B4 - Chapter 1 : A month

Seth finally slumped down onto an outcrop of stone, the backlash of Beastmaster Rage settling into his bones. His muscles trembled as the surge of strength faded, replaced by a crushing fatigue.

The clearing around him reeked of blood.

Ahead of him, the mangled remains of three reptilian beasts lay strewn across a bed of flattened ferns. Their gray scales had been ripped apart, exposing shattered ribs, bleeding veins, and steaming entrails.

A short distance away, Colossus and Lumi waited in silence.

The giant scorpion rested on his large legs while the tiny otter hovered just above his armored shell, her radiant wisps drifting through the air.

Both watched Nightmare tear great chunks of flesh from one of the carcasses, his jaws closing onto thick muscles before he jerked his head to make a way to the beaststones inside.

Facing the three Low-Silver beasts simultaneously had offered practically zero challenge for Seth and his companions.

Between the passive enhancements granted by their Seeds, the boost to his stats from Link, and the overwhelming strength provided by Beastmaster Rage, the fight had ended in an absolute slaughter.

Under normal circumstances, Seth would have avoided using the draining spell to make it more difficult for them.

Today, time had simply forced his hand.

In only a few minutes, they would need to leave the Rift to meet with Marcus and Vorath. There had been no opportunity for a drawn-out battle.

They had spent nearly a month hunting inside this Rift, and Seth was already starving for a real challenge.

Marcus had decided that bringing Seth and Kaelen along while he prepared everything for their trip to Asethka would only slow him down. So, the old Alchemist had dumped them at the entrance of an Iron-tier Rift.

The entry restrictions of its gate guaranteed that no high-Tier soldiers from Draeria—or the Empire—could pursue them without suppressing their attributes.

Seth had insisted on picking an overgrown Rift, hoping the place would provide stronger prey and help his growth.

But the place had proven to be a major letdown.

It contained frustratingly few Silver-tier beasts, and to make it worse the Rift had seemingly been stripped of nearly every valuable resource long before their arrival. After an entire month of hunting, Seth and Kaelen had found almost nothing useful.

Seth had adapted by turning the disappointing Rift into a training ground.

With little else to gain, he had devoted the entire month to refining his control over aether: sharpening his senses, improving his manipulation, and pushing the structural integrity of every spell he had to its absolute limit.

He raised his right hand and cast Intermediate Identify on his own palm.

Even Armored Phantom Fists is now Flawless, Seth thought as he reviewed his spells.

The idea of having all the spells of his Tier at the top quality was beyond ridiculous. Sure, his Talent had done much of the heavy lifting, but even so, most Wielders in Kastal wouldn't achieve even a single spell hitting that quality.

But is that still true in Asethka?

He doubted it..

"Ready to go?" Kaelen's voice came from behind him.

Seth glanced over his shoulder as the Dark Assassin approached.

"Yeah," he replied. "Nightmare's just finishing harvesting some beaststones."

At first, Kaelen had hunted alongside them, but it hadn't lasted.

The Dark Assassin had quickly decided to split off, unwilling to match the relentless pace Seth and his companions maintained. The four of them fought from dawn until exhaustion forced them to stop, rested only long enough to recover, then threw themselves back into another battle.

Seth couldn't help but think Kaelen was passing on an incredible opportunity.

A standard Wielder needed two to three years to break into the Silver Tier—if they managed to at all. A prodigy like Kaelen could probably accomplish it in a year and a half. The recent war had undoubtedly shortened that timeline thanks to its constant life-and-death battles.

Even so...

Spending an entire month hunting at a slower pace instead of pushing himself to keep up with Seth felt like a waste.

Pretty sure I'll reach Silver in less than a year, he mused, maybe even in less than six months.

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The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth.

He knew the unprecedented speed of his climb from Copper to Iron had largely been because of his Legacy, which made the achievement feel less like his own.

Even so... he would use every advantage at his disposal.

Anything that helped him grow stronger faster was a tool he couldn't ignore—everything to crush Zakar and people from Draeria.

He had improved his spells as much as he could. The only meaningful way left to grow stronger aside from breaking into the Silver Tier now was to evolve them.

Or find another Seed. His last Iron-tier slot still stood empty.

Nightmare's and Colossus' own ones were already full.

After he came across another Seed for himself, Seth would have to start searching for some that would be suitable for Lumi. The little otter wasn't bonded to him through Link, but strengthening her attributes would still increase the party's overall power.

Ahead, Nightmare had just finished dividing the spoils.

The direwolf nudged one glowing Silver beaststone toward Lumi, flicked a second to Colossus, and casually crushed the third between his jaws.

Seth pushed himself off the dark stone and began walking toward his companions; Kaelen matched his stride.

"I'll ask Elena how your sister is doing as soon as we're out," Seth said.

"Thanks," Kaelen muttered. "Hopefully, she isn't rotting all day in a prison cell."

"I doubt Elena would let that happen," Seth replied while channeling aether into his teardrop necklace.

Nightmare, Colossus, and Lumi dissolved into streams of light and returned to their pocket domains where both the Darkness and Earth Essences were waiting for them.

Seth reached into his Endless Pouch and withdrew an Escape scroll. Beside him, Kaelen did the same. A sharp chime echoed from Seth's belt as if on cue—the timer Marcus had given him before leaving them at the Rift had reached zero.

Seth and Kaelen each crushed their scroll. A pillar of blinding spatial light erupted from the trampled ferns, swallowing the duo entirely.

A heartbeat later, the world snapped back into place.

The blood-soaked air of the Rift was gone, now replaced by the biting wind of the northern part of the eastern continent. Seth blinked against the brightness as his boots crunched over frost-covered grass.

Marcus, wrapped in a thick fur coat, and Vorath were already waiting in the middle of an isolated clearing surrounded by towering pines.

"First occasion in your life you've actually been on time," the Alchemist grumbled, leaning on a weathered wooden staff.

"Always complaining," Seth retorted with a faint smirk.

His gaze drifted past the old man to the colossal gray wyvern. The beast was still every bit as intimidating as it had been a month ago. Yet something caught Seth's eye.

A thick silver necklace now rested around Vorath's neck. The sight of an apex predator of this size adorned with giant jewelry felt odd.

"A single comment about it and I'll turn you into a block of ice," Vorath's aetheric voice rumbled from his maw.

Seth bit back a grin. The wyvern clearly loathed the artifact.

Same misplaced pride as Nightmare, Seth thought.

Colossus's voice suddenly came from within Seth's necklace. "I personally think it looks good on you, Mister Vorath..." The scorpion paused. "Uh... Vorath the Great!"

Seth buried his face in one hand. 'Colossus…'

Thankfully, Vorath chose to ignore the comment. The wyvern merely turned his head away with an irritated huff, sending a plume of frigid mist billowing from his nostrils and across the clearing.

After letting out an exasperated sigh, Seth reached into his Endless Pouch and pulled out two thick fur coats. He tossed one to Kaelen before slipping the other over his own shoulders. The heavy pelts dulled the biting wind almost immediately.

"Let's move." Marcus planted his staff against the ground, hauled himself onto Vorath's shoulder, and settled between two of the wyvern's massive dorsal spikes.

Seth offered no argument. Gripping a protruding runic scale, he pulled himself onto the beast's broad back while Kaelen followed right behind and vaulted up.

The moment they'd sat down and grabbed onto Vorath's spine, the wyvern spread his colossal wings and drove them downward.

The resulting gale tore across the clearing, sending frost, loose snow, and flattened grass spiraling in every direction as the ground rapidly shrank beneath them.

Marcus leaned back to shout over his shoulder. "There's a portal leading to Asethka nearby! We should reach it soon!"

Seth nodded, then the implication hit him. He would once again be unable to contact Elena.

Without wasting a second, he pulled the smooth communication orb from his pouch. Two glowing lines of text floated within the crystal's depths.

Elena: I'm waiting for your news.

Elena: Still waiting.

Seth smiled before sending a wisp of aether into the orb to reply.

Seth:Sorry. I was inside a Rift. I just got out, but I'll be leaving for Asethka shortly.

When no response came, his lips pressed into a thin line. He couldn't expect Elena to be available at all times. Channeling another small amount of aether into the orb, he sent a second message.

Seth: Come see me when you can.

He waited a little longer. Still nothing.

With a quiet sigh, he slipped the communication orb into his pouch, then his thoughts shifted to everything he would need to do once they reached Asethka.

"Marcus?" Seth called over the roar of the wind.

Ahead of him, Marcus twisted around. "Yes?"

"During one of the battles, the Spirit told me I had to register one of my spells with the Oracle Guild," Seth said. "Do you think we could pass there once we arrive?"

"What do you mean register a—" The alchemist stopped abruptly and his eyes widened. "You created a Unique spell?"

Seth glanced behind at Kaelen. The assassin sat farther along Vorath's back, seemingly unconcerned by the conversation. It wasn't like Kaelen was going to run around telling everyone about it.

Seth nodded. "Yeah."

Before Marcus could respond, a strange rumbling sound rolled through the wyvern's massive body beneath them.

It took Seth a moment to realize what it was. Vorath was laughing.

"Ahhh... you yet again prove me wrong, young harbinger," the wyvern said, something that felt like joy bleeding through his aetheric voice. "Creating a Unique spell as an Iron. You truly are something."

Seth blinked. Young harbinger?

That was a new one.

"Is it really that special?" he asked.

"It is—" Marcus began, already dragging a hand across his face.

"It is unheard of!" Vorath exclaimed.

Marcus snapped his mouth shut.

"At least for an Iron hatchling," the wyvern added.

Seth rubbed the back of his neck with one hand while keeping the other wrapped around one of the black spikes jutting from Vorath's spine. The wyvern banked slightly through the clouds, forcing Seth to shift his weight to keep his balance.

Ahead of him, Marcus looked utterly exasperated.

"So... will I need to register it as soon as we arrive?" Seth asked at last.

"No." Marcus shook his head. "Someone will meet us at the gate. We have something else to take care of first. Something to make sure you stay alive."

Seth frowned, squinting through the freezing gale. "What do you mean? I thought that was the whole point of having someone craft that necklace for Vorath. So he could come out and crush anyone who came after me."

Another deep growl echoed from beneath him, but this one wasn't filled with joy.

"My allegiance to you does not make me your personal pet," Vorath answered. "I will not be at your side every moment. I will be remaining with Marcus."

Seth blinked. "Wait what? Why?"

"Because those who hunt under the watch of someone stronger never become worthy predators, young harbinger." The wyvern paused for a moment while piercing again through another cloud. "People fight differently when they know they are not in danger. I have always opposed such practices. Every clan in Draeria that coddled its offspring produced a weak generation of hunters."

Seth tightened his grip on the black spike jutting from Vorath's back in front of him.

The wyvern was right. It made perfect sense. Who would ever push themselves to their limits if they knew someone stronger would always save them?

A thought began nagging at Seth. Just how old is he to talk about generations of hunters?

That wasn't a question he could ask outright.

"Vorath, how long did you live in Draeria?" he asked instead.

"Far too long," the wyvern replied.

Seth resisted the urge to sigh. That had answered absolutely nothing.

"I learned that the less I interfere, the stronger those under my protection become," Vorath continued. "You survived nobles who wanted your head. You will survive rivals who wish to prove themselves against you."

Seth frowned. "Rivals? I don't plan on making any."

"You won't have a choice," Marcus answered with a sigh. "That's simply how Asethka works. The city follows a completely different set of rules than any place you know. Its entire social hierarchy revolves around Shenlong and the one thing he values above all else." The old man paused. "Potential."

Seth frowned once more.

Behind him, Kaelen started grumbling to himself. Unlike Seth, the dark assassin had clearly understood what Marcus was implying—and he didn't like it.

Marcus continued, "An Iron or Copper Wielder who displays extraordinary talent and explosive growth will earn far more respect from Shenlong than a Gold-tier veteran who has never accomplished anything remarkable."

Vorath let out a dismissive snort. "Earn the respect of that old, whining lizard and very few will dare lay a hand on you," the wyvern added.

Seth rolled his eyes at the wyvern's attitude. He didn't want to argue with the beast, but he still couldn't deny that he liked the way Asethka operated. "So how do I prove this 'extraordinary potential'?" he asked. "By climbing that tower everyone keeps talking about?"

"Among other things," Marcus replied. "But there are plenty of different ways. I'd suggest you take Silver-tier contracts through the Adventurers' Guild and start killing beasts above your own tier. People will talk even more about you."

Seth tilted his head. "What do you mean? How could anyone there have already heard of me?"

"People of Asethka pay close attention to wars in general."

Seth's eyes widened. His thoughts flashed back to the sprawling betting board inside the Primalist's Den.

"You'd be surprised how many people know who you are," Marcus added. "And your father was something of a legend in that city."

Beneath them, Vorath let out another low rumble. "Now it is time to honor his name," the wyvern stated. "To show all those weaklings from Draeria why your father was willing to sacrifice everything for you. That your Path is the one of a true predator."

A slow grin spread across Seth's face as the horizon gave way to a colossal mountain rising above the clouds.

For the first time in a long while, it felt like his journey was truly about to begin.

And he would climb until no summit remained beyond his reach.