The Wandering Wolves corps didn’t head

  out immediately. After the captain’s speech, they had one last night to

  rest and let loose before they marched. If nothing else, it gave the last

  unit to arrive at least one night of fun, one last chance to blow off

  some steam before going to war.

  The compound had felt a like festival the night before,

  but it was nothing compared to to this last night. As soon as the sun

  went down, a handful of bonfires were lit throughout the various

  campgrounds on the compound, cooking high quality monster meat,

  surrounded by music and revelry.

  Sebastian sat with his unit, as well as some members of

  other units of the White Fang, and even a handful from another division.

  A couple of them had brought out some instruments, a simple drum set

  and something that looked like a large didgeridoo.

  Rather than the old-timey folk music he expected from a

  mostly medieval world, what they actually played was more like techno,

  only acoustic and enhanced by [System] magic. Víctor provided the vocals. It was a sea shanty-esque

  song, only themed around adventuring. They all definitely had some

  Skills related to music. Even without any microphones or any other way

  to amplify the sound, their music reached most of the compound. It sent

  the entire company into even more of a frenzy. They weren't the only ones to play music, but somehow the different songs all mixed together perfectly. It sent

  the entire company into even more of a frenzy.

  Huh, not really what I expected, but

  I guess it doesn’t make sense to use old earth movies to judge the

  culture of this world. Although, seeing middle-aged warriors dancing

  like they’re possessed, to some acoustic version of techno music, was

  not anywhere on my bingo card. I’m glad to see Safi enjoying herself, at

  least. I was worried that she would struggle with being a mercenary,

  but she’s really finding herself.

  He let them have their fun and retired to his tent to cultivate for the night, as always.

  Thankfully, the enchantments on the tent helped dampen

  the noise, even if they couldn’t shut it out completely. He had a mat in

  his room where he spent hours every day drawing in the natural essence

  of the world into his spirit body. Even now that he was fully within

  [Core Formation] stage, he still had to follow the same process as in the

  previous stage, albeit with an added step.

  Falling into a cultivative state was as easy as breathing

  nowadays. It was only a matter of closing his eyes and taking a deep

  breath to sink into the Spirit Realm.

  Essence entered his spirit body and was filtered and

  purified as it came closer to his intricate meridian system. Drops

  formed on the inside wall of his Sea of Essence. Each one instantly

  ripped from the wall by the solid dark purple Core hovering at its

  center. The drops merged with the powerful current of essence as thick

  and red as blood, and it was pumped through the pathways which spread

  throughout his spirit body.

  With each circulation of essence, his Core gained mass.

  It wasn’t much, but over time, it added up. By now, over a decade since

  his breakthrough, his Core was about the diameter of a small coin. It

  had grown to more than twice its original size, but it was still rather

  small. It would be many years until his Core was fully formed.

  POV Marion Macias

  I just want to go to bed.

  Marion sighed and looked around at a small crowd of

  dancing mercenaries. Smoke breezed past her, stinging her eyes and

  briefly overwhelming the lingering scent of grilled meat and alcohol.

  Her eyes stopped on Safi. The girl’s hair was usually in a tight

  ponytail, but she had let it down at some point during the night. She

  was dancing like there was no tomorrow around the roaring fire.

  Ah, the energy of youth. A part of

  me misses it, an even larger part of me gets tired just by thinking

  about it. It is nice to see them have fun, though.

  When she was first assigned to this new unit, led by a

  complete novice, she had been disappointed. It had felt like a demotion.

  Then she caught herself. She remembered why she became a mercenary in

  the first place.

  In her old unit, she barely ever saw any action. She grew

  complacent. Now, in just a few months of being in the Valyan Claw, she

  had engaged—and taken down—not just an assassin troupe but an entire

  fortress of unified bandits.

  The thought pulled her lips into a slight smile. Only for

  a moment, though. It vanished as suddenly as it appeared. Her face

  returned to the same stern expression as always.

  They care, at least. It’s more than

  could be said for members of the Gallant Howl. The youngest, Safi and

  Gawen, are almost like brother and sister. And the boss clearly cares

  for them more than he lets on. Ferran’s still a bit of a dick, but he’s

  getting better.

  Her gaze turned to Víctor, singing his heart out.

  I haven’t seen him let loose like

  this for a long time. I remember how he used to sing when he first

  started, only to stop for a long while. It’s nice that he’s finding his

  voice again. Hell, this entire unit feels more alive than any I’ve been

  with since I joined the corps.

  It’s a shame they’re all probably going to die soon.

  She sighed, again, and put away her drink.

  Time for bed. They can handle themselves for the rest of the night, she thought as she left the gathering, meandering her way through the maze of enchanted tents back their own campground.

  Reaching for the door handle of her barracks, she stopped

  and frowned. The music had stopped. It had happened suddenly, too

  suddenly, and the rest of the compound was still quite loud, so she

  hadn’t really noticed when it happened.

  Huh, strange, she thought. But she put it out of her mind and opened the door.

  Crash

  Her eyes widened at the loud noise. Damnit!

  Without hesitation, she slammed the door shut and ran. When she made it

  back, the place was a mess. The fire pit still burned, but tables were

  overturned and trash was strewn around. Several people of her own unit,

  along with a few others from their division, faced a small group of men.

  Some of them were screaming while others stood at their friends side,

  tense and ready to act if need be.

  “You should have just done as we asked and none of this would have happened,” one of the men said.

  Another mockingly jumped in. “Yeah, if you don’t take requests then why are you playing in the first place?”

  As they argued, Marion’s eyes scanned the area. She

  noticed the didgeridoo-esque instrument that had so merrily been played

  when she left. It was violently broken apart, likely the cause of the

  noise she heard.

  Her gaze returned to the standoff where several people,

  on both sides, now had their hands on their weapons. Just as they were

  about to be brandished, Marion called out.

  “What in the hell do you people think you’re doing!” The interruption startled everyone. All eyes turned to

  her. “It’s bad enough to cause a disturbance at this hour, but you all

  look like you’re about ready to kill each other. Need I remind you fools

  of the rules? Wolves do not fight other wolves! Simple scuffles and

  spars on the fighting rings are one thing. This, however, is clearly

  beyond acceptable bounds. If any-single-one of you draws your weapon, I

  will have you branded traitor and dragged in front of Captain Cirera

  himself.”

  The threat of—very real—consequences sobered everyone up.

  Uncertainty and annoyance became apparent on the aggressors faces. One

  of them leaned in and whispered something to Damek, the owner of the

  didgeridoo. They all laughed and walked away, kicking a bag and some

  trash as they went.

  Víctor and the drummer had to hold their friend back as the man’s rage spiked.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “Whoa, man! Calm down, they’re not worth it,” Víctor said.

  “Not worth it!? They destroyed my horn.”

  “We’ll get you a new one,” the drummer said.

  If anything, the suggestion agitated the man more. “A new

  one? You’ll just get me a new giant faun horn, hand crafted by a master

  flutesmith?” he scoffed. “It took me a decade to find this one!”

  Marion marched up to the group, most of whom were members

  of her own unit, with murder in her eyes. “What were you guys

  thinking!? Do you have any idea how much trouble you would have been in

  if I didn’t get here in time?”

  Safi stepped up and bent her head. “Ma’am, I know how this looks, but I assure you, we were in the right.”

  “What does it matter if you were ‘in the right’? The

  captain would have your heads regardless. And there’s only so much Vice

  Captain Sellar can do to protect anyone who brandished their weapon

  against a fellow wolf outside of a sanctioned spar.” Marion

  took a momentary break from her chiding when faced with their puppy dog

  eyes. Even she wasn’t immune to the plight and injustice plastered on

  their faces. She let out an exacerbated sigh. “Fine, tell me. What

  happened?”

  The group shared looks, which ended with most of them

  eying Safi. They had accurately recognized that Marion was more

  susceptible to the young woman’s words than their own. It made sense.

  They were mostly middle-aged men, rowdy mercenaries who had seen—and

  caused—their fair share of trouble at similar gatherings before. Safi,

  on the other hand, was a young and naive rookie, acting with a pure

  heart. They didn’t hesitate to take advantage of Marion’s weakness, and

  she knew it.

  “They stormed in and demanded that Víctor and the others

  play some other songs, music from the group’s home region. They wouldn’t

  take no for an answer. It turned ugly when they started insulting the

  White Fang. Saying that none of us were true warriors, just musicians

  and farmers, and we should listen when our betters deign to speak to us.

  When we resisted, one of them used a Skill to destroy Damek’s horn.”

  Marion closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. I should be in bed by now. Why couldn’t they just stay out of trouble. She opened her eyes, looked around at the nervous faces in front of her, and said, “Alright, here’s what we do…”

  ***

  Flames erupted at the campground of the group of bullies who interrupted an otherwise lovely night.

  “Someone catch the damned thing!” one of the men called

  out as the goat-like animal kicked another barrel of booze into the fire

  pit, which was caught just before a major explosion.

  One of them jumped at the beast, desperately trying to

  wrap his arms around it and wrestle it to the ground. In spite of the

  man’s high level, the animal dashed away before he could get a solid

  grip. “How is it so slippery!?” he shouted from the ground where he

  landed before pushing himself back up.

  The beast moved with a strange purpose, accurately aiming for their supply of alcohol and food as it ravaged the campground.

  One of them took out a wood chopping axe and called out, “Corner it!”

  As if on queue, the goat sprinted away.

  “Damn, don’t let it get away!”

  “Catch it!”

  The group ran after the beast in a frenzy. They weaved

  between tents, running through other campgrounds along the way without

  any concern for the damage they caused. All that mattered in their minds

  was catching that blasted animals.

  Turning a corner, they finally caught up.

  It stood by the side of a tent, nibbling on some leftover food.

  “There you are, you little shit!” the man with the axe

  said, almost slurring his words. Even at their levels, if they consumed

  enough alcohol, they would succumb to its effects, especially when that

  alcohol was as strong as theirs.

  He dashed forward, activating a Movement Skill to ensure

  that the goat wouldn’t get away this time. The axe head fell heavily. As

  it descended toward the animal, the goat's shape blurred and shifted.

  In its place was a cat, startled by the sudden attack.

  Due to its smaller size, and quick reflexes, the axe missed, albeit barely.

  “WHAT IN THE EVERLASTING FUCK!?”

  A voice, loud enough that the tents around them trembled, sounded

  besides the man. The cat scampered over the to new arrival and happily

  jumped into his arms.

  “Vice Captain Falstaff, s— sir!” Dropping the axe, the

  bully could barely speak from shock. “What are you… Uh... This isn’t what it

  looks like!”

  The vice captain stepped toward him, every step shook the earth. “What it looks like, boy, is that you just tried to kill my beloved Theodore.”

  The calm rage on the vice captain’s face caused the

  bullies to lose the color in their faces. It was true of all of them but

  most of all in the man who had almost done the deed. His entire body

  lost its strength and he plummeted to his knees, where he begged for

  forgiveness. The others followed.

  From behind a tent in the distance, visible only through a

  small gap between multiple tents, Marion and several others watched.

  They carefully sneaked back to their own campground. Once they were out

  of sight, they broke down in laughter.

  “That was amazing! How you came up with such a plan, and so quickly, is beyond me. I am in awe, ma’am,” Víctor said.

  Damek quickly jumped in, “As am I. It doesn’t quite make

  up for the loss, but it certainly makes me feel a good deal better.

  Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me, thank Cisquell, Víctor, and Ciro.

  Without their Skills and spells, we never would have been able to lure

  out Vice Captain Falstaff’s cat, or provoked their group with the Boer.

  Now, perhaps it’s time to call it a night?”

  Marion left as the others began rounding down for the

  evening. Trusting that they wouldn’t get into any more trouble. She

  hurried back to the barracks and into her own room.

  With a thud, she fell onto her bed. With a soft smile on her face, she had one final thought.

  Finally, sleep.

  POV Sebastian

  The entire company was packed up and ready to march

  before lunch the next day. It would take quite some time for the caravan

  of mercenaries to reach the battlefield on the border between the

  eastern continent and Lumeria. Fortunately, the Profound Sky Sect was

  toward the southern part of the border with Lumeria, quite close to

  Calindor. It would only take the caravan a couple of months to get

  there.

  Travel was different as part of a large caravan as

  opposed to just his unit. Stopping to make camp was almost like setting

  up a small town every night.

  A few weeks into the journey, Sebastian took a short

  break from his cultivation. He sat alone behind his tent and watched the

  stars, he always enjoyed the peace and quiet at night.

  Safi walked around the corner.

  “Teacher, do you have a minute to talk?”

  Sebastian pulled his eyes from the starry sky, which, no matter how used to this world he got, still felt alien to him.

  “Of course, what’s up?”

  She sat down next to him and leaned back against the tent

  wall. It was comfortably soft to lean on but still sturdy enough to

  support their weight.

  “You know how, back home, I told you that I wasn’t

  following you when I applied? I— I lied. Kind of! I didn’t mean to like,

  stalk you or anything. It’s just…” She sighed. “Martial tradition says

  that your master is a second parent. So… If Master Oren is my second

  father, that makes you sort of my uncle.”

  Sebastian turned to her, uncertain what to say. He didn’t get to say anything as she continued.

  “The reason I joined the sword school to begin with was

  because I had a pretty good level limit, 72 is higher than most even

  dream of. When you started coming to the school, you were weaker than

  Master Oren. Now, and even a few years ago, everyone could see that you

  had surpassed him.” She looked wistfully at the sky, reminiscing for a

  moment. “To keep climbing and getting that much stronger at your level,

  it’s always been obvious that Celder wasn’t big enough for you.” Pulling

  herself away from her thoughts, she adjusted her seat. “Sorry, I didn’t

  exactly rehearse this. I’m rambling…”

  “No no, it’s fine,” Sebastian assured her and urged her to continue.

  “There were two reasons I applied to the Wandering Wolves

  Corps,” she said, “to have someone around who I trust when I try to

  level, and to be there when you… To see how far you would go. But… this

  war. I just didn’t expect that this whole thing would get me sent to

  fight on a battlefield like this. I’m scared.”

  Sebastian just smiled and ruffled her hair.

  That was a lot of words going in all kinds of directions, but I think the gist is that last part, she’s just scared.

  “Honestly, I am too. But that’s the thing I’ve learned

  about growing stronger, fear is unavoidable. If you shy away from danger

  and never conquer your fears, you might find comfort in life, but

  you’ll never make your dreams come true.”

  The two stayed for a while and watched the stars in

  silence. Sebastian wasn’t sure if his thoughts helped ease Safi’s

  worries but voicing his own feelings was all he could really do.

  The caravan continued, and after a long

  journey, they finally reached the Western Azure Plains, the location of

  the Profound Sky Sect’s main battles with the armies of the Lumerian

  Kingdom.

  They followed a path along the side of a mountain. The

  cliff wall on his left and the open nature of the eastern continent to

  his right.

  He had heard a lot of rumors about the East since he

  arrived in this world, but he never took them too seriously. Lumeria

  called them “demonic lands”, but there was nothing demonic about

  Sebastian’s view from the mountainside. Although scars of old battles

  had left the terrain sparse and barren, there was still beauty to be

  found.

  Beyond the desolation was the edge of a forest. A splash

  of green to frame the greys and the browns of the bleak remnants of

  generations of war.

  Sebastian heard it before he saw it.

  Screams echoed in the distance. And as the caravan

  approached the bend up ahead, the smell hit them. Just like how you can

  smell the ocean when you get closer to the shore, the scent of blood

  wafted over them with every gust of wind. The smell grew more pungent

  with every step of the mighty beast that pulled Sebastian’s carriage.

  When they finally turned the corner, uncontrollable gasps

  escaped almost everyone’s lips. Sebastian knew that people around him

  were exclaiming various words in shock, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying.

  His vision narrowed. Dread seeped into his bones. His entire being was

  focused on the battlefield beneath the mountain.

  Tens of thousands— No, hundreds of thousands of men

  and women were clashing head on. With his heightened senses, he could

  see details he would never be able to forget. Burned into his superhuman

  memory, forever.

  Soldiers were climbing over each other, desperately struggling to kill those in front before they were killed themselves.

  Sebastian came face to face with the reality of war in this world for the first time.

  Thanks for reading!

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