Applying Strain-Modifier: -25%...

…

…

…

Calculation Complete.

Hunt Reward: (Level Up! Level 3 Available!)

I blinked, and the system notification closed.

That… doesn't seem right?

Beside me, Alice grinned, her smile wide. When she looked my way, her eyes held a red tint.

"Good news?" I asked.

"Yes! I leveled up. I knew I was close. This is why I needed to go with Devon," she answered.

I put on a convincing smile. "How many hunts have you been on?"

"With this new one, it marks my fifteenth hunt."

Maybe it's the first hunt messing with things?

I pulled up my status sheet.

Name: Cain Veldman

Title: Crimson Hunter

Level: 2 +1

Stats:

* STR: 13

* AGI: 13

* CON: 15

* INT: 14

* WIS: 13

* LUK: 15

Skills Unlocked:

* Summon Shadow Wolf

Passive Skills:

* Ember Soul

After enabling the level-up, the plus five next to my stats came up.

Now, where to put you…

In truth, I already knew I needed to improve significantly in a few areas. And as impressive as magic was, I needed the physical capabilities to keep up. The decision came easy, and I added two to my STR and AGI and placed the final point into my CON.

I closed the menu and stared at the stat changes.

Name: Cain Veldman

Title: Crimson Hunter

Level: 2 +1

Stats:

* STR: 13 (+2)

* AGI: 13 (+2)

* CON: 15 (+1)

* INT: 14

* WIS: 13

* LUK: 15

Skills Unlocked:

* Summon Shadow Wolf

Passive Skills:

* Ember Soul

I closed out of the status and found Alice staring. "Need something?"

"Did something change?"

Ahh. Lie or no? Will she be mad if I tell her I leveled up?

I sighed. "Yes, I leveled up."

Her eyes became flinty. "How?"

"As if I knew. Astra was surprised I leveled up to two already."

She searched my face, and I waited. It wasn't quite anger in her eyes, but she definitely looked like she wanted an answer. Then she stopped, and her face lightened, losing its severity.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"Your first kill. It was a Red, right?"

"An Elder Red, according to the system. It's how I got the summon and my soul cloak."

"I see."

"Okay?"

"The older ones, the grannies, have more to their Lore Matrix. It should have provided you enough to gain a few levels," her face grew dark once more, contemplative as she stared at my chest. "I'm surprised you're only just now getting to level three. You should have reached that already."

Thankfully, she dropped the act and returned to relaxing on the bench. She sent her axe to the side and cradled her arm in her lap. The whiplash of being confronted and then not almost forced a nervous chuckle.

Maybe I can find some normal people on my next trip to the town.

We didn't wait long. Alice sniffed the air. I glanced over, and I smelled it too. It stirred the foreign voice, but it didn't intrude.

Blood and savory scents mixed in with the musk of sweat and the tinge of berries. It hit me in full force, and I wasn't surprised to find Devon approaching from the side street.

His shoulder was bloodstained, and his pants sported several small tears near the shins. His eyes scanned over our condition, sizing us up the same way we did him. When he found Alice's cradled arm, his eyes hardened, subtle, but I could practically see the red starting to show through.

He stopped beside the bench, and I looked around to see if he brought anything.

"Pup, what are you doing?" he asked, unamused.

"I half expected you to come back dragging a corpse behind you."

Not finding that funny, eh?

"We saved the child, got ambushed by a dozen creatures called kobolds."

He remained silent and continued to do so even after Alice handed him one of the glowing marbles. He palmed it and rolled it between his fingers before handing it back.

"The creature I chased was a mana-corrupted bear," he stated casually.

I stared at the state of his clothing.

Doesn't look like he too much damage there.

"Did you shift?"

He nodded.

"So, whatever we're hunting has the ability to recruit elemental monsters? Or was the boy's kidnapping a coincidence?"

Alice subtly shook her head, and I agreed. "What do you know about kobolds?" Devon ignored her and removed his spear to lay it against the wall. After seating himself on the bench, he leaned back and relaxed. I scooted over to give him room, and Alice and I both waited for his reply.

Eventually, he opened his eye and glared at us. "Different variations. Kobolds are known for being elemental, mostly earth-aligned. It's rare to see a dual element, but it happens. The non-elemental variant is more akin to a brownie and tends to be harmless but annoying as they terrorize a family and their house."

Alice nodded and settled on the floor, closing her eyes, while I stared at Devon as he closed his.

"Should we be concerned about what happened?" I asked.

"We are."

"Then why aren't we doing something?"

He looked at me this time, but his eyes were fully red.

"And what exactly do you think we should be doing right now while you both have injuries?"

Almost as if summoned by his words, my arm pulsed in dull pain before it started to get the same scratchy feeling as all the other times when it was beginning to heal.

Fine, you're right. It still feels like there's something we can do.

I didn't voice my complaint and instead took the time to enjoy the relaxing, non-monster-infested church. I'm sure we made quite a sight, but nobody bothered us. However, when I cracked open an eye, I found one of the priestesses nearby, facing away from the bench.

Looks like she's serving as a buffer. Good.

For over an hour, we got to relax, but then I felt the call. My stomach made the first move and released a growl loud enough to be heard across the room.

I sat up in embarrassment and found a few people staring. Not wanting to deal with the embarrassment, I threw up a hood and watched as the priestess who had been standing nearby moved closer.

"Hunters, if you are hungry, I can show you to the feasting room."

Feasting room?

A hand on my shoulder made me turn to see Devon already standing with his spear fastened to his back. "As a word of caution, we will require a lot of food."

The priestess smiled. "That will be no problem. We have food in abundance."

She wasn't exaggerating when she made that statement. As she led us toward the feasting room, the space was taken up by a long table set up so an extended party could sit at once. I had my doubts about what they'd cook up, but when they brought out plate after plate of steaming hot food, I dropped my concerns.

It wasn't just vegetables, as I expected, but several cuts of meat and loins topped with rich gravy. They even provided large pitchers filled with sweet juice as well as water. I tried to keep the hunger reined in, but the food practically melted on my tongue.

Only several minutes later did I finally come out of my feasting frenzy and settle into my chair. If Alice or Devon disapproved, they didn't show it, and the priestess only smiled encouragingly.

"I'm glad you enjoyed our cooking."

I resisted the urge to rub my very full stomach. "Thank you. I'm a little surprised you have meat to serve."

She cocked her head. "Why is that?"

"Uh, sorry, I kind of thought with the murals and the little statues that you guys were vegetarians. There is a lot of pro-flora imagery."

"Oh!" she chuckled. "We worship our goddess Yjana. She is part of nature as a whole, not just the plants. Beast eats beast, so we also partake in the consumption of meat."

The priestess seemed happy to be talking about her goddess, so I asked a few follow-up questions until Devon cut in and made us leave. Unlike what I thought we'd do and find an inn or something to stay at, he brought us outside the walls and near the tree line.

We continued for a small ways in till he declared our search complete and sat down. Alice walked off, and I saw her beginning to pick up sticks off the ground, soon having a small bundle growing in her arms.

No…

"Settle in, pup. Start collecting more wood and dried leaves to start the fire," Devon commanded.

"We're not staying out here, are we? I don't even have a sleeping roll or a tent."

He remained silent.

Of course, we are. Why would I ever think anything easy from you?

"Do we have to worry about monster attacks? Or more ambushes? Anything?"

"Remember the saying?"

I ground my teeth. "Yes. I do."

"Good. Get to it."