Rain fell on Delia, a light but cold drizzle that made the streets of the capital almost deserted, the inhabitants preferring to stay in their homes as the night began and the shops had almost all closed. Only the restaurants and night shops remained open, serving their thirsty and noisy clientele in the most popular areas of the capital.

The guards on duty at the east gate that night would have appreciated the opportunity to join in with the urban wildlife instead of standing in the drizzle that had been falling since morning, watching the entrances and exits of the city. The relief would be here in an hour or so, but the end of the shift was always the longest part of their workday.

Ragnor, a white-haired old-timer who had lived all his life within the walls of the capital, was already imagining himself cooing with Nisalia, a courtesan from the House of Pleasures with his last paycheck, grumbling as his colleagues chattered merrily, disrupting the mental image he was trying to form for his upcoming evening.

"Hey, could you rookies shut up? Some of us are trying to have a quiet daydream here!"

The blue in question did not answer, interrupting himself only the time of his sentence and resuming of more beautiful, knowing pertinently that he could not do anything.

Grumbling about the disrespectful youth of his elders, Ragnor noticed a shape approaching the East Gate, about a hundred yards away. It was hard to make out with the rain falling, but he quickly realized it was someone trying to enter the city. He called out to his colleagues and nodded to them to let them know that someone was coming.

They all straightened up and cut their chatter short, resuming a slightly more professional and intimidating posture for anyone who might want to cause trouble. They did, after all, have a reputation to maintain, even if the east door was the least risky to guard, no one expected much from them.

The old soldier could see the figure much better as it approached, pulling a wooden sled behind it that was full of goods he could not yet identify. The first thing that struck him was the smell.

A musky smell, powerful, mixing leather and sweat, blood and something else, more animal.

A few seconds later he could see the approaching man more clearly, as well as a creature walking behind him, slightly out of step with the sled.

The beast that followed him looked like a tiger, except for the slightly smaller size, reaching about the traveler's hip. Its coat was wet and the musky smell was definitely coming from it. No sound came from her, but her gaze was piercing and the old soldier felt that at the slightest mistake she would not hesitate to pounce on him.

Instinctively, he reached for his sword and called out to the newcomer in a voice full of confidence that he did not feel.

"Who are you and what are you doing in Delia?"

The man facing him was tall, and his muscular body inspired caution in Ragnor, who knew only too well that a simple misunderstanding could sometimes cost far more than a simple remonstration. Blue eyes sunk deep into his sockets gave the individual a deep look, but strangely enough he didn't seem to be looking at the soldier, but at a point next to him.

He was dressed in nondescript frusks, what once appeared to be leather armor over linen garments torn on almost every side. The shreds of leather hung here and there, taking nothing away from his wild appearance, quite the contrary.

A thick beard and shaggy chestnut hair gave him a wild look, like someone who had been cut off from civilization for too long, and Ragnor checked his side to see if anything was there, disturbed by the stare the man was giving.

"No...I wouldn't kill him, he didn't do anything...yes, later..."

"What...sorry, but what did you just say?!"

Ragnor's stress soared, for if he had not understood the man's mumbling, the cloudy gleam in his eyes and the fact that he was talking to himself did not reassure him the world.

As if he had just realized where he was, his interlocutor straightened his head and a new intelligence seemed to shine in his eyes.

"I...excuse me, I've been walking for a while and I got lost in thought."

His voice was low and sounded hoarse as if he hadn't used it in days. He rummaged through the pile of skins and other materials that Ragnor had finally identified and pulled out a battered, almost patched map, which he held out with a calm, confident gesture.

"I have just returned from a mission for the Adventurers' Guild. This animal is my chimera, it is not dangerous. And my sled contains my loot, which I plan to sell in town. My name is Revenge."

"A little more and you'd get locked up, kid..."

Marlon ignored Loki's remark, knowing full well that he was right, but by the time he got close to the guard, the smell of chocolate had reappeared, and he instantly saw his mother next to the soldier smiling at him and asking him to sacrifice this man to her revenge.

Only Loki's voice yelling at him that he was a guard had prevented him from taking action, and a colossal effort on his part. A few weeks earlier he would have been unable to do so, but a variant of the runic combination had helped him, even if it didn't solve the problem. Life and Spirit mixed together slightly improved his control over himself, but it was far from a quick fix. It simply allowed him to understand what was going on and try to fight through the crazy episode. His Interface had named the spell [Spirit Care], and he thought it was a very appropriate name.

The guard checked his tattered card and figured that was enough. He had no desire to complicate his life and lengthen his shift. Nisalia was waiting for him, after all. He nodded and wished the adventurer a good evening before stepping aside.

His colleagues also relaxed, as Marlon's aura had made them uncomfortable, not to mention his feline companion.

The young man did not linger and continued to move forward, pulling the rough wooden sled he had made a few days before to bring back the impressive quantity of wolf skins, Arbol bark, and various plants he had collected during the forty-five days he stayed in the Cronande forest.

His priority was, of course, the Adventurer's Guild, where he could finally make this never-ending quest a lot richer than it had been a few weeks before. He had stopped counting the number of monsters he had slaughtered in those forty-five days, figuring that the mind-reading black ball would do the counting much more efficiently than he would.

It took him more than an hour to reach his destination, not because of the heavy traffic, but because of the weight of the sled and the fact that his patched armor had no effect whatsoever, reduced to leather straps that inspired pity rather than providing any real protection.

With the rain having driven almost everyone off the street, Marlon was glad not to have to fight another episode of madness involving his mother. His load was fortunately protected by the canvas of his tent, which he had stretched over the sled, thus preventing the wolf hide and Arbol bark from becoming waterlogged and unusable.

When he was finally in front of the building hosting the adventurers' guild and the Multiplier, who was bound to make comments or ask him questions about what had happened in the forest, he asked Luna to keep his load.

He couldn't help but admire his chimera, which had almost doubled in size since he had gone on his quest. It looked more and more like the Mantis he had seen in the Drevos clearing near Akranio, but without any new abilities. He didn't exactly understand the chimera growth system either, but now that he was back in the capital, he would be able to find out, and he had a little over a month before the tournament began.

So much to do, and so little time.

"The priority is to turn in your quest, equip yourself properly, and get answers to your questions about runes and pets. Proceed in order and you will see that everything will be fine."

For several days, Loki had been much more considerate of the young man, without them necessarily discussing his crazy problems. He directed him a little more, reminded him of his goals more frequently, and insisted that the young man rest more frequently.

Marlon of course appreciated Loki's attention, almost finding it annoying at times, but he couldn't say it bothered him, not with the madness he was more than aware of now.

Care of the Mind, as the combined Life and Mind runic spell was called, allowed him to go longer without seizures, but they always came back eventually, and when he lost control, it was always for longer and longer periods. So he made sure he never ran out of materials to cast this spell on himself, which he did before he went up the steps to the guild.

A pink aura emanated from the used Arbol bark and permeated the young man, who felt as if a weight was being lifted from his psyche as the bark burned away in his hands, leaving only ashes, knowing that the problem would return very quickly.

Leaving Luna in charge of the sled, he climbed the steps quickly and entered the Guild Hall. The yellow sparkle returned to his pupils as he crossed the threshold, but he ignored it and walked up to one of the counters occupied by a hostess, an exact copy of the original.

"Mr. Revenge, welcome back! What can I do to help you?"

Marlon put the card on the counter and answered the woman who was smiling in front of him with a flat voice.

"A replacement for my card, and I would also like to return a quest please."

The smile always as brilliant, the hostess took out the famous black ball and put it in front of him, inviting the young man to interact with it, which he did without waiting, anxious to recover his earnings and to get rid of this quest that he had been dragging for more than a month.

A few moments later, the woman in the impeccable suit looked at him and beckoned him to follow her.

"Your quest must be validated on the next floor, dear customer, as well as your card renewal."

Marlon had suspected it, so he just followed the clone, going up the stairs and along the same corridor that led to the office of the guild's boss, whose name he still did not know.

He had a feeling of deja-vu when he crossed the threshold of her office. She was smoking as she had the first time, with exactly the same sharp look that seemed to cross him from side to side. He did not take gloves and greeted her with a nod before sitting down on the chair which was facing him.

"Hello, Revenge, don't you look surprised to be here?"

The young man shook his head and sighed as she crushed her cigarette in a golden ashtray shaped like a wolf's head.

"I suspected you would call me after seeing what you see with your crystal ball..."

"Haha, indeed, I was particularly...interested in your behavior. There's a whole world up there, isn't there?" she asked, patting his skull and smiling perfunctorily at Marlon.

The young man did not answer, his look becoming drier and his thoughts darker. Seeing the change of mood of her interlocutor, the woman raised her hands in the air as a sign of appeasement.

"Whoa, don't react, like that, I never said it was a bad thing! But your madness will cause you problems in the future, that's for sure. I'll only say this once because it's your business, but deal with it, before she deals with you..."

She pulled a brand new card from a drawer and handed it to Marlon, nodding.

"You really beat the scores on this quest, you know that? Three hundred and forty creatures slaughtered in six and a half weeks, that's forty-five days, which brings us to an average of five Arbol and four Wolves killed per day. Impressive, I want you to know. And these traps...a wonder! Not everyone would have thought of doing that! I can't wait to see what you have in store for us in the future, if you survive your madness, of course."

She seemed genuinely impressed with the young adventurer's hunting prowess, which should have flattered Marlon, but he didn't care. All he cared about was the money. And the antidote recipe that would allow him to advance in his profession.

She grabbed an empty purse from under her desk and the hunter watched as she placed exactly three gold Amecareth and forty silver Amecareth in it before closing the strings of the small leather bag. She then withdrew a parchment from another drawer of the cabinet, which seemed to have an infinite number of drawers, and handed it to Marlon, who did not hesitate to retrieve his booty with a discreet sigh of relief.

He thanked her and got up, not wishing to stay too long with this woman who had witnessed his many fits of madness.

"If I were you, I'd go see the Runist right away. There are rumors that he is planning an expedition and will be gone in a week..."

The young man turned and looked at her, slightly softened by the information she had just shared.

"Thank you...I still don't know your name by the way..."

"You can call me Arachnea. It's a nickname, of course, but it's one of my favorites."

The name fit herlike a glove, so Marlon didn't comment further and withdrew with a cordial nod to her, closing the door behind him.

He left the guild without taking another quest, not even bothering to greet the various clones who waved to him and wished him a good day.

Luna had not moved, faithful to the post, lying in front of the sled, her hair wet from the rain that seemed to have stopped for the moment. He took the leather straps of the sled and started to pull it again, towards the public baths.

Two hours later, Marlon was clean, his beard shaved, his skin withered from so much time in the hot water. He had been dreaming of this for weeks, and finally he was able to clean himself properly without feeling chilled by the temperature of the water.

The man in charge of the baths during the night had taken a desperate look at the magic bathtub when Marlon had asked to change the water for the third time in a row because his bath had turned into a muddy swamp. He had also given away the last set of intact clothes he owned, all the others having ended up torn or with holes from his extended stay in the forest.

Once out of the public baths, he went in search of a tavern not far from there, having no desire to go on another long walk as the night was getting late.

Fifteen minutes later, he had found his happiness, leaving Luna perched on the sled and guarding it against any attempt at theft by unscrupulous individuals.

For a silver Amecareth, the young man managed to convince the innkeeper to give him a spacious and comfortable room as well as a pantagruelian meal composed of the leftovers of the previous day.

He stuffed his face, only too happy to change his diet from wolf steak and vegetable and mushroom soup. He ate chicken fillets, hard-boiled eggs, a whole bowl of a variety of vegetables that he recognized from his herbalist skills, and for dessert a fruit tart that he devoured whole.

Feeling distended and full to the brim, the young man dragged himself to his upstairs bedroom and could only collapse on the bed before falling soundly asleep.

It was the innkeeper banging on the door with an insistence that woke him up. Noon had passed, and he needed the room for new customers. Marlon apologized and thanked the man before slipping away.

In the meantime, he had asked him for some leftover meat, which the man was happy to give him for a copper coin. Mostly fat and bones, which he would have had to throw away if Marlon hadn't bought them, but Luna was more than happy when her master gave her a good kilo of fresh flesh to eat.

She hadn't moved from the sled all night, and the hunter petted her absentmindedly while waiting for her to finish eating.

The warmth provided by the sun's rays was a real treat for the two acolytes, who had mostly spent their night in the forest huddling by the fire to combat the icy winds that battered the valley almost every night.

An hour later, they were in the craftsmen's district, and Marlon began to visit each stall, asking what the purchase price would be for what he had brought back. He did not visit the guilds for the moment, because he could not negotiate the value of his goods with them, unlike the classic merchants.

It took him another hour, but he managed to get rid of all the materials he had collected during his quest. The most surprising thing was the price he managed to get for it all.

The wolf skins, though cut into squares, brought him one gold piece and ten silver when he sold them to the tannery next to the hunters' guild. According to him, few people enjoyed hunting wolves, and their leather was very useful for all kinds of creations.

The Arbol bark was sold for eighty silver Amecareth to a cabinetmaker who negotiated hard for each piece, Marlon deciding to give up the gold Amecareth he would have liked to get for the man's obstinacy.

But to his great surprise, what brought him the most were the various plants he had brought back from his quest. Even if a good part of them had been used for experiments, he still had a huge amount left, recovering at each trip in the forest all he could.

Thus, the Red Dendrions, the Blue Lusiana and the Cyanosed Amanita were sold for no less than two Amecareth of gold. There were also a few Steel Liana, which as its name implied was an extremely strong vine that could be used in many fields, from alchemy to construction. From strengthening potions to plant fibers, it was used for many things and Marlon had scavenged as many as he could.

With all this, he had finally emptied his sled and graciously gave it to the cabinetmaker to whom he had sold the bark.

The next step was to equip yourself properly and to get some books from the profession guilds in order to progress.

He found himself in possession of a nice sum of seven gold Amecareth and twenty-two silver Amecareth, knowing that it would not stay as it was, as the price of trade supplies was high.

Before continuing further, he glanced at his status screen, something he had totally ignored for the past few weeks.

Revenge Drelor : Level 15

Ancient Runist: Level 6 (beginner mastery)

Strength :63

Agility :44

Intelligence :22

Reflexes :28

Constitution :30

HP : 850

Mana : 150

Charisma : 13

Influence : 30

Chance: 12

 

Familiar :

Feline Chimera (level 10), possible evolution, ????

Loki (level 1), possible evolution, God, Transcendent

 

Sword mastery : Apprentice

Bow mastery : Apprentice

Fishing : Beginner

Herbalism : Beginner

Cooking : Beginner

Alchemy : Beginner

Hunting : Beginner

Survival : Apprentice

He had expected an evolution, but he was still pleasantly surprised by the number of points he had gained. His strength, agility, intelligence, and reflexes had increased considerably. His constitution had also gained a few points, but this did not surprise the young man.

After all, the 6 weeks he had been in the forest had been rough, full of pitfalls, and on top of all that he had trained absolutely every day to strengthen his skills and physique. He had also optimized his knowledge with the use of various traps and maximized the recovery of various resources.

He shared his evolution with Loki, who was more than happy to see his foal's progress.

"However, I think you really need to see a pet master. I don't understand how Luna's evolution works. She has hardly fought at all, but she has increased in level almost as much as you have. Just look at her physique! Three months ago, she was still a kitten...and maybe he'll have some information about my skills and evolutionary possibilities as well."

Marlon nodded and headed to the hunters' guild, the first one he had decided to visit to get equipped and see if he had reached a high enough level to increase his profession rank.

After all, he had slaughtered no less than three hundred creatures, a score he found more than honorable.