“Together?” Kel asked.

  He didn’t like Vanessa’s decision. Not one bit. It introduced complications – avoidable ones.

  “I want to make sure everything goes smoothly. And no, I’m not taking objections,” she said calmly. “I’m a warrior. I can take care of myself.”

  She tapped a small case strapped to her thigh, holding her arrows and a compact shortbow.

  “So you don’t need to worry about my safety.”

  “Wonderful,” Kel muttered. “Now I get to worry about my magic instead.”

  And he’d already started imagining how nice it would be to cast without holding back.

  “Did the baron approve this brilliant idea?” Kel tried his last angle.

  “Of course not,” Vanessa replied. “That’s why I left without permission.”

  Ingis let out a quiet chuckle.

  They were gathered at his house, not the baron’s estate. Kel finally understood why – the girl’s father clearly disapproved of her choices. Kel shot the healer a mildly irritated look, but stayed silent.

  The invited mage entered the living room.

  “The portal is ready. Please proceed to the courtyard.”

  For some reason, the mage was concealing his level. It happened sometimes. Kel slipped past his defenses just long enough to check.

  Sixty-five.

  …Why hide that?

  Then again – sixty-five was low for transporting three people. A triple-target portal would drain an obscene amount of mana. All Kel could do was hope the mage knew what he was doing.

  The moment Kel stepped into the courtyard, that hope evaporated.

  He froze.

  Vanessa misunderstood his reaction.

  “Don’t worry,” she said quickly. “The mage explained that all of this is necessary for the portal.”

  A rune-covered circle was drawn on the ground. Multicolored candles floated along its edge.

  A bargain-bin ritual, Kel thought.

  Vanessa continued.

  “In truth, we were very lucky,” Vanessa said. “The first mage who responded to my offer backed out once he learned the portal was for two people. Said his level wasn’t high enough. Thankfully, I managed to find another mage quickly. With his level ninety, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

  Everything clicked into place.

  A greedy mage had decided to gamble. Took the money, trusted his luck–and now was throwing up a smokescreen of ‘complex teleportation preparations’. If the Tower ever found out about a stunt like this, he’d be in serious trouble.

  “Vanessa,” Kel asked carefully, though he already knew the answer, “have you ever used teleportation before?”

  “No,” she admitted. “I’ve lived near the Wastelands my whole life. Occasionally my parents and I would inspect our lands–but always on horseback.”

  “What a wonderfully sophisticated system,” Kel said, unable to stop himself.

  “Extremely sophisticated,” the mage puffed up at once.

  He was clearly pleased with himself. Provincial fools, easy marks.

  Kel studied the circle again. Out of all the runes, only one actually mattered–the one reinforcing mana flow. The rest of them, the candles, even the circle itself, were pure theater.

  He knew what happened when a mage lost control of a portal.

  The people inside were reduced to atoms.

  Kel had never hijacked a portal mid-transfer. He sincerely hoped he wouldn’t have to start now.

  “Please,” the mage said.

  He stepped into the circle and held out his hands, inviting them to join.

  Vanessa stepped forward first.

  ***

  Everything went smoothly.

  The mage delivered them to the Sand Cliffs and, after promising to return the moment he received the signal, vanished.

  Kel looked around.

  “Sand Cliffs” was a very generous name.

  It wasn’t cliffs so much as… sand. Just sand.

  If anything, this place was an inverted oasis. Oases appeared in the middle of deserts. The Sand Cliffs had appeared in the middle of the kingdom’s fertile fields.

  Tall rock formations surrounded by rolling dunes–that was all Kel could see ahead.

  He activated his magical sight at once and began scanning the area. No traces of monsters. Only lizards and snakes–the usual inhabitants of these lands.

  Kel had thoroughly studied the account of the adventurer who claimed to have seen Asta, so he headed east without hesitation.

  Still, the name was curious–Asta.

  In one of the ancient tongues, it meant “dream.” Far too romantic a name for a monster.

  Kel moved easily across the sand, barely leaving footprints. Vanessa, on the other hand, kept sinking–first to her ankles, then to her knees. The local dunes were treacherous, and without magic, moving through them was exhausting.

  “Is that some kind of special ability?” Vanessa asked, once again trying to pull her boot free from the sand. “That light step of yours?”

  “You could call it that,” Kel said.

  When a person – or any other sentient being – received a class, they could unlock additional abilities that had nothing to do with magic. In a way, it was a special gift for those who chose a particular path.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  Kel’s “light step,” however, was anything but such a gift. In reality, it was a complex spell that allowed him to overcome almost any terrain.

  To those uninitiated in magic, it seemed that the most difficult spells were the flashy ones–combat magic, for example. But even a cutting spell only forced the core to work for a few brief moments. Light Step was different. The core had to remain active constantly, guiding mana without pause. As if the mage were casting spell after spell, endlessly.

  An enormous strain.

  Ironically, the only mages who could afford to use such movement spells were already powerful enough that opening a portal.

  “At this moment, I kind of regret not becoming an adventurer,” Vanessa joked, trying to lighten the mood. Out here, away from the city, she behaved more freely, clearly attempting to build some rapport. Not that Kel needed it. “My special ability is accuracy – and so far, it’s not doing us much good.”

  “Accuracy…” Kel echoed. “Let’s just hope you won’t instinctively try to shoot Asta in the eye.”

  Vanessa didn’t appreciate the joke.

  They had been walking for almost three hours, and for the last hour Vanessa had been regretting her decision to join the adventurer. Not because it was difficult or uncomfortable – though it was, no point denying that. She felt like she was in the way.

  On his own, Kelmir would have reached their destination long ago. Instead, he had to keep slowing down to help her. He didn’t complain, but it was obvious.

  “Careful,” and he stopped her from stepping on a snake hidden beneath the sand.

  “Careful,” and he offered a hand to steady her on crumbling rocks.

  “Careful,” and he guided her away from a patch of shifting sand.

  It felt as though Kelmir could see straight through the Sand Cliffs, down to the very last grain. As if he could walk this place blindfolded and never stumble.

  It was impressive. No wonder Ingis had advised her to seek out this man.

  And it was irritating.

  Beside him, Vanessa felt utterly incompetent.

  It was strange that he still held only a cooper rank. With skills like that, he should have earned silver already. Probably. She wasn’t well versed in the inner workings of the Adventurers’ Guild.

  Warriors, on the other hand – those she understood perfectly.

  Vanessa’s great-great-grandmother had been an elf, and she loved telling her little granddaughter stories of her adventures. Years ago, she had gone with a party of heroes to the Crimson Dragon’s lair to claim the treasures within. The grimoire they had taken still sat with the Chartises, kept as a family heirloom.

  Vanessa listened, captivated, as her grandmother recounted how noble heroes helped anyone in need along the way – expecting nothing in return. How her great-great-grandmother’s spells had saved the party from certain death more times than she could count. And what she loved most of all? Her grandmother’s best friend, the warrior Estella.

  Vanessa couldn’t control mana. She didn’t believe, not really, that she would one day receive the Ascended’s blessing and become a heroine. But she could train. Over and over. She could grind herself to walk the path of a Warrior.

  Despite her older brother teasing her. Despite her father forbidding it. She pressed on. No complaints. No excuses.

  Books said the path of a Warrior was the path of Strength. Vanessa knew better. True warriors walked the path of stubbornness.

  So she kept pace with Kelmir, step after step, and promised herself one thing: when the monster came, she would be useful. She would prove she belonged here.

  Finally, they reached the place.

  “In the stories, Asta always lives in caves,” Vanessa began cautiously.

  “I know,” Kelmir nodded. “But there are no caves here. Let’s rest for a bit, then examine everything carefully.”

  He didn’t look like he needed rest. This was definitely for her. Vanessa dropped onto the nearest rock.

  Why did he sound so sure about the caves? Another Adventurer’s instinct? But caves can exist underground, not just in rocks. You wouldn’t notice them so easily.

  It was a shame the mage had refused to join their party. Magical scanning would have been useful right now.

  “Here’s the plan. You rest a little longer, and I’ll step away for a few minutes.”

  Vanessa didn’t try to stop him. After hours of travel, who knew where he might need to go?

  She drank some water, shook sand out of her boots, and grew bored. Kelmir hadn’t returned. Could something have happened to him?

  Just in case, Vanessa pulled her bow from its case. Its size might make it look like a child’s weapon, but it could shoot at extreme distances. And the enchanted arrows could pierce the armor of any monster up to level one hundred.

  Vanessa knew there were monsters beyond the normal ranks, dragons, for example, but she wanted to believe Asta wasn’t one of them.

  Should I call Kelmir? she wondered. But that might draw the monsters’ attention.

  Wait… didn’t I come here for a monster? she reminded herself. Rising to her feet, she tried to steady herself.

  “Kelmir,” she called. Her voice was quiet, uncertain.

  Vanessa scowled at herself. Not only had she been clumsy in the sand during the journey, but now she was afraid of the very monster she had come for.

  “Kelmir!” This time her voice was louder.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw movement. A shadow flickered.

  Nocking an arrow, Vanessa moved toward it, ready for anything.

  “Don’t scare it… just don’t scare it,” Vanessa kept telling herself.

  She circled around a rock outcrop and nearly shouted with joy. Six pairs of glowing red eyes were staring right at her. She had found Asta. The Adventurer hadn’t lied. The monster looked exactly as the legends described: a long, scaled body with six heads on elongated necks. In size, Asta was no bigger than a cow.

  “I can do this. I can’t let it get away.”

  Vanessa loosed an arrow. From this distance, even a novice wouldn’t have missed.

  The arrow flew past, barely grazing the monster.

  “No way!”

  Instead of attacking Vanessa, the startled monster bolted. She fired another arrow.

  Missed again.

  Her hands trembled with panic. Her vision blurred, her mind clouded.

  “I can’t let it escape.”

  Vanessa gave chase, shooting arrow after arrow until she ran out.

  The fog in her head thickened.

  “Can’t… let… it escape.”

  She dropped the bow. Just a little more. Almost there. She was about to catch it.

  Vanessa lunged forward, almost grabbing one of the necks.

  The ground vanished beneath her. She fell off the cliff.

  It was a good thing Vanessa had enough tact not to follow him. Without her, things would go much faster.

  Kel scanned the area once more. No caves, not even underground ones.

  “Maybe Asta wandered here by accident? Maybe its lair is somewhere else?”

  It wouldn’t make the search much harder. Kel expanded the radius. Still, nothing but lizards. Although…

  He focused. There was definitely something here. Kel muttered an incantation and opened his eyes. At first glance, nothing. Just dust dancing in the air.

  He pulled the creature toward him across the distance separating them. The transparent air solidified in his palm. The being turned out to be a spirit. That was why it was so hard to notice.

  It had a simple name: Desert Spirit. On its own, it was harmless. No fangs like monsters, no curse like powerful spirits. It didn’t even have a shape–unless someone looked at it. Interesting… what form would it take if he turned off true sight? Something pleasant? Something useful? That was the principle behind their existence.

  Kel’s expression darkened. The invisible spirit wriggled in his hands, then dissolved into nothingness.

  The Desert Spirit was useless to him.

  This entire expedition had been useless.

  The signal beacon left on Vanessa gave a sign that she had left her spot. Probably just wanted to stretch her legs. The beacon didn’t indicate any danger.

  Alright, it was really time to go. They wouldn’t find Asta here.

  What now? Even if only for a moment, a sliver of hope appeared for Kel–there might be a way to save Kiana. Even if it had to rely on what the so-called monster could offer.

  Faith and hope…

  Kel looked at his empty palm. Swore under his breath, then teleported to where he had left Vanessa. The spell caught her just in time.

  “Let go! I have to–understand, I have to – catch the monster!” Vanessa shouted, struggling. “This is my last hope!”

  Kel understood. And so he held her tight.

  The girl who had fallen from the cliff didn’t realize she had just narrowly escaped death. She was chasing her most precious, most desired goal. Nothing else mattered.

  Asta didn’t exist. But here lived the Desert Spirit. Formless, intangible. It seemed not to exist at all – until a living creature’s gaze fell upon it. Then, instead of the spirit, the victim would see the object of their desire. After that, the victim fell into the trap and perished.

  The mages were right. The moment of death brings a massive surge of mana and energy. A true feast for the spirit.

  Vanessa slowly began to calm down.

  How foolish. Protective spells had been used for hundreds of years, yet no one had fixed this terrible flaw. They don’t see the threat; they only react to direct physical influence. The victim isn’t dragged by force – they walk toward the cliff themselves. In other words, the spells only read direct physical impact.

  This opens up astonishing possibilities.

  Aigon would never have thought of that. Nor would Kel. At least, not before.