~ Jasper ~

“I suppose that will do it.”

Jasper was sitting on his bed in the back room of Lingzhi’s cabin, looking at the new backpack he had just created with Formation. Like many things Jasper had made that required both flexibility and durability, he had used leather with basic stitching around the corners. While the stitching was very imperfect due to the inherent imprecision of his magical ability, it was certainly strong enough to hold at least several dozen pounds without snapping. Two straps made of the same material gave it the look of a backpack from Earth, though it only had one large pocket rather than multiple partitioned pockets. However, other imperfections were present as well. In particular, Jasper frowned at the crunched corners where the stitches failed to neatly resolve with each other.

“Well, I suppose I’ll get better in time. Going to have to remake this every time I travel, after all.”

A month had passed since Lingzhi’s death, and Jasper declared his intent to take revenge. In that time, Jasper made certain that he was completely prepared for his journey. His master had taken a ‘slow and steady’ approach when training Jasper, and while impatience was a common feeling on the boy’s part he was beginning to appreciate the level of patience and wisdom that Lingzhi displayed during the prior three years. The number of things Jasper had to prepare far exceeded what he had expected, and he was immediately glad for all the training he had received.

Firstly, out of respect, Jasper created a gravestone and buried Lingzhi’s body. It wasn’t particularly difficult to find a suitable rock. Lingzhi himself had described how the stones’ shapes would lend each one to a different use, and one of the ones he had described was for a tombstone. However, the immediate problem came in engraving the stone. While Jasper never disliked his handwriting ability, writing with a pencil on paper was a completely different skill to writing with a sharp object on a rock, and that completely ignored the fact that Jasper didn’t have a good tool to carve out the marking. While it was certainly possible to just skip the engraving and use a random stone, it was incredibly important to Jasper that it was marked, in case anyone ever found this place. So, he fiddled with Formation until he got a suitable tool and managed to successfully create the carving. He then buried Lingzhi alongside pieces of the sword that his killer had shattered.

Another issue that came up was a set of weapons. While Jasper wasn’t particularly worried about carrying them, as he had become comfortable enough with Formation magic that he could create most simple weapons, he didn’t have a lot of good models to use as practice materials to gain a better understanding of how to make them accurately. This was particularly an issue with hunting weapons, as Jasper had retained most of the necessary knowledge to perfectly recreate Lingzhi’s sword, but outside of basic knives he wasn’t confident in his ability to create a bow or arrows on the fly. More frustratingly, after losing his hand, he would be unable to use a bow and arrow properly. Thus, he had to spend several weeks attempting to prototype a new form of ranged weapon he could use with only one hand. After a large number of failures, he managed to create a device that would work for him while not being too difficult to create with Formation.

The device was, to put it simply, a one-handed crossbow. On top, it looked like a crossbow, with a mechanism that pulled a string back and locked into place when fully drawn. However, the bottom of the device looked more like a pistol in comparison, with a lever Jasper could use to pull back the string with one hand, and a trigger to launch the projectile. By reaching his index finger to the top of the device while holding it, he could use Formation to create a miniature arrow. Jasper called it a ‘Crosshot’, and while it wasn’t likely to be very practical for combat against other people, for hunting it was a godsend.

Jasper smiled fondly as he gazed at the gloves covering his hands. After all, tools were not the only things he was able to use Formation magic for.

A couple of days following the battle, Jasper theorized that he could possibly use Formation magic to replace his missing hand. While his attempts to replace it with a new hand were quickly foiled by Jasper’s lack of knowledge about cellular biology, after several days he managed to find a compromise. He used Formation to create the metal shell of a hand, with rods that anchored it to the stump at the end of his arm. While the pain was initially quite intense, his body began to adjust. By the time he finished his preparations, he didn’t even notice it anymore. While he could have just given up and left his stump, he figured that having a missing hand would bring more attention to himself than he wanted, so he created what was effectively a prosthetic.

However, Jasper’s new hand had its share of drawbacks. Unlike a normal hand, he couldn’t move his fingers or his wrist, so it was effectively static at the end of his arm. To make it as normal as possible, he left all five fingers slightly bent, so it looked natural when it was hanging by his side. The coloring was a dark grey, which required him to wear his gloves at all times rather than just in contextually appropriate situations. Thankfully, because his hand was anchored to his arm, he would likely never have to recreate it, unless it somehow got detached.

Between the preparations for his journey and generally needing to adjust to living life one-handed, it took him nearly a month to finally decide he was ready to begin his hunt for Lingzhi’s killer. However, in that time his motivation never waned during that time. On the contrary, his hatred for the man that killed his master only festered, to the point where Jasper doubted he could wait any longer without doing anything anyway.

“Okay, now to find the map,” Jasper mumbled.

In his decade of living in the wilderness, Lingzhi had managed to put together a somewhat detailed map of the surrounding area. Not only was it geographically detailed, alerting him to sharp inclines and natural formations like rivers and forests, but it also recognized areas inhabited by creatures sentient and non-sentient alike. The most notable were a goblin colony in the northwestern Srebro forest, and the orc camp to the west. Jasper could only assume it was the home of the same orcs that attacked him during his first week. The map as a whole covered roughly a thirty-kilometer radius surrounding the cabin, which spoke volumes of Lingzhi’s persistence over the years.

Jasper quickly found the map in question on the dining table. Upon picking it up, he immediately felt a sense of longing and nostalgia, as just months ago it was normal for him to be sitting down with Lingzhi around this time for lunch, with the two discussing everything from Jasper’s progress, to his home life, to the differences between America and Aurem. A sharp pain was felt in his chest whenever the thought of that old life came up, and Jasper was already beginning to regret how much he took it for granted.

He already knew where he was going. According to the larger, less detailed map Lingzhi showed him of the Aurumian Peninsula, a small village known as Rosemary existed some ways past the orc settlement, and was the closest human town to Lingzhi’s hermitage. While he wasn’t entirely sure what he would find in Rosemary, he figured it would be the best place to start. After that, if he didn’t find anything, he would make his way to Lavender, the de facto capital of the Argentis Colony. Jasper figured that if anywhere in Argentis had information on Aurumian soldiers, it would be there.

Jasper exited the cabin with his backpack hanging off his arm, his master’s scabbard on his waist, and holding the map that he had just procured. He looked westward, noticed that there were no hostile beasts in his path, and began his journey.

After several hours of walking through the brush that he had grown used to, with no animals in sight, he finally heard something. A loud, high-pitched noise had come from directly in front of him, likely less than a kilometer away.

Is that a human scream? Jasper wondered.

Moving as silently as possible, Jasper made his way in the direction of the noise. After several minutes, he finally began to hear other noises.

“The chief’s going to be happy with this one,” an unknown voice was faintly heard saying.

“She does look like she’d taste good,” another voice could be heard, “But I think he wants her for fun, not food.”

Jasper had to hold back a retch when he heard the second comment.

Fun, not food? He angrily thought, That’s barbaric! Who does he think he is?

“I guess you’re right,” the first voice conceded, “We do have plenty others to eat. The chief hasn’t been feeling great, though, so a bit of this will probably do him good.”

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Jasper peeked out from behind the tree, desperate to see what was going on.

Two orcs were standing over a young woman no older than twenty. The girl had no external injuries, at a glance, but she was clearly unconscious. Jasper couldn’t make out her features all that well, but her hair seemed to be on the darker and longer side. The orcs, on the other hand, stood out with their olive-green skin and buff compositions, a far cry from the delicate girl at their feet. They seemed quite happy with themselves, with Jasper noticing a wide smile on the face of one of them.

I suppose it’s time to rain on their parade, Jasper thought, biting back a grin.

He immediately Formed his Crosshot, and loaded the weapon. Aiming it at the closer orc’s right shoulder, he fired.

The shot struck true, with the closer of the two immediately grabbing his shoulder in pain. Of course, both of them were alerted to his presence, and Jasper immediately ditched his Crosshot in favor of his sword. He reached his hand to the scabbard, as if to pull a sword out, and immediately Formed his weapon, a carbon copy of Lingzhi’s longtime blade. With his trusty weapon in hand, he stepped out from behind the tree and faced down his opponents.

“So, you’re the one who felt the need to ruin our fun,” the uninjured orc snarled, “We had this gift lined up for the chief, and now you’re going to pay for it.”

“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll let her go,” Jasper threatened, “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into by opposing me.”

The orc in question began to charge, the complaint from his partner coming too late.

“Wait,” he called out, “his sword!”

Jasper slid to the right, causing his enemy to fly past him. With one smooth motion, he brought his sword down as the orc passed him, cleanly slashing his left arm open.

The second orc screamed in pain as he collapsed to the ground, his right hand clutching the upper part of his left arm where Jasper’s sword managed to cut. Jasper didn’t wait for him to recover, however, as he cleanly ran his sword across the orc’s neck, killing him instantly.

With the first opponent down, Jasper turned to face the second. This one seemed to be more cautious of him, having recognized the sword he was holding as well as his existing injury.

“I warned him,” Jasper declared, “And that means you’re next.”

Jasper immediately charged his opponent, the plan for this battle already set in his head. He raised the sword up to the level of his head, or the orc’s chest, and moved to run him through the heart. Anticipating this, the orc raised his good arm to cover his heart, hoping the sword would be stopped. However, this was all according to Jasper’s plan.

With one arm injured, and the other one at chest level, Jasper had a clean shot at the solar plexus. Stopping right in front of his enemy, he drew his sword back and kicked as hard as he could. The orc’s stomach was struck, and he immediately doubled over in pain. With his neck completely exposed, Jasper immediately twisted his body and swung his sword downward.

The orc’s head fell to the ground anticlimactically as the rest of the body collapsed. With the battle over, Jasper let out a large sigh and tossed his sword to the side, letting it dissolve. He made his way over to the girl.

He picked her up and continued his walk toward Rosemary. He wasn’t sure when she would wake up, but seeing two dead orcs on the ground would not be a pleasant sight for anyone.

At that moment, Jasper realized that this was the first time he had killed a sentient being. While he had become quite the skilled hunter over the prior three years, he had never wielded his sword in a battle to the death against a sentient being like an orc or human. He had heard from Lingzhi that the first kill was always the hardest, and Jasper was beginning to realize exactly what his old master meant by that.

After another hour of walking, the girl still hadn’t woken up. Jasper had checked, of course, and she was still alive. But whatever had knocked her out did its job very well, and after carrying her for that long he had no choice but to stop and wait for a little while.

Jasper took this opportunity to observe the girl more closely. While his initial guess of around 20 years was still pretty inaccurate, he now pegged her to be closer to his age of 18. Her hair carried a brown hue and resembled bedhead, the latter of which was likely a result of her recent struggles. She seemed to be several centimeters shorter than Jasper, likely between 170 and 175 tall, which was on the taller side for women. Despite the orcs’ attack, her face was quite clean, with no scars and with only the dirt she had been laying in covering it.

Now that I take a closer look, Jasper mused, she’s pretty easy on the eyes.

As this thought began to flutter through his mind, the girl finally stirred. A small groan could be heard, and her limbs began to stretch. In Jasper’s mind, it was as if she was waking up from a long slumber. Her eyes opened, and immediately met Jasper’s.

Immediately her eyes widened in fear, and before Jasper could figure out what was going on she was on her feet, backing away. Not missing a beat, Jasper hopped to his feet as well, throwing his hands above his head in an innocent pose.

“Wait!” he exclaimed, “I’m here to help!”

She paused her retreat, a suspicious look crossing her face.

“How do I know that you’re not lying to me?” a smooth, confident voice retorted.

“Slow down, there,” Jasper protested, “I promise I mean no harm.”

“Again,” the girl responded, irritated, “How am I supposed to know that? For all I know you’re just going to attack me like those stupid greenies, or try and make me some kind of slave.”

Jasper blinked, his mind catching on one word in that sentence.

“Greenies? You mean the orcs?” Jasper guessed, “I’m not particularly fond of racist epithets.”

Now it was the girl’s turn to be startled. As immediately as it had risen, her guard fell, and her jaw dropped. After a moment, she composed herself, significantly less hostile than before.

“You’re not from around here, are you?” she concluded, “You’re the first person I’ve ever met to defend those creatures!”

“Defend them? I slaughtered them! I’m just saying, you don’t need to be a bitch about it.”

“You what?!” she immediately recoiled.

Jasper noted that in her shock at what he said, she completely missed the insult he had thrown at her.

“I killed them,” Jasper repeated.

“How…you…?” she sputtered.

“Look, I’d rather not relive it, okay? I don’t like killing people very much.”

After another few seconds of stuttering, the girl closed her mouth and nodded, taking a seat against a nearby tree.

“I’m sorry for accusing you earlier,” she apologized, “After what happened with the green- I mean orcs, I’m not exactly going to trust the first stranger I see.”

“I heard you get attacked,” Jasper stated, “What happened to get you all the way out here?”

She looked down, a small blush creeping into her cheeks.

“There was a boy in town,” she confessed, “He was hitting on me in a really obnoxious way, and wouldn’t stop.”

“I think I know what you mean,” Jasper agreed, “Even when they were twelve, I had to chase a couple of headstrong teenagers away from my sisters.”

“Sisters?”

“Another time,” Jasper waved her off.

“Right…anyway he comes around a lot, and this morning I finally had enough. He was saying something, I don’t remember what it was, and I punched him in the nose. When I got home for lunch, I had a fight with my grandmother. I ran out of town as fast as possible, and, well, you know the rest.”

“Lunchtime was almost six hours ago,” Jasper observed, “I found you about an hour ago, meaning you were away for between four and five hours between your argument and when the orcs found you.”

“I’ve never been out of town before,” the girl admitted, “I got lost. I was trying to find my way back, and was found by those monsters.”

“Which is when I found you,” Jasper concluded.

She nodded, then tilted her head in thought.

“You said you found me an hour ago? And I was unconscious the whole time?”

Jasper nodded.

“Well, if you’re telling the truth,” she began, “I guess I don’t need to worry about if I can trust you.”

Looking Jasper in the eye for the first time since she woke up, a grin began to form on her face. She held out her hand politely.

“I’m Hazel,” she introduced, “I’m nineteen, from Rosemary Village.”

Jasper paused. While he had prepared somewhat for human contact, he wasn’t expecting to introduce himself by name until he reached the village. During his time preparing, he spent a lot of time thinking over what name he would go by once he returned to civilization. Despite his birth name being perfectly functional, he had come to the realization that Lingzhi was more of a father to him than his biological father ever was, to say nothing of his equally absent mother. More than anything, Jasper wanted to honor his master, the first adult to truly understand him, and the first adult to serve as a role model to him, rather than the parents who named him and summarily forgot him. With that in mind, he gave his new name.

“I’m Reishi, eighteen years old.”

“Well, Reishi,” Hazel started, “It’s nice to meet you. Now, is it safe to assume that you’re headed to Rosemary?”

Jasper nodded in the affirmative.

“That’s right, I’m looking for someone. But I’ve been living away from civilization for the past three years, and I don’t know where to start. I figured that the nearest settlement to where I was living, which is Rosemary, would provide a good starting place.”

The grin dropped off Hazel’s face slightly.

“Sorry to say, but you probably won’t find much. My village isn’t particularly large.”

“That’s fine,” Jasper conceded, “I can ask around, and even if I don’t get any information on my target, I can still get a good idea of the current state of the war.”

“Target, huh?” Hazel noted inquisitively, “You some kind of assassin?”

Jasper began emphatically shaking his head.

“No, no,” he denied, “I’m just…you know…”

“You know what? Save it,” Hazel declined, “Doesn’t sound like the kind of thing I want to know about anyway.”

She held her hand out again, this time offering to take his.

“Tell you what. If you lead me back to Rosemary, I’ll give you a tour and introduce you to some folks.”

“What do I have to gain here?” Jasper asked, “I mean, I was going there anyway, but I don’t see…”

“Look, just accept the damn offer,” she growled, “I don’t have time for you to think about whether I’m trying to trick you, okay? I’m not. I think it would be useful for you to have someone help you out, okay? And I’m willing to be that person.”

Jasper visibly gulped, before taking her hand. A genuine smile crept up onto her face.

“See? Was that so hard?” she remarked cheekily.

With that, Jasper and Hazel made their way in the direction of Rosemary, with the former hoping desperately for his first lead toward his ambition.