As I trotted into the grasslands, I kept my senses on high alert. When I’d raced through the area as a werewolf, I’d definitely picked up scents of other monsters. My Perception was an insane 110, so when I focused on my nose, scents sharpened until I probably rivaled a weak-nosed breed of dog. It was a huge advantage, but nothing like a werewolf.

  Back in the forest near the lake, a cacophony of wolf howls rose into a crescendo. Either they’d given up waiting for me, or had risked sneaking into the marshes and realized I’d slipped away.

  Alpha was going to be ticked. He was super powerful and incredibly scary, but he was also arrogant and impatient. Could I use that against him?

  I considered ways to turn the tables on the terrifying werewolf leader as I moved deeper into the grasslands. I didn’t want to challenge him up close and personal again. My ribs ached with phantom pain just thinking about his long claws starting to rip me in half. No, I had to take him on smarter, like I had with Bristleback.

  Some clouds were drifting over the moons and stars, darkening the night. Most people would struggle to see, but the darkness would not hinder the werewolves if they started ranging out, seeking my sign. Between Wolfsbane and Mirror Cloak, they couldn’t smell me, and I was all but invisible. Hopefully that would be enough.

  Some growls and odd yipping noises sounded across the grasslands nearby, but I didn’t run into any monsters. Either I just got unlucky, or they sensed me and chose not to tangle with me. More likely, they were all just hunkering down to avoid run-ins with the riled-up werewolves.

  By the time I reached a band of dark forest covering a couple of the first larger hills and filling the canyon leading higher into the western mountains, I was getting annoyed. This was supposed to be a hunt. Maybe I was being too stealthy. With Mirror Cloak, I was pretty much invisible, and I made surprisingly little noise as I jogged through the sparse underbrush on bare feet. Maybe Wolfsbane blocked my scent to all monsters, and not just werewolves?

  Now that I had reached the forest, I didn’t worry about the pack running me down so easily. So I dropped Mirror Cloak, allowing the world to return to normal color.

  Taking a deep breath of the clean, tree-scented air, I smiled. I still had most of the night and miles to explore. With an entire week ahead of me, the time pressure had eased and I realized I was actually eager to hunt and to fight strong monsters.

  Didn’t mean I was going to be stupid about it. I didn’t have my blades, but I did want to test my new class spells. So I pre-cast Immolation using my new class spell Ace Arcana.

  “Immolation. Enjoy immunity to flames as you set yourself on fire and unleash a tornado of fiery destruction around yourself in an area with a diameter of 5 yards, plus 2 yards per point in perception. Uses remaining: 6”

  I’d used it to great effect inside the Crimson Kite, and I was eager to see the full effect of the spell when I wasn’t stuck inside a monster’s gullet. I could torch an area of around 200 yards in diameter. That was twice the length of a football field. It wouldn’t be wise while my team were nearby, but it was perfect for lone hunting. Hopefully I wouldn’t start a forest fire if I had to use it.

  Then I moved up the canyon, double checking that my goggles were on and the full head shield activated. The trees were medium-sized, which meant only about 200 feet tall, with crowns so big, they ended up spaced out pretty far. Some bushes and undergrowth cluttered some areas, but much of the canyon was remarkably open between the trees, and I jogged forward nearly silently over soft loam on bare feet.

  Minutes slowly dragged by as I moved higher up the canyon. Back down on stage 1 I’d had to push miles up into the taller mountains before finding monsters strong enough to challenge me. Now that I’d reached stage 2, I should find some pretty soon.

  Except I found nothing. The forest was creepily empty, and even the distant howls of the werewolves had faded to silence, as if the trees had a sound dampening effect. I slowed, listening and sniffing, pushing my Perception to the max, but sensed nothing. What was I missing?

  I activated Spellseer’s Gaze and the forest glowed with soft bands of mana light. Some looked mostly colorless, which I interpreted as generic vanilla mana, while areas around the trees and bushes glowed a soft brown of earth mana. Turning slowly, I scanned the ground and undergrowth for any sign of brighter mana that might suggest monsters or other active spells.

  Focusing on the mana, I couldn’t help trying to pull some of it to me. I’d broken off my practice before revealing to Noctarus the full extent of my progression, but I really wanted to find out what I could do.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Particles of mana again flowed to me, collecting on my gloves. As my concentration deepened, they rolled together, forming a ball of glowing white mana, then stretching into a slender rope several inches long as soon as I willed it.

  “Ha!” I laughed. This was awesome.

  A faint scraping sound, followed by a flapping so soft I barely heard it snapped me out of my reverie and I spun. A billowing dark shadow flared wide right above me. I’d been so distracted, my reaction came slower than usual. Before I could dodge or activate Energy Ward, the shadowy thing slammed into me, flinging me off my feet.

  My shout of surprise turned into a muffled “Oomph” as folds of leathery material wrapped me like a cocoon, pinning my arms to my sides and my legs tight together.

  I hit the ground hard, thrashing uselessly. Whatever the thing was, it had tied me up tighter than a Christmas goose in the blink of an eye.

  Nothing bit me or clawed at me, but the pressure all over my body was like I’d been shoved into a giant sausage skin. I twisted and struggled, but could not break the hold.

  Most of my body was sheathed in clothing and armor, and even my head was covered by my invisible shield. Unfortunately, my bare feet were exposed. A dull ache started across my skin there, as well as in small sharp points on my legs, and around my neck along the thin band of exposed skin between my jacket collar and my head shield.

  I struggled harder, but to no avail. The ache became pain, and my health points started to drop, despite energy flowing back in from my Tesla Coil bracelet. What was going on?

  I couldn’t trigger Energy Ward with that thing wrapping me so close, so I triggered Soul Feed. It passively drained a small amount of energy back from the thing, but with so much direct contact the latest upgrade was perfect.

  Energy poured into me from the strange monster and a shiver rippled up the leather folds encircling me. I kicked my feet, trying to free them, but accomplished nothing.

  Surprisingly, Identify kicked in.

  “Puppetmaster. Level 48 Elite. It's rare to see one of these creatures in this stage, and even more rare to see it not wearing the body of its latest victim. The Puppetmaster feeds by enveloping its victim and dissolving their skin. Once it seals its magical hide over the victim's entire body, it consumes their mind and takes control of their body as if it was their own.”

  “Soul Feed unsuccessful at countering the physical or mental effects.”

  No freaking way. That thing was trying to dissolve my skin! Thinking about it attacking my mind, I finally felt the tendrils of the monster’s will starting to dig into my thoughts. They were like icy hints of barely remembered bad dreams.

  It was weak, but starting to build. My Mental Resistance was pretty high, but apparently not enough. I triggered my Indomitable aura from my Hercules title to boost my Mental Defense by another 50%.

  That helped, but still didn’t block the insidious tendrils of the Puppetmaster’s power creeping into my mind. A dull headache began and started to grow as I thrashed wildly. Panic grew, but I fought it back, despite the cold fear that chilled me to the bone.

  How could this thing burrow in past all my defenses? It must be because it was melting off my exposed skin. Direct contact magnified so many powers.

  The pain in my feet was growing steadily worse, while the points of pain across my legs was slowly spreading. Those had to be the spots where Alpha’s fur had ripped my pants. The Puppetmaster was dissolving skin there, and the damage was spreading.

  No! I refused to die to this disgusting creature. Forcing calm on my racing thoughts, despite the steadily growing pain of my headache and the increasingly powerful nightmare images flashing through my thoughts, I made myself think.

  I needed to get out fast. I couldn’t fight it off physically, so I needed spells. The best option was my pre-cast Immolation, but I finally realized pre-casting that one might not have been the smartest move. A giant fiery tornado could be seen for miles. It would likely draw in the werewolves like flies to honey.

  Fine. I’d deal with that later. First, I had to survive this thing. I cast the spell.

  A tornado of superheated flames erupted out of me, scouring harmlessly across my skin and expanding in a roar to consume a vast area around me. Pressure disappeared as the Puppetmaster flung itself off.

  I sucked in a deep breath of clean air and finally got my first good look at the thing as it flapped frantically in the fiery tornado. It looked like one of those epic cloaks worn in medieval movies. Black and thin, it didn’t have any head, limbs, eyes, or anything.

  It was also eerily silent as it writhed in the flames and rolled into a tight burning mass, like a roll of cloth. Then it unrolled in a single, convulsive heave, flinging itself into the air toward one of the trees. It landed there and leaped again, moving to the next tree, but my fiery tornado had expanded to fill the canyon.

  My spell roared like a lion as flames raced up trees and reduced bushes to piles of ash. I tore my gaze away from the fleeing monster to look around. I stood in the middle of a howling tornado of devastation, unharmed. Hot wind whirled, fire snapped and crackled, and the air smelled like cinders.

  It all triggered a flood of memories from brutal days laboring on fire lines, fighting raging wildfires across the US. I’d seen huge fires up close, but never imagined standing in the middle of one.

  It inspired me, but also rattled me to the core. I fought fires and hated the cowardly arsonists who often set them. Now I was the one unleashing fiery devastation. That feeling of disgust warred with a sense of awe and not a little terror as I gazed out at the insane spell I was controlling.

  The Puppetmaster definitely wasn’t enjoying it. The thing burned as if it was doused in some kind of gasoline. It missed the next tree, twitching and jerking as it fell to the ground through the raging inferno. Its hide burned away until only wisps of ash touched down over the blackened soil.

  I cut off the spell and the fiery tornado winked out.