With long purposeful strides and a determined pace, Bane marched over the untouched countryside that spread before him like a delicate jade tapestry. Flecks of soil and blades of grass clung to the soles of his worn boots as he stepped around a pool of still water.

The great cedars of the forest stretched high above the grass-covered hills, obscuring just a bit of the grand snow-capped mountains that loomed proudly on the horizon.

But Bane wasn’t looking at the scenery as he walked. His eyes were intently fixed on the strange text that had appeared nearly an hour prior.

Through trial and error, he had discovered the correct series of thoughts necessary to change which set of data was displayed to him.

—Active Quests.

☒ Remain Uninjured (Failed!)

☐ Go To The Citadel.

☐ Remove Slave Collar. (Optional)

It reminded him of the heads-up displays found in military-grade Holoscopes. Typically the high-tech visors displayed current objectives alongside basic telemetry data. In addition to keeping soldiers on task, these devices were used to relay critical intelligence when audio communication was ill-advised or otherwise impossible.

The great big ‘X’ beside the first objective was something Bane was all too familiar with. Not a day into his “new life” and already he had failed his first quest.

Great, Just what I was hoping for.

But that was the story of his life—a series of unfortunate events and failures culminating in a life not worth living.

Bane pushed the thought out of his mind. He was here to change all that. Dwelling on the past would do nothing to change it.

The wounds around his wrists were healing and he had learned much from his first encounter.

The monsters of this world were unusually powerful and particularly fierce. Driven by unholy anger and senseless bloodlust.

More interestingly, however, they seemed to be governed by, or at least categorized by, some kind of system. The same system that periodically displayed data to his retina.

Whenever he looked at something for long enough a list describing its attributes would appear; revealing information about whatever it was.

Crawling forward, a small, fluffy, white, creature poked its round head out of a burrow beside the road, its black beady eyes staring unblinkingly at Bane as he continued down the path.

Rabbid Rabbit

—Level 4—

-Monster-

“Tiny Death”

HP:20/20

RP:23/23

Skills:

Duplicate: Level 7

Group Think: Level 4

Bane read through the data trying to make sense of the abbreviations and titles. “HP” seemed to be linked to health. “Health Points?” he mused.

The skills also seemed self-explanatory. Like rabbits, these creatures must have been able to reproduce or Duplicate quickly. The name of the second skill suggested to Bane that they worked in packs, operating like some sort of hivemind.

But what did “RP” stand for? Not only did creatures possess this “RP” but people had it as well.

Whatever it was, Elidi seemed to have a lot of it. And Bane thought it responsible for the bolt of fire she had cast at that massive creature earlier.

Either way, Bane had a feeling he would learn the truth soon enough. His newfound power seemed to grow with every use.

Exp Requirement Met! » Congratulations! » Skill Proficiency Increased! »

Appraisal Level 2 » 3

At first, he only saw glimpses of information: the name of the creature, its level, and a title. But now he was beginning to see little tidbits of insider information.

Information:

‘Rabbid Rabbits’ aka ‘white death’ is an aggressive species that hails from the Leporidae family. A subspecies of Olupida, these creatures are typically harmless in small numbers; however, Rabbid Rabbits have the ability to duplicate quickly and have been known to kill High-Level predators while in large groups.

The creature hid itself, darting deeper into its burrow when Bane was only a meter or so away, his nearly two-meter-tall frame cast a long dark shadow on the maw of the tiny cave.

Peering over his shoulder, Bane checked the line of children that marched behind him. They looked like ducklings trailing behind their oversized mother.

All but one that is. Elidi, the smallest and most rambunctious of the group, had been tasked with keeping an eye out for any dangers hiding in the trees of the forest up ahead.

At first, the girl eagerly kept herself a few paces ahead of the motley crew, eyes darting to and fro as she scanned the vast canopy, investigated every bush, and scrutinized every mound in search of emerging threats.

But as the seconds turned to minutes, and those minutes dragged on and on becoming long laborious hours, her pace slowed and boredom set in.

Soon her boredom was all she could think about. She was bored of looking out for dangers that never materialized. Bored of the monotonous task of placing one aching foot in front of the other. So bored that she had time to think.

Her small stature made scouting ahead taxing and laborious. Not only did her short legs force her to work harder just to keep pace, but she also had to contend with the verticality of the environment. Trees would block her path and stones often obscured her line of sight, forcing her to climb on top of rocks or run to the top of hills just to get a lay of the land.

But if she were taller, she reasoned, maybe even as tall as Bane, her task would be simple. She could take long effortless strides as he did, covering ground without breaking a sweat and surveying the area with a single glance.

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From that height, she told herself, I could spot dangers from kilometers —no— hundreds of kilometers away!

Then everyone would have to recognize my greatness, everyone would look up to me, literally and metaphorically, and I could return home, mission accomplished, with my head hung high!

Growing to Bane’s height in an afternoon, however, was a tall order. A puzzle that occupied her mind and alleviated her boredom for some time. But before long she had a solution, one that was equal parts novel, genius, and simple.

“Hey Mr!” She called out, falling into step beside him. “I just came up with a mega-great idea!”

Bane slowed his pace and glanced down at her.

“what is it?” He asked.

“Well remember how you told me to look out for danger and stuff with my super awesome eyes and ears!?”

Bane didn’t remember calling them “super awesome” but there was no use arguing semantics

“Yes.”

“Well, it’s kinda hard to see over all the rocks and stuff. So…” she paused, tried to read his stoic expression, failed, and thought about dropping the idea entirely.

Sensing this Bane prodded further, “So?” his eyes narrowed into an unintentional glare.

“So” —Walking backward Elidi stepped in front of him, to make sure he would see her brightest smile in all its glory—if you were to carry me on your shoulders I bet I could see just about everything!”

When Bane didn’t immediately respond she added: “Then there’d be no way anything could sneak up on us!”

When he still didn’t respond she strained to make her smile bigger. Her rows of sharp teeth made her look positively ferocious... Well... as ferocious as a little girl with doe eyes and a fluffy tail can be.

“You wouldn't have to carry me forever! Just while we're in the dense forest,” she assured him

At first, Bane resisted the idea. His instincts warned that this was the first step in a larger deception. After all, the first task of any assassin is getting close enough to the target to strike. Sitting on top of his shoulders would be an ideal position to land a fatal blow. Or maybe she had something more devious in mind.

Maybe she was planning to tire him out so she could pounce on an already weakened opponent.

Or maybe—He stopped his mind from spiraling—Maybe the paranoia that had kept him alive all these years was playing tricks on him once again.

Thousands of scenarios swirled around in his head. In each successive simulation, he died a more and more gruesome and agonizing death.

“Trust no one. Everything is a test. Where there is solitude there is peace.” Those were the words he had always lived by.

But no longer, he told himself. One way or another it had to stop. This time things had to be different. This world had to be different—she had to be different.

In the few hours he’d known her, Elidi had shown him nothing but kindness. In truth, she had been kinder to him in that short time than anyone else had his life over.

She hadn’t tried to attack or kill him, at least not yet, she’d spoken in his defense, and she even went as far as calling him a good person—a friend.

For that, he felt indebted to her. And for that, he chose to believe that her intentions were pure.

Fighting against the intrusive thoughts that nagged at the back of his mind and screamed that it was all an elaborate trap, he placed his trembling hands under her arms, lifted her into the air, and placed her atop his shoulders.

For several surreal moments, Bane held his breath, waiting for the dagger to slice through the air and cut through an artery at any moment. But the attack never came. Instead, the girl lifted her hands high in the air and cheered: “King of the world! Ruler of the wasteland!”

«Achievement Unlocked!»

—35 Ð - Pack Mule—

But Bane was too distracted by the joy and elation radiating off the girl to read the message. The rush of endorphins gave him a renewed sense of energy, a much-needed second wind that spurred him on for hours to come.

For the first time in his life, his empathic powers had brought him something other than pain.

He was so distracted by the novelty of it all to notice when she slumped forward and fell asleep, resting her body atop his head; leaving him to watch over the party and carry her dead weight. Still, he didn’t think of complaining. Not even for a second.

On the contrary, he felt a sense of pride—the tingle of accomplishment rose in his chest.

Someone had trusted him—believed in him enough to fall asleep in his care. He could hardly stop the corners of his mouth from curling up into a boyish grin.

The rest of the children were far less amused.

They had been walking for hours, their feet ached, there was no end in sight, and now their leader had picked up the pace!

More than that he been showing her blatant favoritism from the beginning. His voice wasn’t quite as gruff when he spoke to her, he never told her off no matter how annoying she was being, and now—now he was letting her ride on his shoulders like a spoiled child!

“Alright! Alright! I’ve had it” Cade huffed.

She leaned against the large oak that overlooked a clearing in the woods, refusing to take another step.

“We’ve been walking for ages. It’s time for a break!”

“Oh c’mon! We haven’t been walking for that long!” Elidi called down to her, “I bet we can make it there by tonight if we keep going!”

“No!” Cade corrected her, “We’ve been walking forever not YOU!! You’ve been sitt’n up there getting carried like a little baby!”

“Pch! You’re just jelly!” Elidi scoffed, “You’ll never know what it’s like to be this tall. It’s a whole different world up here!” She gestured to the grand expanse around them.

Drexel snuck up behind her, reached up, and pulled hard on her long black tail that had been draped over Bane's shoulder.

Elidi let out a surprised “eep!” Before falling backward, performing an effortless backflip, and landing like a gymnast behind him.

“What’s the big idea scales!?” Elidi hissed.

Drexel raised his hands in a coy shrug, “Seemed like the lack of oxygen up there was getting to your head! I was worried, so I figured I should bring you down before you passed out or something. You know I’m always looking out for you!” The smug grin scrawled across his face did little to conceal how much fun he was having teasing her.

“Why I outta!” Elidi lunged forward and swatted at Drexel. But he was ready for it. Twisting his long tail around his body, he pressed against the top of her forehead, keeping her slashing claws at a safe distance.

The scene reminded Bane of how he and his younger sister would —Bane shook his head, burying the memory where it belonged deep in his subconscious. It was time to reassess the situation. Reaching out with his mind, he felt the exhaustion that lingered in the air.

The aching of their feet, the soreness that gripped their legs, and the exhaustion that made even breathing a conscious effort, swirled around like a thick veil.

If his handler Hursh had been leading the expedition, he would have forced the group to push through the pain. If they had complained after walking for two hours he would have demanded they walk for four more to make up for it. If their legs gave out after twenty miles he would have dragged them for the remainder of the journey or left them to die.

“The strong survive. The weak don’t,” he’d say.

Bane always hated Hursh. The constant brutal beatings he’d endured at his hand made sure of that. But the abuse also pushed Bane to be better—forced him to master hand-to-hand combat before the old soldier accidentally beat him to death during one of his drug-induced tirades.

Back then, all Bane wanted to do, all he ever thought about doing, was growing strong and skilled enough to finally put the old soldier down, to beat him at his own game, and make him feel the same pain he so eagerly and constantly dulled out to others!

But when that day finally came, when Bane vigorously stood over the man who had savagely beaten him for years, he refused to finish him.

This, Bane realized, was just how Hersh became who and what he was. And on that day he promised himself never to become like Hursh. He swore he would become a better man in every possible way. Now it was his chance to keep his word.

“Fine, we’ll stop here for now.” Bane said, “We’ve made enough progress for today. But we’ll need to start early tomorrow,”—he looked up at the horizon—“the sun will set in a few hours. That should give us plenty of time to set up a camp before nightfall.”

“Frik’en finally!” Cade said as exasperated as she was relieved. “my toes feel like they're gonna bleed’n fall apart!