“You’re path? I don’t understand. What path are you talking about?”

“How do I explain this… You could say it’s my goal. The one path I can take. I used to think I was walking along a road enveloped in fog. I couldn’t see in front of me. All I could do was move forward not knowing what lies ahead. But you gave me what I needed most. A torch to brighten my sight! I can see the path clearer now. I might not be able to see too far ahead, but I can at least see what’s in front of me.”

“A path like that might not be the correct one, but it is indeed one that you should strive to complete.” The girl and boy duo from before arrives next to us. “I have to admit I never realized a man like you would have such lofty dreams.”

Her eyes are like a swirling vortex. They draw me in before I can respond to her. She seems to be inspecting me. I feel a shiver run down my back as I can sense her scanning all of my body at once. That’s another dangerous girl added to my list.

“Haha. It’s true that I have a big dream. The only thing that can help me become a hero is this strong body of mine.”

“I’d love to see that in the future. Well I must be going now. See you later.” The two leave as quickly as they come. A thought suddenly occurs to me. I could barely feel that boy’s presence even though he was right in front of me. Those two…

“Ah, Cayden! On your back!” Phoebe’s shouts nearly make me jump in shock. It’s a note stuck onto one of my shoulders. On it I find a number and a name.

Malin Cheser **********

“Malin huh? What a strange girl.” All the hair on my body stands up. When I turn around I see Phoebe’s piercing gaze. I swiftly place the note into my pocket and speed towards our room.

As we arrive I collapse onto my bed. It’s been a long day. Fighting Corvus. Meeting Bronya. Searching with Shay and Phoebe. Lilea. The plant giant. And Claudia. Ever since I’ve arrived here I’ve had less and less time to think. It’s quite a nice feeling not having to remember your problems. I shake those thoughts out of my head as I embrace my fatigue and drift off to sleep.

———————————————————————

“That Cayden! He’s truly outdone himself.” Alissa lies on her bed. Only thin cloth covers her alluring figure. Her previous bearing of royalty has disappeared. She giggles from time to time as she surfs through her holocube.

“Miss. I would like to inform you that the main branch has decided to accept your proposal. The allocation of funds towards you has increased. Your position among the family has also been raised. The main branch would also like to congratulate you for catching the attention of the Hand of God.” Sasha stands at the foot of the bed reading off of her own holocube.

“Oh? Why would they suddenly make a move like that? I thought the old bastards didn’t want me to gain power? It definitely isn’t just because I’m now the disciple of the Hand of God. What other conditions did they have for me?”

“There was only one. Pay attention to a certain individual. They did not say who it was, but they did say they have relations with both the Paragon of Protection and the Origin Pryer.”

“Those two freaks? Are they finally looking for a disciple? The Pryer hasn’t had a disciple ever since his debut. He’s only passed on some of his theories to the students he teaches. The Paragon hasn’t found a main disciple among all of his pupils. It seems I must pay attention to this figure. They haven’t given a name, but they at least have an image of them right?”

“Yes Miss.” A screen expands in the air from Sasha’s holocube. On it is the photo of a young man. Boyish features, yet a striking gaze. Messy blonde hair covers their head. Their blue eyes attract those who linger too long on them. A dazzling smile is spread on their face.

“Sasha!”

“I know.”

“... Now this will be interesting.” Alissa can’t stop the smile from forming on her lips. This is truly a miracle. No. This is fate! The only sounds that could be heard from her room that night were laughter.

———————————————————————

“What do you mean sorry!”

Cayden sits on his bed at home. Across from him, Bronya is sitting cross legged. She twirls her hair as she stares innocently at the roof.

“I said I’m sowwy big bro! I did tell you there would be consequences to using that skill.”

“Consequences?! I lost my connection with my core! I can’t access any of my lightning!” When she said consequences I thought she meant I would be bedridden for a couple months. This is even worse than that!

“Well look on the bright side.”

“Yes?”

“Erm… I can’t seem to find one.”

“...” My anger fizzles out watching her continue to act clueless. I can’t bring myself to get mad when I was the one who kept asking her for help. I guess it’s only my bad luck...

“Hey big bro! Don’t be too sad. I’ve got just the thing for your problems!”

“You do?”

“Yes. First of all you’ll need to bathe yourself in a medical mixture made up of these ingredients.” A piece of paper floats in front of Bronya. Thunder Stag Tears? Origin Eruption Seeds? I don’t know anything on the list!

“That’s the easy part. Now you need to practice these sets of exercises. Without the medical bath you’ll most likely die from the strain it puts on your body.”

“...”

“After that you have to eat three cores of a high-level Ripper. They should at least be at the Sergeant rank.”

“Bronya.”

“Yes?”

“Are you messing with me? I can’t do any of that!”

“Oh you can’t? Why not? Doesn’t every hero have some obstacles on their journey? If you can’t get past a small hurdle like this, then what right do you have to call yourself a hero?”

“…”

“Well anyways. You’re making me use my precious essence to be here. On top of that I drafted a perfect plan for you which you immediately refused! I think you should pay me for my services.”

Veins pop out on my forehead. My eyes redden from anger. Through gritted teeth I spit out, “What do you want from me sis?”

Bronya materializes a small orb in her hand. She places it in my hand. “All I want you to do is swallow this. There is nothing harmful about it. It’s actually beneficial for your mind so eat up!”

I observe the orb. It’s similar to a marble. It’s glowing slightly. Something seems fishy about it. I take a hesitant glance at Bronya before downing the orb. A familiar feeling washes over me. I’m entering a mental space again.

As my eyes adjust in the darkness I see a behemoth of a creature standing over me. It looks to be a cross between multiple animals. It has the head of a snake, but the body of a lion. The arms of an ape and the legs of a deer. It’s tail looks like it comes from a crocodile.

It’s releasing pressure as strong as Corvus when he wore his armor. My knees buckle under me. I have no choice but to lay prone. I can only tilt my head up slightly to continue watching the beast.

“Oho? Most people would lose consciousness witnessing my form. And you’re at such a young age too.”

“Who- Are- You?”

“Who am I? Who am I, you ask? I’m one of the most feared existences of the Beast Monolith Domain! The Primordial Ancestor! The Father of Beastkind! The True Gene God! Anyone of my titles would inspire fear in the highest leaders and you ask who I am?”

“...” Bronya you $(#&*(@! Every time I take her word something bad happens! Not taking into account his words, his aura alone eclipses mine and reaches Corvus’ level. He might even be stronger! Even with the enhancements in strength I got, he would probably just need to sneeze and I’d die.

“You still haven’t passed out? You might nearly be as good as the spawn of those Midnight Devils. Hmph. Pretentious bunch they are. Well anyways… where was I? Oh right! Since you’ve entered my territory I should probably kill you.”

“W-W-Wait! A lofty expert like you shouldn’t be bothered with taking care of small fry like me! Isn’t a senior magnanimous to his juniors? Please take pity on a poor ant Gene God sir!”

Gene God looks taken aback by the show I’m putting on. I’ve put my heart and soul into those words! I might talk big about becoming a hero in the future, but I’m not dumb enough to seek death before then.

“Hm… you are right? Taking care of you would surely ruin my reputation. I guess I’ll have mercy on you… if you would care to listen to some tales from this old man?”

“Tales? I mean- tales yes! Tales coming from an expert such as you must be heroic and can stir the hearts of many men!”

“Well said! If I wasn’t used to this I would think you’re wholeheartedly entranced by my strength. Although… you are similar to a certain junior of mine. I remember he was just like you. He kneeled before me asking for my tutelage…”

Gene God continues to dawdle on telling stories about its past as if he was an old veteran in a nursing home. The stories combined with the aura he’s releasing strain my willpower as my eyes lose energy. I quickly force them open as I suddenly felt something bad would happen if I really fell asleep.

“And then I killed 60 experts from the Puppet Clan! Haha! How invigorating!”

“Respect your elders… Respect your elders…”

“I tell you. At Least one beauty a night was all I needed. Of course I was faithful to my wife but a man has his needs, am I right?”

“Finish the story… Finish the story.”

“And then- Oh how long have we been here? It felt like only a few minutes had passed. I swear I really need to get something for the time around here. Oh kid! I forgot you were there.”

“Huhuhuhuh…”

“Ah! Why are you crying young one? Were the tales of my life so moving you burst into tears? I have to say even I would be moved if I told the whole thing! Well you lasted longer than others at least. Up you go.” An unseen force lifts me by the shoulders and makes me stand upright. The tears on my face have already dried up.

“So why are you here again, young one?”

Before I can open my mouth I realize something important. Why have I come here? Bronya gave me the orb and that’s it. She really didn’t say much… “Senior. I came here to open my mind!”

“Eh? What’s there to open? If I do it right now you’ll die. All of your brain will turn into mush. Do you still want me to open up your head?”

“No, I wish to obtain knowledge from you senior! Please don’t open my head!” I bow my head with enough force to leave cracks on the ground. Hot liquid flows down my face. I don’t know if I can get killed in a mental space, but I don’t want to be the first person that finds out if they can.

“Knowledge? Do I have any knowledge? Ah! I know. Take this kid.” Gene God points his finger at me. A substance similar to mist is released from the tip of it. The mist enters through my nose and mouth.

I prepare myself for pain, but nothing happens. “Huh? I thought there would be something mo-“ I lose consciousness once again. The last thought I can muster is to curse myself for being defenseless against mental skills.

“Hm… I seem to have forgotten the side effects of this. Oh well.” Gene God sits down in a more comfortable position before observing his guest. He wonders if he’ll be able to gain anything from his little “play”.

———————————————————————

“It’s quite a calm night tonight...” A bearded man sits on a stump near a blazing bonfire. His oily fingers fiddle with the bone in his hands. Pieces of meat are still present on the bone.

Around him sits many more men. They come as varied as the pebbles on the grounds. The only thing similar among all of them is their apparel. They all wear the same leather armor adorned with feathers on it’s shoulders.

The bearded man waves his hand behind him. “Oi, newcomer. Come here and clean up the mess.” A young man exits a nearby tent holding a shovel. He promptly digs a hole and throws the dirt over the flames. The bones are placed in the hole before he covers them with dirt.

The bearded man and the rest of the men get up from their seats and move to their respective tents. The young man waits near the fire waiting for the embers to die out. He sighs as he looks up at the night sky. Cayden wonders how long he’s been in this place.

I poke at the remnants of the flames before deciding it’s been put out. I walk to my tent and lay down on the floor. “I hope everyone else is doing alright.”

When I passed out I woke up in a forest. I thought that Gene God had taken me back to Lilea's forest if it weren’t for the unfamiliar stars in the sky. I’d gone to search for a way back home when I accidentally stumbled upon a battle between these people and a few monsters.

I jumped straight into the fight to help the people, but I was quickly incapacitated by the monsters. After they nursed me back to health they said I was in debt to them for saving my life. I didn’t like their rotten attitudes, but they did save me. I’ve been stuck doing menial labor for them ever since I joined their little group.

They say they’re part of some sort of mercenary group They’re only a small troop of a bigger legion. Their reason for being around here is that they’re guarding a merchant’s caravan as a commission. If you get past all the work they place on me, they’re all pretty easygoing guys.

CRACK

“Huh? Who’s there?” I think the noise came from the bushes. I carefully tread towards the bushes maximizing my concentration for any signs of movement. As I get closer I can’t help but feel a shiver go down my spine.

I instinctively drop down on the ground. A club sweeps by just above me. Cold sweat runs down my back. I would’ve lost my head if I hadn’t moved fast enough.

As I roll away from the bushes a massive figure appears from them. Green, mottled skin covered in scars. Blank eyes that seem to hunger for flesh. I curse under my breath. Only one creature fits that description from the stories I’ve heard. If what the mercenaries have said were true, than this is a...

“WE’RE BEING ATTACKED! IT’S A TROLL!”

My senses are pushed to their limits. I await the response from the mercenaries. I could probably fend off one of these trolls, but they usually never come alone. Their regeneration also rivals mine so I can’t give them any lasting wounds.

One of the mercenaries seems to have woken up as lights appear from behind me. The troll, noticing the light, retreats into the darkness of the forest. We were too late. Now that it knows our position. We need to leave before it brings back more of its friends.

“Men, pack your bags. We’ve got to be gone by sunrise. Those bastards can track our scent if we don’t make enough distance.” The leader directs his men to pack the tents and supplies into wagons.

“Oi newbie. As a reward for warning us take this.” He throws me a crystal. It’s completely smooth on its eight sides. It glows a faint blue light.

“Sir, what is this?”

“It’s what I call an ‘Experience Fragment’. If you use it you can learn whatever technique is stored in there. I got this one while killing beasts near the border. It’s been taking up room in my personal collection for a while so you can have it.”

“Ah! Thank you very much sir!” I pocket the crystal and continue to move the supplies to the wagons. At around halfway til sunrise we manage to store all of our supplies in the wagons and begin our journey.

As I lay on the hardwood floor of the wagon I begin to mess around with the

crystal. Hmm. I never asked him how I use this thing? I try various commands like ‘Open’ or ‘Accept’, but none of them work. I even tried to take a bite of it, but nearly broke my teeth in the process.

My experiments are cut short when I hear a scream from behind the wagons. As I move the cloth covering the wagon, I look out and see one of the mercenaries being brutally torn apart by a troll. The troll bites his upper half off leaving his lower half messily lying on the ground.

I soon hear more screams as more trolls appear from the surrounding forest of the road. One of the mercenaries lights a fire repelling the trolls before he is promptly splattered over one of the wagons by a thrown club.

Scenes of carnage can be seen everywhere on the road. A mercenary grasping the stump of what was previously his arm. A lady being dragged into the forest by a troll. My eyes turn red witnessing this tragedy.

Before I can get out of the wagon to help people, an overwhelming force topples my wagon to its side. As I look up I notice an especially large troll standing over us. My eyes lose focus as my consciousness leaves me.