Water dripped from the stalactites that dotted the ceiling of the damp cave. The darkness in one corner of the cave shifted. Gholob was furious, he was able to re-enter this soul god's realm again after piercing the weakened outer wall. He could tell the god was either sleeping or distracted. A perfect time to corrupt the universe again. This time full of sapient entities that would increase his strength.

Something happened before he was able to carry out his plan. He felt the universe split into many, forcing him to split along with it. This left him weak, his parts separated and unable to communicate with each other. At first, he thought it was an attack by the god but it never came to find him. Neither did it cleanse the slate and start over. Gholob took the opportunity to hide his presence.

While this form was weak, it was significantly stronger than most of the native life on this world. He felt the disturbance of the god's power three times since he arrived. The first was sharp but distant. The second time felt like it was near the first location, it was difficult for him to tell, it had been weak. The third time was slightly closer but just as weak as the second time.

If it had been an attempt to locate him it was pathetic and weak. He thought it was something else but couldn't determine the source. It didn't feel like the shattered bits floating outside this reality. The offcasts of the main entity. They may be stronger than him at the moment but that would change soon.

Gholob lashed out a tentacle of darkness at the creature scurrying by the cave entrance. It let out a surprised squeak as he pulled it inside the cave. It struggled feebly as he shoved his essence inside the beast. It wouldn't hold for long but it should last long enough to find a better vessel.

When he was strong enough he wouldn't have to hide anymore. He would be able to spread his corruption as he saw fit. It was obvious the pathetic god was unwilling to end this universe and start over. Like so many others before, it would fall to his grasp.

***

Chuck smiled warmly as his friends exited the Broken Knee. He waved to them as they walked over.

"Our intrepid hero returns slayer of beast, and how was your fight, eh?" Erwin said, smiling widely.

"Slayer of beast?" Chuck asked confused. It took his mind a few seconds to pick up the innuendo, "Ha, funny man. Time good, big slayer," he replied with a goofy grin.

"Good, good. You have pack? Ready to go?"

Chuck nodded at the man, actually understanding about seventy percent of the words he spoke. He figured Erwin was dumbing down the sentences for him. As he stood the others gave him a congratulatory pat on the back and a hearty laugh. They left the Broken Knee and continued towards Loinoss.

The group was significantly more relaxed after last night's activities. Enough so that Chuck was able to converse with Erwin while the others kept watch.

"Erwin, um... what grade...skills?" Chuck asked. He had to think of words to use since he didn't know the word for tier or quality.

"What do you mean?"

How to explain, maybe a comparison would work. "Ice arrow, like dirt. Stealth like tree or large rock."

Erwin now understood what Chuck was asking. He wanted to know how skills were classified, or what order they were classified in. "There are, the ones I know about are common, your ice arrow and my firebolt are both of that class."

Chuck nodded, now knowing the word for common.

"This is followed by uncommon, your stealth skill most likely or Mellas's step of the forest, fall into that category. This is followed by rare skills like my own sword forms. Beyond that, there are epic, legendary, mythic skills I have heard about through stories, heirloom skills, passed down by families, and skills crafted by master mages. Personally, I have never seen anything past the epic rank so who knows if those skills even exist other than to scare children"

He wasn't sure if one of those classifications was unique or not. He was able to get a general idea of what each stood for through the context of his talk. They talked about some other topics, mostly mundane stuff so Chuck could pick up more words. It was getting much easier for him to pick out the meanings.

This went on for a few hours before Mellas came running back up the path. Immediately Erwin switched from his relaxed posture into one ready for battle. He let out a shrill whistle to get Bargo's attention.

Mellas bounded to a stop ten feet away, "Bandits in the road boss."

'Dammit,' Erwin cussed inwardly. He knew this road wasn't the safest but he had hoped to avoid any robbers. Especially, now that they were down two people and one was injured. "How many?"

"More than we can handle," Mellas replied, looking back down the path.

"Did they spot you?"

"I think so, they have an older mage and I believe he had some sort of detection aura."

"God's to the breaker, how long until they get here?"

"A few minutes at best, we better make haste if we wish to outrun them."

"No, if they have a skilled mage, they probably have a skilled tracker as well. We need to lure them into a trap so we can escape. Can you track any high leveled beast that we could lure them to?"

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Mellas shook his head.

Chuck cut in on the tense conversation when he heard track. "I track, level five."

Erwin didn't have time to be surprised, "Chuck, find monster, we trick enemy. Hurry!"

He didn't need to be told twice. Scanning the surroundings until his eyes fell on a fresher trail. It looked like it could be a smaller troll. He sprinted towards the trail as the other three followed. They did their best to camouflage the tracks as they went. Hopefully, it would be enough to fool the bandits.

***

Gaspian was a failed mage, he had been kicked from the tower for failure to grow his abilities fast enough. Damn old fools and their hidden magic. Screw them, he had enough power. He sought out a few shady people and began his life as a bandit. Money was easy to come by when you were this old and powerful. Who needed the tower and their stuffy rules. He let little whisps of lightning spark across his fingers. It was a telltale sign that he was annoyed, and the others kept their distance.

His detection skill had picked up one lone traveler, the man had noticed them and fled before Gaspian could gather his men. It didn't matter, Floris was a decent tracker and they would catch up in short order. Gaspian cast a spell that enhanced the speed of everyone within twenty meters. It would only last five minutes but it would be enough. He couldn't cast it once they were near their quarry because it affected everyone the same.

He had never been able to locate a copy of the friend or foe skill. Supposedly that would prevent or at least reduce the effects of his magic on allies. Not that he cared a wit if a few bandits died along with his target. It just meant less loot to split.

***

The group ran through the jungle until Chuck held up his hand. He put a finger to his lips to signal for silence. The sounds of something large snoring carried on the air. Mellas faded from view as he ran off to check.

He returned a minute later, "forest troll," he said quietly.

The group made their way quietly past the creature, utilizing any stealth or concealment abilities they possessed. Bargo was the odd man out here, he only had sneaking and not at max level. Mellas seemed to have stealth as Chuck did. Slowly they passed the creature and were almost there when they heard a ruckus coming from their trail.

Instantly the creature woke, its eyes searching for the disturbance. By sheer dumb luck, it missed spotting Bargo, who hid behind a tree. The creature lumbered to its feet, as opposed to its cousin it only stood three meters tall and had the smell of rotting vegetation. This one was more green in appearance and had no weapon other than its massive fists.

Chuck spotted the first bandit through the trees at the same time they spotted him. Unfortunately for the bandit it missed spotting the troll. The troll, on the other hand, was looking directly at the bandit.

The creature let out a gurgling roar that caused the bandit's eyes to go wide and turn in its direction. The man bolted back the way he came, with the beast hot on his heel.

"Let's get back to the road quickly before they kill the creature," Erwin stated.

The group ran through the forest. There was no point hiding their tracks now. Once they got back on the road it would be much harder to track the group. According to Erwin, there was a junction up a few miles that split four ways. Even with a high tracking skill, he said there was never a one-hundred percent guarantee of tracing them, no matter what the skill stated. Chuck took him at his word.

They exited the forest shortly after, the sounds of fighting still clear in the distance. Occasionally a bright flash would be accompanied by a loud booming noise. Chuck asked Erwin about this.

"Lightning magic."

Chuck didn't know the word, but it started with light so he was able to figure the rest out.

The group jogged quickly along the road. Once they reached the crossroads, Erwin directed Mellas and Bargo to split up and create false trails. The whole team would meet up five miles down the actual path they were going, in the afternoon.

Chuck could tell this wasn't the first time they had dealt with pursuers. They were quick and decisive about their movements and actions. Erwin motioned Chuck to follow him.

***

Gaspian screamed in rage, the fools had walked right into a monster, a trap set up by their quarry. The troll had killed three of his men before he hit it with lightning. It wasn't enough to kill the creature as it started to regenerate but it slowed it down.

His remaining men started hacking at its limbs as it was stunned by the lightning. It's bellowed in rage as it tried to swat the men away. Two more fell to the beasts thrashing before Gaspian cut its head off with an empowered fire blade spell, preventing it from healing. A fireball would have been preferable, but he had lost five of the eight men with him. He gripped his staff tight in his hands until his knuckles turned white.

These fools would pay for playing him like an idiot. His scout had managed to survive the encounter, relaying information about a boy with golden yellow eyes. He had contacts in the cities along all three possible traveling paths. With a unique trait like that he would locate them eventually. And when he did, they would pay dearly for their deception. He still had clout as a mage and would use it to his advantage.

***

Mellas and Bargo appeared within a few minutes of each other a few hours later. The group decided to stay off the road for the rest of the day, to avoid any possible encounter. They kept to small game trails and walked along streams to hide their tracks. Someone would have to be highly motivated to find them after all this work.

They made camp in a shallow depression surrounded on two sides by large boulders. Chuck lamented not having a soft bed to sleep in again. He supposed he might as well get used to roughing it if he planned to stick with Erwin and the others.

"We'll have to report these bandits to the watch when we get to Lionoss," Mellas said.

Erwin nodded, "Yea, but I doubt they will send anyone out to deal with the lot. Especially not with the war in the north going on."

Mellas grunted at that.

Chuck was just happy he could follow the conversation. He only needed clarification on a few words. War was one of those words. It didn't surprise Chuck that humans were at war with each other. It seemed to be a universal pastime. It might complicate his mission to locate this corrupting presence though. He wasn't sure if he wanted to drag these three in on his mission. He trusted them but it could be dangerous, probably deadly even. He at least had the blessing, what little that helped. He couldn't complain too much. It saved his life twice already.

Chuck was shaken out of his thoughts when Erwin elbowed him.

"Chuck, what are you thinking about?"

"War...bad."

The three laughed.

"Understatement of the age," Erwin added.

The group ate and then fell asleep, each taking their turn at watch. Chuck got the middle watch this time. With the fire out, he stared into the dark and foreboding jungle. As his eyes adjusted to the dark he could see the shapes of small critters flitter about. He also got a new skill out of it.

Name: Enhanced vision

Rarity: Uncommon

Level: 0-2

Status: Passive

Stat: Intuition

SP to next level: 600

Description: Amplifies the ambient light allowing you to see 10% better in the dark.

'A nice skill to have,' Chuck thought. He decided not to pause any of his other skills. The new skill wouldn't finish at any reasonable time so no point in rushing it for tonight. It would be complete by the time he woke up anyway since level three of stealth was slated to finish just after he went back to sleep.

When it was his turn to go back to sleep, Chuck woke Mellas. Once the man was up, he crawled into his bedroll and fell asleep.