Matthew looked at the creature in front of him. It had matted, dirty fur with blood and dirt stuck in it; its maw sported large yellow teeth. It was a wolf. A bead of sweat rolled down Matthew's brow as he whispered, "Why wolves?"

Matthew was looking at a Nova tablet with a picture of the wolves on it. James was holding it, showing it off; he could hear James saying something about the wolves being an easy fight but could hardly hear him as his heart continued to drum.

James touched his shoulder, snapping him back to the present. "Are you ok?"

Matthew felt the worry and dread disappear as if broken from a stupor. "Ye-yeah, I'm alright, what were you saying?"

James pointed to the tablet, pointing a little above the wolf. "Power level 1-2. That's the recommended level for this quest." He tapped the screen below the image. "And low risk. That's based on what we know about the creature's abilities and the death rate of those who've fought it.'"

After explaining, James put away the device, turning to Matthew. "There are two others who are already in the program. They should be joining us soon. They have been doing this for about a week now. These particular wolves have been getting more aggressive and have left the forest. They are terrorizing travelers heading in and out of town."

Matthew thought back to the wolves on Earth. They usually kept to themselves. The only time he heard of humans getting attacked was when they would defend their animals, and even then, the wolf would run away quickly. Confused, he asked, "Why are they so aggressive? Is this normal?"

James looked at him with an odd expression. "No, it's not normal. Their aggression usually indicates that they are about to evolve into monsters. When they do, they will get much smarter and more dangerous, and they also usually gain abilities."

Matthew felt his brain ache. "I know I'm not fighting, but could I get a new weapon instead of the one I have?"

James smiled, looking excited as he pulled a pristine-looking sword out of his inventory and handed it over slowly.

Matthew grabbed the sword, pulling it out of its scabbard. "Huh, that's weird." The blade felt balanced. He had never held one, but even he could twist it with ease.

The blade looked plain at first. It was double-edged, about two feet long, and its tip tapered off to a fine point. Matthew twisted it in his hand. "it's so light." He turned it, the edge gleaming under the light. It looked sharp enough to cut paper.

Matthew placed the sword back in its sheath. "Are you sure I can have this? It seems to be really well made."

Again, James gave him a confused look. "I mean, it definitely is well made, but I wouldn't go that far. Although the adventurers guild bought this from a good blacksmith, it isn't the best out there. To that extent, this sword will be useless after your first awakening anyway."

Just then, two men walked in. Spotting James, they walked up. The man in the lead had awesome-looking armor. The armor was white and seemed to be made in a similar fashion as the guards. It had white scales overlaying each other, allowing freer movement than stiff armor would. The man had a large sword strapped to his back, the sword almost as large as he was.

Matthew frowned. The armor and sword looked nice, but the person who had them didn't. As the man walked over, Matthew saw a wide smirk on the annoying man's face. Matthew turned toward James and asked, "Caden, is in this class?"

James turned to look where Matthew was indicating and nodded. "Yup, those two are who we were waiting for."

Caden walked up and immediately started talking to James. "So what are we fighting today? How many do you think I can defeat? Did you raise the difficulty yet? Can I fight them on my own?"

Matthew felt himself starting to get angry. Turning away from the obnoxious person, he caught the other man staring at him. This man was young, with brown eyes and black hair; he wore a dark gray robe with the hood pulled back. The man walked closer to Matthew and gave an apologetic smile as he reached out his hand. "Hi, I'm Dekker. I'm a support class."

Matthew returned the smile and shook his hand. His hand was tough, and he could feel calluses all over it. "I'm Matthew. Nice to meet you. If you don't mind me asking, what are classes?"

Dekker looked ready to respond, but Caden announced loudly. "Stop talking so much, it's time to go!"

Matthew sighed. "This is going to be a long day."

James led them out a back door and into a large garage. The garage had individual parking spots with wooden walls between them. About half the spots had wagons. The wagons had benches with cushions that surrounded a table. Each wagon had an overhang above it, but there wasn't anything to pull it.

Matthew walked up, looking around. The cart was made of hardwood. He reached out to touch it. "Agh," he pulled his hand back. It felt like the feeling you would get when you touch something really hot. First, it felt cold, and then your brain registered that it was hot.

James chuckled, "I'm Sorry I should have warned you. These are being charged, so they have energy flowing through them."

Matthew looked down at his hand; his hand was glowing from within, a light pink hue emanating off it; the light was slowly growing dimmer as he watched, worried he asked. "Will I be ok?"

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Caden interjected this time. "Your hand is going to be fine. It's already dissipating, isn't it? Stop whining."

James, who was about to respond, closed his mouth before shrugging. "Caden got it really bad when he first came here."

Caden glared at James, but he just laughed. Walking over to a lever, James explained, "This turns off the power." He pulled down on a large metal lever, and a whooshing sound was made. "We will give it a few moments, and then we should be good."

After a while, all four of them got inside. This time, when Matthew touched the wood, it was much better than before. Still, a light tingle went through his arm. He felt his nerves try to determine if the wood was cold or hot; his mind couldn't decide. "How peculiar," he thought.

Getting in, he sat next to Dekker, across from James and Caden. James tapped the wooden table twice, and a map appeared on top. The map was zoomed out, and Matthew could see the town and the rolling plains surrounding it. In two directions, the plains met forests, but he could see water and mountains in others.

As he watched, James moved the map by swiping on the table. Eventually, liking what he saw, he clicked. The whole wagon shuddered for a moment, scaring Matthew. He grabbed the side as he felt his stomach enter his throat.

Matthew swallowed hard, trying to get used to the sensation. The wagon moved backward before turning and exiting the building.

Until they had left the town, all Matthew was preoccupied with was not throwing up. Eventually, the nausea slowly dissipated enough for Matthew to look around; the cart almost felt like a car with autopilot but much more jarring; the wagon bounced on each rock, and the cushions absorbed some of the impact, but he could feel more of his buttocks then he knew he ever would.

He noticed Dekker looking at him and looked back. Dekker waved his hand at the wagon before saying nervously as if asking for affirmation. "A little abrupt at first but pretty cool, right?"

Matthew thought how he said that was odd but was thankful to have something to distract him from the ride. "Yeah, it takes some getting used to. How does this thing even move?"

Looking as if he were a different person, Dekker's eyes widened so far that Matthew thought they might fall out. A smile then grew on his face as he started to explain rapid-fire style: "It actually is fascinating. This design was first thought of by an engineer named Robby. He found a way to charge materials with energy.

He used them in experiments for weapons at first, but they didn't really do much. They could move heavy stuff but not with any kind of speed." Dekker looked toward Matthew, who seemed only a little interested, before clearing his throat and speaking again with a more measured tone.

"Well, the inventor found a way to charge materials, and his team eventually tried making the materials into the shape of wagons. These wagons want to release this energy, so they directed this energy to be dissipated by moving the wheels, the wheels in turn spin, causing the wagon to move."

Matthew was about to ask another question, but as he opened his mouth, Dekker started again. "You know that shock you felt when you touched the cart? While that was the materials charging, once we turn off the circuit, the energy settles into the wood, which stops us from feeling the shock."

With how much information was being fed to him, he felt the onset of nausea again and leaned out of the wagon for some fresh air.

Eventually, they slowed to a stop. James got up and stretched. "Ok, this is the spot where the wolves were last spotted. Caden, Dekker, this is the first time I'm with you all, so show me what you can do while still being careful."

They all left the wagon. Caden reached around for his large sword on his back and…. couldn't reach it. The small amount his armor restricted him was enough to need help getting his sword. James helped him, and he held it in front of him, giving it a few test swings.

The sword had one flat side a few inches thick and a sharp edge on the other. It was indeed close to Caden's height. "How can he hold that?" Matthew thought.

Caden started leading them away from the wagon, with Dekker following a little behind. James walked beside Matthew, saying, "This is my first time watching them, although you are just watching. Be on guard just in case I have to step in to help them."

Matthew nodded, pulling his new sword out of his inventory.

They had walked to the top of a hill when Caden grew noticeably tense. They all walked up beside him, and that is when Matthew saw them.

There were four of them, all eating what looked like the remains of a cow. Matthew could hear Caden whisper, "Exchange, "before running toward the beasts.

Matthew watched as the beasts turned toward Caden. His heart quickened, the grip of his sword digging into his palm as he held it, his breath coming in quick and shallow. "Caden is going to get himself killed," Matthew wanted to look away, but his eyes felt stuck, watching each footfall as he got closer and closer.

"I don't belong here," Matthew thought. His chest tightened as the wolves snarled. Why had James trusted him with a sword?

Turning, the wolves charged at Caden,

He swung his large sword sideways at them,

A flash of metal.

A spray of blood.

The sword passed through the beast, killing it; the blade kept going, earning a grazing blow against another. The three others turned on him, starting to surround Caden, and then, out of the corner of his eye, Matthew saw Dekker sneaking up behind one; he saw him mouth something before cutting the throat of the injured wolf.

Caden swung his sword around wildly, like a mighty blender, yelling the whole time. "COME GET IT; I WILL CUT YOU TO PIECES!"

The wolves seemed to dislike that idea, so they turned. Then, one howled. The howl was long, and its high pitch rang in their ears. Caden swung at the one howling, cutting deep.

His sword got stuck,

The monster fell

Caden's shoulders sagged, and he went to his knees.

The last wolf, seeing this, jumped at him.

James disappeared from Matthew's side and reappeared in front of the last wolf. Before Matthew knew it, James had his sword out and was slicing the wolf, who went down hard.

Then, Matthew felt it, a vibration,

He then heard a low growling from somewhere behind him.

Matthew froze; his hand dug even deeper into the grip of his weapon,

"No! I will not die again!"

Even with those words, he couldn't turn; his mind went blank, and his vision started growing dark.

The monster swiped, Matthew felt the world spin, only then feeling a sharp pain in his back,

He spun, hitting the ground hard,

The monster was quick; before he knew it, it was above him.

This monster was a wolf, too, but it had key differences. It was huge. It set one paw beside him, easily the size of his face; the monster seemed to glow with energy.

Matthew's vision was back to normal. The pain seemed to be somewhere in the background of his mind, but he ignored it as he tried to find a way to escape.

His hand was empty. Matthew looked around, but nothing. He felt something wet flowing from his back, but he ignored it.

A thought.

A slight chance entered his mind, and as the monster pulled up a paw to strike, he thought of his broken sword still in his inventory,

He fumbled, panic rising as the wolf's paw came down.

"Come on, sword… come on!" At the last second, it appeared broken but still sharp.

It connected, and the broken blade sunk deep, but it wasn't enough to stop the monster. Although the monster pulled its paw back, it still grazed his arm that held the sword. He heard the monster yelp as his vision grew darker. "Take…that…" he thought as his vision collapsed.