Ike sped along the wall. The dark forms chased silently after him. He ran faster, the Salamander’s tail banging against his back. Without any visible exertion of effort, they followed. The forms drifted on a wind only they could feel, one that blew them closer and closer to Ike.

The nearest one lifted a limp, pale arm and reached toward Ike. Its arm split into fingers, but not as a hand would. It looked like someone had taken a mushroom stalk and cut it into four. Four evenly-sized extremities sat evenly spaced around its wrist, with no palm or thumb. The four fingers tapered to sharp points. It grasped at the air, almost beckoning.

That’s not a person. Terror coiled in Ike’s gut. They weren’t bandits at all. No. A herd of monsters of unknown power chased him for unknown reasons.  If he was unlucky, and they were Rank 2 or higher, a single one would destroy him. Even if I’m lucky…this many Rank 1s or 0s is still a problem. He sped up again, activating Lightning Dash.

The wraiths sped up in kind, ever so slowly gaining on him. Ike gritted his teeth and operated Lightning Dash at full power. Mana drained from his body, pouring into his feet and legs. He eyed the path ahead warily. The gate was nowhere in sight. He could keep sprinting like this for another mile, at best, but the gate was further away than that. If he kept this up, he’d end up stranded on the wrong side of the wall with no mana and the wraiths still on his heels.

Ike glanced back. The wraiths still gained steadily, no matter how fast he ran.

I could ditch the Salamander tail and take off inside the wall. Ike considered it, then instantly threw out the option. Only if he had no other recourse. He’d brought the Salamander’s tail this far. As long as he turned it in, he’d have the last money he needed to pay back his debt. If he didn’t turn in the Salamander’s tail, he’d be stuck hunting for months and months to make up that kind of money. After all, the monsters he could hunt solo were worth coppers, maybe a silver at best. The Salamander’s tail alone equaled weeks’ worth of solo hunting. And I don’t want to party up again. I’ve learned my lesson. He tightened his grip on the strap, his mind made up.

He eyed the invisible barrier. If he strapped the Salamander’s tail to his shoulder, he could stand on the inside of the wall and leave only the Salamander’s tail outside the wall. After a moment, he rejected that idea, too. He’d ruin his back putting so much weight on one arm and running. Besides, if the wraiths were after the tail, it was no different from abandoning the tail outright.

Ike looked over his shoulder again. That left fighting. His eyes traveled over the wraiths, counting. One, two, three…six. Six wraiths.

He considered. He could easily kill six of the squirrels, but just from looking at them, he could tell the wraiths would be more trouble than the squirrels. When it came to Rank 1 monsters, he didn’t have much experience. If the little salamanders counted, then sure, he could, but…he eyed the wraiths. If the little salamanders were Rank 1, they were the very bottom of Rank 1. These wraiths feel more like Joseph. The top of Rank 1.

Ike bit his lip. He glanced back again. One wraith had pulled ahead of the other wraiths, closer to him than the rest. Instantly, he whipped around and charged toward it instead. If he couldn’t judge their strength by looking, he’d have to judge it by attacking!

Holding nothing back, he surged mana into his hand. Lightning crackled around his wrist and fingers. His hand surged forward, smacking the wraith square in the center of its face.

The wraith’s head snapped back, completely back. Its head dangled loosely over the back of its shoulders and down its back. It stumbled, jolting from the lightning imbued in the strike.

Ike blinked. He looked at his hand, then the wraith. Was it that easy?

The wraith lifted its head. The hood had fallen back, revealing pale, moist flesh. It had no face, nothing but blank, smooth white where its eyes and nose should be. Dank hair clung to its skull. A massive mouth split its face, hanging half-open, more like a snake’s maw than a human jaw. It dragged a deep breath past a thousand needle-sharp teeth and flicked a long tongue toward Ike.

Ike retreated a step unconsciously. He drew a sharp breath of his own. Definitely not human.

Behind the wraith, its fellows came up quickly. The fastest pushed past the lead wraith and swiped at him. Ike dodged, but too slow. A pale claw brushed through his shoulder. Ike flinched, but no pain burst out. No blood ran down his shirt, nor did his shirt tear. A cold, numb sensation pressed into him where its hand struck.

The wraith lifted its hand to its mouth and made an eating motion, though its hand looked empty to Ike. Its whole body shivered with pleasure. Its horrible mouth curved into a delighted grin. The other wraiths swarmed it, fighting for its clenched fist. It fought them off, chewing down the invisible thing it held.

The second the wraiths slowed, Ike whirled and ran, glad for the distraction. He patted his shoulder to be sure, but touched unharmed flesh. His own touch felt distant, and his shoulder felt cold to his fingertips. He frowned, activating Lightning Dash as he sprinted away.

Coldness in his core. A chunk of his mana was gone.

Ike startled. It stole my mana! They aren’t hitting me, but my mana. Wait, then… As he ran, he scanned the ground in front of him. A chip of stone sat atop the wall ahead of him. Ike scooped it up, then, in one fluid motion, whirled and threw it backward.

The stone sailed harmlessly through the wraiths. They chased, as relentless as ever.

My hand struck, but the stone didn’t. They steal mana on touch. He looked at his hand. Lightning flickered over it for just a moment. He’d used Lightning Grasp to strike them, the one time he’d hit. The wraiths sped up when he used Lightning Dash. His eyes widened as it all came together. They were stealing his mana. Not just when they struck him, but when they chased him, too, using the scraps of mana from his skillcasting to speed themselves. He wasn’t sure how skills and magic worked, not completely, but from looking at his feet and the lightning flashing off into the world, it wasn’t hard to imagine a smear of mana left behind him. One that the wraiths could snatch up.

He glanced back, looking closely at their strange, slender feet. Ever so faintly, flickers of electricity flashed around their ankles, a pale copy of his skill.

Lightning Dash is a Unique skill. They can’t possibly have a version of it. That cinches it—they’re leeching my mana somehow.

As he became aware of it, he felt a cold draw at his back. He turned his attention to the warmth flowing through him. The mana slowly escaped his body, the draw strongest at his feet, where his skill was active. He couldn’t keep using Lightning Dash. At the rate, he wouldn’t make it back to the gate.

Ike stopped dead, killing his Lightning Dash. He whipped around and punched again, Lightning Grasp sparking wildly around his hand, activated with all the strength he could muster. Once more, the lead wraith fell backward. Lightning flickered over its entire body, spiraling out from the place Ike had punched them.

The wraith jumped back up. It hissed and gave chase, faster than ever. Ike jumped back, using only his ordinary speed. The wraith’s claws closed in on him.

A pale claw wrapped around the lead wraith’s neck, yanking it to a dead stop. The second wraith bit into the first wraith, its razor teeth cutting through that strange, pale flesh. The first wraith struggled, hissing in anger. Its claws cut through the second wraith’s neck. It straightened up and took a step toward Ike, only for the other wraiths to lunge. A third wraith downed it, and the rest quickly fell upon the first wraith. Their needle teeth tore it apart as the lightning vanished, wraiths desperately slurping it up.

Ike ran away on his own speed, not using any technique at all. His core sat cold, nearly empty. All his mana was speared on the lead wraith, so the wraith looked more ‘warm,’ more full of mana than Ike himself. He held his breath as he sped away, not yet willing to believe his ploy had worked. Once they shreded that wraith, there was nothing to stop them from coming after him again. He needed to get back inside as quickly as possible. Ike looked over his shoulder again. The wraiths kept chewing the first wraith, while the first wraith continued to thrash and struggle. He’d bought himself some time, but not safety.

I might have to ditch the Salamander’s tail after all.

Shaking his head, Ike put his thoughts behind him and ran on. Best to focus on running for now. He’d handle the wraiths when, and if, they came after him again.

The wall curved. The wraiths vanished behind the flow of the forest. Ike ran on. His feet struck stone, a steady beat beneath him. Every so often, he checked over his shoulder. An empty wall stretched behind him every time.

Ike rubbed the back of his neck, unable to shake the sensation of being followed. I need to keep my head forward. Every glance back costs me precious seconds. Those wraiths wouldn’t remain distracted forever. If they came after him again, he needed to be as far ahead as possible to give himself the maximum advantage.

Ahead of him, something dark covered the wall. Ike slowed to a halt and kneeled, touching it. A slick substance coated his fingers. His brows furrowed. Some kind of oil? But why?

Shadows shifted in the forest. Ike whirled. More wraiths?

Dark-clad people approached from the forest, filtering out of the trees. The ratty man laughed as he strode toward Ike. “Naïve. Taking a different path, as if it would throw me off. How long do you think I’ve been playing this game? I know what you’re going to do before you even think of it.”

Ike backed away. His eyes narrowed. I think I know why the wall is oiled. This was a trap. The bandits had tracked him, somehow. A tracking skill, some kind of surveillance technique. His path along the wall must have been so obvious to them, if they could see him at all. So familiar.

Ike all but kicked himself, frustrated. Looking back, it was easy to see how bandits with foreknowledge of his position could guess his next move, with one shoulder up against a barrier. If only he’d known there were tracking skills. If only he’d known how to check if he was tracked. If only. If only. Again, his inexperience and lack of knowledge was thrown in his face. He lifted his lip, sick of it. He had to learn more. Study under someone, read, something—anything. He’d die if he remained this clueless.

But first, I have to survive this.

The bandits surrounded him in a loose arc around the base of the wall. Ike counted. Five of them, including the ratty man. Too many to fight alone, Ranks and skills aside.

“What’s your name?” Ike asked, looking down on the ratty man. Subtly, he changed his stance, putting his hands behind his back. Lightning crackled around his wrists as he shifted them back and forth according to the pattern of Lightning Grasp.

“Me? You can call me…” He paused for a moment, thinking. “Rob.”

“Should I call him Mug? And her, Steal?” Ike asked, pointing out other bandits.

“If you like,” Rob said. He gestured for Ike to come down. “We have no quarrel with you. Hand over that tail, and we can all go our merry ways.”

“Why should I give you what I risked my life for?” Ike asked.

Rob waved his hand dismissively. “It’s a small piece of the monster. Consider it an investment in your future.”

“My immediate future,” Ike muttered.

“Why limit yourself? This could be the start of a beautiful partnership,” Rob said, a smile spreading across his face.

Ike’s eyes hardened. “No.”

Not again. Never again. He’d learned his lesson from years under his uncle’s thumb. Bow once, bow forever. If he let these bullies take even a piece of his kill, he would be beholden to them forever.

Besides, my back isn’t as much against a wall as they think it is.

Rob shook his head. He walked toward the wall, and the other bandits closed in on Ike, too. “It seems words won’t cut it. Remember, you brought this upon yourself.”

Flickering from behind Ike. He half turned to catch a clear look. His hands moved even faster as a grin spread across his face. “Oh, I did.”