Finn stares at me with horror in his eyes, an absolute terror. Why would he be afraid of someone finding out he's wolfkin? I think it's awesome! I haven't actually seen any wolfkin before, but I have seen catkin, foxkin, bearkin, and otterkin in some of the cities we've crossed paths with.

There was supposed to be a meetup with a rabbitkin, but she got busy and couldn't make it. Something about a last-minute job. It kind of disappointed me, because I'd heard that they really do have longer ears, like a bunny, and I wanted to see if that was true. That was the last day our skybeasts were in range for travel, so I didn't get another chance.

"Can I feel your tail?"

His terror turns to utter confusion.

"Does it feel like an actual wolf's tail?" I ask. "Or does it feel more like hair? Does your hair feel like human hair or wolf fur? Your ears look fuzzy, like a wolf's ears. Can I feel them? Am I being overwhelming with my questions? I can take it one at a time if you want."

"I-I…" Finn's face turns red. "My hair feels like human hair, but the fuzz on my ears is probably closer to a wolf's fur. I think my tail feels like a wolf's tail? It's not quite as silky-soft as my hair, but it's close. Y-you want to feel them?"

"It's not rude to ask that, is it?" I ask. "The other beastkin I met said it's not, but they were all city beastkin. You don't strike me as a city boy kind of guy."

"It's-it's not rude," he tells me. "Y-you're okay with me being a beastkin? You know others?"

"Well, no," I tell him. "I don't really 'know' others. I've met others, when we've crossed paths with other skybeasts before, usually when we pass by a city one. This one doesn't really go near where the skybeasts that beastkin are native to travel. Why? Have you met people who didn't like beastkin?"

"Yeah," he nods, swallowing nervously. "Lots of people, back when I first left home a few years ago. Some of them wanted to turn me into a slave. Sara rescued me from them."

"Oh," I say. "Yeah, you don't have to worry about that here, but don't feel like you have to reveal yourself just because I said that. So! Can I feel them?"

"S-sure," he answers. "Let me pull off my pack and cloak, so it's easier."

"Yeah!" I say. "And you can keep them off while we're out here, too. No one comes out this way."

Finn doesn't look too sure of that.

"I promise," I tell him. "This far out? You're more than fine."

And cute, but that's regardless of how far we are from town.

"I promise," I repeat.

He thinks about it for a few moments, then pulls his cloak off and sets it on his backpack, then tilts his head down toward me in a way that tells me he's waiting for me to touch his ears.

Since he's giving me the okay, I reach forward and feel them. There's a slight fuzz to the backs of them, like with a wolf's ears, and the inside has that same weird texture to them that the insides of wolf ears have. While feeling these, I subtly feel his hair, which isn't really hard to do. He wasn't kidding when he called it silky soft.

Finn lets me feel his tail next, and he's right in that it's not quite as silky soft as his hair, but his tail fur is still plenty soft. Since he's traveling with an elf, I bet he uses a good shampoo. Will they let me give it a try? Do they make it themselves?

I've met a few elves who make their own soap and shampoo so that they don't have to keep trying to find someone who sells the right kind, they just need to find the right ingredients. One of them even said she gathered the ingredients herself if she could, to save on costs.

"What kind of fang is that?" Finn asks.

"Hm?"

"On your necklace."

I keep forgetting I wear a necklace. It's a leather cord, from which hangs the fang of a wolf. To either side of that is a knot to keep in place, then four beads. Each bead is bone-white and decorate with runes representing different elements. From beside the knot out, the elements are air, earth, water, and fire.

"A wolf!" I answer. "Not a wolfkin, obviously. When I was seven, I got attacked by this wolf, and it bit me. I whacked it with a nearby stick, and there was apparently enough force to knock its head to the side. One of its fangs broke off in my arm, and Dad turned it into this necklace for me."

Finn just stares at me for several moments. I really like his eyes.

"How many of these adventures you've told me about were you sneaking off to do something?" He asks.

Does he always talk in that soft voice, even when he knows he doesn't need to hide his fangs? Is he just self-conscious about them anyway? Or perhaps he's just a quiet person? Either one of those is fine, I'm just curious. He can be as quiet or as noisy as he wants.

"None," I answer. "It was mostly me wandering off. I never really needed to sneak around, even if I did get grounded a lot for leaving on my own a lot. The incident where I got this fang, though, I was actually with Dad. That was its opening attack. Dad killed it after."

"Oh," he goes quiet again, though I can tell he's thinking about something. "Do you think I can see you fight?"

The thought of showing off for him makes me excited for reasons I'm not entirely sure. What kind of fighting does he want to see?

"Want to spar?" I ask, and he shakes his head. "Me fighting some beast or another?"

Finn nods.

"Alright!" I clap my hands together. "Grab your stuff, we're heading to another island! The bunnies are the only thing here, and they're not enough to showcase my awesome talent!"

Finn grabs his stuff and brings them to the boat, then I push it back into the water and hold it steady as he climbs in. once he's in, I climb in and grab the oars, then take my seat and begin rowing. As I row, making sure to follow the right route to the island I want to show off on, Finn seems to be thinking over something.

Almost forty minutes pass, with me pointing out notable islands from time to time, whether we're close to them or not, then he finally speaks.

"What kind of Crystal do you want?" He asks.

Most adventurers start off buying a Stat Crystal because they're cheaper. A Grade 1 Stat Crystal costs only about five thousand sorukar, while a Grade 1 Skill Crystal costs about twenty-five thousand sorukar for a Rarity 1 one.

While buying several of those might seem feasible after a fair bit of adventuring, especially if they're Stat Crystals, there's still a reason most adventurers don't end up doing that. At least, not too much.

Why? Because they have other costs. Healing, equipment, places to sleep, and so on. Most also want either two Skill Crystals or a Skill Crystal and Stat Crystal, then to obtain more of the same ones and some Crystal Essences so that they can fuse them into a higher grade one – the bonuses gained upon socketing and Leveling is five times as much each tier up a Crystal is.

A Grade 1 Strength Crystal grants +1 Strength upon being socketed, as well as each time you gain a Level while it's socketed. Three of them can be fused into a Grade 2 Strength Crystal using three Crystal Essence. A Grade 2 Strength Crystal grants +5 Strength upon being socketed as well as every Level gained while it's socketed.

While it does cause other Stats to fall behind, having one or two Stats higher than the rest is often seen as better than going for a spread.

It's usually only the really experienced, powerful adventurers who have more than three Crystals. However, the first Crystal is considered the most important, because it sets up our starting Stat build. We're also limited in how many of each type of Crystal we can have socketed.

That's why it's important to know what kind of Crystal we want to be before obtaining it. Some people go with the first one they can get and work with whatever Stat boosts it gives them, and if it's a Skill, then whatever Skill it gives them. Others might sell any they obtain by luck to buy others.

"I plan on being a warrior," I tell Finn. "So I want to go with either a Grade 1 Strength Crystal or a Grade 1 Constitution Crystal to start, preferably the latter. After that, I'll save until I can find good Skill Crystal to compliment my style."

Finn nods, then returns to thinking about things. He's deep enough in thought that I decide not to point out the island where I got hit by lightning a few months ago as we go by it.

"There's a lot of misconceptions about real adventurers," he tells me.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"The adventurers you know of?" He asks. "The ones who only have up to three Crystals socketed at most? Those are the 'show' adventurers. They work to keep towns safe, gather materials, and so on. They don't go on real adventures.

"A real adventurer, on the other hand," he says. "Might have four or five Crystals socketed by the time they're Level 25 – when they get their first increase to the limits. My master isn't just a Crystal Merchant – every Crystal she's selling, she obtained herself, mostly from high-Level monsters. Many of them are Crystals that she once had socketed, too."

Sara obtained all of those Crystals by herself? There had to have been at least twenty in her pack, on top of the five that she had socketed. That's not even including any of the ones she had in her Inventory.

Wait, does that mean I haven't met any real adventurers before? That everyone I spoke with had the wrong information about how difficult it was to obtain Crystals?

"How many Crystals does Sara have?" I ask. "Or is that confidential?"

"I don't know," he admits. "She's been an adventurer for over a century, though, so it's probably a lot. At least fifty or sixty, I'd say."

Finn thinks about something again.

"On my birthday," he tells me. "She's gifting me a Rarity 1 Crystal, and I get to pick which one."

"You want to be an adventurer?" I ask.

"It's why I left home," he nods. "I was hoping to get training elsewhere, we didn't really do that sort of thing on the skybeast I grew up on. Then stuff happened, and Sara took me in. She taught me how to fight using a staff and knives."

"What type of Crystal are you going to ask for?" I ask. "Do you know?"

"I'm thinking magic," he answers. "I prefer the idea of fighting from a distance but never quite got the hang of a bow. I've had my eye on a Grade 1 Wind Blade Crystal she has. I hope she still has it on my birthday."

"When's your birthday?"

"The last day of the market here," he answers. "I'll be turning fifteen."

"So two days from now?" I ask.

"Yeah," he nods.

"Is that why you two are planning on staying here?" I ask. "So that you can train and gain some Levels for a bit on a skybeast that doesn't have too many people doing the same?"

"Erm… yeah?" Finn averts his gaze, his voice even softer than before.

That was a lie, and I can practically feel his guilt at it.

"You guys are here for another reason."

"I'm not supposed to say," he mumbles.

"Well," I say. "If it's some big secret, that's fine. You two seem like decent people, so I trust it's nothing bad."

Finn nods, then sighs.

"I suck at this."

"At what?"

"Master wants me to," he says. "Find out how well you know the back of the skybeast. We're… looking for a relic of the Ancients that she thinks is hidden somewhere here."

"A relic of the Ancients?"

My family's sword could qualify as one of those. It's a Mythical-Grade sword that was forged by the Ancients. That's part of why Mom doesn't want to give it to me unless I acquire a Crystal – once I have one, she'll assume I'm worthy of inheriting it.

"Yeah," he hesitates. "An airship."

Oh. That kind of relic of the Ancients. It's arguably worth more than my grandfather's sword.

"Why does she want an airship?" I ask.

"To live on."

"…what?"

Finn shrugs.

"Master's always liked the idea of being able to soar through the skies," he tells me. "Of living on an airship, sailing over the sea of clouds below, traveling without having to plot a route that requires waiting for skybeast paths to cross."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"What about you?"

"I think it would be nice," his voice is even quieter now. "Not having to be around people so much, being able to flee a skybeast immediately if things go south. Getting to journey from adventure to adventure without having to figure out the best path to get to the next place, getting there sooner."

Finn at least believes his master about what she told him and does want what he said. His reasoning makes sense, too – being able to travel from adventure to adventure without having to wait for the right skybeast paths to cross would be amazing.

As for his master… I'll have to see what she says.

"We're here," I say as we reach the island I was taking him to.

The island is over a mile at its narrowest, with a cove where I'm rowing it. It's a mix of grassy fields and plains, with trees and bushes scattered about. Once we're close enough to the cove, I hop out of the boat and push it to the shore, then Finn hops out and helps me pull the boat up further.

While my shirt and vest won't add protection, I know I might need a little bit more, so I pull on my bracers. For a moment, I contemplate pulling my shirt and vest back on, but decide not to. They're already off, they won't provide much protection, and leaving them off after all that rowing will help me stay cool and not get uncomfortable with a shirt sticky with sweat.

Besides, I've noticed Finn checking me out a few times. He thinks I'm attractive, and I bet he likes my warrior's muscles. If he's going to be here awhile, and he and Sara are for real, and he turns out to be a great guy… I might just ask him out.

I look over at him to see what he's thinking at the moment. Sadly, he's not checking me out.

Finn's face tells me he's curious about what kind of showing off my skills I can do here, and it won't be long before he finds out. I lead him a little into the island, walking around the cave, and our first monster appears.

Standing up to Finn's waist in height, the beast is a mixture between a dog and a lizard in appearance, covered in scales that resemble ice. It bears its sharp teeth at me, snarling.

"Ooh! An ice one! I normally only see those in winter!"

"What?"

I draw my sword as the frost beast charges at me, then step to the side and slash across its shoulder. Despite being wooden, the sword cuts through its scales, drawing some of its crimson blood. Hissing, the beast turns around as I do the same, then it inhales deeply.

As soon as it begins to exhale, I jump my side, landing in a roll to avoid its breath, which is a frosty mist filled with small shards of ice that will cut my flesh at the speed they're flying.

Most people misunderstand how to do a roll-dodge, Dad taught me when I was little. They try to roll sideways. While I move to the side, that's only to the side of how I was facing when I began the roll. When I perform the dodge, I shift so my body is facing the direction I'm avoiding and roll forward in a tumble.

Moving like this is easy and something small children do on their own, without training. Why people think we have to roll vertically on our side, I don't know. That just seems stupid and difficult.

The only thing I have to be careful of when dodging like this is my sword, and Dad had me practice these with a training sword until I could do it without cutting myself.

The 'cuts' with the training sword was just paint, the edges dull enough to not break skin, even if they did cause bruising.

My dodge is effective, taking me out of the zone for the frost beast's attack, and I return to my feet as soon as I'm out of the roll, then charge forward. The frost beast finishes its breath attack and snaps at me, but I deftly avoid its maw and slash into its shoulder, this one the one I hadn't slashed already.

Hissing in pain, the frost beast raising up a foot and slaps me, sending me tumbling to the ground. Thank goodness these don't have claws, their feet more akin to a lizard's. There's still enough force behind that attack to hurt, but I turn the fall into a tumble and return to my feet, hearing a slight buzzing in my ears.

Something's coming up behind me.

"Behind you!" Finn exclaims as I twist around, slashing with my sword.

A giant wasp-like creature the size of my torso was buzzing towards me, stinger ready to strike. My swift reaction protected me, though, my blade cutting through the wasp's middle as I hear soft steps on the ground behind me. The wasp falls to the ground as I shift to the side, avoiding the frost beast's next charge. As I do, I slash at it again, this time aiming at one of its legs.

My sword cuts into the beast's hind leg, and it starts limping as it turns around. I charge forward, then jump to the side in time to avoid the icicle it flicked at me as it turned. A second one slices into my right calf, and I bear through the stinging pain to charge forward, slashing a third and a fourth icicle out of the air with my sword.

The frost beast moves to the side again, flicking another icicle at me. This one cuts into my left arm, but not deeply enough to affect my sword usage. I cut into the beast's foreleg, this time without enough force behind the attack to cut the leg clean off.

Spinning, I take a breath to the torso and face as the beast falls to its left due to both of my leg attacks being on that side. I find myself pushed back a little from the force of the wind magic mixed into the breath attack as tiny shards of ice slice through my skin. Not allowing it to stop me much, I push forward and to the side, slicing into the frost beast's neck as I exit its breath attack.

Shifting my weight onto my left foot, I jump into the air, raising my sword up above my head. As I come down, I swing my sword down with me. The added force from my descent increases the power behind the slash, and my blade cuts clean through the frost beast's neck, severing its head from its body.

"WHOO!" I pump my right fist into the air. "THAT WAS AWESOME!"

"Was the jump actually necessary?" Finn softly asks, and I look over to see him looking both curious and amazed.

Showing off: completed. Perhaps I could show off a little bit more? A glance at the frost beast changes my mind, though. I don't want to leave this out too much.

"Just a little," I grin. "I've never killed one of these before! I can sell it for four thousand sorukar!"

His expression turns to one of horror.

"You've never fought one of these before?" He asks as I cut down another giant wasp that attempts to sting me. "How much danger were we in? What if you couldn't beat it? What if-"

"Relax, Finn," I hold up a hand to stall his flood of terrified questions. "The only one who was in danger was me. I haven't tried to kill one in over two years, mostly because the last time I tried, Dad had to rescue me and I was unconscious for a couple of days."

"That doesn't make me feel safer."

"I promise," I tell him. "We were safe. I've fought similar beasts on another island. Weaker ones, yeah, but similar enough that I knew I could handle this, even if I had to take a few hits. Speaking of being hit, I'm starting to really feel the sting of salt in my wounds, and we need to gut this and prepare it for transport. I wasn't kidding about how much it's worth, and most of that comes from its hide."

"W-we?" Finn trembles.

"Don't worry," I wave dismissively. "I can handle it."

"An Inventory would be much better," he mutters. "Just shove it in there and let the butcher deal with it."

Only those who have ever socketed a Crystal, even just once, even if it's not socketed anymore, have access to an Inventory. Storing things in it is really convenient because everything inside is basically in a stasis. Put a hot lunch in, and when it's pulled out six days later, it's the same as when it was placed in.

Really convenient.

"Skyler?" Finn asks as I start pushing the beast onto its side so that I can gut it properly.

"Yeah?"

"What are you going to do if more attack?"

"Kill them, of course!" I answer. "Why?"

"I, um… am hearing another coming."