Shit.

Seth's hands curled into fists, his knuckles whitening as he watched the horde of hyena-like beasts kicking and slashing Selena, who curled in a fetal position to shield herself. Then, a low growl rumbled through the crowd, and a massive Gnoll lumbered forward to approach the Rogue.

All the humanoid beasts gave space to the imposing figure, lowering their heads in respect and fear. It towered over them by at least a foot, its bulky frame rippling with muscles that spoke of raw, untamed strength just like the Gnoll Barbarian Seth had faced days earlier. The numerous scars on its deep black fur only heightened the menacing aura of its piercing yellow eyes.

The beast wore an armor made of battered metal and bloodstained leather strapped across its chest and arms, and wielded a weapon on its back that was as brutal as it was simple: an enormous, spiked club.

As Selena raised her head and locked eyes with the humanoid beast, Seth seized the moment to cast Intermediate Identify, hoping it would seem like the spell came from her.

Gnoll Barbarian

 

Potential: Iron Tier

Rank: 60 (Peak-Iron)

Affinity: -

 

Strength: 201

Arcane Power: 48

Toughness: 165

Well Capacity: 92

Agility: 95

Regeneration: 99

Damn it, Seth cursed inwardly while the Peak-Iron beast grabbed Selena by her red hair, dragging her to a metal post at the center of the open field, where it chained her up.

"You kill Gnoll. You die too tomorrow," it snarled, distorted aether stirring out from between its jagged, yellowed teeth as it hung the key onto its belt.

Seth, now hidden in the shadows of the stairs, phased out of Illusionary Emptiness and watched the scene helplessly. Over the next hours, the fortress quieted down, and the Gnolls retreated into their crude dwellings for the night. Pinching himself every few minutes to remain awake, Seth waited for the distortion field to go down—but fate wasn't on his side. Before he knew it, the first ray of dawn began to appear in the sky, yet the aether was still prickling his skin.

Turning invisible once more, Seth left his hideout and cautiously approached Selena, his stomach churning. She was in a terrible state: her body was bruised from head to toe, her ribcage looked misshapen, and several bones were almost jutting out from her blood-crusted skin.

Dropping Illusionary Emptiness, Seth appeared before her. Selena's usual stoic eyes widened in shock. "Wh-what? Who are—Seth?" she croaked, pushing herself a bit up. "Wh-hy are you here? "

"To get you out," he said. "And repay you for saving me near Arthuri."

Selena's face immediately darkened, and her gaze fell. "It's too late. They'll kill me today... "

"Because of what you did to that Gnoll? They'd be stupid to buy you and kill you afterward."

"They can replace me," she muttered, wincing in pain while trying to push herself up. "New prisoners arrive every few days. Gutting me in front of the next batch will set a good example."

"I won't let that happen," Seth said firmly, nails digging into his palms. "I'll free you before that."

"It's pointless," the Rogue retorted while clutching onto her broken ribs. "Even if you do so, I won't be able to use an Escape scroll with the distortion field around us, and that big one will just catch up to me in the desert."

Seth's lips turned into a thin line as he cast Intermediate Identify.

Selena

 

Class: Rogue

Rank: 19 (High-Copper)

Subclass: -

 

Strength: 34

Arcane Power: 31

Toughness: 22

Well Capacity: 21

Agility: 55

Regeneration: 25

Her Agility is only half of that Gnoll Barbarian's. Seth's jaw tensed. Even if he somehow acquired the last required point in Toughness to learn Primal Rage, he'd only be able to hold the large beast at bay for only a few minutes at best. It wouldn't be long enough for her to make it out of the distortion field.

"Stop trying to find a solution," Selena said with a resigned sigh as her apathetic expression returned. "Just get out of here before you also get killed."

"No, I won't leav—"

A harsh growl to Seth's right cut him off. A pair of Gnolls on the third floor of a decrepit, rust-eaten tower stared straight at him. As more growls joined the first from around the fortress, Seth met Selena's eyes for the briefest second, then vanished again through Illusionary Emptiness and fled. His form blurred past the Detecting Pillar, and the ear-piercing alarm blared, quickly followed by a chorus of howls.

Heart hammering, he sprinted into the desert away from the cacophony, then circled the tall rock beside the fortress to reach his hidden food and water. Snatching up a flask and some supplies, he made sure no Gnolls were around, then scaled the towering stone, his fingers grasping at the uneven holds to pull himself up. Once on top, he let Illusionary Emptiness' veil fall.

Drenched in sweat and panting, he sat atop the cold rock for a moment to rest before gulping down water and tearing through his food. As he finished his last bite, he lay down on the hard, rugged surface, feeling the sleepless night gnawing at his mind. "Wake me in one, maybe two hours. Or if the distortion field disappears."

'Sure,' the direwolf answered.

Peeling off his gauntlets, Seth surrendered to exhaustion and drifted into a restless sleep under the first rays of dawn.

A sharp, piercing bark from Nightmare echoed through his mind. 'Wake up! Danger!'

Seth's eyes snapped open, and adrenaline surged through him as two Gnolls charged toward him atop the rock. His core igniting his chest, he sprang to his feet and rolled to the side, narrowly dodging the sweeping club of one of the beasts. Almost instantly, he cast Intermediate Identify.

Gnoll Warrior

 

Potential: Iron Tier

Rank: 22 (Low-Iron)

Affinity: -

 

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Strength: 68

Arcane Power: 39

Toughness: 52

Well Capacity: 46

Agility: 56

Regeneration: 51

Gnoll Warrior

 

Potential: Iron Tier

Rank: 23 (Low-Iron)

Affinity: -

 

Strength: 74

Arcane Power: 36

Toughness: 58

Well Capacity: 51

Agility: 49

Regeneration: 57

Nightmare leapt out from the necklace and pounced at the second Gnoll in the back wielding an ax while the first one continued to swing at Seth. Its large club whooshed through the air; with no time to dodge, Seth raised his arm to deflect it despite not wearing his combat gauntlets. The crude weapon hit him with tremendous force, sending pain shooting through his bones, which creaked under the blow.

Gritting his teeth, Seth countered and drove his fist into the beast's exposed gut. Black lightning arcs then surged across the Gnoll's body, eliciting a howl of pain and immediate retaliation. As the humanoid creature swung its large club, Seth ducked underneath to unleash a flurry of quick blows while filling Phantom Punch's grooves with aether.

The hyena-like beast's attacks grew more reckless, aether swirling around its weapon, which slammed into the hard rock again and again, sending stone shards flying. Fueled by his core, Seth weaved through the swings—until his spell was finally ready.

The moment the Gnoll raised its club high above its head in a frenzied attempt to end the fight, Seth bolted forward, a teal spectral arm materializing around his own. The humanoid beast's eyes widened and it tried to swing, but before it could, Seth's Phantom Punch connected. His fist, wrapped in aether, bashed into the Gnoll's muzzle with such force that it shattered every single bone inside. Pieces of its yellow fangs flew in the air like hailstones, and the beast staggered backward, dropping his club.

Blood gushed out of its mashed face as it brought its clawed hands up. At that exact moment, Nightmare appeared from its shadow and clamped his jaws clamped around the creature's throat with a loud crack.

The threat neutralized, Seth exhaled deeply, then rubbed at his now-aching arm. I should've slept with the gauntlets on, he thought before Identifying himself.

Seth

 

Class: Primalist

Rank: 28 (Low-Iron)

Subclass: Beastmaster

 

Core: Feral Instinct

[...]

Strength: 81 (73+8)

Arcane Power: 71 (63+8)

Toughness: 70 (65+5)

Well Capacity: 53 (49+4)

Agility: 84 (75+9)

Regeneration: 58 (53+5)

Spells:

- Link [???〜??? (???)]

- Share [???〜??? (???)]

- Phantom Punch [Iron〜Legendary (Standard)]

- Fog Shroud [Iron〜Rare (Decent)]

- Huntbound Rush [Iron〜Uncommon (Standard)]

- Intermediate Identify [Iron〜Common (Standard)]

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

Seventy Toughness! I finally have enough, I just have to wait for the distortion field to—huh?

The aether on his skin wasn't vibrating at all.

'Nightmare!' he called out while delving into his Endless Pouch to snatch out the gray spell-shard along with Toren's two remaining single-use wands. 'When did the distortion field go down?'

'Um, about three minutes ago?' the direwolf answered, digging open one of the dead Gnolls' chests.

Seth tucked the two ebony rods into his leather jacket's inner pocket. 'You should've woken me up like I said. Maybe we could…' his mental voice trailed off, and his face hardened. With no more cubic device left for blocking the Detecting Pilar, the Rank 60 Gnoll Barbarian would be alerted the second Seth stepped inside the stronghold.

'I know you don't want to hear this, but we can't save her,' Nightmare said, throwing a beaststone his way and moving to the next corpse. 'Not with that thing guarding her.'

With a weary sigh, Seth sat down and stared at the Primal Rage's spell-shard clutched tightly in his hand. Deep down, he knew the direwolf was right—and it made him feel even worse. No matter how far he'd come or how strong he'd grown, it never seemed to be enough.

In the end, all he could do was watch the people around him suffer and die. Years ago, it was his mother, her life ebbing away from an illness inflicted by her own country, and now it would be Selena. She had a displeasing attitude but she didn't deserve to get killed so the Faertis House could nurture arrogant, greedy nobles like Lucius.

Seth's fingers squeezed the gray crystal. Fleeing all this and living in a secluded house? How stupid was I back then…

Rot had been spreading through Kastal, and people had tolerated everything for far too long, all in the name of those so-called politics—a term used by those too afraid to take real action. If no one else would stand up, he would.

He had to exceed his limit, his own potential. Nightmare had always used to joke about them being the strongest predators—now it was time to make that his goal. Rising above all and eradicating all that rot. This was the Path he was destined to pave.

His blood boiling, Seth crushed the spell-shard in his palm, unleashing a surge of raw aether. The energy funneled up his arm, swirled into his chest, and plunged into his Well to engrave the new spell. The Primal Rage's grooves began to form, its lines taking life and coalescing with flawless precision.

Suddenly, within the depths of Seth's Well, something erupted. A fierce heat burst out, turning into a wild firestorm in a flash. As the raging flames tried to tear through everything, thin, almost invisible chains appeared, containing the blaze while creaking and snapping in every direction. Clenching his jaws through the pain, Seth slammed his fist against the hard rock, trying his best not to scream.

Nightmare snapped his head toward him. 'Seth? Are you alright?'

Seth tried to answer, but his mind was barely holding on as the violent tempest in his chest intensified, lashing his insides. He could feel the direwolf's consciousness desperately reaching for him while they both watched the strange chains in his Well struggle to hold the scorching storm. Just as they seemed about to break, Seth's core flared to life. Its mysterious energy rushed to the rescue and formed a bridge between Primal Rage and the wildfire. The spell's grooves then abruptly shifted and new lines began to rise and intertwined into more-elaborate patterns. In mere seconds, the total scale of the trenches' network almost reached Phantom Punch's .

Gradually, the heat subsided, the surrounding chains disappeared, and the freshly carved grooves solidified, now pulsing with a vibrant, raw essence. Their power felt both foreign and profoundly familiar—as if Seth's core had tapped into something deep within him and reforged the spell according to his need and will, turning it into something that would push him through his destined Path.

Seth glanced down at his hand and cast Intermediate Identify.

Seth

 

Class: Primalist

Rank: 28 (Low-Iron)

Subclass: Beastmaster

 

Core: Feral Instinct

[...]

Strength: 81 (73+8)

Arcane Power: 71 (63+8)

Toughness: 70 (65+5)

Well Capacity: 53 (49+4)

Agility: 84 (75+9)

Regeneration: 58 (53+5)

Spells:

- Link [???〜??? (???)]

- Share [???〜??? (???)]

- Phantom Punch [Iron〜Legendary (Standard)]

- Beastmaster Rage [Iron〜Epic+ (Decent)]

- Fog Shroud [Iron〜Rare (Decent)]

- Huntbound Rush [Iron〜Uncommon (Standard)]

- Intermediate Identify [Iron〜Common (Standard)]

[...]

Seth immediately focused on his new spell.

Beastmaster Rage [Iron〜Epic + (Decent)]

- Increases Strength and Agility of the owner and their beasts by 30 for 7 minutes.

- Decrease the owner's Toughness by 30 for 25 minutes afterward.

- Duration increases according to the spell quality.

- Consumes 120 uniums over the spell's duration.

- Cooldown: 8 hours.

'Wow!' Nightmare exclaimed, peering at the description through Seth's eyes. 'Your core did its magic again. But hey, this time I won't complain! Free Strength and Agility for me, with none of the downsides!'

'I… don't think it was my core,' Seth muttered, scrutinizing his Well. The flames that had modified the grooves had come from deep inside. Maybe my subclass? But if that was the case, why was that fire chained?

'It doesn't matter,' the direwolf replied, beaming with excitement as he returned to the last Gnoll's corpse, tearing its chest. 'I've pretty much got a whole new spell for me now. And it uses your aether!'

Seth rolled his golden eyes before looking at the spell's grade: Epic +. Professor Reat had once mentioned that certain spells stood on a strange middle ground; more powerful than their current grade but not quite strong enough to reach the next one. Those were marked with a '+.'

But the professor hadn't gone into detail—because spells like that were incredibly rare. According to him, most people would never see one in their lifetime.

Rising up to his feet, Seth took out his potion pouch and put all his three remaining healing elixirs inside, along with an Escape scroll and a few of the highest-Rank beaststones he had so far, just in case the distortion field returned.

'Give me the Rank-29 beaststone from yesterday,' Nightmare said, throwing the gray crystal he had freshly harvested to Seth's feet instead. 'Please.'

Seth grabbed the two gray beaststones next to his boot and stored them in his Endless Pouch. 'Are you sure you don't want the one from the Rank-35 Guardian instead?'

The direwolf shook his head. 'Not a chance.'

'Suit yourself.' With a sigh, Seth put the Guardian's stone back in his potion pouch and threw the other at the direwolf. Just as he turned around, he noticed a cluster of shadows in the endless golden desert—seven figures heading to the stronghold. Human figures. 'The Black Hounds!'

Quickly moving back Nightmare into the necklace, Seth slid down the giant rock, palms scraping against the rugged surface to slow down the drop. Upon hitting the sand, he cloaked himself with Illusionary Emptiness and immediately dashed toward the humans.

Getting closer, he saw the shackles at the wrists and ankles of the two men trailing in the middle, fear and despair etched on their faces. Seth almost instantly recognized the woman and four other men surrounding them: they had been at the secluded warehouse back in Arthuri.

Seth's gaze paused on the tall man with a scar on his face and dark, slicked-back hair at the front: Ronard, the leader. Hidden by his spell, Seth edged closer, his ears catching snippets of their discussion.

"...to drag our asses into this damn desert," Ronard grumbled. "They'd… pay extra."

"Yeah," the woman behind him answered, kicking the sand. "...one more Desert Lily."

Seth's heart hammered his chest, anger roiled inside as they approached the stronghold's open gate.

'We can't ambush them right now,' Nightmare said within his necklace. 'Let's wait for them to come out.'

'I refuse. Selena will be—' Seth began before pausing abruptly as he noticed sand clouds billowing at the horizon around what seemed to be the swinging tail of some Desert Snakes. 'Actually, hold on. I have an idea.'

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