Skyborne Raider

My endurance is written in green, and it's 14. Wait, how? What was it even before?

I proceed to take off the necklace. My endurance drops back down to 4, and my back starts to hurt like crazy again. I feel weaker in an instant. So, it adds +10 to my endurance, but my level stays the same. This realization boosts my mood, and I start walking toward the tower confidently.

But I can’t let anyone see this. How do I hide it?

I put my shirt back on, followed by my black jacket, though it’s missing a sleeve.

Running towards the tower, I notice how tall it really is. As I approach, I study its walls, which seem to be made of some kind of black metal. I touch it and run my hands over its surface, which is rough and cold. The tall arch structure that resembles a door is made of the exact same material. I pat all over it and try to push it in. It’s rock solid and doesn’t move. I turn around and see a giant furry thing in front of me, the size of a small bus.

“Ugh.” I almost choke and freeze for a moment.

Is this a bear? Or a dog or wolf?

These three are the first things that come to mind.

Is it sleeping? I don’t hear any sound of breathing. Standing there, paralyzed.

It freaks me out so much I decide to return immediately. Carefully backing away, I start to run once I feel safe.

End of Michael's POV.

Back to Markus.

Opening my eyes rapidly, I wake up to the sound of the river. I embrace the calm and pleasant babbling of the brook.

I gasp for air and breathe in the cold only through my nostrils. Realizing my hands are still dipped in the water, I slide them out slowly. They’re so numb and cold. Despite lying in an area of ash and cinder, where the dense dark forest stood just a day before, I feel safe and cozy. That dark forest was creepy, but now I raise my head and see a huge radius around me clearly. Any threat could be easily spotted from a distance.

I decide to adjust my routine, adding regular power shifting throughout the day to get more used to it. But since my arms are full of stretch marks and bruises, I assume it’ll be best not to overdo it. I let the power slowly flow outward, channeling it first to my healthy calves and feet, making them heat up. My belly and upper torso shrink.

My feet and calves slowly inflate and heat up. I try to stop it just at the right time, to avoid damage. All controlled by my mind and will.

I let it expand only a little. Fear doesn’t allow me to get near the breakpoint. I’d rather quit than destroy the only body part that helps me move.

Turning my head to check on the couple, I see them chatting and slowly getting up. I quickly channel a tiny amount of power to my hands, just to warm them a little. Then I sit.

“Hey guys. Just to inform you, I really need to do something about my arms. I won’t be able to fight for a while,” I tell them out of nowhere, after clearing my throat.

Mike suddenly has this weird expression. Maybe Astrid talked to him, or he thought it through? For a moment, I think he feels guilty. They both look at my arms.

“But I’m not saying we shouldn’t check that tower, loot, and return to the battlefield first,” I add while watching Mike’s expression again. He keeps his poker face and avoids eye contact with me.

“What about your rations? Do you still have enough?” asks the caring red-haired girl.

“Plenty of meat and a bottle of clean water. Thank you,” I answer and take my first step toward the river’s edge.

Since the “incident,” I try to maintain my distance from the couple to give them enough space. The last thing I need is to increase the tension. It’s best for me to focus only on myself and my new ability.

They walk in front of me, chit-chatting and laughing. I walk slowly behind, occasionally and very carefully channeling tiny bursts of power into my legs to support me. The corpse of the boss, The Exiled One, still lies on the ground. Mike stops near it while Astrid looks away. He kicks the long coat with his foot to reveal the inner clothing. Patting around the cold corpse, he assumes that it’s loot-free.

The torn-off bloody lower jaw on the ground reminds me that I probably forgot to wipe my hammerhead.

I open my inventory, taking it out carefully, making sure not to touch anything else besides the wooden handle.

“Yuck.”

A few strong wipes on the dried grass do the trick. But I feel my forearms burn even from these slight movements. So, I turn around once again to embrace the beautiful yet disturbing scenery of a circular meadow, surrounded by tall trees. Half of them are black and burnt to charcoal, while the other half are green, yellow, and orange, with a tall black thin structure emerging at the top.

As we approach the tower, I can’t get over how majestic it is. Full black, made of metal? Can’t tell... Or maybe I just can’t believe it. Looks like it was forged from one huge ingot. Mike unsheathes his sabre and says something to Astrid.

What the heck? I ask myself.

She stops and snaps her fingers. White dust appears out of thin air, and the ghost of a feline materializes. “Go, my little one. Scout the area, please,” she humbly asks the tiny creature for a favor.

I gaze at the cat, but he ignores me and does what Astrid says. I’m still not sure if it was a dream. I’d totally know from getting close to Pocco. But in this state, I should avoid asking Astrid for a pat.

He progressively gains speed and scours a huge circle around the spawning area. Returning happily, he sits calmly on the girl’s shoulder. Before she even tries to pat him, he disappears as quickly as he appeared.

I close the distance between us and watch Mike closely. He’s lowered his sabre, but I can see he’s still nervous. A few steps in, we start to get close to the wall of the structure. Indeed, it is metal. I touch it with my right palm and enjoy the cold surface. My hands are so overheated I’m glad I can touch something cold again. Mike goes around quickly to check the situation.

What the hell? He acts like he’s been here before. Was that dream not a dream at all? I wonder, but Mike interrupts my thoughts.

“Over here, there’s a dead animal. And it’s huge.” He pokes it with his sabre and puts it back in his inventory.

A giant fox the size of a bus lies on the ground with yellow eyes wide open. It looks dead—motionless, not breathing. As Astrid approaches it closely, I see how huge it really is, compared to humans.

The head of this fox is almost the same size as Astrid. Her hair blends with the beast’s orange fur. It has the same thick rope around its neck that The Exiled One used to whip Mike.

“Apparently, this was his pet?” notes Astrid.

“Or more like his slave?” Mike points out.

I stay quiet and hover my hand over its head, brushing through the fur.

“The holes.”

“There are three holes with dried blood that poured from them.”

“No, no. Five holes,” I correct myself while observing the carcass.

Something or someone has killed it.

“Arrows?” asks the girl.

“What if these are precise wounds from a sword, something like a rapier?” suggests Mike, unsheathing his sabre from his inventory again. He aims for one of the holes and twists the sabre inside. This disrupts the dried blood plug, and the blood starts to flow for a while.

“Mike! Leave it!” Astrid frowns at him. I approach him closely and offer my hand.

“May I?” I ask coldly.

He hands me his sabre, and I continue to dig into the skull.

“Seriously?” says Astrid.

And just at that moment, a small metal piece falls out with a slight stream of blood. I grab the sabre by its blade and return it to Mike, handle first.

With my dirty, half-destroyed Nikes, I roll the piece of metal on the ground to clear the blood from it. Picking it up, I raise it to my eyes for a closer look.

“Holy crap.”

“What?” he asks.

“Am I wrong, or is this a bullet?” I roll it between my fingers. “I’m not an expert, but this must be a bullet from a real Earth gun. If we’re not on Earth, then...”

I pass it to Mike so he can examine it. Astrid stays close, observing over his shoulder.

“Nah, this could be anything,” he says, tossing it back to me. I catch it and look up, thinking. He proceeds to move closer to the tower, but stops halfway, covering his left eye. “Tssk.”

“Are you okay?” Astrid grabs his hand, checking him closely.

“Nah, I’m fine.”

He approaches the tall door-like silhouette and pushes it inward.