In a dark alley, far from the busy streets, layed an old almost forgotten rotten wood board. Filled with papers, both old and new. They all wanted something and oathed to give money in return. But, this day was not the day all their wishes would be granted.

Their visitor, a picky chooser, stood in front of the board. Like a farmer looking for the most promising crop, her serene golden eyes shifted from one bounty to the other.

“These three aren’t so bad,” she said as she looked at the bounties she held with her delicate hands.

The picture of an old man with long white hair and a nasty scar running from one ear to the other, passing right under his eyes. Capture dead or alive for a hundred gold pieces asked the bounty.

The payoff is good, a hundred gold pieces ain’t nothing to scoff at, she thought. But, she knew better, the higher the rewards the higher the risk, and the scar on his face only further instilled a sense of danger.

Hesitant she parted ways with the bounty as she struggled to put it back on the board. She hadn’t given up on it yet she wouldn’t actively hunt him. Only if the opportunity presented itself she would take her shot at it. After all, she too was a dangerous individual.

She turned around and headed for the city gate as she read through the content of the other two.

“I need two deerworlves heads and an earthly bear’s pelt. The total sum of which should yield me around 2 gold and 15 silver pieces,'' she murmured to herself in an attempt to both calculate the profit from the bounties and to ignore the constant gaze directed at her by everyone she passed by.

The gazes from single men and women didn’t bother her much, but today was a day meant for couples. Their lustful, envious, admiring, and yearning gaze made her uncomfortable especially since the ones looking were all on a date with their special other. Luckily, none dared to make a move and kept their distance. All of them thought the same thing, she was out of their league.

Her lush golden hair was nicely tied into a low bun whose up and down motion unintentionally hypnotized those who stared at her for too long. Serene golden eyes that would startle anyone who was looked directly at by them, remained calm at all times acting as a dam that regulated how her emotions flowed to the outside world. Thin celestial nose and pink lips left many dreaming and further complimented her already stunning appearances. Porcelaine and smooth skin gave off an impression of being frail and delicate which elicited an urge to protect from those who didn’t know her. Lastly, her not too muscular yet fit killer body threw out the window any notion of weakness, especially her long elegant legs that could kick someone's soul out of their bodies in one sweep.

She came to a halt as shivers ran down her spine. Frantically she looked everywhere searching for the one that dared lick her with their eyes. Failing to find the culprit she gave up on her search and resumed walking at a quickened pace.

“I am definitely buying a cloak as soon as I get paid!”

When she got to the forest outside of the city walls. Nature with open arms gave her a warm welcome so that she could forget what happened before. Birds sang, monkeys howled and the trees danced to the marching tune of her steady gait as she made her way through the forest’s thick vegetation.

She was out to hunt for two of the most dangerous monsters around. The deerwolf, true to its name, was a ferocious monster with the body of a deer covered in fur, the head of a wolf bearing a powerful bite that would not let go, and a pair of sharp antlers protruding from behind its ears that would pierce through leather armor. Due to behaving like normal deer many had died after approaching them. Not only can they be easily confused if you haven’t seen their heads but they were also never alone, always traveling in a pack.

Despite the deerwolves deceptive nature they were far from being the top predator. The most dangerous being in this forest was by far the earthly bear. Size almost double that of a bear, claws sharper than blades, jaws that can chew through a tree hunk. The characteristic that gave them their name is their thick fur further reinforced by a protective layer of rocks that acted like armor. A proud territorial beast that would attack any who dared enter its territory.

Luckily, they lived deep within the forest and didn’t venture outside of their territories often. I am getting close to bear’s territory she thought as she saw scars on the tree trunks and massive paw traces on the ground. She performed one last quick check-up on her equipment and gear.

She wore simple leather armor which only covered her vital spots leaving plenty of areas unprotected to maximize mobility and spiked gauntlets that covered her forearms with a thin layer of iron. That's one of the reasons why people couldn’t ignore her whenever she walked past them. Regardless, she knew for sure that the only way for people to not stare at her was to cover herself up completely.

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A loud and menacing roar alarmed her as her senses sharpened. With arms raised, fist clenched and her legs spread she advanced further into the bear’s territory.

The further she ventured in, the quieter it got. Tension saturated the air rendering the trees motionless. A single drop of sweat trickled down her face as she scanned her surroundings, not letting her guard down even for a moment.

Suddenly an antler tore through the vegetation from her side. Surprised by the direction of the attack, her body jolted into action. Quickly she sidestepped and with strength unfitting her physique she grabbed the antler and lifted it over her head revealing a dumbfounded wolf head. Confirming her target she smashed the deerwolf’s back with the ground.

As soon as it made contact with the ground the deerwolf snapped out of its confusion by the pain and yelped loudly. Before it could even stand up she delivered a powerful kick straight to its neck killing it instantly.

A somber expression appeared on her face, as the deerwolf had warned the pack of the approaching danger before its death. Fighting one was no problem for her, but a whole pack at once was a completely different story.

Time went by and no other deerwolf showed up. Estranged by this irregular behavior she walked in the direction the deerwolf popped up. Upon seeing the scarred trees and being reminded of where she was, a thought crept onto her mind, the absolute worst scenario had happened.

Pushing plants and branches aside she ran until she reached a clearing where her suspicion had been realized. A confrontation between an earthly bear and the pack of deerwolves the previous deerwolf belonged to. It was an uncommon occurrence as they usually respected each other's territories, something or someone must have stirred them up.

The deerwolves worked together to ram their antlers against the side of the earthly bear while others tried to bring it down by biting its tail and hind legs. However, the earthly bear remained mostly undisturbed as its armored fur blocked all their attacks. It swung its front paws massacring the deerwolves who rammed him painting the green scenery strokes of blood.

Guts, paws, antlers, eyes, and more indiscernible lumps of flesh and bones were splattered all over the battlefield. The once fierce deerwolves had turned into completely deformed lumps of meat. No one would willingly pay a good price for those as their value had diminished from possible elegant decoration to fertilizer and food for the dogs. Worried about having all her goods damaged she pondered whether to face both monsters at the same time or give up on it and search for another deerwolf pack.

On one hand, she was confident she could beat an earthly bear if she used all of her power. On the other hand, a three-way battle would be too much for her to handle.

Conflicted, she just stood there watching the ongoing slaughter. She knew what the right course of action was. All she had to do was simply wait for the bear to slaughter all the deerwolves. But a part of her knew that whilst all she needed was a single deerwolf head, the rest of their bodies could also be sold if it was in the right conditions.

“Young lady, you seem to be in quite the situation,” said a hoarse voice that came from behind her.

“What the fuck!”

This was not the first time she had been caught by surprise today but the third time. Her senses were already as sharp as they could be from her previous experiences. Yet, someone was still able to creep up on her without her even catching a whiff of its existence.

Her pride was damaged and an impending sense of danger-filled her. Hastily, she distanced herself while unleashing her powers. Her eyes shone a bright golden light and a halo of light appeared right on top of her head unleashing her magical prowess. A veil of light covered her body as she readied herself for a fight.

“Young people these days seem quite promising. Your form is good albeit a bit lacking.”

One hand caressed his white beard and the other lightly held onto his sword’s handle. Long white hair ran past his back and a nasty scar that extended from one ear to the other gave her a strange sense of deja vu. She knew that she had seen him somewhere before, but thanks to all the adrenaline that was rushing through her blood, she couldn’t point her finger to exactly what it was. All she knew was that he was a dangerous individual, who was stronger than her in every way.

“W-what do you want?”

“Don’t worry I am not here to fight. I just want to cut a deal, I help you kill all those monsters and you split the rewards fifty-fifty.”

“Why would you need my help when you can just get the full reward if you turn them in?”

“Well, you see, I’m not welcomed in the city and I’m sure that someone as beautiful as you have no problem doing business there.”

“What if I never come back?”

“Then I will hunt you down, strip you of your possessions and kill you.”

Having heard that, magic swelled inside her, so much so that it threatened to take them both down if the worse came to happen.

“No need to be too alarmed, I wouldn’t make you do this if I wasn’t willing to give something back. If you agree to do this for me then I will take you in as my disciple and teach you the way of my sword.”

“Wh-”

“Wait, don’t say a word. Let me show you the might of my sword. Watch carefully, you are about to witness my ultimate sword technique, I named it the Omni-slash.”

Right where he stood, far from the monster’s battlefield he lowered his center of gravity while moving his feet apart from one another. One hand held the sheath of the blade and the other held the handle tightly. With an elegant motion, he slowly drew the blade drawing a peaceful arch. As soon as the blade completed its motion the monster’s battlefield became silent.

Eyes and mouth wide open, she stood motionless bearing witness to the miracle that had just occurred. The once hectic battle had become a sculpture of horror that portrayed the old swordsman’s terrifying skill and power.

The once-proud earthly bear sat motionless with its head held tightly in its embrace. Blood gushed out of its neck like a fountain which created a bloody mist that glazed the perfectly aligned deerwolves heads. They were looking directly at the bear as if they were praying to it.

Her legs gave in as she helplessly fell to the ground, stunned at what had just happened. He caused so much destruction with only one swing of his sword, she repeated herself. While the artist himself stood tall, proud of his art piece.

“A bit too bloody for my liking but it can’t be helped, this was the best way to show you the might of my sword. I’m Alexander Gray, a wandering swordsman. What about you young lady?”

Her heart had succumbed to the fear and all thoughts of facing his sword had already crumbled away into dust. While she knew that what he sought was to teach her his sword techniques and not use them against her, she couldn’t entirely rule out the fear that had just grown in her heart. So long as I remain on his good side then everything will be okay, she thought as she told him her name.

“Fale, just a wanderer.”