“Shit, shit, shit, shit!” I gasped as I ran, lungs burning.

  Turns out, hunting monsters wasn’t nearly as easy as I thought it’d be.

  Most of the ones in these woods were only level one to five—but that didn’t mean jack when they hit like trucks.

  My little group—minus the zombie and slime—had stumbled across a nest of spider-like creatures.

  If spiders the size of small dogs counted as little.

  Five of us. Three of them. I thought that meant easy pickings.

  I’d never been so wrong in my life.

  “Skriiiit!” One screeched behind me and leapt.

  I barely threw myself aside before it slammed into a nearby tree. The impact split the trunk in half like it was wet paper.

  “Christ!” I hissed, scrambling back to my feet, short sword at the ready.

  One Kobold, the black-furred Falkar, was already down—nicked in the leg by a fang and paralyzed.

  The other, Roderik, was firing arrows as fast as it could, backing up the Goblin locked in a desperate fight with another spider.

  The Wolf had gone after a third, tearing and snarling in the brush.

  Which left me… with this one.

  “Come on, you ugly piece of shit,” I growled, taking my stance.

  The iron short sword felt better in my hand than that starter junk from before—sharper, heavier—but that didn’t mean much if I couldn’t land a hit.

  I slashed. It dodged left.

  It lunged. I jumped back.

  Back and forth we went—strike, dodge, strike, dodge—until I made a mistake.

  “Fuck!” I hissed as my boot caught on a fallen branch, sending me stumbling sideways.

  The spider seized the opening. It lunged, and one of its fangs sank deep into my thigh.

  The pain was instant—a white-hot spike that stole the air from my lungs. It was worse than the slime’s hit yesterday, by a mile. I could already feel the toxin spreading, burning under my skin.

  The system was pinging in the corner of my vision, flashing warnings I couldn’t read. I didn’t care. All I could focus on was the monster trying to tear my leg off.

  “Fuck you!” I roared, driving the sword down through its head.

  The spider shrieked—a horrible, piercing sound—as it thrashed. Its fang tore deeper as it died, making me scream through clenched teeth. Then, finally, it went still.

  I didn’t have time to relax. My minions were still fighting—the air filled with snarls, screeches, and snapping bowstrings. I had to—

  I turned, stumbling as the venom’s effects started creeping in, blurring my vision and making my legs feel heavy.

  But… they’d done it.

  The Goblin and Roderik were already dragging the spider carcasses into a pile.

  Roderik helped his paralyzed friend up, while both kept glancing my way with what I could only describe as worry.

  The Wolf stood nearby, muzzle stained dark with ichor, tail wagging lazily. Apparently, it had soloed one of the spiders.

  “Guess you’re tougher than you look,” I muttered, voice hoarse. Maybe those spiders weren’t as strong as I thought—or maybe my Wolf was just built different.

  Still panting, I finally called up the system notifications.

  [Skill Gained! — Paralysis Resistance (Minor) (Lv. 1)]

  [Skill Gained! — Poison Resistance (Minor) (Lv. 1)]

  [Skreek has slain Giant Spider (Lv. 1)! — +35 Soul Essence]

  [Howlshade has slain Giant Spider (Lv. 1)! — +35 Soul Essence]

  [The Herald has slain Giant Spider (Lv. 1)! — +35 Soul Essence]

  [Skill Level Up! — Swordsmanship has reached Level 2!]

  That was… a lot of notifications.

  And the Soul Essence gain? Nothing to scoff at either.

  Between that and the few slimes we’d taken down earlier, I was sitting at just over a hundred again.

  I glanced at the Wolf—and blinked. Its level had gone up.

  [Howlshade - Wolf Level 4]

  Curious, I checked the others.

  The Goblin was still the same, and so was the second Kobold I’d summoned… but the first one had leveled up, too.

  [Roderik - Kobold Level 2]

  “Guess experience works both ways,” I muttered. “Good to know.”

  I took a few minutes to rest, leaning back against the rough bark of a nearby tree. Being a fighter was a hell of a lot harder than being a student.

  A quiet chuckle escaped me as I looked over at my… companions? Minions? Buddies?

  Yeah—minions probably fit best. The system called them that, after all.

  We actually made a pretty good team. None of them seemed worse for wear, aside from the black-furred Kobold still recovering from the paralysis.

  “Right… shall we keep hunting, or head back?” I asked.

  In response, the Wolf barked once, the Goblin thumped its spear against the dirt, and both Kobolds gave short, growling cheers.

  I took that as a vote to keep hunting.

  Standing, I stretched—and froze when I glanced down at my leg.

  The wound was… mostly healed.

  The blood had dried, the torn flesh knitted back together until only a faint mark remained.

  It looked like something in my body was accelerating the recovery process.

  I guess it made sense. While I hadn’t been told outright that I was, I figured—based on all these quest descriptions—I was some sort of Herald.

  Wouldn’t do for a Herald to be killed off before he could… well, herald anything.

  We’d found them.

  A group of adventurers.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Near the central clearing with the massive lake, we stumbled across them just as they were finishing off a pack of wolves.

  Four in total.

  An elf wielding a sword.

  A pair of humans—twins, by the looks of it—each armed with a shield and spear.

  And the final member, another human, carried a staff and a tome.

  If I had to guess, two tanks, a physical damage dealer, and a magic damage dealer—going off old video game terms.

  I had no way of knowing their levels or whether they were strong or weak, but from the way they handled themselves, I’d have pegged them as rookies.

  Their equipment was a dead giveaway too—mostly bronze. The tanks didn’t wear any armor aside from their shields, which only reinforced the impression.

  Four was not the total number I needed to complete my quest, but it was a start. The question was: were my minions up to the task?

  I stared at the adventurers for a moment longer, watching as they pulled out snacks and waterskins. Now would be the time to attack—catch them while they were off-guard.

  Taking a deep breath, I motioned to the white-furred Kobold. It raised the bow—and fired.

  The first shot caught one of the twins in the arm, causing him to cry out in pain. I charged as soon as I heard the scream, a roar erupting from my lips that sounded anything but human.

  The Goblin and dark-furred Kobold rushed the elf, the Wolf charging at the other twin, while I went straight for the spellcaster.

  One of the tanks shouted something I couldn’t understand, but the way he pointed at me—then at the caster—told me they knew exactly who my target was. Which meant they’d be distracted.

  Perfect for my minions.

  The injured tank managed to get in front of me but couldn’t use his shield, relying on his spear to keep me back.

  Jab, dodge. Jab, jab—another sidestep.

  Despite his injury, he was quick, though definitely slowed. I wasn’t sure I could’ve kept up otherwise, and I silently thanked whatever deity might be watching that my little buddy had good aim.

  A cry from my left drew my attention—a new arrow was jutting from the elf’s thigh.

  A cackle of glee from the Goblin was the only warning he got before a spear drove clean through his ribs.

  The others shouted in panic, and the fighting grew even fiercer.

  I grunted as the spear caught me in the side, and a bark of pain from the Wolf forced my gaze right.

  “No,” I whispered.

  The Wolf—who had been fighting the other twin—was now on the ground, its fur singed and blood pouring from its flank.

  The clash of steel faded. Only a low whimper cut through the silence.

  The bloody spellcaster.

  If I’d been worried about killing humans before, that fear vanished at the sight of my fallen minion.

  A white-hot rage filled me, and I no longer cared about my own wellbeing.

  I only saw red.

  [Warning! Skill Gained — Berserker’s Fury (Lvl. 1)]

  I rushed the injured twin, the Goblin and dark-furred Kobold focusing on the one the Wolf had been fighting.

  My blade came down again and again, with such fury and strength that my opponent could do nothing but block.

  But my strength was too great.

  With the crack of snapping wood, I cut through the haft of his spear—and into his skull.

  I moved past him without a second glance, eyes locked solely on the caster.

  The man stumbled backward, eyes wide with fear.

  I had no idea what I looked like right now, but the warmth on my chest and face told me I was covered in the other man’s blood—and it took me a moment to realize the snarling was coming from me.

  The man dropped his staff, pleading, tears streaming down his face.

  I didn’t need to understand him to know he was begging for mercy.

  Some part of me—buried beneath the rage—realized this was another person I was about to kill.

  A human, like I once had been.

  Yet I couldn’t stop myself as I drove the blade through his throat. I watched him choke on his own blood, snarling and gnashing my teeth, my face inches from his as the light faded from his eyes.

  My minions finished off the remaining twin easily enough once he had no backup.

  I hadn’t moved since killing the wizard. Just knelt there, staring at the still corpse while the notifications pinged in my mind—telling me I’d earned something.

  Soul Essence, probably.

  But I was too lost in my thoughts—too lost in the crushing weight pressing down on me.

  I had killed someone.

  I had killed a human… two humans.

  I’d read books before where the protagonist turned into a monster and was forced to kill a human.

  Where they felt nothing afterward—because whatever system they had stripped that part away.

  This wasn’t one of those systems.

  I could feel it burning inside me, a sickness clawing up from my gut.

  And yet… if I hadn’t killed them, they would’ve killed me—like the Wolf.

  I looked toward the Wolf’s corpse.

  It no longer moved. The blood had already dried in the grass around it, the fur no longer smoldering.

  “Christ,” I whispered, unable to stop the very human curse.

  It took nearly an hour before I could bring myself to move again.

  My minions had stripped the adventurers of their equipment in the meantime, leaving them in only their common clothes.

  When I finally stood, I ordered my minions to dig graves.

  It was the least I could do—to bury the ones I’d killed, even if it left the monsters tilting their heads in confusion.

  While they worked, I finally checked the notifications I’d been ignoring, starting with the details on that new skill.

  [Berserker’s Fury (Lv. 1): The user enters a terrifying state of anger, doubling all attack and damage. However, they lose full control of themselves, potentially attacking allies or charging into battle without regard for personal safety. Has a cooldown of 1 day and leaves the user lethargic afterward. Leveling this skill reduces the duration of lost control and shortens the cooldown.]

  That was one hell of a skill to gain—even with the drawback of losing control.

  Double attack and damage was nothing to scoff at, and if leveling it up reduced the time I was out of control, all the better.

  I dismissed that one for now and looked at the others, freezing when I saw what came next.

  [Roderik has slain Phillip Miete (Lv. 5)! — +72 Soul Essence]

  [Skill Level Up! — Swordsmanship has reached Level 3!]

  [The Herald has slain Liam Brickner (Lv. 4)! — +90 Soul Essence]

  [The Herald has slain Tristan Miete (Lv. 5)! — +72 Soul Essence]

  [Howlshade (Lv. 3 Wolf) has been slain by Liam Brickner! — +37 Soul Essence]

  [Skreek has slain Silvio Rosenkranz (Lv. 3)! — +52 Soul Essence]

  I frowned at the numbers. It seemed adventurers were worth far more Soul Essence than monsters.

  Then again… maybe those slimes I had fought yesterday hadn’t really been monsters at all.

  They were more like animals—creatures warped by mana, not born of it. These spiders, though… and especially the adventurers—they had structure. Soul and will. That had to be what the system was measuring. The difference between wildlife and something truly alive.

  But there was something else, too—the wizard had been worth more than the higher-level tanks.

  Was it tied to his class?

  It had to be. Perhaps adventurers followed a tier system just like my monsters did, where stronger classes yielded higher rewards.

  Which made me wonder—

  If fighting adventurers was this profitable, how much would rarer monsters be worth?

  Even the Wolf’s death had ended up earning me Soul Essence.

  I guessed that meant every creature within my domain—friend or foe—ultimately fed back into me in the end.

  I sighed, still unsure of so much in this world, and glanced at the rest of the notifications I’d received.

  [Weapons Gained — 2x Bronze Spear | 1x Bronze Short Sword | 1x Wooden Staff | 1x Magic Tome]

  [Armor Gained — 2x Bronze Shield | 1x Wizard’s Robes]

  At least the equipment had gone straight into my inventory. That saved us from hauling everything back.

  The wizard’s gear caught my attention, though. I couldn’t help wondering if I could use it myself—or find a monster who could.

  For now, I sorted it away and checked on the others.

  Roderik had jumped massively—from Level 2 all the way to Level 5.

  Falkar was now Level 3, and Skreek had climbed to Level 4.

  Not a bad day, all things considered.

  Looking up at the sky, I guessed it was nearing evening, so I decided we’d start heading home.

  I was tired, sore, and now sitting on a decent chunk of Soul Essence again—a comfortable 491 after eight hours of hunting.

  Plus, my newest quest was almost complete. With a three-day time limit, there was no reason to rush things.

  After what I’d just experienced, a good night’s rest sounded like the best reward of all.

  [Current Day: 2]

  [Soul Essence: 491]

  [Kingdom Core: Level 1]

  [Domain Size: 1 Sector]

  [Active Quest: Hunting — 3 Days Remaining]