Wiping the sweat off my brow, I look back at the field I had just finished tilling. With a proud sigh, I block out the blazing sun with my right hand. And for a moment, I take note of the large, orange triangle inscribed on the back of it.

Triangles represent physical strength, so I was essentially born with an aptitude for manual labor. Training your body further is supposed to result in gaining more triangles, but I guess farmwork doesn't count as proper cultivation. Kinda dumb if you ask me, this is grueling work you know!

I'm about to head back into my cabin for a drink of water when I hear a loud crash in the neighboring forest. I look back and forth between the safety of my home and the possible danger. Eventually, my curiosity gets the better of me and I choose to investigate, heading toward the noise with my hoe clutched tight.

There's no monsters in the area unless you cross the mountain to the east. A pig probably just got stuck in a ditch somewhere. Nodding to myself, I trudge my way through the shrubbery and notice a large clearing up ahead.

Hiding behind a bush, I glance around the area and notice several uprooted trees and some large footprints in the dirt. Understanding that this was beyond me, I immediately turn and come face to face with a tall, muscular girl - an oni.

“Shhh, stay low.” she whispers as a winged panther limps into view. I stare at it as it erratically swipes at the air around it and - out of nowhere, it lets out a rage-filled roar. I look the girl in the eye and adamantly suggest, “We should run.”

The girl simply chuckles as she touches my shoulder to calm me down. Flexing her arm at me, she absurdly declares, “This’ll just take a second.”

And just like that, she dashes toward the animal, almost knocking me off my feet in the wake of her sprint. I end up catching a glimpse of her back, and notice her symbol shining a bright maroon through her clothes. I’m stunned as I count the triangles in it: One, two, three… there had to be at least twenty of the damn things.

The panther notices her approaching and makes a counterattack. The two collide, hand to claw, and the resulting shockwave tears branches off the neighboring trees. For some reason, the panther's claw was in the form of a chop.

The two are pushed back a bit from the recoil, but the girl is relentless, lunging at the panther once again. This time, her center of mass is low and she grabs one of the beast's front legs. Taking a deep breath, she lifts her opponent overhead before slamming them into the ground.

Holy shit. 10 points, a perfect slam.

When the dust clears, what’s left is a man rather than the panther I saw before. A beastkin huh? A pretty rare race around this part of the continent.

The victor raises her arms in a victory pose but her dominant hand looks stiff from the fight. Taking a seat on a nearby log, she pats the spot beside her, “Told you it’d take only a second haha!”

I make my way toward her, shaking in both awe and fear.