If there was any solace to learning Elvish, it was the similarities to Seraphim. Across all four dialects, there were several links that Jake could trace to the ancient language. Familiar words, familiar rules, similar spellings. However, where the four dialects split was in their pronunciations and the way their alphabet systems worked. The grammar systems were all different, almost broken in the case of the Mirïn to the point that it almost seemed like spoken gibberish. From what he could understand, Mirïn was almost child-like. The vocabulary was skimpy and lacked depth. The alphabet was practically images to be drawn with words attached to the combinations. When speaking, the structure was beyond simplistic. Child-like was a perfect definition for the dialect.

“No wonder there are hardly any books on it,” Jake huffed as he dropped the Mirïn dictionary to the table. He swept up a Sag’resh book next and continued.

Sag’resh was further along in its development. It still couldn’t be called a full language, as the dictionary and research texts Jake had collected were still rather thin when it came to the girth of its vocabulary, but it was much further along than Mirïn. After learning Beast and Seraphim, and then comparing them to Common tongue, Jake learned that for a language to be considered “full” it needed to have a standard vocabulary capacity similar to the other languages. Otherwise there would be far too many gaps and inconsistencies between the languages.

In essence; if Jake couldn’t find proper translations or perform them, then there would be difficulties speaking. An example would be if Jake pointed at a fish. If the other language had no term for the object, “fish”, then a gap in communication would appear. Now, of course, Jake could come up with a word in the new language and transpose it himself to expand the language. However, if the native speakers of the language didn’t adopt the word universally then he would just be wasting his time. Thus, Jake paid close attention to the gaps. He found the holes and voids where communication might fail with the native speakers and began developing ways to teach them newer terms. Words that fit their alphabets and follow the rules of their language systems already.

Due to Seraphim being one of the foundational languages of the Overworld, he wasn’t able to do it with that one. However, he found words in Seraphim that hadn’t existed in Common or Beast. There were few he could perform the task with successfully, as Jake needed to properly understand the definitions enough to understand the foreign words, especially when it came to idioms, but they were good practice. There were even fewer between Beast and Common as both were already full languages with complete translations between one another. On the other end of the spectrum, Common to Mirïn was where he’d have to put in effort. If Jake had to put it to a proportional scale, Common had one-thousand words. Mirïn had one hundred.

“They must live in isolation,” he muttered. It was the only logical explanation. With such a skimpy vocabulary, Mirïn native speakers likely lived in places without much development or far from the rest of the Overworld’s people. Little interaction with foreign entities and new things was a probable cause for the lack of development. Sag’resh was a similar case but not to the same extent. At least with Sag’resh, Jake didn’t feel like a babbling toddler.

Sag’resh had its own issues so it wasn’t perfect. Sag’resh lacked filler vocabulary and was very straightforward. Only necessary words were used in speaking. There was no “the”, “is”, “are”. There were no gender rules and there were no “but”, “and”, or “either”. There were also no summary words like “all”, which was a pain. If Jake wanted to make note of several different things, say a pen, book, and paper, he would need to specify all three items. He couldn’t just say “those items on the desk”. Instead, it would be more “items on desk. Pen, book, paper.”

The gaps in Sag’resh were more or less inconvenient than anything. From what he learned, there were a lot of hand gestures and pointing involved. The Sag’resh speakers were hunters and typically lived in quiet places with lots of predators, so while they did speak and had a language, hand signals and body language were far more important to learn. An interesting detail that Jake hoped he wouldn’t have to deal with. Having to speak with his hands seemed more animalistic than the toddler speak.

Thankfully, when it came to Quela, it was easier. Quela was the primary language of the Elves. It was the most spoken amongst the race and seemed to spread the furthest. It was their Common tongue and was fully developed and able to be translated easily. There were also plenty of resources available to learn the language in a standard educational setting. With actual published books rather than just notebooks transcribed to parchment available, Jake figured the typical Elf would speak Quela.

Sandrin was the ancient form of Quela. A dead language, per say. From what the research books shared, Sandrin did not have a native tribe anymore and had gone extinct at some point. However, it wasn’t a forgotten tongue. While there was no tribe or group of Elves that spoke it as their primary tongue, Sandrin was considered a royal language now. Elders, nobles, and higher ranking Elves were taught the language to conduct political business with. Priests and other religious individuals learned it for prayers and used the language to speak with Sprites, Fairies, and other nature-based entities within the region. While typical Elves didn’t speak it casually and never learned it, to know Sandrin was to be considered special in some regard. If Jake came across someone who spoke Sandrin, he would need to keep that in mind.

He would make sure to learn it well, too. The Elves might try to speak it in front of him to conceal things from him or privatize their own internal conversation, thinking he might not know it.

“I should probably hide that I know Elvish in the first place,” he mused. Speaking in Elvish tongue right off the bat might come back to bite him. If they learned that he could speak it, it might backfire. They might question him as to where he learned it and might withdraw from meeting with him in order to speak with each other in private, considering whether or not to trust him or treat him as a potential threat. If he played the fool, he might be able to get more information from them.

Of course, he would only do so in a formal setting if he met with some Elven council members of some kind or whoever their leadership was, if he ever met them. A traveling Elf in passing might find comfort in someone speaking their native tongue. Especially if they’ve had to deal with Common tongue all over the place.

“Time and place. Time and place…” he mumbled, his eyes rolling over the pages of the Sag’resh text. He snapped it closed after some time and set it down on the table. Though he had been reading, he found himself unable to retain anything more. Right on time, too

The hourglass in the center of the room emptied and Jake let out a tired huff. The night was ending. It was morning in the Overworld by now. He didn’t originally plan to spend the entire evening in the Library but found himself engrossed in the four dialects. Elvish speak was interesting and quite the puzzle to be put together. He hadn’t quite learned enough to be fluent in any of them but had learned a basis of each. Enough to put simple sentences together or translate if he needed to. Fluency would come in the next few evenings. He’d start with Mirïn, due to its simplicity, and then Sandrin as he had made the most progress with them. Sag’resh and Quela would be last. He didn’t expect to come across any Elves for a while so there wasn’t any rush in learning either of those. He’d expect them to speak to him in Common tongue anyways so he wouldn’t stress over them.

Yet, he wouldn’t be so foolish as to put them off for long. Learning Quela could prove to be the key to finding out where Darius’s family was and in pinpointing his true destination. Once he knew where he was truly headed, Jake would consult a map within the Library to finalize his route. He had taken some time during one of his breaks to look over a map of the Overworld and learned both of his current location and the general location of where the Elves lived. In doing so, he learned just how long of a journey he had ahead of him.

There were several thousand miles between him and the Elf territories and the nearest port where he may be able to hitch a ride on a ship was several months worth of walking away. Both prospects were mind boggling and he felt tired just thinking about it.

He’d be gone from home for several years if he didn’t find a quicker way north than by foot. If he traveled by sea, he could cut the time down by several months but even then he was looking at a year long trip in either direction.

“I wonder how Helena is making the trip.” He stared down at the books on the table as he thought about his companions. Helena and Lydia were on foot, at least they were in the Ravine. How they traveled into the Ravine originally, he wasn’t sure. Jake did know of a few passageways to the surface that the Oryx used so they had likely headed for one of them to return to the surface. From there, how they traveled was unknown. If it were by foot, he assumed they would be heading for a port city as well to ride on a ship. Unless they had another means of travel. Horseback would be difficult and long for the women by themselves. Jake had no doubt that Helena could handle herself but with the Hafling to take care of…

“She’ll be fine,” he spat. He pushed in the chair he’d sat in a few times and collected the scattered books into neat stacks. Cleaning up brought his distracted mind back into the present and Jake quickly set upon returning order to the disorganized mess in front of him. He had taken several trips back to the upper floor to grab more books, resulting in several towers being made out of paper and leather. He organized them as best as he could by dialect and then organized his notebooks near the seat.

Then, he began the multiple trips to return the books to their designated shelves. Unlike the books that were on the study room’s internal bookshelf, the language resources weren’t ones he could leave out. Other magicians, scholars, and researchers would likely be looking to use the books in his absence. Thus, he wasn’t allowed to take them permanently off the shelves. Even if he would have to acquire them the next evening. Due to the distortion of time between the two realms, there was far too long of a gap that would transpire before Jake returned. There was also the potential for Jake to get caught up in the Overworld and unable to return at night. If that happened, then there would be even more of a problem.

Four trips up and down the steps later, Jake was finished with his labor. He tucked his notebooks away onto the shelf to keep them out of the way and then walked to the return sigil. He stepped onto the stone object, channeled his mana, and then awoke in his stone hut.

Cracking his physical eyes open, Jake grumbled. Darkness met his gaze as well as a bone-deep chill. The fire runes must have run out of mana earlier than he expected and the stone hut had lost much of its heat. The lack of insulation was to blame. That and the environment outside of the stone walls wasn’t exactly warm either. The higher elevation was proving to be just as annoying as the desert.

Not wanting to be cold for long, Jake stuck his hand out of his sleeping back and dumped mana into the fire pit. The runes at the bottom ignited, flaring to life as they began radiating heat with renewed vigor. Jake then whirled a hot gust through the room to quickly dispel the cold air, returning himself to comfort. Only then did he pull apart the buttons sealing him inside of his cloth cocoon to truly start his day.

Jake splashed water on his face to help himself wake up and then filled his belly. He ate a little more than usual, preparing for the grueling day ahead of him.. After dismantling his evening shelter, he checked his gear and ensured he was ready for combat should the need arise. He checked his mana flow, tested its strength and performed a brief condition check of his mana capacity. It took two days to steadily refill his reserves after expending almost all of it on the bridge. The process took much longer than anticipated largely due to him not being able to cultivate. Stopping to do so would have cut into his travel time. Though he wasn’t in a rush, Jake wanted to cross the mountain range as quickly as possible. Once he was through, he would slow his pace. The forest on the far side would provide more survival resources and he figured a town or village would be close by. If he could find a road of some kind, he might even find someone traveling in the same direction that might help him.

Jake just wanted to get out of the wilderness and move from cross-country travel to something with more direction to it. If Jake could orient himself using pathways already traveled with signs of other people around, he could at least have the peace of mind that he was heading in a proper direction. Out in the middle of nowhere, Jake had little to follow except the sun and his busted compass. To get to that peace of mind, Jake first needed to breach the mountains.

He stared up at the distance peaks, his eyes tracing the steep cliffs and the rocky exteriors of the massive towers of stone. Though his eyes stared intently towards them, he wasn’t looking for anything in particular. He simply marveled their size and mused over how long it might take him to scale such a distance. The Ravine was one thing but those peaks seemed beyond even his reach.

Taking in a breath, Jake cinched down the straps to his pack and trudged into the pass. The mountain passageway he was taking was a natural cut between two mountains. It wasn’t a perfect pathway by any means. It was more a low point between the two peaks that allowed for him to walk through without having to scale the entire peaks. The entry to the pass was an increasingly steep incline, forcing Jake to dig in his feet and drive his legs. While easy to walk at first, the slope very quickly became intense. His quads burned and his calves tightened with every step. Even with the weight reduction rune on his pack, his shoulders stiffened and his back tensed. He weaved through trees and avoided marshy ground, sticking to the more solid rock where he could find it.

On either side of him, tall cliffs began to stretch skyward. Jake knew he was truly within the passage when those walls seemed to close in on him. Loose rocks and boulders forced him to avoid certain routes and provided plenty of warning to keep his wits about him as he climbed. Halfway up, Jake crossed a thin, bubbling stream that trickled down from the peaks. Likely melted snow that had made its way down from the higher elevations. Moss clung to the rocks next to the tiny stream and patches of grass grew sporadically, revealing that even in the harsher environment, life found a way.

After what felt like hours of walking up a stubborn cliff, the ground finally started to level and Jake’s legs sighed in relief. Jake had continued to regulate his fatigue with his Light magic but chose to reduce the intervals of it. He let his body ache and hurt naturally, aiming to develop the muscles in his legs properly. He would need to keep a proper balance. Plus, he would need his magic for fighting if an enemy appeared.

Staying between the peaks, Jake continued his difficult ascent. He paused regularly to stretch and drink water, then twice to take a nibble on some food to energize himself. The calorie loss was getting to him, as was the steady increase in fatigue. Hiking was not a hobby he wanted to get used to.

At midday, Jake reached the high point of his climb. The ground flattened out for a distance and he finally was able to open his stride. The space between the mountains widened and the cliffs leveled into steep walls, keeping him bracketed in but they funneled him forward. The trees, once sporadic, were non-existent, however. The ground was a mix of gray and white. All stone and rock with mud where traces of water pooled in the gaps. Walking wasn’t easy due to the loose nature of the ground but he was able to move at a quicker pace now that he didn’t have to put his knee to his chest for every step.

Then, he spotted that which he was waiting for.

Three hundred meters ahead, standing on top of a large boulder, a large four-legged creature rose up from its laying posture. Snow white fur coated its body from its black button nose to the tips of its two tails. A large, ivory-colored horn jutted out from between two large, icy eyes. A long snout stuck out of its face with two massive fangs stabbing downward from its upper jaw.

Jake dug in his feet and immediately took a staggered stance, his eyes narrowing as he sighted the potential threat. Aside from birds and small animals, this was the largest creature he’d encountered thus far. From that horn and those teeth, he felt it safe to assume it likely wasn’t friendly.

“And neither are any of you…” He mumbled, his eyes sweeping the rocks as several shadows began to move around him.

The beast wasn’t alone. Three… Four… Six… Ten.

Jake counted eighteen total threats, all looming in the rocks. Several made themselves visible, stepping out onto the rocks and peering down at him from their perches. Others slinked in the dark spots, alluding his sight. His estimate was hard to take to heart as it was possible for there to be more, but also less. The creatures were scuffling around everywhere it seemed, shifting back and forth. If he listened, he could hear their paws scratching at the rocks as they moved about. A net was being formed. They were boxing him in.

“Smart.” Jake kept his hands off his swords and continued to walk, cutting down the distance between him and the beast to his front. Jake decided to minimize his threat presence as much as he could. Doing so would invite them to be braver and possibly give away more of their numbers. Then, he could do his own threat assessment.

He wasn’t sure how long they had been tracking him, as he hadn’t seen them prior, but from how they moved they had likely done their own assessment of him. During his ascent, they likely watched him from a distance, musing over whether or not he would be a possible target they could contend with. After coming to the conclusion that he would make a fine meal, this area must have been the one they had deemed most advantageous for them, with the highest chance of success to their hunt.

A fine choice, he’d give them that. But, that would be true if Jake only could use swords.

Jake stopped fifty meters from the beast to his front. Close enough to truly marvel at the beast’s size but also close enough that the other beasts had begun to encircle him. They’d revealed more of their numbers as planned and had started inching down the slopes, tightening the noose. Eighteen had been a lowball. There were far more. But, only the one in front of him had two tails and a horn of such peerless beauty. Those icy eyes were dazzling, its fur was the cleanest of the pack. This was their leader.

“Do you speak?” Jake opened his mouth, attempting to communicate with the beast. He asked first in Beast tongue. The beast didn’t respond. Then, he remembered that the Elves spoke Sandrin to communicate with nature.

Ah, great. Time for another gamble.

“Yur. Senala?” He stumbled a bit with the pronunciation but spoke the words aloud anyways; “You, speak?”

The beast’s eyes immediately narrowed and its tails seemed to stiffen. Its expression shifted. The pack stopped moving, their eyes immediately turning towards their leader.

A moment later, the beast growled. A low, deep voice rumbled forth along with it and met Jake’s ears. “You do not look to be a descendant of the Elves. How do you know their language?”

“Oh. You do talk.” Jake blinked, taken aback by the revelation. Though he could translate the words, barely, he wasn’t certain how to speak back. Jake pressed his lips together and scanned around him. The atmosphere remained tense but he could see hesitation. It seemed they were waiting.

“Uh… I know little. Study books. Know Elf friends.” His words were poorly spoken and roughly put together and he had to dig for the vocabulary, but he hoped to get the point across.

The beast raised its nose. “So, a scholar. Why are you here?”

“A beast that doesn’t speak beast? You’re annoying.” Jake groaned to himself and let out a sigh. He didn’t feel the need to lay out his plans to this creature but it seemed it was either talk, or fight. At this point, fighting almost seemed easier.

“Travel. Passing through.” Jake answered and then leaned back into his heels. As he did so, he placed a hand on the hilt of one of his blades. “Allow passage.”

“A human passing through here? Alone? On foot?” The beast rumbled before laughing. “You are brave, but a fool. If you were an Elf or a fellow Kinsman, maybe we would have allowed you by, but even if you know our Tongue that does not make you an ally. Sorry, but my pack must eat.”

The leader let out a bark after his words and in an instant, the pack collapsed on Jake’s position. Their clawed paws scratched the ground, their fur rustled and their tails whisked at their backs. Several of them barked and snarled, a few dropped back and circled around, as if setting up multiple waves to attack with. Jake took that as the cue of negotiations breaking and then released the straps of his ruck. The Weight Reduction rune lost its light and the pack landed with a heavy thud.

Then, Jake triggered his magic. His eyes shimmered as his Sensory magic lit up the air and a bubble of mana expanded outwards to cover a twenty meter radius around him. As if sensing the change, the pack leader’s eyes narrowed and its snarling lips closed together.

“How unfortunate.” Jake drew his elven blades, their glossy edges shimmering blue. He took the Sword Singer stance and inhaled deeply as his mana flow steadied. “You seemed like you might have been able to help.”

At the sight of the blades and the stance, the beast leader’s head tilted and a few of the beasts glanced towards him. Another bark came, as if signaling to press on anyways.

Jake’s eyes scanned the area around him. He looked left and right. He judged who would come first, evaluated the more experienced beasts by their sizes and scars. Then, he went to work.

The first beasts lunged without fear, their massive jaws splitting open to reveal rows of polished canines as they aimed to bite him. Their claws extended from their paws, razors for nails that would easily tear apart his flesh. Yet they were slow. Far slower than the Maedra. Additionally, their attacks were linear and predictable. Without actual weapons Jake easily judged where they would move.

Stepping backwards, Jake pivoted and twisted his body. His forward hand dropped away as he leaned backwards, dodging a bite to his leg as well as a slice to his upper body. His right arm twisted and he cut across the ribcage of the beast that tried to claw him. Then he shoved his left sword up into its chest, stabbing between the ribs to cut into its organs. As its body fell, Jake retracted the weapon and jumped to his right to avoid another bite. Spinning, he deflected a claw and cut the neck of the next threat.

“Slow,” he spat. Turning left to confront one of the first beasts, he squared up with the beast and deflected two swipes before cleaving its skull open. It slumped over in an instant. Jake ripped his blade from the bone and a tingle shot down his spine as threats began to saturate his sensory bubble.

Two more beasts came from the right, another from the front left. One from above and behind. Jake dove forward into the gap, rolling over the fresh corpse. He jumped forward to get some space, then spun on his feet to face the threats at his back. As he turned, fire appeared at his shoulders, massive spears of flame. His eyes tracked the targets, the tips of the spears adjusted as he aimed the spells, and then he fired them into their bodies. At point blank range, there was no avoiding the spears. Death was instant.

Explosive runes flared in the heads of the spears upon contact, blowing apart fur and bone and meat. Thunder cracked through the passage. Heat washed over Jake’s face. The concussion from the explosions hit his chest, making him take a second breath. Mangled frames splattered to the ground, guts and blood staining the rocks. Nearby beasts were showered in the resulting gore and red mist from their slaughtered companions.

The sudden use of magic caused the rest of the beasts to hesitate, a brief calm coming to the fight as they all stopped in their tracks. The leader once again stiffened and snarled. After a loud bark and a snapping of jaws, the frozen beasts pressed forward. Jake huffed and clutched his swords. It seemed their courage wouldn’t be easy to break.

They swarmed from all sides, attacking en masse to try and overwhelm their prey. Jake was forced to move quickly, dancing between claw and jaw as he found himself surrounded by fur and fang. However, the more intense the fight, the more at home he felt.

His body felt light for the first time in a while, adrenaline surging as his heart raced. His breathing steadied and his mind calmed, his battle sense guiding him through the gauntlet of the beast’s attacks. They were slower than the Maedra but were coordinated. The beasts worked together to perform feints and lured Jake towards the real attacks, trying to push him off balance before striking. Yet, it seemed they were learning quickly that each feint was not left unpunished.

Conditioned in the messy, feral brawls of the Ravine, this fight was tame in comparison. Jake moved without fear of their attacks and met each strike, false or not, with violent repercussions. His blades moved together, defending and attacking in tandem. When he blocked, parried, or deflected with one blade, the other was on its way to slash or stab. His limbs moved nimbly, decisively. His experience against the dangerous and vicious Maedra bore its fangs. Blades like whips cut apart the beasts, carving flesh from bone. Limb from socket. He slashed off paws, cut off snouts, gouged large cuts into their fur. Though he could not always kill with single strikes, Jake made sure to injure and maim any that entered the reach of his swords.

While the dead did not pile up, very quickly the entire pack began to feel the pain of his ferocity. It wasn’t without cost, however. Jake could not protect himself from everything. With threats on all sides, Jake found himself practically spinning like a top and dancing in a small space of a few feet. Blocking and countering in one direction left him open to another. Claws cut into his back, into his legs, he missed one mouth that bit into his shoulder. He scorched off that beast’s face and blew its head off as a reward.

Yet, his light magic prevailed. Every injury was quickly recovered and healed in the brief moments of reprieve when the pack rearranged itself for another assault. Though his clothes tore and his pants ripped, the blood stains dried and Jake remained standing, unnerved by their persistence.

He could do this all day.

Annoyed, the beast leader let out another powerful bark and the pack unleashed another attack, this time almost out of desperation. Not a single beast was left unharmed. Blood stained them all in some manner and a few were forced out of the fight due to excessive injury. Those that could still attack, did so with far less coordination than before. Their numbers were slowly being cut down, diminishing with every attack. Which gave Jake more opportunities to return the favor.

A step left. Twist with a slash- a paw flew skyward.

A step back. A knee crashed into the snout which shattered teeth and fang.

A turn right. Blade met paw, but then a second sword sliced through eye and skull. The beast whimpered and moved away.

With firm command and authority in his position, Jake stood on his hill and refused to be moved or deterred. And as the injuries took hold, the deaths began to tally. The slower movements opened the beasts up to fatal strikes, and Jake began his offensive.

What were at first quick deflections or parries became stalwart blocks, followed by slashes to the neck and face. Jake pierced ribs, aiming for core organs within their chests. He stabbed through their eye sockets when their jaws snapped at him, piercing their brains and ending their lives in an instant. The tone of the fight shifted with this change and the beasts immediately began to hesitate, second guessing themselves. Attacks that were originally met with brief and manageable pain escalated into potentially fatal decisions.

And Jake’s presence shifted from a potential meal to that of a threat on the pack’s sovereignty in the region. This human was no fool. He wasn’t traveling alone for no reason.

He traveled alone because he had the capability to do so without fear.

The attacks stopped as the numbers dwindled and the courage within the beasts ran dry. The bodies of the dead beasts littered the rocky landscape. Disemboweled corpses poisoned the few small streams and pools of water. The air grew still as Jake stood in the center of the carnage, his blades dripping with the fresh blood of his victims.

His eyes swept over the area, looking for the next potential challenger. Seeing the excitement fade from the eyes of the beasts, Jake scoffed. “Is that it?” He turned to look up at the leader of the pack and narrowed his eyes. “All that barking and this is the best you can offer?”

The pack leader snarled and barked, its large body hopping down from the boulder to the floor. He snapped at two smaller beasts in the way to clear its path and then strode towards Jake. The beast rose to just above eye level, with thick muscles bulging from its powerful frame. Its shoulder blades were thick with power and his steps heavily thumped on the ground. That jaw looked powerful enough to snap through a tree, easily capable of breaking Jake’s body in half.

“I’ll take your head myself, Human.” The beast snarled, its eyes glowing faintly as it stepped forward.

Jake smirked and adjusted his stance, taking a firm base as he faced the likely final threat. “I’m going to make that horn into a drinking cup.”

The beast’s eyes narrowed and it lunged with a grunt, a deep gurgle pouring from his throat as it jumped with speed and power. Jake immediately reacted, jumped left to avoid the frontal bite. A claw swiped at him and Jake collected it with his right blade, blocking it with a firm rebuttal. The beast turned and snapped its jaws at him, biting into sword as Jake once more deflected and moved aside. Then, a tail swept at his feet to knock him over. Instead of dodging, Jake twirled his sword and stabbed downwards. The sharp edge sliced through the fur and caught the spine of the tail, splitting it and pinning it in place.

The beast howled as Jake turned and sliced with his free blade, cutting the tail in half. With a kick, he jumped skyward to avoid a defensive bite and twirled onto the beast’s back. He landed on its spine and stabbed downwards with both blades, splitting bone and nerve. Twisting the swords as the beast roared, Jake cracked the vertebrae. Jake jumped away as the beast fell. The lower legs of the leader collapsed as they lost connection with the brain of the beast. Jake turned to face the creature as it dragged itself around, enraged, but there was hardly anything left to fear.

Jake’s expression softened as the intensity of the battle faded. Without its back legs, the beast had lost all of its bite. The pack leader still tried to fight regardless, swiping at Jake with as much strength as it could muster. Jake swiftly parried the blow and then sliced off the claws on the paw. Another swipe from the other limb followed and resulted in the same. With only its fangs left, the creature snapped its head forward. As the jaws came, Jake stabbed one sword into the ground to free his right hand. Then, he snatched one of the beast’s fangs, taking a commanding hold on its head.

With a yank, Jake pulled its skull forward. Their eyes met for a brief moment before Jake shoved the sword in his left hand upwards. His blade cut through the soft underside of the beast’s jaw and pierced its brain, killing it. The large foe slumped forward, its muscled frame losing its might in an instant. Jake ripped his weapon free and let the dead beast fall to the ground. He huffed and then wiped the edge of his sword off on its white fur, cleaning his blade before sheathing it. He grabbed the sword he’d abandoned in the ground and did the same, cleaning and sheathing it.

Using rock magic, Jake created a large, toothed blade with a serrated edge. He formed it so that the teeth would be sharp and ridged, then he put a boot on the beast’s head. With powerful strokes, Jake sawed off the horn from the corpse, breaking the symbol of the pack leader’s power over the others. The sound of rock breaking bone echoed through the pass, and the remaining beasts watched in a mix of awe and terror as their leader’s corpse was desecrated.

The bone was thick and Jake had to make three saws to properly cut through it. When there wasn’t much left to cut, he grabbed the horn and snapped it free himself. Cranking on the bone and breaking it off with his own might. He scoffed at the beast beneath his boot and then tossed the cracked saw off to the side with the others.

“I should take your pelt, too,” he mused but Jake didn’t want to take the time. Plus, he’d done enough. There was no need to do so either as he had no use for the pelt nor anywhere to store it. He’d just make a mess anyways. Skinning an animal wasn’t in his repertoire.

“Anyone else?” Jake stepped down from the beast’s body and returned to the center of the other beasts. They looked between one another, and then back towards Jake. When none stepped forth, he huffed. “Didn’t think so.”

Ignoring the survivors, Jake returned to his ruck and popped open the top flap. He deposited his trophy and then closed it. Pulling it onto his shoulders, Jake turned to see the beasts gathering off to the sides of the pass to tend to their wounds. A few others emerged from the stones, some mourning the dead. Others crawled over to those with injuries. Pups appeared along with the other larger beasts, revealing that Jake had killed off plenty of parents.

A shame. It didn’t have to be this way but they had come at him in an attempt to earn food for those children. This was nature so it was nothing to be surprised over.

Jake healed his last few wounds and then used magic to dispel the fatigue he’d developed from the fight. After looking over the remnants of the pack, he discerned it was safe to continue his journey and started to walk. He had just passed the pack leader’s corpse when he heard heavy steps at his back.

“Wait.” A voice called out to him. Beast tongue, and female.

Jake didn’t like any of that.

Even so, he stopped and turned. Though not as large as the leader, this beast was just as peerless in her fur and she too had split tails. Her eyes were far more icy, though. Even more blue, even more beautiful. She didn’t sport a horn. That was likely a male trait.

She looked him over for a moment, her eyes tracing his figure. Satisfied, she met his gaze. “Your injuries. Did you heal them?”

Jake definitely didn’t like this. “I did. Why?” He had a feeling he knew what she was going to ask.

“I understand this is a difficult request, but would you be willing to heal the wounds to my family?” The beast approached with her head high at first. Once she stood mere feet from Jake, her head lowered to her paws. “Many more will die if you do not, and my pack will be unable to fend for itself. In exchange, I offer protection through the mountains and I can guide you to the forest, if that is your destination.”

Jake grimaced at the request put before him. He felt his stomach twist as he looked down at her. When he looked around, though, he understood why she had asked. In the fighting, Jake had killed over half of their male numbers. Of the survivors, many were missing paws, eyes, and tails. Several were bleeding out from deep cuts to their stomachs and chests. Very few were in a state that not only could be recovered from but would allow them to continue to be productive afterwards, not just burdens.

If Jake left them, the pack would be put into a very dire position.

“You attack me and then ask me to help you,” he sighed, already tired of this. He turned on his heels and started to walk. “Some beasts you are.” He grumbled at the beast female, stepping by her as he dropped his pack.

“I’m not a healer but I’ll do what I can. It’s not my problem if they die.” Jake cracked his neck and then began to collect his mana into his hands, gathering what he could.

The beast female rose to her feet again and turned to look over her shoulder at him, her eyes widening as her ears stood on end. Her tails start to swish at her back. “You have my thanks, Human.”

“It’s Jake. My name is Jake.” He retorted, kneeling down beside a beast with its stomach cut open. Its entrails were still contained by its abdominal wall, as it hadn’t given way, so he figured it was repairable. A pair of small pups snarled at him but another, larger beast quickly corralled them out of the way.

Several of the beasts turned to watch as Jake put his hands against the wounded animal’s stomach. It gave him a snarl, as if offering a fight, but Jake returned the gesture with a glare. “Shut up or I’ll tear your stomach open.”

The beast whined and lowered its head.

“Good boy.” Jake funneled mana into the wound and closed his eyes, using his mana sense to assess the damage.

The cut was deep but manageable. He accelerated the repair process of the external injury and then quickly repaired the torn artery and veins, reconnecting the blood passageways. They must not have been major ones or the beast would have bled out already. Damage to internal organs were minor since the stab was clean and there weren’t any broken bones. It was all soft tissue so Jake flooded the space with mana and worked on regenerating the damaged cells. It wasn’t long before the bleeding stopped and the labored breathing of the beast faded.

The wound closed, scabbing over and sealing as Jake finished his task. Having healed his own wounds plenty, Jake found the experience easy to transfer forward. The hard part was establishing the connection between his body and the patient’s. Once his mana saturated the designated area, he found it easy to work.

“I can’t regenerate limbs, but I can do this much.” He retracted his bloody hands from the beast’s stomach and then checked the beast over for any additional wounds. He found a few other cuts and promptly healed them, closing them up with brief touches to the beast’s fur. It flinched beneath him, whining and whimpering, but Jake ignored the pained noises.

“If they want their paws back, no can do.” Jake stepped away from the beast as it slowly rolled onto its stomach again, tired but very much alive. The pups ran to its face and the trio began to enjoy a moment of family time. The other large beast who was looming nearby lowered their head.

“Thank you, Human.” Another female. Likely the wife, or mother of the pups at least.

Jake waved her off and looked around. “Who else is almost dead?”

Over the next hour, Jake moved from beast to beast, taking care of the most gravely injured first. Jake had the beasts assess those nearly dead and he promptly worked to stabilize them each first. He moved from beast to beast, sealing their wounds and stopping the blood loss from their wounds to keep them alive before moving away to the next. After healing the more egregious wounds and ensuring that the death count wouldn’t increase, Jake then organized the beasts into groups based on their level of injury. Those who needed more intense care were put first, while those with lighter wounds that might heal on their own were placed last.

“You said you were not a cleric, but you look very much like one to me.” The lead female remained at Jake’s hip during the entire process, watching him with her eyes as he tended to her pack.

He grumbled at her assessment. “It’s a one time thing. If I ignored you after you asked so nicely, I’d feel terrible. You can thank the pups.” Jake pulled his hands away from a severed paw and huffed. The healed beast bobbed its head in thanks.

The beast female let out a laugh. “I am thankful for your kind conscience.”

Jake looked at the beast female as she smiled at him. He stared at her for a few moments, taking note of her swaying tails. After a sigh, he returned to his work. The remaining few beasts were taken care of and healed. After his experience grew, Jake decided on a gamble. While he could not regenerate limbs, Jake experimented with reconnecting the dismembered paws. An experiment that proved to be a worthy endeavor.

Due to the timing and lack of rot, Jake found that he could reattach some of the paws. So long as the paw could be matched to the proper owner, Jake could use his magic to reconnect them. It took some practice and a few failures but it wasn’t too difficult. Mending the wounds, reconnecting the ligaments and tendons, healing the bones. He couldn’t reconnect the nerves so the paws would only be useful for walking on and the beasts wouldn’t be able to wiggle their toes, but they could walk. That was the important piece. Mismatched paws failed to bind. They would either cause discomfort and would need to be removed again, or Jake found it impossible to heal them properly.

“Is that all of you?” After healing what he thought was the last beast, Jake stood up and surveyed the pack to see if he missed any of them. The female beast did the same.

“Madam. That should be all of us.” One of the subordinate female beasts stepped up and lowered her head.

Jake sighed and then conjured up some water to wash his hands, rinsing the blood and muck off of them. Due to both fighting and the clerical work, his clothes were tattered and stained. He would need to mend them later. “Good. I don’t have much daylight to waste and a lot of ground to make up now.” He turned away from the beasts and walked to retrieve his ruck.

“Wait, your esco-” The lead female beast called out to him, but Jake waved her off.

“I don’t need protection and this pass only goes in two directions. Getting attacked or lost are the least of my worries.” Jake adjusted his pack on his back and cinched down the straps. He took a drink of water and bit off a piece of jerky, sating the hunger in his stomach for the moment. Then, he started walking.

“But! We must repay you in some way!” The female beast shouted after him, her paws tapping the ground as she rushed to his side. “Please!”

Jake grimaced, his eyes drooping tiredly. “Your pride annoys me. Be thankful I didn’t massacre you all and get on with your lives. Take it as a free lesson to not bother every traveler you see. Stick to hunting other beasts or something.” Jake waved her off again to try and get the female beast to stop following him but her snout persisted as she kept up with him.

“It is not a matter of pride, Human. It is a debt. You saved so many of us, even after we intended to kill you. That kindness must be repaid.” The female beast wrapped around in front of Jake, blocking his path. She stood tall in front of him, her expression as stubborn as her determination. “Please. I implore you to reconsider.”

The man stared at her, then tore another piece of jerky away and chewed on it. Using the jerky as an excuse to not answer promptly, he mulled over what to do. She wouldn’t give up easily. For whatever reason, it was in their blood to not give up easily. If not pride, it must be in their nature. Jake turned to look at the others and saw several of them on their feet, ready to follow behind him if necessary. Even the injured who were still recovering were looking at him. Well, most of them. Those with pups at their snouts were occupied.

After finishing his mouthful of jerky, Jake huffed and shook his head. “Fine, whatever. Walk me to the forest, but don’t say anything. I don’t want to be bothered.” Jake rolled his eyes and walked around the beast female. She lowered her head and smiled.

“Yes, Jake. Thank you.” The female beast leader spoke to him with her formal tone still. Her tails swayed excitedly at her back, revealing her true emotions. It seemed there was more to her choice than her debt.

“Great.”

“My lady.” Three of the more able beasts moved forward to confront her but she shook her head.

“I will go alone with this man. When the hurt and tired are able to be moved, return to the den. I will return when the task is complete.” She issued her orders without rebuttal, turning before any complaints or arguments could be made. After some exchanged looks, the three wolves returned to the rest of the pack. The female leader strode up to Jake’s side. “The forest is a full day’s walk from here. How far do you plan to travel before the sun falls?”

Jake finished another mouthful of jerky and shrugged. “Not sure. Depends on how I feel.”

Indeed, Jake wasn’t certain on how much distance he wanted to cover. After the fight, his energy was low and his fatigue was high. The expenditure of mana would make an extended night walk difficult, and he would need to work on his weapons as well. The sun was tipping down towards the horizon, giving him maybe another four hours of daylight before the mountains began to get in the way. It would be much colder here as well at night, so that was a factor as well.

Stopping seemed to be inevitable.

Suddenly, Jake took note of his surroundings and how barren the rocks were. “Shit.” He cursed and turned around. The female beast stopped, her head turning and following him as she watched him return to her pack. She followed him a short way, confused, and several of the beasts also watched him as he returned to them.

When they saw what he returned for, several jumped to their feet and began to snarl.

“Shut it. They’re already dead.” Jake grabbed one of the corpses and yanked a blade from his lower back. With the knife, he cut chunks of meat from the body. If he was going to stop, he would want a meal. The unplanned stop would dig into resources he planned to save for later and potentially cause a problem in the future. To make up for that, the fresh dead would provide him with plenty of meat to use for the night and he could make jerky out of them as well. The survivors didn’t agree.

“Quiet. Let him be.” The female leader shouted over the racket, but her low tails and weary eyes told enough. She didn’t like it either.

Jake took his spoils from the corpses and then carved a large sheet of pelt from a fresher corpse. He laid the pelt down and piled his meat in the middle, using the pelt as a wrap to carry it all in. Blood leaked from the gaps, dripping onto the stone beneath the makeshift flesh bag. Satisfied, Jake stood up and wiped his knife off on another body before sheathing it on his lower back.

“Let’s go,” he ordered the female beast as he passed her again. She bobbed her head in silence before turning and trailing after him.

After a short distance, likely out of earshot of her pack, she spoke again. “Is that truly necessary?”

“You attacked me and forced me to expend energy. Now I’ll have to stop for the night. I’ll need something to eat.” Jake explained his decision making to her but it was something he thought she would already understand.

She didn’t answer, walking with him quietly after she got her answer. As they walked, every now and then, her eyes would glance towards the flesh bag. Jake didn’t point out her unease but it was obvious that she was holding her tongue.

This was the consequence of their decision. Jake had come out the victor and taken his spoils. She would have to deal with it. In such a barren place, the weak get eaten. This was nature at its finest.