“Nalaar.” I said, holding up my sword to the giant with mysterious arm hardening powers. “Let’s run.”

Nalaar bleated and shot over me, running away from the giant in the other direction. I cycled Hellfire to my legs and raced after him. Every step sent me sailing ten feet at a time, flying over the stone floor.

[Hellfire remaining: 78%.]

We ducked into the hallway that had contained our prison cell.

“Come back here MEAT!” The giant shouted. I heard the sound of meat on stone as it slapped to all fours to chase us. It’s feet pounded behind us.

We shot into the daylight again.

“Stairs!” I said.

“Keep forward!” Nalaar shouted.

I followed him as he ignored the stares and ran into the next hall.

The Treeguards were removing prisoners from their cells. As we sprinted toward them, they snapped upwards, hanging from the ceiling like dangerous looking wooden chandeliers. I sheathed my sword.

“Are those a threat!?”

Nalaar bleated. His baby was making noises of fun and excitement as we ran.

“Nalaar! I don’t speak bleats!”

We passed under the Treeguards without incident. Nalaar spun, kicking off and down the stairs. I staggered, sliding across the stone and slowing my momentum. The giant shouted behind me as it struggled to catch up. I shot down the stairs toward Nalaar. The goat man was agile and dexterous, shooting down the stairs at a dangerous speed.

“The Treeguards aren’t a threat. They won’t stop fights outside the safe areas if there isn’t a threat from the World Wound.” Nalaar shouted as I caught up with him.

The rocky and uneven side of the mountain blurred by. Scraggly trees and plants clung to life, but there were no animals or people in the blurring terrain.

“NALAAR!” The giant shouted, distant now.

We kept running. The staircase winded ponderously down the side of the mountain. I risked a glance back after a few more steps.

The giant was rolling, making a noise of pain every time he hit another stair.

We reached the bottom of the mountain a few seconds later. Nalaar began to slow, then pivoted violently to the left. I followed him, tearing up the dirt road.

[Got it!] Interface said.

“Got what?” I shouted.

Nalaar glanced at me.

I exploded past him as energy suddenly and violently filled my legs.

[TECHNIQUE ACTIVATED!] Interface shouted in my mind as my speed doubled, Hellfire and foreign energy colliding together.

I hit the ground, rolling across the dirt field until I slowed, losing momentum. I forced myself up quickly. In the distance, the giant was still folded into a heap at the bottom of the stairs. A shadow fell over me as Nalaar hovered above me.

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His baby, Mora, stared down curiously. It had an almost human face, ending at the hair that covered its neck and head. It’s goat ears twitched. And it had the same eyes as Nalaar.

I groaned.

“Are you alive?” Nalaar asked. Then he kicked me.

“Ow! Fuck!” I said, clutching my stomach.

Nalaar bleated.

“Good! Full of vitality! I like you!”

“What the hells, man?” I asked.

Now that I was closer to the city, I could make out more details. There were piles and piles of ramshackle buildings surrounding the base of the multi-layered structure, which in turn ringed the great tower. From down here it was a monolith. The area the stairs had landed at opened to a gate to a section of these ramshackle buildings. Nalaar had led us towards a different gate, now, and I could hear the bustle of a city a stones throw away.

“The weak do not survive in the Celestial Scar.” Nalaar said, leaning down. He squinted at my legs. “What was that just now? You showed two different leg techniques. And both were movement. And this — ” Nalaar waved a hand through the orange halo of my interface that extended from out of my neck and around my head. “A mind technique? Body or head? How many techniques have you cultivated? Are you almost in the Second Realm?”

“Yeah, Interface, what the hell was that?” I cursed.

[I copied and imitated Nalaar’s movement magic. I’m sure of what it is now, after observing it multiple times. It’s a completely internal magic. It’s not just lending him additional speed, though.]

“What do you mean its doing more than — ”

“Who are you talking to?” Nalaar asked, still crouched and looking at me. Nalaar’s tail scraped the dirt. It ended in a spiked, barbed point. “Are you insane?”

“No. The ring around my head is — a tool to help me. I’m talking to it.”

Nalaar nodded sagely.

“A mind technique, with a complex spirit no less. is it fully sentient in the first realm? Your Path must be beset with challenges. Mind focused? But your fighting style was so physical… so you have arms, legs, and mind at least. There’s no sense in hiding it. What realm are you in? I can’t take you to my camp if you’re far into the Second Realm.” Nalaar seemed to hesitate.

We stared at each other for a moment. Nalaar waited patiently. Mora giggled.

“What the hell are you talking about?” I asked. “Interface, what else is that internal magic doing?” I grabbed at my legs, checking them over.

[The magic appears to be permanently enhancing you. Just a little bit at a time, though. It looks like this is the local magic custom of the world — fascinating. I’ve never seen anything like it. We missed my teleportation destination by a lot. You should let me cast the leg magic more.]

“There’s no sense in pretending you are not a cultivator.” Nalaar said. He squinted.

[Tell him you’ve cultivated three techniques. Until we can learn more. It seems as though cultivating more will make him suspicious.]

I looked up at Nalaar, unsure if I should lie to him about totally unknown things. Unbidden, Interface began to display more information.

[K-Three (Keltrex)]

[Hellfire: 48% | Exhaust: 11%]

[Leg (Movement?) Techniques]

[- Technique 1 (name unknown.) 1% Mastery (You should let me cast it 99 more times)]

[Arm (Sword?) Techniques]

[- Technique 2 (let’s call this one Unbreakable Arms(green)?) Understanding: 20%(please go bait the giant into casting it more times. It’s worth getting hit once or twice.]

“That’s only two techniques.” I said, replying to the scrolling information on my feed.

Nalaar squinted.

“Fine. We all have secrets. A mind technique and a movement technique, then. Those ones you cannot hide. I am in the First Realm. I have cultivated my movement-leg technique to completion. I felt the break through as we ran.” Nalaar bleated. I was able to hear his tone this time. It was like a laugh. “My technique is called Scale the Mountain, and is an Earth-Life element movement technique. There. A little bit of trust.”

Nalaar looked back behind himself to where the giant was pushing himself to his feet. He looked like an ant, he was so far away.

[Scale the Mountain. What a serious name. That’s ours now.] Interface said. Of course, Nalaar couldn’t hear him.

“You should come with me to our camp. The Iron Stomach gang will not bother you there. They wont intrude on our territory. Come.” Nalaar said again. Then he stepped over me.

I stood up, brushing dust off myself and nearly flinching as I turned around.

There was another goat man like Nalaar staring down at me, though he was wearing armor. Metal rings and charms hung from his horns. He bleated. The other guard was like a human, but green. She didn’t sport the horns of a tiefling, but her lower teeth jutted through her lips.

Nalaar had already walked past them.

“Friend of Nalaar?” She asked. “Go inside. Hurry. We’re shutting the gate.”

She stared past me to the giant.

I followed Nalaar into the city. It was better than finding out where the baby-eating faction lived.