VI

  Double Team I

  Carrying the big boar through the forest was a task in and of itself. I managed by strapping a bundle of rope I had with me around the boar and dragging it through the snow. The tracks were like an open invitation to hunt me down for any predator on my heels. If the storm hadn’t picked up.

  Visibility was low. I often stumbled over a stray Frost Elder root. Cycling my essence was no longer enough to stop my hands from going numb, and heat siphoning from my body at an alarming rate. Half an hour went by like this. I considered dropping the boar when Ashwing spotted a square shadow up on a hill. I hoped with all my heart that it was a cabin. Preferably one made of stone.

  I clawed my way forwards.

  ‘Stone. Thank the gods.’

  I threw the boar to the side and barged through the front door. The living room was equipped with a hearth, a dusty prayer mat, and even a small, walled off section that had a loo in it.

  Thoughtful.

  I slammed the door shut. There was some unused firewood in a corner and a flint and steel. A few minutes later, I had a cosy fire going.

  “Dear Lord.”

  I couldn’t sit any closer to the hearth without burning myself.

  Behind me, Ashwing whined.

  “Yes, yes, I’m getting to you, you fatso.”

  Going back outside, I separated two of the boar’s thighs. Since I wasn’t keen on having the bisected corpse clog up the home with its stench, I buried the rest underneath a pile of snow.

  One of the thighs went through a skewer and balanced over the fire. For the other, I picked up one of the plates sitting on a nearby table. They were dusty, like anything else, but were better than nothing. I also doubted Ashwing cared.

  “Here you go.”

  She tore into the thigh without hesitation.

  “Don’t let the meat burn, okay?” I waited until she looked up from the pig. “This is how you turn it.” After making sure she could mimic the motion and actually turned the meat after some time, I turned to scanning my environment more fully. Besides the aforementioned facilities, the cabin was as bare as could be. But being prudent couldn’t hurt. It would be just like cultivators to hide treasures for those diligent enough.

  ‘Where would you hide a stash of secret items?’

  A cabin only had so many places to do so. The chimney was one, though I couldn’t search there now.

  “The floor is the only candidate, no?”

  While the outside of the cabin was built using stone, the floor was made from hardwood. I rapped my feet over every plank. Nowhere did I find a hollow spot.

  I sighed. ‘I tried.’

  I approached the prayer mat. I had enough experience to—the floor creaked and the reverberation of my footfall was shallower than it should’ve been. With a smile, I displaced the mat and used my blade to dislodge the plank. A dark space barely wide enough to put my foot in revealed itself. Inside was a brass chest decorated with jewels.

  [Treasure Chest - Common]

  “There we are.”

  I heaved the chest onto the floor and fiddled with the latches. There was but a single item inside. A white stone with squiggly lines engraved on the top.

  [Inheritance Dungeon Map | Grade: F | Rarity - Common]

  Ah. So the squiggly lines were a map. I turned the stone upside down. ‘Are these woods?’

  There was a red dot on the map near what may be a mountain.

  ‘That must be the dungeon.’

  Indeed, when I closed my eyes and focused, the image of a mountainside with multiple entrances appeared in my head. It was closeby, so I made it my next destination. Even if the inheritance it held was only common, it should be rewarding. There was even a chance…

  ‘Put that out of your head, Ashe.’

  What were the odds of that happening?

  I put everything back how it was. I didn’t expect more rewards from a cabin like this, so I crossed my feet into the lotus position and turned to my essence. A fountain of raw energy coursed through me. Experience was stored as essence inside your body, which you must refine through meditation to level up. But unbound essence gradually diffused out of your system, leaving you with a certain amount of time to do so.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  There was a larger amount of energy for me to work with than I expected. The system was giving me more for kills because I was still level 1, but I had a mountain where I should have a mound.

  ‘That’s my title at work.’

  Now, what was the best thing to do? I could level but an argument could be made for pouring the essence into the shard…should that even be possible. Just then, my shard pulsed. It was in the same manner as when Ashwing called on our connection, but the bird was too busy eating to converse.

  I peeked into the garden and frowned. A branch of the cindertree was hanging low on the ground like an open palm.

  ‘Does it want something?’

  I couldn’t imagine what, though.

  ‘Let’s just see.’

  I carved out a gate, Ashwing looking up as I did so. The branch entered the portal on its side of the garden and entered my world.

  I peered. ‘It can enter this realm?’

  But energy wafted off the branch, visible to the naked eye.

  ‘It cannot stay here long.’

  So why is it here? It reached for my pouch, which was when it clicked. I quickly procured the core and handed it to the branch, then the tree spirit shot back into the gate.

  ‘Is it going to consume it?’

  Peeking into the realm showed the cindertree branch heading towards its smaller offshoot. It held the core aloft for the infant cinderwing tree, which tentatively reached out with a branch of its own. A hole opened in its bark, and the core vanished inside.

  Skill detected! Would you like to extract [Snowfall] into cinderwing’s skill tree and merge? Compatibility: low. Chance: very low.

  Warning: failure to extract skill will destroy the core.

  ‘Snowfall…the infant skill the boar used?’ It was possible to extract skills?!

  I clamped down on my excitement. Though I wanted to see what would happen, the compatibility of the skill with the tree was low. Most likely because Ashwing preferred either flying or fire type arts. Also, the description said something about merging. That could mean losing the agility skill.

  “No,” I decided.

  Moments later, a bud grew from the branch which had once held Ashwing’s egg, and a small oval bloomed from it like a flower. The egg kept growing until it was a quarter of the size Ashwing’s egg had been.

  A beast core was like that of a human—it contained all of a creature’s essence, and skills, apparently. However, since the boar had evolved recently, it’s core, while upgraded, wouldn’t hold the maximum amount of essence possible.

  ‘There’s a chance I can grow it immediately.’

  If a beast core could enter the garden and fuel the tree, then so could raw essence. But if I fed it all my essence and the egg didn’t hatch? I would keep myself level 1 when I could’ve reached level two or even three.

  …I shrugged.

  ‘No reward without risk.’

  Grabbing hold of the mountain of experience within, cold energy cycled within me. With each revolution, the essence drew closer to my core. The energy trickled into the shard. Getting the energy into the shard was one part, but how was I going to bring it towards the egg?

  A curious sensation reached out and guided my hand. I needn’t worry, it said. I wasn’t alone in this. And so the stream of essence poured from my core into the shard, burrowed through the ground of the garden, and entered the roots of the cinderwing tree.

  ‘I see. It’s not the egg I need to feed.’

  As long as its mother gained energy, the child came with it.

  The cinderwing chick egg grew again. Time passed in limbo as I fed all of my energy through my connection. Reaching the last dredges of experience, sweat dripped down the side of my head.

  ‘Come on, come on.’

  A crack snapped across the red pod’s surface and my heart skipped a beat. Another crack, and a beak poked through the top of the egg. Expanding wings sent pieces of the shell flying, and then the bird was free.

  I breathed out a sigh of relief as it started cleaning its feathers.

  ‘Thought my goose was cooked there for a second.’

  After it finished cleaning itself, I called it into the world. It was the exact same as the original Ashwing. The two birds settled in beside each other, the new Ashwing eyeing the original’s empty plate, then turned to the roasting boar meat.

  “That’s mine. Go outside if you want a piece.”

  An instruction it rushed to follow. Ashwing the Second—maybe Ashwing Two would be better? The cindertree didn’t offer another name and giving it a different name didn’t feel correct—scratched at the doorknob.

  I heaved myself to my feet and opened the entrance.

  “Wait here.”

  I gave the summon one of the remaining thighs. Ashwing One wasn’t happy with that so she pestered Ashwing Two as she ate. That quickly turned into a brawl.

  “Cut it out, you two!”

  By now they were screeching at each other, and it took all I had to make their talons unlock.

  While they continued to peck at each other, the inviting scent of smoked boar curled up through the old stone chimney. My nose twitched with each drip of fat that hissed into the coals. I unloaded the skewer.

  The meat was completely unsalted but it was nothing an empty stomach couldn’t bear.

  I clasped my hands, bowed my head, and recited a short prayer. “Mother, Father, may you be enjoying yourselves as well.”

  Ashwing One and Two stopped their fight and watched me silently.

  The tranquil moment passed as soon as it’d come. I raised the thigh to my mouth—

  Both summons cawed and flapped their wings before I heard the footsteps outside rushing towards the entrance. The doorknob turned chaotically but didn’t open as I had locked it.

  The exit shuddered underneath a heavy fist. “Hey! Let me in! I know you’re in there!”

  I glanced behind me. The smoke would be coming out of the chimney. ‘I completely forgot about that.’

  “Please!” they screamed. “Something’s chasing me!”

  I strode towards the window. The girl was frantically glancing behind and above her. Blonde hair, slim features, wearing a deep azure robe with a sword emblem over the chest.

  Right as she was about to knock again—this time throwing her entire weight into it—I opened the door, and the girl fell forwards.

  She struggled to her feet without a word and crawled further inside. “Tha—thank you.” she collapsed onto her stomach.

  “You’re being chased?” I asked. Cold wind gushed inside as I kept my hand on the door.

  The girl rolled over and glanced up at me. She heaved but paused to catch her breath. Her mouth opened just as a shadow outside descended from the sky.

  Wings struck the air and softened the creature’s landing.

  [Blizzard Prowler - lvl. 5]

  An entirely black and gangly beast about the size of a man. Its long wings created a gust strong enough it buffeted my hair without targeting me. The face resembled that of a human but was too elongated. The ears too pointed. Vertically-slit eyes traced the deep footsteps through the snow towards the entrance, then fell on me.

  Low and shrill was the wail rippling from the prowler’s throat.

  I peeked at both Ashwings. They reared, revealed the breadth of their wingspan. An aerial challenge wasn’t one they’d ever ignore.

  ‘Well, what better time to test the new addition?’

  I withdrew my summons into the garden.

  “What are you doing?!” the girl yelled when the door opened wider.

  “I’m going to fight it.”

  “Fight it? You’re level 1! Let’s plan together. Please!”

  I identified her.

  [Swordmage - lvl 3]

  ‘Swordmage, huh.’ She didn’t carry a sword but a black, wooden staff, so I assumed it referred to a conjured weapon.

  “I’ll be fine,” I said. “Just stay inside.”

  I was out before she could respond.

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