“Well, at least some good came out of this,” Chase muttered as he read through the Network prompt in front of him.

MILESTONE LEVEL I REACHED

Choose Milestone Skill:

Armor of the Unit

Receive a bonus to your armor based on that of the rest of your squad.

Spirit Shield

Gain a protective field around you, effectiveness determined by Casting Characteristic and impeded by armor and heavy clothing.

Primal Defense

Improve the defensive properties of your gear by {Level}%, provided it is made primarily of wood, bone, hide, sinew, or other such components.

If he had any other class, Chase would have chosen Spirit Shield in an instant. As it was, it was by far the worst of the three options for him. Easily picking Primal Defense, he confirmed his choice when the warning that the choice was irreversible came up, and opened up his character sheet, he smiled at seeing the twenty available points he had to work with.

Distributing them into Strength, Vitality, and Cunning, he turned his attention back to the assassin ape's bag. It was one of the magic bags that Ricardo had shown him from the Tutorial, and would expand and contract to contain an immense number of items.

His search was not disappointing, as he soon discovered. The bag contained several more of the small darts, a small amount of Kylin Tokens, a large amount of herbs and various ingredients, and a strange device. The device was shaped like a crossbow, and had a slot along the length of its body.

Setting the device to the side, Chase took a moment to look through the herbs and ingredients. Before he quickly concluded that he had no idea what any of them were. Still, if the dokkalfar could grow them, once they knew what they were they could be useful. Plus the Kylin Tokens were enough for him to get the crafting interface.

“Lord Newell, are you alright?” Muthroth called out, making Chase jump. Turning to face the scout, who looked a lot worse for wear, despite not having any visible injuries, Chase frowned.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I attempted to utilize a skill to dispel the poison, but it did not work, and by the time I concluded that I lacked the means of treating it, the one that released that immense pressure had arrived,” Muthroth said, panting as he did so.

“I have a hunch that he’s the leader of the Uchmute, and he wasn’t happy with me killing his assassin. We’ll need to head back to the outpost, and have them prepare for possible attack,” Chase said, his eyes narrowing in confusion at something.

Muthroth was clearly feeling the effects of the assassin’s poison, yet Chase felt more or less fine. Perhaps it was the fact that his Resilience was now over 100? Either way, the two of them couldn't afford to wait. They had to make their way back, and hope that either Ricardo, the dokkalfar, or the frek'idh could figure out how to counteract the poison.

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As they moved, Chase looked at the device, trying to figure out what it was and how it worked. After a minute or two, he shrugged and stuffed it back into his new bag. He'd throw it at Ricardo and have him tinker with it. With that thought set aside, he looked up to the approaching frek’idh, Dracht and Keron in the lead.

“What happened?” Keron asked, his voice still sounding out of place to Chase’s ear.

“Uchmute assassin,” Chase said. “Followed by a visit by one that called themself the Oni King. Respectfully, I recommend your pack travel west and join with the dokkalfar under my protection. You may find their architecture unsettling, but they will have a great number of defenses ready by now, with more to follow in the coming days.”

Dracht’s eyes narrowed at the news, and he exchanged a glance with Keron.

“We will need to discuss this, and see what our pack wishes to do,” he said. Chase nodded in understanding.

“Of course,” he replied. “I would not force your hand, but I would ask a favor: might one of your pack assist us in returning faster? We need to warn our people of the potential danger.”

“I will take them, Chief,” Dracht said, moving forward and kneeling down so Muthroth and Chase could climb onto his back. “Send a Messenger Howl with the pack’s decision.”

“Of course,” Keron said with a nod.

Chase climbed onto Dracht's back, and the massive wolf stood, his back rippling with muscle. Turning, he broke into a run, his legs devouring the distance. Muthroth and Chase did their best to hold on, but were still jostled rather harshly.

They passed several members of the pack, each of whom stared at them, their expressions ranging from concern, curiosity, and outright hostility. The valley with the pack was soon left behind, and Dracht began sprinting west.

The forest was quiet, and after a few minutes of running, a strange feeling came over Chase. Something in the back of his mind whispered a warning, and Chase was struck by the sense that something was watching him. Glancing around, he couldn't see anything, but his paranoia grew, and he looked at Muthroth.

The dokkalfar had his head on a swivel, his expression one of wariness and tension. Clearly he felt it too.

“We are being followed,” Dracht growled, his voice barely audible. And tinged with a not insignificant amount of annoyance. “Damn pup’s to excitable for her own good.”

“‘Her’?” Muthroth asked as Dracht came to a stop, turning to look back the way they’d came.

The her in question soon appeared, a black furred frek’idh with sigils around their eyes and across their chest. Their fur was short, and they were only about two feet tall, but there was a certain sense of energy and enthusiasm in the way they walked that had the air of youth about it.

She trotted up, her tail wagging back and forth behind her, a bright, cheerful, canine grin on her face.

“Greetings, honored Scout Master!” she chirped. “Scout Trainee Diveca reporting for Two-Leg Watching Duty!”

“That’s not an official duty,” Dracht grumbled under his breath, looking at Diveca with exasperation, her tail wagging so fast she nearly fell over.

“It is now!” she declared, her eyes gleaming with pride and satisfaction. “Since those two have confirmed that the Frek'idh are outnumbered by Two Leg races, I have decided that the duties of Two-Leg Watcher need to be an official job, one that I have volunteered for!”

“Why am I not surprised?” Dracht drawled, rolling his eyes before turning to look back at Chase and Muthroth. “This one has always been overly eager, and has a habit of causing mischief. This is not the first time she has decided that there's some ‘official job’ or another needs to exist. They never last more than a month.”

Chase chuckled, saying, “I don’t mind if she tags along, provided she doesn’t interfere with the day to day of the outpost.”

“Yay! See Scout Master! Even the Two Leg recognizes the need of Two Leg Watching Duty!” Diveca cheered, bouncing up and down in place.

“You will be assisting the Outpost's guard, not “watching” them,” Dracht sighed, rubbing the end of his nose with a paw. “There is a difference.”

Muthroth looked at Chase, asking, “Are you certain that allowing a frek'idh near an outpost filled with noncombatants is a good idea?”

“I have no idea, but it seems like she'll follow us no matter what,” he said, shaking his head with a smile. In truth, she reminded him of the dogs he'd grown up with, and he couldn't bring himself to send her away.

“Very well,” Muthroth sighed, his shoulders slumping as he nodded in defeat. “I suppose I’ll just have to accept her presence.”

“Fine. We need to go, but I want you to promise me that you will behave yourself, and not cause trouble. If I hear even a single complaint from the two legs about you causing issues, you'll have to return to the pack and be given a punishment,” Dracht warned, the tone of his voice making it clear that this was a conversation they'd had some variation of many times.

Diveca's haunches fell to the ground, and her paw lifted in a semblance of a human salute.

“Yes, Scout Master!” she barked, her face serious. The seriousness was undermined by how fast her tail was wagging.

“Good. Now, let's move,” Dracht said with a sigh, beginning to run once again.

A few minutes of silent running passed before they entered the clearing with the outpost. A group of the dokkalfar moved to intercept them, their weapons at the ready. They froze in surprise upon recognizing Chase upon Dracht's back.

“Gather Sikadi, Tahlia, Haka, Uthrik, and Katsu meet me at the cabin as soon as possible,” Chase ordered, while pointing Dracht in the direction of his cabin. “Then make preparations, an enemy force has been discovered in the vicinity.”

“Yes, Lord Newell,” the dokkalfar declared, scrambling back to the various buildings as Dracht followed Chase’s directions.

The look on Ricardo’s face upon their arrival told Chase that there was even more bad news waiting for him.