“Never underestimate a Skill. It is true not all Skills are made equal, but I guarantee you do not fully comprehend what that actually means. Few do.”

~Unknown

There was a weight to Tina’s command, a pressure. If it weren’t for the flood of adrenaline pushing my senses into overdrive, I might not have picked up on it. It was the same thing I felt when Vigil growled, only amplified. Savagery wasn’t just promised, it was a foregone conclusion. I pushed back from Tina’s chest and gasped at what I saw. Gone were her brunette locks, replaced instead by coils of elegant wire, gleaming dangerously as they caught the light.

Just like Vigil’s…

It wasn’t just the hair. Her eyes were quicksilver and her gaze was steel, locked on the creatures like a dagger poised to strike. Dozens of dogs bayed in the distance behind her, signaling their imminent approach. I paid them no mind. They were overshadowed by the sounds that suddenly erupted behind me. The ferocity demanded my attention and I obliged.

Everything had changed. I hadn’t seen how it happened; my back was turned. I only saw the outcome. Vigil’s tail had curved over his back like a scorpion’s and grown to an impossible length. It had crossed the distance to the injured stoat-panther and cleanly impaled its chest. I turned just in time to witness dozens of metallic spikes, each as wide as my arm, erupt out of the creature in all directions. Blood and gore adorned the spikes as if a macabre Christmas tree had taken root. Vigil’s tail snapped back to its regular length like a rubber band, trailing a spray of crimson to stain the land.

Vigil growled at the remaining predator.

Tina growled in sync with him, and I knew it was a predator no more.

The riddled corpse crumpled to the ground. Whatever gripped the aflame stoat-panther into stunned immobility shattered with the death of its partner. It answered Vigil and Tina’s challenge with an aggressive chitter that burned my ears. Its fiery aura burned with renewed intensity, frantically dancing in sync with the discordant noise. Scorching heat rolled from the creature in cascading waves. It exploded into motion. It-

Vigil blurred, moving faster than I could track with my eyes. He- something snatched the stoat-panther out of mid-air. Huge, metallic fingers curled around the creature’s body and slammed it into the ground. I heard a crunch accompany the impact. From the center of Vigil’s back his fur had lengthened and braided together to form a giant, silver, arm. Tina was holding her own arm forward, hand clenched into a mirror of the metallic fist still pinning the beast.

“Vigil! KILL!” The words came out of Tina as a snarl.

Now wounded, the stoat-panther thrashed against its bonds to no avail. The metal fist began to glow a dull red from the intense heat but still held firm. Vigil fell upon his grounded foe and mangled its exposed neck, iron fangs ripping through the last shreds of its resistance. The creature's fire sputtered out as its lifeblood sizzled into the earth. It spasmed once more then lay still.

Silence.

***

Amy crested the hill separating our property from the broader farmlands surrounding Elbura. I had been watching the spot intently, knowing that her arrival would signal disaster. Lianda arrived for pickup first. When she heard what happened, she was quick to abscond with Bella and rush back to town. In hindsight, I should have gone with them. Instead, I was waiting outside the house. Alone. Tina was… recovering. Whatever she did to help Vigil fight off those creatures had some kind of side effect. Tulos was still in the house.

Amy’s footfalls tore up the distance at an impressive rate. It wasn’t as fast as I’d seen Tina move, though. It wasn’t even a close comparison. She was still easily outpacing most of the Olympic athletes I’d been familiar with, though.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Amy must have crossed paths with Bella and Lianda on the way… the thought limply crossed my mind. I was still reeling from the events of the day. They’d been replaying in my head for hours. It was partly to help come to sense with what happened. It was also partly to keep my mind off the new System Window.

Perseverance Level 9/10

Current proficiency points: 900/900

You have gained sufficient recognized proficiency to advance to Perseverance Level 10.

Perseverance has gained sufficient recognized proficiency for Advancement.

Please proceed to Skill Augmentation selection for Perseverance.

…

All Skills have gained sufficient recognized proficiency for Advancement.

Commence Advancement?

Once my adrenaline calmed down it was like I felt a tugging in the back of my mind. When I turned my attention to it, the notification would spring back into existence. Evidently, my ordeal in the forest was enough to finally push Perseverance over the edge. It was a hollow consolation. I was tempted to start the process but ultimately hesitated. Unlike with my Core Skill selection, there wasn’t a timer forcing my hand. The logical part of my mind - the part trying to desperately hold me, it, and everything together - insisted that rushing into my first Advancement while recovering from a traumatic experience might not be the wisest course of action. For the time being, I agreed.

I sunk back into memory.

***

Once the threat of the creatures had been eliminated, Tina rushed me back to the house. She was fast. Too fast. Inhumanly fast. Thankfully, she made sure to cradle my head so the whiplash didn’t snap my neck. The air whooshed around me. I was reminded of the feeling of riding on a motorcycle. I called out to her to turn back, to check on Jusep, but she either didn’t hear my pleas over the sound of her motion or chose to ignore them.

We slowed as the house came into view. Tulos was waiting for us. He was holding his axe in a white-knuckle grip, his face set in grim determination. Vigil kept pace with us despite his injury, though I noticed he still favored his good side. Tulos took in Tina’s condition and his already worried expression deepened. I spied Bella standing behind him, seeking comfort from a familiar adult. She’d reached up to grab a fistful of his shirt like it was a lifeline.

“My love,” Tulos said sternly, addressing his wife and slowly stepping towards her, “I need you to put Will down and-”

“No!” Tina snarled back and held me closer. “I have to keep him safe!” Vigil growled at Tulos to punctuate her point. I got the impression they’d both bared their teeth. I heard Bella whimper at the unexpected aggression coming from a woman she treated like an aunt. Tina’s hair still flashed metallic silver in my peripherals and I felt her sharpened fingernails dig into me painfully.

“Tina! Focus! Who are you?” Tulos barked the command at her. His cadence sounded familiar and it struck me almost immediately; he was emulating the tone Tina took with the dogs when they were misbehaving.

What the fuck is going on…

“Dad! Jusep is still out there! He’s hurt, and-” I tried interjecting but Tulos held up a hand to forestall me, not taking his eyes off of his wife. I wanted to scream. Why did no one seem to care about Jusep?

Tulos repeated the question to Tina twice more, like it was a mantra. Suddenly, Tina set me down so roughly it bordered on a throw and disappeared back into the treeline, moving too rapidly for me to properly track with my eyes. Vigil was quick to follow. I saw Tulos exhale in relief before he finally turned to me.

“Your mom will be fine. She just needs time now,” Tulos explained as if it were even remotely close to sufficient.

“Dad. Listen to me. Jusep was attacked by something.” I let irritation flavor my tone, frustrated that my prepubescent vocal cords tainted everything I said with a childish lilt despite the severity I wished to impart. Bella, no longer distracted by Tina’s presence, heard my words and started to cry.

Fuck. Forgot she was here for a second.

Wait.

No.

Possibly dead kid should be more important than upsetting her, right?

Fuck me, I don’t know.

It was a rapid bombardment of thoughts. Tulos quickly closed the distance between us and took a knee, pulling me into a hug that I felt was more for himself than for me.

“I am so glad you are safe,” he intoned softly but fiercely. I felt his voice rumble through me. “If Jusep can be saved, he will be.”

Tulos pulled away from the embrace, pinning me in place with his expression. “I have something I need to ask you, Will. It is not a fair thing to ask, but I have to anyway.” He paused and I nodded for him to continue. “I need you to watch over Bella. I might have to step away and your mother is… she is busy.” I ignored the obvious half-truth and let him finish. “Can you do that, Will?”

I wanted to deny him. Couldn’t he see that everything had happened because I tried to watch over them and be responsible? I felt like an imposter, probably because I was. I couldn’t say that though. That wouldn’t have been helpful at all. To anyone. Instead I just nodded again and Tulos gave my shoulder a squeeze.

Tulos looked like he was about to say something else. Instead, he paused. His eyes widened as he spotted something over my shoulder and shot to his feet, moving to intercept. Fear gripped me as imagined threats loomed, ready to eviscerate Tulos to get to me. My breath caught and I spun to see what was coming.

It was Jusep.