[Ability Acquired: Ice Warlock!]

Ugh… this shit again?

Wait! I passed out? In the middle of the woods? What time is it?

My eyes shoot open in panic. I sit up so fast my vision spins. Feeling a wave of nausea, I bring my knees to my chest, heaving an empty stomach.

“Ack!” I cough, my throat cramping up uncomfortably.

“You lived.”

“Huh?” I raise my head.

The scenery of a cave is a relief to see. With the crashing sounds of water, I have a suspicion that we’re in the old cave of Razor Wolves Gale eradicated. Evidence you ask? Well, besides the waterfall, small bodies of the creature lay sprawled at the back of the cave. Beside them sits a lengthy man.

Short, snowy hair is parted at his scalp and droops over his eyes. Timid, pale yellow orbs look up at me. His ears are short but pointy, kind of like mine, but sharper by appearance. His face is unnaturally long and worry lines crease his pale skin. Laughing lines as well but it only makes him look unnerving now as his face is partially shaded in the back of the cave. He’s wearing a black cloak with one gold button holding it together, the worn edges suggesting he probably wears it all year round.

“Who are you?” I ask, my body tensing for any sudden movements he decides to make.

“A friend,” he says, his eyes boring into me. A hint of pain reflects off his gaze but besides that, he doesn’t look as if he’s preparing for an attack. “I saved you, that's all.”

“Why?”

There’s no reason for him to. If he found me, he most likely saw the bloody corpse of the other man. Surely that would make anyone cautious, taking in the fact that after I level up, all my injuries disappear. That would scare anyone.

“I saw that you were alive and didn’t want you to burn to a crisp,” the man answers. “Also I’m pretty sure you’re the guy I’m after.” He briefly taps his nose. “I’ve been tracking you for some time.”

Tracker.

I narrowed my eyes on him. I can take him. I’m sure of it. If he’s the guy that Gale mentioned and who I’ve been listening to, his mission is the same as his. To kidnap me and take me to Avalon, doing who knows what as punishment.

He’s innocent.

Gale’s words whisper in my head. I don’t know that and who says I should trust a dead man out to kill me. I just can’t risk going back. My goal is to get out of here and find somewhere safe. That was my plan originally and it is still my plan now. But I wouldn’t be in this mess if it weren’t for that dumb voice.

“Got nothing to say?” Tracker asks, his timber voice breaking through my thoughts. “Expected.”

“I won’t let you take me,” I say, a hidden warning in my words.

“Oh, I don’t plan to. Not after what you did to Gale.” He shakes his head, his eyes glimmering in the dark. “After I saw his body and you lying there unharmed, I thought it would be in my best interest to strike a deal instead.”

“What do you mean?” I ask with suspicion.

“I don’t like the way they do things around here,” he sighs. “It makes living miserable. They value Avalon because of his strength. You took that from him.”

“I don’t get it.”

“You haven’t been around long enough so it makes sense,” he huffs. “Avalon was only strong because he could see others’ weaknesses. He’s easily outmatched in strength otherwise. Gale knew this, but he was Avalon’s closest friend and a frankly less powerful bodyguard. He usually helps get rid of loose ends.”

“And how do you know this? What’s your agenda?”

“Observation,” he answers. “I want him gone,” he begins to whisper, his words filled with hate. “You did part of the job, killing Gale, but he has another friend that’s stronger who guards Avalon. I saw what you did to him. I never liked that guy. Always so bloodthirsty…”

“Enough with the monologuing,” I growled. “Are you implying I take out his other guard?”

“Yes, and the only reason I’m telling you my motive is because I want to strike a deal. I won’t attack you, but if you refuse and kill me here, you’ll be in more trouble. It doesn’t take long for others to follow the trail with similar abilities. They’ll send more than two people after you surely.”

“So, what’s your deal?”

He smiles, a cruel one that shows his short fangs and sharp mullers. “If you let me live, I’ll help you get out of here but it’s impossible to do that with Avalon’s loyalists. I can mislead them. They’re spotted all over these woods except for the border to Aralin. I was created there. I know all the ins and outs to that country.”

“Curious you haven’t told anyone else this but me.”

“You’re powerful. I want to make you an ally, not an enemy. It’s in my best interest after all and I promise you: no one knows about that place but me.”

“How do I know you won’t stab me in the back?”

One of his eyebrows raised in question as if I’m a moron for even suggesting such a thing. “Would you rather fight ten monsters and be tracked down until you die or would you not worry about that and find somewhere less troublesome?” A few minutes after I don’t respond, he finally sighs. “Doesn’t matter if you trust me. I’m your only way out of here whether you like it or not.”

“Aren’t there holy knights in Aralin?”

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The directions on the woman on the road mentioned monsters being slayed on Aralin borders. They’re most likely prowling around in the country as well.

“They aren’t like us, new blood,” he says with a hint of disappointment. “They can’t smell you. They have to see you first.”

Oh, he plans on sticking me to the shadows.

If I keep a low profile, I’m sure I’ll be safe as long as I don’t do anything to give myself away. The question is if there’s any safe territories, like the woods in Trinity, where I can lay low.

A sad thought crosses my mind.

How long would I have to lay low for?

Hiding all the time is not a life. It’s another prison. If I get stronger, make people fear to even approach me, then maybe I can make something out of small liberties. What would be the point though? I’ll still be alone and by then people will fear me. It leaves me with few opportunities but at least it’s better than creating my own cell, right?

Maybe this will be worth it in the long run. Even if he stabs me in the back, what would that leave him? For just this one time, I’ll trust him. What better option do I have right now?

Gale said he was innocent after all, whatever that meant. Maybe not the same innocent that I thought of initially but he’s innocent in the fact that he wants nothing to do with Avalon.

I finally nod in agreement, still unsure about my thoughts or where it might land me. “Alright, so what’s the plan?”

“There’s a tunnel that leads you underneath the border. If you kill Avalon, I can show you. His loyalists will not stop tracking you all over Trinity unless you cross that border, even if you kill the leader. They’ll want revenge.”

“So, let me get this straight, as long as I keep you alive and agree to get rid of Avalon, you’ll smuggle me out of Trinity?”

“Yes. That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

Okay… it’s better than being outnumbered and eventually tortured or who knows what.

“Deal.”

I smirk flickers on his face. “Nice dealing with you…”

“Talen,” I introduce.

He finally cracks a smile. “Tracker.”

He stands up, small pellets of blood smeared on his coat. He walks over to me, snapping off the golden button and rolling the fabric off his shoulders. Underneath is leather armor similar to what Gale wore. I watch him cautiously as he rolls up the coat in his hand and holds it out.

“What’s this?” I ask, looking back and forth between him and the dark cloth.

“Whatever’s left of the clothing you got there is all string now,” he answers.

I look down at myself for a moment, seeing that he’s right. Only strings of cloth lay across my body, barely coming up my extremities. The once purple robe, or what’s left of it, is red and brown with blood. The ends of it is completely torn from my ordeal with the Razor Wolf from earlier and the fight with Gale.

“Thank you,” I say, finally taking the cloak from his hand.

Tracker turns around, gladly out of respect, as I peel the strings off of my body. Cringing at the krusty look of my skin and the dried splotches from caked blood and dirt, I reluctantly pulled on the relatively clean cloak.

I should definitely take a bath later when the sun goes down.

I peer behind me to the opening of the cave, seeing that sun’s light sprinkle through the sheds of water. Fresh blood runs between the cracks of the rocks from the dead bodies in the lake ahead and some trailing from behind the cave where the pups bodies lay.

“They mean to kill you,” I hear Tracker suddenly say. I turn my head to him and give him a look. His expression is dead, his eyes dim with an intensity that made me flinch. “They only want to bring you back to torture you for their own amusement, then they’ll kill you.”

“And why do you suddenly bring this up?” I shift over to him, wondering if he’s trying to manipulate more onto his side. Possibly this being a scare tactic.

“Because it’s wise for you to know that if you die, whatever you did to him will be reversed,” he answers. “And that’s bad for me.”

I’m reminded of the conversation he and Gale had before the Razor Wolves attacked. It seems abilities are very tied to the user. They must understand it to use it. They must die to null it. But I don’t even know what mine is. I can still use it despite me not really understanding it but what I think are the general rules. I also have more than one ability or an ability that can steal a thing from others and use it for themselves. Not only that but the weird text and voices that appear before me are probably not normal.

What am I really?

As soon as that thought crosses my mind, a familiar ring sounds in my ears.

Ding!

[Monster: The Devourer!]

[The Devourer Class: Hidden!]

Huh?

Hidden? So even this voice can’t tell me what it is?

“You okay?” Tracker once again breaks through my thoughts.

“Yeah,” I blink at him, frustration present at the edge of my voice. “I’m fine.”

“I’m sorry, I know it’s a lot to take in but it’s the only way to see you out of here safe.”

That’s an understatement and a half.

I grunt, “like I can’t see that.”

He shakes his head at my agitated comment. “I’ll guide you to another safe place by nightfall. I can hide our tracks. There’s a lot of evidence that will lead them here.”

“Where do you plan on taking me?”

“Another hideout. One I kept hidden near the Aralin borders. They’re less likely to follow us there anyway. The only thing we have to worry about are the Holy Knights patrols on the way there, so you have to be sneaky.”

“Right.” I nod. “Sounds like a good plan.”

Tracker hums in agreement. “Good. Now, I’ll get some rest. I haven’t slept since last dusk. It’s fine for you to sleep, too. None of them are able to walk during the day.”

“Thank you for the reassurance,” I mutter.

“Mhm,” he hums.

He walks back to his corner, lying back down near the dead bodies and turning over to face the wall. As I sit there, fumbling with the string in my hand, I wonder if this is my only option.

If I kill him, I’ll get tracked all over Trinity. If I try to cross the Aralin border on my own, I’ll likely die. If I trust Tracker, I’ll be led to Avalon and his loyalists to face him directly. If I ignore him completely, he’ll most likely lead Avalon right back to me.

It would be a good idea, especially since he can erase our own tracks. If they found out he’s a traitor, which they will be if he doesn’t return, they will have no way of following him. He’s likely to cross the border into Aralin and since he knows as much as he claims, he’s practically a ghost by that point.

The wisest thing for me to do is trust him because there's nothing else I can do if I want to live.

With that in mind, I turn away from him, staring at the back of the waterfall. It sprinkles like colorful glass jewels, my eyes slightly stinging from gazing into it.