My stomach growled as I held up the wooden spear. Its shaft was hewn from oak and the spearhead itself was just a sharpened lump of iron, crudely fashioned into a point; it was not a particularly good weapon, because even I could see that and I had no experience with weapons, but it was a spear and it was usable. It was also light, despite the fact that it was likely twice as long as my whole body. I wasn’t entirely certain what mutations I’d received from the Wolf, but holding a weapon seemed almost natural now; it felt as though I was meant to hold the spear in my hands, even if it was poorly made. I also felt... stronger now, somehow, even when my stomach was empty and my throat was dry. My movements came swiftly and fluidly, far more than they ever were.

Morkai and I stood, face to face, in what I could only describe as an arena. We were surrounded by tall stone walls and behind those walls were elevated seats from which an audience may watch if so inclined. No one was watching us. Morkai forbade it. The ground was filled with fine stone and shattered bones.

“You are a small girl,” Morkai began. He stood across me, holding a straight wooden stick, sanded finely, like my spear’s shaft, but without the pointy bit. “And you will likely grow into a woman soon enough; that means most of your opponents will be taller, larger, and stronger than you. That is a simple fact; so, how will you fight such an enemy?”

I raised a brow. “Bash their head in with a rock when they’re not looking?”

“Good, but that will work only if you have the element of surprise; what will you do if the enemy knows you’re there?” Morkai asked me. And I... could only shrug.

“Run at them and stab them in the face?” I asked.

Morkai sighed. “Very well, I suppose you’re not quite the analytical type; your martial education shall be conducted through physical trial.”

I quite liked the sound of that. I didn’t like thinking for too long or too hard; it was annoying. I just preferred to do things and not have to think at all. Morkai raised and aimed his stick at me. “My lesson for you today and all the coming days will be simple; yet, I expect you to exert yourself to see it done and to do it excellently. Your lesson, Valka, is to try and kill me. I will not fight back properly, for now; this stick I hold will be sufficient to induce pain and agony, but without injury. Attack with everything you have and all that you are!”

Quest Received:

Land a Clean Hit, Reward: 1 Skill (Wolf)

Do Not Get Hit, Reward: 1 Perk (Eagle)

Do Not React When Hit, Reward: 1 Perk (Whale)

I obliged and charged immediately. The Gods were watching; it would not be good to disappoint them in any way. Still, at best, I could only do two of those as the Challenge of the Eagle was incompatible with the Challenge of the Whale – only the Challenge of the Wolf was compatible with either of the two and, even then, it wouldn’t be a simple matter. Before me was a warrior of renown, a Champion of the Wolf; Morkai would’ve had to offer thousands of souls for the power he had now. Though he was not Blessed, like I was, and incapable of the same growth, the gap between us was insurmountable – for now.

Still, the Gods never gave impossible challenges – difficult, yes, but never impossible. There was always a way to succeed, even by the slimmest margins. The Gods were fair in that regard.

I leapt high and held the spear with its point held down, aimed right at the small gap in Morkai’s helmet, where his burning eyes beheld the world. It was a clear and easy target, really; I doubted there was anywhere else I could jam the spear into. The neck was another option, but the armor around it was too thick and I also figured that it was easier for Morkai to defend it. The spearhead neared, but Morkai merely batted it away with his left hand and, with his right, struck me with the stick. Pain flooded my body as I instinctively curled up. He’d hit me in the ribs, to the left of my chest. It felt as though a thousand tiny nails had been driven into my body. I dropped the spear and caught myself with my hands just before I reached the floor. I wanted to scream and writhe in agony, but the Whale’s Challenge stood and I would not fail. Instead, I gritted my teeth, breathed in, grabbed the spear on the floor, and forced myself up. The pain receded, but traces of it lingered.

I breathed in again and held my spear tightly and locked eyes with my opponent. Morkai did not see me as a threat. Perhaps, I could use that to my advantage.

Quest Successful! Do Not React When Hit (Whale), 1 Perk received!

Unearthly Bones – Your bones are stronger and more durable than it has any right being. Aside from that, cracks and breaks and fractures heal far quicker than normal – a gift from the Whale for enduring great pain.

I smirked and uttered a quick prayer of gratitude to the Whale; the potency of its gift would no doubt save me from the clutches of death in the years to come.

“Impressive,” Morkai said. “You’re not screaming in pain and begging for mercy; I can see why the Gods favor you, girl. Now, attack again.”

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I rushed forward again, this time, however, just as Morkai raised the stick, I pivoted to the left and feigned a forward thrust. As Morkai defended himself, I ducked low and rolled forward, quickly finding myself right beside him, beneath his guard. From there, I leapt up and snaked my spear right towards the tiny gap in his armor, where his neck was. I didn’t aim for the eyes this time, the only other vulnerable part in his otherwise impregnable defense. My spear was stopped, however, when Morkai merely took a step forward. As I landed, swung the stick and bashed it against my head.

Quest Failed!

Do Not Get Hit (Eagle)

I felt a brief rush of pain and then I blacked out.

The darkness lasted for a few moments, before I awakened and quickly pushed myself onto my feet. I wobbled, but I vigorously shook my head until the feeling of dizziness disappeared. I held my spear and breathed in. “Right, where were we?”

Morkai was... not standing there. He was sitting down, cross legged, on the ground, resting his chin on his right hand, and was looking at me with a bored look in his burning eyes. He spoke flatly, “You were asleep for an hour.”

“And now I’m ready again!” I did not wait for him to stand. He was on the ground. His legs were tangled up over each other and his guard was open. This was my chance. I charged and leapt and aimed my spear right for his exposed neck. Morkai leaned to the side and I found myself barreling forward to nothing. He stood up. I gritted my teeth as I crashed into the wall. I pulled myself away and growled.

That did not work quite as well as I imagined, did it?

“What are you going to do now, girl?” Morkai asked. “Are you going to start throwing rocks at me?”

I gritted my teeth and snarled.

To be entirely fair, that was a great idea. A well-thrown stone was usually good enough to send even a grown man to the ground, especially if hit right on the head or the eye. So, I bent down and scooped a handful of pebbles with my free hand and, with a roar, hurled them all at him. They bounced off from his armor harmlessly; I wasn’t sure what I was expecting. One of the pebbles, however, got into Morkai’s eye and he flinched.

I took that as a good moment to lunge at him again. I did not jump at the end of my charge. Instead, I rolled forward and got underneath him. My target was the small gap between the plates behind his right knee. It wasn’t overly exposed, but it was enough that I could slip a spearhead right through and maybe cause some damage. But, the chances of that happening were slim.

As I recovered from the roll, Morkai harrumphed and simply kicked me away towards the wall, crushing my plan in an instant. I gritted my teeth and then pressed my legs against the solid stone and pushed myself towards him again, lashing out blindly with my spear aimed at Morkai’s central mass. This time, I didn’t bother aiming for anything important. The only thing that mattered to me was that I hit anything at all.

In that moment, I poured everything I had into a single strike – all my rage, all my malice, and all my strength. I saw nothing but red. Wrath overtook my mind.

“RAAAAAAAAAAGH!” I roared as I lunged forward. I felt the tip of the spear meet his massive crimson breastplate. Something cracked. And the spearhead exploded into a hundred pieces. Even the wooden shaft splintered and broke apart until only a small part of the spear remained in my hand. My eyes widened. Was that the second mutation? Did I get stronger with anger? I’d have to test that later.

Quest Successful! Land a Solid Hit (Wolf), 1 Skill received!

Deep Strike – Your next attack will deal full damage, regardless of armor or durability, ignoring all forms of external defense – a gift from the Wolf for landing a hit on a far superior foe.

Morkai chuckled as he brushed away the bits of metal that’d clung into his armor. “That was a good hit, girl. But aim for my eyes or my neck, next time. No mundane spear is going through my Hell-Forged Armor.”

Hell-Forged Armor....

“You were given arms and armor from the Realm of Primordial Entropy?” I asked, eyes wide. Hell-Forged Armors were the stuff of legends. Only those who were personally chosen by the Gods themselves, those who received their favor, were gifted such artifacts. And that meant, to my horrifyingly late realization, that Morkai was a Chosen, one of the greatest warriors to ever walk the lands of Norskir.

“The Gods rewarded it to me after I defeated a Daemon in a duel before the Chaos Gate,” Morkai answered. In response, the crimson glow of his armor intensified, even hissing like smoldering coals in the cool air.

And then, I looked at Morkai in a new light. He was no longer just an enemy that I had to kill, a mountain that I had to topple. No, he was now the enemy that I had to defeat and the mountain that I had to climb. Destroying him wasn’t enough. No, I had to become more powerful than him – more powerful than Morkai could ever imagine. The thought filled me with excitement and I did not realize that I had gripped the wooden shaft hard enough for it to splinter around my fingers. I grinned and met Morkai’s gaze. “I’m going to kill you and offer your skull to the Gods; this, I swear on all the Gods, Morkai.”

Even underneath his helmet, I could tell that he was grinning, just as I was. “I can’t wait, girl. Grow strong quickly; I am not a patient man.”

I was led back to my prison in the dungeons, accompanied by the same old warrior who brought me here the first time. The man’s name was Siggy. Thorstein, as I found, was in his cell, doing nothing. Idly, I wondered if he would be trained as well; otherwise, what was his purpose here?

“I suggest you both get comfortable with each other,” Siggy said. “Tomorrow’s challenge will test the both of you.”