When the watch shifts swapped, Dawn rounded up the freshly released guards to get them started on manifesting armor.

  With all of the guards prepped, Dawn returned to her house and began to plan out her next days.

  I need to figure out what’s going on, then complete the annexation of Plerith. I was too weak to defeat them before. I need to improve my magic. What should I try to learn? I was overwhelmed by numbers, so I need to solve that somehow. Raw power? Too hard to do quickly. I don’t know what gave me that boost in power earlier. Equipment? We don’t have metalworking, so that can’t be done currently. Then I’ll need plans, traps, and preparation. So trap-laying magic or skills. I need to scope them out, so long-range scouting and stealth. What about mid-combat? I’ll need to keep from getting overwhelmed, so I need to keep them from coming all at once. Use the terrain? That only works if I know the town layout and there’s someplace to make a stand. Keep them at bay with fire? Too energy-intensive. Then a cheap ranged attack? Would double as a sniping spell… got it.

  Dawn, her planning done, turned in for the night.

  The next days passed, every day a rough repeat of the one before. Dawn would hunt, check if anyone had been injured, then spend the rest of the day meditating to try and get more spells. On day 3, she unlocked [detonation] and [touched].

  So there are conditional runes that can be unlocked.

  Dawn stepped out of town to try her new spell. She slipped into the woods, found a boar, and while still hidden, cast [Touched, Detonation, Flame]. With the spell on the ground, she rustled the leaves and watched as the boar bounded towards her. It stepped on her spell, which exploded underfoot, killing it almost instantly.

  Liable to kill them. I’ll attempt to reduce the power. They’re my soon-to-be subjects, not my sworn enemies.

  Dawn returned to town and continued her schedule, the only difference being that while she hunted, she tested and adjusted the strength of her landmine.

  On day 10, Dawn found [Farsight]. She added scouting to her routine, noting how while mana enhancement also improves her vision, [Farsight] was more like a pair of binoculars. And on day 11, she found [Shadow].

  [Shadow] produces darkness, which I can wrap myself in to hide. Passable for now, but I should try and get a stealth that works in bright lights as well.

  And finally, on day 13, she found [Cylinder].

  The variety of runes is something. There are runes to manifest elements, runes that add conditions, and runes that alter the shape of mana itself.

  Combining [Cylinder] with [throw], she now had the power to hurl a thin bolt of mana far, cheaply, and without having to keep its form herself.

  I’m all set spellwise. Tomorrow, I’ll begin work on the annexation.

  When Dawn got up, she found Ryan waiting for her.

  “What is it?”

  “Commander, more rats attacked last night.”

  “Show me the bodies.”

  Ryan led her over to them. Dawn began to investigate the bodies.

  Same traces as last time.

  “Was anyone hurt?” Dawn asked.

  “No. When Paul's armor broke, we managed to retreat him without him getting injured.”

  “Understood. Did you see where they came from?”

  “Just that they came from the forest.”

  “Understood.”

  Dawn quickly hunted for the day, but instead of meditating or scouting, she headed into the forest and began to try and find the rats.

  She glanced at the trees for scratches from the rats, the ground for any prints left behind, and the fruits and leaves for bite marks. And while she found many things, she couldn’t conclusively say it was the rats for any of them.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  The rats are native to the forest, so their coming out from here isn’t much of a clue. The mastermind could be a monster, a Plerith mage, or some foreign entity. Should I wait here for the rats? No, I still need to hunt, and they probably release the rats far away from here.

  Dawn was about to conclude her investigation when someone walked into sight.

  Dawn swiftly cloaked herself with [Shadow] and stayed as still as possible to avoid making any noise.

  The stranger glanced around before leaving.

  I need a silencing spell. That’s a future issue, though.

  Dawn watched them leave, and keeping track of them using [Farsight], she released [Shadow] and followed them.

  They eventually entered a clearing in the forest with a small house. Dawn crept towards and waited at the edge of the clearing, simply watching. Hours passed, but they didn’t leave. When midnight came, Dawn cloaked herself in [Shadow] and slunk towards the house. She parted the curtain gently, scanning the inside with her mana-enhanced vision.

  Seeing nothing, she slipped inside and searched for the stranger. She found them asleep on their bedding with sheets made of leaves.

  I’ll check out the rest of the house before interrogating them.

  She left the room and checked everywhere else in the house, finding a pile of dried meat in what looked like a storeroom, and nothing else.

  Does anyone here know what a table is? I’ll ask when I go back to town.

  Dawn returned to the sleeping party, before leaping onto them and holding their neck down with her hand. She manifested a knife in her other hand and carefully watched them wake up.

  “Answer my questions and I’ll let you go unharmed. Do you understand?”

  “Yes!”

  “What is your name?”

  “Aron!” Their voice was a little softer than last time.

  “Do you go to any towns?”

  “No.” They had mostly calmed down.

  “Do you know any magic or runes?”

  “N- no,” they stuttered, seemingly scared.

  “Where were you born?”

  “In Plerith,” their voice was still unstable.

  “When did you leave? Why did you?”

  “A- A few years ago. They just kicked out Stevin, and the cannibals were gaining power, so I fled.”

  “Do you know anything about the rats?”

  “Rats?”

  “Don’t worry about it.” Dawn released Aron before turning and leaving them. They didn’t mindlessly expose their back, though, instead focusing on their hearing to see if Aron would attack them. But when Dawn left their house unharmed, they concluded Aron was unlikely to be hostile.

  I should check in tomorrow to see if I can get them to join Foxshire. Stevin would likely work as a mediator, and if not, I can at least see if they’re willing to keep an eye out for the rats.

  After Dawn gathered the day's food, she hunted down Stevin.

  “You left Plerith a few years ago, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you know anyone named Aron?”

  “Aron? They were a friend of mine. Why do you ask?”

  “I found them in the forest. I’m planning to ask them to join us, so I want you to come along as a mediator to convince them.”

  “Lead the way.”

  “So will you join?” Dawn asked Aron, having knocked on the door this time.

  “Uhhhh…” Their hesitation was palpable.

  “Are you concerned about something? From my midnight break-in?”

  Aron started to nod before freezing up and saying, “No, no, it’s… It’s something else.”

  “I don’t believe you. I will not break in at night, not without a very good reason, like if you murdered someone, or to save your life. I only broke in last night, as you were a stranger in the forest and possibly responsible for the recent attacks on Foxshire.”

  “The rat ones?”

  “Yes.”

  “If I may intrude,” Stevin butted in. “May I talk with Aron privately?”

  “Sure,” Dawn replied, stepping back and watching the two of them enter the house.

  After a few minutes, Stevin left.

  “I’ll join you in town,” Aron told Dawn.

  “Do you need any help packing or should we just go?”

  “I’ll bring my food, but that’s it.”

  “Then follow me.”

  When Dawn, Aron, and Stevin arrived at the gate, they found it currently under attack by more rats.

  Dawn rushed forward, coating herself in armor and slashing through the rats en masse.

  In a few moments, the attack was stopped.

  The gates opened, and as Aron crossed the border, Dawn said, “Welcome to Foxshire, Aron.”