In the southeast, just outside of the city proper, sat dozens of manors and estates all owned by wealthy aristocrats and nobles of Pinewood. The area was popular among the higher class due to the beautiful views and scenery, being full of rolling hills dotted with trees, cliffs draped in moss, and winding rivers that trickled pleasantly. Then there was the slightly higher magical density that meant they were closer to the more valuable beasts and natural treasures. To top it all off, it was simply the place to be if you were looking to make a connection with someone with a big name.

One of the only families that didn't occupy the area was the Anuks. They had their home in the north, and while it wasn't the greatest compared to some of what was available in the southeast, they had land—and lots of it.

That wasn't to say there wasn't any to go around where the other families lived—it was a massive world they lived on, after all. It was the prime real estate that was lacking—the land closest to the city and all its services. The Joreen family, for instance, had perhaps the largest land in the region thanks to their majority control of the mines for countless generations. Still, they were second fiddle when it came to Akira's family.

The Anuk estate was by far the largest among all the wealthy families. And while they certainly could afford the much nicer locale of the southeast now, the Anuks were still considered new money—at least when age could be counted in centuries as one went up the ranks.

When they were just beginning their rise to prominence, they could scarcely afford any land near the other families. As a result, the family purchased lands in the north, and as the Anuk name grew, so did their holdings—a wise investment if there ever was one.

Now, there were some who considered abandoning the family homes that had been passed down for generations in order to relocate—all so they could be closer to one of the top dogs.

Luna Joreen thought such a move was foolish. Only a small few would be close enough to make a proper connection, and even that was a stretch. There was the Anuk ethos to consider, after all.

Since their rise, the Anuk family had been well known for their love of meritocracy. Anyone who wished to rise had to have the strength and ability to do so. If one wanted to skirt by on name and title alone, they would be hard-pressed to find favor with the family—especially with the future matriarch. That being said, they were no fools when it came to the realities of politics and knew how to navigate the field with deft hands. How else would they have reached their current position?

Kora Anuk and her husband were well-trained in the political arena, and they made sure their children were too. Akira, despite the training, preferred the more hands-on side of things, while her brother was more business and politically-oriented. It allowed for Luna and Akira to be rather close friends, even if Luna did use their interactions to dig for information and the occasional benefit. Luna didn't enjoy doing it—she genuinely liked Akira and valued her friendship—but her mother insisted, and Luna was nothing if not loyal to her family.

It was precisely this that led the young cannid woman to her mother's private study.

Luna found her mother sitting in an armchair off to one side, gazing out a large window that was open nearby. She was enjoying the view of the gardens, the midday sun shining through and glistening off her cream-colored fur as it rustled in the light breeze. With the opening of the study door, she turned, and seeing Luna, smiled, her tail swishing slightly with delight.

"Luna, there you are. Come, sit and tell me about your morning," she said, gesturing to the armchair next to her.

Doing just that, Luna sat and made herself comfortable beside her mother. "It's been like any other morning. I got some training in before making my way into the city and going to the contracts hall."

"Oh?" her mother asked, pouring her a cup of tea from a nearby pot. "Did you not grab a contract? You're not usually home at this time of day."

Luna frowned, watching as her teacup was filled with the warm, honey-colored liquid. "I was hoping I'd see Akira there, but I didn't. I haven't seen her in a few days—not since the morning after the announcement."

"Is there any word on her whereabouts?"

"I spoke to one of her cousins," she said, picking up her cup. "He said that she and Lukas went out into the wilds proper and that they probably wouldn't be back for a week."

"Lukas?" her mother asked, taking a sip of her own tea. "That's the name of her new teammate?"

"It is," Luna nodded.

"Is he the same one you met at Aywin's? What is he like?"

"That's him," Luna confirmed, knowing full well that her mother knew all this already. "As for what he's like… well, quiet. I only spoke to Akira briefly, and he didn't say a word."

"Was there anything else you noticed about him during that meeting?"

Luna thought about it, taking a drink from her cup. "Let's see. He was wearing some ill-fitting armor—that's why they were there. Since then, I've seen him once or twice from a distance, and I must admit he looks quite dashing."

"Have you managed to speak with him?"

"No. In fact, last I spoke with Akira she complained about how reclusive he was." She grinned. "She did seem hesitant to speak about him beyond that, though. She was already annoyed with everyone else asking questions, so I decided not to push."

Her mother nodded approvingly. "A wise choice. Is there anything else you know about him?"

Luna gazed out the window in thought, going over everything she'd heard or been told, until something came to mind. "There is one thing that I found interesting. When I first ran into them at Aywin's, Akira told me that he was a relative from out of town. During Kora's announcement, she said her son found him and thought he was a rare talent, having him sent here to Pinewood. Even more interesting, certain family members said that he was actually human, even though his aura felt like an elf's the day I met him."

"That is interesting," her mother said. "Do you know how he was able to manipulate his aura?"

Luna shook her head. "No. As far as I know, no one is certain of his capabilities. I know Kora is taking care of his aura training, but other than that I have nothing. There's talk about him having used their illusion arena, but I haven't heard anything solid—just that he was much better than expected."

Her mother hummed into her cup of tea. "You know, I always planned for you and Akira to start a team together. I think it's time I have a chat with Kora about the idea."

***

Lukas ducked under a needle-sharp vine aimed for his head, before quickly rolling away from another meant for his midsection. The beast he fought was a strange one he hadn't seen before. According to his identification, it was something called a Vynx. It looked a bit like a bobcat, except it was the size of a cougar, was mostly green, and had four vines protruding from its back. Well, it had two now—Lukas having cut off the others.

They'd found the nasty little creature after detecting a strong natural treasure while traversing the forest. The natural treasure had a powerful nature attunement—one strong enough that Akira was practically drooling at the sight of it. The treasure itself took the shape of a rough emerald-green gem lodged in the wall of an escarpment. The gem was cloistered away in a ravine flooded with all kinds of wild, overgrown fauna that fed off the gem's energy. The place was like the Garden of Eden—bright and vibrant plant life in every direction, with thick foliage so tall it came up to their chests.

Unsurprisingly, such a strong natural treasure had already been claimed, and they were intruders on the owner's land. It wasn't until Akira placed a hand on the gem in an attempt to free it from the rocky wall that the Vynx made itself known—jumping out of the thick grass and attacking without prejudice.

Instinctively, Lukas had identified the beast, finding it to be level 58—twenty-two levels above him and enough for a new title. He'd called out to Akira, claiming the beast for himself. Without question, Akira used the ability that let her control roots to scale the escarpment and get out of dodge, leaving Lukas with the angry cat.

The following battle was intense, the Vynx a good opponent in multiple ways. The green creature was incredibly fast and hit hard, just like Lukas. Defending its treasure and on home territory, Lukas was on the back foot more often than not, taking more than a few injuries. It didn't help that its color allowed it to blend into the grass and other fauna as it moved, making it hard to get a good, clean hit. There were several occasions Lukas could've sworn he'd landed a decisive strike, only to deliver a glancing blow. Then the vines came out to play. The Vynx was far better at splitting its attention than Lukas was, being able to use its vines to restrict movement, attack, or trip him up.

Last but not least was the fact that the beast seemed to be part plant. Its constitution made it difficult to poison, and Lukas' hemotoxins had no effect at all. Whatever kept the thing alive, it wasn't blood. His necrotoxin still worked, but it had never been particularly effective against plant life. The beast's nature and life attunement also doing its part to fight off the deadly poison.

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Thankfully, Lukas wasn't completely reliant on his poisons and had two abilities that were effective against his enemy. First on the list was Star Forged Armory—its ability to suck the life force from his foes still worked on the half-plant cat. Each cut, slash, and stab was left discolored and gray-looking. Having tested the ability on himself when first unlocking it, Lukas knew it wasn't a pleasant feeling. Second was his latest ability, Night's Intractability. With such a quick and speedy enemy, it wasn't easy to land stabbing blows; however, when he managed one, not only was the beast staggered, but those white lines would light up across the Vynx's body, burning away vitality directly.

By the time Lukas managed to remove two of the four vines, both he and the Vynx were bloody messes—him more so. He even used the shadows in an attempt to keep up with the beast's surprising agility.

Unfortunately, the thick foliage gave away his position, as even though he couldn't be seen, the rustling grass couldn't be ignored. Losing out on the stealth aspect of the skill was a blow, but he still had the speed. Even then, the cat gave him a run for his money.

Lukas was definitely glad he'd made those regeneration potions the night before, being forced to take both a health potion and a health regen potion partway through the fight. If it weren't for his armor, he'd be ribbons by now. This was the first time he'd actually had to take a potion mid-fight, and it only showed that a higher-leveled beast meant business. Not only that, but it was definitely getting more difficult to kill stronger beasts now that the associated titles gave smaller rewards ever since absorbing the Stone of Rebirth. If he wanted to keep pushing his advantages, he'd have to find a way to get other titles.

Leaping backward, Lukas narrowly avoided a slash meant to spill his insides, but was too slow to dodge an incoming vine. The needle-like tip pierced deep into his thigh, drawing a pained yell from his lips. Unwilling to take the hit without punishing the move, he grabbed the vine appendage before it could retreat and, with a wild roar, yanked back as hard as he could. With his strength, it was coming off—or the Vynx was coming to him.

The vine was drawn taut as a bowstring for a moment before the Vynx gave. With a guttural snarl, the beast lunged rather than be pulled off its feet. Claws extended, the beast's eyes veritably glowed with murderous intent, its bloody body a violent blur as it closed the distance. Bracing himself, Lukas shifted his weight to his other leg, raising a star-forged sword to a defensive position.

The feral beast's lunge carried it into Lukas' range, and with a twist of his hips, Lukas put his full body weight into an upward slash. Before his edge could connect with the Vynx, the tall grass rippled, reaching up to the beast—seeming to meld with its body and adjust its trajectory. Unable to adjust his own attack, Lukas was forced to leap over the beast to avoid having his legs torn to shreds. Even still, he didn't come away unscathed.

Once more the vines were on the move, one piercing deep into his side while the other missed by a hair. Screaming in pain, Lukas came down and immediately dropped to one knee due to his wounds. Growling, he turned to find the Vynx rearing for another attack.

"Want to play dirty?" he spat. "Fine."

Unleashing the full might of his aura, he used what Kora had taught him and brought it all down on top of the Vynx's head. His control was still that of a novice, but the strength of it hit like a truck. The beast's reaction was immediate as it staggered backward, its eyes wide with panic. The vibrant and lush green of its body dulled, and all the grass that had been affected by his poisons blackened and withered.

Lukas used his aura in every one of his fights—why wouldn't he? It lowered his opponents' resistances to his poisons, allowing them to take hold and spread much easier. What he didn't do was let it all out at once as he did now, and for multiple reasons. The first was his lack of control and desire not to give Akira a brain hemorrhage.

Secondly was the fact that his aura was wildly intimidating—and that wasn't Lukas tooting his own horn. He'd been told both by Akira and Sera that his aura would scare off weaker beasts, drawing in much more powerful ones. At first, Lukas had seen that as a good way to find stronger beasts to get more levels and titles. That delusion had been shattered when he was informed that those beasts would be far and above what he could hope to handle.

The third reason was training. It was hard to get real experience fighting monsters and beasts when they were all too skittish because of his aura. He needed to be well-rounded, rather than relying solely on it to put an enemy off balance. What would happen if he came across an opponent that didn't care about his aura? Without actual training and experience he'd be handicapped, having his crutch taken from him.

Now wasn't the time to worry about any of that, though. Akira should be far enough away that his aura shouldn't hurt her if his sloppy control slipped. Besides, the Vynx wasn't going to run—it had to defend its precious treasure from a lower-leveled interloper. And Lukas knew how to fight the beast by now; unleashing his aura wouldn't be a crutch.

Producing a black orb from his inventory, Lukas infused mana into it before crushing it in his fist. Tiny glass shards fell to the ground, tumbling through his fingers as a sickly black cloud billowed out around him. The necrotoxin tried to grab hold of his many wounds, but his constitution and his armor's poison resistance provided no purchase.

The Vynx paced back and forth, growling angrily but hesitant to come any closer. Lukas was more than happy to let it wait, under the crushing suppression of his aura while the poison burrowed deeper and deeper into the beast's body. If it did nothing, it would slowly die, turning into a pool of rotten goop.

Seeming to realize this, the beast made its play. It was still unwilling to come too close but was more than willing to strike at him with its vines. They shot into the necrotic cloud at surprising speed. Lukas was quick enough to sever the end of one of the vines but wasn't able to get the other before it wrapped around his bad leg, pulling him off his feet.

Lukas hit the ground with a hard thud; had he been unranked and a normal person, the wind would've been knocked out of him. Dragged through the tall grass, his armor bumped and caught on the rough forest floor. Groaning in pain, Lukas tightened his grip on his sword, willing it to shift into a spear as he pulled out another bottle of poison.

The Vynx's maw drew closer with startling speed, Lukas leveling his spear as he was reeled in. Once in range, he crushed the poison bottle and thrust his weapon toward the beast. The point of his spear dug into flesh, and the poison poured out, enveloping them both. Screeching in pain, the Vynx let go of Lukas' leg, and he took the chance to tackle the beast to the ground.

The spear shaft vanished from his hands, turning into a dagger the length of his forearm. Before Lukas could plunge the blade into the Vynx, it clamped down on his bicep, its teeth tearing through the reinforced underclothes he wore. Shaking its head violently, it ripped up his arm, pulling a snarl of pain from him as his arm lit up in red-hot agony.

Allowing the dagger in his hand to vanish, it immediately reappeared in his other, which was already making its way to the Vynx's chest. The blade sank to the hilt, Night's Intractability activating, sending a jolt through the beast's body as white lines carved themselves across its form. Drawing the dagger out, he slammed it home again and again, not stopping.

Knowing it was in a dire position, the Vynx hissed in agonized pain, letting go of his arm and moving to rip out his throat. The moment its teeth were free, however, he grabbed the beast's head and smashed it against the ground, holding it there. It tried to fight back, kicking and clawing at his armor, drawing more blood.

Having had enough, Lukas took his dagger and jammed it under the Vynx's throat and up into the brain, killing it instantly.

Panting and bloody, Lukas let his weapon dissolve as he rolled off the body. He sat there, in a cloud of poison, covered in grisly wounds, trying to catch his breath. As he did, he checked his blinking notifications at the corner of his vision, excited to see what he'd earned himself.

You have slain [Vynx - lvl 58] - Bonus experience gained for killing an enemy above your level.

Title earned - [Path of Slaughter]

Level gained: [Rogue of Night] has reached level 36 - Stat points allocated.

…

Level gained: [Rogue of Night] has reached level 39 - Stat points allocated.

Level gained: [Combat Alchemist] has reached level 38 - Stat points allocated.

…

Level gained: [Combat Alchemist] has reached level 40 - Stat points allocated.

Level gained: [Human (Outworlder)] has reached level 37 - Stat points allocated.

…

Level gained: [Human (Outworlder)] has reached level 39 - Stat points allocated.

You have looted [Vynx]

52 [Copper Mana Coins] have been added to your inventory.

[Vynx Pelt] has been added to your inventory.

5 [Nature Shards] have been added to your inventory.

Lukas stared at the notifications for a few seconds, enjoying the sensation of having his stats grow. Curious about his new title and its slightly concerning name, he pulled up its description.

Title: [Path of Slaughter] - Day by day you have proven that you live a life of slaughter, unwilling to back down in the face of adversity or challenge. For slaying an enemy 20 levels above your level you have proven that yours is the path of slaughter. +2 to all stats. +2% to all stats.

While Lukas wasn't exactly a fan of what the title suggested, it wasn't entirely wrong. Lukas did do a lot of fighting and he enjoyed it, but a path of slaughter? He just liked magic and fighting stuff. He didn't know what path that was, but it probably sounded a lot better. At least the title came with some decent additions.

Lukas Hellstrand

Race: Human (Outworlder [unique]) - Level 39

Class 1 - Combat Alchemist - Level 40

Class 2 - Rogue of Night - Level 39

Health Points: 461/1480

Stamina: 328/1400

Mana: 687/1480

Stats

Vitality: 148

Endurance: 140

Intelligence: 134

Wisdom: 148

Agility: 212

Perception: 140

Toughness: 172

Strength: 185

Willpower: 112

Free Points: 25

Titles:

Prodigious Dimensional Traveler, Unkillable, True Heart of a Warrior, Indomitable Worm, Hierophant of the Risen Goddess, Unceasing, Path of Slaughter.

Abilities:

Combat Alchemist Abilities: (Amber Eye of the Alchemist [lvl - 1]), (Domain of the Combat Alchemist [lvl - 1]), (Alchemist Will [lvl - 0]).

Rogue of Night Abilities: (Lurker of the Shadows [lvl - 1]), (Star Forged Armory [lvl - 1]), (Night's Intractability [lvl - 0]).

Race abilities: (Dimensional Traveler), (Tribute of the Fallen), (Steel gut), (Tongue of the Multiverse), (Stranger in a Strange Land).

By the time he was done reading over everything the wind had dragged away enough of the poison to reveal Akira had climbed down at the end of the struggle.

She looked a little green due to the lingering poison in the air, but didn't hesitate to rush over, "Are you alright?"

"Fine," he croaked, waving away her concern, "But I took potions during the fight, so I won't be in fighting shape for a while."

Akira sat herself down in the withered grass beside him and waited with him as he recovered. Thirty minutes later most of his wounds had closed with the others well on their way. He wasn't in any shape to be fighting beasts in search of more titles, but normal beasts around his own level could be handled well enough.

With a raising gesture from Akira thick roots sprouted from the ground beneath Lukas, lifting him gently off the ground. Groaning as he was forced to support himself on his own two feet, he summoned a stary staff, using it to support his still injured leg.

"What do you even want that gem for anyway?" Lukas asked her.

"Not sure yet," she said, "I might absorb it or use it to upgrade my armor, maybe even with my spear."

"Wouldn't your family help take care of that kind of thing?"

Akira shook her head, "No, we make sure a person gets quality armor, weapons, and training. Enough to get them started, after that upgrades and replacements are on the individual. No hand outs."

Nodding, Lukas began hobbling towards the natural treasure, "Well then, let's get you that gem."

Walking up to the escarpment, Lukas took his staff and slammed it into the rock wall, wedging it in between the gem and the stone. A few grunts later and the rough fist size gem popped free, dropping into Lukas' hand. He stared at it for a moment, feeling the energy pouring off the gem and seeping into his open wounds. It wasn't exactly healing him faster, but there was a hint of something in the nature magic that gave him a bit more energy.

Holding the natural treasure out for Akira to take, she simply stared at it, "You got your blood all over it."

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