Maximilian ducked to avoid a hawk like creature with talons the size of short swords. The mid air acrobatics brought him to his target tree but his instincts made it clear he wasn't safe. Not yet. He activated Severing Disc but before he could take out the first hawk he was forced to jump. A second one crashed talons first into the spot he had been standing. He flipped head over heel and released his skill. The blade sliced through the second hawk's wing. It dropped like a stone. Maximilian finished the flip and grabbed the next branch. He used the momentum to launch himself to the next branch. He could almost feel the first hawk as it shot toward him. He unleashed his aura infused with the Dao of Static as the talons neared him. The electricity wasn't enough to kill the bird but once it was paralyzed it didn't matter. The bird crashed to the ground below. He waited a moment though he was pretty sure they wouldn't get back up. The one without a wing would be dead regardless. Sure enough, a moment later he received a burst of kill energy. It was enough to cover the skill's activation which meant he would have to change his fighting style.

  He would need to rely on his Dao more. Either that or he would have to go on a slaughter. He scanned the forest floor for any places he could rest for the night. Having found none he decided to keep going. He wasn't sure why but the closer he got to the mountain the more he wanted to go. At first he hadn't noticed but now it was unmistakable. It was a dull pull. He could ignore it but there was no reason to further the sensation came from his instincts. Which he hoped meant there was something good. Or at least something he would want. Either way he didn't have much of a choice. He wasn't sure where in the world he was so he couldn't find his family. Nor had he come across any signs of humanity. If he hadn't known better, he would've wondered if the Network lied. If it had instead sent him to a different world. One where nature claimed everything.

  Further every once and a while he would come across a tree that wasn't right. A tree that either came from one of the other worlds or was changed by the Network. Or spiritual energy or whatever else. Those trees were more durable than the others to the point where he had to put serious effort into damaging them. He considered making a spear out of the wood but decided against it. Mostly because he had no idea how make one or how to fight with one. Outside of it being a sharp stick he doubted it would make something stronger than his bare his hands. Despite the recent attacks he decided to continue traveling by tree. Outside of the occasional hawk he had been left alone by the beasts on the ground. He traveled for another two hours before something stopped him.

  "Help!" A feminine voice called out from somewhere to his right. "Stay away." Maximilian came to a stop and looked in that direction. He considered the situation for a moment before he changed directions and took off. Part of him wondered if this was some sort of trick. Parrots could copy the voices of humans so there was a chance that this was one of them. A weird monster that hunted by trap but he couldn't ignore someone who needed help. He circulated his energy and prepared himself for a battle. The screaming grew louder until he stopped on a tree that over looked a large clearing. About one hundred feet below him was a group of ten people. About half of them were older, probably 50 years old at the youngest. While the other half was younger maybe early twenties if not younger. They were all dressed in random assortment of old earth gear. He figured they had looted a sporting goods store and a police station. The five young people held hands guns. While an older man in the book used a rifle.

  They were faced with a group of five cat beasts. He couldn't tell if they were panthers, cougars or jaguars before the Network but now they were monsters. Each one was as big as a child with teeth and claws that could rip through steel. From what he could see the people were going to lose. Their bullets worked which was surprising but they didn't have enough. Further most of them looked like they would split the moment the beasts made their move. If they did that the group would be slaughtered. The humans were almost devoid of spiritual energy. Which didn't make sense. They had survived a month they should've have leveled up at least once. He shook his head and focused. He couldn't afford to use his aura, so he had to waste some energy. He activated Static Bolt followed by Severing Disc. He imbued both skills with his Dao. He would need to take out all five before the people panicked. He also prepared to activate his robe's defenses. Just in case someone got trigger happy and hit him. When the cat's made their push he jumped.

  "I don't want to die." Tony's grip on his 9MM slacked as he fought to keep standing. The beasts had been chasing them for the better part of two hours. He was down to his last magazine. He wasn't sure how the beasts knew that but they did. They had killed three of them already but it was like they spawned out of the trees.

  "Easy boy." Tony turned toward the calming voice.

  "Easy for you to say." He began but the man's glare stopped the rest of the words.

  "It never gets easier. No matter how many times you stare death in the face kid. All you can do is choose you meet it." The crack of the rifle caused Tony to jump. "Damn. They're getting faster or used to the shots. How many do you have left?"

  "Fi-five." Tony replied. His grip on the gun loosening as his eyes darted to the treeline. He might be able to make it—

  "Don't. They are faster than you. Faster than any of us by a country mile. If you break you die. If you stop firing you die."

  "Don't scare the boy Miles." Both men glanced over at the elderly woman as she spoke up. Tony wasn't sure how she could be so calm. Not after all the things they've seen. The things they've been forced to do. It was like the end of the world had turned her into a unshakeable pillar. Or a loon. "We are all doing the best we can. After that's its in the hands of the lord."

  Miles chuckled and raised his rifle. "In that case Mama I suggest we all get to prayin cause I don't think they waitin on us any longer." As if his word were prophetic the smallest of the cats launched at Sarah. It was fast. Faster than anything should be. He already knew there was no saving her. He wanted to look away but he was frozen. Like watching a slow motion train crash only nothing happened. Their was a flash of light and then the beast fell to the ground in two pieces. In the time it took for Tony's brain to catch up to what happened two more of the overgrown cats were dead. One had been bisected and other electrocuted. In the next a moment something crashed into fourth with the force of a meteor. The ground exploded. A dust cloud shot out in every direction. After which the fifth and final beast had its head crushed. When he got over the initial shock he noticed the man. He was tall and adorned in dark red robes. Robes that made him look like an emissary from heaven.

  He was African-American at least he thought so. If anything he looked like more like a Greek statue than a person. As if he had been carved by some grand designer. The man lifted his now bloody fist and for a moment Tony was upset. He wasn't sure where the irritation came from or why he was mad. "Are you all alright?" The question felt more like a declaration. When he looked at Tony it felt like the mystery man was worse the man monsters by an order of magnitude. Tony tore his eyes away from him to check on the others. Everyone seemed just as shocked as he was. Everyone except Mama June. Tony made a mental note to find out she could feel so relaxed.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  "It would've been better if you had shown up a day ago." Her reply made Tony flinch. Had the only woman lost her mind? Did she want to die? Tony's eyes darted the stranger half expecting to find him attacking. Instead he cocked his head to the side as if he couldn't process what the old woman had said.

  "I suppose I should apologize though it wasn't entirely my fault. I have some questions I would appreciate your help." The man reached into a bag on his hip and tossed the old woman a strange looking pill bottle. "I don't have many of those left but they should be able to heal your injured."

  "If you don't mind my asking." Miles began. His voice more subdued than Tony had ever heard. "Do you have any bandages? Kim" He gestured to the woman had fallen earlier. "Her legs broken and she won't be able to move for a while." The man gestured toward the pill bottle as he walked toward them. Every movement was made with a strange grace almost as if the man had walked out of a commercial or romance novel.

  "I take it you all haven't had many healing pills? I guess that makes sense the Network didn't sound thrilled with the people left behind. The pills can heal most injures. In truth I haven't heard of anything it couldn't heal. Not as long as the wound doesn't have Dao."

  Miles looked like he wanted to question the man further, but Mama shook her head, popped the bottle and dump a pill into her hand. From what he could see the pill was weird. It looked more like a jaw breaker than anything you'd get from a doctor and there was medical smell about it. Like he had squeezed a whole pharmacy inside. They all watched as Mama knelt down and popped the pill into the woman's mouth. A moment later Tony almost lost what little food he had managed to find. Her bones moved and set themselves as as if an invisible hand were guiding them. Once they were in place the muscle and skin stitched itself together. It was easily one of the most disgusting things he had seen. Even miles looked a bit queasy.

  "Are you able to get more of these?" Mama June asked. As she resealed the bottle and tossed it back.

  "Not now. Though I might be able later. Once some prerequisites are met. Would you mind explaining why you all are still at level 1? I feel almost no spiritual energy coming from you?" Tony hoped Mama would have an answer for that or at least know whatever the hell he was talking about but for the first time she looked as confused as he was. Panic surged through him as he considered whether the man would get angry. Would he kill them if they couldn't pay him back for the pills? As if the man could read his thoughts the stranger locked eyes with Tony. His breath froze in his chest.

  "I am afraid I don't know what you mean." Just like that the stranger's attention was back on Mama and Tony could breath again. He said a mental thank you to the old woman and took a step back.

  "Spiritual energy?" The man asked again. "The energy in the air? The energy from the kills? You've had to have killed something in the last month, right?"

  Each question he asked made less and less sense until Tony's frustration overcame his self-preservation. "Aye! I don't know what the hell you're talking about, but we need to get out of here. If you hadn't figured it out there are monsters in the forest. Monsters that will eat all our asses if we don't get movin." His eyes widened and he took a step back when he reclaimed his senses. "I mean uh we need to leave? Sir" The stranger nodded but didn't look any more concerned than he was a moment ago.

  "Maybe you could explain what this 'Spiritual Energy' is and then we can give you the information you after?" Miles offered.

  The man paused a moment and then held his hand out palm up. A moment later a transparent disc the size of a dinner plate appeared. The disc started rotating like a buzz saw until it felt like the thing could cut through anything in front of it. "This is spiritual energy. Well this is made of spiritual energy. I am guessing that the Network didn't explain that to you all?" He must've noticed the confusion on everyone's face or he decided not to wait for an answer this time. "Let's start at the beginning. A month ago there was a voice. You all heard that right? It said something about the world being changed and a tutorial starting?"

  "I recall that voice I must admit I thought it was the lord at first." Mama June replied. "Did the voice send you?"

  The man shook his head. "Not really. The tutorial finished earlier today. We were all sent back. The Network, that's the voice arranged for some of us to be taken away. We received a training to use spiritual energy. It said that the people left behind weren't cultivators. That you couldn't gather energy from the environment. It was my understanding that you could get it from kills. You should've leveled up once or twice at least."

  "I don't know anything about this energy, but I've killed more than of few of the beasts with my rifle and never got anything. It made confirming the kills a bit harder." Miles said. When the stranger gestured toward the gun, he reluctantly handed it over. He examined it for a moment as if it held the secret to some great mystery.

  "Have you tried killing something without it? With your hands or maybe a knife or sword?" When no one spoke up he nodded and pointed the gun into the forest. The crack of the shot nearly made Tony jump out of his skin.

  "What the hell was that for!?" Tony exclaimed before he could catch himself. The man flipped the rifle around and handed it back to miles.

  "I think the Network doesn't count guns. Either it doesn't like them or there is something with the energy that won't let you gather it. You won't get any stronger if you keep using that. My assumption is that will carry over to all guns. Now that I think about it, the same will hold true for bombs. At least Earth's. You might be able to make some out of Spiritual energy though I can't say for sure." From there the group asked him a dozen more questions. It turned out the mystery man could provide more answers than they could but if he minded, he didn't let it show. He even refused when Mama offered him some of the jerky she made. Which while not being the greatest food he had ever had. Was much better than the wild berries you could scavenge.

  "Is there a reason your dressed like that?" Sarah asked as she tested out her healed leg. "You look like a character from a Chinese historical drama."

  The mystery man raised an eyebrow and then looked at himself. As if he expected the clothes to answer the question for him. "They are equipment I earned in the tutorial. They are stronger than normal clothes. As for why they look like this I couldn't say. I got what I got."

  "Young man, would you mind telling us your name? I've been calling you young man in my head." Mama asked him after another round of questions.

  The mystery man flashed a smile and then ruefully shook his head. "Maximilian, Maximilian Croft. If you don't my asking, why are you here? Is there a settlement nearby? I would like to search for my parents." Tony had to resist the urge to curse the man. Even his name sounded cool. Like some rich mystery man. He briefly wondered if the man might swing for his team before he shook the thought away. Now wasn't the time to get distracted. When Mama June spoke up he once again thanked her in his head.

  "We come from a commune a couple of days away." Mama June began. "We were out foraging when we ran across the beasts you helped us with. If you would escort us back we could ask around for your family."

  "Did you find everything you needed? I can't guarantee I am the strongest thing in the forest but I am pretty sure I can keep you all safe. Just don't go outside my line of sight." After that the group spread out. Miles kept watch with his rifle like usual only this time it felt a bit hollow. Like he was a child playing while his father stood guard. Only the man, Maximilian looked no older than thirty if that. He wanted to learn more about what made someone a cultivator. If it was something a person could become than he would have to ask about it. If he could figure it out he could learn how to survive. Until then he would have to try and stay with the stranger. At least until they were back.