CH4

Day 6 

My heart hammered in my chest, my teeth ground together, and my body shook. A soft pile of wolf feces covered my boot after taking a single step outside my tent. There was a big ugly hole under my fence screamed that I had miscalculated. Plugged in the hole leading under my fence was a fat doe carcass already covered in flies. Random holes were dug through my furrows, which took an hour to fix before I returned to my tent for morning exercises.

Pushups went on longer than normal, and I needed to work my body while my mind chewed on the problem.

Wolves were known for their cunning nature, but this one was vindictive. The next obvious choice was to cover the ground around my fence with quick-drying cement. It was promising to be a hot day that would dry the cement faster. Images of that wolf snapping its claws and bleeding brought a smile to my face. I could be vindictive, too.

Thoughts of something like buying a steak and soaking it in antifreeze came to mind. Still, there were laws against unnecessary cruelty to monsters, and I wouldn't feel right doing that. It could have entered my tent and hadn't; it instead decided to bully me. Nothing was stopping it from charging in and diving through the hole. The hole was much smaller than the wolf, meaning it might not have been the size of a van. It probably had the skill Intimidate.

Ping!

+1 Strength 

Strength 6

Berserk lvl10

+1 Skill Point 

Training lvl6 

+1 Skill Point 

Adapt lvl6 

+1 Skill Point 

Regeneration lvl6

+2 Skill Points

"Who is Mai?" Gwen asked.

"You can read my mind; shouldn't you know who she is better than me," I said.

The fawn hopped on my bed roll and used her nose to fling open my laptop. Keys clicked, and I suddenly didn't feel good about leaving her alone with my stuff.

"Your thoughts aren't your memories or impressions. I only wanted to know because you were calling her name in your sleep." Gwen said.

"Let me make this clear. I don't want to talk about Mai." I said.

She, I refused to even think about it. The wound was fresh; I was only a convenience; there was no we.

"There is a battle happening in the rookie circuit. Tamer Lourie Summer is debuting with her Demi Oni Mai. If you want to use me to battle, then we should watch matches together." Gwen said.

She would say something so innocent and heartwarming. Farmers can't leave their homesteads so long as they're in debt. With 6% interest each year, I wasn't getting out of the hole anytime soon. I morbidly sat down to watch a battle.

Mai was beautiful. Her delicate pink skin had been well taken care of in my absence; she'd come a long way from our days playing in the mud together. Even her fangs appeared polished for the cameras. Long white hair braided in twin tails descended her back. She carried her mother's old feathered helmet under her shoulder and her war ax over her right shoulder. Covering her body was a set of scale mail ridged to turn blades and claws alike. Polished most likely by her father, even without enchantments, it was a marvelous piece Mai used to dress up in when we pretended.

I looked into her yellow eyes and reached out, trying to put myself there with her.

"Introducing Mai under Tamer Lourie Summers." The announcer yelled, and the stands went wild. "She has broken the record for the fastest rookie to acquire the winds to participate in her first league qualifying match. Remember, win a qualifier, and you can challenge a guild; if you win 5 of 9 guild challenges, you qualify to enter the North Weston League Conference, earn an officer rank in the military, and have a chance to face off against the reigning champion." The announcer said.

More cheers erupted, leaving me lost in nostalgia. This was my culture, and it was taken from me. 

Ping!

Berserk lvl14

+4 Skill Points 

+1 Perception 

Perception 3

"Here he is, the wall that every rookie fears: you love him, or you hate him. Introducing the king of breaking rookies. Jack Spice and his monster, the daunting wall Vicky the Iron Widow."

A rank two 4ft tall spiderling with metal plates covering her exoskeleton appeared from a summoning circle. Wealthy tamers could purchase pocket spaces to carry multiple monsters on them at a time. It was incredibly expensive only something wealthy tamers could afford.

"What is the difference between rank 1 and 2 monsters?" Gwen asked.

"About a hundred attribute points and at least one skill over level 20. More niche forms require higher attributes and particular skills of high level. How is this news to you? You're a monster?" I asked.

"Do you know everything about the human body because you're human?" Gwen asked.

"I guess not." I brushed a strand of black hair out of my eyes as the fight began.

Mai dashed forward, and the camera was already altering to slow motion for viewers. Her form blurred away from a stream of silver web as Mai placed the helmet on her head. A heavy swing from the ax ground against a limb, shooting sparks between them. The demi Oni dodged when the spider shot forward legs extended to grapple the demi Oni.

I ordered some concrete and started piling it while the fight continued. The sooner I had some time to focus on growing my field and growing stronger, the better. Eventually, I would need to kill the wolf.

The spider changed tactics as a red flame appeared on the ax blade. It showed its speed by dashing around and flinging sticky packets of webbing. Mai went on the defensive, wasting the skill activation.

"If there is so much difference between a rank 1 and 2, how can Mai win."

"The match isn't about winning; it's about qualifying to be a tamer worthy of the North Weston League. It's a test to see how Lourie and Mai react under pressure and show them what they can improve on. Veronica hasn't used a single active skill yet." I said.

Lighting surged around the ax blade, flashing before a swing threw a lightning ax blade in front of the ax's blade. This time the spider shifted completely, dodging the attack, wrapped one of Mai's hands with webbing, and connected to the ground.

"A tamer's monster at rank 2 will have fought numerous monsters both from other tamers and those in the wild. They have experience with tactics Mai and Lourie can't deal with this early. At this point, Mai is mostly fighting by herself. Lourie is most likely preventing Mai's Oni Rage skill from activating." I said.

A red aura erupted around Mai, and she dropped the ax. Lourie clutched her head and fell on her bottom while Mai roared and tugged hard on the web, tying her down. 

"Lourie Summer has lost control of her monster; the match is over." Veronica moved in a flash, even to slow-mo cam. In moments, Mai was wrapped in silver web and gnashing her teeth to get out. "What a participant folks give it up for Lourie Summers and her starter, Demi Oni Mai." The announcer yelled.

The crowd cheered as I pulled a wheelbarrow out of my transporter. This would mean I couldn't easily move my fence when it was time to expand. I tossed a few 50lbs bags of extreme strength quick concrete in the wheelbarrow and headed out.

"At least she failed; that's good, right?" Gwen asked.

"She's going to pass; that was a good showing against a rank 2. People are going to say she's a prodigy because she's using my childhood best friend as her starter. That should have been me." I said.

Ping!

Berserk lvl18

+4 Skill Points 

"A good thing you wouldn't have looked good in a dress." Gwen bumped up against me. "They lost out because you would have won that match."

Lourie had higher willpower than me, but it was nice to dream. I gently pet Gwen's side; she was a spot of sanity in this field of chaos.

I went outside and mixed the concrete quickly, and more eyes watched, but that didn't matter. Once I stirred it well, I poured the rocky mixture on the ground and let it set thickly all around the fence. It took repeated tribes, but my attributes allowed me to work tirelessly.

"You could buy some reins for me, and I could pull your wheelbarrow."

I gave the white fawn's delicate bone structure. "And deprive myself the exercise not a chance."

"One day, you're going to wake up exhausted, and then you'll have no choice but to let me do all the work," Gwen said.

"Oh no, don't give me a day off. I don't think I'll be able to handle it," I said.

I mixed, poured, and spread with a shovel as expertly as I could but barely covered what I wanted. Hundreds of bags weren't cheap I already spent another 1000W on preventing wolves from digging under my fence. The hot sun was quick to dry out the concrete, so I had to pour it quickly or risk it setting in the wheelbarrow.

"Are you alright, Atom?" Gwen asked.

I sucked in a breath as I forced a hunk of concrete out of the wheelbarrow and let it impact the ground.

"Why shouldn't I feel alright? I have known Mai since before we could walk. She stayed for me instead of leaving on an adventure with any of the great tamers in my family. But it was too much to come here with me; she wanted what I couldn't give her. She's happy, so I should be happy for her, right? That's what everyone said."

"I don't know. I've only been alive for a few weeks. Life here with you seems better than what we saw."

"You don't want to fight even if we can leave the farm," I said.

"Being a spectacle like that isn't for me. I'm sorry." Gwen said.

Maybe she would change her mind if she saw better fights. Mai used to not like them when we were younger and would leave when I watched them. What changed it had to be when that old man tried to buy her to be a part of his team. I remember begging my father not to let the old man take her. Sometime after that, she became interested in everything I was interested in. Was I being used? Am I still being used? I looked down at the fawn covered in grey cement standing by my side.

Ping!

Berserk lvl20

+2 Skill Points

Skill Tree Unlocked 

Skill Tree: Black Rage I 0/50