Chapter 6: Fun Times

  They cleaned Killian’s wounds the best they could. Using the canteen Jenny had to flush out the gashes before ripping his already torn shirt to make bandages for them.

  They decided to move away from the water before making camp for the night. As they walked the high from the fight wore off leaving Killian as tired as he’d ever been previously. At least until he remembered he got a notification when he killed the kappa.

  [Kappa Lvl: 1 Slain]

  92 EXP Gained. Myth Developing…

  [Kappa Lvl: 1 Slain]

  34 EXP Gained. Myth Developing…

  Level-Up. Plus 5 free points.

  He was very happy. It looked like he also got credit for the one Jenny killed, though at a reduced rate. Before he could dive into his status and assign his points, Jenny flicked him on the forehead.

  “Ouch”

  “Stop doing stupid stuff and I wouldn’t need to hit you”, she said puffing her chest out.

  Killian chose to ignore her and place his stats. He’d need strength if he was going to survive, he had seen that today. Now the only question was what to put his points into.

  His eyes, distant looking at his status didn’t see Jenny coming in again, this time flicking him on the nose.

  “Quit it!”, he yelled. “Do you want me to die?”

  Jenny scrunched up her face as if she hadn’t made up her mind. “No, I don’t think so,” she said, shaking her head from side to side. “If I did, I’d let you keep being an idiot.”

  Killian opened his mouth to retort, but she cut him off.

  “Tell me, what do you think the difference between a common and an uncommon core is?”

  Killian was about to answer when she spoke first—again.

  “I know you were going to say something dumb, so let’s just skip over it,” she said with a smirk. “The obvious part is that an uncommon core is stronger. But you probably noticed you didn’t get any assigned stats—just free ones.”

  Now that she mentioned it, he had seen that. He hadn’t known you could get assigned stats.

  Jenny continued, folding her arms. “The reason for that is simple. Your myth sucks.”

  Killian scowled. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  She rolled her eyes. “It means there’s nothing your myth does better than you already can. So, it can’t offer you any help. The solution is obvious, make it better. If you dump your points into random stats now, you’re just making things harder on yourself in the long run.”

  Killian’s anger flared. She was treating him like a child, like some idiot who didn’t know what he was doing.

  “None of that matters if I die first!” he snapped. His voice echoing through the trees. “You almost let me die!”

  Jenny’s expression darkened.

  “No, I didn’t,” she said evenly. “You almost got yourself killed. I saved you. Not just today, but back in town too.” She took a step closer, staring him down. “Be grateful that I’m even trying to help you. Do you really think you could’ve made it this far without me?”

  Killian clenched his fists. “There weren’t that many monsters—”

  Jenny cut him off with a sharp laugh. “Oh, really?”

  She flicked her fingers, and suddenly, a transparent screen appeared in front of him. She had shared her kill notifications.

  Killian’s eyes widened. The list was long, twenty kills, at least. Every single one of them above level 5. That was four levels higher than the kappas.

  “When… when did you even—?”

  Jenny smirked. “Don’t look so surprised. Do you really think those two kappas were the only things in the water? That the half hour you spent making that spear was just leisure time? That every single time you yelled today, nothing heard you?”

  Almost as if answering her, a sound echoed through the forest—low, dry, and skittering.

  Killian’s heart pounded. He turned toward the noise, but Jenny was already walking away. She didn’t even look back.

  “You got this,” she called over her shoulder. “Prove me wrong.”

  Killian gritted his teeth. ‘Damn her’.

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  The skittering grew louder. Thousands of legs clawing at the earth, moving closer.

  Then he saw it.

  A centipede the size of a pony barreled toward him, its segmented body undulating as it rushed forward. Its mandibles clicked hungrily, its black eyes gleaming with intelligence.

  Killian tightened his grip on his spear.

  Fine. He’d do this on his own. He’d prove he didn’t need her.

  Killian moved moments before the monstrous centipede lunged. Its mandibles snapped shut inches from his chest as he dove to the side, rolling over the dirt and scrambling to his feet. The creature’s many legs tore through the ground, moving disturbingly fast for something so large.

  Killian gripped his makeshift spear tightly, sweat beading on his forehead. With no hesitation, he took a deep breath, planting his feet as the centipede twisted to face him again, its long body coiling slightly before another lunge.

  This time, Killian was ready.

  He sidestepped, slamming the spear forward, aiming for one of its many black eyes. But the centipede was fast—unnaturally so. Its body jerked mid-lunge, and instead of piercing its eye, the spear barely scraped its chitinous shell. The impact sent a painful vibration up Killian’s arms.

  Before he could pull back, the creature whipped its body around, slamming him with its full force.

  Killian flew backward, crashing against a tree with a grunt. Pain exploded through his ribs, and for a moment, his vision blurred.

  ‘Shit… that hurt.’

  The centipede didn’t give him time to recover. It scuttled forward, mandibles clicking excitedly as it lunged again.

  Killian forced himself to roll to the side at the last second. The centipede’s mandibles slammed into the tree behind him, biting deep into the bark. It was stuck.

  This was his chance.

  Ignoring the pain in his ribs, Killian stabbed his spear forward, this time aiming for the softer flesh beneath its head. The sharpened tip punctured the creature’s exoskeleton, and it let out a horrific screech, black ichor spilling from the wound.

  But the victory was short-lived.

  With a sickening crack, the centipede ripped its mandibles free from the tree and whipped its body around again. Killian tried to dodge, but he was too slow. The thick, armored body slammed into him.

  He hit the ground hard, the air rushing from his lungs. His vision blurred again, and his arms felt numb. His spear slipped from his grip.

  The centipede loomed over him, its wounded head dripping with thick, black blood. Its mandibles opened wide, ready to tear into him—

  SHINK!

  A flash of silver.

  The centipede jerked violently. Its screech turned into a wet gurgle as its head detached from its body, rolling to the ground with a sickening thud.

  The massive corpse twitched for a few moments before collapsing completely, its countless legs curling inward.

  Killian gasped for air, trying to push himself up. His vision spun.

  A familiar face appeared above him, smirking. Jenny crouched down, twirling her knife between her fingers. “You know, for someone who insisted he didn’t need help, you sure were about to become bug food.”

  Killian groaned. “Shut up…”

  She poked his forehead. “You gonna thank me?”

  Killian glared at her. “You let me almost die again.”

  Jenny grinned. “Nah. I was just giving you a learning opportunity.”

  Killian grumbled a string of curses under his breath, but Jenny just laughed, offering him a hand. He hesitated, then took it, letting her pull him up. His ribs ached, and his whole body felt like he’d been hit by a boulder, but he was still standing.

  Jenny clapped him on the back and Killian winced. “Good effort, Sir Knight. Maybe next time, you won’t need me to bail you out.”

  Killian sighed. “Next time?”

  Jenny smiled mischievously. “Oh yeah. There’s always a next time.”

  Killian groaned. “So what now”

  “You listen to me or,” drumming on leg “die because you didn’t.”

  It wasn’t much of a choice. Killian could see that he wasn’t prepared to do things on his own. Making up his mind he nodded.

  “Good, now I ban you from even thinking of your status until you’re ready to evolve.”

  “Evolve?” Killian asked, puzzled.

  “Oh, that’s a conversation for another time.” She said her smile growing.

  By the time they finished setting up camp, night had fully settled over the forest. The fire crackled softly, casting long shadows across the trees as the two sat in silence, eating their share of roasted centipede meat. It tasted as bad as it smelled, rubbery and bitter, but neither of them complained. Food was food after all.

  When the matter of keeping watch came up, Jenny let out a sharp laugh. “You? Watching the camp? You can barely watch yourself.”

  Killian scowled. “I can keep watch just fine.”

  Jenny smirked. “Sure. But I’d rather not wake up to you being dragged away by something nasty. Get some sleep, Sir Knight. I’ll handle it.”

  Killian grumbled but didn’t argue. His body still ached from the fight, and exhaustion clung to him like a second skin. He laid back, staring up at the night sky, but sleep didn’t come easy.

  One thought gnawed at his mind.

  ‘Why is she so strong?’

  The next morning, Jenny wasted no time. At dawn, she kicked Killian awake and tossed him a knife. “Make another spear,” she ordered.

  Killian groaned but did as he was told. After his first spear, he had at least some understanding of how to shape the weapon, but Jenny wasn’t satisfied with just one.

  “Again,” she said.

  And again.

  And again.

  By noon, Killian had crafted more than a dozen spears, each one slightly better than the last. He was getting a feel for the process—how to let his mana flow naturally, how to guide the wood’s growth rather than force it. The time it took to craft a usable weapon had shortened to just under ten minutes.

  His final spear of the day was his best yet. A sleek, black weapon, well balanced, and sharper than anything he’d made before.

  [Hunting Spear (Common, Normal)]

  A spear fit for any hunter. Crafted from a branch of black walnut by a decent crafter.

  +2 Agility, +1 Strength

  Jenny inspected it, twirling it in her hands before nodding in approval. “Not bad. You’re getting there.”

  Killian smirked, wiping sweat from his brow. “Damn right.”

  Jenny handed the spear back and stretched. “Now let’s go hunting.”

  Killian’s smirk faded. “Wait, what?”

  Jenny was already walking. “You need practice. Real practice.”

  That practice turned out to be two weeks of hell.

  Every day was a new fight for survival. Jenny had no interest in sparring or structured lessons—she simply threw him into dangerous situations and expected him to survive. Giant spiders, mutated wolves, more kappas—Killian faced them all, each time barely escaping with his life.

  Jenny rarely stepped in. She only intervened when it was clear he was about to die, usually at the last second, and always with a smirk.

  “Getting better,” she’d say, as he nursed fresh wounds.

  By the end of the second week, Killian was stronger. His movements had improved, his reflexes sharpened, and his use of mana had become more natural. He wasn’t just surviving anymore—he was fighting back.

  One night, as they sat by the fire, Killian finally broke the silence. “Why are you doing this?”

  Jenny looked at him over the flames. “Doing what?”

  “Training me,” he said. “You could’ve just left me behind.”

  Jenny was quiet for a moment. Then she shrugged. “Dunno. Maybe I just like watching you struggle.”

  Killian rolled his eyes. “Of course.”

  But deep down, he knew there was more to it than that.

  And he was going to find out.