“So core users aren’t just hampering their future, but also making themselves kind of crappy in the present.”

“That’s exactly what they’re doing,” Rufus said.

Rufus directed Jason to sit cross-legged, looking out over the landscape. He spent the remaining daylight guiding Jason through his first meditation, until the sunset lit up the sky with orange and gold. Jason opened his eyes to watch.

“You know,” Jason said, “I think I’m starting to like it here.”

That night, as he lay in the small bed in their assigned accommodation, Jason checked his character screen.

Jason Asano

Race: Outworlder.

Current rank: Iron.

Progression to bronze rank: 0% (0/4 essences complete)

Attributes

[Power] (Blood): [Iron 0]

[Speed] (Dark): [Iron 0]

[Spirit] (Doom): [Iron 0]

[Recovery] (Sin): [Iron 0]

Racial Abilities (Outworlder)

[Interface]

[Quest System]

[Inventory]

[Map]

[Astral Affinity]

[Mysterious Stranger]

Essences (4/4)

Dark [Speed] (3/5)

[Midnight Eyes] (special ability): [Iron 0] 04%.

[Cloak of Night] (special ability): [Iron 0] 02%.

[Path of Shadows] (special ability): [Iron 0] 00%.

Blood [Power] (4/5)

[Blood Harvest] (spell): [Iron 0] 01%.

[Leech Bite] (special attack): [Iron 0] 01%.

[Feast of Blood] (spell): [Iron 0] 01%.

[Sanguine Horror] (familiar): [Iron 0] 01%.

Sin [Recovery] (3/5)

[Punish] (special attack): [Iron 0] 01%.

[Feast of Absolution] (spell): [Iron 0] 00%.

[Sin Eater] (special ability): [Iron 0] 02%.

Doom [Spirit] (1/5)

[Inexorable Doom] (spell): [Iron 0] 01%.

Looking over his abilities he saw they had barely increased. Some he hadn’t even used yet.

“I have to try out that shadow teleport.”

32. Monster Hunting For Beginners

32

Monster Hunting For Beginners

An hour after they left the walled town, Rufus stopped walking. He took a piece of paper from his pocket, looked it over, then turned his gaze to the desert landscape around them.

“This is it,” he said and walked off, leaving the road behind.

“What’s going on?” Gary asked as they followed. Rufus handed him the paper.

Gary glanced over it.

“Nice,” he said, handing the paper to Jason. It was a monster notification, with details and directions. Jason had seen something similar back in the waterfall village, but there was apparently a noticeboard for them in every town and village.

“Did you take this from the town we just went through?” Jason asked.

“That’s right,” Rufus said.

“Are you allowed to just take them?” Jason asked.

The location was listed by landmarks that Jason spotted by looking around their current location—a series of distinctively shaped rocky outcroppings.

“You can make copies,” Gary said. “When you kill the monster, you mark the copy and it gets rid of the original. Then you just have to report next time you’re at an Adventure Society branch.”

“What if someone just makes a copy and destroys it without killing the monster?” Jason asked.

“Why would anyone do that?” Gary asked.

“Because people are terrible,” Jason said.

“Is that what you think?” Farrah asked. “I’m starting to worry about your world.”

“Really?” Jason asked. “Because when I came to your world people kept trying to eat and/or kill me.”

“He has a point,” Gary said.