The next day around noon Bev finalized the storage chest. It was a large, heavy, clunky thing. But it worked. Tutor suggested she inspect the inscriptions every six months to ensure they didn’t degrade.

  Bev stopped, halfway through loading the chest with another lump of steel

  What do you mean every six months? How long do you expect this to last?

  Any storage chest designed to last a limited period of time is an accident waiting to happen. I would never teach you how to make something like that! Although I suppose in a pinch it may be necessary. But unless you are in an emergency situation you should never make one meant to be temporary

  We are in an emergency situation!

  There was a moment of silence.

  I am designed to teach best practices. I would never help with something designed to be flimsy.

  Bev just stared. Was Tutor giving excuses?

  In any case she didn’t need Tutor right now. So she closed it down. She had fully expected the chest to be something that broke down in a month or two. Permanent storage chests where supposed to be the work of masters. Though, she supposed Tutor’s attitude should have tipped her off that this was going to be another absurdly high quality build.

  She was actually a bit surprised she didn’t get a level from it. A quick check of her soul showed that it had grown a lot. But not enough apparently.

  Not that it mattered all that much. She didn’t need the level announcement to use the power. Her status sheet showed that clearly. It showed more soul points in use than she had. Apparently her capacity only updated at intervals of ten. No matter how much she had or used.

  She hurried to pack away all their things. And soon they were left with a nearly spotless camp ground.

  “So, glad to have the smell gone. It was getting strong!” Kennon said.

  Bev laughed, “You mean your nose was getting strong.”

  “When will you stop teasing me for getting offered olfactory enhancement? I didn’t even pick it!”

  “When it stops being funny.”

  Kennon shook his head.

  “Well, I want to go hunt some more. We are on the verge of another level. And I want to test out my new abilities. When will you be ready?” he said.

  “As soon as I make a helmet. It doesn’t even need to be enchanted. My new skill should protect me pretty well. But I just don’t feel comfortable facing beasts without one.”

  “In that case you should get started. I will make a grinding wheel.”

  Bev nodded and got to work. A few hours it was done. Just for the sake of it she appraised it.

  Crudely forged steel - metal - T0

  Not all creations are masterworks. And even they have to start somewhere. This piece of steel is attempting to be something. Or possibly in the process of becoming something. In either case, not even the creator acknowledges its value.

  Stolen story; please report.

  This particular work is the result of a novice smith.

  Bev cringed at the description. Well. It was accurate. She actually heard that most apprentices started making nothing but these. So it was odd that this was the first time she saw it. That didn’t take away the sting.

  She did note the fact that it specifically said even the creator didn’t acknowledge its value. Did that mean if she considered it a final piece it would have shown as a helmet?

  It didn’t matter. It was a dome of steel lined with leather that would keep her from dying to the smallest of head wounds. Whether the system liked it or not was immaterial.

  It didn’t even acknowledge the tiger hide cape Kennon was wearing as more than raw hide. So it wasn’t all bad.

  She tied the open face helmet on with the strap under her chin, and strapped on her pack. She was ready to get out of the camp.

  Not long after midday they left their camp. In theory they were exploring the area. Checking for threats. Looking for new resources. Kennon had only scouted a short distance in any direction other than upstream.

  They didn’t need to hunt, even though they seemed to be eating more than before they had barely touched their rations after the first couple days. They had a veritable mountain of jerky from Kennon’s previous hunts. Smoked in the smelter, just at far, far lower heat.

  And exploration was needed. As far as they knew there was a tiger den less than a kilometer down stream and they were in trouble.

  But their real reason for leaving camp was because they were getting stir crazy. Bev especially. She hadn’t been out of sight of their tent for almost two weeks. The entire time they were in Colville portal.

  They also wanted levels. To test their new abilities, and gear. Kennon had stalled out on his fire magic. And he still hadn’t gotten wind magic 3. Despite regularly casting wind blade.

  He was honestly hoping for a fight.

  He held an empowered wind blade in his dagger. His cape drawn over him to cover as much as possible. And he listened to the forest.

  Mental enhancement and sense enhancement were incredibly potent. Only a few points each. But the difference was startling. He could see every leaf in a nearby tree with perfect clarity. And he could almost count how many there were before they passed it.

  And trajectory intuition. Every time he saw a leaf fall he almost immediately knew where it would hit the ground. It only took a second to gauge its path. It didn’t always fall in the exact way he expected. Swaying slightly in the air. But it landed where he predicted.

  It was an odd feeling, just knowing. But in some ways it also felt natural. The same way he didn’t have to think about the path a thrown ball would take. Intuition was the perfect word for it.

  It wasn’t long till they were a kilometer from camp. Having snaked their way through, getting a decent look at everything on this side of the river. They would check the other side of the river tomorrow.

  There wasn’t much new. But every time they got to the downstream river things got far quieter. Bev didn’t notice. But Kennon did. It was a little thing. Less bird song. Less insects buzzing about. At two kilometers he started to see empty bird nests. Abandoned for days despite having eggs present.

  Something was wrong.

  He picked something up with his mana sight, and his nose confirmed that something was odd at the river. He bent over it and cupped some water in his hand.

  There was definitely something different in the water. The mana was more lively. There was more of it. And the more was less stable than the rest of the atmospheric mana. With a deep breath through the nose he knew what was going on. There was blood in the water.

  It made sense. They had done their butchering over the river. The amount was negligible. A normal nose would have never detected it. There was probably a higher concentration of other waste as well. They had been dumping pretty much everything in the river.

  But it shouldn’t have led to live eggs being abandoned to die. Kennon wasn’t washing poison waste or anything away. Just natural things. Like bathing. And butchering. If there was blood in the water. Enough he could detect then beasts could detect it as well.

  And they were worried about the smell of cooking giving them away. They had been spreading their scent across the entire realm!

  Sensing his revelation Bev said, “What is it?”

  “Blood in the water. We can expect company soon.”

  The nests weren’t abandoned. They were hunted clean. He should have known that the last tiger wasn’t a random occurrence. Golden tigers were social cats. It had a pack. And its pack was no doubt curious why their den mate’s blood was being washed downstream.

  Thank you for sharing my journey. To help me walk it I have a set up. It is 20 chapters ahead and releases at the same time as the Royal Road chapters.

  Remember reviews and ratings help. Let’s get this on rising stars!