Elias stared at the massive corpse of the Greater Heliox in unhidden awe. It was even larger than the book described, over 60 feet long and covered with sharp, near indestructible spines. Its fur was silvery white, with a ferret-like face and a mouth filled with jagged teeth. They battled it in a low valley, a little over 50 feet wide, composed of mostly bare stone. Embedded in the grey stone, were dozens of spines. Based on the length of the spines remaining in the body; they were buried rarely halfway into the stone.

  That meant the heliox could fire the things with incredible force. The Light Lancers were bruised and bloodied, but all in all, put together. Maribel was the picture of elegance, not even her cape was stained with dirt. Though, Elias now knew that was some kind of magic.

  The porters and cutters were doing their work, removing claws, teeth, and the skinners; all 12 of them were peeling leathery skin. The entire process of preparing its parts for transport would take most of the day.

  “You know how I said I would have loved to see the fight,” Becca said from next to him.

  “Yeah,” Elias responded.

  “I take that back, and to think this is only a 3-star beast. I couldn't imagine what a dragon would be like,”

  Elias released a humorless chuckle, “Let’s hope we never have to deal with something like that,”

  “What? the ferret thing got you scared Elias?” Brent asked.

  Elias shrugged, “How much force does it take to penetrate 3 feet into stone? Maybe I can block one with a charged ice shield but there are dozens.”

  “Point taken. But all that means to me is we need better armor,” Brent said.

  Elias shook his head and walked away. His plan was to rest for a week and get the authorization to enter the Frontier. And maybe, just maybe, find something; anything.

  “Elias,” Alicia said, grabbing his attention, “Maribel and the rest of the Light Lancers are planning to celebrate at the Dawn Flower, she invited us; All of us,”

  ‘Including the peasant? My how generous of her,’

  Elias scoffed, “Not interested,”

  Alicia sighed, releasing a hint of frustration, “She specifically said that your presence would be…. appreciated,”

  Elias rolled his eyes, “What word did she actually use?”

  “Tolerated.”

  “I’ll pass, but feel free to drill her for information while you celebrate; the more the better,”

  It took half a day to butcher the massive creature, the cutters and skinners worked almost nonstop from dawn to dusk. It wasn't just because they wanted to get the items that couldn't be held in a preservation flask. The blood and flesh would attract potentially deadly scavengers. Their work continued and the massive pelt was cut and rolled to be stored on the backs of the porters, immediately they were off on their journey back to the fort.

  ~

  If the journey from the fort to the creature was tough the journey back was even harder. Since they were heading back Elias spent some time gathering herbs, Nere practically shoved a small silvery tulip into his hand and without any explanation, said it was thanks for saving her life. The butchered heliox parts being carried on the backs of the porters and skinners was the cause of Elias’s problems. Attacks were daily, usually lightning-fast strikes from any number of strange creatures that would surely haunt his dreams.

  Wolves that spit fire, a herd of carnivorous deer with razor sharp antlers. Even a gigantic, winged snake around 30 feet long that spat corrosive acid. The porter that got attacked survived with a healing poultice, but was horribly scarred. Through it all they couldn’t stop to collect any corpses, everyone but the defenders were weighed down. Elias used the experience to come up with an effective use for his water pouches. He almost kicked himself for not considering the idea in the first place.

  Mana saturation lasted several days, and he had more than enough mana to keep the water in his pouches saturated. He made it a priority to never let the water in his single remain pouch desaturate, this allowed him to be able to react to dangers faster, the only downside was that it was such a small amount of water. But projecting a quick shield or using a tentacle to either drag someone out of danger or immobilize a creature for someone to finish them off was a far more efficient use of his abilities.

  He did notice how Nere always made sure to stay within a few feet of him since he had grown adept at dragging people out of danger using a tentacle of water.

  Restful sleep was an afterthought, and after another two and a half weeks of travel Elias finally saw the walls in the distance.

  “I’ve never seen anything more beautiful in my life,” Elias said to Nere.

  “Aye, this one was rough,”

  “What do you plan to do after this hunt ends?” asked Elias.

  “Eat, sleep, and sleep some more. Tis my first time on a 3-star hunt, pay is great, but damn if it wasn't a nightmare,”

  “I second that,”

  “You stay at the Hunters Cove, right?” she asked.

  “Yeah,”

  “I’ll buy you a pint and a meal as a thanks for saving my arse,”

  Elias smiled, “There’s nothing more delicious than free food, I accept,”

  Nere laughed, shaking her head, “You’re decent Elias, don't get your head too far up your arse when you start going up the ranks,”

  I looked back at my team who were busy schmoozing with the Light Lancers.

  ‘I could join them; start building connections with a group of famous hunters. It’s not too late,’ The idea disgusted him, so he sniffed and returned his gaze to the wall.

  ‘All that matters was getting home, everything else is a distraction,’

  ~

  Hours later, they entered the gates of Rembrite mid-morning, the road cleared as they passed heading to the hunters lodge. People cheered; It was only now that Elias realized what the cheers were for: survival. The entire hunt was brutal; surviving the journey without losing a single porter was apparently an impressive feat.

  As they reached the hunters lodge, they met dozens of people who began carrying off the beast parts and loaded them onto waiting wagons. Elias stood off to the side with his team discussing what to do next.

  “We need to rest and recover, at least a week,” Brent said.

  Becca, who looked as tired as he felt, nodded enthusiastically.

  “We don't need to share a room anymore so, let’s figure out lodgings,”

  Alicia spoke quickly, “We could stay at the Dawn Flower Inn, its upscale, but worth the price, I tire of sleeping on hard wood and hay,”

  Everyone seemed to be in agreement, “How much does it cost?” Elias asked.

  “Only 20 Eagles a night,” Alicia said as if that was some small amount of coin.

  “That's…." Elias did some calculation in his head, “140 eagles a week; 60 times how much it cost to stay at the Hunter’s Cove,”

  Brent shook his head as if Elias was being childish, “We just earned 13 dragons, so that’s months’ worth of lodgings and we weren't even the ones leading the hunt, besides it would be better for our image if were staying at an upper-class inn,”

  “You’re all free to do what you want I, if you need me, I’ll be at the hunter’s cove,” Elias said.

  They looked like they were going to argue before Nere came trotting over with a bundle of monster parts in her hand. She carried four of the long white spines from the Heliox and a cheap looking wooden box. They had brought over 50 of the spines back.

  “Gifts from the Light Lancers for a good job, as for Elias, the box has the skin and organs from the Nymron,”

  After taking a spine and the Box, Nere said, “Remember Elias, sundown. Drinks are on me,” then she left to rejoin the rest of the porters.

  “Of course,” Elias said as she left.

  “You have a date? Bit old for you, isn’t she?” Becca said with some humor.

  Elias shook his head, “Hardly, she’s just grateful I saved her life and wants to treat me to a meal.”

  “If you say so,” Becca said but she still had a sly grin.

  ‘Romantic entanglement is the last thing I need right now,’

  “The Light Lancers plan to celebrate their successful hunt tonight, if you change your mind make sure to get a new set of clothes,” Brent said.

  “I’ll consider it,” Elias lied as he turned to leave.

  “Where are you going?” Alicia asked.

  “Eshmere, remember.”

  ~

  Fortunately, the store wasn't very busy and Eshmere’s wife noticing the wooden box, nodded towards the door of the Alchemy lab.

  “Ah Elias, you have gift for me. What is it, no. I see for myself.” Eshmere said, the reptilian man was a bundle of excitement as Elias laid the box on a table. Opening it, Eshmere studied the contents.

  After a raspy laugh he said, “Nymron skin, good condition. Ah and undamaged sebaceous glands. Very nice; Very nice. Heliox Spine, already ranked 3? No, you join rank 3 hunt. Auxiliary,”

  “What can you make with this?” Elias asked.

  “Invisibility Tonic from skin. And can synthesize powerful glue from glands. Useful in advanced weapon construction. Heliox spine; more complex; hard to work with; has to be destroyed in strong acid to extract essence, enchanters will be pleased, or could sell to smith to make weapons,”

  “How about I just give you all of it for coin? I don't know how much this is worth so I'll trust you to at least give me a decent price,” Elias wasn't interested in haggling, and he would eventually learn what things are worth. If Eshmere screwed him over by grossly underselling the value, then Eliass would simply end all dealings with him and move on to another.

  “30 eagle for skin, 20 for all 3 glands. 3 dragon for Heliox spine, can get better price from smith or enchanter but breaking down heliox spine for alchemy takes days and expensive acid.”

  Elias shrugged, “Deal.”

  Combined with his pay from the hunt, coins from the gambling and Eshmeres offer, Elias now had in total,17 and a half golden dragons. A considerable amount of coin but not nearly enough to buy any quality enchanted items, much less a conduit.

  “Any new drafts in stock?” Elias asked.

  “Yes, yes. a few bark skin tonics and Summer’s heart decoction, potion of light foot,”

  Nothing really peaked Elias’s interest, “A few mana and healing drafts would be nice,” Elias said.

  “Fine fine, but come by in three days can use more help with alchemy, have something really special, will give you free draft as reward,”

  “Oh really, what is it?”

  Eshmere grinned mischievously, “No waste surprise; you come by,”

  After leaving Eshmere’s store, Elias had one last stop to make before meeting Nere for supper.

  ~

  Nessa’s store looked more like a botanical garden half the time. At the ring of the doorbell Nessa smiled as she spotted who walked in.

  “Elias!” She said excitedly, “You’re alive and well,” The brown-haired woman gave him a brilliant smile which Elias couldn't help but return.

  “It was as rough as you said it would be, but I made it.”

  Nessa looked Elias up and down searching for something, “And not worse for wear so, bring me anything good?”

  Elias shrugged, “I only brought back what the porters said an herbalist would like, all the flowers are wilted, but I have a few seeds,”

  Elias walked over to the counter and pulled out a small canvas sack. One after another he pulled out plants, seeds, a strange purple pea pod and clippings from an odd orange leafed fern.

  “Not bad. The Ilun pea is a very rare ingredient in cooking. A handful of cooked Ilun can save you from hunger for an entire day. Clippings from a celestine vine, now that’s a treat. More Lydun root and finally, oh my.”

  She picked up a silvery flower, the only one that hadn't wilted even after carrying it for two weeks.

  “What is it?” Elias asked, “One of the porters whose live I saved , Nere,specifically told me to bring it to you”

  “Colinar Flower, the petals contain a powerful opiate, it's actually illegal for me to refine it without a proper license,”

  “So, no point in me bringing it here?”

  Nessa wore a sly smirk, “I said it’s illegal for me to refine it, not grow it. That I have a license for, and I can sell it for quite the profit, provided you can help me,”

  Elias looked out a window to the sun, “I have a few hours,”

  Nessa grinned her brown eyes practically glowing with anticipation, “Good, Eshmere told me you did this before,”

  As she spoke, she pulled out 4 mana potions from underneath her counter and placed them on the table. Elias sighed, “What will you pay me?”

  “Two dragons for everything and another for enhancing the water, for a flower like this it needs to be extra potent,”

  Elias shrugged, Money was money after all, “Let's get to it,”

  ~

  Elias was busy channeling a massive amount of mana into the two-gallon watering can, he was three mana potions deep and still Nessa needed more mana in the water. “Your close, just a little more Elias,”

  They stood in the back room, Nessa extracted seeds from the silver tulip and placed them each in a clay pot with soil, apparently the seeds needed a massive amount of mana to germinate.

  Elias downed the last potion, feeling sick, but he kept going regardless, just when he was about to run out of mana she shouted, “Stop,”

  The more mana he concentrated into the water the more difficult it became. The water was bleeding mana into the surrounding air rapidly. Nessa quickly grabbed the can and started pouring.

  Mana was normally invisible but so much concentrated into two gallons of water resulted in a slight blue glow.

  It was like watching a timelapse video. The seeds split and roots took hold; a small plant rose out of the dirt sprouting a few leaves. Elias could feel the plant rapidly absorbing mana from the water she was pouring. Then she switched to the other 4 pots and repeated the process.

  After finishing, each plant was roughly six inches tall. Even more impressive was that they somehow used all the mana he painstakingly concentrated into the water.

  “How powerful is the opiate?” Elias asked.

  “One petal is enough to drive you into a state of pure bliss, two will knock you on your ass for half a day, barely coherent. Three will put you into a coma. 4 will kill you. In certain circles it's a popular drug.”

  “I’m surprised Nere didn't sell it to you herself.” Elias said.

  “Once plucked, the petals lose their potency in a matter of days. The one you brought would barely give someone a slight buzz. But she didn't know that I had the skill to grow them. Her loss but then again you saved her life,”

  “Your knack?” Elias asked.

  Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  “Exactly,”

  “How much coin can you make from these?” Elias asked.

  “These four plants are worth twice everything else in my store combined, the only problem is that they take decades to grow since they need a massive amount of mana,”

  Elias smiled, “But you have a hydromancer with a rather large sea on your payroll,”

  “How about tomorrow double the normal rate?” Nessa said,

  “I need a few more days before I can consume so many mana potions.”

  Ness shook her head, “I don't need nearly as much, just your usual, do you have plans tomorrow?”

  “No, just rest and relaxation,”

  “Well, if you don’t have to use your mana why not spend the day here, I even have an extra room,”

  Elias raised an eyebrow. “I don’t work for free,”

  “How about this, you get 2 in ten of what I sell the petals for,”

  “Half,” Elias countered.

  “Three and you can have the room for free,”

  “Three and a half and I eat for free,” Elias said.

  “That sounds like a deal Sir….” Nessa paused. “Do you have a last name?”

  “Harkin,” Elias said, offering a hand. Elias shook.

  ‘I suppose at the very least I’ll have a free roof over my head,’

  ~

  Nessa led Elias to the second story of her shop. There were three rooms, one which she shared with her daughter. Opening the door, Nessa and Elias walked into the room.

  There was a singular window; the room was about 12 feet wind and 10 long. There was a bed on the left side of the room, with a mattress that looked to be made of layers of thick wool, it was just long enough for him to sleep without his leg hanging off the bed. At the foot of the bed was a chest and to the right of the room was a desk with a small wooden chair.

  “It’s dusty, but the mattress is clean, and this side of the house doesn't get much sun. Sorry it’s a bit small for someone your height,”

  Elias chuckled, “It's actually bigger than my room back home,”

  He walked over to the window and looked at the street below, watching the cornucopia of odd humanoids going about their day. But he wasn't actually looking at the passing people.

  “You miss your home,” Nessa stated,

  “Yes,”

  “Can you not return?”

  “I don't know,”

  “Were you banished or…….,”

  Elias tried to think of something she would believe, but she cut him off before he could lie, “I don't want to be lied to Elias, just answer two questions honestly,”

  Elias held her brown eyes and gave her a solemn nod, “Are you dangerous, by that I mean if you are here, are danger to me and my daughter?”

  Elias shook his head, “No, if there’s one thing I can be sure of is that no one is running around looking for me, I’m no criminal or banished prince or something,”

  “Well, that answers both my questions? care to join us for dinner?”

  “Not tonight, I have plans, The same woman whose life I saved promised to treat me to a meal,”

  Nessa chuckled, “Very well, and be careful with Nere,” She walked away in the same moment before Elias could ask what she meant.

  ~

  Elias walked into the hunter’s cove to see Nere, already sitting by the bar, in the middle in a spirited conversation with Kass, “Oi, Elias, surprised you showed up. Not celebrating with the rest of your squad?”, Nere asked as Elias sat next to her,

  “Not tonight”, then he turned his attention to Kass, “What’s on the fire?”

  “Got a nice piece of mutton, and a rack of lamb, should be a hell of a stew,” Kass said with a proud grin.

  “Two bowls, one for my friend Elias here, extra meat, I'm buying,” Nere said, by the blush of her cheeks and the three empty tankards she was on her way to getting drunk.

  “Good pay?” Kass asked.

  “Aye, Light lancers pay well, even got a good bonus,” Nere said as she slapped a silver eagle on the counter.

  “How was your first hunt Elias?” Kass asked.

  “It was mostly long stretches of tension occasionally interrupted by sheer terror,” Elias said without any emotion. Somehow that was hilarious, causing Nere and Kass to burst into laughter.

  “I've never heard a hunt be described so well,” Kass said, wiping a tear, the slapped a tanker of honeyed beer down on the table, “That’s on the house.”

  “While we wait for the food, I want to know the entire story of the hunt, and how exactly you got caught with your pants down,” Kass said a bit too loudly, half the tavern turned their heads, clearly wanting to know how it happened.

  Over the next hour Nere played the role of storyteller, regaling them with the battles, near deaths, and of course how she got caught in the tongue of a Nymron while relieving herself and how Elias managed to save her life. After three drinks his head was feeling fuzzy, so he stopped, not wanting to follow in Nere’s footsteps.

  ~

  Elias carried Nere upstairs to a room to sleep of her drunkenness; she didn't hesitate to drink to her heart's content. She was barely coherent, still babbling about nonsense, “Elias, why don't we share a room for the night, I’m still very grateful to you,” Nere whispered, as Elias finally found the door. The brown-haired woman was reasonably attractive, but Elias declined, “Maybe some other time, when you're less drunk,” Elias said.

  Nere scoffed, “I’m as right as rain, ‘sides were celebrating.”

  “Is that why I have to carry you?”

  “It’s only gentlemanly to carry a woman across the threshold.” Nere said, running her hand along his cheek.

  After entering the room Elias tried to set Nere down on the bed. She held on, urging him to join her. She whispered sweet promises of what they could do alone. Elias would be lying if he said he felt nothing, but the attraction was vestigial at best. Some part of her alcohol addled brain finally realized that Elias wasn't going to stay so she let him go with a scoff.

  “You honorable types are so annoying sometimes,” she said.

  “Goodnight, Nere,” Elias said turning to leave.

  “It would have been good,” She mumbled, already dozing off.

  Elias shook his head and left the tavern. The sun had set, and he had nothing to do. At the very least he had somewhere to stay. He wasn't remotely tempted by Nere’s offer; it wasn’t just that he wasn't willing to sleep with a drunken woman. There was the risk of pregnancy, diseases and the fact that neither had bathed in weeks. Amusingly enough, there were poultices for the most common venereal diseases.

  The bathhouses were probably closed but one great thing about his power was that he could just conjure clean water. Now if only he could buy a bathtub, that would be heavenly.

  ~

  The next morning Elias woke in agony, everything was sore, and he felt like a giant bruise. He resolved to not do a single extraneous thing the entire day. Walking was painful; sitting was painful. He considered drinking a healing poultice but decided against it, unsure if it would negatively affect his natural healing. So he spent almost the entire day in his room stuffing his face with as much meat as possible and resting. Around every hour or so he would drain his entire mana pool into a watering can for Nessa and head back upstairs to sleep.

  He didn't actually know how much she was profiting since she was using his water liberally on all her plants, but frankly he didn't care. The room, while small, was comfortable, the bed was decent enough and Nessa was more than willing to spend extra coins to buy more meat at his request. He even managed to have some interaction with her daughter, she was still oddly silent most of the time but when he was practicing with water she was always nearby discreetly watching.

  After the third day he felt human enough to walk to Eshmere and finally see the big surprise he was preparing.

  They stood in his alchemy lab, the equipment still looked rather anachronistic to him. The lizard man walked around quickly gathering up powders, acids and reagents Elias couldn't name. After, he placed 4 mana potions on the counter Elias asked Eshmere, “So what are we making today?”

  Eshmere grinned, his sharp pointed teeth making it disconcerting, “A Drake Skin decoction,”

  “What does it do exactly,”

  “Makes skin hard as drake skin, no unenchanted weapon can cut or pierce, usually last for ten minutes or so but with your help can make it stronger, already have clients waiting, good profit, much gold,”

  “What will you pay me,” He pulled out a fifth mana potion, at glance Elias could tell that it was far more powerful than the rest it had a more prominent blue glow.

  “This is superior mana potion, worth ten dragons,” Eshmere said.

  “What’s so superior about it,”

  “4 grades, nominal, enhanced, superior and master, nominal recovers around 3 in ten of mana pool. Enhanced, double. Superior same as enhanced but the absorption instead of stopping slows down over time can replenish entire pool twice over, but takes several minutes. Master instantly replenishes mana pool, effect lasts several minutes almost like having limitless mana, very dangerous, could explode,”

  “How long does it last exactly?” Elias asked.

  “Three or four minutes depends on skill of alchemist,” Elias raised an eyebrow,

  “Three or four minutes of infinite mana,” Elias mumbled, he couldn’t imagine what he could do with that much power. Suddenly the five-star monsters didn't seem that insurmountable. Mith the right combination of magical equipment, drafts and preparation. You turn yourself into a demigod.

  “Caution Elias, stronger draft, stronger side effects. Master mana potion can leave you crippled for months, damages you like doping but worse. But if you have a healer; not as much risk,”

  Elias raised an eyebrow. He had heard many stories of mana users but not one mention of magical healing, beyond healing poultices.

  “Gift of healing, very rare, rarest of all gifts, only three in empire. Nadia the blessed, most powerful. One of the most powerful people in empire. Some say more powerful than emperor, serves as the head healer for the imperial family. The other two are sworn to her service. Many rumors about her, none good, but best not speak openly about her, or any of Imperial family.” Elias nodded, taking the message seriously.

  Elias made a note to inform Brent of the drake skin decoction. It was something that would be of use to him, since as Becca put it, he was the tank.

  “I meant to ask Eshmere, why is it that when anyone else consumes a nominal mana potion they only recover around three in ten?”

  Eshmere mumbled incoherently before answering, “Mana regeneration proportional to size of sea, same thing with mana absorption, people only generate one in one hundred of their mana every few seconds, same for everyone, but one in one hundred of a cup and one in one hundred of a bucket two different sizes. Mana potion allows mana absorption from surrounding mana, much quicker, one in ten per second, but still proportional to sea,”

  Elias nodded along, Eshmeres' words clearing up his own assumptions and confirming others.

  “Teaching over now, let's get to work,” Eshmere ordered, Elias pocketed the superior mana potion.

  ~

  A week of rest passed rather peacefully; Elias was able to earn another 3 dragons putting his total wealth at a little over 21 golden dragons counting the many silver coins he had. It was a small fortune, enough to buy simple enchanted items, for the moment nothing really interested him, save for a conduit, but he was still 94 gold below even the cheapest staff at Maeve’s mysteries.

  While he could experiment more, Elias decided to master the few techniques he was competent with. If there was one thing Elias realized during the hunt for the greater Heliox was that Brent and Alicia seemed to pride themselves on boldly launching headfirst into battle. In fact, throughout the entire hunt Elias didn't even use a healing poultice, whereas Brent used three and Alicia used one. Only the fight with the giant snake caused him to use a mana potion.

  That made Elias settle on truly being the support, as Becca called it. Why should he risk himself, when others were perfectly willing to do it for him? So, Elias decided that he would make Alicia and Brent the best meat shields they could be. Still, he couldn't completely neglect his self-defense, who knows how a battle can go. But one thing was for sure, he wasn't going to bravely march into battle like those two did.

  Another problem Elias solved was how much mana he needed to manipulate water. The distance from the water being manipulated played a major role. It took hours of experimentation before he realized the cost of levitating a gallon of water exponentially increased the farther it was from him.

  However, this was eliminated if he simply snaked a tentacle into the water. As long as some part of the water being manipulated was close to him, the range didn't matter. However, a longer tentacle meant more water to maintain. If the tentacle connected to the water being manipulated was broken, then the drain would once again follow the inverse squared rule. And maintaining a longer tentacle required significant concentration. It was a constant battle of strengths and weaknesses, solving one problem created another.

  “Elias, your teammates are here,” Nessa shouted down the hall. Elias was sitting in the middle of his room focusing intensely on a bucket of water. He had been so enthralled with practice that he lost track of time.

  ‘Today is the day I guess,’

  After dressing in his armor, Elias used a strip of leather to tie his hair back and walked downstairs, waving goodbye to Nessa and Linda.

  “Be safe,” Nessa said as Elias passed.

  “Not to worry, I’m not going deep into the frontier.” Elias said before heading to the door.

  “Bye Bye Elias,” Linda said. Both Elias and Nessa were shocked by the child speaking. They shared a glance for a few moments then shrugged, before Nessa mouthed to him. ‘What did do you do,’Elias shrugged again and left.

  After exiting the store, Elias found his allies and had to pause, it seemed they spent their coin. Brent still had his half plate, but now wore enchanted steel gauntlets and boots. Alicia now carried a new dagger though; he couldn't see the blade he could feel mana coming from it. Becca had the same crossbow, but now it seemed that it was enchanted as well.

  “I assume you guys spent your coin,” Elias observed,

  “Hells yeah,” Becca said, then unslung her crossbow, “Makes the tip of the bolts red hot, while maintaining hardness and I managed to get an enchantment on the lever to make it easier to cock,”

  “Anything I should know?” Elias asked. Alicia and Brent.

  “Dagger builds up a large amount of static electricity, not enough to kill but enough to stun someone. kind of like a taser, also has a razor sharp and anti-corrosion enchantment,”

  Alacia explained then Brent answered. “Some durability and shock absorption enchantments,”

  “Please tell me you got something new,” Becca said.

  Elias shook his head.

  “I asked you twice to go shopping with us,” Becca complained.

  “While I didn't buy anything, I wasn't idle. Come on I’ll explain as we walk,”

  As they walked Becca asked with a grin, “So how was your date with Nere?”

  Elias shrugged, “Again, not a date, but she was rather forward with wanting to sleep with me, odd, considering these people are medieval. Though I guess we can’t judge this worlds society using earth’s as a measure,”

  Elias paused as everyone was staring at him, with dumb expressions, “What?” Elias asked.

  “Did you?” Alicia asked with some apprehension.

  “Did I?” Elias was genuinely confused.

  Becca grinned and made a lewd gesture, “Oh god no,”

  “Why not? Nere was decent looking.” Brent asked. Alicia hit him over the head, though not with any real force.

  “Uh, we’re stuck in another world with basically no hope of going home. The last thing I’m interested in is screwing some random women. Besides she was drunk, and we haven’t bathed in weeks,”

  “Elias, Elias, Elias, still so innocent,” Brent said shaking his head in mock disappointment.

  Elias’s brow furrowed as he observed Brent’s smug expression. Then his eye flicked to Alicia.

  ‘Are they…’Elias though was interrupted as Alicia spoke with haste, “We’re burning daylight. I’d rather get this done as fast as possible,” then she marched off.

  As they walked through the gates of Rembrite Becca asked, “Hypothetically, if Nere wasn’t drunk and you know. You had all necessary ‘magical protection’, would you?”

  Elias sighed and gave it some thought, ‘If I wasn’t in this fucked up world and teetering on the edge of mental collapse. Would I have said yes? If there was no risk of pregnancy or diseases and she was in her right mind…’

  Elias sighed and gave her an honest answer, “Maybe,”

  ~

  Without a contract, the fort commander would commandeer half of anything they brought back as a tax to the crown. The entire frontier, though hundreds of miles across, was owned by the Bellaran empire. Hunting without a contract was roughly equivalent to poaching.

  The fort was also obligated to provide assistance to hunters, within the excursion zone, which was the barren wasteland between the forest and the wall, so even if a dragon was attacking them, they would come to their aid. Without a contract, however, they could simply sit behind their massive walls and watch them die.

  Regiani was preoccupied so it was Reed who showed them through the keep to the forest with a stern warning of the rules.

  They passed through the fort with little fanfare, even managing to run into another group as they were entering the forest. They had only two porters. Both men looked like they had seen horror. The three remaining hunters wore grim expressions as they carried the bodies of their former comrades. Their armor looked to be of decent quality, so they definitely weren't amateurs.

  Then Elias realized something: every hunting group traveled with at least a dozen porters and cutters. That had to mean that most of them were dead.

  “Grim sight,” Alicia said as they walked past the group.

  “Let’s just hope we don't end up like them,” Elias said, heading east.

  It took a few hours for them to reach the river, most of that time was spent dwelling on the dejected group of hunters he saw. Conversation was sparse, but as they reached further into the frontier, Elias became more anxious. They had learned enough about camping with the light Lancers to set up a proper watch and bring food necessary for the long journey.

  Days passed, as they traveled upstream, eventually reaching the place where they battled the Horthon. The body was picked clean leaving little more than bones. Elias felt the tension rising in him. They were not attacked by anything, not surprising since they weren’t very deep into the frontier. Brent called a halt and looked around, “I think this is where we found the river, so the cave has to be in that direction,”

  Elias felt foolish, he knew there was nothing to be found yet he refused to believe his own thoughts. Still, he pushed on. He expected the rest to complain about wasting time or putting themselves in danger for no reason, but perhaps even they needed to make sure there was truly nothing to be found.

  “Look, it's the cave,” Becca said with excitement. Elias looked up to see the familiar opening.

  “Ok, now we retrace our steps,” Brent closed his eyes, visualizing that fateful day. Then they opened. Brent said with confidence, “That way,” then walked off with the rest following. Elias paid attention to his senses trying to feel if there was some disturbance in the mana. But he could find nothing. Becca suddenly stopped. Elias looked at her confused.

  They were in a small grassy clearing; not exceptionally different than the dozens Elias had seen up to this point.

  “This is it,” she said.

  Alicia squinted and examined the area, “Yeah your right, I was there, Brent was there, and Elias was by that tree,” Brent nodded along as Alicia pointed.

  Elias stood exactly where she pointed and looked around, closing his eyes tried to feel something. It was past midday, though the sky was overcast. The air was moist and cool; the forest was silent only broken by the sound of the wind, leaves, and the occasional cry of a far-off animal. Look as he might, feel as he might, Elias could find nothing to suggest that there was anything different about this particular patch of forest. They spent an hour looking around the area, searching for something, even digging up the ground where they woke up.

  “I don't feel anything, there’s nothing here,” Elias said numbly.

  “So, that's it then,” Alica said. Staring where at she had woken up.

  “We’re stuck here,” Becca said, what they were all thinking.

  Elias slumped to the ground staring up at the overcast sky, his mind oddly blank. He rubbed the loose, damp grass, then pulled out his pocketknife, idly flicking the blade open and closed.

  “So, we just head back then?” Brent asked, lacking his usual confidence. It seemed even he had some hope they would find something.

  After a long awkward silence, they started heading back to where they came. Elias gave one last glance back at the clearing careful to memorize its location before catching up to the rest.

  The mood was depressing, no one spoke, perhaps this was the first time they truly realized that they were in this world forever. Elias didn't know what he was feeling or what he was supposed to feel. He kept putting one foot in front of the other like a machine. While he would never admit it, a part of him admired the fact that Brent, even though he was going through his own turmoil, still played the role of the leader.

  He called for a rest stop by the river, then Elias realized where they were. ‘The clearing is near here, Euratran could be there,’ Elias thought.

  Anger welled up in him, it was the first strong emotion he had felt all day. He coveted the feeling and poured as much of his grief and despair into it as he could, fueling the fire. He rose to his feet, grabbed his emergency water and stomped off into the forest, completely ignoring the calls from his team behind him.

  Elias found the massive clearing in a matter of minutes, but it was empty, his anger was still blazing because he could find no outlet.

  “Where are you?” Elias screamed into the empty clearing. It was stupid, reckless and could get him killed.

  “I know you’re there; it was you wasn’t it. Face me dammit,” He screamed into nothing. He didn’t think it was the plant woman, but he wanted to blame someone. He was greeted by nothing but wind.

  Growing even more furious, Elias started summoning water. But he was nearly empty after reaching 10 gallons, he drank a mana potion. Shivering as he could feel his mana rapidly regenerating. He turned the water into a massive crescent blade and began tearing apart the ground around him, ripping giant gashes into the earth destroying the perfect calmness of the clearing. He downed 4 mana potions in quick succession.

  Sense came back to him after reaching into his pouch and pulling out the superior mana potion, wasting something so valuable to a fit of rage was anathema to his existence. Then he glanced around, observing the results of his outburst. He waited for a few minutes, half expecting the plant woman to come rising from the ground, but nothing happened. Without distraction his mined began to drift.

  He imagined his mother waiting by the phone day after day hoping that they would receive good news. He imagined his father hiding himself in the garage to cry in private, only once in Elias’s life had he seen his father cry. His mind drifted to Ash, sometimes she snuck into his room when she had a nightmare and would spend the night. Even when even though she fourteen she still sneaks in sometimes. Though the last time was well over a year ago. Going by earth’s time, his sister’s birthday would be in another week. He touched his hair, remembering she had promised to cut it for him. The thought of his family was enough to drive him to his knees. The anger faded away into profound sadness.

  Tears flowed from his eyes and after a few minutes of fighting the emotions he gave in. He cried for the first time in years. The overwhelming grief rippled through him, tearing sobs from his chest.

  ~

  Becca watched as Elias destroyed the clearing, amazed by the amount of water he was controlling. But eventually, he ran out of mana, she was about to enter the clearing to comfort him until he fell to his knees and sobbed uncontrollably.

  Elias was too proud for his own good and wouldn't want anyone to see him like this. So, she stayed behind a tree just to make sure that nothing would take the chance to sneak up on him. He was essentially helpless with no mana. The sobs slowed down and after several minutes Elias stood. He picked up a glass bottle of the ground and cursed.

  ‘An empty mana potion, probably,’ Becca thought.

  Elias shook his head, wiped his face, and after a handful of minutes his breathing slowed. Suddenly, Elias turned and headed towards her direction, but he was staring at the ground.

  Becca took this opportunity to sneak off and jogged ahead, then turned around and slowly walked in Elias’s direction, eventually they met up and she saw his face. Elias’s eyes were slightly red, but his face was a cold mask, as it usually was, “Thank goodness I was looking for you,”

  His eyes widened then return to normal, “I was just……clearing my head, lets head back to the rest,”

  Becca nodded and followed him towards their camp, resolving to never speak to anyone about his breakdown, the same way she promised Alicia to not talk about Brent’s. Becca never understood why men bottled their emotions. It always seemed that the pressure just kept building within them until it explodes in spectacular fashion.