Tom sidestepped the Frost Hare, thrusting his sword into its side as it jumped past him. It squealed in pain, and turned to face him just as it landed.

The white fur of the Frost Hare was dyed red from its own blood, but it continued to fight. The Frost Hare was essentially just a large rabbit. It stood roughly stomach height. Its powerful legs allowed it to jump large distances, which it used to impale its enemies on its long and very sharp horn. It could also use its sharp teeth and powerful jaw to bite its enemies, which Tom had personally experienced from a previous Frost Hare.

The Hare’s rear legs bunched up to once again jump at Tom, but just before it could, a light green blade of wind cut deep into its leg, severing its tendons. The Hare’s jump became lopsided, and it landed hard on its side, several feet away. Tom was there within moments, and thrust his sword into his neck, killing it.

“Ha ha, How many does that make, Mike?” Tom asked, breathing hard, resting his arms on his knees.

Mike jumped out of a nearby tree and stood beside his friend, “Four today. We might need to slow down. We don’t want to eliminate the Frost Hare population in this area.”

Tom looked up at his friend with a raised eyebrow. They both stared at each other for a moment before they burst out laughing. Frost Hares were never in danger of becoming too few, but they were always in danger of overpopulation, they even put Goblins to shame. However, they migrated, not in herds, but in large groups spread out over a vast distance, moving together to new areas.

Due to their migration, their furs were always in high demand. The furs were very warm, provided natural camouflage in the snow, and were quite pretty. Many lower Nobles wore Frost Hare fur during the winter.

Their migration had just happened to pass by Pinefall, their village, this year. Which prompted many of the Novices in the village to hunt them. Frost Hares were fairly weak, but they were very quick and preferred to hide. While their teeth could easily tear large chunks of flesh away, the Hares preferred eating the bark off trees, despite being omnivores.

Very few Novice groups were having any luck hunting the Frost Hares. Tom and Mike were one of them. Mike’s Wind Magic allowed him to track the Frost Hares.

When Mike turned fifteen, he had received the Uncommon Magic Type Class of Aeromancer. Basically a more specialized version of a Wind Mage, specializing in detection and speed. His spells were weaker compared to a normal Wind Mage, but they were much faster.

Tom’s Class was a Warrior Type, and wasn’t anything special. He was a simple Swordsman. He used an Arming sword and round shield. However, unlike the other Swordsmen in the village, of which there were many, he used his shield offensively as often, if not more often, than his sword.

While he was a bit annoyed that his friend had gotten an Uncommon Class, and he had only gotten a Common Class, he quickly got over it. He fell in love with his class and if he wasn’t out hunting with Mike, he was almost always training.

“Oh cool! I leveled up!” Tom exclaimed.

“Me too. Level four, that makes you Level five?”

“Yep!”

Out of the trio, Tom was the oldest, though he never acted it. Followed by Alaster, then Mike. While Tom had waited for Mike to get his Class, he had hunted in the outskirts of the forest, killing a few mundane creatures. He only began to truly hunt when Mike got his Class, just a two months later.

The pair sat down against a tree to rest for a moment, and to check their status. While Mike studied each aspect of any change, Tom simply put two points in STR and CON and the final point in DEX, and called it good. Waiting for Mike, Tom laid his head back and closed his eyes.

“Hey, Mike?”

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Mike immediately noticed the change in Tom’s tone, “Yeah?”

“What level do you think Alaster is by now?”

Mike closed his status and leaned back against the tree. They had been strictly forbidden by the Alderman of the Village to not mention Alaster or his family in the Village. Which is just one of the reasons they spent so much time in the forest. Even years later, the Knights of Hasal were still in the Pinefall, watching for any hint of where Alaster was. That alone was enough proof for the pair that their friend was still alive and free.

“Knowing him? Probably eight.”

Tom chuckled, “Yeah. He always was quick to figure things out.”

They grew quiet, both remembering moments when Alaster was there with them.

“Where do you think he is?” Tom asked.

“No idea, and honestly? I don’t care to think about it.”

“Why?”

“Because if I think about where he could be, I’ll think about how far away he is, and figure out how many days away he is. If I think about it, I will inevitably calculate how long it would take for me to reach him, then go and do it. And I know I would be wrong regardless. There are simply too many ways to travel and too much time has passed. He could be anywhere.”

“I like to imagine that he is just in Krilla. That we could visit him occasionally.”

Mike chuckled, because he too liked to imagine that Alaster wasn’t as far as he knew he was. Their friend had never been careless, if he thought someone was chasing him, he would get as far away as he could.

“Let's go. Are you good to drag the Hare back?” Mike asked, standing up.

Tom groaned, but stood up as well, “Yeah. Can you get the sled?”

Together they managed to get the sled under the Hare. They had attached a rope to the front of it, which allowed Tom to drag it. The young man put his shield on his back, sheathed his sword at his hip, and grabbed the rope. Mike simply walked alongside him.

Using the money from their hunts, they had equipped themselves in some basic armor. Mike had a dagger to defend himself, should his magic be ineffective. Mike wore light leather that didn’t hinder his movements, while Tom wore a mix of Hard leather and chain mail. It had been expensive for Tom, but it had already saved him from bloodshed numerous times.

They soon returned to the Village, dropping off their hunt to the butcher’s and getting the money for it. They had already done the same thing three times earlier that day, but this fourth one was the final for the day.

“See you tomorrow?” Mike asked.

“Yeah, See ya.” Tom ran off to get home, where his father was waiting with some chores. Being the only son of the only Blacksmith in the village was tough.

Mike also returned home. On his way, he saw Olivia’s Party also return from their hunts. Most of the Novice Villagers preferred going out in parties of five to seven. There was safety in numbers, but in return, slowed their leveling.

Olivia had first asked to join Tom and Mike, but they had said they wanted to keep it small. She had understood. Everyone in the village did. Everyone silently acknowledged that Tom and Mike were desperate to grow strong enough to help Alaster. They wanted to become strong enough to go out and find him and help him if needed. They couldn’t publicly acknowledge it, as the Knights were still in Pinefall.

The Knights numbered only five, and had built their own small barracks. They kept mostly to themselves and helped to defend the village from monsters, so for the most part, they were accepted and welcomed. But everyone knew they were only there to arrest one of their own should he return, for a crime they all knew he was innocent of.

Most still didn’t truly understand what had happened. But they all believed it to be impossible that one of their own families could do something as horrible as dealing with Demons. They struggled to believe that the woman who cooked that delicious pie every festival, and the man who protected their homes from monsters and gave piggyback rides to their children, could have been involved with Demons.

Mike walked into his home, greeted his mother who was focused on sewing a hole in some socks closed, and walked into his room. He took off his armor and put it away. Laying on his bed, he took one of his book off the shelf over his bed, and began to read.

Before the incident, Mike had simply read everything he could get his hands on. But after Alaster had disappeared, he had focused his reading habits on more applicable knowledge. He learned what sort of monsters called this part of the world home. He learned their habits and weak spots. He learned what sort of magics there were and what his own could accomplish.

While most of Tom’s money went into training and repairs, Mike’s went mostly into new books and knowledge. Everything the pair did, was to see their friend again. And the more they killed, the stronger they got, the less they cared what that would cost.