The next morning, Lyra was already gone when I woke up, and Isabel and I only did a light spar, which was a little strange. I still felt full of energy and wanted to do something with it. After breakfast, Lyra returned with a triumphant smile. "I got some good ones!" she declared, waving a piece of paper in my face. "Contracts! There were quite a few that had been left too long because of the estimated difficulty, but I reckon we should be fine."

I raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "You want to go monster hunting? Now?"

Isabel cut in. "Training is all well and good, David, but raising your level this way will take too long. It's a good method for untested youths, but we don't have time to dawdle. Get your gear - we're setting out as soon as we're suited up."

Feeling a mixture of nervousness and excitement, I eagerly headed upstairs to collect my new armor. We were going monster hunting!

Isabel assisted me in suiting up, and Lyra and I returned the favor by helping her with her armor. Isabel was adorned in overlapping plates, and was almost completely covered in steel, and the guild crest was carved over her right chest. She wore a flowing blue cape and carried a visored helmet under her arm. She looked intimidating as hell. Despite having no visible weaponry, I suspected that she had a storage item like the ring Lyra was wearing. Liza the cook supplied us with rations, which disappeared into Lyra's ring, before Lyra donned her long, red flowing robe with the guild symbol emblazoned on the back. With everyone ready, I grabbed my staff, and we headed out the door.

A carriage was waiting for us, and it transported us through the city to the south gate, opposite of where Lyra and I had first entered. We headed into the rolling hills surrounding the city, and beyond toward the peaks in the distance. Isabel read through the three contracts Lyra had procured from the guild as we walked. "So, the closest target is the Ravencrag Canyons. A pack of Bloodfang howlers have been spotted there, and we are to root them out and bring back proof of their demise."

Lyra nodded excitedly. "Good, right?"

Isabel nodded slowly. "It will certainly push David's levels. We need to be careful, though. I would like David to gain some solo experience. It will be more efficient but also more dangerous. Lyra, we will keep our distance and only step in if things are looking grim."

Lyra pouted a little but nodded. "I wanted to let loose too..." she mumbled, but Isabel scowled at her. "Fine, fine! We are here to get David some levels. I get it."

We set out with the fog hanging low over the rolling hills. After a few hours, we arrived at the edge of the Ravencrag Canyons. It took us another half a day to track down the monsters but when we finally found them, Isabel decided we should camp for the night before attempting the hunt in the morning.

We camped in what Isabel deemed a safe location, and shared a simple but tasty meal, and then Isabel took first watch while Lyra and I slept. Lyra took the second watch, and I was left out of it. When I protested, Isabel explained that I would need my rest before the fight tomorrow. Reluctantly, I agreed.

The next morning, we woke up to a gray and foggy day. After packing up, we set off to find the monsters again. We found them easily enough, and we observed them from a hill overlooking their position. They looked like large wolves, with larger teeth jutting out over their lips and larger claws. All in all, they were pretty terrifying to look at. I counted 12 of them in total, all adults. To my relief there were no pups present.

Isabel turned to me from where she was lying and said, ‘’okay David, I suggest you try and distract a few of them first. Then when you attack, you don’t hold back! Strike to kill. You will be outnumbered, therefore you must be ruthless and efficient!’’

I frowned a little and asked, ‘’can I ask something?’’ Isabel nodded for me to go on. ‘’Aren’t these just animals? I mean, they are big and scary true, but animals all the same.’’

Isabel shook her head and said, ‘’These look like wolves, David, but they are not. Wolves are pretty benign creatures that keep to themselves. These are killers. They are infused with ether and they are aggressive to any and all comers. The whole reason the contract was posted at the guild is that a caravan was attacked coming through here. They need to be culled in order for not only caravans to be able to move safely through the canyon, but also to protect the wildlife. Left alone, these creatures will multiply and destroy the natural balance in the area.’’

I gritted my teeth, but I nodded at the explanation. It did much to combat my hesitation to kill these creatures, but it still felt uncomfortable. On the other hand, it was normal back on earth as well. You kill or remove invasive species, and you manage the numbers of predators as well so that they don’t overpopulate and become a detriment to the local balance.

I took a deep breath and started moving towards the wolves, Lyra clapped my shoulder gently and wished me good luck. I crept towards the monsters quietly and observed them for a moment. A few were sleeping, while others were lying around in small groups. One or two seemed to be on lookout, but the wind was blowing in my face, and they hadn’t spotted me yet. I had planned my attack during the night, and it was time to put it into motion. I concentrated and conjured an illusion of a small rabbit that sped out from nearby trees, stopped, and looked at the monsters.

The beasts perked up immediately and 5 of them chased after the rabbit which I sent sprinting away. I took advantage of the situation and sent a thought to Harlequin, causing the mask to form over my face. I sprinted towards the closest monster, swinging my staff in an overhead strike, hitting it right between the eyes with a twok. Ether streamed from me into the staff, through the staff, and into the brain of the monster, killing it instantly.

The other beasts were now alerted and snarling erupted all around me. I charged at the next one, feinting movement to the right but moving left, striking its neck with a nasty crunch, that’s two down. A Howler jumped me from behind, but I stepped smoothly out of the way and swung at its leg, causing it to yelp and tumble away. Three wolves charged at me simultaneously, but I activated slippery footing, causing all three of them to give startled yips and fall into a confusing heap.

In the blink of an eye I was among them, wielding my trusty staff and swiftly defeating the confused beasts. But just when I thought I had everything under control, a sudden and excruciating pain shot through my shoulder as a massive set of fangs sank deep into my flesh, shaking me to my core. Despite the agony, I managed to activate my slippery footing, causing the beast to lose its grip and sending us both crashing to the ground.

With a quick gesture, I parted my staff into two and began to strike the creature relentlessly, determined to end the battle once and for all. Finally, after three well-placed blows, the beast lay motionless at my feet. However, I had no time to rest or recover, as I realized that I had only taken down half of my opponents and my shoulder was now badly torn and bleeding. The armor I wore had offered some protection, and I knew that without it, my arm would have surely been torn off.

Despite the dire situation, I remained remarkably calm and focused, thankful for the ‘master your fear title’. I charged the last wolf, but as I was fighting it, the ones that had chased after the rabbit returned, letting out bloodcurdling howls and charging at me with unbridled fury.

As I groaned and stepped around the wolf I had been fighting, I managed to land a strike to its leg, and once it fell the fight was done with a snappy strike to the head. However, my relief was short-lived as I saw the five wolves approaching rapidly. I needed a distraction, so I summoned an illusionary rock right in front of them. As expected, three of them skittered to a stop while the others ran around the rock. I charged the left side, determined to be efficient so as not to be surrounded. My shoulder hurt a lot, but I ignored the pain and twisted around a lunging beast. I managed a savage hit to the neck as it passed me, and it went down in a heap. four wolves were left.

The remaining beasts began to circle me, and one lunged. As I began to step out of the way, I was hit from behind like a battering ram. The air was knocked out of me, but I managed to put my staff between myself and a set of gleaming fangs. It was heavy, and I strained to keep those fangs at bay. I couldn’t utilize my staff in that position, so I let go with one hand and put my other forearm inside the thing's mouth, counting on my armor to protect me.

I pushed as hard as I could to keep it from clamping down. It was a partial success, but I immediately felt my arm being crushed. I began punching wildly at the thing's head, each strike weak physically but enforced with my ether. After three punches, the Howler began to wobble and I pressed my attack. Two more punches and it collapsed on top of me. ‘’Shit!’’

I still had three opponents that had been happy to observe me being mauled, but now they snarled and approached me carefully. I managed to wriggle myself out, but not in time to defend myself from the incoming Howler. That was when it went up in a blaze of fire, screaming in pain and running around in a panic. I looked around and saw a grinning Lyra standing a ways off. Isabel was dispatching the other Howlers with brutal efficiency, wielding a large two-handed claymore as if it weighed nothing at all. She cut through the Howlers like they were made of tissue paper, and in no time at all, it was done.

Slowly, I stood and looked over the battlefield. It was pretty disturbing.

There were howler corpses scattered throughout the clearing. My kills were relatively clean, and if I didn't know better, they could have been sleeping. Isabel and Lyra's kills were a different story altogether. Lyra clapped me on the back with a wide grin, "Damn, David, that was pretty impressive. These are fairly low difficulty monsters, but you handled yourself well!"

Isabel approached and gave an approving nod, "I agree, not bad at all. You are still quite limited in what you can do spell-wise, but you used the ones you have efficiently enough. How are your ether stores looking after that?" I looked within myself and realized that I had used about half of my ether. I told Isabel, and she nodded again, "That's good. Let's gather the beasts in a pile here. The skins are pretty valuable, so no need to waste good materials."

I dreaded the thought of having to skin twelve huge wolf monsters, but Isabel had a solution. She sketched a circle in the ground with a stick and wrote strange symbols at even intervals. When she was done, she stepped back. "This is your first time seeing something like this, right?" Isabel asked. I nodded in interest. "I'm about to use something called Rune magic, also known as origin magic, among other names. It is very versatile since anyone can use it with the proper knowledge, but also very dangerous for the same reasons. It is completely banned in some places, but in Valeria Dominion, the empire we are in, it is legal but restricted. You must apply for permission to learn, and even then, it is only basic useful spells like this one that are legal to be taught."

I nodded in equal parts understanding and confusion. "Okay, that is great and all, but what does it do?"

Isabel smiled, "Oh right, it is a looting spell. It takes a dead monster and takes it apart. It separates those parts into piles, making it a lot easier to take the important things and leave the rest." I had more questions. How did that even work? Could you use it on people? And if so, did I even want to know? I decided not to ask and kept quiet. Isabel walked over and put a finger to the circle. She concentrated for a few seconds before it lit up with arcane light. She stepped back and let the literal magic happen. It wasn't pretty, and somewhere in the middle, I turned around and vomited. But soon it was done, and we had several gory but neat piles.

"That was pretty revolting to watch," I said, still a little shaky.

Lyra shrugged with a grin, "You get used to it."

I shook my head, "Not sure I will!"

Isabel approached the fur pile and vanished it with a touch, confirming my suspicions that she had some sort of storage item. She then proceeded to collect the bones, claws, and fangs, leaving the meat behind as it was deemed inedible. According to Isabel, the creatures in the canyon would clean it up for us.

We set up camp a short distance away from the battle site, and Lyra tended to my wounds while Isabel started preparing food. Fortunately, my injuries were not as severe as I had feared, though they still hurt like hell. "Thank goodness for the armor, right?" Lyra quipped, slapping my injured shoulder, causing me to wince and shoot her a glare. "Oh, stop being a baby. It'll be all healed up in a few days," she added, grinning at my discomfort. I begrudgingly thanked her.

I checked my notifications, curious to see what I had gained from nearly getting killed once again.

Slippery footing had finally gotten a few levels, I was pretty pleased with that. Isabel had been right about gains being more significant in real fights, I had gotten more from 10 minutes of fighting than a week's worth of training. I wondered what that said about this world, that killing things was preferable to not doing so..