Chương 14: Chapter 13: Trial by Fire

James finished repairing the outer plate of the Warpstone Warhammer shortly after sunrise. The thin crack caused by his test strike remained visible, but Kevin's silk and a replacement strip of Iron Fox metal prevented the damaged section from shifting. The repair was good enough for travel, although James had no intention of forgetting Appraisal's warning about repeatedly forcing Spatial Impact through incomplete rune architecture. Julie watched him pack while curled beside the remains of their fire.

Kevin hung from a branch above the warhammer, turning slowly on a strand of silk as if inspecting James's work from every possible angle.

"You can both stop judging me," James said as he lifted the weapon onto one shoulder. Julie answered with mild amusement through the bond, while Kevin's response felt suspiciously closer to criticism. They ate before leaving. Julie took several pieces of Mist-Touched Wolf meat, Kevin consumed considerably more than James expected something his size to manage, and James finished the remaining cooked portion while studying the terrain around them.

The forest had become thicker during their northern journey, with heavier undergrowth and pale mist lingering near the ground even after the sun climbed above the canopy. Every mile had also brought stronger monsters. Level Three creatures had practically disappeared, while Levels Five and Six were becoming common enough that James no longer treated each sighting like a major event.

He expected that trend to continue until the tutorial's center contained something strong enough to remind him how fragile Level Seven actually was.

"Level Ten is still the target," James said as he extinguished the fire and checked his breastplate straps. Julie raised her head immediately, while Kevin climbed onto the reinforced plate over James's right shoulder.

"Three levels, then I finally find out what all this class-seed bullshit has been building toward." The Warpstone Warhammer settled comfortably across his shoulder despite its increased weight. Faint purple lines remained visible across the head, and whenever James focused on the spatial pattern, he could sense something waiting inside the construction.

He still did not fully understand how the rune produced its effect, but he understood the dangerous part well enough: using Spatial Impact stressed every connection surrounding the Warp Obsidian.

"Normal swings unless we actually need the extra force," James said while starting north. Julie's response carried immediate disbelief, and Kevin tapped one leg against his armor.

"I can exercise restraint. Both of you are assholes." The first fight came less than an hour later. Three Mist-Touched Wolves emerged from the low fog and attempted to approach from separate directions, but Julie detected them before James saw the first pair of glowing green eyes. Kevin immediately climbed into the branches and stretched silk across the wolves' easiest approaches. The coordination between the three of them had changed dramatically since the first Iron Fox hunts.

James no longer needed to call out every instruction because simple intent traveled through the familiar bonds faster than speech. Julie knew when he wanted something driven toward him, while Kevin recognized which routes James intended to close before the first enemy reached them. One wolf charged through the mist and found its front legs tangled in silver silk. Kevin tightened the web against two trees, and the creature slammed chest-first into the dirt before it could release its toxic breath.

James reached it with two strides and ended the fight with a normal warhammer strike across the skull. [You have slain a Mist-Touched Wolf lvl. 5.] [Experience awarded.] Julie intercepted the second wolf. She struck its rear leg, retreated before the jaws could close around her, then circled wide while the venom started working. James kept the third wolf occupied until Kevin dropped another web across its face, giving Julie enough time to attack again. The entire fight ended without James using Spatial Impact.

He cleaned the warhammer against the dead wolf's hide and checked the rune lines afterward, finding no new damage.

"See?" he said as Kevin descended from the tree.

"Perfectly responsible use of magical construction." Julie looked at the shattered skull of the first wolf. James frowned at her.

"Normal hammer responsible," he clarified as he began moving again. Kevin sent amusement through the bond, and James decided the familiars were becoming far too intelligent for his peace of mind. A lean Stonebind Minotaur appeared later near a narrow ravine. It charged the moment James entered sight, apparently uninterested in evaluating whether attacking a man carrying a large rune-covered warhammer was wise.

Kevin stretched a line across the path before the creature arrived, Julie struck as it stumbled, and James broke its knee with two controlled blows. The fight barely slowed them. That worried James more than it pleased him. Monsters that had once required careful preparation were becoming routine, which meant the forest would soon provide something designed to correct his confidence. The System had been remarkably consistent about that lesson. He found the correction before noon.

The clearing ahead had burned recently. Several trees were black from the roots upward, ash covered the ground, and the remains of something antlered lay torn apart near the center. James stopped behind the nearest intact trunk when Julie sent a sharp warning through their bond. Something enormous moved beside the carcass. The bear was nearly twice the size of any natural bear James had ever seen.

Coarse dark-red fur covered most of its body, while jagged ridges pushed beneath the hide along the shoulders and forelegs. Smoke escaped its nostrils every few breaths, and dim orange embers glowed between its claws whenever it shifted its weight. James activated Appraisal. [Razerilted Bear — Level 9] [Elite.] [Highly aggressive predator.] [Capable of manipulating limited quantities of fire.] [Reinforced ridged hide provides substantial physical protection.] James remained behind the tree.

The level difference was only two, but the Elite designation bothered him more than the number. Everything he had learned suggested that level alone failed to capture species advantages, unusual abilities, or the raw difference between a human body and several hundred pounds of magical predator.

"This is a new one," James said quietly as he crouched beside Julie. She stared toward the bear with excitement rather than fear, while Kevin climbed higher and began testing nearby branches with silk.

"You two are entirely too happy about fighting something that can set us on fire." Kevin demonstrated his idea by creating a loop of silk between two branches. James understood the suggestion immediately: bind the bear from above and restrict its front legs before it could build momentum. Julie opened her mouth and allowed one bead of venom to gather along a fang, making her contribution equally clear.

"So, the usual plan," James said while drawing a rough shape in the ash. He marked the bear, two trees, and the direction of his own approach before continuing.

"Kevin ties it down, Julie poisons something important, and I hit it until basic biology takes over." Julie hissed quietly.

"I know it sounds less impressive when I say it like that," James replied as he wiped the drawing away. The bear continued feeding without noticing them, giving the trio time to prepare.

"If I call retreat, we retreat. No trying to prove anything." Kevin agreed immediately through the bond. Julie hesitated long enough that James looked directly at her before she finally accepted. He knew she hated abandoning prey once a fight started, but the Level Nine Elite was exactly the kind of enemy where stubbornness could kill all three of them. Kevin climbed into the canopy first. He anchored multiple heavy strands between neighboring trees and positioned himself almost directly above the bear.

Julie disappeared through the undergrowth toward its rear flank while James circled to the opposite side with the Warpstone Warhammer held low. James waited until both familiar presences settled into position. Then he sent the signal. A sheet of silver web dropped from above. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. The silk covered the Razerilted Bear's head and upper shoulders before tightening around its muzzle.

The animal surged upright with a roar that shook ash from nearby branches, while Julie exploded from cover and climbed its rear leg. Her fangs sank deep into the softer flesh near its neck. James charged. The bear slammed both front paws into the ground. Fire erupted around its claws. Heat rushed across the clearing hard enough that James nearly stopped. Flames rolled over the ash and climbed partway up the creature's forelegs, while several of Kevin's lower strands began smoking almost immediately.

James forced himself forward because letting the bear gain space would make every advantage they had just created disappear. He struck the ribs. The Warpstone Warhammer landed with enough force to stagger the bear, but the ridged hide absorbed far more of the impact than James expected. The creature twisted toward him and swept one burning paw across the space where his head had been. James ducked. The claws missed. The fire did not.

Heat rolled across his face and arms, curling the hair along his skin and igniting one loose leather strap. James stumbled away while slapping the flame out with his free hand.

"Okay, that fucking hurts," he said as the bear tore half of Kevin's web away from its muzzle. The creature's remaining eye locked directly onto him. Kevin attacked again before the bear could charge. Multiple strands wrapped one foreleg and anchored it to a thick tree, pulling the paw sideways. Julie sank her fangs into the neck a second time and remained close enough that the bear could not easily bite her without twisting against the web. James went back in. His second normal strike hit the same section of ribs.

The bear roared, and fire burst outward from its body in every direction. James turned his armored shoulder toward the blast and felt heat conduct through the minotaur plates until the skin underneath began burning. His instincts told him to retreat. James looked toward Julie. She remained attached near the creature's shoulder, trapped between its neck and the spreading flames. Retreat was no longer an option. James tightened both hands around the warhammer.

"Fine," he said as the purple runes brightened. The Spatial Impact pattern activated beneath his grip, and the damaged architecture inside the hammerhead began vibrating.

"Let's see what you actually do against something that matters." He stepped through the fading edge of the fire. The bear turned. James swung. The hammer struck the creature's chest. Spatial Impact triggered. For a fraction of a second, the hammerhead carried vastly more effective weight than James had physically accelerated. Air warped around the point of contact, the bear's chest compressed inward, and a crack like splitting lumber tore through the clearing. The Level Nine Elite left the ground.

It crashed onto its side several feet away, ripping Kevin's anchor strand completely free of the tree. Julie released her bite before being crushed and caught a low branch with the end of her body. James stared at the bear. Then at the warhammer.

"That worked," he said as the rune lines flickered violently. The outer plate had survived, but the vibration traveling through the shaft was noticeably worse. The Razerilted Bear stood again. Blood ran from its mouth, and one side of its chest had partially collapsed beneath the empowered blow. None of that prevented flames from climbing both front legs as the creature charged directly at James. He threw himself sideways. The bear clipped his hip.

The glancing impact launched James across the clearing and into a thick root. Pain tore through his ribs, and the warhammer nearly escaped his grip when his shoulder hit the ground. Julie's alarm flooded their bond.

"I'm alive," James said as he forced air back into his lungs. The bear turned toward him, but its movements had become slower and one rear leg dragged through the ash. Julie's venom was finally taking effect. Kevin dropped onto the bear's head. Silver silk covered the remaining eye. The bear roared and tried to burn him away, but Julie launched from the branch and wrapped part of herself around one foreleg. She pulled the burning paw outward long enough for Kevin to escape. James got up. Every breath hurt.

His burned arms shook around the warhammer shaft. The spatial rune felt unstable. The bear turned its exposed jaw toward him. James decided once was not enough. He stepped forward and swung with everything he had. Purple light flashed again. Spatial Impact activated a second time. The warhammer connected beneath the bear's jaw, and another shock wave cracked through the clearing. The head snapped sideways with enough force to twist the entire body after it. The bear collapsed.

Kevin covered both forelegs in silk before it could rise and anchored them separately to the ground. Julie remained near the neck, ready to bite again if the creature moved. James climbed onto the bear. One burned eye opened beneath torn webbing. Fire flickered weakly around one paw. James raised the Warpstone Warhammer. The final strike did not need Spatial Impact. The bear's skull broke beneath the ordinary blow. Its body became still. [Elite Razerilted Bear — Level 9 defeated.] [Experience awarded.] [You have leveled up!] [You are now Level 8.] [3 Attribute Points are available.] [Julie has leveled up!] [Julie is now Level 8.] [3 Attribute Points are available.] [Kevin has leveled up!] [Kevin is now Level 8.] [3 Attribute Points are available.] James lowered himself onto the bear's side because standing had become optional. His arms throbbed from the burns, his ribs hurt whenever he breathed, and his hip felt like somebody had hit it with a truck.

"That was something else," he said while pulling two Vitality Berries from his remaining supply. Julie climbed onto his lap as he ate, while Kevin settled on the dead bear's head with the posture of someone claiming credit.

"You both did well," James said as the first warmth from the berries softened the worst pain. Kevin sent satisfaction through the bond, while Julie pressed her head against James's hand.

"But next time we fight something that catches fire, maybe our entire strategy shouldn't be 'hold it still while James walks into the flames.'" Kevin disagreed. James looked at him.

"You think that plan worked perfectly because you're not the one whose arm smells cooked," James said as he inspected the damage to his armor. Julie sent something that felt suspiciously like agreement with Kevin.

"Wonderful. Betrayed by both coworkers." James opened his attributes once his breathing steadied. Strength had carried him through most of his fights, but the Razerilted Bear had exposed the danger of relying too heavily on one physical advantage. He needed better survivability, enough Agility to avoid attacks that could not be blocked, and more Intelligence if increasingly complicated runes were going to become part of his future. [Vitality increased to 15.] [Agility increased to 12.] [Intelligence increased to 14.] Warmth settled through James's body. The effect did not remove the burns or bruised ribs, but his breathing became easier and the shaking in his arms reduced. He checked with Julie and Kevin before assigning their points, and both agreed to place all three into Strength. James rested for several minutes before beginning to harvest the bear.

He cut broad strips of the dark-red hide from areas that had resisted fire and blunt impact especially well, then removed six long black claws that remained faintly warm even after death. Each claw was nearly the length of his hand and looked useful for carving, weapon points, or future rune work. Then he opened the chest.

"Something powered that fire," James said as he moved aside damaged ribs and searched around the heart. Julie watched from beside his knee, while Kevin climbed down from the skull to inspect the cavity.

"Magic or not, that much energy has to be stored somewhere." His knife touched something hard. James stopped. He reached into the ruined tissue and pulled free an orange sphere slightly smaller than his fist. Thin red veins crossed its surface, and the object pulsed once against his palm while releasing enough heat to warm his fingers. James activated Appraisal. [Ember Core — Uncommon] [A concentrated fire-aspected core harvested from an Elite Razerilted Bear.] [Suitable for alchemy, equipment enhancement, runic construction, and elemental energy applications.] James looked from the Ember Core to the damaged purple lines across his warhammer. The spatial rune vibrated faintly. Not because it recognized the same element. Because it recognized power.

"Runic construction," James said as he turned the Ember Core in his hand. Possibilities began forming before he even finished reading the description, and most of them were probably dangerous.

"Now we're getting somewhere." A blue notification appeared. [Relevant crafting material acquired.] [Class Seed growth detected.] James closed his fingers around the warm core. Level Ten remained two levels away. For the first time, that distance felt small.