-Callia-

  A moment passed in utter silence before the head of the dinosaur slammed down, ripping apart the decoy bush I had grown in front of the cave. “Go time,” I whisper in my head as I rush forward without delay or hesitation. I flash to the lip of the cave and then push off at full force, diving downwards. My knife gleaming with aura as I zip through the dinosaur's alert boundary. It tries to react, but I’m coming at it too fast and from behind.

  I drive my dagger like a piton into a rock wall and start summoning more. The Rex rears back trying to find an angle to attack me but is unable to effectively get a clean swipe. I anchor more and more daggers across its back. The injuries were too shallow to do any real damage, but as I planted more, it became easier and easier to maneuver. The Rex gave up on personally removing me, instead charging towards a tree and twisting its posture to try using the tree to brush me off it.

  I slid over onto one of the sides I had planted my daggers on, easily balancing without even using my hands. Some of the daggers were brushed off, and some were hammered into the body, but it didn’t matter as I started phase 2 of my attack plan. I summoned my bow carefully and lined up a shot where I heard its heart beating. Clearly it felt the imminent threat because the Rex pushed sideways in a panic roll. Taking advantage of the wounds caused by the displaced daggers, I let my shot loose, bypassing the scales, and jumped from the rex onto a nearby tree.

  From my spot on the tree, I take the chance while the dinosaur is prone to follow the previous arrow up with a small barrage of additional arrows. They didn’t dig as deeply as the first, but I did take advantage of the numerous holes in the previously formidable skin to make the arrows achieve real damage. Despite the numerous injuries, the Rex wasn’t done yet. Now it looked up, clearly identifying its aggressor. With swiftness that denied the serious damage I had dealt, the Rex jumped upward with its mouth wide and teeth gleaming.

  I easily moved towards the tree, evading the jaws, but that wasn’t the end of the counterattack. The Rex missing its bite spun rapidly, slamming its tail through the surrounding trees, including the one I was on. I rode the trunk as the tree briefly caught on its neighbors before sliding further and breaking free, falling to the ground. While the tree collapsed, I took my chance to jump right as the Rex finished its death spin. Unfortunately this time the monster was clever. Instead of trying to turn and fight, it pushed itself forward and clear of my mounting attempt.

  I hit the ground in a roll and quickly slid to a stop facing off against the massive predator. It pounced forward as I readied another arrow. When its mouth opened, I let the arrow fly while breaking into a sprint as I dove under the biting jaws. The wet thunk of the arrow slicing into the target echoed out as the whole beast finally staggered. I looked back at my work. A large hole had been ripped through the upper jaw and out the back of its skull. Despite that, the beast swayed wildly, taking an uncertain step towards me. However, I didn’t move as it finally lost balance, crashing into the dirt.

  I licked my lips as I looked forward to indulging in a childhood fantasy of my previous life. I can’t wait to see if the ancient ancestor of the chicken shares its flavor. Next on my fantasy food bucket list is dragons, though I hadn't heard any mention of them other than legends, so that might not be on the menu anytime soon. However, in the next second I saw the T-Rex dissolve into light and fade into nothingness. I’m still distraught over the loss of my dinner as Karia steps out of the bushes.

  “Good fight! I figured the level 90 zone might be a good starting place.” She walks over, patting my shoulder encouragingly. “The monster will be back in around three months. Sadly, whatever magic this place uses doesn’t let us loot the beasts. Honestly, if it did, I’m sure the capital would be filled with every warrior in the kingdom seeking riches. Sadly instead we will have to be satisfied with the experience. That is partly why the tower is restricted from civilian use. Well-documented high-level monsters that regularly reappear let us train some of the worst knights in the kingdom but also the most.” I nodded along. In reflection, the T-Rex really lacked a lot of the savage instincts that real monsters had. It had shown no sign of the desperate hunger that divine trace often induces.

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  “Now it's my turn!” She led us back to the entrance, but this time I was far more prepared than previously. Several seconds later I recognized the end of the teleports, and this time I found us in the caldera of a volcano. Immediately I recognized the forms of large winged reptiles moving through the haze of the smoke. “Welcome to level 190! The volcanic wyvern nest! Now while I’m out having fun, you must not move from the entryway. Don’t worry about getting bored; it should be an exciting show.”

  She jumped from the platform onto one of the various spikes of volcanic stone sticking out above the lava. The moment her foot touched down, my vision blurred as a shadow darted in and was blasted away. I blinked slowly, recognizing the impact of a wyvern being impaled on a distant stone spike. All around the caldera smoke was rapidly displaced. Dozens more took flight soon, settling into an orbit circling Karia. Two wyverns dove at once, rushing from opposite sides, and this time I was able to perceive her as she spun a large spiked ball of adamantium attached to a chain I didn't recognize.

  One second the ball was spinning, and in the next it hit the wyvern so hard it crushed its skull inward and pushed through the neck, blasting out the back of the body. The other wyvern started getting close, but Karia spun in place, causing the black orb of death to screech through the air, slamming into the torso and blasting the whole body into chunks.

  The horrific death of the others seemed to incite the rest that rushed downward, joining the assault. I noticed the extraordinary control Karia held over the flail as she carefully adjusted the range of the chain to make each impact through the ball instead of the chain. It was a horrific dance of death, but Karia wasn’t satisfied waiting for the Wyverns that were rushing at speeds similar to or exceeding my flash. She swung the ball downward, causing it to strike the stone beneath her.

  The impact blasted the stone apart, and she rode it into the sky, laughing happily as the despairing cries of the dying wyverns echoed through the smoke.

  Finally the boulder came crashing back down, falling towards the magma at the center. She swung her flail ‘gently,’ causing it to wrap around the entry platform, and then shot off in my direction as the chain seemingly retracted, letting Karia close the distance in barely any time. Right as she arrived, the boulder plunged into the lake, causing a small explosion. “MMmmm, small fries are fun sometimes, but judging from your reactions in the earlier fight, I figured this was the best you could handle while still watching.” Right, never make this lady my enemy. Behind her, a small wave of lava caused by the impact formed, drifting towards us. Shortly before it reaches us, Karia decided it's time to call it a day for her morning workout and activated the Shifting Plate.

  Crescent’s dilemma

  Callen finished his tale of adventure to Crescent, and the two of them switched topics to local issues. Callen reviewed the various incidents around town and found himself just as confused on the source as Nightshade had been. While they were working, the angry chants of the people protesting Crescent calmed down, and they dispersed on their own. Callen looked out in confusion.

  “Why did they leave?” It wasn’t late in the day, and there were no notable changes, so why did it end without any prompting?

  “It’s like this most days. Most people prioritize their work over the protest, so they usually show up for lunch and at night before I finish for the day.” Callen nodded along, but inside he felt it was strange. Memories of how Lexia and Monsters would enter a strange compulsion in his presence came to mind, and he looked over at Crescent.

  “Hey Crescent, do you have any weird traits?” Callen immediately noticed the way she froze. It was fear of being called out. Callen didn’t want to press, but to have any chance at addressing the issue, he needed to know the origin. Crescent seemed about to cry but gathered her courage and presented her traits to Callen.

  She closed her eyes, waiting for his anger, but the silence carried on. An arm gently wrapped around her as she tensed. The other hand gently caressed her face, and a quiet voice spoke to her.

  “No wonder you’ve been having such a hard time. Thanks for holding strong for so long on your own. It couldn’t have been easy, but don’t give up now. As things are, I’ve managed to change my traits accidentally a number of times, but more importantly, specialists who can intentionally change traits and even species do exist. Once we have things sorted at the capital, we’ll have all the time we need to address this.”

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  for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.