I had no desire to get out of bed the next morning. I didn’t see the point–not even to go search for a job as an UnMarked. So, I remained tucked away from the world under my covers.

Drayek didn’t question my lackadaisical morning, which was unlike him. I couldn’t remember a single day in my life when he’d let me stay in bed past sunrise. But maybe he felt just as depressed by my UnMarkedness as I did.

The thought that even Drayek may have given up on me only served to make me feel worse.

I precariously pulled my blanket off the top of my head and peeked into the room. Still no Drayek. He had left me alone hours ago–or what seemed like that much time. Who really knew how long I’d been pitying myself within the safe cover of darkness beneath my blanket?

And who knew how much more time passed between Drayek leaving and Drayek lumbering back into the hovel with a chorus of ongoing grunts. I allowed the top half of my eyes to peek out of the blanket and observed as Drayek casually made his way to the table, paying me no mind. He had a cloth sack slung over a broad shoulder. The sack was so over-filled that it bulged to the point of almost tearing.

My stomach grumbled in complaint. If Drayek had come with more monster parts for me to eat, I would not be happy.

“All right, Rayden. You’ve been in bed long enough.”

I thrust my head back under the blanket as Drayek started talking, but it was too late. He knew I was awake.

I groaned, much louder than I needed to, and threw my covers to the side.

“What’s the point, Drayek?” I mumbled. “I’m not Marked. My life is over.”

“By the goddess, Rayden. You really know how to brighten someone’s day.” Drayek threw the sack onto the surface of the table with a thud. “Now, if you don’t cheer up, I won’t take you on the hunt tomorrow.”

I shot straight up into a sitting position, my cot creaking precariously from the force. “Wait, are you serious?”

Drayek planted fists onto his hips and lifted his bushy brows. “I never kid, Rayden. And why would I kid about this?”

He had a point. Hunts were only for the Hunters–those who were one, Marked. And two, those who actually had enough Soul Strength to level up into Tier 2 within the first five years of receiving their Mark. So, not for the weak.

But why do I get to go on one? I thought.

Drayek spoke as he shoved an arm into the sack, almost reading my mind, “No one knows you are going on this hunt.”

All I could do was laugh. “That’s gonna go over really well, Drayek.”

Drayek shrugged away my comment and procured a red breast-plate from the sack–Hunter’s armor. The low glow indicated it wasn’t as high-Tiered as Drayek’s armor, but it was at least for a Tier 1 wearer.

He continued pulling out the other armor set pieces, along with a matching red spear. I about jumped two feet out of my bed to reach for the weapon. If it was like the armor, it was a Tier 1 spear–better than any weapon I’d ever held! And it was a spear. Though I’d never excelled at much in my training with Drayek and Sarina, I had always held my own with a spear.

“The only people who need to know are my team, and my team is nothing but reasonable and good men and women. They won’t question me if I insist on you joining us. At least not too much.”

I didn’t feel particularly encouraged by that last sentence of his.

Drayek gestured for me to come over to the armor and spear and take a look. I didn’t hesitate. I placed a reverent hand over the gleaming breastplate. It felt warm underneath my touch, and I could feel a slight buzz reverberate through my arm and then through the rest of my body.

Drayek rested a heavy hand on my shoulder. “This was my first set of armor after my Marking Ceremony.”

I exhaled an awestruck breath and moved my hand to the spear. Though the armor looked like it might be a little big on me, the spear was perfect. I ran the tips of my fingers along the tail of the blood-red serpent that swirled around the shaft, its head starting the swirl as if it moved to swallow the wood whole. I imagined all the monsters and Nagari I could run through with the weapon.

“Drayek, how am I supposed to wear or use any of this? I’m not Marked, let alone in Tier 1.”

“Yes, of course. But technically, you can wear armor and use weapons that are higher ranked than you. The problem is that it wears out your Soul. But your Soul Strength…” Drayek eyed me up and down. “Your Soul Strength, as far as we know, is extremely high.”

“Your Soul Strength is very high, Master. Which is as intended, of course.”

I nearly jumped at the voice squeaking its way into my mind. It was strange to have thoughts that weren’t my thoughts–just another reason to suggest I might be going insane. I ignored the interjection and stared intently at Drayek to try and pay attention.

“So high, in fact,” Drayek continued, “that you should be able to handle armor at higher ranks. Your Soul will get tired, so you won’t put any of it on until we’ve started the hunt. And you will take it all off if it becomes too much, understand?”

Drayek gave me a pointed look, and I nodded in response.

“Good,” he finished with a satisfied grunt. “We leave first thing in the morning.”

***

I had seen the Hunters around the city, but I didn’t talk to them much. There’s only so much socializing I’d wanted to do with how much most Edronans ostracized me. But, to be fair, the Hunters were never among the name-callers and the ones that would beat me up. Drayek was the head of the Hunters, and I’m sure he had something to do with that. But, even though they didn’t pummel me or call me names, they also didn’t try to strike up conversations with me.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

And this morning’s hunt wasn’t any different.

Drayek stood in the middle of a tight circle of tense Hunters, all of them whispering heatedly at him. My stomach clenched each time a Hunter shot a confused, nervous glance in my direction, then continued to whisper about what could only be things about me and why I shouldn’t be there.

I grabbed fistfuls of the pebbly dirt I sat on and tried to ignore the Hunters. The suns blazed with an intense heat this morning, and I could already feel drips of sweat rolling down my face and back. We hadn’t even started our trek into the wilderness for the hunt, and I could already feel the heat getting to me. But that wouldn’t matter if I wouldn’t be allowed to go.

“I’ve already decided!” Drayek bellowed.

I shifted uncomfortably during the silence that ensued. Then, finally, someone spoke up.

“Why, Drayek? By the goddess, why would you bring an UnMarked on an extremely dangerous…” The tall, slender woman looked in my direction and pursed her lips in concern. “Extremely dangerous,” she emphasized more clearly for my benefit, “hunt?”

I drew my shoulders forward in an attempt to make my tiny body even smaller. The woman who had spoken wasn’t much older than I. She had attended her Marking Ceremony just two years ago, but she was right: I didn’t belong there.

“I like Rayden and all, but we can’t have an UnMarked on a Hunt and have him steal our essence. Essence is useless to him!” One of the men, I couldn’t remember his name, whispered these thoughts to Drayek and the rest of the group, trying to keep his voice low and difficult for me to hear, but he failed miserably.

“He will automatically attract essence to him from the monsters we kill, Marked or UnMarked. But, unlike us, he can’t use it!” The Hunter was yelling now, seeming to have forgotten that he was trying to spare my feelings.

The rest of the Hunters grunted in agreement.

All the more reason for me to leave.

I moved to rise, the sack of armor in my right hand and the spear in my left. I grunted at the weight of the items. They were definitely getting slightly more challenging for me to carry than they had been just an hour prior. However, I could still lift them with only small pulsations in my temples. At the moment, it only felt like a minor headache was coming on. Perhaps the headache would worsen if I put the armor on and wore it for a period…. I didn’t know, and I didn’t think I should find out.

I turned on myself slowly and began to tiptoe away, feeling ridiculous for being there at all.

“What are you doing, Rayden?”

I peered a wary eye over my right shoulder and tried a nervous smile in Drayek’s direction. “Going home?”

I posed my words as a question but already knew his answer.

“Of course not. Put on your armor. We’re heading out.”

I met eyes with each of the Hunters, who all had identical looks on their faces: furrowed brows and teeth chomping down nervously on their bottom lips. I’m sure I didn’t look dissimilar. But, still, I followed Drayek’s command and began wiggling my way into Drayek’s old red armor.

The set was significantly large on me, but that didn’t matter. As soon as I positioned each piece onto its corresponding part on my body, the magic within the armor shrunk the metal down to my size–a perfect fit.

But it didn’t come without its inconveniences. The slight pulsing in my temples increased at least double, and I had to squeeze my eyes shut and focus for more than a minute to push the pain away. Of course, it didn’t go away, but if I concentrated enough, I could convince myself I just had a bad headache.

A bad headache that seemed to crush my entire body!

After just a second of losing my focus, it suddenly felt like someone had stacked a pile of modest-sized stones on my chest and limbs.

Gritting my teeth, I tried three steps forward and was relieved to see that I could walk and bend without too much difficulty. Drayek had been right; My high Soul Strength would serve me well in this situation. At least I could still stand.

I tucked the empty sack into an opening in the back of my greaves and adjusted my grip on the spear in my right hand. Though trepidation snaked through my entire body, I felt at ease with the weapon at my side.

I moved to join the Hunters, who still stood ahead of me, all staring at me with less-than-welcome expressions. All of them except for Drayek, of course. But I was stopped by a sudden whoosh of blue streaming toward me and specifically toward my new armor set.

“Essence,” I breathed, catching sight of every stream as they made a line toward the armor.

Without even thinking, I commanded the streams to finish their journey into the armor and settle into the greaves, the breastplate, the forearm guards… every bit of it. All of a sudden, the headache went from excruciating to a mild discomfort. The feeling of stones weighing on my chest subsided, and I sauntered up to the group with a grin on my face that I couldn’t control.

I didn’t know what I had just figured out, but I knew it was something big.

“The hunting group from last night’s shift reported a swarm of at least fifty Nagari burrowing into the gulch about two miles north,” Drayek said to all of us. “We will make our way there and dispose of them.”

Grunts of agreement and approval resounded around me. I tried to stumble out my own warrior-like grunt, but only a squeak came out. I cleared my throat and adjusted my gauntlets, pretending nothing “un-studly-like” had escaped from my mouth.

I fell in at the back of the group as we began our march north. The sound of metal armor and various weapons clanked loudly in the otherwise silent morning. Not a single breeze interrupted the stoic atmosphere, so I became hyper-aware of my surroundings. The armor helped with that, as well. I could feel its magic heightening my sense of touch. I could feel each pebble bounce off my boots as if I walked barefoot, and my body vibrated as each footstep–mine and the Hunters–met with the ground.

It was invigorating.

“So, UnMarked, huh?”

I started at the voice’s presence to my right. The young woman from earlier stood at my side. She was the one who had initially spoken up against Drayek, claiming my attendance on an “extremely dangerous” hunt to be less than ideal. Of course, I didn’t disagree with that sentiment. What was her name? Marley? Martha…? Maran!

“Uh, yeah. Guess so.” I shrugged my shoulders in the most nonchalant way I could against the heaviness of the armor.

But Maran saw through my carefree guise. She looked down at me over her sharp nose, which made me feel even shorter.

“Sorry to hear it. Drayek never stops talking about you and your potential.” Maran pulled a waterskin from a string at her hip and took a swig.

I cocked my head to the side. “Really? He thinks I have potential?”

Maran flicked a strand of dark hair that had fallen out of her tight ponytail. “Of course he does. He’s always been proud of you. You’re like a son to him.”

I swallowed. Of course, Drayek was the closest thing to a father I’d ever had, and we cared about each other. But… Drayek and I never shared words of affection. He didn’t call me “son,” and I didn’t call him “father.” Drayek had never been one to share his vulnerabilities with anyone, including me. And, as he was the one who raised me, I did the same.

“Not many are surprised you came out UnMarked,” Maran said. Most of the Hunters ahead of us turned a curious ear in our direction. “I’m sure you know that, though.”

I gripped the shaft of my spear harder, knuckles turning white. “Yeah, I know. I’m not a true Edronan. Thanks for the reminder.”

Maran shoved a playful elbow on my arm. “It’s all right, Rayden. We still like you. I just… We all think it’d be better for you to learn sooner rather than later where you belong. And I don’t think it’s as a warrior.”

I dared my eyes up into the clump of Hunters ahead of me and was met with nods of agreement and even some sympathetic smiles.

“Quiet!” Drayek interrupted, stopping the march with a raised fist.

He shot a glare at Maran, and she retreated from my side and back into the cluster of the other Hunters.

“The Nagari are close,” Drayek finished in a hushed whisper.