Nolruk could feel his heart hammering in his chest as he looked at the creature on the ground. It now occurred to him that, as terrifying as they had looked while they had been on his father's skin, it was nothing compared to the real thing. The thing was about three feet long and as thick as his arm. Its carapace had a metallic sheen to it and was completely black from one end to the other, making it next to impossible to notice in poor lighting or at night. The legs of the thing, which hadn't made much of an impression while it had been on his father's back, were the first thing that Nolruk noticed. The floor of the cave was made of solid stone that wasn't easily broken through. And yet, the sharp pointed claws of the creature casually broke through it with each of its numerous sharp-tipped legs. Nolruk doubted that the creature was even doing it on purpose, the thing was just crawling around as if it was trying to familiarize itself with its current surroundings. And yet, with ever

Greg tried to maintain a calm air as he walked into the infirmary. Though he wasn't going to be learning any magic today, he couldn't help but feel like he was taking the first step on that journey. A thought that left Greg filled with no small amount of excitement. Unlike most places back on earth that opened at eight in the morning, people in this town started operating their various enterprises at the first light of dawn, or approximately six in the morning. As such, despite the fact that, by Greg's estimation, it was only seven in the morning, he knew he wasn't too early. On the previous four days, Greg would have already walked out of the town through the main road and moved in the direction of the three-tusk boar territory. Today, however, Greg had no plan to set one foot out of the town. Whatever it is his uncle had planned for him was now no longer his problem as far as Greg was concerned. While Greg vaguely knew the layout of the infirmary, he had no idea what the morning s

Greg watched as, from the image of the trunk holding up the six branches, thick roots appeared that seemed capable of holding up the tree regardless of what storms came along. "The arcane tongue," She relayed. "There is a lot of debate about this, but the majority of those in mage circles believe that the arcane tongue used in spells, rituals, and the like is what came before the origin tongue," The healer stated. "Whether that is true or not, is of no interest to us at the moment. To be a competent potion-maker, you will have to be acquainted with the language to a certain degree and that is all that matters," She stated. "Now, in order of most important to least, I'll be teaching you three languages," She informed him. "Most of your life will be spent with and among humans as, except for a few continents, most are dominated by humans. That's why, I'll put most emphasis on teaching you how to read and write in the human tongue. It'll be our sole focus for the next three months," Sh

Greg couldn't help the grim smile that crossed his lips even as he summarized the situation before him. "So, basically, what you are telling me is that my chances of coming out of this alive are somewhere between improbable and impossible?" Greg posed rhetorically. Anyone paying attention to the young man at that moment would have noticed that his gaze was growing increasingly cold even as he watched his cousin walk towards the forest. "Not if I have something to say about it," He ground out through gritted teeth.Zarek calmly stood in the grove with the staff that had changed his life at his side. The magic had taken a great toll on his body, no one was more keenly aware of that than he was. The pain sometimes got so bad that he wanted to just curl up on the ground and never move again. He, however, had always prided himself in his iron will. As such, despite it all, he made it a point to never let it show even when he was by himself. Which was why he could maintain a calm demeanor a

At some point, one of the two dark crawlers that he'd had on standby under the boy, appeared behind Zarek. Unlike the tough shell that covered the back of the dark crawlers, the underbelly of the beast was nowhere near as tough. This action by the dark crawler saved the man's life. Zarek was certain that, at the speed with which he was moving, had he slammed into one of the trees at the edge of the clearing, he would have shattered his spine and the back of his head would have caved in. As things stood, while slamming into the worm wasn't exactly a comfortable experience, it was nowhere near as damaging as the tree would have been. Dropping down to the ground on his hands and knees, Zarek could feel his mouth fill with the iron taste of blood. Despite avoiding death by the skin of his teeth, he'd still suffered substantial internal injuries as a result of being body slammed by the worm along with the explosion that had followed. A look of rage and hatred filled the man's eyes as he