I might need some sun, but in reality, what I got was rain. Rain wasn’t bad. It reduced visibility and scents. It muddied tracks. It did make scouting for civilisation more difficult, but that was not the main point of the exercise. Plus, close civilisation would be monitored. That is what I would do. Watch the towns and villages to catch me when I turn up there looking for help. That will go on a lot longer than searching an ever-increasing countryside.

Quite frankly, I don’t understand my kidnappers. They have spent months capturing me under the noses of gold rankers, keeping me alive and transporting me somewhere. This can’t just be about Jabari and Nkwe, sorry Olivia and Nkwe. The rewards can’t be that big. Three or more silver rankers and all the logistics. It doesn’t add up.

The only thing I can think of is the prophecy. Prince Zesiro was convinced I was a key to the prophecy, but my goddess was not convinced. We don’t really know who killed the prince or why. If that is the case, and I hope I am wrong, then I am going to be somewhere near or on the way to the Kekie Kingdom. I really hope I am wrong. I am not a betting person, though.

I moved in the rain, away from the stink of the Astral Space. The alarm ritual had run out of energy, and nobody had been back to recharge or collect it, so that was a good sign.

I did a careful circuit of the hole to check. My aura was locked down, except for my aura senses, as per my new build. It was working well, but it took a lot of concentration. I was Stalking with all my skills, and I had Blend on full. The rain was good for Blend. It was straining the skill being used in the rain. I usually used it in the Academy’s astral space; it never rained there.

I couldn’t sense anything except normal animals. This was not an astral space with monsters appearing as often as you blink. This was the normal world where manifestations were occasional, and the land area was huge. Vitesse covered a wide area, so jobs were frequent. In the village where I grew up, we might have a couple of sightings a month, more when the monster surges were approaching.

The thing is, monsters will spawn more often closer to concentrations of magic. This astral space is one such concentration. I am going to assume my captors cleared the area when they were searching for me.

I worked my way to the top of a nearby hill, but the weather prevented me from seeing anything. Down in the valley on the other side was a reasonably sized river. That may be a way for me to train Quick Sharp.

I found a good spot and waded into about thigh depth. I had Blend going the whole time, and being in the two different environments simultaneously stretched my skill.

I waited and then used Quick Sharp to grab a fish with my claws. That was too easy. The next time, I scared the fish first and then grabbed it as it darted away. Well, I tried to. That one got away. The next one didn’t, just.

I was also trying to use my aura to sense these fish. They were normal fish, but could I bait them closer? Sometimes. I scared a few away by overdoing it with my aura. It was too tricky for now. I will try again with my aura once my Spirit Attribute is bronze.

A couple of hours later, I had a number of fish, and the rain had stopped, although the clouds were low.

I moved up the valley and came across a carcass from a predator’s kill. It was a deer type of animal, and I think a pride of lions had taken it down. They weren’t there now, there were buzzards picking at the carcass and some hyenas chasing them away.

I moved with all my stealth to see how close I could get without them noticing me. Touching distance before they all ran or flew away. The Kai’s swarmed out and dug into the half-rotting meat. I don’t know why. I provide them better.

I found a wasp nest, Blended into the background near it and practised Quick Sharp to see if I could stab a claw into a flying wasp. That was not easy.

Both Blend and Quick Sharp were very close to bronze, so I spent the day exploring and finding different ways to practice them.

I practised running down gazelles with Quick, Sharp bursts of speed. That was fun. I did kill one for my meal, but I didn’t butcher it there. I put the whole thing in my Pack for later. I didn’t want to leave any evidence I had been there. It was just a normal Gazelle.

I was Stalking back to my hole in the ground when I smelled new magic. I detoured to see what it was and witnessed a monster being created. The magic swirled in turmoil, and it was like all the ambient magic was sucked into that one spot. This went on for a few minutes and a … a what? It was like a boar, big and heavy with wicked tusks, but it was covered in feathers and had wings.

My Aura senses were telling me it was bronze rank, so I weaponed up, and Kai circled it. I don’t know if it could actually fly, but I was not going to give it a chance. This could be a mistake as it would make a ruckus, but I was going to do it anyway.

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The first thing I did was throw a spear at it with my new ranged Pierce, allowing it to go deep. It let out a high-pitched squeal, and by bronze rank, Tether caught it and held it finally. I was used to it being overpowered by bronze-rank beasts, but now it could hold them, mostly.

I was moving Quick Sharp into position with an Axe and Shield, and shield bashed into the side of its head with Quick Sharp Speed and bronze-rank Mighty Oak strength. I barely moved. It was big and heavy, like a boar.

I brought my axe down onto its skull, but it had bronze-rank speed and caught it with its tusks. My axe was only an iron-rank weapon. It flicked its head, and I went stumbling back, and Ardisia’s vines stopped me from landing on my butt. It turned to charge at me, and I recast Hunter Tether, and Ardisia’s bronze rank vines dug into its feathers. She now had a bronze-rank poison. I had forgotten about that. I sharpened her thorns and applied a couple of instances of Durable on them.

The winged boar tried to gore me but was held back by the tether and Ardisia. The horns gouged a line in my shield. I bashed back and then coated the shield in Resin as I should have done at the start. I was really out of practice here. Maybe I should have let this one go.

Several Kais were on the boar's back now and starting to bite through the feathers. I struck with my axe again, and while it was iron rank it was sharpened to bronze with Razor Sharp and when it connected, it sliced off a spray of feathers.

It Boar struck back, but this time, I was able to resist most of it by locking my shield arm in place using Mighty Oak, heart oak. I moved Quick Sharp to the side away from the horns and struck at its neck, but a wing swung forward and pushed me off balance again. I am not doing very well here. Ardisia saved me again.

Concentrate, Theo! I told myself. You are better than this. I stepped back and took a beginning stance in the savage part of Savage Stalker. If I don’t get a handle on myself, I could die here.

The boar came at me, ripping out of the tether, but he didn’t have much of a runup from his charge, so I dived to the side and sunk my axe into his leg. Bash the head away, cast tether again and strike.

A hoof defected off my shield into my thigh. That will leave a nasty bruise. Move, Strike, bash, move. Get back into the rhythm of Savage Stalker.

One of the boar's wings was now useless to him courtesy of Kai, and the other would be soon. The boar was blind in one eye courtesy of Ardisia and was moving a bit slower from her poison. I was finally finding my feet again.

This was a big, tough monster, and I would have to wear him down. I used to be fitter and stronger, with more endurance. Now, I have to step up again, regardless.

Move, roll, strike, Tether, deflect. Shit, I used to be faster. A horn ripped through the fur on my ribs, drawing blood. I flung myself back, and Ardisia caught me and lifted me up so I could crash down onto it with the spike of my axe and Pierce. That wounded it, and I didn’t break any ribs.

I finally got the second leg, and it was immobilised, and I went all savage on it until it died. I was absolutely exhausted. This recovery is terrible. It was a long fight, and I had a right to be exhausted, but I was normally better than this, and I would be again.

I checked around, and nobody was there to my senses. It was in a forest glade, so it was not too obvious. I moved over to the bush so I could hide as well as be away from the rainbow smoke as the boar bird thing turned back into magic. Kai feasted, and then it turned to rainbow stink.

I got a lot of boar meat, and some were turned directly into jerky. I passed on the boar tusk spearhead, going for feathers, thinking they could be good for a pillow or blanket.

I moved away very quietly and carefully, not convinced I had not been observed. I scouted my hole before I entered to make sure it was not disturbed. I waited.

I should not have taken on the bird boar. It was too much of a risk. Plus, I was still weaker than I had thought. I really, really wanted to hit bronze.

I crawled into my hole and waited some more before opening my arch. Ardisia and some Kais kept watch as I went in.

I was sure if my captors had seen me, they would have caught me before now, so I was reasonably sure I got away with it.

I was certain that if I meditated, I would transition to bronze. First, I needed to be safe. I ate what I could and tended my wound. The bleeding had stopped a while back. I probably would not have been cut at all if I had used the active part of my Resistant Fur. These enhanced skills needed a bit of getting used to.

I got out an iron rank piece of leather to meditate on and stripped nude. I was feeling safer now, and I sat on the leather to meditate.

Blend went to bronze first. It would now blend smells, body heat, and other signs I was there into the background. My first thought was, does that mean a fart won’t give me away? I need to test that. I could now also move at a reasonable pace with it, and it would keep up. Not run, but certainly a fast walk. The mana cost rises as more changes are needed.

Quick Sharp was close behind. The speed was improved, and the cost was reduced slightly. When I was using the skill to move sharp objects, it was even better. I am sure my claws count, and I can’t wait to try it out.

Then I moved into bronze, and the bronze-coloured magic filled me and spread through every cell in my body. It felt good. It felt painful, and then it felt sickening as my body started to expel all the impurities it had accumulated. It went on and on, and I was empowered and exhausted all at the same time.

It finally came to an end, and I was lying in a horrible black, stinky mess. I stood up, pulled out one of the two vials of Crystal Wash I had, and poured it over myself.

I stepped off the leather and wrapped the mess up tight, almost retching at the stink. I carried the mess to the Arch and dropped it into the astral space. I don’t know what the astral beings will make of that. Hopefully, they don’t have a sense of smell. I assume they will break it down into mana and consume it. I was not going in there for a couple of days to avoid it anyway.

Then I crashed asleep.