Xanhilt brought down a bolt of divine lightning somewhere behind John, shaking his entire world with a thunderous clamor. Everything around him went bright white without blinding him since he was turned away from [Lightning of the Gods]. It was just close enough for John to feel electricity crawl over his body, shocking him slightly without hurting him.

The same couldn’t be said for the shamblers that had been on his rear until Xanhilt opened up the ambush with a banger. When John heard the Ding! Ding!, he knew the one he’d punched first went down under Xanhilt’s blessing. A great power that nearly got John fried, sure, but that was part of the risk John had prepped for already. On top of that, his Cestus Art leveled up twice from the assist!

John slid to a halt. He kicked up foliage as he whirled around and faced the dead, disorientated, and distraught shamblers. Nearly half of them were turned into charred corpses from Xanhilt’s blessing. The mist continued to steamroll ahead, swallowing the area. John flicked on [Brlightlight Orb] before he got started.

The nearest shambler was getting to its feet when John walked up and planted his knuckles in its face. Its cheekbone fragmented as the monster’s head whipped around. It faltered, giving John another opening. He smashed its chin to pieces with a shoveling uppercut, wiping its smile and scattering its teeth.

Ding! Ding! You’ve defeated a [Jesting Shambler, Lvl 15]. Experience rewarded.

Cestus Art levels up from Lvl 3 to Lvl 5. Experienced rewarded.

John cracked the skulls of two more with his bare knuckles. The system chimed excitedly with each kill, leveling up Cestus Art to Lvl 7. He was about to get his fourth kill when a shambler finally retaliated. It came at him with an overhead chop.

John skipped to the side smoothly, letting his improved boxing instincts take over. Something told him it was dangerous to rush forward, so he stepped aside again.

Good timing, too. The shambler hacked at the air where John had been a split second ago. The monster was feral and fast. Its attacking arm moved like a whip with a heavy knife at the end.

Another shambler moved to attack John’s back. More started to pick themselves up and swarm him. One of the shamblers threw a bloody human arm at him. That set John off. They wanted him angry, now they got him angry.

“[Ratel Rookie],” John grunted, lunging at the shambler in front of him.

It chopped its butcher’s blade down at his head. He parried it with his arm. The hit was brutal to take on, rattling him to the bone. But the combination of his ratel toughness and cestus defense helped him endure. He got in, slipping into an in-fighter’s favorite position⁠—the chest.

John thrust his claws through the monster’s chest twice. Cold and rotten innards squished against his hand with each blow.

Ding! Ding! You’ve defeated a [Jesting Shambler, Lvl 15]. Experience rewarded.

You’ve leveled up from Lvl 15 to Lvl 16.

Feeling around the ribcage, John grabbed hold and whirled around. Cleavers chopped into his improvised corpse shield as multiple shamblers attacked. Given a few seconds, they would split apart John’s shield and get all over him. It was a terrible position to be in. John made the most of it by dumping his Unspent AP into [Strength] and adding another MCP to [Ratel Rookie].

“[Gale Stream]!” Xanhilt appeared from the mist with his own [Brightlight Orb]. The air magic blasted a shambler from in front of John, leaving two that he found manageable.

John threw the corpse shield onto one of the shamblers. He parried a strike from the other. Then he called on [Rapid Blows] to lash out against the shambler he’d parried, ripping chunks of undead flesh and bone from its chest.

Ding! You’ve defeated a [Jesting Shambler, Lvl 16]. Experience rewarded.

Cestus Art levels up from Lvl 7 to Lvl 8. Experienced rewarded.

Soon as it dropped, John chained his flurry of blows against the other shambler. That one died quickly, the system dinging with Cestus Art leveling up again.

John didn’t come out perfectly from the exchange, however. His arms were battered. His head was feeling hot as he neared critical mana-burn, and his fatigue was getting high. But he held his ground, keeping [Ratel Rookie] toggled on.

To his luck, a pair of shamblers attacked one after the other. He parried a flurry of chops before he responded in kind with [Rabid Blow]s.

The shamblers burst apart like old ground beef thrown against a meat-grinder.

Nearing his limit, John searched for more shamblers.

He found Xanhilt finishing off another shambler. Then there was no more.

“Sorry, I took so long,” John said, smacking dirt from his hands.

He got beside Xanhilt and regarded the hasty burial he gave the human body parts they had found. It had been gruesome work for John. He’d nearly lost his breakfast twice. But he endured, doing what he felt was right for the people who’d suffered such gruesome deaths here.

The saurian quirked his head, studying the mound of dirt and pile of rocks at the head. John figured the custom of burial was foreign to him.

“It’s fine,” Xanhilt said. “We come across other creatures who’ve done the same. If this is how your people honor the dead, then I understand this is sacred for you.”

“Thanks, man,” John said. “I, uh, appreciate the help.”

Xanhilt hummed, which John took as a positive sound.

“I’ve looted the enemy, by the way,” Xanhilt said. “Their weapons offer +5 [Strength], but the quality is poor while carrying a painful effect for anyone who’s not necromantic. So, I left those alone.”

“Figures.”

“I also found two poor essence stones. After identifying them, it seems they will only grant us extra experience relative to defeating a lvl 9 monster. We won’t be getting extra AP like Dolala said,” Xanhilt said.

“Anything else?”

“They had double the coppers compared to the weaker shamblers. The same amount of magic stones. So, we now know the game will consistently provide us ways to recover. At a cost, of course.”

John nodded, taking the loot as positive news, especially the increase in magic stones.

His forearms had come out bloody and beat up from parrying those heavy blade chops. The deadman’s cestuses and his ratel toughness had helped him from getting hacked up, but it wasn’t foolproof. Pure rage, adrenaline, and his growing resilience had seen him through the skirmish despite the injuries to his arms⁠—a boxer’s prized possessions. Consequently, he used two vitality stones, four stamina stones, and two magic stones to recover.

I need more resources to recover now, John thought. Which could lead to me overexerting myself again if I’m not careful.

Thankfully, he didn’t feel dispirited yet. So, he imagined his [Soul] was high enough to move on from this fight without getting magic depression. That didn’t take away from the gravity of people dying in this forest, though.

Ugh. John refocused on what he learned from the fight.

He now knew [Rapid Blows] drained a considerable amount of stamina despite [Advance Boxing] and [Ratel Rookie]’s ability to mitigate that. He also felt himself growing faster and stronger as he stood his ground and kept fighting. The parries hadn’t reset his combinations. When he struck the last two shamblers, the increase in damage became way more apparent when he ripped chunks out of their torsos with a flurry of inhumanly fast and hard strikes.

Now out of the fight, John felt a little shaken by the gruesome nature of his abilities. The [Jesting Shamblers] had a lot more… flesh… to them compared to the [Forest Shamblers]. This was also the first time John was more focused on killing enemies than defending himself or someone else. It was a slight distinction, but it mattered.

I’m becoming more of what the system wants, John thought.

But was that a bad thing?

He did level up personally to Lvl 16, and his Cestus Art was now Lvl 10. That made him stronger, yeah, but what if Dolala wanted this to happen when she offered them safe harbor? Was he truly the hero she wanted if his safety cost others their lives? He had never experienced another human’s suffering close like that before. In a sense, he was at fault.

I don’t know what to believe in right now. John sighed. He had to gather more information to help him navigate all of this. Which means it’s time to move on.

After a silent prayer for the departed, John started in the direction [Inner Compass] pointed. Xanhilt fell in step beside him.

For now, they relied on Xanhilt’s [Brightlight Orb] to shine their way through the gloom, mist, and shadows. His [Intellect] was large enough where [Brightlight Orb]’s expense was negligible for the saurian. The way forward opened up into a forest trail that was wide enough for four people to walk shoulder to shoulder. The canopy covered the sky completely, shading the area as if it was close to dark.

A deadly silence persisted, and nothing particular could be seen beyond ten feet. It was almost maddening to walk through this clinging mist that nearly hid everything from sight. It left John with nothing to focus on other than his own thoughts. He could make use of the time. Cestus Art’s level 10 achievement opened up a new opportunity to acquire Weapon Art Skills.

Maybe I could talk to Xanhilt about it. It’s just plain creepy walking through this damn forest after what just happened.

“My mother is a warrior in my world,” Xanhilt said, striking up a conversation that John desperately wanted. “She had fought in conflicts, and every time she returns, she has troubles adjusting. I didn’t understand her at the time, but experiencing this brutal carnage is giving me insight.”

“My dad went through the same thing,” John said. “He’s a war veteran. I’ve met enough of them to know what we’re going through can break a person.”

“Break a person, you say?” Xanhilt quirked his head. “It is different for saurian carnivores. It makes us hungry.”

“Hungry for what?” John asked carefully.

The saurian untied a knot from around the big burlap bag. He pulled out something wrapped in a broadleaf, unfurled it, and tossed the fish into his maw. He snapped it up and ate it in a very inhuman way.

It was a little creepy because it reminded John that Xanhilt wasn’t human even though he might treat him as such. John also felt relief that the saurian ate from the leftover fish they had and nothing else.

“So, your mother struggled with peace-time society?” John asked, picking up the thread of the conversation.

“Yes,” Xanhilt said. “It was challenging around herbivores especially. They stay away from conflict and are usually none the wiser. Mother dislikes them for their ignorance and for… well… being food that acts on her level.”

“Yeesh,” John said, shivering. “Your mom sounds tough.”

Xanhilt hissed in a way that sounded sad. “Yes, she is. But I miss her. I miss Father, too.”

A pang of hurt got to John. It hadn’t been half a week, and he was feeling missing home, too. Apparently, the added points to [Poise] and [Soul] didn’t strip him of his feelings.

“Wanna change the subject?” John asked.

“Yes, please.”

They talked about the positives of the fight. Even though John found it gruesome after everything was said and done, he became more knowledgeable about himself and his capabilities against these monsters. He also gained a lot when it was over from Cestus Art’s constant leveling.

“I went from 201 total AP to 231 total AP,” he said. “Compared to what we were two days ago, that’s a pretty big growth from what I could tell.”

Xanhilt hummed in agreeance. “I’m up from 146 total AP to 166 total AP. My growth is much smaller in comparison, but the battle favored me heavily. Every time you killed one, I gained experience from my blessing’s assistance. And using [Gale Stream] overwhelmed them quickly.”

“Yeah?”

“I see now that it’s favorable for me to use magic against more physical creatures,” he said. “Though if we find ourselves in another battle today, I’ll be at a worse off position without my blessing.”

“Opening with that was a great equalizer,” John said. But we can’t stop and rest for that to return. I mean, we can, but I really want to get to the place [Inner Compass] is leading us.

“We may have to act with care until we find true safety,” Xanhilt said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if stronger monsters seek us out.”

“Isn’t that just perfect?”

“I find it more apt to call it dangerous.”

“Sarcasm,” John said. “I was being sarcastic.”

Xanhilt quirked his head.

“I’ll teach you more about sarcasm later, man.” John rubbed the back of his neck. “Anyway, I should probably look at my skill selection. I might have to change up tactics on how I fight.”

I didn’t just learn more about the game parts of me. I’m learning more about how I box monsters. Weapon arts level up pretty damn fast too. I might be able to test out more skills pretty soon.

Then he could confirm what he’d preferred as his boxing style in Urmatia.

“Tsk. As much as I hate it, this place is forcing me to adapt to it.” John sighed. I don’t even want to think about the emotions involved while people are dying. “What do you think?”

“I think I need help,” Xanhilt said with a nervous tremble in his voice.

Heart pounding, John whirled around and found Xanhilt behind him. The saurian wasn’t alone.

There was a person all over Xanhilt. Their legs were wrapped around his waist while they were mounted on his back. A heavy, rusty blade just like the [Jesting Shambler]’s weapon rested against Xanhilt’s neck while held by a little hand.

After further examination, John saw that the assailant was a pale-skinned girl. Her hair was a black waterfall that spilled over Xanhilt’s shoulder, covering her face except for one gray eye. She stared so intensely at John, it nearly froze him up.

But she hasn’t cut Xanhilt’s throat yet. Which begged the question. What could this little girl want so badly that she would brandish a cleaver with a painful effect?

“F… f… f…,” she stammered.

“What’s that?” John asked softly. “Whatever you want, please let my friend go so we can talk things out safely.”

“Is this a human-carnivore, John?” Xanhilt said in a panic. “I don’t want to be eaten.”

“She’s not going to eat you,” John said confidently.

“Food!” the girl croaked loudly.

“You’re wrong, John. She is going to eat me!” Xanhilt shivered like a leaf.

John shook his head. The girl is so hungry she’s gone crazy. But I can’t just let her hold a knife to Xanhilt’s neck like that.

“Hey!” John shouted. “If you want something from strangers, it’s hard to get it when you’re threatening us. Let Xanhilt go now, and maybe we can work something⁠—”

The girl licked the top of Xanhilt’s head. The saurian shrilled. John’s mouth flapped open.

“Blegh,” she said, spitting to the side. “Not human. Not food. But I don’t want to die this way. A hungry death is bothersome.”

“You don’t have to die either way if you let him go,” John said. “We have food. You just got to be chill, alright?”

“Really?” she asked, inching her blade away from Xanhilt’s neck.

“Really,” John said.

The girl got off of Xanhilt. Her knife fell from her hand, and she collapsed onto the floor.

Xanhilt grabbed the knife, wincing as the necromantic magic attacked him. He raised the weapon anyway. A hungry glint shone in his eyes.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” John said, thrusting his arm in the saurian’s way. “Everything’s cool now. No need to do that.”

“But… she tried to eat me,” Xanhilt said, dropping the blade in the dirt. He couldn’t hold it for long, it seemed, unlike the girl. “She forfeited her life. I can eat her now, can’t I?”

John gave the saurian a no-nonsense look.

Xanhilt returned a puppy dog expression⁠—with scales instead of fur, reptilian eyes, and a slightly unhinged jaw revealing fangs slick with drool.

“To want food. To become food. It’s the circle of food,” the girl murmured while still on the ground.

John sighed.