Hunter swept through the woods like an errant breeze. He channeled his Shadow of the Black Wind around him so that he appeared as a heat mirage to any passerby. He wasn’t worried about being spotted. The pilfers were mostly on his side, and the ghorum had been slain to the last one. For the most part, tieflings had been content to stay within the walls of the Outpost. Even then, they traveled alone. Hunter didn’t know if their penchant for solitude was because of their greed or sheer stupidity. The Rift wasn’t safe—even for them.

No, Hunter grit his teeth. Especially for them.

It didn’t take long for Hunter to reach the outskirts of the Outpost. There weren’t any guards facing the top of the mountain. It was foolish, but Hunter was thankful for their lax defenses. It would make it that much easier for him to move among the village and slay the demons before they figured out who he was. He still hadn’t decided how he would treat his grandparents. He had no desire to be the person that killed them. It was a step too far for him. Sure, they were assholes, but they were his family. Explaining their deaths to his mom would be…uncomfortable.

Hunter ghosted past the gate as the sun was setting on the horizon. The fading blood-red light contrasted with the sporadic green torches that illuminated the Outpost. Hunter slid to the side of the opening and crouched down on the ground. He looked up to see Aquila flying overhead, and he sent warm feelings of pride and respect to the creature. He only received haughty acknowledgment in return.

Pulling his gaze from his companion, Hunter studied the activity within the Outpost. There were a few tieflings on the street, but most of them had already retired to their homes. He heard the rhythmic sound of a blacksmith’s hammer striking metal and could smell the heavy and distinct scent of cook fires.

If Hunter remembered correctly, there were at least a few dozen tieflings. He took stock of his equipment. All he had as far as weapons went was his staff. His throwing gauntlet with the hidden knives had been destroyed when the first pilfer had turned him into its bitch. Luckily, Hunter still had his lucky underwear. He started to understand why some players were superstitious. Hunter had known teammates who would wear the same pair of underwear for every game. As soon as they lost, the old pair would be thrown out, and they would latch onto a different ritual. He had barely scraped through by the skin of his teeth, and his constant companion had been his lucky boxers.

Oh, well. A staff will have to do.

At least, it would have to do until he got his hands onto a more suitable weapon. He could transform it using his Progenitor of the Black Wind skill. It wouldn’t be such a bad idea to have a backup knife if he had to get up close and personal with an enemy.

Setting his shoulders, Hunter rose from his crouch and glided over the terrain until he reached the first house. He pulled the door but found it locked. He frowned as he considered how to get in. He didn’t want to make too much noise. If he alerted the occupants or any of the tieflings around the Outpost, then his sneaky assassination mission would grind to a halt.

Hunter bent his knees until he could see inside the simple locking mechanism. His Eye of the Black Wind began to identify the different tumblers and which he would need to press to unlock the door.

That’s a handy effect, Hunter considered. Apparently, sensing weaknesses is broader than I originally took it for.

Hunter reached forward with a finger and gathered black wind to his finger. He used his Augmentation skill to push the air into the lock. With concentration, he was able to shift the wind until it was pressing the required tumblers. After a couple of seconds, the lock disengaged with a click, and Hunter let a triumphant smile bloom onto his face.

Congratulations! You have learned the Active Skill: Wind Lockpicking Lvl 1.

Wind Lockpicking (Lvl 1): Use your control of the wind to unlock simple mechanical locks. As your level increases, more complicated locks can be disarmed. Repeated failed attempts of this skill will cause the lock to become corrupted and fused together.

Hunter glared at the notification. It was probably a byproduct of his unique black wind that would cause the locks to become fused together. It was likely that others using a similar skill wouldn’t have such a qualification placed upon the skill.

Oh well, these locks are simple enough. I shouldn’t run into any trouble.

Hunter twisted the latch to the door, and it creaked open. The sound was piercing to Hunter’s enhanced senses, and he actively reduced the sensitivity of his senses. He was hoping that no one else could hear the sound.

He stepped inside the small house and closed the door behind him. There were two blue-skinned male tieflings huddled around a stone chimney. Neither wore armor and looked like they were settling in for the evening after a nice dinner. A bubbling cooking pot lay in the maw of the chimney, and neither of the demons had noticed Hunter’s surreptitious entrance. Hunter almost felt bad for interrupting their meal. If it weren’t for the fact that he needed to escape the Rift and the fact that he couldn’t do that without the Sentinel, he might’ve spared them. When the demons were greedy assholes, it was easy to forget they were people too.

The warrior quietly set aside his staff and leaned it against the wall. As soon as it left his grasp, the active camouflage dispersed. To an observer, it would have looked like the gleaming metal weapon appeared from thin air.

Hunter turned away from his spire and channeled black wind to each of his nails until they became black talons composed of spiraling wind. With his Shadow of the Black Wind active, it was easier than ever to create the hand-to-hand weapons. Hunter posited that there was some sort of skill synergy easing the difficulty of the augmentation.

Inspiration struck him, and he pressed his fingers together until he looked like he was ready to perform a karate chop. With a thought, the black wind on his fingers fused and extended a couple of inches from the tips of his fingers. Now, he was wielding a blade made from black wind in each hand.

Congratulations! You have learned the Active Skill: Gale Blade Lvl 1

Gale Blade (Lvl 1): Use your control over the wind to create a blade of molded wind. Upon striking a target, the winds detonate and create a large wound. This effect is enhanced with further levels.

Aw yiss.

Screw having a knife. This would suit Hunter’s assassination abilities nicely. The warrior wondered if he should try learning how to use a bow. If he applied his wind abilities to projectile, he could imagine the damage that could be done. He might be able to take on more opponents finally. It was still a single-target technique, but he was sure he could come up with something.

Hunter was still considering finding a bow to use as he crept up on the distracted tieflings. When he was close enough, the warrior struck like a viper. He aimed for the soft kidney area. He chose the location for a couple of reasons. First, he wasn’t sure if his wind could penetrate bone, so going for the neck might backfire. Second, getting punched in the kidneys sucked. Having a miniature tornado explode in them would hopefully be enough to take them out of commission.

His latter reason proved to be correct. The blades slid through flesh like a knife through butter. Their screams startled Hunter, and he acted out of reflex. His Progenitor of the Black Wind and the Shadow of the Black Wind skills gave him limited control over the surrounding area. The first allowed him to disguise his presence by masking his identity, while the second accomplished the same by giving him limited control over scent and sound. Hunter pulled from the air around him without thinking and used Black Wind Augmentation to grasp onto the errant oxygen.

The effect was extraordinary. Hunter’s victims’ screams were abruptly cut off as the air used to fuel them was pulled away from their lungs. The clap of Hunter’s Gale Blades exploding didn’t spread further than the immediate surroundings. The sound waves were buffeted and contained by a dense barrier of air. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop the explosions of black blood from staining Hunter’s body. Nor did it prevent the two tieflings from weakly grabbing onto them as they struggled to breathe and their blood gushed from their sides.

Hunter slapped back their weak attempts to harm him, but he remained close so that he could maintain control over the air in their bodies. It took long minutes, but finally, the two were twitching corpses on the floor. Hunter wrinkled his nose at the scent of voided bowels and rancid blood. This was as close as he had ever been to his victims, and he found the situation disgusting. He guessed that was a good thing. If he enjoyed killing, then he would be no better than the demons he defeated.

When he was sure they were dead, Hunter used the technique that the pilfer had taught him to absorb their souls. He condensed two soul gems and held them gingerly while he stole a storage ring from one of the men. He slid the ring onto his finger and then placed the two soul gems inside of it. When he checked the ring’s contents, he found a set of armor, a sword, and a shield. The tiefling had been a warrior of some kind. Unfortunately, none of the gear was useful to Hunter, so he dismissed it.

Overall, Hunter was happy with his first stealth kills. He had learned a couple of new skills and had gotten an idea for using his wind in the future.

Two down. Another thirty to go!

Hunter channeled his black wind and allowed it to settle across the fallen corpses. When they had mummified, and he had replenished his lost energy, Hunter crept out of the home as silently as he arrived.