Darian surveyed the town of Hunter’s Rest as he walked through it one warm, sunny morning. Well, calling it a town would be generous. Village was more accurate. The place was a collection of wooden houses surrounding a village square, with a few streets worth the name. It sat near the main road that led from Valegate all the way to Mt. Wind Dance. While this provided some trade from travelers, the primary occupation in the village was hunting.

Every person, regardless of sex or age, was involved in hunting to some capacity. Aside from the hunters themselves, there were fletchers, bowmakers, and so on. There were also tanners, who processed the hides brought in, as well as leather workers, though the latter two weren’t as prevalent. Darian had also heard of hunters finding cultivation resources and turning them in to Clan Wind Dance for a decent payout.

While Darian had never been to Hunter’s Rest himself, he had overheard his kin talking about the place. From their words, he expected a small and dirty place filled with shifty-eyed mortals. What he found instead was much different. While the village was indeed small, it was a neat and tidy place. It smelled clean at least. Well organized too. It seemed to be laid out in some kind of pattern, though Darian didn’t recognize it. A wooden palisade surrounded Hunter’s Rest, to keep wild animals and the occasional dire monster out.

The mortals themselves were cheerful folk. They smiled a lot, and greeted each other with loud voices. Darian saw one man, a fletcher, whistle while he worked in an outdoor workshop. A little girl, perhaps five years of age, watched him and tried to join in, but couldn’t purse her lips right. The man laughed, and tried to teach her how to whistle properly. The scene made Darian smile.

The locals did watch Darian with wary eyes, though he didn’t blame them. He was a stranger in their midst, and one wearing exotic clothes. They were wary, but they weren’t unfriendly. They were careful and cautious, but not skittish. He hadn’t revealed himself to be a threat, and so they gave him some benefit of the doubt.

Darian hoped it didn’t keep them from talking with him. He needed their help. While he could probably get by without it, he would rather not. It would make his task much more difficult.

It had been a few days after Darian had refined his meridians. He had spent that time testing out his new limits. His ability to channel and direct spirit energy was much, much better compared to how it had been before. The difference was like night and day.

His physical capabilities had increased as well. Because of this, Darian had decided to test himself against a real opponent. Sparring was different from an actual life and death fight. Since dire monsters were the biggest threat in Silverwood Vale, aside from other cultivators, Darian had decided to hunt one. When he had brought this up with Astra, she just nodded.

“Yes, you’re about ready for the next step,” she had said. “If you hadn’t brought it up, I would have. Here, take these.” She had tossed two medicine pills at him. “These are fast acting medicine pills. They’re great in emergencies, but they put more of a strain on your body. Use them wisely.”

Darian put both pills in a pouch hanging from his belt, before he made his way out of the secret realm. That’s when he ran into his first obstacle. He had no idea how to find a dire monster. Trekking through the woods to find one seemed inefficient. His mind sense had developed to the point where he could sense mortals through it if he made an active effort, but his range was limited. Besides, that wasn’t the problem. Dire monsters weren’t mortal. He would be able to sense one just fine, once he got close enough.

After giving it some thought, he decided to find someone who knew more than he did. And who better to ask than the local hunters? Since Hunter’s Rest was the closest settlement to the secret realm, he had decided to head there. Now he just needed to find a hunter to guide him.

Lacking any better ideas, Darian approached the fletcher. Perhaps he could help. The man continued working, though he stopped whistling. The little girl did as well. She watched Darian approach with wide eyes. A female bow maker worked nearby. Based on her coloring, he guessed the bow maker was the little girl’s mother. They both had brown hair and brown eyes, as well as pale skin.

“Hello,” Darian said as he approached.

“Hello, young man,” the fletcher said. He had the blonde hair and pale skin typical to this part of the world. “How can I help you?”

“I’m looking for someone. A hunter.”

That earned him a raised eyebrow.

“Well, we have plenty of those here,” the fletcher said in a dry tone. “This is Hunter’s Rest after all. Is there one in particular you’re looking for?”

Darian shook his head.

“No. I just need one who can guide me to the nearest dire monster.”

A chill that had nothing to do with the temperature filled the air. The fletcher stopped working and studied Darian with a neutral expression on his face.

“You’re a cultivator,” he said. It wasn’t a question.

“Yes. My name is Darian Wind Dance.”

At that, the fletcher looked afraid. The little girl, who seemed to be confused as to what was going on, started to look worried as well.

“I’m sorry, Young Master,” the fletcher said in a panicked tone, bowing. “I didn’t mean to disrespect you earlier. Please forgive me.”

The little girl ran out of the workshop, heading towards the bow maker. Darian held his hands out in a placating gesture.

“You’re fine,” he said, trying to reassure the man. “You have nothing to apologize for.” He gave the man a wry smile. “I would have said the same thing in your shoes.”

The fletcher gave him a look that was a mix of bafflement and fear, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing and was afraid to trust it. The bow maker entered the workshop. The little girl hid behind her, peeking out.

“Dear,” the bow maker said, a slight tremble in her voice. “Is everything all right?”

“I apologize,” Darian said to her, feeling sheepish. He had messed this up big time. “I seem to have frightened…” He paused, and then turned to the fletcher. “I never got your name.”

“Brian Ryley, Young Master,” the fletcher said. The fear had receded, though the man remained cautious. He gestured to the bow maker. “This is my wife, Aurora. The little one hiding behind her is our Snow.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” Darian said, nodding to Brian and Aurora. He gave little Snow a smile. “Again, I’m sorry if I frightened you. I don’t have much experience with the mortals outside of Mt. Wind Dance, so I ask for your patience.”

The two adults stared at him as if he were some sort of exotic bird. Snow leaned out from behind her mother’s legs.

“Are you really a cultivator?” the little girl asked.

“Snow!” Aurora admonished, before turning towards Darian. “I’m sorry, Young Master. She’s just a child.”

Darian waved off her apology.

“It’s fine,” he said. “I don’t mind.” He smiled at Snow again. “I am a cultivator, yes.”

“Does this mean you can do magic?”

“Yes, though I’m not good at it yet. Want to see?”

The little girl nodded at him, her eyes wide with anticipation.

After refining his meridians, Darian had started to practice the supplementary technique he had noticed when he first studied The Nine Gates of Destruction, the one that coated his hands with fire to increase their destructive potential. Like the Mind Flame technique, it didn’t have a name. When he had asked Astra about that, she said that Master Nova didn’t like to deal with “petty details” too much and would leave them for her disciples to figure out. That meant it was up to Darian to name a number of the nameless techniques.

He decided to be straightforward about it and named this one the Fire Fist technique. Boring, but practical. The problem was, only the first level of it focused on the hands. The second and third levels coated the arms and then the entire body in flames respectively. He needed to come up with names for those ones as well.

While he wasn’t good at the Fire Fist technique, not to the point of using it in sparring, let alone actual combat, he knew enough to impress one little girl.

Darian gathered some of the nearby spirit energy into himself and used the technique. A thin layer of fire engulfed his hands. While it was hot, it didn’t hurt him. It was odd. The heat felt like it should hurt him, but didn’t.

“I told you I wasn’t very good,” Darian said. “But I can do this much at least.”

Snow didn’t respond. She stared at the fire coating Darian’s hands, her mouth agape. Her parents stood still, not saying a word.

“Doesn’t it hurt?” Snow asked.

“No,” Darian said. “Rather, it doesn’t hurt me. It would hurt you, so don’t touch it.”

She gave him a derisive look.

“I know that. I’m not an idiot.”

Darian chuckled at that and extinguished the flames.

“Clearly not.” He then looked at her parents. “Sorry, I probably should have asked your permission first.”

Brian shook his head.

“No, it’s all right, Young Master.” He cleared his throat. “You said you were looking for a hunter?”

“Oh, right, yes. I’m looking for a dire monster to fight. It’s a part of my training. Do you know anyone who could guide me to one? I suppose the person doesn’t have to be a hunter.”

Before either of them could respond, Darian heard quiet footsteps approach the workshop. A moment later, a voice called out.

“Father,” the voice said. “Mother. I’m back.”

They all turned to find a young man in hunter’s garb approaching the workshop. He had an unstrung bow secured to his waist, and a buck’s corpse slung over his shoulders. A small quiver with some arrows in it peeked out from behind his back. He resembled his father, Brian.

The young man stopped when he noticed Darian and dropped the buck on the ground. It landed with a thud.

“Who are you?” he demanded.

“Gregory!” Aurora admonished. “Don’t be rude. This young man is our guest.” She realized that she forgot to call Darian by his title. “I’m-…”

Darian, who had anticipated her apology, waved it off.

“As I said earlier, it’s fine. I’m not one to stand on ceremony all the time, at least compared to most of my kin.” He turned to the young man. “I am Darian Wind Dance.”

The young man, Gregory, looked him up and down.

“You don’t look like a Wind Dance.” He glanced at his parents. “Are you sure he isn’t an imposter? He could be another fake trying to take advantage of us.”

Darin looked at the young man’s parents, a question in his eyes. While he expected wariness from mortals, especially since he was a stranger, Gregory’s hostility was something else altogether.

“We have had a few cultivators come into Hunter’s Rest over the years, pretending to be members of Clan Wind Dance, Young Master,” Brian explained. “They harassed us and made all sorts of demands. Everything from free food and board to…bed warmers for the night. Some were insistent in their demands. Most of them were caught by Clan Wind Dance, but a few escaped justice.”

As Brian spoke, Darian’s expression grew ugly. He knew some cultivators took advantage of mortals, using their greater strength to oppress others, but this was his first time hearing a first hand account of it happening.

“On behalf of my clan,” Darian said. “I apologize for our failure to protect your village. Give me the names and descriptions of the few who escaped. If I ever come across them, I’ll make them pay for their actions.”

Once again, the Ryleys, including Gregory, stared at Darian as if he were some sort of exotic creature they had never seen before. It made him feel self conscious. Had he said something wrong again? Snow was the only one who remained unaffected. Instead, she ran up to her older brother.

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“Greg!” she exclaimed. “Did you get me something? You were out all night. I was so worried.”

Gregory stared at Darian for a few more seconds, before looking down at his little sister and smiling.

“Perhaps I did, perhaps I didn’t, Little Snowflake,” he said. “What will you give me if I say yes?”

The little girl pretended to think it over, before grinning.

“A kiss on the cheek,” she said.

“I’ll take it.”

With that, the young man pulled out a small stone out of a pouch hanging from his belt. He turned it over, revealing that the stone was split in half, revealing the interior. It was filled with purple crystals. A geode. Darian sensed faint traces of spirit energy coming from the crystals.

He would have to check them to be sure, but he thought that they might be spirit crystals. They were a type of natural treasure. As their name implied, they were crystals that could absorb spirit energy, usually from the environment, and store it. They were mainly used to create magical items, or were themselves turned into magical items. The crystals in his father’s immortal cave were an example of this.

“It’s so pretty!” Snow exclaimed, taking the geode.

She hugged it to her chest for a moment, before wrapping her arms around Gregory. After a few seconds, she pulled away and stood there, studying her gift.

“Where did you get that?” Darian asked.

“Why do you ask?” Gregory shot back, his hostility returning.

Darian nodded to the crystal.

“Those are spirit crystals. They’re low level ones, from what I can sense, but they’re still valuable. If you find more and sell them to Clan Wind Dance, you can make a decent amount of silver.”

Snow looked up at Darian, her eyes glittering.

“These are magic crystals?” she asked.

“That’s…one way of putting it, yes.”

The girl beamed, then looked worried.

“You aren’t going to try and take them from me, are you?”

When she asked that, the rest of her family tensed. Gregory put his hand on his bow. Darian wasn’t sure what the young man planned to do with it since it was unstrung. Use it as a staff? It didn’t matter. Darian had no plans on finding out.

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t steal from children.” He frowned. “Other cultivators might not be as scrupulous. You should hide it to keep it safe, just in case.”

Snow gasped.

“I have a magical secret treasure,” she said. “I know where to hide it.”

Before anyone could say anything, the little girl ran towards a one story house that stood near the workshop. Darian couldn’t help but grin. He then shook his head.

“I’ve taken up too much of your time,” he said to the Ryleys. “If you could help me find a guide, I would appreciate it.”

Brian Ryley looked at him with a thoughtful expression on his face. His wife, Aurora, looked relieved. She even had a small smile on her lips. Gregory radiated dislike.

“Gregory,” Brian said. “You know the Silverwood better than anyone else in the village. Are you willing to be Young Master Darian’s guide?”

The young man’s face made it clear that no, he was not willing to be Darian’s guide. However, he didn’t contradict his father.

“Guide to what?” he asked through gritted teeth.

“The closest dire monster,” Darian replied.

At that, Gregory blinked.

“Why?”

“Training.”

Darian watched as the young man struggled with that for a moment.

“Listen, Young Master,” Gregory said, gritting his teeth. “I don’t think you know what you’re getting yourself into. They’re called dire monsters for a reason. They’re dangerous, even for cultivators. If you really are from Clan Wind Dance, I don’t want them coming after my family just because you were stupid enough to get yourself killed.”

“Is that a no then?” Darian asked.

Gregory let out a sigh.

“If I tell you no, will you give up on this idiotic idea?”

“Nope!” Darian replied with excessive cheerfulness.

Gregory let out another sigh.

“Fine,” he said. “I’ll do it.” He pointed to Darian. “But only if you compensate me for it, and only if you pay up front.”

Darian scratched his cheek.

“Well, I can compensate you, I just can’t do it up front. I had planned on giving you the dire monster’s hide.”

Dire monsters were a type of spirit beast, or perhaps category would be a better way to put it. They were creatures that were in the Foundation Establishment stage, or the equivalent of it at least. While a few had some special abilities of some kind, most dire monsters were just bigger and stronger versions of animals and plants. They were also aggressive to a ridiculous degree, and attacked other creatures with rabid ferocity.

When they reached the equivalent of the Energy Gathering stage, they formed a spirit beast core and gained human level intelligence. Some even gained the ability to take on human form. This was when they were considered proper spirit beasts instead of just dire monsters, since most of them became less aggressive at this stage.

Since dire monsters were spirit beasts, or close to it at least, their body parts were valuable, especially to cultivators. The hide of a dire monster, no matter what kind it was, would be quite the prize, especially for a mortal hunter. It could be sold for a large amount of silver, or used to craft something special. While an item made by mortal hands wouldn’t be as powerful as one crafted by a cultivator, it would still have power. What kind of power depended on the dire monster’s specific properties.

Gregory must have realized this, because he paused before responding. Darian could almost hear the young man’s internal struggle. He watched as the fight went out of him.

“You’re an idiot for doing this,” Gregory told Darian. “And I’m a bigger idiot for helping you. Let me deal with this buck first, and we’ll be on our way.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Brian Ryley said. “I can handle it.”

The fletcher heaved the buck onto his shoulders and headed towards the same one story house Snow had run off to. With no more reason to stall, Gregory led Darian out of the village.

***

Darian followed Gregory through the Silverwood. They were several miles from Hunter’s Rest, where the trees grew taller and closer together. It was dark and gloomy this deep in the Silverwood. The air was cool here. The trees formed a thick canopy, blocking most of the sunlight from reaching the forest floor. The animals were a bit subdued here, as if they didn’t want to attract attention to themselves in this part of the forest. They made little noise. Despite that, the air was thick with the smell of life and green, growing things.

Gregory moved through the underbrush on swift and silent feet. Darian tried to match him, but failed. While he could keep up with the young hunter, he was a bit louder than him. Every once in a while, Gregory glared back at him for all the noise he made. Darian could only shrug. Stealth was not one of his strong suits.

After traveling for several hours, they stopped.

“Here we are,” Gregory whispered, gesturing to the area in front of them. “I’ve heard the other hunters say that there is some kind of dire monster here, though they don’t know what it is. No one comes here to find out. Everyone just avoids this area.”

This part of the forest looked no different from the rest.

“Then how do they know there is a dire monster here?” Darian whispered back.

“Because the few idiots who did come here were never seen again. This included a puffed up cultivator who thought he could handle the dire monster and defeat it. Clearly, he was wrong.”

Darian ignored the pointed warning, or rather he tried. He couldn’t help but feel nervous about this endeavor. Sparring was one thing, but throwing himself head first into a dangerous situation like this seemed reckless. A part of him just wanted to turn around and leave, before it was too late. The rest of him mocked that part. He was a cultivator practicing a combat technique. He may never be ready for real violence. The only way to know for sure was to try.

“Stay here,” Darian said. “If I’m not back in an hour, leave. I’ll likely be dead by then. Don’t come in after me. There’s no point in you dying as well.”

“Trust me, I plan on going nowhere near that dire monster,” Gregory said. “Just make sure you come back alive. If you die, I don’t get paid.”

Darian snorted.

“Because that’s what matters most.”

“Clearly.”

Despite Gregory’s words, Darian could tell that the young hunter was worried. Darian gave him a brief nod, before moving forward. Since he knew he wouldn’t be able to sneak up on the dire monster, he didn’t even try. That wasn’t to say that he rushed forward like a reckless idiot. Instead, he moved forward at a calm and steady pace, alert to any signs of the dire monster.

Deeper and deeper into the Silverwood he went, yet he found no sign of the creature. He sensed nothing out of the ordinary. There was just the forest around him. He couldn’t even detect anything with his mind sense. Darian frowned at this. Dire monsters were still spirit beasts. He should’ve been able to sense this one. The only reason he couldn’t sense Astra and the snake twins was because they concealed their auras from him.

Darian’s intuition screamed at him to dodge. He obeyed. This action saved his life.

Something clawed Darian’s shoulder, leaving behind trails of fire. Blood dripped down from the wounds. If he hadn’t moved, Darian thought that the attack would’ve taken him in the throat. Without thinking about it, he lashed out with his fists, falling into one of the stances from the Fists of the Mortal Flame. One of his fists connected with a warm body, and he heard a strange yelp.

Whatever it was, he couldn’t see or hear or smell it.

Darian attacked again, but his fists only met empty air this time. He maintained his stance as he searched around for the dire monster, but found no sign of his foe. His heart hammered in his chest and adrenaline coated his tongue. It tasted bitter. Fighting an invisible enemy was outside of his expectations, yet despite all that, he didn’t feel afraid or nervous. Instead, he felt excited. Exhilarated even. A smile stretched across his lips.

That was something to consider for later. Right now, he had a dire monster to kill.

Darian’s intuition warned him once again. He dodged. This time, the claws raked his right arm. He lashed out again, striking at his invisible foe. Both of his fists connected this time, and he heard something crack. He tried to follow up, but hit nothing.

Disappointed, Darian searched around for any signs of the dire monster. He couldn’t afford to keep waiting for it to attack again. He had dodged two of them so far, and had gotten lucky both times, but he didn’t know when his luck would end. It was best to finish this as soon as possible.

If he couldn’t see his enemy, then Darian would search for signs of his enemy’s passing. He focused on the environment around him. It was silent. The sudden violence must have scared off all the other animals. The only sound he could hear was his own breathing. The smell of blood, his blood, filled his nostrils.

Darian saw the underbrush to his left move. Without hesitation, he threw out a punch in that direction. His fist connected with the dire monster. He struck out again, but instead of hitting his foe, he hit a tree. While he caused a lot of damage to the tree, he caused even more to himself. Wood defeated flesh and bone, at least for now. Cursing his own carelessness, Darian tried to form a fist with his injured hand and couldn’t. Damn it.

His intuition warned him of another incoming attack, but it came too fast. He wasn’t able to dodge it this time. The attack took him in the back. Somehow, he remained standing. Darian cried out in pain, and retaliated with his good fist. He hit nothing.

This was bad. He was getting predictable. If he didn’t do something now, the dire monster was going to kill him. It wouldn’t even have to try that hard. It could just nick him over and over again, slowly bleeding him out. He already felt woozy from the blood loss.

An idea popped into his head.

Darian focused and used his mind sense as if he were trying to sense mortals. It took effort, but it was worth a try. The forest exploded to life around him through his mind sense. He sensed every tree, every animal, every little bit of life. It was almost overwhelming. However, there was one presence that was stronger than the others, like a torch amidst candles. It felt like a spirit beast’s aura, but was more subdued.

Darian grinned.

He didn’t even wait for the dire monster to attack him again. Instead, he went on the offensive. This must have caught the dire monster off guard, because it didn’t even try to evade his attack. He hit it where he guessed its head was. The attack threw the dire monster back and it lay there, stunned. Darian didn’t give it a chance to recover. He just hit it over and over again with his good fist. Blood splattered him, only this time, it wasn’t his blood. He needed to finish it off now, when he had the chance.

Darian kept hitting it until he saw its body appear, limp and unmoving. To his mind sense, its aura faded away. He studied the now dead dire monster. It looked like some kind of cat, though Darian didn’t know what kind. It had a long and lean body, with a greenish pelt. Wicked looking claws tips it paws. The dire monster’s face was a mess of blood and bone and fur. Its slack jaw revealed sharp fangs, though several were missing.

That was all the time Darian spared for his inspection. He took out one of the medicine pills in his possession and swallowed it. The sweet and floral taste was more intense than he had expected. It was overwhelming. His injuries all flared with pain, including his fist. It felt like he was receiving them all over again, only this time it was all of them at once. The pain almost brought him to his knees. Somehow, he remained standing.

This went on for several moments, before the pain faded away. Darian stood there for several moments, catching his breath. Sweat dripped down his face. When he felt composed again, he inspected his body. All his wounds were gone, as if they had never been. Medicine pills were definitely treasures if they could accomplish this.

Even his blood was gone, though the dire monster’s had remained. He hadn’t watched the process, so he didn’t know if his blood had been absorbed back into his body, or if it just faded away. Either way, it didn’t matter. He felt fine, if tired. It was as if he had been through an entire day’s worth of intense training within the span of a few seconds.

Darian studied his hands. They were stained with the dire monster’s blood. He had just taken another being’s life and he felt…nothing. There was no joy in him, but neither was there sadness and sorrow. This disturbed him. He had never killed anything before, at least not with his own two hands. He should have felt something about it. At the very least, he should have felt sick and nauseous. He had just killed another living being. The taking of a life should not feel mundane. Yet to him, it did.

Darian shook his head. This was something to worry about later. Right now, he had a dire monster’s corpse to worry about.

He couldn’t just leave it here, yet the thought of carrying it back to Hunter’s Rest made him feel even more tired. Still, he couldn’t leave it out here and collect it later. Its flesh was the equivalent of a low-grade natural treasure, one that could strengthen the body. If another creature ate it, there was a chance that that creature would cross the threshold and become a dire monster as well.

Hmm, or he could ask the hunter he had hired for help. That seemed like the best idea. What was the point of bringing along an expert, if he didn’t use his expertise?

With a heave, Darian lifted the dire monster’s corpse onto his shoulders and made his way towards Gregory Ryley.

***

One of Astra’s clones watched as Darian made his way back to the young hunter from Hunter’s Rest. The hunter exclaimed surprise at Darian’s appearance, but Astra could see his relief as well. She saw no sign of treachery or duplicity. Good. If that young hunter had thought he could take advantage of Darian’s current state in order to steal the dire monster’s body, Astra would have disabused him of the notion, assuming Darian didn’t. Thankfully, it didn’t come to that.

Darian deposited the dire monster’s body in front of the young hunter, and made some gestures. The hunter nodded, before he went to work bleeding and treating the carcass. Darian stood off to the side and observed.

As the young hunter worked, Astra thought about Darian’s performance. It was…adequate. He did better than she had expected, if she was being honest with herself. She thought he would suffer more injuries than he had. The dire monster was a little stronger than Darian, but not enough to matter apparently. It had relied too much on its invisibility in order to ambush its foes. Once that had been nullified, killing it had been a simple matter.

Still, she was disappointed in Darian for injuring himself. He had hit a tree and did more damage to himself than the tree. It was embarrassing, especially since she had been responsible for his training so far. If Senior Sister Nova, or any of the other senior members of the Dawn and Dusk Sect, found out, Astra didn’t think she could handle the shame. She would have to punish Darian for making her feel this way.

Tsk. No, she couldn’t. That would be petty. Unless she could make it part of his training somehow. A grin stretched across her face. Yes. That was it. She wouldn’t punish him. She would put him through…special training.

Astra chuckled as she continued watching Darian and the young hunter.