The Tier-up appeared overnight; he noticed as he woke up. Burning text welcoming him.

You have gained:

Helping Hand Tier 1 + 150.8%

Congratulations, Gabriel Walker.

Helping Hand reaches Tier 2.

New effect: Increase target’s Recovery by 150% 1 Energy points. Permanently increases Recovery by 20%.

"I guess you must have healed," said Gabriel, wobbling on the branch of the tree they had used for hiding and sleeping during the night; thankfully, Brill had kept watch, but even then, they didn't face any beasts.

The previous day they had had another encounter, but this time the Dingos were only two, and they escaped after having problems with just the Salamander.

"And, I've got something for you as well," she said with a smile, "open your mouth and say ah!"

"My mouth's actually a little dry for that, though I think you're stealing my role here…" Gabe said, still groggy.

"God, you're a pervert…" she said.

"Like you didn't enjoy it back in the-" before he could finish his sentence, she opened the palms she was offering him, right on his face, clean water making him gurgle.

"Water! Oh, yes! Thank Goddess!" He said. "Where?"

"Goddess, uh? At least you're learning good habits," she said, nodding, then signaling behind her "there, as much as you want in the hole, don't drink it all!"

Gabriel practically launched at it.

When they were ready to move, the mountains loomed closer than ever. They had managed to maintain a steady pace, more consistent than any army or soldier on Earth could ever hope to achieve. They had walked for roughly two hundred miles the previous day. Though they felt like shit once they settled on the tree, it was nothing that a little bit of Recovery magic couldn't easily fix.

"I think now I can hear what you were talking about. I got to admit, it is kinda creepy." Said the girl adjusting her hairs; it was regrowing wonderfully.

"Yeah… I barely closed my eyes tonight…" he said, looking dejected.

"Did he Brill?" She asked.

Brill shook his head, Liz sort of laughed at that. He could recognize when the lizard was having fun now by barely looking at her wagging tail and excited tongue whipping.

"What? Alright, I think I did sleep a little, but most of the night, I was awake! I even saw you threaten that weird fox thing!" Gabe said, pointing at Brill.

"Oh, he says you're right; he did indeed make that fox run away with its fiery tail between its legs. But he says you fell asleep after that." Said Olive, once again adjusting her hair.

Liz nodded with vigor.

"Alright, it's clear now you are just ganging up on me. I admit my defeat… I don't remember how much I've slept, but I'm still tired. Your healing magic is a blessing, but it clearly doesn't work that well with Stamina," he said, trying to shift the talk in his favor.

"Yeah, there are other Elements which are better at that," she said, once again adjusting her hair. She seemed to not find peace.

"If you don't stop doing that, I'm gonna assault you; I have no idea how your hairs grow so fast, but I'm super horny, so, please stop," he pleaded.

Olive widened her mouth, half in a satisfied expression, half in mirth. "Well… like I'd allow you that, and know that we are in enemy territory, but more importantly, weren't you tired, didn't you say so, like, just now?" She pointed, finally giving working with her hairs a rest.

"That has… that has nothing to do with stamina, libido is different, trust me, in my line of work, you get to know that… sometimes I finish my shift dead tired, but if something is waiting for me, or some of my colleagues wants to have some fun; energy bubbles up from unexpected sources. Energy drinks could have something to do with it, but it's not every day you drink one, you know," he admitted.

In front of them, a descending path opened up; it was the end of the fire energy stricken territory, normal rock waiting in front, even some bushes of green flora here and there; though Gabriel could feel the scirocco he had grown used to, was leaving its place to a fresh gale, even cold for his warm attuned skin.

Personal stories had always driven Olive to silence; however, maybe the change in atmosphere, maybe the fortunately light mood amongst them, might have broken something.

"You, know… My parents were born here, on Alter. My parents, they had never been to Earth, if not for sightseeing once or twice," she paused as if continuing required her to muster the strength.

"We came from one of the smaller cities in The Den. We were stationed at the border with the Infinite Forest. Oh, it's a huge forest at the southern edges of The Den." she clarified. "Even then, we were one of those cities protected by no one if not its citizens' personal forces. No Waterfront with the power to control Mana itself, or Tier 6 monsters like the Reevers or the Seer of Carnage, was assigned to protect us from outside attacks… we were on our own."

A few seconds went by, only the wind's sound interjecting to fill the silence, the wind, and the eerie cries; the last ones almost a fitting soundtrack for the unfolding story.

"The Infinite Forest is where the Shamans dwell. Blood Magic loving bastards… they make me vomit! They were launching continuous attacks on us, trying to whittle us down for ages. The bastards feared a city so close to their forest and hated Druids with all their hearts. But we could never expect that…"

She stopped turning toward him. Her eyes were glossy and green this time as well.

"I was twelve back then, and I'll never forget. The walls had been breached. They stood on them, looking down on us from above like crows staring at a corpse. But they were not crows. They were angels... calling for the grace of their Gods. I remember the rays of light coming from the sky as prophecies of death. And Demons, their shapes, and forms, disgusting, they made my skin crawl…" She stopped, her eyes looking at the ground.

"I had no idea what was going on, but those were not shamanic powers. Where were they? The wandering souls? Where were the corpses they commanded? No, those were not the Shamans. The Shamans came in later, to feast on the corpses of the dead; to rip their souls and transform their bodies into their servitude."

"I understood it only later when we got to The Cradle… when they let us get away to reach it to be fair… we had to bring the message. You see, the Priests of Lore had joined hands with the Shamans, just to take us down in one fell swoop," she said, intensely looking in Gabriel's eyes.

By the time she finished, Brill had climbed on her. He was putting his head by her neck, comforting her.

"I… I'm sorry, Oli, I… don't know what to say. I think I understood, but I can't say I know how you felt… no one will ever be able to tell you that. If they do, they would be lying. I can, I can just say that I'm sorry you had to go through that. I wish you hadn't." His eyes were honest, and so were hers.

"I think you do," she said, sincere. "But if you really do, then promise me, promise me that when you are fully in your powers, you'll make them regret; that you'll destroy them on sight! They don't deserve to be among the people. They are already the corrupters of a world. They can't corrupt this one too!"

She offered him her hand. An intense light shone from it.

Warning, Gabriel Walker.

You have been offered a Binding.

If you make an oath to Olive Wanderlust (Demi-Human - Level 33), the Anchor will act as a witness and will judge your actions until you will have brought an end to your pledge to her.

Do you want to comply?

Yes/No

Those green, beautiful eyes were compelling him to, but he knew he would be placing his entire life at the servitude of an ideal he would not be able to stand for; he could not represent it.

Killing a beast in self-defense was something, killing another person capable of thinking… that was on a whole other level. He had never done something like that, nor did he wish to if he had the chance.

There was no way in hell he would comply with something like that.

"I'm sorry, Oli. I can't… I can't promise you that I don't even know where I am… what this world is. How could I devote my life to… vengeance. It's not even mine, to begin with."

The binding has been refused.

Olivia paled.

"Gabriel, I… I'm sorry… I don't know what got over me. I never intended to do that, it just came- Oh, I've fucked up! I know what you'll be thinking now!" She started her tone, boarding on desperation. "You'll be thinking I did all this so that I could coerce you into this… I would- I would never," she hiccuped.

"Oli- no, please don't cry, why would I even think that! Come on, please!"

Liz! I'm not good with people crying, what do I do!?

The panicking lizard didn't know how to answer; she shifted in place uncomfortably.

"Listen here, I promise I shall look into… things once we're safe, but I can't promise you anything. There's so much I still have to do. I need to see my mom, make sure she's okay, settle some unfinished business, find her people who can help her with her business, and so on… before I can dedicate my life to this place. So please, don't cry, okay?"

"What?" She asked, tears stricken. "I'm not crying because you said no, stupid! I'm crying because I didn't think I had so much hate toward them to almost push the Herald into promising me to hunt them down… it's- I'm disappointed in myself… I'm a shitty person!" She cried.

"No, you're not. It's no more than saying something you would never do in a moment of rage. Only, probably with magic, is a tad bit more dangerous." He chuckled, holding her by the shoulders, her knees had given out, and she had fallen with her ass on the ground.

She laughed after a while, "You're too good or too naive then, hope this world will not devour you, Herald." She wiped away her tears.

Gabriel would have kissed her then, but… something held him back. And for some reason, he was thankful for it.

The trip after that was quiet.

A silence had slowly descended among them, a silence of broken vows and half-taken steps. Filling it was only the cries of the mountains, getting eerie by the hour.

The day in the green-stricken gray and mud of the rocky path seemed to never pass until they finally reached something Gabriel had long since heard but wanted to keep as a surprise to Olive.

A river paved in front of them, its source leading toward the unknown, while the left bank passed through a thicket.

He did not know how or when they reached that height, but the platform of rock they were currently standing on, was dozens of feet higher than the river; they were quite literally forced to descend a rise with barely any footing to get at its level. The Testing came to his mind when they did descend; so young the memory yet, it seemed as months had passed.

The thicket was ripe with life. Insects, smaller than those he had fought at the Lower Tree fields, but definitely bigger than it was normal, and not only that; other little animals dwelled in the place. Little grey raccoon looking things, like the Bond Spirit of that guy at the inn, which name he had forgotten, moved in hordes; they were almost cute. But not exactly, as they literally farted the ire of God when they got scared. It was really sickening. They discovered it as they had to stop to gag.

The couple decided to stop by the river, to wash themselves of the smell still clinging on their clothes; thankfully, Olive was able to soak the water out of them once they did wash because the wind was picking up, even muffled by the trees it was starting to become unforgiving.

"That was the most disgusting smell I've ever had on me… and believe me, I've had people throw up on me for the dozens over the years…" said Gabriel.

"I know the feeling…" she nodded, launching in a smile repressed for most of the day.

"This wind, eh?" said Gabriel, in an attempt to break the ice, "from fire to wind, almost like the element themselves, right?"

"Oh? You're learning then," she answered.

"It's actually like that? Those that means that there are eigh-"

BOOM!

An explosion filled the little valley. It came from the left bank of the river.

"They're here." Said the girl.

"But I didn't-"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

There clearly was a battle taking place, and the explosions felt almost like those of a rifle, or in this case, a cannon.

"What do we do?" He asked, squatting like her.

"We hide, we stay low, and we pray," she said, convinced.

She took him by the hand then flung both of them in the water, Gabriel getting a hold of Liz at the last moment.

The river was shallow, just enough to hide their crouching bodies, but she had magic by her side, so she cast the bubble and her dark veil, and they got moving underwater.

Even underwater, the sound of the explosions came clear as day. They moved toward them. She directed them forward with much of Gabriel's denial.

Olive sent him a look, indicating upstream, then she gestured toward the descending body of the river, making a huge three.

He understood then and let her lead the way. They would be heading toward the Den if they continued downstream.

They had walked just a few yards when those responsible for the explosion came into view.

There was a party of black leather dressed people. They advanced threateningly toward what couldn't else be defined but a giant.

At first, he thought his vision was playing tricks on him, but then he was certain. The pursuers' party was too close to the giant for it to be a fluke of his new enhanced sight.

They got their heads out of the water to take a better look at what was going on; Olive could just barely see what happened; but Gabriel saw clearly, and so did Liz, sticking to his hair.

"Oli, a giant in sangria red hood, is shooting at people with an umbrella… is- is that normal?"

"Oh, well, at least it's not shooting at us."

"Oh no, no, no, no red fla-!" He didn't even finish saying it as a projectile impacted with the bank's left river, a few feet from their heads.

They barged once again in the water, eyes wide.

"Great Wakan Tanka!" Mimed, Gabriel underwater.

Of course, it was something his grandfather had taught him; her mother was as catholic as the Pope.

Olive reacted weirdly to it. She seemed taken aback, so much so that she shot out of the water when the danger had passed, and the group, fighting with the giant had moved away.

"What was that? Did you just say Wakan Tanka?"

"Yeah, why?" He asked, continually peeking out, not really paying attention to her.

"How do you know that word? Did you study it? Where did you hear it?"

"Wakan Tanka? The great spirit? It was my grandparents' belief. They taught me a bunch, but I just use it as I would say God or something. It's kind of rare, though. I probably remembered when you told me about those shamans earlier today," he said, advancing on his own.

"Your… grandparents were Shamans, Gabriel?" She asked, looking distressed, and even a little bit scared.

"Uh? Oh, no, no. Listen, they did not belong to this world, well all that had probably originated here, but they did not really have any sort of tie to Alter, they were just weird, that's it," he clarified.

"Mmh… so it's just a coincidence that the Great Spirit, keeper of the Infinite Forest, is actually called Wakan Tanka and that it is that which the Shamans believe and fight for?" She sighed. "I hope I just didn't get myself involved in some extremely messed power play."

"Uh?"

"Nothing, let's just get away from here. It's dangerous."

Gabriel and Liz looked at each other, shrugging, then they followed.

***

Liz's eyes shone as she looked at the hook-less wire falling from the sky; attached to it was a beautiful plum insect, the kind of which were rarely seen.

Her human always ate fish, fish, fish so boring… then the other day meat again, as if she hadn't had enough at the inn. Didn't they know about variety? At least there was variety attached to that hook, she shrugged.

But she just couldn't let go of that succulent snack.

It was clear the bait was meant for a fish, though the user had not attached any hook to it; stupid bipeds, she thought, forgetting she tried with all her strength to imitate them whenever she could.

Then, as Gabriel walked close enough to it…

Chomp!

A light flashed, sealing her mouth shut.

***

"So," huffed and puffed the party leader, "we're clear there have been no sightings of any human trespassing in this zone?"

"Apart from you? I don't think so!" Answered the giant, shooting another round at him, then opening up his rifle, into an umbrella deviating a Skill imbued arrow and a magic Skill shot.

"Come on, just stand still for a moment. You know I need to kill you on sight," he said, blasting another round.

The giant was, well, a giant. Eighteen feet tall, massive back, and short hair that looked like fire, thought it was just a read head.

He really liked the color. His coat was red, so was his leather vest, though darker, and so were his boots.

What was dark silver and black was his umbrella-rifle.

A peculiar weapon, surely of dwarven origins, one would think, but he used it with finesse.

Ginger eyes adorned his face; they could have been as big as the fist of an average man. He was entirely devoid of beard.

"Alright, we'll leave. Just let us be on the outskirts of the territory. We are looking for runaways."

"That's your problem."

BOOM!

"You get out of my territory."

BOOM!

"You stay out of my territory."

BOOM!

"And maybe, and I said maybe, you get to keep the other arm."

"What arm?"

"That's your choice. Which do you like the most, left or right?" Asked the giant, hiding under his umbrella.

"What are you talking about, giant? We'll leave just-" Said the leader.

"Oh, well, I gave you a choice. You didn't take it…" The giant closed his right eye, and something changed in the air around him, then a pulse of Mana rushed from the soil of his feet to the arm holding the rifle, with the vibrancy typical of Skill activation, he shot, releasing both Mana and Energy at the same time. "I say left."

Dragon hunt!

The bolt was unavoidable. It ran through the air with a sizzle, like a cannonball shot by a rail gun, if that was even feasible; curving to the right as the figure tried to avoid as he had done until then, with a Skill probably evolved by Dash; well it failed. The projectile hit his shoulder dead on.

A magic circle appeared on the stump, and the arm evaporated from the patch of grass on which it had fallen.

The man screamed as his companions tried to heal him, unsuccessfully, before leaving in a hurry.

The giant rested his giant rifle-umbrella on his shoulder.

"What a wonderful sunny day," he said, strolling through the thicket covered bank of the river.

He was going back to check on his fishing rod; the humans had interrupted his big game hunting.

"Oh. It's twitching, it's twitching." He noticed.

The road had been encased in the rock, resting on the tallest height of the left bank.

"Sunny blessing. It's heavy, might even be enough for lunch," he said to himself. Then with one good yank, he hauled it up.

He found himself face to face with a two feet long lizard, her eyes wide.

"That's new," he admitted, half a smile on his face…

...which quickly started turning sour when his eyes descended further down, where a man, dressed like a beggar, was dangling from. His hands gripping the lizard.

"He-hello! Beautiful weather today isn't it!?" Said the little man, his voice fastidiously high-pitched.

"You just don't want to learn, eh?" Asked the giant, standing up. His other hand went behind his back to retrieve the umbrella.

"Now tell me, human, left, or right?" Asked the giant, "You know what, I'm kinda pissed right now, so let's just say head."