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I SLEPT DEEPLY, but not for long. Just a couple of hours. I woke up before dawn, surprisingly fully rested. I checked my supplies. Still no mana. But my Energy and Life are bursting at the seams. Beautiful! I had never felt so full of energy and power in my life. I wanted to do something!
Jumping out of bed, I started to quickly get dressed. I glanced at my boots. No. Barefoot. Let’s go!
Smiling happily, I skipped out of the house and dashed toward the lake. It was still dark outside. And damp. It must have rained last night.
As I ran down the path, I relished every breath of the fresh morning air. The darkness didn’t bother me. Since last night, it had become my ally.
In the end, I took a risk and activated an alteration crystal. Strange as it may have been, Mink’s former admirer was what pushed me to do it. When I told her I was confident that the Chief and his courtiers had embarked down the path of alteration, I was not merely guessing. That was partially confirmed fact. While carrying Yellow Wolf on my back, a thought kept bouncing around in my head. I seemed to be missing something important. After dumping him in a ditch not far from the tavern, I first wanted to leave but then it dawned on me. How did this not occur to me before? Wolf was altered! The Great System had been giving me hints all along but, in my blind rage and jealousy, I didn’t notice them.
The description said that Wolf was a morph at the initial stage of transformation. And he had made a good deal of progress to the next stage or, as Gravedigger put it, phase. In fact he was just twenty some percent away.
Before I left, I took a close look at the skin on his arms, lifted an eyelid and pulled back a lip ― he looked completely normal. No scales, no animal-like pupils, claws or fangs. That could mean only one thing. External changes wouldn’t come until the next phase.
So when Mink left my room, I activated Croc’s Armor and Black Lynx’s Eye crystals and got two new parameters by the same names:
Scanning around with the corner of my eye, I glanced at my figures.
― Level: 0
― Mind: 15
― Strength: 31
― Agility: 18
― Endurance: 10
― Health: 10
― Intellect: 100
― Wisdom: 130
― Will: 60
― Regeneration: 10
― Life supply: 2510/2510
― Energy supply: 3610/3610
― Mana supply: 4/11690
― Resistance to physical damage +30
― Resistance to magical damage +30
― Resistance to Mind magic +30
― Transformations:
― Croc’s Armor: 1.5
― Black Lynx’s Eye: 7.5
As it turned out, the low-concentration crystals gave just half a point, while the high ones gave one and a half. No matter how long I looked at myself, I couldn’t find a single external change. My Mind hadn’t taken a hit either.
I couldn’t say just how much harder my skin had become, but the night vision made me happy as a baby.
I couldn’t work up the courage to use any Hopper’s Barb crystals though. Poisonous hair was the last thing I needed. I’d offer that to Gorgie. He would be happy to take it.
Thinking back on my friend, I quickened my pace. Lots to do today. I really hope I’ll know where to go next after talking to Owl.
Once I reached the lakeshore, I stopped and took a deep breath of fresh, scaldingly cold air. I looked around. Beautiful... And quiet.
But I wasn’t allowed to simply sit and appreciate the silence. Behind me I heard some rude male voices. One of them I already knew quite well.
“Ha, brothers! Speak of the devil!”
I turned around and quickly looked over the new arrivals. Four. Ages sixteen to twelve. The biggest and oldest is in the middle. Must be the ringleader. I looked closer. Hm... The whole way from the City of Shadows to Lakeside, Badger had harped on about how eating mutant flesh is against the rules. But what do I see here? You can’t swing a cat without hitting an altered person.
This one was still at his initial transformation stage, the very starting line, so to speak. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear he’d taken his first sip of mutant blood within the last few days.
I wonder if his friends know. Based on the way they’re looking at their leader, most likely yes.
They’re looking at me like prey. Hm... I’m actually happy to see them. In fact, I have been itching to bash one of their smug faces in.
“Hey there, Skinny!” I raised a hand and gave an acrid smile. “You sure left in a hurry yesterday!”
The boy the naive Badger called his best friend turned crimson in an instant.
“Skinny, what is he talking about?” a short seventeen-year old boy asked mockingly. His towheaded mop of hair looked like a tuft of sun-kissed straw.
“He didn’t mention the most important part,” the fourth boy muttered. He was shorter than the leader, but his shoulders were no less broad. Based on his hefty gut and round cheeks, this one liked to stuff his face.
“As always,” the towheaded one snorted mockingly.
“Fish, shut up,” the leader barked.
“Who are you?” he asked me demandingly.
“Who are you?” tilting my head slightly to the right, I answered with a question of my own.
“You’ve got a lot of cheek for a little weirdo,” the chubby one muttered. “Clod, let me teach him a lesson.”
I chuckled and glanced at Skinny. He was literally glowing with happiness.
“Clod, this is the weirdo I told you about,” he said. “Ha-ha! If Badger’s to be trusted, this wimp is a real badass!”
“Everyone shut up!” Clod barked out meanly, cutting off the bout of jubilation. And he turned back to me:
“I asked you a question.”
“And I asked you one,” I shrugged and chuckled.
“Boar, drag that asshole over here,” Clod hissed through his teeth. “If he ends up breaking a bone or two in the process, I won’t be mad.”
The chubby guy gave a predatory chuckle and, rolling up his sleeves, came my direction. While he walked, I distantly thought that this Boar’s clumsiness meant he never would have made it in the caverns of the Crooked Mountains.
When Boar was just a step away and reaching his plump arms my way, I asked:
“You know how to swim?”
“What?” my question caught the chubby guy off guard.
Without another word, I dodged Boar with surprising ease (even to me) and took a step in his direction. Grabbing him by the chest with two hands, I pulled him forcefully toward me. Like a loader trying to pull the very last bag out from under a pile of useless junk.
I took a short step to the right. Meanwhile, Boar was totally lost and hadn’t managed to take any action, so he flew into the lake.
While the big guy floundered in the water, trying in bewilderment to figure out where he’d landed, I calmly headed toward the three. Based on all of their gaping mouths, this was clearly going beyond their normal frame of reference.
Then I saw that I in fact had only one opponent left. The tow-headed boy and hazy-eyed “best friend” of Badger had run away without even throwing a punch.
I must give Clod his due. He was no coward. After a moment of thought, bellowing in rage, he ran out to meet me. I don’t know exactly what kind of mutant’s flesh Clod had eaten, but it must not have been a quick one. I easily dodged all his blows and, waiting for the right opportunity, dealt one of my own. I hit with half my strength. I didn’t want to kill or cripple him. But that was plenty.
I landed a punch to his left temple. My opponent’s head careened to the side. His eyes rolled back, and he started to slowly fall down like a big ragdoll.
“Is he alive?” the towheaded Fish asked, his voice quavering.
“Your little friend got lucky,” I answered calmly. “He has a thick skull. Let him lie there and get some fresh air. Nothing will happen to him.”
Heh... It was the second time I was saying that in the last twenty-four hours.
I raised my head and looked around. Skinny was nowhere to be seen. Again. The kid has a real talent.
Behind me I heard squelching footsteps. I turned around. Boar had finally overcome the inky depths and crawled ashore.
“Want more?” I asked him.
The chubby kid looked like a pile of swamp muck. Seaweed on his shoulder, some kind of leaves on his head. His pants were caked in wet sand and a black, slimy substance.
“No,” he shook his head and stared at his vanquished leader. “I’ve had enough.”
“You want some?” I turned to Fish.
He quickly shook his head.
“I see,” he said and headed toward the forest. “Then until we meet again! Send my regards to Skinny! And another thing... Tell him I never want to see his ugly face again...”
After a long run home, I caught Badger and Mink arguing in the kitchen.
“It’s suicide!” she exclaimed.
“Well, so be it!” Badger objected.
Wheezing angrily and muttering curses to himself, he was haphazardly stuffing his backpack with items and food. The kid was shaking all over. Either in rage or indignation. I got the impression he might take off at any moment.
When she noticed me, Mink lit up. I could tell right away ― she was waiting for me. And I could see why: her brother had decided to embark on another foolish adventure.
“Eric, at least you tell him!” she exclaimed with hope in her voice.
Badger shuddered and looked up.
“Since when are you calling him Eric?”
“Ever since you brought him into our home!” Arms akimbo, Mink wasn’t even thinking of acting timid. She actually seemed happy that Badger was now distracted from his backpack.
“Let me guess,” I chuckled. “The rotten jackal teeth not impress your Chief?”
Badger sighed angrily and plopped down on the bench.
“They just laughed at me.”
“And what about the law you wouldn’t shut up about?” I asked.
“The Chief said the ancient laws are too old to hold any weight. He said I have to bring them something more impressive if I want to be made a hunter before the Trial.”
“Such as?”
Badger knit his brows.
“This moron was about to go after a mutant’s head!” Mink couldn’t bear it.
“Why a mutant precisely?” I asked. “Why not have him bring the head of a possessed creature!? I see your Chief has a healthy appetite.”
When I mentioned possession, Mink shuddered.
“This is all because of my loose lips,” Badger answered fatefully. “I couldn’t resist and told him about our fight with the mutants.”
“I’d bet a hundred gold they didn’t believe you.”
“And you’d be right,” Badger muttered. “Then the Chief said like if I’m such a great warrior, it shouldn’t be any trouble for me to bring him the head of another mutant.”
Now even a fool could see it. Neither Badger or Mink could keep living in Lakeside. Wouldn’t it be better to move to somewhere else? I asked them that right away.
“No, it wouldn’t,” Badger shook his head and Mink turned gloomy. “Outcasts aren’t welcomed anywhere. There’s no one to vouch for them. They’re pariahs.”
For a moment, a silence hung over the kitchen. Badger frowned and stared at a fixed point. Mink lowered her head and was seemingly about to start bawling.
May Bug take their Chief! By the looks of things, it would be a few more days before I could depart. I could no longer leave these people to the hands of fate.
“I see,” I broke the silence. “Well, given there’s no other way out, we have to prepare.”
“We?” Badger raised his head.
“Well sure,” I chuckled. “Did you really think I’d miss out on a mutant hunt?”
I shot a look at Mink and stood transfixed. Oh, Heavens! The look in her eyes... No one had ever looked at me like that before!
* * *
“THIS MORON IS PLANNING to go anyway!”
Shouted a warrior in fancy gear standing at a weapons stall. Next to him a few more simply dressed warriors were milling around. One of them, a muscular guy with a black beard, boomed out in a deep bass:
“Badger, don’t be stupid! Think of your sister!”
My buddy was as red as a boiled lobster. From all over, every corner of the market, mockery and teasing was raining down on him. Someone even called him “mutant killer.”
We just so happened to be walking away from a stall. We had bought some dried meat, cheese, spices, dried fruits, dried bread, and salt for the road.
I glanced at Badger and asked:
“What’s wrong?”
“What, are you deaf and blind now?!” Badger shot out and pointed all around the market. “They’re all laughing at me. Like I’m a jester with a tail made of feathers!”
I looked around. “Yeah, so what? Just so you know, that’s actually for the best.”
Badger stared at me closely. No doubt he’s trying to figure out whether I’m mocking him or being serious.
“I’m serious,” I said in a conciliatory tone. “Think about it. It would have been much worse if no one knew what the Chief said.”
“Now I’m all confused.”
“Witnesses, my friend,” I slapped him on the shoulder. “I’m sure Black Bull or whatever his name is isn’t so happy now that every stray dog in town knows about your little arrangement.”
“Why might that be?” Badger asked in surprise.
“He’ll have to keep his word,” I answered. “You bring him a mutant head and he’ll make you a hunter. Wasn’t that your agreement?”
“Yes.”
“And now many people know about it. They even spread it around. He won’t be able to wriggle out of it this time. His only hope is for a mutant to eat you before you cut off its head.”
Badger mechanically touched his throat with his right hand.
Adjusting my backpack’s shoulder straps, I cleared my throat to draw my companion’s attention. When we met eyes, I said wickedly:
“If you’re thinking I don’t understand you now, you’re wrong. I know perfectly well what it’s like to be an outsider. Believe me. In my time I had a pretty rough go of it. But I survived to spite them all. And I’m telling you ― you have to survive as well. To spite all these ugly bastards! And now wipe that snot off your nose and let’s go to the dock! We have to get back to where we spent the night last time before sundown.”
Sitting in the boat and watching the shoreline recede, I suddenly realized I was starting to get used to this world. And that thought made me mad. I felt like a traitor. I wanted to know how my brother felt. He after all found himself in a similar situation once upon a time. With no way of seeing his home, mother, or father ever again. I had the impression that what he said about not wanting to hurt his family was no more than an excuse. He liked where he was. That was why he never came home. What a jerk! He was protecting us? Yeah right! I never would have written that letter! Better to die than to betray your relatives’ location!
Clenching my fists, I made a promise to myself. First, I’ll help Badger and Mink, then I’ll get back to searching. I need to get out of this world. I have a lot of unfinished business back in mine.
