maintained a safe distance. He had already leveled up once from the harvest and was well on his way to doing so again. With Pride focused on stopping the swarm from encroaching around him and Sparky acting as artillery support to thin the numbers, the normally perilous fight had become almost laughably easy.

Three large bolts of lightning arced past Leo’s side and slammed into the imp horde. Each bolt rocketed into a nearby imp, frying it before spreading easily through the tightly packed press of liquid-soaked bodies. Over a dozen imps fell to the ground dead from each strike, their forms a smoking mess while twice that number let out pain-filled shrieks.

He used the momentary reprieve to unleash his own Arc Bolt on the imps hugging his legs, the action sending their forms hurling through the air and crashing through the tightly packed vegetation surrounding the battleground.

Not wanting to waste a moment, Leo charged at the imps on his right side still held in place by Pride, cleaving through multiple of the immobilized monsters with each swing of his sword. He was able to tear into their ranks for several seconds before the unrelenting flood of creatures started to enclose him once more, forcing a retreat. He danced away from the incoming surge of tiny creatures, his increase in Dexterity allowing him to build up distance from the horde with ease as he nimbly covered ground twice as fast as he had before.

Leo used Aveth’s length to harry the horde just out of arm’s reach as he kept up a slow retreat. Whenever the monsters on one side threatened to block off his escape and engulf him, Pride or Sparky would intervene, giving him enough time to dart through a hastily made gap in the throng of bodies.

They continued the deadly game of cat and mouse, backing up blindly into the thick underbrush, trusting in his improved nimbleness to maintain his footing. As he stepped underneath a dense tree with leaves the color of midnight, a jolt of confusion and urgency shot through the mental connection he shared with Pride. There was just enough time to register the warning when his back struck something hard enough to send it and the object he hit toppling over.

A cry of surprise made his heart skip a beat in panic as it came from whatever, or rather whoever, he had run into. Leo shot back up to his feet, staring uncomprehendingly at the prone form next to him.

A boy who looked a few years younger than him met his dumbfounded gaze with one of his own. The boy had short-cropped dirty blonde hair, with hard blue eyes and a layer of dirt on his golden skin that hid an otherwise regal face. He was wearing an assortment of loosely fitting tattered rags that might have once been considered clothing. The garments were ripped from the wear of constant travel, revealing a lean yet muscular physique. But the most prominent feature was the white metal collar that snaked its way across the young man’s neck.

Leo was so caught up in the shock at seeing another living person besides Zeld that he failed to react when the boy shot to his feet in a blink and tackled Leo, sending both of them flying in the air a dozen feet from their current position. They skidded on the garden floor in a rolling heap, Aveth spinning out of his hands in the hard landing. He managed to lash out with a fist at his aggressor, connecting with the boy’s midsection. It felt like his hand had struck iron!

Their rolling came to a stop and he managed to find his feet a split second after the newcomer. Yanking Chilly out of its sheath, Leo set in a low defensive crouch as he prepared to deal with his surprise opponent…only to find that opponent already running in the opposite direction.

The young man charged into the swarm of imps that had enveloped their old position, and he was fluidly lashing out with a flurry of quick kicks and jabs to hold back the sea of tiny monsters. Every blow he delivered exploded whatever body part it connected with in a blast of purple goop.

He was trying to protect me, Leo realized, feeling slightly guilty from his attempt to sock the guy, no matter how ineffective it had been. After a moment of hesitation, he rushed to join the stranger in his struggle. You better keep yourselves hidden for now! he called out to Sparky and Pride, afraid that in the confusion of battle they would be attacked. They hesitated, wary about leaving him alone with the other human, before heeding his advice and withdrawing to a distance only slightly farther away.

Leo swooped down to grab Aveth from where it had landed and jumped into the fray with an overhead chop that split an imp in two, casting a quick Observation on the newcomer as he did so.

Roy sent a quick glance his way. “Is that how you thank the guy who just saved your life?” he hissed at Leo before delivering a sweeping kick that took off the upper half of four imps in a spray of gore.

“I had it handled until you ran into me!” Leo shot back, irked by his tone and determined not to be outdone as he shot out an Arc Bolt that cooked a half-dozen imps and set another ten falling stunned to the ground. Roy’s eyes widened in surprise and he took a crude spear to the thigh, but the weapon’s shaft broke against his hardened skin. He threw an almost lazy backhand that took the poor monster’s head clean off before he returned to the fight, moving even faster than he had before.

The way the younger man fought spoke of years of experience, and Leo had to admit it was impressive. He dodged with the slightest movements and struck like a coiled snake, a shift in his weight to avoid an incoming thrust, a slight adjustment of his foot to line up three of the creatures in a row, and a punch that cracked forward like a spear thrusting through straw before snapping back into place without even a speck of purple blood on him. “You should leave,” Roy said, his voice as icy as his cold blue eyes.

“I can handle myself!” Leo replied, indignation seeping into his voice even as a rock smacked against his knuckles, causing him to wince in pain. It was embarrassing having someone younger than him try to protect him. Besides, he wasn’t about to let this stranger mop up all the experience when he had been the one here first.

“I’m not talking about the imps! If the others find you, you’re as good as dead! Leave! Now!” The boy spun and planted a roundhouse kick on Leo’s midsection that lifted him off the ground and flung him spinning in midair out of the dark cover of the small tree and behind the top of a bush filled with red- and purple-striped berries. A timely intervention from a nearby hidden Pride reduced the velocity of his fall just before he hit the dirt. Leo let out a whimper of pain from his most likely bruised, if not outright broken ribs. The kick had taken half his health and easily launched him twenty feet. Okay, maybe Zeld was right…I do need to spend more time training.

After a few painful gasps of air, he tried rising slowly to his feet. A wave of explosive heat washed over him, the concussive force shoving his body back to the ground. Feelings of alarm brushed his consciousness from Pride, and he carefully peeked through the leaves in the bush from his prone position to see what had happened.

“Can’t even handle a group of imps on your own? How pathetic can you be?” sneered a tall, slim man in thick red robes that kissed the garden floor. His head was bald and his skin a dark shade of tanned brown. The imps that had been swarming the area like an endless sea were nowhere in sight—a field of ash and dying flame had taken their place. The bald man stared down Roy with a look of derision marring his features.

“Who’s out there!” the man shouted as he spun with a seething gaze. “Someone dares to spy on me?!” he bellowed as flames began curling their way up his arms.

Roy immediately fell to his knees and raised his hands in a pleading gesture. “I’m sorry, Malnor, I meant to Observe the bush of nearby berries but I must have cast it on you instead.”

Malnor swirled back around, a look of abject fury on his face. “You dare to insult me with such a feeble excuse!” He cracked a hand outward and a whip of fire swelled into existence. Roy covered his eyes as the whip cracked cruelly down with a flick of his wrist, scorching a smoking line across the boy’s midsection. “You just wanted to see how much mana I used for that skill, didn’t you! You think I haven’t noticed the looks of disdain you send my way? You’re planning to kill me!” screamed the crazed man as he continued to leave lines of seared and smoking flesh all over Roy’s body.

Leo cursed himself at his own carelessness. He couldn’t just sit there and watch the barbaric punishment when he was the one who caused it. He brought Aveth behind him, readying a swing at the fire mage’s exposed back. Just when he was about to stand up to send the sword flying, Roy yelled out, “Stop! Please just stop. I won’t do it again. I’m sorry!” The younger boy bowed his head, kowtowing at Malnor’s feet.

The man’s hand hesitated with the whip, his expression one of clear surprise. His anger dissolved into a gleeful smile. “I see you’re finally learning your place in the hierarchy. I’ve only stopped because it would anger our master to kill you without her consent, so let this be a lesson of respect for you.” Malnor took a quick look around, his gaze passing over the berry bush that Leo had sunk back down behind, heeding the hidden warning Roy had tactfully sent his way.

“Those are Krolm Berries, fool. Although valuable, they are not what-” He was interrupted by a neon green light that flared to life near the cavern’s waterfall. It ascended rapidly before slowing and eventually hovering in place halfway to the cavern’s ceiling.

“They actually found it...” Malnor said breathlessly, licking his lips. “Come, worm!” He sent a kick at Roy’s still-groveling figure that seemed to pain him more than it did Roy, before setting a fast walk toward the light.

Roy got to his feet, his expression a blank mask, while his threadbare shirt had turned to an unrecognizable blackened mess. The boy shot a glance in Leo’s direction before leaving to follow the bald man.

Once their forms had disappeared, Leo rose hesitantly to his feet. Pride broke away from the nearby foliage she had been hiding behind and Sparky started to make her way over from a little farther out. The silent feline floated down to the scorched ground and sniffed the ashes of the imps they had been fighting before turning her head to him. “Can you follow them without being seen?” he asked.

She gave him an indignant sniff before flicking her tails through the air in what he had come to read as annoyance. Leo rolled his eyes at the cat’s egotistical personality. “Then do so, but make sure to keep a safe distance. We’ll tail you at a…less discernable distance,” he said as Sparky barreled through the underbrush with an animated chirp, her feathers glowing in excitement. Intruders had come to their home and with Zeld gone, it lay on their shoulders to deal with them.