Jiran floated in a sea of stars, trillions of shining lights moving all around him. One, in particular, was close to him. It gave off a pale blue light.
What are you?
With just that thought Jiran found himself before the light. No larger than his hand the light paused as he appeared as if looking back at him with equal curiosity.
Jiran reached out and touched the light. Images, sounds, and feelings flooded into him at the contact. Explosions of force beyond comprehension, the vastness of an endless void. Pulling, then compression, trapped for eons. Burning heat, change, movement. Then suddenly the sky, water, birds, and animals. So many visions compressed into a second of contact.
He pushed deeper, wanting to see more.
Is this the life of a star? Why is it here now, where is here?
The pale blue star shimmered, somehow Jiran knew what it was trying to say. “Soon,”
Then there was a great pulling force, impossible for Jiran to resist. He was whisked through the sea of stars at impossible speeds. Darkness claimed him once more.
Lenton Filibree's Perspective
Lenton and Samris stood over Jiran as he went through the tiering. His body was a bloody mess on the ground. Like a thousand pieces of separate meat each held together by strands of dark red silk.
Samris clenched his fists, a snarl dominated his face as he looked down at Jiran’s sundered body.
“Relax Sammy, he’s doing great.”
“Was it truly necessary to give him that foul potion master?”
“It’s good for him, besides I watered it down. You and I both know he doesn't have much time before they learn about him. This will give him another advantage, he needs to live long enough to show me the way, Sammy.”
“Your insatiable appetite for knowledge is no excuse for putting Jiran through this, master.”
“Bah, what do you know, child? Jiran can’t feel a thing right now. The damage he sustained from his first tiering was immense. He healed himself remarkably well, impossibly well, I still think you missed something, he must have had help.
“Regardless there was still too much underlying damage in his mana body. It would have killed him before the Fifth Tier. This treatment was inevitable, better to do it now while he’s still weak and not under scrutiny.”
“As you say master,” Samris said with a sigh.
“Listen to you, little Sammy. You sound like your mother with all this sighing and moping about. At least she was pining after a man, while you're just chase around a little boy.”
“That’s not funny, master. I will admit, it’s been pleasant having someone to speak with. I hope you’re right about him, I’m tired of living like this.”
“Me too Sammy, me too.”
Jiran's Perspective
Jiran wanted to go back to sleep the second he woke up. Bruises and a little bleeding were no problem. Muscle soreness from a hard workout, easy. But now his bones ached like someone drilled out all the marrow and replaced it with hot sauce.
He groaned while he fumbled to start the lamp in the dark space. This was the second most miserable he could ever remember being.
Several minutes later he was standing in his underpants, in the flickering light, marveling at the changes to his body.
His skin which was once crisscrossed with scars, now shone clear and pristine in the lamp's light. Poking at his muscles he noticed how sturdy they felt, like tough leather. His muscles coiled with power when he flexed. Jiran was sure that if he wanted to swing a small tree around like it was a sword he could easily do so.
Excitement burned in Jiran to test his new limits. Getting dressed he headed for the backyard to get an early start on the morning routine. Moving through his usual stretches, Jiran marveled at the strength and flexibility now under his command.
He pushed mana through his legs and jumped, easily passing the second story of the mansion. With all his power he could probably jump ten meters.
Jiran could feel his mana was more potent now, which made sense. Every tier showed an increase in Density, which not only increased your weight, but the potency of your muscles, bones, and especially mana.
He estimated a thirty percent increase in his strength and mana potency. Just how powerful were Samris and Lenton? Jiran shivered in excitement at the idea of catching up to them. Increasing so much in strength overnight was a dangerously addicting feeling.
Realizing he was getting swept away by his feelings, Jiran calmed himself and resumed his warm-up.
Samris joined him after a short time. With a nod of greeting, he placed his hand on Jiran’s shoulder, then the flipping and sucking feeling of being teleported passed through him.
Jiran found himself in their usual forest clearing. What had once been a serene field full of natural grasses, was now flat-packed ground from long hours of training. Next to Jiran in the dirt, was a small satchel and his training spear.
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Lenton stood next to Samris, Jiran’s two mentors gazed at him with serious expressions. Lenton spoke first.
“In the bag is a cube, you have one moon to unlock it. Failure means death, do not tarry Jiran.”
With just those short words Lenton vanished without so much as a flicker of movement. Samris spoke next.
“It is not your death he speaks of, I implore you to heed his words Jiran. I shall return to this field in twenty seven days to collect you. Survive and thrive.”
Then Samris was gone too. Jiran stood there in bafflement.
Did they seriously just drop me off, who knows where, for one moon, with a spear and some magic cube? With no explanation except that cryptic death crap. What if I run into a Tier three or four beast? At least they were kind enough to tell me they'll come back.
The world was not content to let Jiran stand around peacefully and collect his thoughts. A cloud shuddered and exploded. When the wave of Density hit Jiran, he was thrown to the ground as if a truck had been dropped on his back.
Jiran lay sprawled on the ground, his thoughts once more in total disarray.
Ugh, I completely forgot the effects of Densoon waves increasing in intensity with each tier. To think it would be this extreme at only Tier two. How do Samris and Lenton walk through the waves as if they don’t exist? They have to both be above Tier ten. Whatever, questions for another day. I need to get my act together and find a source of food and shelter.
Jiran spent the wave prone on the ground, absorbing as much mana as he could. When he could stand again he checked the bag, happy to find more than just the strange cube inside. Flint, a water skin, and a small serrated knife were all tucked into the satchel.
The cube was the size of Jirans two fists together, comprised of four, colored metal cables, all wound together chaotically. Each band of metal was the width of his pinky. Jiran thought it looked like four different snakes tied each other up into a square.
The knife, water skin, and satchel were of good quality. They would last him the entire moon so long as he did not damage them. Slinging the satchel over his shoulder and picking up the spear, Jiran moved to the creek nearby. He filled his water skin, then traveled upriver, hoping there would be hills and maybe a cave at the higher altitude.
Having a cave to set up camp would make sleeping easier as it would protect him from the crushing weight of the Densoon waves.
Jiran traveled as quietly as he could, moving slowly to keep the sounds of his movements quieter than the sounds of the flowing water. Around an hour later he found breakfast, or so he hoped. The creature looked like a cross between an otter and a parrot.
Sleek wet fur covered its body, with a huge jagged beak and four bird legs tipped with long talons. The two saw each other at the same time. With quick jerky movements, the feral beast launched itself toward Jiran.
Jiran dropped his bag while the monster moved closer. It let out a hissing caw of anger at Jiran’s intrusion into its territory. Jiran braced himself as the beast charged, he carefully observed its rippling muscles under the thick fur. Now that it was closer, Jiran was beginning to get intimidated by its size.
It easily weighed as much as Jiran, its back was even with Jiran’s thigh. If it managed to tackle him Jiran was sure he wouldn't be getting back up again.
The beast moved quickly, but its joints seemed more suited to jumping and dashing than sharp turns. Deciding not to try jumping over the monster, Jiran waited until it was almost on him then dove to the side.
He tried to roll on his shoulder but failed miserably as he came into contact with the rocks and tree roots near the water's edge. After sliding several feet from the strength of his dodge, Jiran scrambled back to his feet and reoriented to the monster.
At least he had been correct about it not turning efficiently. The monster was just coming back around to Jiran’s direction after having slowed down from its charge. Jiran’s heart raced as he crouched low, flooding his legs with mana he jumped with all his might.
The beast was too slow. Jiran’s spear punctured the base of its neck and plunged deep into its torso. Underestimating his strength and speed, Jiran slammed into the creature's back and slid over it, leaving his spear behind, he sprawled on the ground once again. A cry of pain and rage behind him, then the sounds of talons scraping on rock alerted Jiran to the incoming beast.
Still not recovered from his dive, on all fours, Jiran didn’t look to confirm and jumped up into the air toward a nearby tree branch. He was hoping to grab the tree and swing around it to put some distance between them.
The shadow of death loomed behind him. He felt it in every cell of his body. Sneaking a peak over his shoulder mid-flight, all Jiran could see was a gaping beak, centimeters away from tearing his head off his shoulders.
Then there was a mighty crash, the snap of a tree limb being torn in half, and the beast careened away from him at an angle. Jiran got his hands on either side of the tree trunk and held on tight as his momentum swung him around it in a circle.
The monster slammed into the ground just as Jiran was coming around the tree from his successful maneuver.
The beast was dazed, its lower beak snapped in half from the rock it had landed on. Jiran wasn't going to waste his good luck, he leaped at the monster's back and grabbed his spear. Wrenching it out of the now grisly wound. The beast squealed below him as Jiran plunged his spear into its back again and again. After the third thrust, it lay still.
That was way harder than I thought it would be! I made so many mistakes, I could have died! I nearly did die, what the hell was I thinking!?
Not used to the overwhelming amount of adrenaline coursing through him, Jiran started to feel sick, his arms and legs shook like a leaf in the wind. Sitting beside the fallen beast Jiran berated himself until he calmed down.
Well, I have food for a while, unless something bigger comes along, then I’ll just have to give up the kill. I am not ready to be out here fighting monsters, that could have gone so bad. I got lucky my spear sticking out of it caught that tree limb and sent it crashing. That’s the only thing that saved me, I knew it was a strong jumper, but I got into the air anyway. If I had remained calm and just turned around, I probably could have dodged it again easily. I need to make sure I never lose sight of my enemy in a fight again.
I also don't have a good grasp of my current strength, I moved far too much with every dodge, scrambling around like a baby learning to walk. I need time to practice, and come up with some ranged attacks, maybe something like what Uncle Micah used. The first priority is food, then practice. I have no way of knowing when another beast is going to show up, so sitting around thinking isn't a good option.
Jiran got to work, he was proud to know how to start a fire with the flint and a rock near the water. Dry shavings from the broken branch lit quickly. Having to stop twice for the weather, Jiran still made good time as he draped the corpse over a rock to drain the blood while he skinned it. He peeled the skin just enough to get access to one of the back quarters then removed that part from the body.
Using the limb from his favorite tree, Jiran stabbed it through the quarter then wedged the tree limb between a rock and the tree so the meat was dangling over his fire. Once the meat was cooking, he finished skinning the rest of the beast and laid the thick fur out in the three suns light to dry.
Sitting down to meditate while the meat sizzled, Jiran contemplated his first combat technique.