“Here they come,” said Ash, unsheathing the gleaming silver sword and preparing himself. 

The walls shuddered momentarily before small holes opened up, spitting out Direwolves. The three newly-born monsters snarled, smelling fresh meat nearby.

Ash glanced towards his partner. Julius had already drawn his sword and was awaiting orders. He didn’t seem comfortable taking the lead, and even if Ash had no experience in leadership, he knew what he had to do.

“Focus on one Direwolf at a time,” he commanded confidently, “let’s start with the one closest. Cover me.”

“Right.”

Both adventurers sprinted towards the beasts. The Direwolves howled wildly, sending shivers down the boys’ spines. Ash was the first to clash with a Direwolf, raising his sword and clashing with the sharp claws of the monster.

He tried flicking the claws off but to no avail. The Direwolf was clutching onto the blade, attempting to thrash and kill the boy behind it.

“Julius!”

The red-haired adventurer appeared behind Ash, sidestepping and slashing right through the beast’s hairy flesh. He ran his sword along its spine, finally jerking it free and splattering dark red blood onto the cave walls.

[Direwolves killed: 1/5]

[+5 Exp]

Ash peeked at the notification. It seemed he got experience for killing the Direwolf, regardless of his current quest. That meant that he could kill 20 Direwolves to achieve the next level if he so desired.

“!”

The two remaining Direwolves didn’t hesitate as they watched their sibling die, pouncing simultaneously onto Julius. Julius didn’t react, feeling the spike in murderous intent closing in on him. Ash cursed at his stupidity, having forgotten that there was now one other person he had to look out for. Julius’s maneuver to follow-up on Ash’s call left him in a vulnerable position, and the monsters took advantage of that.

Ash dashed next to Julius, sticking out his arm as the Direwolf’s jaw crunched his thin vambraces. He winced as he drove his sword into the other beast, penetrating its heart instantly and saving his shocked partner.

Julius returned to his senses, having momentarily frozen from the sudden dread he had felt upon seeing the two remaining Direwolves pounce towards him.

“Ash!” he cried, turning and hastily decapitating the final monster. The wolf’s head remained on Ash’s forearm briefly before disintegrating like the rest of its body, revealing the deep holes that its fangs had created.

“I-I’m sorry!” he said, attempting to find some kind of bandage he could use to stop the bleeding. “I should have immediately backed up instead of freezing up!”

“Julius,” Ash stated firmly, “I’m fine. My armor took the majority of the blow. Right now, let’s focus on improving together.”

Julius nodded sheepishly, still embarrassed at his lack of combat experience.

[Direwolves killed: 3/5]

[+5 Exp]

[+5 Exp]

Ash eyed Julius pensively. He seemed genuinely worried about Ash and apologetic for his mistake, even if it wasn’t entirely his fault. Julius was most likely an honest kid who just wanted a teammate who was similar to him, but that didn’t mean he could be trusted with the knowledge of Ash’s new magic.

“Come on, let’s see if there are other adventurers at the Motherwolf’s Den. We could try killing the Motherwolf together,” suggested Ash, sheathing his sword and adjusting it so that it lay against his lower back.

“Right.”

Both boys continued onward, following the path that Ash had imprinted into his memory. Ash and Julius remained alert to any vibrations in their surroundings, making sure that no monsters were being born nearby.

Ash checked his progress with the system, bringing up the desired panel with a quick mental message.

[Host: Ash Moon]

[Level: 1]

[15/100 Experience]

He closed the window and shifted his attention to his partner.

“Julius, you can use magic, right?” he asked softly.

“I’m very inexperienced with it. I feel like I’m stronger if I don’t use it…”

“I see. What kind of magic is it?”

Ash noticed Julius tense up a bit at the question, but he answered regardless.

“It’s a type of fire magic. I was blessed by the Goddess Hestia, though everyone knows she blesses all those who don’t receive blessings from others,” he answered truthfully.

“Well, I couldn’t even get Hestia’s blessing, so rest assured you’re more powerful than lots of other adventurers. You managed to get a mark from a Goddess who’s on the council,” said Ash, chuckling a bit at his own failure. 

“Are you unmarked?” asked Julius. Ash could only sense curiosity behind his question, but he now had to decide his stance. If he said he was unmarked, it would limit his use of magic almost indefinitely. 

“No, I’m not, but I’ve been blessed by a God who considers himself to be too weak compared to the council. He doesn’t want me to show the mark to anyone, which is why I have this bandage,” responded Ash calmly, showing Julius the cloth wrapped around his upper arm.

“What kind of magic can you use?”

“That’s my other problem. For some reason, I was born with shadow magic…”

“S-Shadow magic?!” exclaimed Julius, covering his mouth upon realizing how loud he was.

Ash nodded. He had to remain calm and collected if he wanted to feign ignorance.

“Yeah… I don’t know why, but I’m sure you can understand why I’m so hesitant about using it. It’s also weak.”

“Dude, shadow magic… is fucking awesome!”

Ash had to process the words Julius had just uttered, blinking a few times and letting his mind slowly evaluate the two last words: ‘fucking awesome.’

“Wait… you think it’s cool?” he asked, verifying if his ears were still intact.

“Of course! I mean, I understand people would associate your magic with the Shadows who live in the Dungeon, but they should know better. The God doesn’t determine your powers, that’s what I was told, so you can’t possibly be related to them!”

“Yeah, that’s true…” muttered Ash, still in disbelief. Maybe he lucked out on his partner.

The walls shuddered again, revealing two more Direwolves. They stretched briefly then turned their attention to the two boys. Ash felt a small flame of excitement swirling inside of him as he unsheathed his sword.

“Let’s do this, Julius.”

“Right!”

The trivial conversation about magic had fired up the adventurers, both of them now ready to give their coordination another go. Ash was the first to take the offensive as he dashed towards the nearest Direwolf.

He glanced to the side, checking on Julius, before concentrating on his opponent. He avoided the flurry of swipes, bites, and leaps that the Direwolf threw at him, swiftly relocating himself to an advantageous position before channeling the essence he now felt within him.

[Shadow Punch]

The message displayed itself as the spell took form. Ash’s fist was submerged in a dark mist, enveloping his forearm as he struck the Direwolf right in the jaw. He felt the magic that had condensed in his fist slam into his target.

Ash felt a shockwave spread throughout his body, causing him to stumble back from the recoil of the blow. All he was able to hear was a small whimper escape the Direwolf’s jaws as he hit the ground violently, rolling about like an inflated balloon.

Ash groaned upon feeling a hand gently slapping him back to reality. His vision became clearer, revealing a pair of flaming red eyes looking right at him.

“If I had to guess, this is the first time you’ve used your magic in a battle, isn’t it?” asked Julius. Ash laughed at the comment, noticing that the other Direwolf had been promptly dealt with by his partner.

“Well,” he answered, grabbing ahold of Julius’s outstretched hand and pulling himself up, “you’re not wrong.”

[+5 Exp]

[+5 Exp]

[Direwolves killed: 5/5]

[Daily Quest Complete]

[+20 Exp]

Ash smiled at the dark screens occupying his vision. Maybe with this cursed power, no matter how much he despised it, he’d be able to learn more about his parents.

“The Motherwolf’s Den is up ahead. I can hear conversations a bit further in too. I guess we might’ve found some adventurers who will be willing to help us,” said Julius as he sheathed his blade.

[New Special Quest]

[Kill the Motherwolf]

[Reward: 40 Experience]

“Yeah,” muttered Ash, “let’s go.”