The wind calls, it knows.
Carries the scent, awakens forgotten instincts.
The moon forgets its place, the sun weeps
I snarl and howl, welcome the hunt.
I sat up and rubbed my nose. This time, the dream was short, and I could barely remember what it was about. But the smell of blood lingered until it faded, and I took in the muted sky inside the forest room. The pavilion blocked out the sunlight, but it was bright enough to burn away the grogginess.
More weird dreams. Maybe next time Grimm comes around, I can ask about them.
I shook my head. That was silly. Talking to the man would only bring trouble. It was best to avoid him if I could, before he did something crazy.
Like swallowing your flames…
Freki booped me in the cheek and licked my chin. I rubbed his head behind his horns and stretched. Now that I was awake, my stomach made its protests and sent painful spikes into my guts.
It growled to further punctuate its demands.
I sighed.
With a thought, the golden scrawl that made up the system appeared, revealing my status.
Name: Cain Veldman
Title: Crimson Hunter
Auxiliary Title: Nexus Guardian
Level: 7
Stats:
* STR: 20
* AGI: 20
* CON: 30
* INT: 20
* WIS: 20
* LUK: 20
Skills Unlocked:
* Summon Familiar (Freki)
Passive Skills:
* Ember Soul
* Umbral Soul
* Split Soul
* Bones of the Keeper
It was nice to see even stats.
I poked my skin and felt a thickness that was hard to describe. My muscles underneath, the skin, and even my bones were denser than before. I hopped to my feet danced side to side, and jumped forward. As I sailed toward the ground, I extended my arms and briefly did a handstand before shifting my hip and launching myself into another flip.
My stats enhanced what I could do, but agility felt good. For a while it was unbalanced with my strength and I felt a sort of stiffness in my muscles, but now everything felt right.
As I stuck the landing, Freki intercepted my victory prose by exiting my shadow and knocking me onto my back. He adjusted, keeping me atop him while he began to lap around the pavilion.
He did two laps before I rolled off and glared. Freki exhaled flames that tickled my skin before nudging my cheek.
“Okay, cut it out. Enough fun. Let’s get some food before I go feral.”
“Wulf!”
I condensed my mana, splitting it between equal parts flame and shadow before tossing it through the connection. Freki’s body shuddered and he temporarily grew in size before shrinking down a second later.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“Wuulf!”
“Let’s go.”
—----
I waved to Volto, but before I could open my mouth and say good morning, a firm hand grabbed my shoulder and spun me around.
It took a second, but I blinked at the young man glaring at me.
Proltus?
“So you’re back,” he spat.
Why was he talking to me?
“Is there something you want? Otherwise, I’m going to go eat,” I said, turning around.
He yanked my shoulder, but I tensed and refused to turn. He stared at me in confusion while I grabbed his wrist and removed it.
“Wha-”
“Listen, I don’t know what weird thing you’ve come up with, but can you get on with it before I leave?”
He growled and stepped closer. “You’re back. We all heard about the portal closing. What did you and Devon do?”
What’s this guy’s problem? Is he jealous because I got to go on hunts, and he didn’t?
“We did nothing. The nexus shut the node down due to a threat, that’s all.”
I began to turn around but he grabbed my shoulder a third time.
“If you did anything to Alice, I’ll-”
He yelped and I turned to see Alice grab the dude and launch him down a tunnel.
He flew an impressive distance before rolling to a stop against a wall.
I whistled softly. “Good throw.”
“Adjusting to new stats, didn’t mean to throw that far,” she replied.
Proltus stared, jaw agape before scrambling to his feet. He switched his gaze between Alice and me before growling and flaring his nostrils. Despite what I predicted, he turned and stalked down a bend, disappearing from sight.
“Is Astra the only normal Grimm around here?” I scowled.
Alice shrugged and pointed to the wall nearby. “You ready to go?”
“What about breakfast? My stomach is ready to cannibalize itself.”
“I have a restaurant in mind. Good food.”
I sighed and said goodbye to the bacon smell wafting through the tunnels. “Fine. But I need a lot of food.”
She nodded seriously and stepped through the wall. I followed her inside and we began jogging. As we slowed and Alice stepped through the wall, I blinked in surprise. With how she talked, I thought we would head immediately to the exit, but instead, we were near the top of a set of stairs.
As far as I knew, there was only one place with a staircase this wide.
“Why are we here?”
“Money. And I need an item.”
“But we still have money?”
“More money,”
I doubted we needed more, but then again, we were about to head to town.
The armory smelled different, familiar, but it had a sharp mineral scent blasting through the archway.
When we stepped inside, I spotted Maro’s giant form half bent over as she rummaged through a gargantuan crate.
The giantess pulled out a sword with a blade wider than my thigh and hefted it into the air, one-handed.
She peered at the edge and pushed her thumb along its edge before nodding and mounting the weapon on one of the weapon racks lining the walls.
“Maro,” Alice said as she stopped ten feet away.
Maro turned and her eyes lit up. “Ah, you’ve returned. Good.”
Alice nodded.
Maro sniffed the air and stalked forward, her heavy footfalls shaking the ground. I looked up and felt strangely small as she looked down.
“You, who are you?”
“Uh, it’s Cain? We met a while ago?”
She sniffed and frowned. “Your face is familiar, but not your hair nor your scent.”
What the hell is going on?
“Is this Cain, Alice?”
“Yes, he’s who he says he is,” Alice replied.
Maro reached up and patted me on the shoulder. “Welcome back. I see the hunts have done good for you, pup.”
Just like that?
“Thanks,” I said carefully. “The levels were nice.”
“Not surprising. At the early stages the stat differences mean a lot. Does that mean you need new weapons?”
Aaaah.
Alice presented her axe, and Maro took it, inspecting it from tip to end.
“Good. You kept it clean–no chips on the blade. Need something heavier?”
“Yes.”
Maro walked over to one of the crates and ripped off the top. After some searching, she growled and repeated the process on another four crates till she cheered and pulled out a wrapped object.
Alice accepted the package and unfolded the cloth, revealing a battleaxe. Unlike her old axe, this one held intricate carvings along its head and a top spike between the blades.
She gave it a few test swings before performing a battle dance she typically did at the start of practice. The blade whistled through the air, and she twirled. She finished off the test by smoothly beheading a straw dummy.
“Good,” Alice said as she grabbed a new back sheath to strap around her chest.
“It's called, Head-splitter. Was made by a decent blacksmith from the second world. Treat it well.” Maro spun around, a wide grin on her face that slowly crumbled as she stared at my waist. “Where’s your axe?”
Her eyes flashed red and she silently stepped forward. I held up my hands.
“It was an accident, I swear.” She kept approaching, and I scrambled. “It wasn’t my fault, I swear. It was tossed into a weird dimension, and it was left behind. I, uh, am sorry?”
She stopped and held out her hand. I slowly unhooked my axe and presented it. It was nearly three minutes later before she stopped inspecting the weapon and withdrew her thumb. Blood dripped onto the floor and she kicked a nearby table, a small rag floating down and soaking up the droplet.
“Hearthstone, and living wood, the details are exquisite. And I can sense mana throughout the weapon. It has an owner,” she said.
I nodded.
“Its name?”
“I haven’t given it one yet. Nothing really fits.”
“Good,” she huffed. “Giving this weapon an improper name would be an insult. Don’t mess it up.”
She handed the axe back and I returned it to its sheath. A tinge of mana slipped from the shaft and into my palm, briefly making the outline of the rune appear before fading.
Maro crossed her arms. “I’ll forgive you for now. But don’t do it again. You understand me?”
“Yes!”
Without another word she tossed two small pouches. Alice caught hers, and I snatched mine out of the air, hearing the clinking of coins. Maro waved us off and I retreated into the Whisper tunnel as quickly as possible.
On the other side, I sighed and pocketed the pouch.
“Scary,” I chuckled.
“Ready to leave?” Alice asked, uncaring of my complaint.
She stuffed something into her pouch, snapping the satchel shut before limbering up.
“Did I miss something?”
“My hair,” she replied. “The blue won’t wash away. Needed stronger chemicals.”
Oh.
“Yes. Now, let's go."