Staring at the unfamiliar ceiling, I'm overcome with a feeling of homesickness for the first time coming to this world. Sadly I can't reminisce for long as my door flies open from a strong kick.

"Wakey wakey our newest recruit!" I sit up to see the ever grinning mug of Garth staring back at me with what looks like a stamp in his hand. Noticing my gaze fall to his hand, he speaks up

"This is to put the insignia of our company on our clothes, seeing how you do still owe me I decided to go ahead and get one just for you. Temp member or not." As he speaks I get ready for the day, just dressing poorly, what with the holes in my new clothes. After, I end up with the symbol of Garth's company emblazoned on my chest.

*Lord Registered

Garth: The Silent

*While under a lord, host must obey all orders until the lords death or honor is compromised.

*While fighting for a lord, EXP gained is increased and bonuses are gained based on the lord.

Reading the sudden notifications I feel... only slightly cheated. Looking over to my new 'lord' I feel like this could cause some problems in the very near future. After going down to the common area, take a second just to look at the sword screen and what it involves, seeing that I've put it off.

*Bokken: A basic wooden sword without an edge. Made for training purposes. Minor boost to stats while training when equipped.

Tempering Points: 23

*Upgrade?

*Evolve?

Curious, I think of evolving it and quickly come to regret my decision. My sword starts to glow just enough to cover it. I scramble to try and hide it somewhere it won't draw attention, like under the table. I look around and see nobody really noticed, except Ed. He was looking at me, eyes wide and his mouth open.

I just pretend nothing happened, holding my sword against the table so nobody can see it until I get a notification.

*Evolution Complete.

Received Pardus: A Wolfs Bane

I take my sword out from the table to take a look at what happened and am pleasantly surprised. It had a simple black sheath with a brown engraving towards the hilt. The grip turned black with what looks like a coarse brown rope to prevent slipping. I half draw the sword and find strange lettering carved into the back of the blade. They give off a faint glow until I sheathe it and look towards Ed, seeing his reaction. All he does is wave me over to him as he goes into the back, I quickly follow.

Upon entry, I find out that its a room with several barrels of what I assume to be alcohol and a kitchen. Looking over I see Ed leaning against one of the counters looking at my sword.

"Now I think you owe me an explanation, young man. If I find your answer satisfactory I can let you go, If not then..." I see him draw a sword from somewhere I couldn't see. I feel an intent similar to what Rorik could put out coming from the old man in front of me. Retired or not he was probably a pretty strong figure in his prime.

"I'm just as in the dark as you, I don't know what happened it just started glowing. You can even look at it, I really have no idea." Sweat drips down my face as I talk, unsure of how he'll take my half lie. I quickly invest my last two points into Dexterity, knowing that if we fought I couldn't win, only try to run.

"Throw me the sword." I throw him my weapon and watch him pick it up and look at it closely. observing the runes, a look of confusion crosses his face.

"Do you know what these mean?" I quickly shake my head as he returns to looking at the runes before sighing and handing it back to me.

"Sorry for the scare, its just that looked a lot like magic to me, and I can't be too careful."

"Magic? You mean magic is real?"

"Just as real as you or me. Thing is most of those mages aren't the nicest folks to be around. They like to sacrifice people to their gods for more power. Whole cities have been wiped off the map just from a whim of some of them. Garth may be strong, but he's a little ignorant sometimes so a mage tricking him would be pretty easy." I nod my head, immediately understanding the threat, yet confused.

"But if I were a mage couldn't I just, like, incinerate you or something? Why would you try to fight me?"

"I had to take that chance i'm afraid. Either way, you may want to hide that sword from other people. If my hunch is correct, its either a living weapon, or your some kind of mage and just don't know it yet. Could be something else, but that'd be out of my area of expertise."

Suddenly, a rambunctious Garth kicks open the door.

"What are you two doing back here! Old man I need Bai for a mission today so stop holding him up!"

"Yes yes, go on then, i'll just find something else to keep me busy."

I follow Garth out of the back and am greeted by four others waiting for us. Two of them were pretty big, covered in armor, one with a sword and shield, the other with a great sword. One other man was dressed rather lightly, almost like me except he had two daggers instead of a sword. Finally there was a woman with a bow, with eyes that looked at me like I was prey.

"Now then Bai, this is your party for today. You five are going out to thin a big pack of wolves in the area. They've been really aggressive lately and the town decided that they were better off dead. Location is in the southern forest, good luck, and keep watch, some weird sound have been heard lately. Either way, the worst you'll have is a bear or something so you'll be fine. Adios!"

Garth basically skips out of the inn as I look towards my new party.

"Well I guess i'll start, I'm Qui Bai, but just Bai works." The big guy with a great sword speaks up first

"We honestly don't care, we work as a party just fine without an extra, just sit back and watch."

The two bigger men and woman leave and leave me with the other guy. He lets out a sigh and looks towards me.

"Sorry about them, they just don't like new people very much. I'm Dan, its a pleasure." He hold out his hand and I take it, shaking it firmly.

"I hope you don't hold it against them, they're good people once you get to know them I swear.

"It's fine, I don't know how strong you guys are but i'm sure I can pull my own weight."

"Well, most of us are E class, while Mark is D class and the defacto leader of the group, the one that was rude before. As a whole we're pretty set but with wolves you can never be sure. That's why Garth added you to the team. I think it'd be best if you just stood back with Amy, that ranger from before. Make sure she doesn't get hurt. Other than that, it'll be a pleasure working with you."

I give a curt nod while asking

"Just how dangerous do you think this could be anyways?"

"At most we'll get around twenty wolves in total. Mark can take most of them, its up to us to support him and make sure nothing goes wrong."

Leaving it there and making small talk, we make our way out of town to the southern forest, meeting up with the other 3 halfway and walk in silence the rest of the distance. The tree's giving off an eerie feeling as we approach. The wind whistling through, sounds that almost make you believe someone's whispering. I can't help but feel odd as we travel, almost like i'm being watched.

Nothing of note happens as we travel, I notice a grumble from my party members, something about no action. Until I see an eye, It disappears as quickly as it came as rustling comes from the nearby bushes. I'm not the only one who noticed as Mark readies himself.

A long howl sounds out through the dim forest as a mist settles upon our group. I draw my sword as a certain cold settles into my bones. My breathe turns misty while my eyes dart back and forth, looking for any sign of an enemy yet finding none.

I hear a scream cut short and whip around only to see a now headless Amy, someone I hardly knew, crumpled on the ground. Not far away, I see a shadow, standing on two legs, it chewed the head of my former party member. It's eyes a bright yellow, freezing me in place as it looked my way, fur matted with blood, whose I don't know. Its ten foot figure intimidating the largest of men.

*Contract: Survival

A beast of legend has sensed your presence and deemed you a threat. Choose to stand your ground, facing a monster of the likes you've never seen, or flee and desperately try to preserve your life.