Thirty. Thirty-five at best. The patternings slashed across the ground told Kai as much. Night had descended and the moons were barely slivers in the sky above. Still, he could see well enough. Too well. He was crouched low to the ground, observing the path of destruction around him. There was no subtlety, no attempt at stealth or hiding their presence. If he was the leader of a group like this, he would have set off a grenade in the middle of their camp just to prove a point. Then again, why would creatures the size of two to three story buildings bother with stealth?

Puncture holes littered the ground around Kai. Each print was distinct. Some were small and narrowed down into a point, while larger ones widened into jagged grooves. Great chunks had been torn from trees and a few hundred meter long logs were snapped in half like twigs. The underbrush hadn’t been spared either. Bushes, ferns, vines and shrubs were crushed and flattened into a fine green paste that smelled like fresh cut grass. Putting it all together Kai figured there were a few gigantic Facestealers leading the group while the smaller ones trailed behind.

Though the Facestealers arguably had an advantage in terms of sheer strength, everything was still within Kai’s expectations. If anything he figured that the Facestealers’ numbers would work against them. Still, Kai was worried. Not because of the upcoming battle, but because of what he had purposefully ignored back when he had absorbed the memories of the Ximati Ancestors. If there was one thing he didn’t need it was becoming dependent on magic. Relying on abilities he barely understood was a surefire way of getting himself killed. Before he could even touch his status screen Kai knew that he needed to deal with all the concrete, controllable factors first. But even he realized that magic was something he couldn’t afford to just ignore.

Kai opened up his status screen and surveyed the damage.

Name: Kai Walker

Health: 54/54

Mana: 120/120

Class: Empath

Abilities: Empathic Link, Prayers for the Fallen, Darkvision

Skills: Strategist (lvl.3), Black Spear Wielder (lvl.3),

Magic: Mimicry (lvl.1)

Collected Memories: House Leandros, Ximati Ancestors

Status:

Strength: 5

Agility: 5

Dexterity: 5

Endurance: 10

Intelligence: 5

Wisdom: 5

Charisma: 6

Ravenous points: 39

Debuffs:

Ravenous (lvl.4)

Kai tapped the anomalies in his status screen and read their descriptions.

Ximati Ancestor memories: The legacy of the Ximati and their tenacity in conquering The Pit has given them the strength to confront formidable opponents. Grants darkvision, +50% to all stats when fighting a stronger opponent and the capability to mimic opponents.

Darkvision: Allows the user to see clearly in low light environments.

Mimicry: Allows the user to develop a lesser version of an ability, skill or magic. Success rate depends on the user’s intelligence, wisdom and understanding of mimicry targets. Costs 100 mana.

Strategist (lvl.3): The skills Survivalist, Trap Maker, Poisoner, and Healer have all merged into Strategist. Strategist allows the user to create a comprehensive plan for action based on available resources and the user’s needs. Costs 5 mana.

The effect of Darkvision was simple enough, yet its implications were significant. Night in the forest was pitch black. While Kai could use Empathic Link to keep a lookout for danger nearby, he otherwise had to come to a complete standstill once the sun went down. Part of the reason why he had made the goblins stock up on combustibles was to help him see should the Facestealers attack at night. Now that was no longer an issue. However, Darkvision also meant more hours in the day, more options in being able to venture out to scout and ambush enemies. Instead of groping blind through enemy territory or waiting for enemies to come to him, Kai could afford to be more proactive in his strategies.

Kai would have been more than happy if Darkvision was all he had gained from the Ximati’s memories. The other effects were troubling though.

“Hey Aux, you there?” Kai asked.

“Yes, I am,” Aux replied. “What is it, Kai?”

“What’s your take on all this?”

“I think that Mimicry will give you options if you ever face off against a magic user.”

“...Yeah, does seem useful. The mana cost is high though; I’ll only have 20 mana left after using it. Considering how most of my skills cost 5 mana per use I should expect to only be able to use a mimicked skill 4 times immediately after I take it.”

“The bonus stats and darkvision will also work to your advantage in this upcoming battle.”

“A little too well.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it. 50 percent is a lot. Sure, if you only have 5 strength like I do then you’re only getting 2 extra points of stats. But Ravenous allows me to gain more stats. As I keep gaining stats the boost becomes exponentially larger. Plus, I’ll always know when I'm fighting someone who is considered ‘stronger’ than me.”

Kai shook his head, a growing feeling of emptiness gnawing at the back of his head.

“It synergizes too well to be a coincidence,” Kai murmured. “No, beyond that it incentivizes me to kill stronger and stronger opponents. Like someone’s trying to dangle a carrot over my head.”

“You think there is someone purposefully influencing your development?”

“Exactly. Why was I teleported here of all places? It’s obvious just from listening to the Ximati that there are places more dangerous than this. Why was I sent right at the very edge of a monster filled forest where I would have the time and opportunities to grow stronger?”

“It could just be a coincidence.”

“It could be. Or someone wants to make me their pawn on a chess board.”

“What will you do if that’s the case?”

“Nothing. So long as I’m chasing after the black box it’ll be obvious what I want. I’ll play along, for now. At least until I get a better understanding of the situation.”

Kai got up from his crouching position. The Facestealer tracks were fresh and though they were close to the goblin village, the way in which they moved didn’t suggest that they would attack tonight. It was more likely they were scouting things out and making their own preparations. Kai started to head back for the village.

“Are you not going to try out your new Strategist skill?” Aux asked.

Kai looked at his new Strategist skill and paused. The change seemed innocent enough but that wasn’t why it made him hesitate. He already knew what the skill was going to suggest. Still, it was best to try it out while he had the time. Kai pressed the skill and a screen popped up.

Do you wish to activate Strategist (lvl.3)?Y/N

Kai accepted and the voice that sounded like the beating of drums echoed in his mind.

“There was sulfur and saltpeter in the Ximati’s storage room.”

“Yeah? And what about it, oh great Strategist?”

You could make gunpowder. You don’t have enough time to make bullets with internal primers, but you could make crude shells filled with gunpowder and shrapnel to toss off the tree. Poison the shrapnel beforehand and even the smallest of puncture wounds will be deadly. In fact, better yet, you could distill nitric acid and sulfuric acid from the sulfur and saltpeter. Then collect tallow from animals and-

“Yeah, yeah, process the tallow into glycerol, then mix it all together to make nitroglycerin and then mix that with an aggregate base to make dynamite. Then shape that into a mold around shrapnel to make makeshift claymore mines which we can activate with a flint trigger positioned inside a gunpowder capsule. Set those up all around the area and the Facestalers will look like swiss cheese by the time they reach the tree. Is that wanted to hear?”

“Yes, actually. Why don’t do that if the thought already occurred to you?”

“Oh, I don’t know Mr. Strategist, it sounds like a great idea that won’t have any cultural repercussions on the development of the Ximati into the near future… Is what you thought I was going to say! We can’t introduce modern weapons into this world! Are you crazy?! If we show one person how to make a gun then before you know it every damn nutjob in this world is going to want a gun. Before we do anything we have to think about how it’ll affect the dynamics of this world.”

“Then why not be more proactive? You know where the Facestealers are. Attack them, not with weapons, but with fire. Shift the terrain and box them in. Gather logs and set fire to the trees. Lead them into a trap where they won’t be able to escape from the smoke and-”

“We’re not doing that either! You literally told me about a group of people that rely on the forest for their survival. Do you want the Ximati to be on the shitlist of whoever lives here when they find us torching the damn place? Your ideas sound great in the short term but you’re not factoring in anything for the long term. There’s no point in saving the Ximati if it’ll just force them into conflict later down the road!”

“I see. Well, your current plans are sufficient for your needs then.”

“Damn straight they are. I knew he was going to suggest that.”

“Can you blame him?” Aux asked. “Not to suggest our plan isn’t concrete but…”

“It’s lacking in one big area. I know. But I can’t run the risk of changing the Ximati for the worse. I can give them hints but they have to be the ones to decide their own paths. If I try to force them to become like me… Well, I’ve already made that mistake once, I can’t do it again.”

“You do realize that what happened at Sailanan was not your fault.”

“Don’t tell me what was and wasn’t my fault! I know what happened and I know that it was me who got those people killed.”

Aux did not reply. It was a quiet walk back to the goblin village filled with deafening silence and an intense hunger wracking the insides of Kai’s head. He was restless and despite himself Kai found that he was eager for the upcoming battle.

Instead of heading back up into the goblins’ tree he sat down at the base in full view of the surrounding area. Mounds of dirt poked out of the ground and thin lengths of rope stretched across the field like strands of gossamer in a spider’s web. Though they were camouflaged by layers of leaves and branches, Kai could see the criss-crossing of pits and trenches in his mind’s eye. The traps were all set. The only thing left to do was wait.

Kai closed his eyes and tried to calm himself. But it was too late. There was a creeping lethality to his thoughts now. An edge that refused to dull. The urge to fight was growing stronger with every passing moment and a bloodlust clouded his mind in a haze of murderous intentions. Sleep came with dreams of many corpses, both Ximati and Facestealers strewn together in heaps of mangled limbs.

It was still night when Kai woke. He had felt the presence of thirty five lights approaching from the distance. He was wrong, then. The siege would come sooner rather than later. Kai got up to warn the rest of the village to prepare but not before he heard the softest, most euphoric of voices ring through his head.

“They’re early. But that’s fine since you’re not going to let a single one of them survive. Isn’t that right, Kai?”

Kai didn't reply. After all, he didn’t know whether the voice was referring to the Facestealers or the Ximati.