He had watched thousands die.

  So why did he dream of doing it again?

  The glaciers that shattered enemies like glass, the earth that swallowed monsters whole, and even the dancing flames that left destruction in their path.

  Even after all that, after barely surviving... he wanted more.

  He glanced up from his meal. Indy and Tren had joined him.

  "Not recklessly," he reminded himself. Just seeing them eat beside him, alive, was enough to slow the storm in his chest.

  "I think it's time," Indy said, finishing the last bite on her plate.

  She didn't elaborate.

  "Time for dessert?" Tren asked, mouth full, trying to force a grin.

  Her brows raised. "Uh… No, I was thinking we could head out on a quest."

  Hunter noticed her hands. The cloth wrapped around them was still faintly red. He understood what she meant. His legs ached from training, but his mind ached worse. He needed to do something.

  "To fight what?" Tren said, laughing. "A Cowird? I thought all quests were frozen anyway."

  Indy stood. Her voice was fast, too fast. "We can't just sit here. I feel stuck. We need to prove to ourselves we're still capable."

  Hunter nodded slowly. "Let's do it."

  Tren looked hesitant, but Indy said. "Alright, let's head out."

  They chose to walk. The rubble was gone, but the city still felt broken and empty. Streets that were filled with people only had a few wandering about. Large sections of the city had been destroyed, leaving entire blocks empty.

  The walls were fixed, and the towers were rebuilt, but the outside of the city still couldn't hide the destruction.

  The battle had changed the land around it, probably forever. The bodies were finally all taken care of, but the dirt was gray.

  A large canyon lay where the ground was torn apart. Ice, still melting, ran into it.

  The taste of death lay in the air.

  "I wonder how strong those snake-like creatures were," Hunter murmured.

  Eventually, they passed by the battlefield and came upon the green hills.

  They pulled out their weapons. Tren pulled out a shield this time. The shield had a white wall with towers that were destroyed. "A shield?" Hunter asked.

  Tren looked down at it and breathed a sigh. "Yes, I'm trying to use a sword and shield now. I want to defend more people in the future."

  Indy kept walking but said, "You did all you could with your current power."

  "That's the point," he said, looking at his shield. I could have trained harder and been more prepared. I will not make that mistake again."

  A distant howl cut through white deliberations, followed by one, then another.

  "A pack of Porolfs," Indy said. Finally stopping, she pulled out a tablet and read from it. "Porolfs usually travel in packs of six to twelve."

  "Twelve?" Hunter asked, surprised. "What happens if they keep stunning us repeatedly?"

  Small orbs appeared in Indy's hand. The orbs had yellow inscriptions that began to glow brighter.

  They disappeared back into her inventory. "Mana disturbers; they make the mana go wild, and the monsters who are using or trying to use an ability are damaged."

  Hunter's mace dropped into his hand. "What if we're using one?"

  Indy started walking again. "That's what teamwork is for. I'll call out when I use one; they only last a few seconds, so wait until after."

  Nodding, he gripped his mace tightly. "She made it sound so easy."

  Over the next hill, they saw them: a pack of Porolfs and a Salager lay on the ground dead.

  The Porolfs tore at its flesh, rending bone from meat; Hunter looked away, his stomach turning. It sounded like boots in mud each time flesh ripped, a squelching sound invading his ears.

  "Did they kill that?" he muttered, his stomach trying to enter his throat.

  Indy nodded.

  Her fists started glowing crimson. "They are a lot stronger in packs; they cover each other."

  She ran in, her legs bursting with green as she quickly attacked one before they could react.

  11 left

  Hunter and Tren rushed in after her, their weapons ready.

  The beasts were surrounding Indy.

  She was stuck.

  They were only a few steps away.

  Two monsters turned.

  Hunter brought down his mace.

  10 left.

  The other leaped at Tren, mouth agape.

  He met the monster's jaw with his shield, stunning the beast.

  Tren jabbed through its chest.

  9 left.

  Why hadn't Indy moved?

  Was she stuck?

  From behind, a Porolf jumped at her.

  She twisted, slamming a sparking purple fist down at its skull.

  8 left.

  The beasts growled in unison, an eerie chorus reverberating in their bones.

  Hunter was stuck.

  Indy's red and green glow disappeared. "I'm doing it now!" she screamed.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  A golden wave rolled over them.

  When it passed over Hunter, he was frozen for a different reason.

  When the golden wave of light hit him, it felt warm, like a hug after seeing someone you missed.

  The wave passed, and it felt like the warmth was stolen.

  Yelping and a high-pitched whine brought Hunter back to the present.

  Indy had gotten to one already.

  7 left.

  Porolfs were thrashing on the ground, clawing at their heads.

  Hunter's knuckles grew white as he ran forward, swinging at a monster.

  6 left.

  Tren's blade cut clean through the Porolf's neck.

  His grip tightened.

  5 left.

  Indy finished another.

  4 left.

  The effect ended; the last four got up, claw marks oozing fresh blood from deep gouges.

  Baring their fangs, they decided to attack together.

  Hunter felt a chill down his spine as they approached him in unison.

  Blood and meat still hung from their maws.

  Running in lockstep, one leapt through the air.

  Dodging to the side, he swung his mace wide, trying to catch the other three.

  The first paused their dash.

  The second was caught by the end of his mace; its head collapsed around the metal as its skull shattered.

  3 left.

  The mace's momentum stopped.

  The last one was already about to bite down on his outstretched arm.

  It fell limp, a sword running through it.

  2 left.

  "Thanks, Tren!" Hunter screamed, backing closer to his friend.

  A blur of green shot past them as Indy used momentum like a train to clobber the one that had jumped.

  "1 left," Hunter said, a grin growing on his face.

  The monster looked around it.

  He raised his mace high and swung it down.

  He didn't even feel resistance.

  0 left.

  ————————————————————————————————————————————————————

  You have helped in killing

  10 Porolfs

  30 xp earned

  ————————————————————————————————————————————————————

  This felt good.

  It felt… easy.

  He needed more

  Dropping to the ground, Hunter dismissed his mace, his hand falling into lush green grass.

  He stared at the broken bodies. "What do we do with the corpses?"

  Indy shrugged. "Leave them. Scavengers will take care of it. It's the cycle."

  "Even the bones?" he asked. "What about them?"

  A crunch echoed in his memory, Louie chewing. Grinding. Smiling. "We should kill them all," he muttered.

  Tren laughed a little. "I can't imagine how mad that would make people; your Lorid is a monster, by the way."

  "A m-monster?" Hunter sounded out as if the word was foreign. "What even is a monster?"

  "That's easy," Indy said. "It's something made of Mana."

  "Are Lorids domesticated?" Hunter asked.

  Tren's brows furrowed. "What does that mean?"

  Hunter explained, and Indy said, "Well, I guess you could say that, but even in the wild, adventurers do not hunt them since they don't attack us."

  Tren leaned in conspiratorially: "If we killed all the monsters, how would we survive? What would bring the rain or the change of seasons?"

  Blinking, Hunter tried to read their faces, but they were blank as if Tren had stated a fact. "You think monsters bring the seasons?" he questioned.

  Now… Now, Indy and Tren's brows furrowed in confusion.

  "Hold up," Tren said dramatically. "The weather is what we are talking about, not the seasoning you add to your food."

  Hunter shook his head, a slight grin etching his lips.

  Reaching out her hand, Indy helped them get back to their feet. "We should be returning; the trial will start soon."

  "Trial?" Hunter asked. "For what?"

  Wringing her hands together, Indy looked away. "For the war."

  Running back together, Hunter tripped a few times. His mind was preoccupied. "The war." He sounded out again. Are they going to tell me I didn't do enough? Did they find out I'm not human?"

  They stopped at a new, folded reality, shaped like a dome and shining like silver, which reflected the ruby glow of the sky.

  Indy led the way into the single entrance.

  Hunter's breath caught as he walked in; it was massive, but also reminiscent of something from his old life.

  Large, stadium-like seating was arranged around a stage, almost like the one from a musical he had seen once.

  Looking behind him, a lump grew in his throat.

  He stumbled, heart hammering.

  Indy had said they were late, so why did it feel like they were early for a funeral?

  Movement, he was being pulled out of the way.

  Hunter looked down at his wrist, where someone's hand was. He met Tren's eyes. They were glossy. The man's breaths came in more like quick gasps. "Come on," he said. "Let's get to our seats."

  They sat down. Hunter had been to a place like this only once before. He remembered the long laundry list of items they read off before even starting. They hadn't missed anything.

  A large man with dark skin and muscles visible from under a black robe and gray shirt walked up the stage.

  The room held its breath.

  "Thank you all," he said, his voice quiet but carrying. Thank you all for coming. I won't sugarcoat it; this last week may have been the worst time of your lives. People are lost, and you have lost family and friends…"

  Another pause: "Children and parents... My name is Will, and for those who seek retribution, my name should be synonymous with hope and retribution."

  Another man walked on stage. He wore a long robe. His clothes looked tattered, with large, singed chunks.

  Will glanced at the man and then looked through the audience. "I'm your judge. People usually see me on the worst days of their lives. I will be judging Bryan, the defense, and leadership of this city."

  A sharp inhale of air could be heard around them. Will continued, looking at the floor. “47,563… 47,563 people have been accounted for… as dead.”

  "That number, those figures, any number is too much, but one that high?" Hunter asked himself, his palms growing wet. "This can't be all the survivors."

  "This building," Will roared, regaining attention. "You pioneered research; those on stage are forced to tell the truth."

  Bryan nodded.

  The large man continued. "And you know what will happen if you lie?"

  Bryan nodded again.

  Will let the silence grow a few more seconds before starting again. "This city, last time I was here, had defenses against blitz. These defenses would have slowed or stopped this war from happening…

  So tell me, Bryan, what happened to those towers?"

  Bryan kept his eyes low and answered in a monotone voice. "They overloaded."

  "They overloaded?" Will repeated, "Why weren't any protections in place to stop that from happening?"

  "No one knew this would happen," came the quick response.

  The large man nodded, turning to gaze over the audience. "Thank you. As you just heard, it was truly a catastrophe. Not all of it was preventable or expected."

  "But," His voice dropped. "Some of it was… Why did you continue, even after Henry warned you?"

  Bryan's shoulders sagged even more. "We were so close, this is what this city was made for."

  The large man shook his head. "This is what we will be focusing on. You, all the survivors, have lost so much already and will get to decide what happens."

  Bryan looked like he was going to speak, but he was cut off. "I have been given the power to decide; this is my decision."

  Bryan closed his mouth, looking down again.

  Sighing, Will looked at each part of the audience and then locked eyes with the researcher. "Bryan, tell us. What were you working on?"

  Eyes widening, Bryan took a step back, stuttering. "Wh-what, no, that is top secret."

  Darkness seeped from the room's shadows as a presence pressed on Bryan. Will said, "Not anymore, at the cost of 47,563 people, and with my power as judge, I unlock this information."

  A small band of gold lifted off Bryan's wrist. It glittered mid-air, shining golden light as small fractures appeared and then shattered. Bryan just stood there, eyes wide and brows raised.

  "Well?" Will asked. "Did you succeed?"

  Hands shaking, Bryan sank to his knees and mumbled. "Yes."

  Bryan's voice lost confidence with each word. "People tier up by their bodies naturally condensing the Mana they've accumulated."

  Moments passed, the silence broken only by breathing, until Bryan spoke. "Mana condensers are used to store Mana. This was the birth of our research and Manarith."

  Biting his lip, his eyes were wide with worry. "We needed a Mana well to power a Mana condenser that would work on people."

  Will's perpetual sneer dropped.

  No one spoke.

  Someone only a few seats away muttered. "No"

  The building erupted in screaming; Hunter heard accusations, yelling, and even unhinged laughter.

  Hunter's heart raced.

  "What does this mean?"

  "Is there no limit now?"

  "Can everyone grow stronger?"

  A shadow-like cloud blocked out the light and draped down over the other side of the building.

  The darkness crept over the crowd.

  Each person it touched stopped shouting.

  Stopped yelling.

  Stopped crying.

  Hunter got up, "What's going on!"

  The shadow increased in speed, engulfing over half the room in a matter of seconds.

  His breathing quickened.

  Hunter took his first step to run.

  He was engulfed.

  The shadow's coldness overtook him.

  Fear, anxiety, and even a tiny bit of excitement slowly faded.

  "Why was I standing up?" he wondered. "We're not done yet."

  Sitting, he looked around; not blank but focused expressions were around him.

  His eyes focused on a man to his left, a tear still rolling down his cheek.

  "What just happened?"

  The stage caught Hunter's attention; it looked like a spotlight was illuminating it.

  Monotone, now Will held one hand to his head, sweat pouring down it; he asked. "It works?"

  Bryan kept glancing between Will and the audience. He nodded. "Yes, but only once. The machine condenses the Mana forcibly, which is much harder on the person than a normal tier advancement.

  You can also only do it once. The strain it puts on your body and mind would kill you no matter how much recovery you get."

  There was more silence. Will finally realized he needed to do something and said, "I see. This will have a wave-like effect over the whole continent."

  Turning back to the audience, Will quietly said. "In a world where power is everything, many people would give a lot for it."

  His voice sounded hollow as he looked at the ground. "The souls of 47,563 people paid for this. To you survivors, I leave the decision to choose."

  Will's voice quieted to a whisper, but it still carried. "Don't choose lightly, however, as this will change everything."