"Nooooo, my baby! You killed my baby!"

The muffled voice came from the doorway of the stone shack that threatened to collapse any minute. Marlon turned and saw a man in his late sixties standing there, looking deeply distressed. His snow-white but full head of hair was uncombed and gave him a mad scientist look. His clothes were torn in several places and some wounds were also visible from where he stood.

 He sighed inwardly at the sight of this strange character, whom he had already categorized as a lunatic, while Alune was already in front of him.

"Alune, for..."

SBAAAAAFFF

The caretaker had just given the old recluse, who had collapsed at the bottom of the steps of the cottage, a decent beating. She didn't stop there and walked towards him, continuing to beat him. Marlon felt uncomfortable and thought he saw Svein, Selia's father, in front of him.

"You jerk! Did you have to do that again?!?! You never retain anything, do you ?! You fucking douchebag! Raaaaaaaaa !!!!"

He said nothing and let the woman lash out at the person who had to be Drevos, even after he distinctly heard a few bones break under Alune's blows. The beating lasted a minute or two, and as suddenly as she had thrown herself at him, the healer recovered. With an air that would dissuade even a monster like the Mantis from approaching her, she began to treat the various wounds she had just inflicted on him.

It was only after she had finished her care that Marlon deigned to approach them both.

"Eu...can you explain?" he asked curiously and with a soothing tone, almost frightened by the face Alune had just shown.

He had thought himself far too bloodthirsty since he had arrived on Neo-Life, but this scene made him think that he was far from reaching the level of these villagers. They seemed to solve everything with a good dose of violence, and this did not displease the young man.

There was a refreshing quality to dealing with problems in this way, and so simple.

"Sire Revenge, I present to you...Drevos. A genius with knowledge of many types of magic, but also a total irresponsible who doesn't care about anything and especially the consequences his actions may have."

The man in question greeted Marlon before absentmindedly wiping a trace of blood that had remained on his left cheek. A smile worthy of an electronics salesman had appeared on his face as he extended his hand to the runist.

"That's it, that's exactly me! Well, after that, she forgets to say how many times I saved Akranio and how much my discoveries have revolutio..."

SBAAAAAAF

The slap shut him up instantly and he made round eyes at Marlon who could not help but smile at the eccentricity of the character. A perfect hand mark had appeared on Devros' cheek. A bright red color.

"Drevos, you're only going to answer the questions that Sire Revenge and I are going to ask, understand? If you deviate even half an inch from the answer, I'll hit you harder and I won't heal you this time, okay?"

He nodded his understanding, his eyes wide as he stared at Alune as if she were a predator about to devour him, and so waited for the first question.

"First of all, why did you bring a fucking Mantis here?"

"I...I wanted to make it one of my pipe dreams, and I'll have you know that I had almost succeeded before..."

SBAAAFFFFF

"Stick to simple, concise answers, Drevos. Let's start again. Why didn't you tell Selia? You know you have to since the last time."

The man's eyes went round and a sulky pout appeared on his face. Had it not been for his appearance, Marlon would have been convinced that he was looking at a spoiled child.

"I...I...she would never have wanted me to try, you know that as well as I do. And we need it, we can't last another year..."

SBAAAAFFFFFF

"And do you think Akranio would have been better off if you had been eaten by that Mantis? Because clearly, we'd give him another hour or two and he'd come and pick you up like a flower in your hovel, Drevos!"

He looked embarrassed and didn't answer anything at the time. Marlon glanced at the rickety hut and was sure that a few minutes would have been enough, not hours as the caretaker seemed to think.

Annoyed, Alune let the old man get up and took her head in her hands, surely to avoid hitting him even more. She had just shown a facet of her personality that Marlon would not have suspected existed.

"Revenge, ask him what you want and then we'll take him back to Akranio. Selia will want to talk to him."

A look of panic crossed Drevos' face. The Huntress apparently left a strong impression on everyone, and he was aware that he had screwed up.

"I am Revenge Drelor, an adventurer wishing to help Akranio in the best way possible," Marlon began in a respectful tone, "I am looking for someone who could enlighten me on the use of Runes, and Selia told me that you might be able to help me."

Drevos's eyes flashed with interest, going from concern to curiosity in less than a second.

"I know the basics, indeed, but I am only a humble researcher and cannot claim to have acquired all the primary and secondary knowledge of such a field of study. What's more, I believe that the current economic climate..."

"Drevos, I'm going to hit you again," Alune warned him in a threatening voice.

The man did not turn to the caretaker but swallowed his saliva anyway as he interrupted her monologue, glancing nervously in her direction from time to time.

"Don't let him, Sire, or he'll rant like that for hours without you learning anything."

Marlon then thought carefully about his question and finally asked the visibly disturbed man :

"I have runes, how can I use them?"

"Haha! Here, I can help you. What you need is first of all an intention! May I ask what rune you have?"

"For now, only Race and Spark," the young man replied.

"Haha, Haha! Only two...and since you know their names, I guess they are Draconic Runes, whose knowledge becomes innate when absorbed...people would be willing to kill to possess 'only' those two runes, young man. Good, good. So imagine you want to run faster. You have to visualize the effect in your head, then you have to draw the Rune with a catalyst."

"A catalyst? What do you mean by that?"

The researcher sighed at such ignorance but answered anyway in a haughty tone that made Marlon's hair stand on end.

"Alala, we're not getting much help today, are we? Well, there's nothing we can do about it... a catalyst can be anything. Water, honey, blood. It's something you're going to use like some ink. Of course, some materials are more or less suitable, blood being one of the best. So you draw the rune, on some support.

He paused and looked at Marlon blankly for a few seconds before continuing.

"Yeah, I guess I'll explain what a medium is too, right? It can be a scroll, fabric, your skin...in absolute terms, even air can be used as a medium by the runemasters. The rune will act on the bearer of the support, or it will be activated at a distance, depending on the intention of the creation.

He paused for a moment to catch his breath and Marlon took the opportunity to raise his hand so he could place one.

"An intention, a catalyst, some support. So far so good. What about combining runes?"

Drevos had a smile that could have been frightening because it was so disturbing. Not in the form of a smile, but in the craziness in his eyes as he smiled. This guy was really a nutcase, and the young man knew what he was talking about.

On Earth, he had often come across junkies in the lobby of his building. The worst ones were the ones who injected nano-drugs. When they came down from their trip, they had that same kind of look. The kind that makes you shiver with fear and drip cold sweat between your shoulder blades.

"This is where it gets sublime! You can combine them, of course! And I'm not talking about one or two, but dozens, even hundreds of runes! The problem is the intention. It has to be clear, otherwise it can blow up in the Runist's face. And the more you combine, the harder the intention is to establish. Haha, a few decades ago I saw a guy totally blow up trying to combine only five."

Drevos continued to rant about the use of Runes, but Marlon was focused on the message that had just appeared before his eyes.

Ding

You have found a Runes instructor. You can now use the Runes you have found. The intention must be carefully constructed or it will backfire. The level of your class forces you to use a support. The catalyst can be freely chosen but the effectiveness of the Runic spell will depend heavily on your choice.

As soon as this message disappeared, another window appeared in front of his field of vision.

"Well done, kid! Now you can get down to business. Here's a hint: when you finish what you have to do in Akranio, go to Delia."

Loki, again. He seemed to be following Marlon's adventure very assiduously, and he was not at all surprised. He tried to answer but the window was locked and disappeared very quickly. He looked up and saw that Alune as well as Drevos were looking at him strangely.

"Haha, sorry. I was thinking about what you were saying. Thanks for the information anyway!"

He turned to Alune and asked:

"Should we sleep here? Akranio is too far for us to get home during the day...and with Drevos..."

The caregiver smiled and shook her head.

"This guy may be a little crazy, but trust me, he's really good. He can get us back to the village in the blink of an eye."

Marlon raised both eyebrows in astonishment and Devros nodded.

"yes, yes, yes, I can get us back that fast, just give me two minutes!"

He rushed inside his house and they heard him searching vigorously inside.

In the meantime, the two dog-like creatures had approached the young man and his comrade and were squeaking as if demanding something. Drevos, who seemed to have heard them, did not stop his search and called out to them:

-They are Karnel, stroke them behind the ears, they love it!

The adventurer hesitated a little in front of the relatively impressive stature of the dog next to him which started to push him with its snout. The six legs, thing remaining all the same very strange for the earthling that he was, did nothing to reassure him.

But seeing Alune scratching the one next to him heartily, he resigned himself and began to do the same, causing the canine creature to swish his tail towards the sound barrier.

He had never had a dog on Earth. The only pets left were reserved for the rich. The state of misery in which the rest of society found itself had made people forget any domestic consideration for animals. For a good hundred years, they had been nothing but delicacies for everyone. Stray dogs and cats no longer existed. They had all been eaten by people who would otherwise have starved to death.

The imposing beast wagged its tail and seemed delighted to receive this attention from Marlon. Fortunately for the latter, who was not very comfortable, this did not last very long.

"Ha, here it is, I found it!"

Drevos came out of the house with a shiny, cylindrical object in his hand, which he held up like a trophy. Strange runes shone on the surface of the object and seemed almost imbued with a vitality of their own.

The two dogs then backed up a few feet and the young adventurer was intrigued by their behavior. They were approaching the strangers but not their master? The mad scientist nodded as he watched the two six-legged dogs back away.

"If only I had this Mantis, I would have trained it as well as these..."

A semblance of regret crossed his face as his gaze wandered over the remaining corpses of his dogs, but it was fleeting.

"Ba, I'll just have to invoke others," he concluded with a shrug.

"Well, shall we go?"

Marlon had an epiphany and interrupted Drevos.

"W...wait two seconds, please."

He took off the pack he was carrying on his shoulders and rummaged in it. He finally found what he wanted. He took out the two empty vials he had found in the bag and promptly uncorked them before rushing to the corpse of Mantis. He managed to fill both containers with the creature's blood even though it had almost completely emptied itself with its gaping wounds. He recapped the two vials and returned to Alune and Drevos who were waiting for him.

"Haha, he's smarter than I thought, that one," said the mad researcher to the caretaker.

"Mantis blood is a very good catalyst."

Revenge Drelor nodded in thanks to the old man and then finished joining them.

"Okay, now, nobody move, I activate the transport artifact."

"The transport artifact..." began Marlon.

He didn't have time to finish. The cylindrical object Drevos had been holding began to glow like a thousand suns, and everyone had to close their eyes under the blinding light. Then it was as if they were in the center of a maelstrom of unprecedented violence, their bodies were thrown from right to left without interruption.

Fortunately, this sensation lasted only a few seconds. When Marlon felt the solid ground under his feet again, he almost fell. But Alune, right next to him, grabbed his elbow to stabilize him and simply nodded as he thanked her.

Looking around, the young man saw that they were in the public square of Akranio, at the foot of the stage where he had executed one of the players. The few villagers who passed by made big eyes, but when they saw the trio who emerged from the flash, they resumed their activity as if nothing had happened.

The researcher seemed delighted that the artifact had worked and held it against him like a treasure. The young adventurer could not help but ask him:

"How does this work?"

Drevos smiled at him and looked mysterious, half-responding.

"Runes, different from the ones you practice, but I promised not to talk about the origin of this thing. All I can tell you is that where this artifact comes from, it is very hot, haha, haha."

About twenty minutes later, everyone was sitting in Selia's living room around the large solid wood table. Marlon was still amazed as he ran his hand over it. He could feel the wood grain coming out under his fingers! But he stopped being distracted as Alune reported back to the Huntress and Svein, who was listening with a more than attentive ear.

He saw both their faces go through several emotions as she recounted the events. Surprise, anger, and perhaps even some form of admiration. Drevos tried to disappear under the table, but when Selia slammed her fist on the table and looked at him, he resumed his normal position and did not move.

"Well, it was very rich in twists and turns as an excursion...first of all, thanks to you, Revenge," Selia began.

She hesitated and finally asked:

"Did you get a new rune?"

"Yes, Spark."

"Perfect! Ho, and don't feel embarrassed to tell me your true intentions next time."

"I did. It was used as a scout the whole way as I told you, and then as bait afterward. It's just that by the time he lost his usefulness..."

The young man finished his sentence by shrugging his shoulders and spreading his hands.

Svein burst out laughing and came to put friendly pats on the back of the young man.

"I love this guy, Selia! If one day you want to marry him you have my blessing," he said to Marlon, looking him in the eyes.

The young man blushed at the remark and did his best not to focus on the deep embarrassment he felt. The Huntress, on the other hand, had a mutinous smile but did not linger on the subject, aware of what the adventurer was feeling.

"I'm glad you found what you were looking for. I'll give you the pack and everything in it, of course, and here's a little extra," she continued, tossing him a purse."

After a quick look, Marlon thanked her sincerely and put the twenty copper coins in the bag he had set beside him.

Then she turned to Drevos.

"I am deeply disappointed in you, Drevos. Not only have you not learned your lesson, but you continue to put us in danger. Even if the Mantis was dying, you know as well as I do that five or six men could have been seriously injured fighting him. Marlon and Alune, although very smart, were also very lucky!"

The young man could not but agree. He still remembered the feeling of his guts wanting to go wandering outside his body and just the thought of it made him shudder.

"I...I'm sorry, Selia. I swear I was doing it for the good of the village."

"The worst part about it is that I know it. But you're worse than a kid. You don't think about the consequences. You're really lucky that you're essential to Akranio's survival, otherwise, you'd have gone for a ride on the block, Drevos. I'm going to assign two soldiers to keep a permanent watch on you, and the slightest slip-up and you'll end up in the jails. Understand?"

The person concerned shook his head frantically and made tearful excuses.

"And you, what are your plans going to be, Revenge?" she asked point-blank.

He thought for a few seconds and finally answered.

"I will stay with you for another week or two. I would like to be taught the use of weapons, I have too many gaps in it. And I will help you as I can in the meantime. After all this, I am thinking of going to Delia..."

The Huntress nodded.

"All right, we'll do it that way. You're going to be a great help to the village during this time. What do you all say we go eat at the inn?"

"I have one last question, were there any other adventurers while we were gone?"

"Only one passed by, he chased a few rats but did not wish to stay and left for Delia as soon as he got his reward."

The young man nodded, wishing he had been there. He could have made more progress in his mastery of runes if he could have taken her life. That kind of thought didn't even shock him anymore and he thought inwardly that he should be careful. In the sense that he would have to kill a lot of them and that the others should not see him do it. He thanked Selia and got up, following the others.

Everyone had a memorable evening and even Drevos, who was still very angry, told Marlon some incredible stories. Thus he learned that the famous incident that had taken place was related to the researcher's obsession with training and summoning chimeras. He had summoned ants in the middle of the village to attack the creatures roaming around the village.

Instead, they had devoured a few buildings before they could be sent back from whence they came. Fortunately, no one had died, but there were several serious injuries.

It was at this time that he was exiled outside the village. This suited him because he could conduct many experiments, but he had difficulty managing his excessive ambitions at times, as the misadventure of Marlon and Alune had proven.

Then it was two very intense weeks for Marlon.

In the mornings he would train with the soldiers on the training grounds, progressing day after day by dint of relentlessness and the blows he received. There were only two or three incidents where he had difficulty controlling his rage and he lashed out at his opponents more than he should have.

In the afternoon he would go hunting for creatures around the village. Rats, blood-sucking insects that looked like giant mosquitoes, and snakes that devastated chicken coops. The latter gave him some trouble and even almost killed him once or twice. But thanks to that he acquired a lot of fighting experience. And especially copper coins by accomplishing these hunting quests given by Selia. His level had even risen to five.

Finally, in the evening, he returned to the inn and ate, often in the company of Svein and Selia, and then went back to his room. The Huntress had paid for his stay and he had nothing to spend. So he took advantage of his evenings to practice drawing the Runes with rat blood. He kept Mantis' blood for real use, not for practice. Drevos had offered him scrolls in large quantities for this purpose, so he did not refuse this generous offer.

At first, the task was complicated. Due to the realism of Neo Life, drawing runes was not as simple as pressing a button to send a spell as it was done in vintage video games. Although he had all the details needed to create the runes in his head, his hand was not very confident in drawing them. So he needed practice.

So that's what he did for those two weeks until his whole hand was sore. In the morning, he would ask Alune to treat him, and then he would go off for an intense day with no questions asked. The progress was incredible.

After that time, he became much better at defending himself with a weapon in hand, and he was able to draw the two runes he had in less than ten seconds and without shaking. He decided, therefore, at the end of the fifteenth day, to try to put an intention into his drawing.

First, he left the inn and went to the training grounds so as not to disturb or hurt anyone. Once there, he took out his brush, bought in the village from a charming young woman, and began to draw the rune of Race on a shirt that Selia had given him.

As he drew her, he imagined himself running like the wind and etched the image in his mind. He imagined the wind beating his ears and cooling his face as his footsteps almost blew him away.

He remembered nothing of Drevos' advice, and when he finished the drawing, a bright flash of light appeared on his work, fleeting but very real. He had only used rat's blood, but it seemed to have worked. He hurried to try his creation and laughed out loud as he ran twice as fast as usual.

He felt incredible, the wind pounding in his ears as the sound of his laughter reached him. No human had ever run so fast. In the Museum of the Past, on Earth, he had seen a video about a Jamaican athlete who had been the god of speed in his day. He had exceeded his speed! Enjoying the sensation as much as he could, he finally stopped. He would be sure to try it with Mantis blood once he had acquired proper equipment in Delia. And with that successful test came the time to leave.

He had done some tests with Etincelle, but they had not been as successful. Something was missing to give power to the Rune, which only produced a few sparks. Or maybe the problem was that his intention was not the right one. But he would look into that concern later.

He returned to the inn and slept a little. The next day he told Selia he was leaving and the Huntress insisted that they all celebrate together in the evening. One day wouldn't make much difference, so he agreed. They drank and ate like barley that night. Even the great general Svein eventually excused himself and stumbled home, sometimes falling on the way to the inn door.

Selia ended up leaning on him and making an indecent proposal on the use of their two bodies for very playful purposes. Warning her, red as a peony, that he was not very experienced, she laughed and made him understand that teaching him did not bother her at all.

This is how Marlon spent a night that would be marked forever in his mind. Their two bodies became one and this on multiple occasions. To say that the young man enjoyed it would have been an understatement. It was passionate, torrid, and on many occasions, awkward and funny at the same time.

And so, on the day of departure, it was with a touch of regret in his heart that he said goodbye to everyone. A bond of camaraderie was created between them, and Svein gave him a warm embrace, whispering in his ear that he should come back sometime. Alune smiled at him and said it had been an honor to meet him.

Selia, for her part, smiled tenderly at him and whispered something in his ear that made him blush very strongly and he answered with a nod and said he would come back to see them as soon as he could.

"Thanks again, Marlon. Thanks to you, the village is going to be a lot quieter for a while. The number of creatures you have hunted in these two weeks is impressive! I have one last gift for you," said Drevos, who had come to greet him before he left.

He handed him a creature that Marlon would not have thought to see here...a cat!

Not knowing what to say, he simply thanked the latter who then explained to him.

"This creature is a chimera that I have created for you. It is a feline that will warn you of the dangers around. And above all, when it grows up, it will be able to fight at your side. Feed her fresh meat if possible, she eats all creatures and should not be picky. It's all thanks to you! I understood a lot of things when I autopsied the Mantis!"

Although Selia gave him a reproving look, she said nothing and Marlon took his gift, thinking it was quite a gift. A familiar! His time at Akranio had been a blessing to him in every possible way.

He finally left and waved as he passed through the northern gates of the village and headed off to new adventures. Delia was waiting for him, fifteen days' walk from here.