Vernisha walked alongside Ferzan toward the wall gate. The guards did not question him when he said she was going out with him.

  The massive metal gates swung open, and the guards bowed as they passed through.

  ‘Are you a prince or something?’ she asked telepathically.

  ‘Ha. No. You really, really have no clue who I am? Not even a little?’

  ‘Should I?’

  ‘I’m the grandson of Eren Starworth.’

  She stopped in her tracks and stared at him, baffled. A scoff slipped out, followed by a short laugh. ‘Isn’t that hearsay or something? Can’t that get you executed?’

  ‘If I’m lying, yeah.’

  ‘I find that hard to believe.’

  ‘Why? You know he had children, right?’

  ‘Obviously. But their wives never survived pregnancies.’

  ‘My mother is Abella Starworth. She’s… different from other women.’

  ‘Okay, now I know you’re fucking with me. You want me to believe your mother is Abella and your father is the son of a Mortal God?’

  ‘Is that really so hard to believe?’

  ‘Yes?!’

  ‘I’ll show you my mother one day, and my father when he comes back.’

  ‘You sure you’re not just a prince?’

  ‘I prefer demigod.’

  ‘Demi-demi god if you’re not lying.’

  He chuckled softly. ‘Well, whatever. Doesn’t matter.’

  He stretched out his arm. From his thumb, a mass of light burst outward, twisting and morphing into the shape of a giant white bird. It had no eyes.

  Then it opened its beak.

  A massive black eye stared out from inside its throat.

  What the flying fucking hell.

  “Why are monsters always so creepy?” Vernisha complained aloud.

  “You expect monsters not to be monstrous?”

  “God, I hate that you have a point. But they could at least look moderately ugly instead of nightmare fuel.”

  He shrugged. “My sister used to say the same thing.”

  “Half-sister?”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “I… I don’t know. I was just thinking about the odds of your mother surviving two pregnancies from a demigod.”

  He exhaled slowly. “She’s sick because of it. So no, she didn’t really get away with it.”

  “Oh. Sorry to hear that. I wasn’t trying to say she was supposed to die or anything. It just came out that way. I apologize.”

  “It’s fine. I know you’re in disbelief, not being cruel.”

  “Yeah. I’m still not convinced, but I’ll drop it.”

  He smiled and gestured toward his monster with a tilt of his chin.

  The creature’s feathers were razor sharp, curling unnaturally as if they had a mind of their own.

  “Think you can jump on its back?” he asked.

  “Yeah.”

  He leaped onto the bird with ease.

  The bird lowered its back for her.

  Okay, I might have overestimated myself.

  She jumped, but nearly overshot, pitching forward toward the ground headfirst. He caught her by the ankle.

  “Nice jump,” he said, dripping sarcasm.

  She grabbed the feathers and hauled herself up behind him.

  The bird flapped its wings. As Vernisha glanced down, something horrifying came into view. Massive, jagged teeth protruded from between the feathers.

  What the fuck.

  With a powerful beat of its wings, the creature launched into the air and soared toward the forest.

  The wind made speech impossible, so she switched to telepathy. ‘What’s your rank?’

  ‘Adventurer rankings?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

  ‘I’m not an adventurer. What made you think I was one?’

  ‘Uh… because you’re a Vlandos and have a monster.’

  ‘Oh. I just kind of do what I want. It’s not causing trouble for anyone, so no one makes a big deal out of it.’

  ‘That’s insane.’

  ‘Really? When you have a big name, you can get away with a lot.’

  ‘I’ll remember that so I can smuggle all kinds of drugs into Terrafall and become a kingpin.’

  He chuckled. ‘Okay, maybe not that.’

  ‘How’d you know?’

  ‘Just a feeling.’

  ‘Time to change that feeling.’

  ‘You know, you could be one of the top comedians.’

  ‘Wow, wow. Are you acknowledging my skills? Maybe you should sponsor me.’

  ‘Don’t say that as a joke. I might actually do it.’

  ‘Just so you know, I respect you.’

  ‘So me being willing to help you level up, breaking the law and all, that wasn’t enough for you to respect me?’

  ‘Hmmmm.’

  He laughed, and they flew in silence for a while.

  Then he asked, ‘Why do those people want to kill you if they find out you’re a Vlandos?’

  Of course he would be curious about that.

  ‘I don’t know. I think they’re my mother’s family. Human supremacists. I guess they’d be offended that I exist, like my presence alone dirties their name or ruins their reputation.’

  ‘Damn. I’ve never met one of those.’

  ‘No damn way.’

  ‘I’ve heard of them, but never met one. You ever met Vlandos supremacists?’

  ‘I think I’d be besties with them.’

  Silence followed.

  Fuck.

  She hurried to correct herself. ‘I’m joking. Joking. My family are regular humans, and so were most of my old friends. There is no human hatred in my bones.’

  ‘Humans really treated Vlandos that bad in this modern age? I always thought it was exaggerated.’

  ‘Spend some time in villages far from the cities. You’ll see what happens when laws aren’t enforced. They govern themselves however they want,’ she replied.

  ‘Like the Wild West?’

  ‘No, nowhere near that bad.’

  A thought snagged her attention.

  Wait. How did he know that term?

  ‘What does the Wild West mean?’ she asked.

  ‘Basically, whatever goes. Lawless land, that kind of thing.’

  ‘Really? Is that a common phrase in this city?’

  ‘I don’t have a clue. I rarely come here.’

  ‘Oh. So where did you hear it? I just really like learning new things and their origins.’

  He shrugged. ‘That’s a good question. I am not sure.’

  Damn. I didn’t get it.

  Then he asked, ‘You want to get taller?’

  That is such an out-of-nowhere question.

  ‘Yes. Make me tall, magic man.’

  ‘Then just desire it. Your mod points will be spent on it.’

  ‘Can I also make my eyes super strong with it?’

  ‘Huh?’

  ‘I’m wondering if they modify everything about me.’

  ‘Oh. You can’t alter your body beyond what’s humanly possible.’

  ‘Damn, so I can’t grow three hands.’

  ‘Haha. No. But you can change your pupil shape and color.’

  ‘I can make my teeth extra sharp?’

  ‘You would need to pull out your current teeth for the new row to replace them.’

  ‘I think I understand how it works now. So how long will it take for me to become 6’9?’

  ‘You will have to find out yourself.’

  ‘Hm. You mentioned before that the height of the vlandos was complicated. What’s the complication?’

  ‘As you grow, you would expect to keep growing. That expectation and desire will consume the mod points, making you taller. So it’s between passive and active.’

  ‘Oh. So if a vlandos never gained levels while growing up, they would turn out the same height as a regular person?’

  ‘Probably? I never cared to ask too many questions about how it worked.’

  ‘I see…’

  Vernisha realized she did not actually want to be crazy tall. She had been around 6’1 on Earth, and she had hated it.

  That hatred had mostly come from how much harder dating had been, like playing life on extra hard difficulty. It had also fed her insecurities, making her envious of average-height girls who could freely wear high heels.

  Fuck me.

  She had hated being tall, and she had hated the thoughts that came with it.

  ‘If I had been shorter.’

  ‘I wish I had been her height.’

  But that had been Earth. The downsides had mostly revolved around dating, and that was the least of her concerns now.

  She concluded that those old, strong emotions about her height were what made her conflicted about turning into some thin she-hulk.

  Ferzan stood up straighter and raised his voice. “We have finally reached the zone!”

  Vernisha looked down and saw the front of a semi-spherical white-blue barrier covering what seemed to be the entire forest ahead.

  The giant bird descended. They dismounted, landing on the dry dirt track instead of the grassy sides.

  “The monster zone is that thing?” she asked.

  “Pretty much.”

  “How big is it? It seems huge.”

  “About one hundred and twenty-two square miles.”

  She could not visualize that size at all, but she was certain it was massive.

  They walked toward the dome.

  Her heart beat faster.

  Ferzan moved in front of her. “Send your monster out, and don’t drop your guard for a second.”

  She placed her hand behind her back and released her monster so the black flash would not be easily seen.

  Her monster formed behind her.

  “What was that?” he asked.

  “The monster seal flash?”

  “Hm. Okay.”

  The fauna inside the barrier looked wilder and larger. It resembled the outside world but exaggerated, like everything had been pumped with impossible steroids and comic-book radiation.

  A cluster of yellow mushrooms growing on a rotting log outside the barrier reached only the height of her hand. The mushrooms on that same log inside the barrier were half her height, with additional mushrooms spiraling upward in clusters of green, blue, and black. Some even glowed.

  She pointed. “The zones have that effect on everything?”

  “Anything that’s living.”

  “That means us too?”

  “Yeah. Don’t worry, nothing will happen to us.”

  “I hope so.”

  His bird monster flew ahead as they stepped into the monster zone together.

  The moment Vernisha’s foot crossed the barrier, sudden pricks brushed across her skin.

  Ferzan did not react, so she assumed it was normal and stepped fully inside. The sensation spread across her entire body, but it did not hurt.

  Weird. She suddenly felt better. Not healthier, but as if her energy was being restored, the same type that drained when she used her healing skill.

  She coughed, and black liquid spilled into her hand.

  Her chest burned intensely.

  She flung the liquid away and wiped her palm on the grass.

  Ferzan noticed. “Why are you coughing up black… blood?”

  “I ate monster flesh. It’s difficult to explain.”

  “Things were that bad for you?”

  “Yes.” Guilt pricked at her. He had been generous and helpful, and she kept lying.

  He stepped closer. “How long have you been infected with Malertaria?”

  “A day.”

  He brushed the air, shaping it into a liquid-like eclipse of shifting water.

  He plunged his hand into it. His arm vanished, then emerged holding a vial of white liquid.

  He removed the cap and handed it to her. “This should help, but it’ll hurt a lot at first.”

  She hesitated. “What is it?”

  “Medicine. It kills dangerous viruses and parasites but also normal cells, just not as many as the viruses.”

  She threw the liquid back and swallowed.

  Her throat burned. The taste of bitter, spoiled rice coated her tongue.

  She coughed. “That tastes disgusting. What the hell is in it?”

  “I have no idea, but it’s sold in drug stores, so it’s safe to take.” He turned forward.

  She stayed close as they walked. “Where are the monsters?”

  Suddenly, something zipped toward her face.

  She panicked and threw up her arm to shield her neck.

  Something struck her. Sharp. Like multiple knives.

  Her arm barely blocked the attack, and pain exploded through her limb.

  She looked down.

  A strange black spider clung to her flesh. Its body was covered in feathers, and bird-like wings flared from its sides.

  She grabbed the creature and tore it off her arm.