“You ready, Sam?”

Eric’s young friend grinned, gearing fully up in a patchwork affair of mercenary armor they had adjusted to fit Samuel’s steadily blossoming frame. Thanks to sparring with saber, pilum, and cultivation, his strength was increasing at a phenomenal rate compared to any mortal, for all that it could so easily be mistaken for a late growth spurt. All that aside, Eric was just happy to see his cheerful friend so vibrant and healthy, now looking far more like a high school varsity athlete than the emaciated bookworm he had been just a month or so ago.

He patted his crossbow, exercising proper discipline with his weapon pointed up and away from Eric. “Ready when you are, boss. Can’t wait for the hunt, and to see if that experience will actually equal a cultivation boost!”

Eric nodded. “That’s the next step, since it seems like you don’t get much when I’m killing creatures off at a distance, even if we are still partied up.”

“I think I get something,” Sam corrected with a thoughtful tilt of his head. Then he shrugged. “Or maybe it’s just because I can sort of see the Qi flowing through you when we cultivate facing each other and we’re still in a party. Honestly, I think that’s helped me at least as much as the manual itself.”

Eric smiled. “Then I’m glad I’m at least that useful. You remember the plan?”

The boy dutifully nodded. “We’ll go looking for any of the smaller boar still local to the area closest to the realm gate, where the spiritual energy is at its weakest and the boar, well, smallest. Then you’ll choose a target, weaken it, and let me finish it off.”

Eric nodded, sparing one final glance for the corner of the cavern covered in sigils and summoning circles of chalk, with no less than five boar hides he had carefully stripped of anything that could turn foul before treating with trace amounts of Essence of Dominion, just enough to preserve them, and all of them covered in complex chalk tracings that it had taken countless hours under a surprisingly harsh instructor to master.

Sam grinned wickedly when he caught Eric’s gaze. “Already worried about your next lesson? You should be. Connecting five summons into one binding is absolutely insane, and I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you struggling just to get the sigils right. But hell, it’s good practice, even if you don’t dare try it for real until you have years of practice under your belt. You know. Like every other necromancer out there.”

Eric winced at that. “I think you might be giving me a bit too much credit.”

Sam snorted. “Hardly. You’re such a prodigy it makes me sick. But seriously, I think it’s good that you’re willing to learn it the right way, scribing the entire ritual with chalk. You’re expanding your own comprehension beyond the instinctive path of Blood Mastery, awesome as that gift might be. Because even if this is something you actually have to struggle for, at least you can better appreciate the path that countless generations before us have dared to walk. And you better believe I’m making you memorize every sigil of every circle-binding perfectly before we connect them. No hacks allowed this time, because this is the only way you can safely learn it until you’ve stabilized your cultivation foundation.”

Eric laughed. “Yeah, I know. Because blood magic is forbidden to both of us, at least for now. You still have channels to clear, and I need mine in pristine condition before I set out to do something really stupid in the next day or so. Having to struggle and learn all the sigils via chalk, without the help of my crimson gift blazing them onto my memory, just means I actually had to put in some sweat and time into actually studying, just like everyone else.”

Sam snorted. “Yeah, but even Master Grim would be happy to see you doing this with actual blood magic. It’s one thing to learn the theory, and you’re actually learning it. But you won’t know how channeling that much power hits you until you actually do it. And thinking you can link 5 into a single permanent summons before you’ve even mastered controlling a single revenant is crazy.”

Eric laughed. “You’re right, it is.” His gaze hardened. “I’m not an idiot, Sam. Of course I will only start with one. But at least you’re teaching me how far I can push this craft. So that when I’m ready, I know I’ll be able to link two together. Then three. And then I’ll go from there.” He gazed with newfound appreciation for the ring Grim had gifted him. A ring he still had yet to put on, not daring the surge of necromantic power that would release, and the price he might be forced to pay.

Sam paled and looked away, gazing down at his own ring, nearly identical, with a look Eric couldn’t begin to decipher. “Just remember everything I taught you before you put on that ring, Eric. Promise?”

Eric nodded. His friend’s demeanor immediately brightened. “Alright then, let’s go bag ourselves some fresh boar!”

Perception check made. You’ve spotted your prey!

Eric put finger to lips and went utterly still as Sam continued to hum and pace as they made their way along a natural boar path between the peach trees rustling quietly in the breeze. Eric’s nose picked up the musky scent of wild boar, a sharp, pungent note to the collage of wildflowers, rich loamy soil, and peach blossoms given off by the forest at large.

Then a spirit boar burst through the underbrush, just a handful of yards away.

Sam cried out, stumbling on his butt, so slowly Eric had more than enough time to slide back and lift Sam back to his feet before lining up the boy’s crossbow and hissing for Sam to fall down into a sniper’s crouch halfway behind the nearest tree. A flushing Sam quick did just that, giving himself both camouflage and protection against any potentially charging boar, while drawing a bead on their prey.

Eric frowned down at a trembling Sam as the boar squealed once more, the foam-flecked beast’s hot red eyes glaring their way as it prepared to charge.

“Alright, I’m about to distract him. You know the plan. Once he shows you his flank, all his attention on me, you’re going to shoot your bolts at your target, one at a time. Understood?”

Eric frowned down at the trembling youth. “Earth to Sam. You good with the plan?”

The boy jerked a quick nod and Eric tried to hide the disappointment from his face as he turned to confront the now charging boar.

He had been surprised to see the normally cheerful Sam trembling with terror.

This was the smallest boar Eric had faced in weeks.

Quickness check made! You have dodged your prey!

And not only was it a runt, compared to the monsters he had been facing to the west, it was slow, too.

Surprisingly so.

He frowned to himself while weaving past goring tusks as he worked to get his squealing target in perfect position for Sam’s shot.

Had the boars in this area always been this slow? Had they always been this clumsy on their feet?

Or had he just gotten faster?

“Sam, now!” Eric called out, a short sharp bark to get his friend’s attention.

But there was nothing.

No sound of crossbow bolts being released, and Eric was afraid to end it way too soon with his bardiche.

His frustration at parrying increasingly frenzied tusks with the shaft of his weapon turned to a smile of unbridled glee.

He decided it was high time to try a certain mad technique again, even if he had nearly gotten gored for his daring in the past. But that had been before he achieved Rank 12 cultivation.

Now he thought it high time he put his friend’s lessons to good use, his bardiche instantly slipping into storage. Eric began laughing with wild mirth as he embraced a new challenge, happy to deflect furious tusks and goring charges with quick jabs and powerful hooking blows with his armored gauntlet that was more than enough to knock the boar’s fearsome tusks aside as the air rang with the crack of fist against bone, and Eric thought it a wonder that it wasn’t his fingers breaking when all was said and done.

But it seemed that a 7 in Physical Resistance really did mean something, or maybe it was all the training he had done against pell, beast hide, and stone. Either way, it seemed that his fists had gotten pretty damned tough.

Yet that didn’t entirely explain the fierce exhilaration he felt, darting around his foe to pound against its flanks with a fierce sort of abandon, feeling wild and free, like he was an extension of the glorious river of Fire Qi flowing through his meridians. Perhaps even a part of something deeper. An extension of the world and the spiritual energy flowing through them all. Stranger still, for all that his gauntlets both protected his hands and added deadly hardness and weight to his blows, he couldn’t quite shake the feeling that they were somehow getting in the way.

He laughed at the madness of his own daring as those gauntlet covered fists knocked aside furious tusks one final time, right before Eric surrendered to his impulse to fight the beast before him bare-handed, slipping past a once more charging boar to strike its flanks as it passed.

Before being momentarily frozen with awe when his pounding fist resulted in a lot more than a single broken rib.

It was all he could do, in fact, to stay on his feet when a massive discharge of something slammed into the beast’s flank with such force that the flesh caved in as if struck by a massive shockwave as the tusker squealed and toppled over, a gout of fire erupting from its maw.

Eric’s awed gaze fixated upon the tusker, visibly steaming even as it thrashed, wheezing for air from what might well have been flame-touched lungs for long seconds before its eyes glazed over in death.

Heart racing, Eric wasn’t even sure how to process what had just happened, retreating into the only calming technique he had ever come close to mastering, one he had practiced for countless hours this past month and a half, cycling the wild, whipping storm of Fire Qi in his soul back into a semblance of control.

As his Qi flow steadied, so too did his racing thoughts, his look of confused incomprehension and unexpected fear slowly easing into a bemused grin.

“Eric? Eric, what the hell just happened?”

An awed Sam, his trembling fingers gently touching the steaming carcass with a hiss, turned to gaze at Eric with something close to disbelief. “You absolute fucker. You actually did it, didn’t you?”

Eric grinned. “You know what? I think I did.” He chucked softly, shaking his head. “As to whether or not I’ll be able to repeat it, well, only time will tell.”

“Are you kidding? Fuck yes, you’re going to be able to repeat it! How do you feel? Are you drained? Dizzy? Okay?” His friend’s enthusiastic smile grew worried. “You didn’t strain your meridians, did you?”

Eric frowned thoughtfully, before shaking his head. “No, nothing like that. My spiritual flow was a little bit choppy there for a few seconds. But I guess that’s to be expected. First time I ever did anything like that, and I clearly don’t even know what I’m doing well enough for the System to grant me even a Novice title.”

“Well okay, let’s go track ourselves another spirit boar, and lock you that skill!”

Eric grinned at his friend’s enthusiasm. “Sure, buddy. Let’s do just that.” He then furrowed his brow. “And I can’t help noticing that someone hasn’t loosed a single crossbow bolt.”

Sam winced and paled. “Yeah I...” the boy sighed, lowering his gaze. “Eric, I’m sorry. I know I talk a lot of shit, all excited about gaining a class, adventuring… but when the two of you fought… I swear, Eric, the killing intent you two were giving off, I couldn’t move a fucking muscle.”

Eric’s young friend gave a shaky laugh, soft brown eyes both rueful and apologetic. “I was fucking terrified. And you two were moving so fast, I… shit, you were almost a blur! It was like trying to follow a featherweight’s flurry of punches but your blows were even faster. So was the boar. No creature should be able to move that fast. It was fucking supernatural!”

Eric gazed at his friend for long moments, before relenting with a smile, rubbing the kid’s head. “Yeah, spirit beasts are no joke. Now that I think about it, even the ones near the gate were pretty fast. At least they seemed that way when I first got here.”

“Hey, hands off the curls! No one but my girlfriend. That’s the rule.”

Eric chuckled. “Don’t feel too bad about it, Sam. We all freeze up sometimes. Best get it out of your system now.” He flashed a smile just as hard as his friend’s had been, when he had made Eric draw every single necromantic symbol from scratch the other day. Before making Eric repeat it all a dozen times while the young taskmaster happily ate Eric’s portion of lunch… as they had agreed, if he made even a single mistake. Which he had.

“Because you’re right, Sam. We both have to take on those boars until I know what the fuck I am doing with my Qi, and you actually squeeze that trigger.”

Sam winced. “You’re just punishing me because I was rubbing those lessons in your face all week.”

“Damn right I am,” Eric said with a chuckle. “But seriously, all the instruction you’re giving me? I’m beyond grateful, even if I still have a bloody hard time memorizing a bunch of chalk sigils, especially when essence-infused blood rituals come so much easier to me. And how fucked up is that? Anyway, I finally have someone who can make sense of my hunches, help me fill in the blanks, and make up for all the background training and work I should have had before paying the price with my own life force, cutting way too many corners. Because until I met you, pretty much all I had was my intuition and death breathing down my neck, time and time again. Thank you for that, buddy. You’re lessons are probably saving my life, and the least I can do in return is make sure you don’t freeze up the next time we hunt.“

His friend’s smirk turned pained. “I don’t know if that’s actually going to happen, Eric. They… the bodyguards Grandfather insisted upon, so skilled with their spears after years involved with the SCA or HEMA, or working as stuntmen on multiple martial-arts movie sets… Well, they only managed to get a single boar, the one that’s now just a bone guardian, before they all went down.”

Eric blinked at that, his lighthearted demeanor instantly fading to one far more solemn, in deference to lives tragically lost. “Sounds like they were good men who did everything they could to give you a fighting chance.”

Sam nodded. “They did. And I will always, always be grateful to them. But Eric, they lost their lives fighting a boar even closer to the entrance than we are now, and it was considerably smaller than the tusker you just fucking punched to death.”

Haunted eyes looked up into Eric’s own. “They gored me too. You saw how bad it was. Had I not buried myself under my own dead bodyguards, did I not know a basic cantrip to mask my smell so that it mirrors the dead at least long enough for me to finally find shelter, I would have perished right alongside them. Yet despite all my efforts, I still came damn close to joining them with an injury that turned septic. An injury that should have killed me.”

“But it didn’t,” Eric said, giving Sam a reassuring smile.

His friend flashed a rueful smile. “But it should have. So thanks again for saving my life.”

Sam squeezed his fists and shook as Eric gently put the crossbow back in storage, patting his friend’s shoulder. “You’re more than welcome. And maybe I should have been a bit more sensitive to how you’d feel, facing the creatures that had come so close to killing you. Because the bottom line is, I’m here to help you. Help you try to infuse some Potency into your cultivation and overcome a very understandable fear. But I’m not a tyrant. So if you want to head back to the cave, just say the—“

Eric froze, stilling the question he saw on Sam’s lips with a single squeeze of the boy’s shoulder and a firm shake of his head, as sounds that promised to change absolutely everything filled the forest. Utterances that put a sharp, sudden end to what had almost felt like a training retreat as the harsh guttural words of a language Eric had never heard before, with strange peaks and diphthongs utterly alien to any human tongue, caressed his ears.

And how strange it felt, Eric thought, when it all suddenly clicked and he understood every word. No matter that he wanted to scream for the feel of alien tendrils slithering within his mind.

Sam turned his way, a curious look upon his brow. “Eric, are y—“

“Quiet!” Eric hissed, turning to his friend. “People conversing up ahead. Maybe a hundred yards off. We’re not alone.”

Sam blinked, instantly paling. “You can hear a conversation a hundred yards off in the woods, with trees rustling overhead? Shit, what is your… never mind. Eric, if newbloods actually jumped through the portal… we gotta help them, or they’re as good as dead!”

But before his friend could race toward the entrance, Eric’s hand held him back. “Sam, hold up!”

Sam winced. “Eric, you’re too fucking strong...” before paling under Eric’s frustrated glare.

“You’re not thinking this through, Sam. Just because you came through with good intentions… just because I came through to rescue you… doesn’t mean you should greet everyone else with open arms.

Sam scowled. “Eric, chill, man. Believe it or not, I met a lot of adventurers. Most are pretty chill, actually. They’re not all bloodthirsty psychos like NPC extras. They have hopes, dreams, and often families like everyone else. They were either desperate or forced into the pods and actually survived class up. That’s the only difference.” He then frowned. “Even if two thirds of them are ex cons with impulse issues, which is how they ended up in the pods in the first place, the rest are just men and women desperate to feed their families, and they’re grateful as all hell that they now have the tools to protect and take care of their own. Adventuring Guilds led by the latter folk have great reputations. They’re run by people as kind, thoughtful, and decent as you could imagine having dinner with, always giving Grim great value, sharing their insights, wisdom, and experiences, for the meals and silver he shares with them.”

Sam chuckled. “And even the hotblooded ex cons weren’t psychopaths, Eric. Hell, from what you told me, you’re close as kin to Morlekai and his surviving crew! You just know to water the drinks and hide the Silver, as grandpa would joke.”

Yet all the while Sam tried to justify a friendly approach, he was at least savvy enough to keep his voice to a soft whisper, Eric measuring the quartet of invaders he could just barely make out through the foliage, a surge of heat flooding his features as his heart skipped a beat. Unable to believe what he thought he had seen, but a second look left no doubt.

Skin the color of ebony, exquisite, flawless features, and eyes a brilliant shade of red. Yet the most distinct feature, Eric thought, besides the shimmering mail hauberks radiating a confusing mix of both Spiritual and Arcane energies that made him think their shirts of chain mail were all magical treasures, were their upswept ears more exaggerated than most elven clans.

Dark elves.

Peering intently all around, hands on the hilts of swords secured in bejeweled scabbards of exotic beast hide secured by silvered steel chains to a thick belt, clearly designed with both comfort and practicality in mind. They were suspended scabbards clearly designed for the fast-draw, as Eric saw for himself when the leftmost one immediately spun around to face an enraged boar squealing and charging the intruders.

Only for it to crash to the ground as a massive rent followed the flash of brilliant alloy, the boar’s massive chest suddenly spurting a shower of crimson goar.

But the most striking thing of all about that slightly curved blade that looked so much like the predecessor of the katana, a three and a half foot long tachi with a silk-bound hilt that allowed it to be gripped comfortably in one hand or two, was that only the last foot was covered in the boar’s crimson gore, cleaned with a single flick of the wrist before the weapon was sheathed once more, the swordsman sneering down at the boar.

A cold shiver of apprehension raced down Eric’s spine.

That massive rent had caused by far more than a single foot of steel had cleaved through that tusker.

But the chill he felt was nothing compared to the awe he felt when his interface dinged with a message he had never expected to see outside video games he would never be able to play again.

Congratulations! Infravision is now Rank 19! Arcane Perception (Magesight enhanced Infravision) has evolved to detect Spiritual anomalies as well!

Infravision has evolved into Unified Perception!

Unified Perception is now Rank 20!

Adept Tier Find Weakness has successfully synergized with Unified Perception!

You have learned the Hidden Adept Tier Skill: Identify at Rank 1!

You may now Identify any target with a Perception-based skill check! Increasing Perception (and mastery of this skill) will allow you ever greater understanding of your foes. (And possible glimpses into their strengths, weaknesses, and motivations!)

You have identified The Chief Characteristics of the Martial Cultivator Before you!

____________________________________

Dark Elf Cultivator. Rank – 30 / Specialization – Wind. / Cultivation Techniques – Unknown

Strength - 35

Vitality - 30

Finesse - 40

Quickness - 53

Appearance - 15

Spiritual Energy - 52