Deep in the heart of Jamiea, in a spacious but spartan office, Akil and Sevala materialized. Akil immediately called for Sid.

“Sid, please have Soothseer come up to my office.” (Akil)

“It shall be done.” (Sid)

Akil took a seat behind the large desk that was located at the backside of the room, Sevala followed him over and took a seat across from him.

“Was there anything out of the ordinary that you noticed during our time in the new world?” (Akil)

She shook her head gently.

“There was nothing strange out in the open anywhere you went. I did some digging in the Hunter’s guild while you were having dinner. The only thing I could find that stuck out was that there are a lot of missing persons popping up in Graycott. A lot of their families tried to ask the guild for help but there was a letter from the Lord of Graycott, Lord Oberyn, instructing the guild to ignore those requests because his people were looking into it.” (Sevala)

Akil put his hand on his chin thoughtfully.

“That is odd but it's not really our business, your findings match what I have come up with in that the world seems extremely ordinary. You did good work today, go get a bit of rest. I should be good without you following me now.” (Akil)

She looked at him like she wanted to say something but she thought better of it. She got up to leave, giving him one last glance before disappearing out the door.

Akil sat there for a moment and his thoughts wandered to Selena and her brother Tristan. He was convinced that she had something to do with the reason for him being stuck here. Not only was she similar to his wife in appearance, she also had a similar personality to match. His thoughts went back to 1700 years ago to the two biggest regrets of his life, his wife and youngest son.

Back then he had been dedicated to hunting down dangerous artifacts, he had let his work consume him and he did not give his wife or children the attention they needed. After a particularly long artifact hunting excursion he found out that his youngest son had reached the natural end of his life even though he was still very young. His wife had been distraught, she gave the son the artifact that Akil had given her to extend her own lifespan.

By the time Akil arrived his wife was dead and his son had rightfully blamed him, it caused a rift that Akil was never able to mend.

Akil hadn’t thought about this in a very long time but Selena and his convergence with Ray caused his deeply buried emotions to resurface. Akil went back into meditation to ease the pain. It was at that moment there was a knock on his office door.

“Enter.” (Akil)

The door opened to the elderly ratkin Soothseer. He hobbled over to the desk where Akil was currently sitting and took a seat. He took a large booklet of parchment and placed it on the desk in front of Akil.

“Great Prophet, here is my complete report. I hope you are satisfied with the information.” (Soothseer)

Akil quickly leafed through the pages, committing the contents to memory almost instantly.

“Impeccable work as always Soothseer, I’m glad to have your wealth of experience on the council.” (Akil)

“You overpraise me Prophet, I am just doing what is required of me.” (Soothseer)

“Your humility is also admirable… I need you to get a copy of this report to each of the members of the council.” (Akil)

“It will be done.” (Soothseer)

Soothseer slowly got up from the chair and walked his way out of the office leaving Akil to his thoughts once again.

Akil pondered the report he had just read, there was a very detailed map of the Continent of Talendria as well as photorealistic drawings of different important locations for the purpose of Teleportation. The continent of Talendria was fairly small, about half the size of the continent Akil was from on Gathilion. It was unknown whether there were any other continents on Rendilion. The northern part of Talendria was a frozen wasteland that no one was able to cross alive. To the south there was a vast desert that eventually led to an ocean. To the east there was a large ocean and to the west there was a seemingly never ending wasteland where demonkin and the monstrous races lived that was extremely hostile to all other races.

There were very few countries on Talendria, On most of the eastern part of the continent there was the Eglesh Confederacy, where he was currently located. The northern part of the continent was covered in the great forest, the Shadowthicket. It was full of dangerous monsters and somewhere hidden inside it the elven kingdom was hidden. The center of the continent was dominated by the Holy Empire of Salhaster. In the southwest between the western badlands and the Holy Empire there was the Beastkin Kingdom, Askil.

To the northwest above the start of the western badlands was the Freilan Mountains where the reclusive dwarves lived. There were some nomadic people living in the desert but they weren’t populous enough to be considered its own kingdom. There also existed somewhere on the continent where dragonkind lived but it was completely unknown as to where.

The Holy Empire was extremely Xenophobic, they believed that all non-humans and all humans that didn’t follow their great God were lesser beings. They had a very active slave trade throughout the Empire that consisted of all beings that they considered lesser. This also included their own citizens if they committed serious enough criminal offenses. This left a very bad taste in Akil’s mouth, if there was one thing he was diametrically opposed to it was the practice of slavery. He believed that all beings deserved to be free to pursue their own path as long as they didn’t infringe on other beings' freedom.

The Eglesh Confederacy was a fairly generic country that was ruled by a council of the 9 greater lords and a royal family elected from the 9 greater lords when the previous king died. The country itself was composed of 9 provinces that were ruled by these greater lords. They had a large amount of freedom for creating and enforcing laws, as long as the taxes were paid to the crown they basically acted as different countries with how different each province could be.

Not much was known by the world about the elven kingdom but Soothseer was able to glean some information with his scrying. The Elves were a Magic based meritocracy with a ruling family based on their magical bloodline. Their country was actually hidden with a large barrier that would stop anyone but those who were invited from entering.

The Beast Kingdom was controlled by might, there were many small clans with one warlord ruling over the rest based on a marital competition that was held every 10 years. There were also many different types of beastkin with tons of different conflicts and rivalries between the different clans. The country had the most internal conflicts but they were united in one thing, their hatred for the Holy Empire.

The Dwarven Kingdom was heavily caste based with focus towards their craftsmen and warriors. The craftsman caste was akin to a nobility. A council of master craftsman families acted as the highest power in the kingdom.

This information was very useful, he was slowly starting to form a plan, though it was too early to put anything in action. He still wanted to spend more time in Rendilion see if he could glean any hidden information.

He looked at the time piece in his pocket, he had about 8 days worth of time on Jamiea before it was sunrise on Rendilion. He decided to use this time to create some minor magic items, they were actually very low on low level magic items. If need be he could disguise himself as an artificer.

He went to his private forge and began working, the minutes quickly became hours which became days…

8 days later he finished his item crafting session, he now had a large amount of low level magic items stored in his magic bag. He had purposely reduced the quality of the items from what he would usually make by a massive amount. It was time for him to return to Rendilion.

[Planar Transport]

Akil quickly appeared back in the room that he supposedly spent the night previously. He dispelled all of the magical spells he had put in place to secure it and walked downstairs.

He quickly made his way out the door and across the street to the hunter’s guild. Due to the early morning the line was very small and his wait was short. He got to the front and came face to face with the receptionist, Marisha. He felt quite bad for her, who knows how early she had to be here and the fact that she was still here when Akil left last night, he wondered if she had any life outside of the guild at all.

She looked up at Akil, she seemed to remember who he was after a second.

“So it's you again greenhorn. Are you here to waste my time again or do you actually have guild business to take care of?” (Marisha)

She didn’t even pretend to be civil this time. Akil still gave her his best smile.

“Sorry we got off on the wrong foot, I’m actually here to take the hunter exam.” (Akil)

He immediately put a gold coin down on the counter to show that he was serious.

“Ah so you think you got what it takes, fill out this form and come back to me. I hope for your sake that there's more to you than a pretty face and some muscles. Not like that pretty face is going to stay pretty in this line of work.” (Marisha)

Akil didn’t drop his smile, he just quickly filled out the form she had given him, all it asked for was a name and a class as well as a signature to absolve the guild of any responsibility for injury sustained in the line of work.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

He used his real name and put down spellsword for the class. He signed his name and handed it back to Marisha, she took it and gave it a quick look.

“Wow, look at that pretty handwriting, are you sure you want to do this? This is nothing like your sheltered life as an academic.” (Marisha)

“Thanks for the warning but my mind is made up.” (Akil)

“Whatever, it's your funeral anyway.” (Marisha)

She stamped down something on the form and took the gold coin. She touched an orb on the table, Akil could see that it had been enchanted with the Message spell, a basic 0 level spell.

“Yeah someones here to take the hunter exam.” (Marisha)

She waited for a moment before continuing.

“Understood.” (Marisha)

She looked back to Akil.

“Someone will be out in a few minutes to take care of your exam, good luck greenhorn, you'll need it.” (Marisha)

Akil went over and sat down at an empty table while he waited. Because it was early in the morning the tables were mostly empty. He wondered who was going to be the examiner, he had only seen Marisha and Selena working here, he knew there was also some illusive guild master somewhere but he had yet to meet him. Akil also doubted that he had enough time on his hands to personally proctor exams for new hunters.

After a few minutes of waiting the door to the back opened up and out from it stepped Selena. She looked absolutely stunning today in a dark green robe with silver trim. She looked over to him and waved with a cheerful smile. She walked over to where he was sitting.

“I hope you’re ready for your exam today!” (Selena)

“I didn’t know you would be my examiner, this is a pleasant surprise.” (Akil)

She gave him a serious look and said,

“You better not slack off just because it's me, I’m a very harsh grader.” (Selena)

“Don’t worry, I’m quite serious when I need to be.” (Akil)

“Now your registration says you’re a spellsword, I don’t see a sword on you. Don’t tell me you forgot one!” (Selena)

Akil reached towards his back and with a bit of sleight of hand made it look like he pulled a plain shortsword from his cloak. He showed Selena then tied it to his belt.

“Very good, so today is going to be very dangerous. We are going to the outskirts of the Shadowthicket. While it's only the outskirts it's still very dangerous so don’t let your guard down.” (Selena)

She led him out to the city explaining along the way.

“Today we are going to do a simple combat mission, there’s a small clutch of the Copper ranked blood bats that have been killing farmers' herd animals. Your job is to eliminate as many of them as you are able, you will be graded on tracking, speed, efficiency, amount killed and your collateral damage.” (Selena)

The rest of the way there they just engaged in some small talk.

As they reached the outskirts of the Shadowthicket, Selena put her hand up to signal him to be quiet. She whispered to him.

“We are getting close, remember to stay sharp, I will do my best to save you if you’re in danger but I’m only so good… It’s your show now. Good luck.” (Selena)

Akil looked around for a moment and quickly discerned how many and in what direction the blood bats were in. He spent a few more minutes pretending to track his quarry before heading in their general direction.

It wasn’t long before the traces for the blood bats became much more obvious, Akil started to move more stealthily but not by too much. Eventually they came upon a dark grove with a small stream where the clutch of blood bats could be seen hanging from the trees. There were 5 of them in total, it would be quite difficult for a level 1 or 2 to handle that many alone but not impossible. Akil had already decided that he would show skills up to level 4 to pass if need be.

He took out his short sword and snuck up as far as he began the incantation to a 1st level spell.

[Magic Missile]

A single missile appeared at his fingertips and shot towards the closest blood bat. He could have fired up to 5 missiles but that could only be done at higher levels so he held back. The missile struck the bat directly in the center of its scrunched up face, it let out a muffled cry before falling onto the ground.

The rest of the bats quickly started moving after their kin got killed, They all started to wildly chase after Akil, their sharp claws swiping at him madly. He made it look like he narrowly dodged the claws of each, he led them around the battlefield for almost a minute. Out of the corner of his eye he could see a worried expression on Selena’s face. Right when it seemed like they were all going to gain on him he suddenly snapped around and quickly started the incantation for a 1st level spell.

[Burning Hands]

The bats were moving towards him too quickly to stop, they flew directly into a small plume of flame that shot out from Akil’s hands. Each bat was quickly incinerated with a small screech. Akil wiped his hands off each other. He heard an excited cheering coming from behind him. He turned to see an excited Selena running up to him.

“You were a natural at this, it was absolutely amazing! Not only did you handle all 5 of them but you made it look fairly easy. You definitely pass!” (Selena)

The look on her face was so proud that it made his heart melt. He was about to thank her when he sensed something coming from behind Selena fast.

“Watch out!” (Akil)

He pushed her out of the way to the side as a large claw swiped down where she previously stood. Being a silver ranked adventurer she quickly gained her bearings. They were facing down a snarling megaursa. It stood up on its hind legs, its 8 ft (250 cm) tall body on full display. A ferocious growl escaped its lips.

“I will distract it, you need to get out of here. Run to the guild and get help.” (Selena)

She knew it was a death sentence for her to stay alone but she was still willing to do it for someone she barely knew. Akil made a quick decision, he would have to show some of his true prowess.

“I won’t leave you here, I need you to trust me, fire your strongest spell but aim it just below its head on the right hand side.” (Akil)

Akil ran towards the megaursa, he heard a distressed yell from behind him but he ignored it. The megaursa swiped its claws at Akil’s head. He quickly ducked down and listened for Selena’s spell incantation. She was incanting quite fast but Akil had to dodge two more swipes before it was complete. Just before she finished, he loudly proclaimed the end of a common 3rd level spell incantation and aimed it at the megaursa.

[Fireball], [Lightning Strike]

Akil’s Fireball and Selena’s Lightning Strike both slammed into the bear in the same spot below its head. Akil was engulfed in the fire himself from being too close. Using the flames as cover he cast another spell.

[Time Stop]

Time froze for everything but Akil from his powerful 9th level spell. Akil quickly went over to the bear that was engulfed in flames. The light had left its eyes due mainly to the extremely powerful Fireball. Akil made a fairly large gash below its head where the spells had landed. He then took a ring out of his magic bag and slipped it on his finger. He returned to his previous position just as time came back to normal.

Akil heard an agonizing wail from Selena as she saw him get caught in the large flame. She fell to the ground, believing there to be no way Akil could have possibly survived tears started running down her face.

“Why would you sacrifice yourself like that..” (Selena)

The fire died down slowly and through her teary vision something what she thought was a hallucination.. Akil stepped out, completely unharmed.

Despite this the tears kept flowing.

“I (hic) thought you (hic) were dead.” (Selena)

Akil gently put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her, he put up his hand and showed her a ring.

“I’m sorry I scared you, this ring makes me resistant to fire, I didn’t think how that would look to you…” (Akil)

She cried for another minute before finally calming down enough to speak again. After taking a deep breath, She got up and walked over to the megaursa corpse and gave it a kick.

“How did we defeat it? a Fireball and Lightning Strike spell shouldn’t be enough to kill a megaursa.” (Selena)

Akil walked over to the corpse and pointed at the large gash near where the spells had hit.

“I saw that it was already injured and figured that our best chance would be to strike it with everything we had.” (Akil)

She looked at the gash in awe.

“You managed to see that in the middle of the fight? I severely underestimated you…” (Selena)

Selena looked at him in reverence. Akil covered up his embarrassment with a cough. He gestured to the dead monsters all around them.

“Lets collect the monster parts and get out of here” (Akil)

Akil and Selena both started to collect monster parts for the megaursa and the blood bats. After 15 minutes of grueling work they managed to get it all in a bag. Akil offered to carry it and Selena didn’t argue. They started walking back, an awkward silence between them. Akil could sense there was something she wanted to say so he tried to coax her.

“Is everything okay Selena? Is there anything you would like to talk about?” (Akil)

She gave him an embarrassed look and kept walking in silence for another couple of minutes. Finally she started in a low voice.

“Why did you let me think you were so weak? Here I was acting all high and mighty and you were just as strong as I was.” (Selena)

She was talking about the fact that they had both cast 3rd level spells to finish off the megaursa. Akil sighed deeply..

“It was just a misunderstanding. I don’t like showing off and when you guys just assumed I wasn't a complete novice I didn’t want to seem like a braggart.” (Akil)

She accepted the answer but continued to not speak the rest of the trip back. Her eyes were still red and puffy from crying earlier and she looked exhausted.

By the time they finally reached the guild the sun had set. They walked up to the counter and placed the bag of monster parts there.

“I will make sure you get your share for these monster parts, it should be at least 6 gold for the megaursa parts. As for your exam… I am officially making you a bronze ranked adventure. I would promote you straight to silver but I don’t have the authority nor have you completed the proper exam for it.” (Selena)

She mentioned this in front of Marisha, who had a surprised look on her face, especially when she saw the bag of monster parts. The hunters who were close enough to hear the conversation were even more surprised.

Before I could thank Selena a spindly man in clerical outfit ran up to us.

“Selena, I have been looking for you all day. It's Tristan, his disease has taken a turn for the worse, I’m afraid he hasn’t much time left.” (spindly man)

She looked at him in horror then back at Akil and Marisha.

“Sorry but I have to go, tell the guildmaster I’m sorry.” (Selena)

Akils heart sank as Selena rushed away with the priest.

Marisha finished up handing the paperwork for Akil to be a hunter in silence, it seems even she was in no mood to joke. She handed him a card with his name, class and rank on it.

“These are imprinted magically so they are next to impossible to forge. Make sure you don’t lose it.” (Marisha)

Her voice was much more respectful now that she knew he had the skills of a silver ranked hunter. Akil was barely listening at that point, his mind entirely on Selena and her brother, Tristen.

As he walked away he thought to himself that It was time for him to make a real decision. Would he reveal himself to help Tristan or would he continue to hide himself.