Chapter 20: Recon, Romance, and Rinsing Off
After patching Logan up and giving him some food, I sat down and asked him about his past few days.
He was Level 3, and his entire area was infested with hounds. They were relentless trackers, too good at sniffing him out, and always moved in packs. Most of his time had been spent recovering, hiding, and picking off lone stragglers whenever he could.
But he had one interesting piece of information.
"You're sure you saw a Level 10 hound?" I asked.
"Yeah, no doubt about it. There's no way I'd mistake its level," he said firmly.
"It was massive—almost five feet tall, built like a tank. Probably a strength-focused abomination. And it wasn't alone. Had at least five, maybe ten other hounds around it when I saw it."
I leaned forward slightly.
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"Where did you see it?"
He hesitated.
"Well I had been hiding in my spot when the communicator suddenly rang—loudly. The sharp sound immediately drew the attention of the hounds.
Cursing under my breath, I took off running. As I sprinted through the trees, I spotted a giant hound joining the pack, locking onto me as its next target.
But just before it could close the distance, the crimson signals flared across the forest. In an instant, the giant hound and most of the others abandoned the chase, drawn toward the new disturbance.
I remember the spot, but I'm telling you, it's dangerous. You really think you can take it on?"
I winked at him.
"Not sure, but I'll figure something out."
Logan stayed silent for a few moments before speaking up.
"Can I come with you? I'll handle the stragglers—Level 3 or 4—and guide you properly to the spot."
I shrugged.
"Fine by me. It'll help you recover faster if you level up and put some stats into Constitution."
Logan nodded in agreement.
We rested for half an hour before I picked up my bag, and we set off toward the Level 10 hound.
"Did you come across anyone else from our unit?" I asked as we walked.
"No, I haven't. I think we all landed pretty far apart," he replied.
"Yeah, seems like it," I muttered.
"So, you're from the capital?" I asked.
"Yeah."
"But you don't seem arrogant. My experience with capital kids hasn't been great."
He laughed.
"Of course, there are plenty of those guys, but that's mostly if they come from strong families or rank high in the capital academies. I'm neither. I studied at a capital academy, but my rank fluctuated between 10 and 15."
He paused before continuing.
"And after watching what you did to those hounds or just looking at your body anyone would think twice before acting arrogant."
"My body?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. You're shredded. Strong, fast—it's obvious."
"Thanks, man. By the way, do you know anything about the Winter family from the capital?"
Logan chuckled.
"Let me guess, you want to ask about North Winter?"
"Yeah, you got me. So?" I asked expectantly.
"I know about them. I've seen North multiple times at capital events. She has an older brother, a best friend named Sara, and two other guys who are always trying to hit on her. She ranked somewhere between third and fifth in her academy, so she's strong. Oh, and our commander? He's her grandfather.
As for the Winter family, they're a line of elemental warriors specializing in wind manipulation, mainly using swords in combat."
"Sounds cool. So, what kind of girl is she?"
Logan looked me up and down.
"Man, are you seriously thinking of going for her?"
"Yeah."
"Like this?"
I glanced down at myself and realized.
"Plan change. First, we find a river. I need a bath."
Logan burst out laughing, and we slightly adjusted our course.
We traveled for a couple of hours through the forest, encountering several hounds along the way. I took care of the stronger ones, while Logan handled the weaker ones, gradually improving his combat skills. Eventually, he managed to reach Level 4.
When we finally arrived at the river, I wasted no time stripping down and stepping into the water.
The cool rush against my skin was a welcome relief after days of nonstop fighting. My reasoning was simple, if by some chance I ran into North, I didn't want my first impression to be ruined by looking (and smelling) like a wild beast.
After thoroughly scrubbing myself clean, I wore new uniform, checked my necklace, settled on the riverbank and spent an hour training my Essence, moving a small chunk of it through my body. My goal was straightforward—I needed an Essence-based attack that wouldn't damage me upon use.
If I wanted my future class options to be centered around Essence, I had to start integrating it into my combat style as much as possible.
As I trained, my mind drifted to Steve.
I hoped he was leveling up quickly. If the commander hadn't responded to Logan's distress call, then something was definitely at play here. And what was the purpose of these rewards and gifts? No details had been mentioned in the communication.
Something about Arkas' plan didn't add up.
We started walking again, heading toward the area where Logan had spotted the Level 10 hound and the closest checkpoint.
"So, what kind of girl is North?" I asked.
Logan rubbed his chin, thinking.
"Hmmm... I mean, I've only seen her in public, and she seemed kind and down-to-earth, despite coming from the Winter family."
"Kind is good," I replied.
"Yeah, but I'm not sure how she is in real life. Everyone looks kind and humble in public, you know."
"Well, that's true," I admitted.
We continued walking through the forest, talking as we made our way closer to the mountain range.
Finally, we spotted some signs that clearly indicated the presence of a larger Abomination.
"I think we're close," Logan said, his tone serious.
I nodded and slowed my pace. Handing my bag to Logan, I told him to stay put before climbing a tree. Moving swiftly through the branches, I advanced carefully, stopping as soon as I noticed movement in the distance.
A large group of hounds had gathered ahead. I kept my distance, not wanting to risk getting too close and being sniffed out.
The hounds barked, growled, and snapped at each other as they moved toward something. I trailed behind them, keeping my steps light and my presence unnoticed.
Soon, we reached the first valley of the mountain range. The hounds poured in, their movements restless and aggressive. I followed silently, staying in the shadows as I observed their behavior.
What I saw caught me off guard.
"Damn, what the hell is that?"
Most of the hounds were around or below level six, but at the front of the gathering stood the biggest one—the level ten hound Logan had mentioned.
What truly surprised me was what the hounds were surrounding.
A massive, black, rugged pillar stood about thirty to forty feet high, crackling with flickering golden lightning. At its peak, a cage hung, containing a glowing blue glass core. But that wasn't the shocking part.
What really caught me off guard was the message nailed to the pillar, scrawled in the worst handwriting I had ever seen:
"This is a gift from me to motivate you kids. Gather as many as you can and enjoy the rewards. Oh, and this gift attracts Abominations, so be careful."
It was signed by Arkas.
"Talk about being dramatic." I scoffed.
I had so many questions.
What exactly was this 'gift'? What did it do? How to use it?
I shook my head in disappointment. There was only one thing left to do—gather these glass cores and see for myself.
I watched as the beasts tried to crawl up the pillar, only to be zapped by the crackling lightning. But their numbers were steadily growing. There were already around thirty of them, and more kept coming.
What was Arkas thinking?
Retrieving the glass core alone seemed almost impossible without help from other unit members. Did he want us to group up, attack together, and then retrieve the core?
Or was there something else to it? Did he want us to go solo and push ourselves to the limit?
Well, I honestly didn't care what the guy was thinking. If there was something to gain and it would make me stronger, then I was going for it.