“So,” Levi said to Bram while narrowly avoiding a low hanging branch. They were walking on a dirt path through the forest. The massive walls of Ironvale loomed behind him. “What are we doing for weapons?”

Bram smiled and took out a small blade from his jacket. It was a kukri. He handed it to Levi. “This is what you’ll use.”

“Not a spear, or something?”

“No, not a spear. You can use fire to imbue your fists, right?”

“Yeah,” Levi said, summoning the fire onto his knuckles. He felt his strength increase by a small amount. Smiling, Levi punched the air, the fire crackled.

“There are certain Sway users that use fire to specifically enhance their weapons,” he said. “We call these people Fire Enhancers. They mainly use their expertise in sword fighting to out duel their opponents. It helps with a fiery edge. They begin with smaller weapons such as knives. It’s easier to control. Try it with that stick.”

Bram pointed to a long stick on the forest’s floor. It was large enough to mimic a spear. Levi did what he said, and picked it up. Bram was a fountain of knowledge, and Levi intended to take it all in like a sponge.

Levi summoned the fire from within his container once more. But instead of controlling it over his fists, he let it move over the stick. He focused, trying to get it to reach the tip of the ‘spear’. Just before reaching halfway, he could already feel the strain on his mind. Before it made it to the end, the stick exploded. Levi flinched, feeling a large portion of his mana seep away into the atmosphere.

“Damn,” Levi said in shock.

“What did it feel like?”

“At the start, it was easy. But the further I tried to make the fire travel, the more unstable it got. Until, well, it exploded.”

Bram nodded, then pointed to the kukri. “Now try with that. The shorter the blade, the easier it is to control.”

Levi began right away. Trying it again, he managed to control the fire to the tip of the blad with ease. However, he felt a heaviness that wasn’t there before; like it was bearing down on him. He realised why. The blade was of a higher quality than the stick. He inspected the kukri.

Birthright Ingredient (Uncommon) — Kukri: A short weapon designed for chopping through dense foliage. Made from Krag-iron.

| Class: Archer

| Path: Blades

“The blade looks pretty,” Levi remarked, admiring the intricate grey lines running across the black surface.

“It’s made from Krag-iron. It’s one of the more common materials in the Krag.”

Levi interrupted with a knowing smile. “But even though it’s common in the Krag, it’s still rare outside.”

“Exactly,” Bram replied. “There are mines, but the various lords of the towns, cities, and villages have monopolised them. The Krag only opens once a week, but with its increased activity, these lords have grown significantly wealthier.”

“No doubt they’ve got their feet rested upon a chest of gold, sipping their masterful wine made from the blood of the commoners.”

Bram laughed. “Now that you say that, I can imagine it now.”

Levi turned his focus back to the blade. Trying again, he wanted the fire to only cover the edge in an attempt to conserve his mana. Right now, the burning raged across the entirety of the blade, his mana slipping away by the second as a result.

As he concentrated on the fire across the blade, he willed it to thin out, and spread to the edge. It was more difficult than he had thought. Unlike the flash of inspiration with using the theory of batteries to empower his traps, this was all just pure control. It was a test of his mind. Levi welcomed it.

Finding himself in a daze, he continued on the dirt path with Bram guiding him, nudging him away from almost bashing into trees.

Levi didn’t know how long had passed since he was so concentrated on his new weapon. After what felt like 2 hours had passed, and as a result of burning himself with his own flames, he accomplished his task. A flickering fire licked the edge of the blade.

Smiling, Levi wiped the sweat beading from his forehead. He felt the difference held in the weapon now. If before the enhancement was wild and untamed, now it was concentrated. However, the more Levi looked at it, the more he thought he could do better.

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He remembered gas cutting torches back on Earth. Their concentrated flame was enough to slice through even the toughest of metals.

What if he managed to reach his flame augmentation to that level?

Licking his lips in excitement, he was about to continue when he heard Bram’s deep voice.

“We’re here.”

Levi broke out of his reverie and took in the sight before him. Nestled by the riverside were over ten hunting lodges, each crafted from sturdy logs and perfectly blending into the natural scenery. He listened to the birds chirping melodiously and the gentle swishing of the river against the rocks. The sun beamed warmly from above, casting a golden glow over the small village—if it could even be called that. The lodges, with their rustic charm, seemed like an integral part of the landscape, harmoniously coexisting with the surrounding forest and river.

It took Levi aback. He was used to the industrial styled buildings of Beron, and the frightening visage of the walls. This was like a little piece of paradise sliced out and placed here.

Bram took in a deep breath, a smile emerging from his lips. “What do you think?”

“It’s beautiful,” replied Levi, closing his eyes to fully take in the smells of nature.

“I was born in a place just like this,” he said. “Where the birds welcome you in the morning, when the only smoke is from cooking a hearty meal as the sun sets.”

“Where was that about?”

“A place far away in the east, tucked away in the jungle.”

Levi looked at Bram. “What made you want to join the military? Lack of jobs in the area?”

“No,” he added after a moment of silence, a look of loss hazed over his face. “Look,” he said, clearly changing the subject “they're welcoming us.”

A man wearing dark green scaled leather armour with a long, wild ponytail waved at them with a smile. Teeth hung from their neck: all evidence of their previous, successful hunts.

Levi and Bram approached. Bram nudged Levi once they got closer, as if telling him to talk.

“Good day,” Levi said with an approachable smile. “We’ve heard from the locals that you hunt the salamite?”

***

Levi and Bram left the village after acquiring some more information regarding the salamite. Levi also had a question answered that he had been mulling over ever since he had found out there was a hunting family dedicated to slaying the salamite.

Why was there a hunting contract if there was a tribe that used the monster’s body as a lifeline? It was because the hunting contracts weren’t to thin the numbers. Maybe that was one reason, but the main one was that the merchants within ironvale wanted not only their scales, but the blood, bones, hearts. Everything was of use.

The heart would provide a more vitality focused Ingredient if fed alone. The same went for the teeth, and the scales. If the entire beast was used as an Ingredient, it would dilute the effectiveness of each body part.

For some strange reason, it reminded Levi of dog breeding. Where the breeder would take attributes from certain breeds and join them with another.

I have a lot of learning to do, Levi thought.

It was a huge task, learning all about the Ingredients and how they worked. But he was looking forward to it. Everywhere he went, he was identifying everything. From trees, to plants, to the different rocks at his feet. The more he spent in this world, the more he was becoming entranced with everything that it held. The mystery, the powers, the different areas that were so vastly different.

It was a life of adventure; something he had never experienced before.

But that relaxation came to a screeching halt when the forest turned dead quiet. Bram halted. Levi scanned the surroundings while drawing a trap on the ground in front of him, and to the side. With his mana container nearly halved, Levi patiently waited while listening to his heart pound by the second.

Bram said before that an experienced hunter could regulate his breathing and heart. Levi didn’t see how that was possible right at this minute.

Then there it was, an ape swung through the trees at high speeds, hands in a hammerfist charging straight for them like a meteor.

Bram took a quick step back as the ape descended upon him. Levi saw what Bram was doing–his true motive.

Instead of parrying the beast to the side, Bram took the strike head on, not even moving in the slightest. Like the monster had struck one of the town walls, what goes up, must come down. The ape touched the floor, only for Levi’s flame trap to engulf it entirely. The mana exploded. The heat assaulted the apes' fur.

The ape rolled across the ground in an attempt to douse the flames, but it was of no use. Bram was already in front of the creature.

Bram punched it square in the jaw, a resounding boom followed. The apes head snapped back, and its body followed as it hurtled through the air, smashing into the tree.

Levi was right behind. Fueled by the extra strength in his body, Levi stomped to a higher ridge right beside him, and fired a bolt of fire at the ape. His attack bored a hole through its shoulder, but he could tell it was only a flesh wound.

Grimacing at the fact that his spell barely injured the ape, he was about to sling more spells when Bram told him to stop.

Two humans stood, not attacking while the ape barely managed to sway onto its feet. The ape, with blood seeping down its jaw, hissed at both Levi and Bram. Realising that they were no longer attacking, it turned tail and ran.

Levi could only watch on as the monster that had just attacked them ran off into the jungle.

“Why are we not killing it?” Levi asked while regulating his breathing.

Bram wiped the blood off of his knuckles. “It’s the rules of my home, Levi,” he replied. "We refrain from taking life unnecessarily.”

Levi paused. “What if it returns with backup?”

“My family holds the belief that the beasts of the wild can sense our intentions. Just like they can sense our fear,” he said. “We are here for a purpose other than them. They will understand that.”

As they continued through the forest, Levi couldn’t help but disagree with Bram’s belief. Not one bit.