The marble table in the small room shone in the soft light of floating crystals, which made shadows on the champions' faces. Maps of the surrounding territories were spread before them, marked with red ink that denoted recent beast sightings and merchant losses. Royal Advisor Castellan, a thin man whose nervous energy seemed barely contained within his robes, cleared his throat and addressed the group.
"Your first official mission," he announced. "A supply caravan bound for the frontier settlement of Millbrook requires escort through Duskmire Forest. Recent reports indicate increased activity from corrupted beasts along the trade routes."
Dren leaned back in his chair with obvious disdain, his features arranged in an expression of barely concealed boredom. "A babysitting job? This is what the champions of Lusteria are reduced to; playing nursemaid to a bunch of nervous merchants?"
"Every mission serves the realm," Zara replied curtly, though her tone suggested she wasn't entirely thrilled with the assignment either. "The supply lines must remain open, especially with demon activity increasing."
Kael studied the map, tracing the marked route with one finger. "Duskmire has always been problematic. The forest's natural mana flow creates… irregularities that attract certain types of creatures."
"Irregularities?" Jace asked, grateful for any information that might help him understand what they were walking into.
"Magic pools in stagnant areas, becomes corrupted over time," Kael explained. "Beasts that feed on tainted mana become stronger, more aggressive, and significantly more dangerous than their natural counterparts."
Lila, who had been observing the briefing from a shadowed corner of the room, stepped forward.
"Do not underestimate Duskmire," she warned. "The forest is crawling with corrupted beasts, and recent reports suggest some of the larger predators have begun hunting in coordinated packs. There may be a few truly strong ones among them, creatures capable of testing even champions."
The warning sent a ripple of tension through the group. This was no longer just a routine escort mission.
"I'll take point," Jace said suddenly, surprising everyone including himself. The words had come out before he could second-guess them, driven by two days of intensive training.
The past forty-eight hours had been transformative in ways his companions couldn't see. While they witnessed only marginal improvement in his swordwork and combat techniques, Jace has witnessed the subtle influence of his system.
"You?" Dren's incredulous laugh filled the war room. "You can barely swing a sword without falling over, and you want to lead us into hostile territory?"
"I'll back him," Tor rumbled before Jace could respond. The massive warrior's steady gaze met each of his companions in turn. "Point position requires awareness more than raw skill. Sometimes fresh eyes see what experience misses."
Dren rolled his eyes with theatrical exaggeration. "Fine. When we're all dead because amateur hour couldn't spot an obvious ambush, don't come crying to me."
"Dead men rarely cry," Elliot observed dryly, earning a sharp look from Dren.
Advisor Castellan, eager to move past the interpersonal friction, gestured toward the door where palace guards waited with travel packs and weapons. "Your convoy departs within the hour. The merchants are experienced traders who know to follow orders without question. Your priority is ensuring both the supplies and the civilians reach Millbrook safely."
As they filed out to collect their gear, Jace caught Lila watching him again with that unsettling intensity.
*What does she see when she looks at me?* he wondered.
******
The wagons rolled smoothly along the forest path despite the rough terrain, their wheels gliding over roots and stones as if the obstacles simply didn't exist. The oxen pulling the convoy moved with impressive endurance.
Duskmire Forest initially appeared no different from any other woodland Jace might have encountered in his previous world. Tall trees created a canopy that filtered sunlight into dappled patterns on the forest floor, while the air carried the rich scents of loam and growing things. Birds called from hidden perches, and small creatures rustled through the underbrush in apparently normal forest behavior.
But there was something wrong beneath the surface normalcy.
Jace felt it first as a subtle wrongness that made his skin crawl, like static electricity building before a storm. The merchants in the wagons spoke in hushed tones, their easy banter from the morning giving way to nervous glances at the surrounding trees.
Then came the distant screeches.
They echoed through the forest like the cries of wounded souls, pitched just high enough to set teeth on edge and raise instincts that screamed danger. The sounds came from multiple directions, suggesting a large population of hostile creatures moving through the woods around them.
"Stay alert," Zara commanded, her hand resting on her sword hilt as she scanned the treeline.
Jace's system interface flickered into existence at the edge of his vision, displaying information that made his blood run cold:
[Caution: Magical Beast Nearby]
The system had been quiet during their journey, offering only occasional updates about his gradually improving physical condition. This sudden warning suggested they were entering genuinely dangerous territory.
"Wart," Zara called from her position near the lead wagon. "Don't stray too far from the group. Point position doesn't mean lone wolf."
He nodded, adjusting his grip on his sword as he continued scanning the forest ahead. His enhanced awareness, subtle though it was, picked up details his companions might miss—a branch that bent in the wrong direction, a shadow that moved independently of the wind, the sudden absence of normal forest sounds in certain directions.
"Movement ahead," he called back to the group, pointing toward a cluster of dense undergrowth about fifty yards up the path. "Something large."
"I don't see anything," Dren said dismissively, but his own hand moved to his weapon nonetheless.
The forest held its breath. Even the distant screeching stopped, replaced by a silence so complete it felt oppressive. The oxen stamped nervously, their eyes darting between the trees as if searching for threats.
Then the world exploded into violence.
The screech that split the air was different from the distant calls they'd been hearing, closer, more immediate, and filled with predatory hunger. It came from directly above them, and Jace had just enough time to look up before the first beast dropped from the canopy like a nightmare given form.
Beast wolves, but unlike any wolves that had ever existed in nature. These creatures stood nearly four feet at the shoulder, their fur mottled black and green. Most terrifying were the bone spikes that jutted from their limbs and spine. Their eyes burned with malice, and their coordinated attack suggested pack tactics far beyond normal wolf behavior.
Three of them landed among the wagons while two more emerged from the undergrowth on either side of the convoy. The merchants screamed and dove for cover as the oxen bellowed in terror.
Tor was the first to react,pulling his massive sword. He met the largest beast wolf's charge head-on, his blade carving a silver arc through the air that the creature barely avoided. The impact of their collision sent both combatants skidding across the forest floor, locked in a deadly embrace of fang and steel.
Dren moved with ease, his blade danced in complex patterns as he engaged two of the beasts simultaneously. His technique was perfect, and each strike was put just right to take advantage of weaknesses in his opponents' natural defenses.
"Is this supposed to be challenging?" he asked, his voice still seeming condescending even though they were fighting.
Jace found himself facing one of the smaller beast wolves, though "smaller" was relative when dealing with magically corrupted predators. The creature's spike-covered limbs would shred him if he let it get too close, but his sword wasn't long enough to keep it at a truly safe distance.
For a moment, he froze. This wasn't training with blunted weapons and safety protocols. This was life and death, and one mistake would mean blood and agony and possible death. The beast wolf sensed his hesitation and gathered itself for a leap that would drive those bone spikes deep into his chest.
"Come on then, you overgrown pincushion! Let's see what you've got!"
The taunt worked perfectly. The beast wolf's attention focused entirely on him, its eyes locking onto his face with predatory intensity. It charged with single-minded fury, exactly as Jace had hoped.
And exactly as Zara had been counting on.
The champion of divine judgment appeared beside the charging beast like a silver shadow, her blade finding the gap between bone spikes with precision. The beast wolf's charge became a stumbling collapse as Zara's sword punched through its ribs and into vital organs.
"Nice work," she said approvingly as the creature thrashed its final moments away.
"Oh, brilliant strategy," Dren called out mockingly as he finished his own opponents with flashy sword work. "Stand still and yell at them. Truly revolutionary tactics."
Jace ignored the barb, focused instead on the beast wolf that was slowly recovering from Zara's assault. It wasn't dead yet, and wounded animals were often the most dangerous. Blood leaked from between its ribs, but those burning eyes still held lethal intent.
The creature tried to rise, bone spikes scraping against stone as it struggled to find purchase. Jace saw his opportunity and took it, not with brute strength or fancy swordwork, but with simple, practical violence. He stepped on the beast's injured side, pinning it to the ground, and drove his sword down through its neck with all the force he could muster.
The blade punched through flesh and bone, pinning the beast wolf to the forest floor. It shuddered once and went still, its unnatural eyes fading to normal amber as death claimed it.
Jace's first real kill.
The sensation was nothing like he'd expected. There was no rush of triumph, no surge of heroic satisfaction. Just the numb realization that he'd ended a life, even if that life had been trying to end his first.
[Enemy Defeated: Corrupted Beast Wolf]
[Experience Gained: 100 CP]
[Skill Progress: Mana Control lvl 1]
The notifications scrolled past his vision like encouraging words from a coach, but Jace barely registered them.
"Everyone intact?" Tor called out, his own opponents lying motionless around his massive frame.
"Minor scratches," Elliot reported, wiping beast blood from his daggers.
"Nothing worth mentioning," Dren added, though Jace noticed the golden-haired champion favoring his left arm slightly.
"Wart?" Zara's voice carried genuine concern.
Looking down, Jace realized he was bleeding. The beast wolf's claws had raked across his ribs during their final exchange, leaving four parallel gashes that stained his tunic red. The wounds weren't deep, but they were definitely real.
"I'm fine," he said, and was surprised to realize he meant it. The pain was manageable, and more importantly, he'd survived his first real combat.
As the adrenaline began to fade, Jace looked around at his companions and the carnage they'd created. Five corrupted beast wolves lay dead or dying, their unnatural forms already beginning to dissolve as the dark magic that had sustained them faded away.
They'd won their first real fight as a team.
*Maybe,* Jace thought as he accepted a healing potion from one of the grateful merchants, *I really can do this after all.*
As they reorganized the convoy and prepared to continue deeper into Duskmire Forest, Jace allowed himself a small smile.