At tier zero, Duncan’s body wasn’t magical in any way. As a result, he was extremely limited in the number of enchanted items he could wear at once. The more magic in an enchantment, the more magical strain it will put on Duncan’s body, increasing the possibility of mana poisoning. This only occurs when one’s body is exposed to too much unnatural mana at once, causing it to try to burn off the extra energy, along with part of the body.

  Duncan didn’t particularly want mana poisoning, so when he picked his gear for his first monster hunt, he decided to stick to a combination he’d used and knew he could handle.

  Sheathed at his left side was a sword similar to a katana from Earth. Its handle was slightly different, being made of some sort of metal wrapped in leather. Its enchantment increased the cutting power of each slash. It was straightforward, not very flashy, but Duncan knew his greatest strength was still his swordsmanship. This enchantment would make every strike do more damage, so it was one of his favorites.

  The sheath the sword rested in was also an enchanted item. While most quality sheathes in magical realms would at least have weatherproof and durability enchantments, this one was more complex. If activated with a mental command, the sheath would coat the sword in pure mana the next time the sword was drawn. The first slash made within two seconds of drawing the sword would launch that mana off the sword in the motion of the slash for up to 30 strides. The crescent-shaped projectile made of sword-attuned mana gave Duncan a ranged option he’d never been capable of before.

  Besides the katana and its sheath, Duncan wore an enchanted hairpin to keep his growing brown hair out of his eyes. He’d been letting it grow since he’d arrived in Dintarnum, thinking it might make him less recognizable if he ever ran into any classmates one day.

  The hairpin was made of tier one wood. It had been whittled down and polished until it was smooth like a wand and held one of the first boost enchantments Duncan had used in his training. Boost enchantments were almost always active when worn. Because of this, they put more magical strain on the body. It was common for people to only wear one boosting item of their tier at a time to prevent mana poisoning.

  Boost enchantments were the most universally used enchantments because they were too useful to pass up. A boost could be applied to physical attributes, such as strength or speed. It could also be something more magical, such as fire resistance or increased mana capacity.

  The hairpin Duncan now wore was enchanted with what was by far his favorite boost enchantment. It enhanced the wearer's perception, specifically sight and hearing. Perception was difficult to train. It could be done, but any training would be mundane in nature. The perception buff provided by the hairpin was anything but mundane.

  The first time he’d used it, Duncan felt like he’d been blind and deaf his entire life up until that moment. The information his senses provided him didn’t just increase; there was also a qualitative change. Whereas before specific sounds could be drowned out by others, he could now cut through any unwanted noise to hear only what he chose.

  He could make out details he would have otherwise missed with ease, gaining more information to use and improving his reaction speed.

  The last enchanted item he chose was a pair of boots. The enchantment didn’t require a lot of mana to activate, but it changed everything about how Duncan fought in a more complex environment. It was these boots that he was now showing off to Phevona as they walked through the trees to the east of Kunora City. Or, in Duncan’s case, on the trees.

  “I get it, Duncan. You can walk on trees now. Good for you. Now, will you please come down here so we can make a plan?” Since she’d been informed by her own master that she’d be going on a monster hunt, Phevona’s nerves had started to build. When she’d learned of Duncan’s involvement when they’d met at the city gates, those nerves increased. She knew her family’s training methods. More people meant a stronger monster.

  “Come on, Phevona,” Duncan said as he descended the tree he’d been running up for practice. “We are about to go fight a monster. Our first monster. We’ve been training our whole lives for this. We have to start somewhere. Trust yourself a little bit.”

  He looked over to Phevona, who still had a slightly worried look on her face. “Besides, we don’t know anything about where those three are taking us or what we’ll be fighting, so any plans past me in the front and you in the back is a little premature at this point. We've already discussed each other’s equipment and capabilities, so let’s wait and see what they're getting us into before we panic.”

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  Phevona seemed to calm at Duncan’s reasoning. She took a deep breath, then nodded to herself a few times before focusing on following the group of three people leading them through the forest.

  Cinder, Boetin Moretz, and a lizardkin woman Duncan had never met before were talking with each other as Duncan and Phevona followed about 15 strides behind. They seemed to be friendly with one another, as laughter could often be heard echoing through the forest. Duncan would have been a little worried about monsters hearing them, but then he remembered how powerful Cinder was and forgot all about it.

  “Do you know who the lizardkin woman is?” Duncan asked Phevona. She’d just shown up partway through their trek into the forest.

  “Yeah. That’s Zebona. She’s one of the best rangers in the clan.”

  “Is she here to track down the monster we’re supposed to fight?”

  “I doubt it. If I had to guess… yup. There he is.”

  Duncan followed her gaze past Cinder and the others. About 100 strides ahead, a boy was quietly running in their direction. As he got closer, Duncan’s buffed perception let him see that the boy was a beastkin. More specifically, a wolfkin.

  His high-pointed ears and the tail trailing behind him were covered in black fur. He wore what Duncan considered typical ranger attire, though it was largely covered with a dark green cloak. He held a strung bow in his right hand, and his eyes scanned the forest around him as he approached. As soon as Phevona and Duncan noticed the boy, they moved forward to join the three adults.

  “Master,” the boy said, giving a respectful nod to the lizardkin woman, Zebona. He then briefly took the time to look around at the rest of the group. He bowed to Cinder and Boetin, then smiled at Phevona, who smiled back.

  “Sonny, this is Duncan Tell,” Phevona said, giving the two boys a chance to shake hands before she continued. “Duncan, this is Sonny Carston. He’s Jen’s son.”

  “Sorry, who’s Jen?” Duncan asked.

  “Jen. Jenilla Carston. The other master who stood for you at the Choosing.”

  “Ohhhh. Right.” Duncan gave Sonny a sheepish grin. “Sorry, it’s been a long time, and I’ve never actually met her.”

  “No problem,” Sonny grinned back. “I’m actually excited to tell her you completely forgot about her. She’s been a pain in my a… Well, she’s been a pain recently. She keeps complaining about how Cinder is blocking her from coming over to see how you’re doing. And by see how you’re doing, I actually mean spar with you.”

  Before Duncan could respond, Zebona cut in. “Now that you’ve all been introduced, can we get back to the reason we are all here?”

  “Yes, of course. Sorry, master.” Sonny moved off to one side to face the entire group. “We found a fresh trail about three minutes' jog to the southeast. It seems to be moving closer to the mountain. It’s most likely heading back to its den after hunting at the base of the mountain. DJ is scouting further along the trail and will meet us after he finds it.”

  “Suggested course of action?” Zebona asked.

  “Move quickly to intercept. Prioritize speed over stealth. It will be much easier fighting it on level ground and among the trees than on open, uneven terrain.”

  “Very good.” Zebona turned to Cinder and Boetin. “I’d say it's time for the kids to take over.” After receiving a nod from them both, she turned to Sonny, Duncan, and Phevona. “It’s your show now, good luck.” With that, the masters were gone, leaving the three 17-year-olds alone.

  Before Duncan could ask who DJ was, Phevona spoke. “Alright. Sonny, tell us your current capabilities while you lead the way.” The uncertainty that had plagued Phevona since they’d left the city had vanished. Now, she reminded Duncan of the opponent he had faced in the arena seven months prior. Calm, collected, and capable.

  “I have my bow. It’s enchanted to provide each arrow with more piercing power. My cloak provides a significant buff to stealth, and I have a low-level spatial ring that stores my arrows. Other than that, just a couple of daggers with sharpness enchantments. I’m competent at close range but deadly at a distance.” After a few seconds of thought, he added, “And DJ is the same as the last time you saw him, just bigger now.”

  “Alright. Sounds good. What exactly are we up against?”

  “DJ and I have been tracking a devil mountain goat for the past few weeks. It’s an aggressive, carnivorous mountain goat. This one is in the middle of tier one, but they can apparently get as powerful as tier three higher up the mountain. They can jump very high and have pointed horns, though they won’t be too big since this one is younger. Also, watch out for its teeth and hooves. It likes to bite and buck when it’s surrounded.”

  As he and Phevona ran behind Sonny, Duncan couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed. A mountain goat. On his brief walk through the city after the Choosing, he had seen some tamed monsters, but they had all been docile pack animals. He wanted to see a real monster. One that was completely different from anything on Earth. One that wanted to tear him limb from limb.

  Five minutes later, just after Phevona finished explaining her and Duncan’s capabilities to Sonny, Duncan got his wish, twice.

  Sonny suddenly stopped, indicating that they should do so as well. A second later, Duncan’s enhanced perception picked up the sound of hooves against dirt, and they were moving fast.

  “Damn. I think DJ got a little too close,” Sonny said frantically, looking like he wanted nothing more than to race off in the direction Duncan had heard the hooves.

  “Sonny, stay calm,” Phevona said, as she drew her wand from its sheath on her right thigh. “He’s bringing it this way, right?”

  “Yes. If I had to guess they’ll be here in about 20 seconds.”

  “Good. Duncan, get ready to grab its attention. Try to bait it into my roots. Sonny, set up somewhere you can shoot from stealth. We will focus on ranged attacks as soon as I snare it.” The two boys moved to follow Phevona’s orders, more than happy to let her take control.

  15 seconds later, Duncan saw his first real monster. It was not a goat. It was a large black wolf. Before he could notice any more details, Duncan saw his second real monster. ‘Well, I guess I was wrong to be disappointed,’ he thought.

  A goat the size of a horse clomped its way after the wolf. Its horns ended in razor-sharp points, and its mouth was lined with equally sharp teeth. Every time one of its four hooves landed against the forest floor, a thud followed, and a deep divot was left in the ground. It ‘baaaaaaaaahhhed’ its anger as it struggled to catch the fleeing wolf.

  Behind Duncan, Phevona yelled, “DJ. Bring it to him.” Then Duncan realized two things. First, the wolf was this DJ that Sonny had mentioned was tracking the goat. Second, Duncan was the ‘him’ that DJ was supposed to bring the goat to.

  DJ changed course and was now running straight for Duncan. The devil mountain goat followed.

  ‘This is more like it,’ Duncan thought a he grabbed his sword’s hilt. It took less than a second for him to activate the sheath’s enchantment, draw the katana, and send a glowing blue crescent of mana right at the goat’s head.

  ‘Come and get me, Billy!’