I brought my body as low to the ground as my armor would allow, positioning myself next to Drayek. The top of my head hung over the lip of the gulch, and I could see a dark opening covered in an eerie white fog.

The other Hunters positioned themselves on their bellies, as well. Both their training and their special armor sets aided in their picture-perfect stealth as they did.

“Do you see them, Radyen?” Drayek whispered near my left ear.

“No.”

“Here.” Drayek guided my chin with his finger until I was looking to the far left of the gulch.

I squinted my eyes and strained to see it, but once I finally saw the Nagari, they were hard to miss.

They sat against the far wall of the gaping ditch, scaly backs resting against the damp stone. Some hid behind the wide cracks within the stone, but all were visible. There were maybe 50 of them, just as the hunting group from the prior night’s shift had said.

A grimace crept onto my face as I stared at the creatures. Though I’d heard many tales, I’d never seen a Nagari in person, and those tales did not quite do their grotesqueness justice.

The Nagari were humanoid, with long dark legs and human-like faces. But their bare torsos twisted and writhed in sickly green scales, and each had a snake tail unnaturally protruding from their rears. The Nagari rested around a large bonfire that provided enough light to pierce through the fog and allow us a view of the creatures.

“We have the advantage,” Drayek said. “The element of surprise and the high ground. Everyone see that root to the right?”

I didn’t find the branch Drayek indicated until after everyone nodded their heads in answer. The wide root jutted from the rock face of the far wall opposite the Nagari. It started at the top of the gulch, then had grown all the way to the floor.

“We will climb down that. As soon as possible, Maran, activate your Shimmering Veil.”

“What does that do?” I asked.

Drayek smiled at me. “You’ll love it. Maran’s Tier 2 Skill allows her to cast an illusion over herself and a radius of ten feet. The illusion gives every human within the radius, and what said human is touching, like weapons and armor, a sort of transparency, making us almost invisible. So, everyone remain within ten feet of Maran.”

The Hunters softly grunted their acknowledgment, but they seemed bored by the order–Drayek was really reminding people to stay close for my benefit.

“You want me to stay at the head, Drayek?” the man to my right whispered. He was massive, with bulging muscles that his silver armor wrapped around flatteringly. I’d give anything to have muscles like his.

“Yes, Krato. Your Spectral Shield will prove useful in this fight. There are fifty of them and only seven of us.”

I smiled; Drayek had included me in the number. But I found myself curious as to what Krato’s Spectral Shield Skill could do, but I didn’t want to interrupt again.

“I’ll flank your right, and Carrissa will take your left,” Drayek said.

Carissa, who lay beside Krato, raised her short sword in response.

“Rayden, stay back with our healer as long as you can.”

Next to Maran, a more petite woman waved her slender fingers in the air to grab my attention and offered a brilliant smile. I knew this woman, Korin, the group’s healer. I had met her at the Markets in town a few times. Korin was in her 50s, like Drayek, and also like Drayek, was a Tier 3.

Drayek laid a firm hand on my shoulder. “But if you find the opportunity, don’t be afraid to make use of that spear.” A shadow fell over his face. “But don’t be stupid about it.”

I winced. No pressure.

“And that leaves you, Marcus. Position yourself near Maran. And I trust you know what to do.”

Marcus clenched his broad jaw and nodded, tapping the longbow in his hand thoughtfully, as if itching to shoot some arrows at something.

Drayek brought two fingers in the air, then gestured for everyone to make their way to the root leading into the gulch.

I rose slowly with the Hunters, holding my spear away from my body as far as possible to avoid it hitting my armor and making noise.

Drayek, Krato, and Carissa headed the group, and Maran and Marcus took the center, leaving Korin and me at the back. I took the rest of the group’s cue and remained close to Maran, about an arm’s length away.

We crept down the broad root two at a time. I found myself holding my breath as I tried to step lightly along the wood, but my vision was growing fuzzy, and my armor was getting even heavier. It felt like someone had placed a carrying pole clad with full pails of water atop my shoulders.

Without even thinking, I scanned the area for more essence streams and saw about half a dozen making their way toward my armor. I effortlessly directed them into my equipment, and relief rushed over me as my headache subsided once again.

I urged lightness into my feet and stayed in step with the Hunters, all the while searching for more streams to alleviate the pressure the Tier 1 equipment had on my Soul.

As soon as the last person stepped off the root and emerged into the fog-covered gulch, Maran inhaled a sharp breath and pressed her palms together, fingers shooting straight into the air. Her forearms shook from the immense amount of pressure from her palms pushing against one another.

A short glimmer of an iridescent wave wooshed over the group. I suppressed the urge to let out an impressed whistle. The Hunters around me, and their equipment, had nearly blurred out of existence. The only thing indicating their presence was an almost imperceptible wave of color hovering above the dusty floor. I looked at my arms and legs and found the same thing had happened to me.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

A brief moment of jealousy hardened my stomach. I would never get a Tier 2 Skill like hers, let alone any. But… Drayek still had hope. He wouldn’t have brought me on this hunt if he didn’t think cultivation for me was possible.

I pushed away any thoughts of jealousy and self-pity and focused on the task at hand. One foot in front of the other, over and over, for what seemed like minutes instead of seconds, as the reality that my first fight was mere moments away struck me.

Drayek raised a fist and brought us to a halt.

And there they were. Just ten or so feet away from where I stood. The Nagari looked even more horrific up close. The slime that spilled over their scales dripped off of their bodies into puddles at their feet, and their faces–though humanoid–had a bilious green hue. And to top it all off, snake-like fangs extended over their bottom lips. A sudden memory from one of Drayek’s stories of the Nagari reminded me that their bites were poisonous.

Try not to get bitten, I told myself.

And then my eyes caught their weapons. Though shoddily made, their swords and daggers looked sharp, and their bows and arrows looked like they’d seen a death or two. Even with a lack of armor, the heavy presence of weaponry disproved any thought I might have had that they were complete savages.

“Spectral Shield,” Drayek whispered so low I could barely hear.

Krato tucked his sword and shield underneath one arm and made a wide circle in front of himself with the other. Awhoosh sounded, similar to when Maran had activated her Shimmering Veil, and a filmy white dome formed over our group.

The Nagari still noticed nothing–more than half of them remained immobile with their eyes closed. Sleeping, perhaps?

“Approach,” Drayek commanded.

My heart raced even faster as I advanced with the Hunters. Drayek’s nose was mere inches away from one of the Nagari that sat closest to their fire. That same Nagari stirred and stared into our huddle, head tilted so far to the side I thought its neck might break. It seemed to stare straight at me with wide eyes, its diamond-shaped pupils growing as its breathing grew heavier. The Nagari moved its hand with sharpened fingernails over the dagger resting at where I’d imagine the creature’s hip might be, but Drayek was faster.

Drayek swung his longsword in a blur and lopped off the Nagari’s head before I could even blink. Tendons, scales, and thick black blood sprayed all over Drayek and those closest to him, but none of the Hunters even flinched.

“Attack!” Drayek shouted, just as the Nagari’s body crumpled to the ground at his feet.

The Hunters hollered with enthusiasm and threw themselves into the thrall while expertly keeping the formation intact. The remaining Nagari joined the fray as well, but not as quickly or as expertly as our group did. Granted, we had caught them by surprise, so I was still in the dark about how organized their combat might be in other situations.

I watched in awe as Drayek and Carissa ripped through the next ten Nagari. Drayek’s longsword suddenly ignited with flame, and my jaw dropped. I had heard about his Weapons Flame Skill he’d received when reaching Tier 2–a spell allowing him to add fire damage to any of his weapons. But I had never seen him use it in person. Drayek’s movements and slashes became a dance, and the flames that roared off his blade were his partner.

The Nagari blows bounced off of Krato’s Spectral Shield, leaving us untouched, at least for the time being. After twenty or so hits from the Nagari, I could see little cracks slowly growing along the edges of the dome.

Maran had stopped using her Shimmering Veil Skill at this point and joined the fighting with a slim dagger in each hand. She darted in and out of Krato’s Spectral Shield and dodged and weaved away from every blow the Nagari threw in her direction. She expertly crept her way behind one of the Nagari and, with a guttural war cry, slit its throat open. Maran smiled as the black blood gushed from the creature’s wound and down her arms.

The healer, Korin, stayed in motion to avoid staying in any one place for too long. But her eyes remained half closed, and she continuously pushed out floating balls from her hands. They glowed bright yellow, then dissipated as they hit each Hunter. Every time a ball hit its targeted Hunter, said Hunter would straighten up his or her back and thrust themselves into the fight with even more strength than before.

I stayed next to Korin, anchoring the shaft of my spear on my thigh and aiming its tip toward any oncoming Nagari. Marcus, the archer, stood just a foot behind me and loosed one arrow after another. He downed five of the creatures with an arrow through the middle of their foreheads before the fight had ensued longer than thirty seconds.

Just over half of the Nagari left, I thought.

After watching the members of the party down the Nagari so quickly and effortlessly, I found myself wishing to kill just one of them on my own. I shifted my grip on the spear and dared a step away from Korin. And then another step. And another. She didn’t notice–not right away. And before she did see, one of the Nagari did first.

I saw the glint of a short, chipped sword in the corner of my eye as it swooshed its way toward my face. I narrowly dodged the swing and could feel the wind of the weapon as it sped dangerously close over my eyes.

The Nagari that had lunged at me hissed and darted out its tongue in annoyance. I whirled to face him, ensuring my spear kept a distance between us, but I could still smell its foul breath.

The Nagari smiled a gruesome smile and waved a scaly hand in front of its chest.

Is it casting a spell?

My entire body tensed, and I held my breath as I awaited what the Nagari had summoned. A small green ball left the Nagari’s long fingers and floated over to the creature’s sword. The blade absorbed the glow, then emanated its own green light. The sword then grew, at least to the same length as my spear. The Nagari taunted me with the tip of its blade, closing the distance between us.

“This Nagari is Marked!” I hollered, staring at the giant magical sword.

None of the Hunters heard me. Or, at least, they couldn’t respond as they continued to fight the creatures.

I glanced quickly at the other Nagari and noticed that some were holding their own against Maran, who was a Tier 2, and even a couple could fight Drayek for longer than two seconds before he tore them to shreds. And the Nagari in front of me wasn’t the only one to have cast a spell.

I watched in utter confusion as rays of light and conjured weapons of wind and fire left some Nagari hands. Were they all Marked? Well, that just wasn’t fair. I might not be Edronan, but I wasn’t a monster like these creatures! What made them more worthy of the goddess’s Mark than me?

I quickly realized I should have been paying closer attention to my opponent as the green-sword Nagari lunged for me, quickly dancing around my spear and avoiding the tip that I thrust in its direction. I evaded its second swing, but doing so was more challenging than the first time. The weight on my mind increased with every movement, making the armor feel physically heavier… and heavier. I could feel my legs wobbling from the exhaustion. My Soul was getting tired.

With clenched teeth, I spun around myself, brought in all the essence I could possibly see, and forced the streams into the legs and arms of my armor. I forced speed into my legs, so much speed that I shouldn’t have been capable, even withthe armor. I then circled behind the Nagari.

With my own war cry, I thrust the spear forward with all the strength left in my body and then some. I could feel the essence in my gauntlets and the vambraces on my arms directing inhuman power into my force. I grinned with elation at the feel of the spear digging into the creature’s abdomen with a crack, then with a squish as it pierced through what could only be some of the Nagari’s organs. The Nagari’s body began to tear almost entirely in half as I heaved the spear further forward and deeper.

I wanted to shout for the Hunters and for Drayek to witness my victory, but my excitement didn’t last long. As soon as the spear ran its way through the Nagari’s torso, my body gave out. I screamed as my mind seemed to shatter and fiery pain ripped through every muscle. I collapsed, the armor now crushing me like a boulder.

I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t see. I saw only blackness save for a few white spots that danced in my vision. My head pounded, and my chest constricted as I gasped for air.

“Rayden!”

Drayek’s shouting sounded so distant. I attempted to roll over to find him in the fray but lost consciousness before I could move an inch.