Intro This is fan fiction based on the world of Shirtaloon’s He Who Fights With Monsters (HWFWM). It is written, so you don’t need to read HWFWM first, but I do recommend reading at least Book 1. Read book one here, then when you need a break from the melodrama and monologuing, pop back and try this. —---------------------------------- This story follows a young Leonid called Theo, who has grown up in Ironwood’s Logging Village #3 on Pallimustus. How does a young lad with a single essence earn the coin to get him to Iron rank and then get enough awakening stones to complete his skill set and become an adventurer? He is poor and has to work for everything he gets.  He does not have fancy looting powers, and no fancy writing appears to tell him the answers to everything.  When tragedy strikes, he is left completely alone. —------------------------------ I wrote this story for fun and to take a break from my own universe. I need to get back to my own stories, so I will post this, and then there will be an end.  King Dad.