“Hold it right there.”

Right on cue. Jake froze as best he could, which wasn’t easy while stifling a chuckle.

“Something funny?”

The female voice was closer this time, nearly right behind him. The faint hum of a drawn bow being plucked accompanied it. Given the circumstances, it seemed unwise to test the sharp edge in her voice.

“Drop the… weapon, and hands above your head.”

He could have refused, but the stick wasn’t anywhere near worth the risk. If it came to it, grappling might be safer anyway. He raised his arms, and pain flared back into agony. With a broken arm, he was far too vulnerable for a fight. “Is this how you treat all your guests?”

“Speak Common, human.” The or else hummed in the air, twice as ominous for being unsaid.

Common? But he only spoke—

Huh. Every word she’d spoken had made perfect sense, yet none of them had been in English. He looked inward again. There it was, Common, right alongside English. “I said, is this how you treat all your guests?”

“Only the ones faking their stats.”

“I’m not.”

She scoffed loudly. “Don’t treat me like I was born last year. Level 1, really? What, did you live in a burrow your entire life?”

His heartbeat pounded in his ears. If this was the hunter he’d been looking for, the wolf had run from her, and even half-dead, it had torn a good chuck out of him. He had no intel, no weapon, and a broken arm.

It was time to tread carefully, whatever that meant. The pain in his raised arm screamed louder. He couldn’t spin a believable lie even if he’d wanted to. The truth would have to be enough. “I got dumped here from another world. I reached level 1 after killing a half-dead wolf.”

His breath caught in his throat. What would being shot by an arrow feel like? He bit his lip and swallowed. Asking that was a mistake, one his imagination all too eagerly took advantage of.

What was the holdup? Did she not believe him? He wouldn’t have. He needed a plan of what to do if, or when, it all went wrong—a plan other than dying. If he listened carefully enough, he might be able to tell how far back she was.

Sweat gathered on his brow. He was telling the truth; she had to believe him.

When had that ever mattered?

“Go on.” Her tone was softer than before, with a hint of warmth. “What do you mean by ‘dumped’?”

Stale air rushed out of his lungs. He wasn’t dead yet. “I don’t know. One moment I was walking down an alley, the next, icy darkness enveloped me.” He shivered just thinking about it. “When I woke up, I was in this forest.”

“That still doesn’t explain why you’re level 1.” The sharp, prodding tone was back. She was close, but not so close he’d stand a chance at catching her off guard.

“Levels don’t exist where I come from.”

Another harrowing pause. “Turn around.”

He moved slowly, partly not to give her trigger finger any excuses, but mostly because of the agony burning in his broken arm. “Can I at least lower—”

The sight of her pointed ears ripped the breath right out of him. She wasn’t human. Curiosity and determination battled behind piercing emerald eyes, deciding his fate.

The fully drawn recurve bow pointed at his face jumped straight to the top of the list, taking up positions one, two, and three on “most important things to worry about.” For once, the part of him that asked perfectly reasonable questions like, “Is she an elf?” and, “Are elves real?” had the good sense to shut up and pray it got a turn.

The five-foot-tall woman’s gaze flicked to his injured arm and back. “Tell me that again, to my eyes this time.”

His pulse raced. He met her gaze and pushed aside the urge to flee. He wouldn’t get far. “We don’t have levels where I come from.”

The elf’s features softened. She pressed her lips together, and her head tilted from side to side. “How do you know how strong something is?”

Jake bit back his instinctual answer. He doubted it would help to tell her they’d wiped out almost everything dangerous. “Experience. Knowledge. It’s easier to learn from books or television than by getting eaten.”

She raised her eyebrows and drew her bow even further. “Television? You are a mage, then?”

Jake shook his head. Great job, idiot. “No, television is… it’s a kind of machine. A very advanced machine, but just a machine. There’s no magic in our world.”

“Yet you have 230 mana. At level one, no less. Are you a scholar?”

“I guess, in a way, I am.” A scholar of computers. He doubted this world was flush with them. Typical.

The elf lowered her bow and placed the arrow into her quiver. She ran her hand through her chestnut pixie cut and muttered, “Entil ko‘enda-va po ri.”

“Was that Elvish?”

Her jaw set, and she scowled. “I’m a wood elf, you’re in wood elven land, and, yes, that was Wood Elvish.”

He’d take metaphorical daggers over actual arrows any day of the week. “You believe me then?”

Her scowl smoothed out, providing the slightest glimmer of hope. She tilted her head to the side and shrugged. “I believe you’d choose a better story if you were lying.”

Not quite the same as believing him, but it was better than the alternative. Maybe he was getting somewhere.

Oratory skill increased 0 → 1!

… level 1 was somewhere. Every journey must start with a single step. A shiver ran down his back. Every journey had to end somewhere, too.

Not for a while yet, if I have anything to do with it. “How about we start over? My name’s Jake. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

The elf stared at his outstretched hand with narrow eyes full of doubt for an eternity before responding. “I’m Cara. Where’s the carcass?”

“Carcass?”

She stared with her mouth slightly open, in much the same way one might look upon a helpless child, and shook her head. “The wolf you killed.”

The idea of eating it hadn’t even crossed his mind. That might have been the most stupid thing he’d done, or not done, all day. He shrunk under her gaze. At least breaking his own arm had had a good reason.

She rolled her eyes and slung her bow over her back. “Let’s take a look at that arm. We can hunt on our way back.”

“Back?” Following the wood elf home was risky, but the other option—making his way through the forest by himself—was bound to be worse. Hopefully, she wouldn’t decide to shoot him.

“My village. You’ll be safe—” She paused mid-sentence and winced. “Safer there than here, at any rate.”

Was it worth probing for more? Her scowl suggested otherwise. Better not to push his luck. The next wolf might not have an arrow already in its side.

***

Cara prowled through the forest, silently scanning for any potential threat. It wasn’t right. This was supposed to be a safe part of the Forest. Was there such a thing anymore? Pain echoed in the tree-song, a constant reminder of the danger.

Her bare feet tingled, longing to return to her usual swift pace. But no, she had to be responsible for him. She glanced over her shoulder, more to remind him she was watching than to check on him. The thumping of his strange shoes was impossible to miss.

If there was something out here, it would be better to get the drop on it. Even the slightest of noises might give them away. The human would be a problem in that regard. He clearly had little in the way of Stealth levels. If what he was saying was true, he might not even have any.

“How big’s your village?”

Cara sighed. Why did she have to get stuck with the newborn adult? She turned and signaled him to be silent with an X-shape across her chest.

The human cocked his head. “What’s that mean?”

She rolled her eyes. Didn’t he know anything? “It means shut up.”

His mouth formed a circle. Was he going to keep talking? Her empty hand tightened into a fist. Fortunately for them both, he silently nodded and gestured to the front. Maybe he wasn’t entirely stupid.

She shook her head and resumed leading the way. The Forest was more dangerous than ever. She had to stay focused and alert, not thinking constantly about the human. Who was he? Why was he only level 1?

Her throat closed up. It had happened again. Now wasn’t the time to get distracted. She could hear Jeremy drilling it into her again and again.

Mind on the job, Cara. You let yourself get distracted like that in the Forest, you’ll wind up dead before your time.

The worst part was that he was right. That didn’t stop the parade of questions sneaking in every time her focus wavered. Did other worlds really exist? Did his world truly have no levels? Why was he amazed that she could treat a simple broken arm? How did he get here? What was he like?

The last question was particularly perilous. Looks could be deceiving. Until it was certain he wasn’t dangerous, she had to tread carefully. Some creatures could fake their stats, and a few status effects—like Disguised—were inherently hidden. For all she knew, he could be a dungeon spawn shapeshifter, or the vanguard of an invasion.

No matter how safe he seemed, the coincidence was too great to ignore. This was above her responsibility. Jeremy would know what to do with him.

That didn’t stop the giddy flutters in her chest. He was from outside the Great Forest, maybe even the world! Bonus, he wasn’t some gruff old ranger. Probably not full of interesting tales, but at least his hobby set might be wider than tracking and killing monsters.

How did he feel about adorable little creatures with no sense of personal space?

Wood cracked, so quiet she almost missed it. She wrestled her focus back onto the forest. Something was out there, trying to hide. She signaled the human to stop and stilled herself.

Would he understand the signal, her hand out to the side with her palm outstretched? Whether he did or merely copied her, he thankfully stopped without a word this time.

Barely breathing, she crouched down and peered into the wilderness. The recent danger had robbed the Forest’s poor visibility of its charm. She notched an arrow and pulled it back, as slowly and silently as she could.

Nothing. She cocked her head and pressed her lips together. If she were alone, she would have snuck through the forest, Identified whatever was out there, and made a call based on that.

But she wasn’t alone. She had a human in tow, one with the Stealth skills of a wild bracka in a pottery. The other option was to go around.

A knife twisted in her gut. That would mean leaving whatever it was out there and making it someone else’s problem. If it was a wolf, that wouldn’t be an issue—anyone out in the Forest alone could handle a wolf—but what if it was something worse?

Dungeon spawn. A chill shot down her spine. For thousands of years, they’d stayed confined to their dungeons, a threat only to those brave or stupid enough to venture into those dark depths. And now, the same week that they ventured out, this newborn human appeared.

There had to be a connection, but what? Assuming he wasn’t a monster about to try to kill her, he might be the best, and only, clue yet on what had caused it and, more importantly, how to fix it.

That would have to wait until they’d passed whatever danger was prowling through her beloved Forest. Strolling through it without a care in the world was no longer a luxury she could afford.

Her heart skipped a beat. A shadow, far larger than any wolf, slithered in the distance. She honed in on it and activated Identify. Thank the Forest that she had put a perk point into Fast Identify.

Not so stupid now, huh, Jeremy?

Deep-Forest Snake

Level: 13

HP: 340/340

Stamina: 359/365

MP: 105/105

Status: Ravenous

The rush of being right didn’t last long. Her throat constricted, and a quiver ran through her. The snake was fast—too fast. By herself, she might be able to outrun it, at least long enough for help to arrive. The same wouldn’t be true of the human.

Leaving him to die wasn’t an option. She activated Horn of the Rangers and blew one short, sharp burst. At least she couldn’t see the human’s expression—she had to look ridiculous blowing a silent horn.

Any rangers within reach would hear and come running. Even if they weren’t in time, they could finish the job and recover their bodies.

Her jawline stiffened, and she aimed her bow. Not today. “Human, take the dagger from my belt.”

“It’s not ‘human’, it’s—” He shut up and moved closer. After a brief pause, he tentatively took the longer of her two blades.

Maybe there was hope for him yet, if he could survive the next minute.

The snake hurtled toward them, dodging and weaving through the cover of the forest with more dexterity than it had any right to. The closer it came, the more worrying its size—longer than three tall wood elves, and at least a hand span and a half in diameter.

She could do this. Her chest fluttered, doubt refusing to be silenced. She wouldn’t let the village down. “Do you know how to use that thing?”

His pause wasn’t particularly encouraging. “Pointy end first.”

She swallowed and steadied herself with a deep breath. That would have to do. “I’ll stun it when it gets close. You’ll get one attack, maybe two. Make it count.”

A grunt was his only response. Untrained, inexperienced… He had to be terrified.

She couldn’t worry about that. She had to focus, just as Jeremy had taught her. This wasn’t the practice range. If she panicked now…

The snake came into range. She activated Rapid Shot and let loose arrow after arrow. The snake dodged a few shots. The rest glanced off its hide, doing minimal damage. She swore beneath her breath and kept firing.

The human needed to do his job right. Best to assume he knew nothing. “Aim for the head. Criticals will be easier while it’s stunned.”

Another grunt. “Makes sense.”

With every glancing blow, her chest tightened. The icy grip on her heart told her she couldn’t do it, that she’d mess it up, that she should flee while she had the chance.

The last of her rapid-fire shots glanced off the snake. She drew her myrellium tipped arrow and lined it up for a Sniper Shot. If anything she had would pierce its hide, this would.

She pulled on her mana and infused her most trusted arrow with magic. “Ro’ronkatara-fa si,” she hissed, commanding it to strike hard.

Would the higher penetration be enough? Would the dungeon spawn have too much Physical Resistance? There was no getting back now. The myrellium would enhance the spell. With any luck, the stun would last at least a few seconds.

Her muscles strained under the pressure of drawing the bow, waiting for the perfect moment. I can do this. “Three… two… one… now!”