The sun was high in the sky, illuminating the massive horde of monsters still charging toward the village. They were still largely being funneled through the carefully designed path that Carl the unassuming farmer had created with his nature powers. Their numbers had also been drastically reduced thanks to Ethan and Cara’s growing power. Meanwhile Valanor’s somewhat restored arm was allowing him to act as a living wall, holding back the flood.

  When Ethan spotted the group of monsters sneaking into the village through a new path they’d created, he barely took the time to tell the group before he set off into the village. He was confident in the rest of the team regardless. They’d already mostly broken the charge, and with Cara’s damage and Selina’s support, the only real challenge remaining would be the few monsters like the thunder drake that had yet to make it to the front.

  That left Ethan to focus on the ones that now sped off in every direction as they passed through the broken wall. As he moved, he couldn’t help but reflect on how the battle had gone so far.

  They’d faced hundreds of Dawn rank monsters, and none of them the mindless undead from Fort Cathis. These were creatures that Ethan had faced before, and struggled against. They’d each presented their challenges at the time, but now the battle had been…well, easy. Fun, even.

  It had been over half a year since Ethan arrived, and his powers had been pushed to the extremes from what he’d gone through. He’d made friends–powerful allies in their own rights–and he’d grown. First Dusk was truly on the horizon now, and he felt more and more of the strength that came with it. The simple truth was that he was outgrowing this little realm he’d landed in, and he was starting to understand the prince’s desire to move on.

  It didn’t change what he had to do at the moment, but Ethan understood more than ever that he was becoming truly dangerous. It had been an easy thing to miss before, as those even more powerful had been fighting to see who could tug on his strings the most, but now his perspective was shifting. He was getting a taste of who he could be in this world–when he wasn’t tied down–and he found that he loved it.

  Ethan smiled as he moved rapidly through the village, alternately leaping, sprinting, and appearing through rifts. He was a Hunter, and this was his life. He took out several fulven that never saw him coming, Many-Faced Blade becoming an odachi in his hands. He hadn’t had much time to train with the massive weapon, but found that–despite Tomo’s joke about big targets–it was actually excellent for small monsters, or even groups.

  Anything too weak to waste time and mana on could be cut down often with a single swing of the curved greatsword. Astral Echo made that even easier, and Ethan didn’t feel resistance as he chopped through the large boar-monsters like a butcher in the kitchen.

  As he chased the rabid beasts through the village, he found something else occurring. Each time he pulled one back as it scratched at a door, or prevented another from even reaching one of the homes, it was like he was replacing one of his terrible memories from this same place.

  He knew it wasn’t that simple, and mental scars didn’t heal so easily, but couldn’t deny he felt better. It had been the darkest version of himself that tore through this village, powered by rage and bloodlust. Now it felt like the real him–Ethan Bishop, Hunter, Assassin, Doctor, moving like a scalpel to cut out the evil. He was protecting this time, no more, no less.

  Each time a monster fell, he gained a little more confidence, put aside a little more of the confusing duality that his identity had become. It was like Dean had said–he didn’t need to be one thing. He didn’t need to worry so much about different parts of his identity; he could just do what was right for him, and make a difference. The fact that he could do that with incredible magical powers was pure gravy.

  Soon he was sure that he’d nearly gotten them all, and moved to a conveniently high roof to look for the one he knew he’d missed. He tapped his communication rune as he did so.

  “Inside of the village is nearly clear. How’s the horde?”

  “Nearly through,” Valanor replied. “Two thunder drakes were bringing up the rear, and they’re taking a little longer. Are you alright?”

  “I am,” Ethan replied, though he knew there was frustration in his voice. How could he have lost the light?

  “Did you know Selina can fly now?” Valanor asked, sounding somewhat bewildered.

  “I’m not flying,” Selina piped in. “I’m sliding on a platform of light!”

  “Upwards,” Valanor muttered, and Ethan found himself grinning as he went back to his search.

  Looking around the village, he still didn’t see his prey. He quickly moved to another building, one with a better view of the town square, then cursed. The door to the inn had been smashed open.

  He was there in a heartbeat, bursting through a rift and rolling through the doorway at nearly the same time. It was still very new inside, the aroma of freshly cut wood and drying paint permeating the place. But the light pushed those lesser senses aside, as he spotted a scorpion the size of a horse on the other side of the common room. It had backed a group of townspeople into a mass, who were left pressing themselves back against the wall.

  Carl was out in front, Bella, his unusual plant Familiar doing its best to hold back the clearly stronger monster. Ethan didn’t hesitate, drawing Last Resort with no regard for the runes glowing on its hilt. He was across the room at nearly Dusk rank speed, the blade singing as it slashed through the air.

  Green blood erupted outward as he severed the deadly tail. Without pause he continued forward, his blade coming down like a cleaver to chop through the closest pincer. He had to force away memories of the scorpiursi from Potentia as he continued to slice, but a moment later Last Resort was sinking into the monster’s tiny, arachnid head, and it grew still.

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  Ethan was panting–not from the exertion but from the intensity of the battle–when he slowly looked up at the gathered townspeople. Worry shot through him: he was wearing his distinctive white coat, and his reputation had only grown since he’d last been here. More than that, he found he even recognized some of the people standing shoulder to shoulder a few paces away.

  Besides Carl there was the guard he’d seen at the gate on their first arrival, and even the man who sold him his first shawarma. Ethan quickly put the blade away, then began to back off to give the group some space, not wanting to scare them.

  Then shockingly, they cheered.

  He didn’t know how to react, his memories and feelings so confused and mixed for this place and these people. But the villagers showed nothing but joy and relief, some clapping, others hugging. Finally Carl walked forward, placing a dirty hand on Ethan’s shoulder.

  “Thank you, Hunter.”

  ***

  Ethan had managed a somewhat comfortable spot at the edge of the village to sit, watching Carl go to work restoring the lush beauty to the fields. Brown, ragged brambles shrunk away, with rich green plants taking their place. The man had a lot of work ahead of him, but every few minutes another burst of colorful fruit or flowers would simply come into being, and the world felt a little more right.

  It had quickly become too much to be surrounded by the grateful townspeople. They’d seen Ethan at his best now, but he couldn’t forget the looks on their faces when they’d seen him at his worst. He felt like he’d gained some closure today, and was starting to put those dark experiences behind him, but it was still a lot to try to act normally with so many conflicting emotions.

  Now he just wanted to be somewhere quiet to collect his thoughts, and start looking to the future. Leaning back in his new ‘chair’, he looked again at the system message, wondering exactly what that future looked like.

  Ability: Volatile Infusion (First Dusk: 0%)

  Type: Flare, Trap, [Persistent]

  You may infuse up to [Seven] objects with condensed volatile energy. These objects will explode, dealing highly potent fire damage to anything at close range. Infused objects may be set to explode upon making contact with a target, after a set amount of time, or by giving a mental command. Objects lose charge after [ten] hours.

  Dusk Evolution: for a small increase in mana cost, infused objects can be rendered undetectable.

  Ethan was fascinated by the changes. In many ways it was a direct upgrade to the ability that had been falling behind: he could already sense that the explosions would be larger and far more powerful at Dusk rank, and now he could make seven of them rather than three. More importantly, they now had the ‘Persistent’ status, meaning that once charged, he could cycle to different Affinities without disrupting the ability.

  The most important part, and what had him so curious, was the new effect that came at First Dusk. They could now be made undetectable, which he’d confirmed by charging a dagger. The telltale glow was gone, and even his own senses couldn’t identify them by the mana he’d infused–although the ability lent him an intuitive awareness of where it was.

  It was an excellent change, and would make them far more effective as traps–though it wouldn’t stop him from chucking them in monster’s faces from time to time. The reason he was so interested, however, was because of a question the evolution brought with it. Was this the ‘natural’ evolution of the ability, or had it changed to better match his class?

  As Ethan flipped the dagger in the air and caught it, inwardly he chided himself. Yes, the question was interesting, and potentially said a lot about how the rest of his abilities would grow, but he knew he was using it as a distraction. The truth was that this new effect might be the solution to a different problem, one he’d been avoiding since he saw the white knight again.

  “What are you glaring about?” Valanor asked as he stomped across the mud toward Ethan. He halted when Ethan came fully into view, and his eyebrows shot up. “And just what in the Goddess’ name am I looking at?”

  Ethan’s face shifted into a grin. To the knight, it must have looked like Ethan was hovering in mid air, reclined on a hammock that didn’t seem to exist. He carefully stood up, not wanting to get tangled and ruin the moment.

  “I’ve finally gained my last ability,” he declared proudly.

  Valanor looked at the supposedly empty space Ethan had just vacated. “Mystic, wasn’t it? Do you make chairs disappear now?”

  “Not exactly,” Ethan said, then adjusted the ability with a thought. Immediately a complex spider web of wires became visible, the steel reflecting the fading rays of the setting sun. “I was practicing. This one is another that’s going to take some practice.”

  Valanor leaned forward, plucking one of the wires like a guitar string. “You make invisible wires?”

  Ethan shrugged. “Deceptively simple, I imagine. I’ve learned that Mystic abilities start quite basic, but grow increasingly elaborate with evolutions. Kind of the opposite of my Flare abilities, which start out flashy as hell but apparently get more subtle and refined as they advance.”

  Tomo had assured him this was true, as Ethan’s initial reaction to ‘making a bunch of wire I could buy at a hardware store’ hadn’t been overly positive. The demon had pointed out that even in its current form it was an incredibly disruptive trap, and would be even more so as he found creative ways to deploy it.

  New ability!

  Ability: Karmic Threads (First Dawn: 0%)

  Type: Mystic, Trap, Persistent Conjuration

  For a small mana cost, conjure thin steel wires at a short range. Karmic Threads may adhere to any surface not magically protected against it, and have extremely high tensile strength. Threads may be camouflaged for a small, ongoing mana cost, that rises based on quantity of thread.

  Truthfully it hadn’t taken long for Ethan to grow excited by the potential of the power. The simple fact that it was his first real way of controlling the battlefield, and holding enemies in place was enough for that. If he was being honest, the ability to create tiny exploding suns may have skewed his perspective on what power looked like.

  Valanor was still plucking the threads, evidently quite amused. “Was this why you came over here?” Ethan asked with a smirk. The knight quickly stood up, putting a hand behind his back in a hasty attempt at dignity.

  “No. I was coming to tell you that we’re spending the night, then heading back to Corvale.”

  “Fair enough, not a surprise really,” Ethan answered, once again distracted as Carl raised another field.

  Surprisingly he noticed Valanor smirking. “There’s one other thing. Selina apparently did the maths for our little encounter here. She knows our new point total.”

  That got Ethan’s attention, and he turned back quickly. “Well, don’t leave me in suspense.”

  Valanor took a long, indulgent breath before answering, clearly savoring the moment. “Well, we’ll still want to spend the balance of our time Hunting, just to be safe. But after today, we’re in second place. With the Firstbloods and Pursuers unable to gain more, there’s no way for anyone else to catch up.”

  Ethan felt it all falling into place. “So it’s really happening, then?”

  “It’s really happening. In two weeks, we’ll be entering the Forgotten City.”