Crouched behind a large tree, Seth brought his bow up, hand on the fletching of the nocked arrow. In the distance, an antelope stood by the only water source among the tapestry of tall gold-and-green grass stretching endlessly around them. The beast's sleek brown fur and dark horns slightly glinted as it dipped its head to drink from the shallow puddle.

Though it was the middle of the winter, the sun still beat down with fierce heat, a sharp contrast to the nations farther north, which were probably covered in snow at that time of the year.

After hunting Plain Jaguars for two months, Seth and Nightmare had decided to pick a new beast contract at the outpost. It was now their fifth weekend of hunting those antelope in the Savage Grassland north to Trogan, and so far there hadn't been many issues—a few Iron beasts here and there, but none that Nightmare's Danger Sense hadn't detected from half a mile away.

'Ready?' Seth asked the direwolf, his fingers tightening on the bowstring.

Nightmare slowly crept closer to the brown-furred beast, his massive body barely discernible to the naked eye. Over the past three months, the black direwolf had grown into his imposing adult size, now standing at a frightening four feet tall at the shoulder and weighing about as much as a horse. 'Yes.'

Taking a deep breath, Seth channeled aether into the arrow, following the freshly carved grooves of Dark Shocking Strike. In just seconds, an eighth of his aether vanished, and crackling tendrils of black lightning surged to life, dancing along both the shaft and arrowhead. When he had modified the spell two weeks ago using the evolution-path included with the purchase at 'Arina's Den,' he had hoped the Darkness affinity would add corrosive properties to Shocking Strike. Sadly, that wasn't the case. Instead, it amplified the pain by eroding the target's nerves—boosting the chance of stunning upon impact to nearly one hundred percent.

Drawing back the bowstring, Seth took aim. The moment the beast stopped moving, he released it. His arrow flew through the air and plunged itself into the antelope's flank, causing black lightning bolts to surge across its body. The beast immediately collapsed to the ground, writhing and twitching in pain.

With perfect timing, Nightmare appeared behind it and pounced, sinking his large teeth deep into its flesh. Black smoke billowed from the direwolf's maw and corroded everything on its path; fur, skin, muscle, bones, nothing could withstand its effect. The antelope struggled and bleated, green aether swirling around its legs, pushing and kicking the ground in its attempt to throw Nightmare off.

Seth dashed toward them. 'Be ready to let go,' he said, lining up another arrow covered with black lightning arcs. 'Now!'

The direwolf released his grip and leapt aside; almost simultaneously, the arrow struck true, burying itself into the Grassland Antelope's shoulder. Another burst of dark, crackling bolts crossed its body, searing through its flesh and muscles. Nightmare then lunged again and snapped his jaws shut around the beast's throat. The antelope tried to break free, but it was too late—Seth had reached them.

With a fierce roar, he pushed most of his remaining aether into his arm and drove his black dagger into the beast's corroded chest, ending its life.

Nightmare let the corpse fall to the ground. 'That's eighty percent me, twenty percent you.'

'Nah, I'd say sixty-forty,' Seth replied with a smile while crouching down to harvest the stone behind the beast's sternum.

Truth be told, Nightmare had indirectly contributed more than that. Seth's aether manipulation and his affinity had grown significantly over the past three months, largely thanks to the direwolf. Through their bond, Nightmare had taught him nearly every day how to become one with aether like beasts and tap into the Darkness within himself and his surroundings.

Even without considering that guidance and Link's bonus attributes, it was still primarily due to the direwolf that they could hunt Peak-Copper beasts that easily; Illusionary Emptiness allowed them to ambush pretty much all their prey, striking vital spots early in the fight, while Danger Sense gave them the chance to do that without the constant fear of getting attacked by Iron beasts. The power and usefulness of those spells became more and more apparent with each hunt.

'What are the attributes?' the direwolf reminded Seth as he was about to reach the beaststone.

'Right, sorry.'

Grassland Antelope

 

Potential: Copper Tier

Rank: 20 (Peak-Copper)

Affinity: Wind

 

Strength: 29

Arcane Power: 43

Toughness: 26

Well Capacity: 25

Agility: 44

Regeneration: 27

So much Arcane Power, yet it didn't even get the chance to cast a spell, Seth thought, looking at the stats as he yanked out the stone from the beast's flesh. 'You see why Toughness is important—'

'I'm taking that one,' the direwolf said, opening his maw.

Seth sighed and tossed him the green crystal. 'As you wish.'

As Nightmare digested the stone, Seth dipped his dark dagger into the puddle, wiped it on his pants, and sheathed it back at his hips.

Seth

 

Class: Primalist

Rank: 17 (High-Copper)

Subclass: -

 

Core: Feral Instinct

 

Strength: 31 (+4)

Arcane Power: 27 (+4)

Toughness: 23 (+3)

Well Capacity: 24 (+3)

Agility: 35 (+5)

Regeneration: 29 (+3)

Spells:

- Link [???〜??? (???)]

- Dark Shocking Strike [Copper〜Rare (Decent)]

- Haste [Copper〜Uncommon (Standard)]

- Identify [Copper〜Common (Refined)]

Twenty-six attributes in three months wasn't bad, at least according to people from the Adventurers Guild. As a High-Copper, Seth couldn't expect to progress as quickly as Low or Mid-Coppers. Still, it didn't come close to the gains he had made in the Undead's Rift—and it certainly wasn't enough to catch up the academy's elites. Those students had access to the Epic Training Chambers, where the high-density aether let them push harder and advance more in Ranks than anywhere else.

Over the past weeks, Seth had earned fewer and fewer attributes with each hunt, and at this rate, Nightmare would reach the Iron Tier before Seth could even hit Rank 19. The direwolf had reached the cap of Rank 20 a week ago, so breaking through was only a matter of time. If Seth had to guess, Nightmare would likely ascend in about three weeks, taking roughly a month like Elena had—which was far faster than her brother. The poor guy had been stuck at the Copper cap for almost two months, even with the use of the Epic Training Chambers, before finally stepping into the higher Tier.

During Professor Reat's lecture last week, they had learned that there were several requirements to break through, and to Lucius' dismay, sensing and manipulation were among them. To step into the Iron Tier, Wielders had to be able to sense aether within a ten-foot radius and double the density of a ten-uniums Copper Lighter—which Elena had been both able to do even before entering the academy, much like Nightmare.

Seth glanced at the direwolf and cast Identify at the same time. 'Ready?'

Nightmare (Tenebrous Young Direwolf)

 

Potential: Silver Tier

Rank: 20 (Peak-Copper)

Affinity: Darkness

 

Bonded to [Seth]

 

Strength: 39

Arcane Power: 41

Toughness: 26

Well Capacity: 23

Agility: 45

Regeneration: 26

Spells:

- Illusionary Emptiness [Silver〜Epic (Crude)]

- Danger Sense [Silver〜Rare (Decent)]

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

- Shadow Bite [Iron〜Rare (Decent)]

'Yeah,' the direwolf answered, ripping a large chunk off the antelope's corpse before turning to him. 'Next weekend, we need to hunt an Iron beast. Otherwise, I won't break through.'

'Why take such risks after only a week at the cap?' Seth asked with a sigh as they started running toward Trogan. 'We can try to find a Copper beast with Iron potential, like the Undead Rhinocerus. Maybe that'd be enough.'

'No, we need to go after Iron beasts.'

'Danger Sense disagrees,' Seth retorted. 'Every time we get close to one, it pokes you with boiling-hot needles.'

'That's… not true,' the direwolf mumbled, nudging him as they ran. 'Sometimes it's just a faint tingling.'

'Yeah, only because they're hiding their aether aura,' Seth retorted. 'Remember the Inferno Bear in the Wicked Forest? Even if your sensing has gotten better, it could still easily sneak up on us without you realizing it.'

'Not here,' the direwolf growled. 'And look who's talking, Mister I-can't-sense-more-than-ten-feet-around-me.'

'That's actually good for a human. I pretty much meet the requirements for Iron.'

'And that's terrible sensing for a beast.'

With a sigh, Seth pulled out his ten-uniums Lighter and began infusing aether inside as he continued running. At first, practicing his manipulation while hunting had seemed like a terrible idea, but with Nightmare's Danger Sense giving them forewarning, it had proven to be a great way to maximize his progress.

Although he had already passed that Lighter two weeks ago, he hadn't switched to the twenty-uniums one because of Dark Shocking Strike. The evolved spell's grooves required more aether, with higher density, so to improve his casting speed, he'd continued training with the ten-uniums Lighter, which turned out to be the exact amount of aether the spell consumed.

Over the past few months, he'd also spent time working on his Darkness Affinity. The effort had paid off, and it had finally reached High-Copper. Professor Storm had even been impressed by his growth, though she still believed that the Null result from her device had been due to an error caused by his affinity being too weak to register back then.

But Seth knew that wasn't it.

Nightmare had shared his affinity with him through Link. Since then, Seth had been able to strengthen and refine it, making it his own affinity thanks to the direwolf's help. Now Seth couldn't help but wonder: if he found a method to use Link on another beast, could he gain a second affinity the same way?

Professor Storm had once mentioned that there were rare and dangerous ways to awaken new affinities. What if Link was one of them? Gaining another one could be huge—especially since many Iron and Silver Tier spells had elemental affinity requirements to be learned. If he could obtain one more, it would open many doors. More spells. More Paths forward.

Around them, the seemingly endless grasslands stretched into a breathtaking expanse of rolling hills. The golden waves of tall grass rippled and swayed in the wind, creating a mesmerizing rhythm. The setting sun bathed the landscape in a warm, luminous glow and cast red rays onto the few scattered clouds.

A tiny bit of sweat glistened on Seth's forehead as he kept a watchful eye on the horizon, where he expected Trogan's towering walls to appear soon. Probably another mile or two.

Suddenly, something glinted among a cluster of giant rocks ahead.

Nightmare immediately vanished, and Seth put away his Lighter. Using Professor Reat's pocket watch isn't an option—there's no way I'd reach the city from here. And there could be more waiting closer to the gate.

With cautious steps, Seth walked toward the soft, flickering light, hand on his dagger's hilt. As he drew closer, he first spotted a human figure, then little by little, he slowly discerned the academy's noble uniform: a scarlet jacket with the golden owl on the pocket chest.

Not him… Seth thought with a sigh, recognizing the Guardian from the locker room. The young man had a short sword hanging from his belt and a towering gray shield on his back that reflected the sun's rays. 'Don't show yourself unless he attacks,' he said to Nightmare.

"Hey, Seth! What are you doing out here?" the Guardian exclaimed, greeting him with a broad smile Seth knew to be fake.

Seth's core stirred in his chest as the noble drew closer, warning him that something was off. The moment Seth was going to voice his suspicion, the Guardian unsheathed his sword and charged, blue aether flaring around his legs.

Seth's enhanced instinct kicked in and he rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the blade. "What the hell?!" he shouted, whipping out his dagger.

The noble didn't respond and instead lunged again. This time, Seth was ready, and he parried the sword with his blade, then kicked the Guardian's thigh. The noble grunted and stumbled back.

William Sert Class: Guardian Rank: 18 (High-Copper) Subclass: - Strength: 34 Arcane Power: 25 Toughness: 42 Well Capacity: 26 Agility: 23 Regeneration: 23

Just as Seth was about to charge, his core erupted and Nightmare's voice rang through their bond. 'Seth, watch out!'

Glancing to the side, Seth spotted a large Fireball hurtling toward him. He immediately stepped back and dodged the blazing projectile by a mere inch, the heat brushing past his face.

Shit. His jaw tightened as his gaze darted to the Elementalist wearing Trogan Academy's scarlet uniform in the distance, who was already preparing another spell. Then his stomach sank as reality hit him: there was no way he could handle both opponents at once. Not alone—but if he did this, he'd go past the turning point. There would be questions, scrutiny, and sooner or later, people would find out about Link.

'Oh screw that. Take care of him,' Seth said, swallowing his doubt as he filled Haste's grooves with aether. 'But don't kill him.'

'Understood,' Nightmare growled.

As Seth turned back his focus to William, the black-haired noble struck his sword on his shield and roared, aether surging around his neck. The Guardian's voice crept into Seth's ears, and he could feel the aether tagging along. It crept its way to his brain and leaked into his spinal cord, spreading through his nerves. Seizing control of his muscles, the spell forced his body to dash forward.

Provoke, Seth thought, ducking under the noble's aether-coated sword before spinning on himself to avoid the Fireball coming his way. The spell could force him to attack the Guardian, but it didn't mean he couldn't dodge while doing so.

Seth quickly swung his dagger, slashing William's shoulder and arm before the noble could bring his shield up. The Guardian roared and glared at him, but was distracted for a second when suddenly a distant scream of pain came from the right—Nightmare had paid a visit to the Elementalist.

William nervously turned toward the sound, giving Seth the opportunity he needed; his core flared up and forced aether through Dark Shocking Strike's grooves. By the time the noble looked back his way, it was too late—Seth's dagger sliced into the arm holding the massive shield, sending black bolts jolting across William's body. Instantly, the noble shrieked in pain and dropped his shield.

Without wasting a heartbeat, Seth followed with two quick slashes, then plunged his dagger into the noble's shoulder, instinctively unleashing another surge of dark lightning arcs. The Guardian let out a blood-curdling scream and collapsed to the ground, unconscious and bleeding.

"Bloody hell," Seth muttered, his gaze fixated on the fallen noble. This was the first time he'd used the evolved spell on a human, and the effect was even more brutal than he'd anticipated.

Seth stood over the Guardian, his heart pounding as he tried to grasp what to do next. That Elementalist has seen Nightmare. If he makes it back to Trogan alive, his existence would be exposed. But, on the other hand, if I kill him and let William live here, I'll probably be expelled... or even, executed for murdering a noble.

The only way to truly stay out of trouble, was to kill them both. They had come here to kill him, after all. It would be self-defense. No witnesses, no secrets revealed. He knew he needed to do it.

Hell, a part of him wanted to do it.

This guy was just like all the other nobles who had made his life a living nightmare.

Seth's grip tightened on the handle of his dagger, knuckles turning white. For long seconds, he stared down at the Guardian lying at his feet, his breath coming harsh and uneven. But the thought of striking down and killing someone unconscious... it twisted something in his gut.

"Damn it," he muttered under his breath, tearing his eyes away. He knew letting them live would have consequences—probably even more than he could imagine. But he simply couldn't bring himself to do it.

He glanced at the Guardian's wounds—those wouldn't kill him. At least not with Toughness that high. After taking a deep breath, Seth turned around and followed his bond to head toward Nightmare. 'You didn't kill him, right?'

'No, he's still alive,' the direwolf answered nonchalantly.

Over the past three months, ambush attempts had become common, but this was the first time anyone had actually managed to attack them. All the previous ones had been thwarted before they could occur, thanks to the Vanishing Pocket Watch. If today's incident wasn't just bad luck and those people had figured out that he was using an artifact to turn invisible, from now on returning to the city would become far more complicated.

He finally spotted Nightmare standing next to the Elementalist, who was writhing on the ground. Seth's eyes widened as he got closer; the lower half of the Elementalist's throat was melting down, his flesh corroding from Shadow Bite, and his scarlet jacket's collar was completely gone.

'For Gods' sake, Nightmare!' Seth exclaimed, looking over at the direwolf, whose eyes glowed faintly and lips curled in a silent snarl. 'He'll be dead in under an hour!'

Nightmare's reply came with a low growl, a note of defiance in his voice. 'But he's still alive right now!'

Seth clenched his jaw and walked over to the Elementalist, yanking out his last Healing Potion from his pouch. Locking eyes with the gasping student, he held the small red vial up. "Can you talk?"

The man's eyes were filled with terror, darting frantically between Seth and Nightmare. The Elementalist struggled to breathe in, and his voice was barely a whisper as he choked out, "Y-yes."

"Good." Seth knelt down beside him and shook the potion in front of the noble's face. "Answer my questions and I'll give you this. "

A mix of desperation and hope flickered in the Elementalist's gaze, and he weakly nodded.

"Who sent you?" Seth asked, his voice edged with anger. The answer was obvious, but he still wanted confirmation.

The Elementalist glanced nervously at Nightmare, who bared his teeth in a silent threat. The student's lips trembled, and his face tightened through the pain. "Lu-Lucius."

"Why come this far from the city's walls?"

"W-we figured you were u-using an artifact to hide yourself near the—the city," the Elementalist stammered, his voice quivering. Without any skin to cover his neck, each word led to visible muscle contractions between the exposed bones and tendons.

Freaking shit, Seth thought, gritting his teeth before regaining his composure. "How much did he offer to kill me?"

The Elementalist hesitated for a moment, and his gaze moved again to Nightmare. "Twen-twenty iron coins each."

Seth gritted his teeth. With such an amount on his head, he had been lucky not to be ambushed by Iron Wielders.

'We should kill Ponytail and end this,' Nightmare growled beside him.

'And face the wrath of his father, the damn head of the Faertis House, or some Gold relatives? No thanks.'

Seth sighed before catching sight of the small coin pouch hanging on the noble's belt. An idea rose in his mind. "How much is in there?"

The Elementalist's eyes widened, clearly caught off guard. "N-not much. Only ei-eighty coppers."

Seth smirked, glancing at the Healing Potion. "Well then, I've changed my mind. I'll sell it to you for eighty coppers."

"It's not w-worth that—" the noble hissed before cutting off his answer with a wince.

Seth shrugged. "Supply and demand. You can try finding another potion around here if you want."

"F-fine," the noble spat, his hand fumbling for his money pouch.

Before he could grab it, Seth snatched the tiny leather bag first and winked. "Only eighty copper in here, right? So then it won't matter if I take the whole thing?"

The noble opened his mouth to argue, but then his expression shifted and he forced a gruesome smile of bloodied teeth. "Sure."

With that, Seth carefully uncorked the Healing Potion and poured its contents into the Elementalist's mouth. As the youngster finished swallowing the red liquid, Seth stood up and pointed at Nightmare. "I won't ask him to spare you next time. Don't make the same mistake twice."

The Elementalist's jaws shivered as he looked at the snarling direwolf and nodded, his face drained of all color. Satisfied, Seth began to stride away, casually tossing the money pouch into the air.

As if he'd feel guilty robbing a noble. Not a chance.

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