The beast was terrifying. Three meters tall at the shoulder with four reverse-jointed legs. A dozen red, beady eyes covered its head. The brown body was coated in scales interspersed with spiky protrusions long enough to impale clear through a man.

By far, the most nightmare-inducing quality was its maw. Big enough to easily swallow Jiran whole, coated in hundreds of teeth; there wasn’t even a tongue, just rows and rows of teeth. Like two beds of nails.

Jiran gulped, he couldn't help but imagine how a single bite would turn him into an easily swallowed stew.

Eyes locked on the beast, Jiran didn’t notice Skandor until another explosion blasted the monster in the side, sending it stumbling, but not nearly powerful enough to knock it down.

Skandor floated in the air, green gusts of wind shimmered around his lower body propelling him in any direction at a moment's notice.

He dodged to the side as the creature lunged at him.

Jiran couldn’t even blink as he watched Skandor loose an arrow coated in red flames. It exploded after contact with the monster's flank, only leaving a small scorch on its scales.

Their deadly game of catch continued for what felt like hours to Jiran. He was so absorbed by the beast and hunter that he almost failed to notice when Micah arrived at the top of the wall.

Jiran had never seen his uncle fight. He had only heard stories from his parents and some of the villagers. Jiran was filled with equal parts dread and excitement at the opportunity to finally see his idol in action.

However, even Jiran knew his uncle would be no more than a momentary distraction for the ferocious fourth Tier beast.

Micah didn’t jump down from the wall right away. He crouched low in his leather armor, spear held in front in a steady grip, point aimed toward the beast.

A blue crackling sheen spread across his body, it began in the center of his chest and spread outward until he was covered head to toe. Then all at once, the coating was absorbed into his spear which now shone as bright blue as First Mother in the sky.

With a deep bellow, Micah leaped from the wall, spear glowing brighter and brighter as he dropped.

Just as the beast landed from another failed lunge at Skandor, Micah thrust the point of his spear toward the far-off monster.

A blast of blue lightning covered the distance in half a blink of an eye, it slammed straight through the beast. Steam rose from the gaping holes on both sides of its body.

Coming out of its shock the beast's head swiveled toward Micah who stood in front of the wall panting and heaving as if he’d just run for a week straight.

Jiran knew in his gut that his uncle was about to die. There was no way he could dodge the incredibly fast lunge that was surely coming. Micah wasn’t like Skandor in the fourth Tier, who had far more mana available to throw himself through the air on currents of wind.

True to Jiran’s fears the beast dove, closing the distance in the time it took a heart to beat twice Time slowed for Jiran as his adrenaline spiked. He could see everything happen in slow motion, the beast closing in with maw wide, hundreds of teeth leading the charge.

Yet just as the mouth slammed shut, Micah simply vanished, as if he ceased to exist.

The beast shot forward with all its considerable momentum, slamming into the rampart wall. The rumbling crash that followed nearly caused Jiran to lose his grip on the tower. He clutched even more tightly to his perch, every hair on his body stood up straight in reaction to his panic.

The beast was completely stunned, crouched low to the ground, rear planted in the dirt.

Skandor had not been idle during the distraction bought by Micah. His body shone with a pale fiery light as he landed next to the beast.

The glow shifted from his body to his bow, then from bow to knocked arrow, and finally, just the arrowhead shone with a blazing light. The arrow was loosed directly into the hole in its side, up into the center of the beast's chest.

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A moment of stillness followed the disappearing arrow before a fountain of blood and gore exploded out from both holes in its torso.

Yet somehow, even with its life force gushing out like two sanguine waterfalls, it still didn’t go down.

The beast kicked off from its squatting position and shoulder-slammed into the recovering Skandor. A scuffle too fast for Jiran to follow ensued as the impossibly quick creature tried to pin him down.

If the feral beast got his teeth into the hunter, that would spell the end of all their lives.

Skandor came out on top, as he once more flew into the air. He was not unscathed, one of the spikes on the monster's body had left a nasty-looking wound on his chest.

Skandor’s barrage of exploding arrows resumed, with the now wounded beast unable to keep up with him, it wasn’t long before it collapsed to the ground.

Jiran hadn’t realized he stopped breathing until a huge intake of air kicked his brain back into action. As he came back to awareness of the world, the first thing he noticed was the screaming.

Looking around, a full third of the village was present atop the wall cheering for Skandor. The man stood near his kill, hands on knees, chest heaving.

Standing tall he threw a fist into the air and yelled right back, matching their display of raw emotion. Every person present was coming to grips with the knowledge they would get to live another day.

Jiran clung to his precarious position on the scaffolding in stunned silence, he had been told time and again that beasts of a higher tier were something you ran from, never fought, and he now knew why.

The difference in speed, endurance, and deadliness of a higher tier beast was not a gap that could be bridged. Death was the only outcome for those who tried.

His uncle walked up to the base of Jiran’s perch and motioned him down, reminding Jiran he wasn't supposed to climb the watch towers.

Dropping the few meters to the ground, Jiran clumsily landed next to Micah and immediately leapt to hug the giant man.

“I thought you were going to die, how did you escape? You were so fast I couldn’t see.”

With a light chuckle, Micah responded “I thought I was a goner too. I didn’t expect the beast to be so fast, or my bolt to wipe out my mana so thoroughly. Just as I gave up, the elders combined castings and pulled me out.

"Enough about me, now is your turn, Jiran.”

“Um, what? My turn for what?.”

Then it struck him, it was his Birthing day and by imperial law he was due the right of claiming a cut of the day's kill. Except, how could he possibly go out there in front of a third of the village and claim the tithe from that insane beast?

A Tier two he would be fine with, a Tier three would be asking too much. Did Micah truly expect him to go up to the wounded Skandor and demand the Imperial tithe? The anticipation made his entire body tremble.

“Oh no, you can’t be serious Uncle.”

“Of course I’m serious, now c’mon let’s go”

Not giving Jiran a chance to weasel out of the situation, Micah put a huge steady hand on his shoulder and practically dragged him through the gate and out onto the field.

The smell of blood assaulted Jiran’s senses, there was so much of it, everywhere he looked was a sea of red. Skandor stood proud in front of his kill, watching every step Jiran took, measuring his worth to claim a portion of his kill.

Everyone knew, they all watched as Jiran and Micah came to a stand in front of the hunter. Jiran had never felt so nervous in his short life, he opened his mouth to speak but no sound came out. Embarrassment shot through his body, he could feel his face heating up as he blushed a dark crimson.

Gathering courage from the hand on his shoulder Jiran took a deep breath, clenching his little fists and screamed the words his father forced him to memorize over the last Moon.

“By imperial decree, I hereby declare my right to the Fifth, I swear to uphold my obligations to the emperors, the Finlest Empire, and my fellow imperialists. Let my pledge of two years be heard by all, under the five emperors' grace may we all thrive!”

“May we all thrive!” Came the return salute from the villagers on the wall. Even Skandor mumbled along.

Apparently content with Jiran’s performance, he moved to one of the beast's legs. Drawing a large serrated knife from his belt he cut off a chunk of meat the size of Jiran’s head. Once cut free, Skandor tossed the meat at Jiran who barely managed to catch it without falling.

With a dismissive nod of his head, Skandor mumbled a sarcastic “May we thrive” before going back to his grisly task.

“Thank you, sir, I won’t disappoint you.” Said Jiran before walking back toward the village with Micah.

They passed the few hunter apprentices of Skandor after a short distance. Two of them glowered at him with clear hate in their eyes, understandably unhappy with his choice of claiming the Fifth on today of all days.

The previous fourth Tier kill was three seasons ago, certainly no child had dared to claim a portion of that beast. Why had his uncle forced him into this? Looking up at the man as they walked, Jiran pondered what Micah must have been thinking, dragging him out there.

Jiran had felt so guilty standing before Skandor and the village, he had doubled his oath of service to two years. Tears rolled down Jiran's cheeks as he trudged along behind Micah, toward home.