Dante clapped his hands together, he was ready to start another day.

He had decided to return to the church, there were still plenty of provisions he had collected over several days, patiently sitting in the church, waiting to be recovered. He also planned to loot the corpses of anything useful, he didn’t expect to find much, but with his spatial ring, he could afford to be a bit of a hoarder.

As he approached the scene of the battle, he was met with the unmistakable stench of corruption. He hadn’t even passed the threshold to enter the church, yet his nose was stung by the pungent scent. Taking a deep breath, he psyched himself up for what he was about to do, then stepped into the church where he had massacred the Kobolds.

He wasn’t surprised by the sight that greeted him, he knew exactly what he was going to see. Yet he still found it difficult to reconcile that he was largely responsible for the death and destruction that was strewn out in front of him. Dismembered corpses, body parts, viscera and plenty of blood littered the whole church, desecrating the once holy place used for worship.

Dante shook his head and focused on the task at hand, he started by looting the weapons the kobolds had brought with them. He managed to find several crude spears and daggers, even though they weren’t as well made as his own they would be useful as expendable weapons that he could use and discard at a moments notice. Scanning the ground floor, he couldn’t see anything else worth recovering, not unless he fancied strutting around in a kobolds leather thong. He shuddered at the last thought.

The supplies he had stashed away in the church were still piled up where he had left them, there were a few things that were damaged in the explosion, but he was able to salvage most of his supplies. There were things like dried and salted meats, his improvised explosives which he didn’t get an opportunity to use, some cooking equipment and spare clothing.

He checked his ring to see what he had recovered.

[Current remaining capacity: 74%, Stored items: medicine(Rare), backpack (misc). 14 Crude spears (Very common), 5 Crude Daggers(Very common), 5 Improvised Spears(Common), 8 Butane canisters(Common), Clothes (misc), Food (misc), Water (~20 litres), Cooking equipment (misc)]

Dante looked at his hand where the spatial ring sat, a dull black band inconspicuous to anyone without a discerning eye. It was now his most prized possession, something that allowed him to carry all his supplies with him.

Weapons available at a moments notice, food was kept fresh as when he had stored it. He looked forward to bulk cooking and not having to worry about food for long stretches. After his short stint of experiencing starvation, he wasn’t a fan, he wouldn’t recommend it. So the comfort and security of stored food gave him some level of peace for the near future. ‘It’s everything I currently think I need, I don’t need to look into upgrading it anytime soon, especially with the mana maintenance cost. I can afford it right now, but it’s a little risky not having access to my full mana pool.’

Satisfied he had recovered everything useful, he started to make his way out of the church, then a thought crossed his mind. He turned around and made his way over to the corpse of the Kobold leader.

The headless corpse was laying on its back, its small deceiving stature made it almost look like a child in contrast to the rest of the Kobold corpses. If Dante didn’t know its true nature he might have felt sorry for it.

He started rummaging around the body, the pockets in the leather robe it was wearing were empty apart from a small ball of twine and some lint. A leather strap across the leader's chest caught his eye.

He rolled the body over and was greeted with the sight of something that in hindsight he should’ve had no trouble recalling. Especially with the way the little bastard used it to draw attention to his presence. ‘The staff!’ Before him, strapped to the headless corpse was a gnarled wooden staff with a crude gem embedded in it. It was held by the sling that was wrapped around the Kobold leader's body.

Hurriedly he removed the sling from the body, grasping the staff in his hands with some amount of glee. He rotated the staff around and inspected every inch of it. There was a gem embedded at the top of the staff, it was roughly cut amber with cracks running through it. He concentrated on it to see if the system could provide more information.

[ Basic magic staff (Common): This crudely made magic staff was created with mana infused wood and Amber. Store up to 4 spells worth up to a total of 20 mana points.

Stored abilities: Fireball x 2 (16 mana)

Mana Capacity: 16/20]

‘Stored spells! This is fantastic!’ If the stored spells were anything like the fireball that was used to destroy the barricade last night, they would be devastating abilities that he could use as an ace in the hole for any future encounters. Dante started to think about the other possibilities, he could store charged up mana bolts that would be incredibly powerful in a moment of need.

Satisfied with his find, he made the mental command to store the staff in his ring when a notification popped into his head.

[Object cannot contain any attuned mana signature that does not match the user.]

Dante winced at his momentary lapse in memory, this staff was crafted with mana infused materials from someone else. Not to mention the conflict of having the Kobold leaders abilities stored inside. He would never be able to store this item, not unless he figured out some way to override the mana signature, he just had no idea where to start with that.

Now that he knew that this type of item was possible to craft, he considered the possibility of attempting to craft his own. The crafting skill suddenly started looking a whole lot more appealing to him. Resigning himself to having to carry it around, he slung the staff onto his back.

Done with his looting, all that was left was the corpses, rubble and splintered wood. He never wanted to see this place again. It was a pleasant enough location to hide out in, but it was tainted with corruption and the memories of the clash with the Kobolds.

He strode out of the church with his ring filled with supplies and his new staff.

Upon exiting the church, Dante released his breath, pleased to realise he had still been holding it from the moment he entered the church. A smile crept on his face, it was the little things like this that helped him appreciate how significantly his body was improving. With every hard-won battle, he was making another step forward into becoming an ascended being.

‘Another good haul’, he thought to himself, then set off to continue with his other plans for the day.

****

Dante was lost deep in thought as he trawled through the woods, searching for firewood. His face was vacant, his mind preoccupied, his thoughts bounced between what his next move should be and how long it would take Waya to recover. When she did recover, he planned to leave this town and search for real civilization, with living people. People who could help answer his questions, help shed light on the events that had transpired between the wall of light and the present.

He was done with this abandoned town. The echoes of his old life were painful. When he was searching the buildings he would have raging headaches, only to be rewarded with small fragments of pointless memories that would surface. Innocuous things like remembering owning the same television or smashing a similar plate. Never anything substantial that reminded him of who he was.

The town to him was now a place that was a perpetual reminder of how different his life would be from now on. All he could see when he looked around was how he has lost everything important to him, how he had merely the smallest traces of his identity left and every memory that made him the person he was had been taken from him. This current Dante was just a person reacting to stimuli, he was no better than the wild animals that had hunted him. He couldn't wait to leave this place.

Picking up and storing away pieces of wood into his spacial ring, Dante’s senses started to detect traces of the passage of a large animal. He could see signs of a trail that seemed to lead deeper into the woods. The tracks looked familiar, they appeared to be similar to the deer he failed to hunt when he encountered Waya for the second time.

After the failed hunt, he could never have foreseen how fortuitous that encounter with the wolf would be. Sure, she had dragged a hoard of raving corrupted kobolds to his hideout. But the companionship she offered after everything that had happened between them, he believed that their daily interactions had kept him sane. Without her, he might have starved to death. Without Waya, he might have lost himself and his sanity to the loneliness of this ghost town.

Dante returned his attention to the tracks that had been left, he decided this time without Waya interfering, he would be successful in his hunt. He also needed to gather and store more food. His amateur attempts at drying and salting meat tasted disgusting, with his ring, he could have freshly cooked food whenever he wanted. Without knowing how long it would be until he reached a town where people lived, he had to take advantage of every opportunity presented to him.

Using his enhanced attributes, leaning heavily on his recently increased perception, it surprisingly trivialised the experience of tracking the deer down. The deer might as well have left a breadcrumb trail for him to follow, he seemed to intuit the signs that pointed towards where it had travelled.

Images flashed in his mind as if he was simulating the actions of the deer, how it had strolled through the woods occasionally stopping to forage for tasty morsels of fruit and berries. Unaware that it was laying down the path that would lead to its death.

[ Acquired: Tracking ]

[Tracking: Tier 1]

‘Interesting, I can now confidently say that the system acknowledges certain feats or activities and allocates an appropriate skill that can be progressed. I should experiment more with other potential activities to see if they unlock more useful skills. So what benefit does tracking provide?’

[Tracking - Tier 1: You have begun your journey as a hunter, utilising your sharp senses and intuition, you begin to recognise the signs of trails left by those you wish to track. Tracking will enhance your ability to identify the marks, signs of different species’ trails, making it harder for them to hide their passage.

Tracking modifier: 1% ]

After following the trail for around 3 hours, he spotted his quarry in the distance. It was casually grazing, oblivious to its impending death. ‘I must have looked like this when the wolves spotted me.’

He stealthily managed to sneak towards the deer, his cloak that stilled the air around him and left no trace of his scent. He guessed he was around 50 meters away. ‘It’s time to see how powerful a mana bolt is when it’s not enhanced by rage-induced system breaking powers’.

Dante silently lifted his hand, fingers splayed as he stared between his index and middle finger. Taking aim towards the Deer.

Inhaling deeply and steadying his hand. Dante started pouring 4 points of mana into the ability, a dark orange projectile formed in the palm of his hands.

He felt the build-up of mana that was converted into a kinetic force, this force would instantly accelerate the crystallised mana projectile.

Readying himself to fire, he mentally commanded the release of the bolt. His arm jerked back as the projectile shot forward. There was a slight pain in his wrist and arms from the recoil. He watched the bright crystalized bolt of mana accelerate so fast that it left an orange beam of light seared into his vision for a short amount of time. ‘That hurt! I didn’t expect it to have such a kick. I’ll have to be careful about what my body can handle when using more mana in future.’

[Roe Deer level 1 killed]

[Gained 57 Combat experience]

When his vision cleared he had a brief flashback to the night before, the Deer’s head was missing. The deer's body was still standing momentarily as if it hadn't quite come to terms with the reality of not having a head. Its legs buckled before it dropped to the floor.

Dante lifted his hands to his lips and blew his index and middle finger before holstering them to his side. He was having a little too much fun. ‘I should be careful with this in the future, I'd hate to hit an ally with this ability.’

Thinking about how if he wasn’t careful and a situation arose where he would be forced to use his ability around comrades or innocent people. He might have to explain the loss of someone’s head to a bereaved family member. ‘That would be pretty awkward.’

He shook his head at the ridiculous thought. A bead of sweat dripped down his head 'I should go and practice my aim some more'.

****

A headless deer was roasting over a large fire, turning on an improvised spit. Enticing smells gently wafted over towards Waya's nose, which twitched once with a single sniff. Then a rapid acceleration of deep inhalations drew her out of her unconscious state.

Waya’s eyelids peeled back revealing her striking amber eye’s. Ache’s and pains ravaged her body, she looked around, assessing her current situation. She concluded that she was in a different location from the grey walled building where she had run to for safety.

Looking through the opening to the building she was in, her eyes fixated on the Hideless man who was sitting outside, rotating the Deer over a fire.

The wolf visibly relaxed, she was safe now. There was no sign of any Kobolds or the evil creature that had tried to corrupt her. Waya shivered at the memory of how she almost lost the battle to retain her sanity and control of her body. She recalled how the leader had forced her to drink the sickly corrupted blood, the smell and taste was deeply seared into her mind.

She had almost become a mindless puppet to the Kobold leader and that man must have saved her. Waya kept watching him, studying the unusual man up close, trying to understand how his mind functioned. Why would he save her after what she had done to him, he can’t have forgotten the threat she posed to him already.

Waya felt that she owed him her life now, she felt an impossible debt—one that she wasn’t sure how to ever repay. Putting those thoughts out of her mind for the moment, too tired and hungry to concentrate on her train of thought, her eyes shifted back to the enticing smell of the cooking deer.

Like her first encounter with him, her mouth started to salivate. She tried to move but pain wracked through her body. Her whining drew the attention of the hideless man. He stared at her, seeing that she was awake, a smile spread across his face. Against all her expectations, he seemed pleased to see her.

He stood up while pulling a knife out of his pocket. ‘Oh no!’ Waya’s ears drew down, she shook at the sight of him. Had she forgotten how ferocious he could be already?!

‘Oh…’ To her relief, he started carving a slab of meat off of the deer. She watched with growing impatience as juices and fats dribbled into the fire each time he sawed back and forth with the knife. The fats sizzled in the fire causing more delicious smells to waft over to her, driving her ravenous state of mind crazy. Waya tamed her base instincts, her eyes stared hopefully towards the piece of meat.

The man seeing Waya's growing hunger hurriedly finished cutting, he then made his way towards her, the large slab of delectable meat dangled in his hands. He stopped before her, then crouched down. He pointed his finger towards her, “Waya” then he pointed at himself “Dante”, he then placed the meat in front of her.

She snapped at the meat. Taking large bites out of it, ignoring the pain over her body.

Dante chuckled at Waya's insatiable appetite “Nice to meet you too.”

The Hideless… Dante, she believed that’s what he was trying to communicate, his name was Dante. He continued to smile at her as she devoured the slab of venison he had left her. She felt her fur being ruffled, she twitched and froze in response, not used to the sensation.

“I’m sorry Waya, I didn’t think.” He raised his hands apologetically.

Waya studied him some more, trying to gauge his intentions. ‘He’s not going to save me just to fatten me up to eat me. He probably means well.’

Acknowledging the man’s efforts to comfort her, she gave several short howling barks “I don’t mind, it was pleasant. You just caught me off guard.”

Despite the language barrier an understanding was developing between them, they read between the lines. Waya returned to eating the deer before her. Dante tried again, slower and more carefully this time, gently scratching behind her ears.

After the terrible mental and physical pain of last night, the constant fear for her brother’s well-being. The pleasure of food, company and physical contact purged the negative feelings way.

****

Dante and Waya had spent the evening talking, or attempting to talk that is. There was obviously a communication barrier, it didn’t deter their attempts to expel their most recent frustrations and concerns. They felt like comrades venting to each other after a hard-won fight.

He would discuss the things going on in his head, what he had been up to in the day and ask her questions. Waya would tilt her head and reply with confused low howling barks. They conversed like this for most of the evening, while Dante cut off pieces of meat from the deer to share.

He would occasionally throw another log or stoke the fire causing bursts of embers to rise into the starry night sky. Gradually they began to settle down, Dante lay next to Waya on the blanket, his back to hers, he sensed the comfort of her low rhythmic breathing.

He hadn’t known her for long, but sometimes great bonds were forged in the heat of battle and mutual circumstances. He hadn’t felt this content and relaxed in what felt like a long time. He closed his eyes, not afraid that she would suddenly attack him while he slept, quite the contrary he suspected she would have him covered if anything happened. The unattended fire crackled, snapped and spat out the occasional ember as it began to die down. They both drifted off to sleep, their breathing gradually starting to match the same pace like a pair of synchronizing metronomes.