《Monster Killing as a Hobby》


 Chapter 1

    Jerod had now lost his fourth online game in a row and he was tilted, upset and off balance from his losses, unable to play the game well. When Jerod played while tilted, he played harder and with more intensity, which, invariably, made him make more mistakes and more bad decisions. It was a funny paradox he had ruminated on before, the idea that when he tried to play harder, he performed much poorer.


    Jerod had known he was tilted, too, after the third game, and while his personal rule was to quit once he recognized the signs of it, tilting, by definition, gave him poor judgment skills. So he played another game, intent on fixing his error and securing at least one W for that day.


    He lost of course, quite badly this time, with his random online teammates berating him for his mindless aggressive plays and unorthodox strategies that doomed their side. Classic symptoms of his tilted mind.


    Now Jerod had reached the final level of tilt. Instead of becoming more emotional and rage bound, Jerod¡¯s final stages of being upset actually shut him down, becoming quiet and contemplative, stony faced and dead serious.


    He was still tilted, but his frustration, angst, and anger now sizzled beneath the surface, and on top was simple cold calculation. In this stage of frustration he felt as though he was living in a third person perspective, analyzing himself and his surroundings with a detached care, all the while his thought processes were still afflicted with irrationality.


    As the closing screen of the game appeared on his computer, he ignored it and studied his right hand as if observing an interesting specimen. He curled and uncurled his fingers, feeling the muscles contract on his arm connecting to the tendons as they curved around his knuckles. Inside of Jerod a roiling angst and anger bubbled and stirred, an explosive energy demanding to get released. He made a fist, feeling how much pressure he could put into it before it started to hurt, then feeling that hurt, observing where and how it worked.


    While doing this, he considered his day, seeing now that he had been tilted already, tilted before he had even gotten home from work that day, the office job where he categorized expenses and paid bills, assisting his boss at the small manufacturing plant in town. It was a good stable job, but he had been given a project he was unfamiliar with and expectations he didn¡¯t feel like he could match up to. The stress from the unforeseen work followed him home. He had felt a win or two at his favorite game would alleviate it, but his losses compounded the problem instead.


    But no, thinking back on it, he was tilted before he had even arrived at work, tilted before he had woken up, tilted even before the weekend ended yesterday.


    Several events had occurred over the two day weekend, relational family issues, house issues, all small things that he couldn¡¯t understand and couldn¡¯t fix. The damn fan in the bathroom stopped working and he couldn¡¯t for the life of him figure out how to repair or replace it. Or his sister, escalating old grievances against the parents for seemingly no other purpose than to instigate and harass.


    But all those common problems pale in comparison to the kind, yet hurtful, words of his now ex-girlfriend, who had dumped him not yet a month ago, their year long relationship coming to an end like a car sputtering on fumes. The truth was he had been tilted for weeks. Month maybe.


    Now he was 28 years old and single, all his attempted relationships ending at the woman''s behest. In the future there would only be increasing struggles to find new partners in the ever decreasing available market of eligible women with each passing year.


    Rejection hurt, it caused him to feel unwanted, unworthy, undesirable, and worthless. He knew this because he had looked it up online after his second girlfriend had dumped him.


    And now, four games down, a project at work he felt overwhelmed by, and family strain looming over the horizon, Jerod gazed clinically down at the tendons on his hand moving as he willed them to do. He wondered at the marvelous engineering of the human body, and then he got philosophical, asking how it was that man made his will upon the world.


    Jerod could move his hand, he could grasp things, he could move things, he could make things happen, so, why then, did it feel like so much of his life was outside his control? Beyond his abilities? In his current irrational mind, he felt that all his efforts were fruitless in every aspect of his life and he struggled to find a way to validate his existence.


    Life was so ambiguous, and every action he could take had unknown factors that modified the end result into random unexpected ways. It was impossible to do anything concrete in the world, all endings could be twisted toward an unfortunate end.


    And now, all the jagged pieces of his life were coming together in a crystal clear pattern, like a puzzle finally all locking into place.


    Jerod was a loser, in the strongest, most definitive meaning of the word. The word displayed across the monitor in front of him too, granting him cosmic insight into his own soul.


    Or so he felt, as he suffered from high tension, stress, and anxiety. Excessive melodrama was another symptom of extreme tilt.


    Still watching his moving hand, Jerod suddenly felt the need for some sort of control in the form of violence. Pure, unambiguous, taxing, violence.


    For the usually mild mannered, pale and thin accountant, the feeling was strangely exhilarating.


    Jerod glanced across the hall in the lobby of his ancestral home from where his computer sat over to the highlighted glass display featured prominently in the entrance of the manor. In it hung an ancient armor set his honored ancestors wore as they protected the city from the monsters that prowled outside the city walls. The helmet, and breastplate, and other pieces of armor that Jerod did not know the name of, gleamed in the LED lights that were eternally lit around the case, letting all who walked into the house know exactly what kind of history lay there.


    Not that many people entered the family manor these days, in its prime it was located at the perfect spot for administration work and strategic defense, but the passing of time and the advancement of technology was cruel and city protectors were no longer needed in the same capacity these days. The location of the manor was too far out of downtown for casual visits, sitting practically as part of the city wall.


    Monsters still prowled around outside though, spawning from ambient mana and instead of human guardians wielding blades in protection of the city simple mana nets and dispersion shots alleviated the existential threat of monsters to mere annoyances for the modern man. Jerod had not seen a real monster outside of movies and had never left the comforts of his modern city, as he knew was the same for basically everybody.


    But as Jerod viewed the armor, he felt it was looking back at him, begging to be used once again in righteous destruction. His ancestors were mighty guardians of the city, protecting its people for hundreds of years, that respect still a part of the culture as much of his extended family used it for political power.


    He wondered what his ancestors would think of him if they saw him now, a weak, spineless, worthless kid, hiding out in the shadows of the ancestral home.


    Jerod flexed his hands again.


    Then he stood up, leaving his computer screen still at the game page, and moved over to the case holding the armor.


    The walk across the marble floor felt unnaturally loud to his pounding ears. He came up to the case and unlocked it from the side, the front glass door swinging open and the LED light momentarily blinding him as it swung by. His thoughts were focused on one thing.


    If there was a single act out there that could only be considered good, worthy, and righteous, it was the slaying of monsters. Monsters killed and consumed with little to no sentience, monsters were a plague that had killed humanity for thousands of years and while the tools of the modern day lessened the threat they posed, Jerod knew that a few people still died each year, carelessness usually the cause.


    But Jerod felt the need for unrestrained violence, so, therefore, monsters were going to die tonight.


    Jerod donned the armor on, something that he and all family members of his generation had been taught as kids from their traditional and strict patriarch at the time. After the old geezer finally passed the family stopped doing that, the position of patriarch was an outdated title anyway, the family no longer operated like that.


    Jerod barely remembered his old lessons and he fumbled with the straps and pieces, struggling to recall what he had been taught. What he remembered clearly at least was that the piece was still a fully functional set of spirit armor, hence its priceless value. Much like the modern appliances that operated on TAI ambient manna that the TAI production plants generated in the city by converting generic ambient mana, the spirit armor and its ancient enchantments operated from the generic ambient mana that was still prevalent, if much less so these days, in the city. Theoretically, the armor should still be in top shape, as if it had not just spent the last hundred years collecting dust in the family manor.


    Jerod finally got the last piece on and stood there, feeling accomplished. The armor was heavy, heavier than expected, but it made him feel safe and secure. And powerful. He wondered briefly what he looked like wearing it, probably like a gangly kid, wearing his father¡¯s armor. he decided he should not let anybody see him or know what he was doing, in the back of his mind he knew it was dumb and reckless.


    After he finished checking his armor over, he reached out for the last item, the sword. It looked exactly like he thought it would, the black sheet adorned with no decorations. Holding the sheath up, he pulled a few inches of the sword out, the gleaning steel blade reflecting in the dim LED lighting.


    The only thing Jerod knew about using a sword was that you were to poke the pointy end at the monster.


    He also knew it was exceedingly dangerous for an amateur to try to use it, they would more likely hurt themselves with it than be anywhere near effective. That was why, after looking longingly at it, with a sigh, he put it back in its case. He closed it up and moved on downstairs, to where he knew a collection of the ancient armory still stood.


    The halls he walked through were dark and unlit, the manor practically abandoned except for him these days. Moving out of his parents house felt like a necessity a few years ago if he ever wanted to successfully woo a woman, but purchasing a house was far outside his budget. The ancestral home had been mostly vacant and the family needed somebody to care for it. Jerod found himself volunteering for the position and while it had been somewhat lonely the first year, besides the occasional branch family member passing through, he soon found himself enjoying the quiet and dark rooms of the manor. Besides, the family actually had a cleaning service that kept the place up, so there was little work he actually had to do.


    With a key in his hand, Jerod unlocked the ancestral vaults and nabbed for himself one of the spears there. While technically also spiritual equipment, these weapons were much less potent than the sword from the lobby. Jerod wasn¡¯t about to go chase down a dragon though, the spear would be good enough to slay a single mana wolf, his goal for the night.


    With the TAI power plants up and running these days, most of the natural ambient mana got converted into TAI mana that made up the modern power grid. With the natural ambient mana so low, it was impossible for any serious threats to spawn close to any cities, Jerod knew the only monsters that appeared around the walls anymore were the lowly spirit wolves. Weak and mostly ethereal, the spirit wolves were more annoying for their howls than for their actual threat.


    Not that Jerod actually fought one before.


    With the spear secured, Jerod made his way to the side door, which led directly out of the city walls. The ancestral manor was located right next to the main city wall, historically used to deliver troops outside when emergencies hit. Now, it was a convenient way for Jerod to sneak out of the city without being spotted by nosy policemen wondering why a grown man was wearing ancient armor at this time of night. Getting pulled into the station for questioning was the last thing Jerod wanted.


    Before exiting the last door of the manor and stepping out into untamed wilderness outside the city walls, Jerod spotted an armed dispersal shot hanging from a hook next to the exit. The dispersal shot was the revolutionary invention that was single handedly responsible for ushering humans into the modern era. The device was simple in use, simply pointing the barrel of the weapon at a monster and pulling the trigger would cause a dispersal round to shoot out, dissolving any monster unfortunate enough to get hit. Easy to use with little training, once the production of these weapons had gone mainstream, dealing with monsters was no longer an elite affair, but one any farmer with a good aim could accomplish. This particular weapon was sleek and modern. Powered by TAI mana, the particular weapon was more than capable of dealing with any monster threat within miles of the city.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    Jerod hesitated upon seeing it though. He had cooled down considerably while equipping his armor, something he had known would happen which is why he had done it as fast as possible. He knew what he was doing was stupid, pointless, and reckless. Killing a single spirit wolf wouldn¡¯t accomplish anything other than put him into needless risk. People still died to them, occasionally. Granted, none of the people who died were wearing top grade spirit armor, but still.


    Jerod knew he should take the dispersal shot out with him, just in case, but he didn¡¯t want to. Taking it felt like admitting this was all a mistake, that he should go back inside, put the armor back in the case before anybody saw it missing, and just go to bed and wake up tomorrow feeling better.


    And then repeat the same actions that day, and everyday, for years and years to come. Nothing ever changing.


    The thought frightened Jerod deeply.


    Glaring at the offending modern weapon, Jerod then pointedly ignored it, finished strapping on his boots, and marched out the door, the back end of the spear he was carrying  banging clumsily against the swinging door on his way out.


    The automatic light on the ceiling stayed lit for another minute before detecting no further presence and promptly turning off. It stayed dark for another minute before the door burst open yet again, the light springing back into action. An armored hand reached through the door, grabbed the dispersal short and dragged it out into the dark, the person not stepping a single foot into the room. The light stayed on, the door swinging lightly as it closed, before it once again turned itself off, leaving the room in darkness.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Outside the city wall was much darker than Jerod had been expecting it to be. In fact, he actually hadn¡¯t given the darkness all that much thought, but it was very dark and black with no moon out tonight to reflect any sunlight onto the land. There were several lights from up top the massive stone and concrete wall that made up the perimeter of the city, but the defense and watch given to watching the wilderness had long since deteriorated over the years. As the natural ambient mana reached lower and lower levels, the last time a serious threat had appeared from the wilderness was only in the memories of Jerod¡¯s oldest living grandmother. For almost a century, no real threat had approached the city and any watch set along the wall was replaced by mana sensors that alerted the city officials to the presence of threats with an effective range of miles in the wilderness. There simply wasn¡¯t a need for an attentive watch along the walls anymore, and Jerod knew that maintenance of the wall was falling out of priority these days as well.


    The area just outside of the wall was cleared of any forest, or shrubbery, and anything at all, for hundreds of paces the land was simply scraggly grass and dirt. There was a growing movement in the city to extend the habitable land to outside the main city walls to help alleviate the housing demand in the city. The city was growing in population after all, and there was only so much room inside the walls. The traditionalists balked at the idea of building outside the safety of the city walls of course, the cultural importance of them seeming unable to fade from their minds even as the necessity of the walls diminished every year.


    Officially, Jerod¡¯s family opposed any expansion, but Jerod couldn¡¯t care less. If there was perfectly usable land available, it made perfect sense to use it. Just build a small wall around the new land, there was no need to build the new wall as grand as the old one considering dragons no longer attacked the city. Heck, a solid fence was all that was really needed these days, something to keep the spirit wolves and other lesser creatures away.


    And if that actually happened, you could just dismantle the current massive wall too, opening up even more space in the city, the archaic design no longer applicable in the modern age. It would make the ancestral home no longer sit out in the boonies anymore at least. Jerod knew the new cities getting built around the world were constructed with these new guidelines in mind, massive walls no longer necessary for safety in a populated place.


    But Jerod wouldn¡¯t be caught dead voicing those thoughts out loud to anybody, much less his family. Some battles were not worth fighting over.


    Regardless, Jerod marched forward across the flat even terrain, away from the towering walls and lights from the city.


    He had put the dispersal shot across his back, just in case things got dicey. The spear he carried in his hands felt heavy and unwieldy, especially in the thick gloves he wore. And while the helmet felt secure, it also blocked his peripheral vision, making him feel paranoid about his surroundings. The boots were heavy too, each step feeling like he was walking through shallow water.


    Jerod marched out a hundred paces, the flat barren earth giving way to scraggly bushes and undergrowth. He swung his head from side to side constantly, looking for any sign of movement in the darkness.


    Eventually he reached a point where the scraggly bushes directly in front of him became impassable brush without significant effort. If he wanted to keep moving forward he would have to move slightly to the left. Jerod paused, and stood still, appraising his options.


    And then he paused some more.


    As he stood there, the foolishness of his actions reluctantly dawned on him.


    What the hell did he think he was playing at? Slaying spirit wolves for glory was a fantasy best left to kids to play out with their friends in the park, much like he did long ago.


    In that moment he felt an incredible fool, an immature man unable to cope with his own problems, thinking a foray into the wilderness to kill a spirit wolf would somehow fix his insecurities.


    If the family found out what he did with this armor, getting evicted from his current residence would be the least of his worries.


    Jerod stayed still for a long time, unwilling to move forward with the reckless action, but equally unwilling to give up and return home a loser. Minutes dragged by in the quiet darkness, not even a breeze moving around to break up the silence. The land was barren and empty.


    Jerod felt like crying.


    Eventually, common sense won Jerod over. With a heavy sigh, Jerod turned and started trudging back, the bright lights of the city and wall clear in the distance. He needed to put everything back where it came from, the boots, the spear, especially the armor without a single thread out of place. Nobody was to be made aware of what he had tried to do tonight. The spear hung loosely in his right hand, dragging forlornly across the dirt.


    Suddenly, something heavy slammed into his back unexpectedly, driving him forward into the dirt with an ungainly yelp and grunt, the wind getting knocked out of him momentarily. He wasn¡¯t hurt though, the armor more than enough to keep him safe from such a fall. His first concern being panic at the dirt and scratches that now probably littered the once pristine armor. He rolled over onto his back quickly, only to realize what it was that had knocked him to the dirt in the first place.


    A spirit wolf was getting up off the ground, having bounced off of Jerod from its impromptu tackle. Spitting and hissing with its monster rage, the beast found its feet and stood with all haste, turning and pouncing onto the still prone Jerod.


    The spirit wolf¡¯s signature ghostly white fangs gleamed in the darkness, those and its orange eyes the few visible parts on the wolf, especially in the night. The monster went straight for Jerod¡¯s throat, its beastly instinct driving it to Jerod¡¯s greatest vulnerability.


    Jerod shrieked in an unmanly squeal as he ineffectually thrust his arms forward to protect himself from the murderous onslaught.


    Thankfully, Jerod¡¯s spirit armor was more than up to the task of defending against that level of attack, despite how unguarded Jerod had been acting. Otherwise, the city guard would have found Jerod¡¯s ripped up and half eaten corpse lying along the brown dirt, staining the land red with his blood.


    The wolf was unable to penetrate the armor''s protection to get at Jerod¡¯s apparent vulnerability, but not for lack of effort. The wolf snapped and clawed at face and neck with constant ferocity, each attack unable to get close to do any damage. Jerod screamed and screamed, all he saw was the maw and eyes of the mad beast, glaring hatefully down at him between its attempts at killing him.


    Jerod was panicking, the frightening action beyond his wildest imaginations, he grasped and flailed against the wolf just as ineffectual as the wolf against him.


    The wolf was unable to actually harm Jerod through the armor though and eventually Jerod was able to get a grip on himself. Still scared, adrenaline fueled arms found purchase on the fur of the monster and he was able to flip the much lighter spirit wolf off of him with a shout.


    Jerod enjoyed the moment as a breather, free from the monster''s fury, taking deep breaths and trying to get his bearings.


    But the wolf pounced back on Jerod with renewed vigor only moments later, undeterred. Monsters never gave up and they never retreated, all fights were always to the death.


    Jerod shouted and cursed at the wolf, trying to fend off the attacks with his arms, and the panic got replaced with violent rage. Jerod was able to grab the wolf¡¯s fur once again and threw it to the ground. This time, he jumped onto it before it could attack again.


    The wolf thrashed and snarled as it attempted to circumvent Jerod¡¯s efforts at restraining it, but at the end of the day, Jerod¡¯s weight alone was enough to restrain it. Now that Jerod was on the wolf, though, what the heck was he supposed to do with the snarling beast? Any letup on his part would have the wolf just pouncing at him again. Jerod¡¯s spear was lost in the initial scuffle, lying somewhere out there in the dark and he wasn¡¯t about to try to punch the creature to death.


    Jerod shakily reached towards his back where the dispersal shot still clung to him. The wolf still howled and snarled and Jerod desperately tried to hold it steady while he grabbed the weapon. Three ineffectual attempts later and with mounting frustration, Jerod finally was able to pull the dispersal shot off his back and bring it around. He fumbled with the handle, fumbled with the grip, fumbled with the safety, and then fumbled with the trigger.


    And after all that, straddling the struggling monster and holding its maw down with one hand and pointing the device at the beast''s midsection with his other shaky hand, the blasted weapon simply wouldn¡¯t fire despite Jerod¡¯s numerous and increasingly vocal and desperate attempts.


    After a solid fifteen failed trigger pulls and feeling his hold on the wolf wane while the beast struggled tirelessly, Jerod gave into his own animalistic fury. With an incoherent howl, Jerod released the wolf, the monster immediately twisting upwards and to try snapping at him, and grabbed the dispersal shot with both hands, bringing the butt end of the device down onto the monster¡¯s face as hard as he could. The blow stunned both the wolf and Jerod with its ricochet, but Jerod regained his bearing faster and slammed the weapon down again and again, the impacts of the device hitting against the spirit flesh sounding and reverberating from Jerod¡¯s arms throughout his body.


    The wolf took the wild beating gracelessly, yowling and snarling as the monsters were want to do, but, after a short eternity, the fight was over. Jerod stopped hitting when his last strike slipped through the suddenly disintegrating monster and hit the dirt with a solid thump. Now ¡°dead¡±, the former monster slowly dissolved into ambient mana from whence it came, the mana visible in its density before getting absorbed and dispersed evenly across the plains. The only evidence of the life and death struggle was the upheaved earth and the dirt covering the panting and shaking human as it kneeled on the ground.


    And then also the contents of Jerod¡¯s stomach and he heaved it up into the forgiving ground next to him, the semi-liquid mercifully exiting the protection of his helmet without issue.


    Coming down from the combat high, Jerod felt weak and exhausted, despite the fight taking no more and a few minutes at most. He felt drained, physically and emotionally, fighting back tears from exploding out of his face. He felt¡­ He didn¡¯t know what he felt. Too many emotions flooded his body, each pulling him in a different direction. He let himself fall to the dirt, enjoying the cool embrace of mother earth. He rested for a bit and caught his breath.


    He wanted to stay there forever, lying on the ground and enjoying the wonderful land he was so blessed to be able to lay on, but slowly his thoughts turned back to the immeasurable disaster that surely awaited him once the family found out what he had done to their ancient armor.


    Jerod got up slowly, a terrible dread filling his stomach now that his dinner was gone. He groaned, the muscles suddenly stiff and sore. A brief search found his blasted spear lying treacherously a few feet away from him, not that he was certain he would have been able to skewer the monster anyway. He carefully made his way back to the secret entrance, panicking momentarily at the large and secure looking lock on it, then feeling relief as he realized he hadn¡¯t locked it on his way out, then again, panic, as he saw how monumentally stupid he was for not locking it on his way out.


    He hung up the dispersal shot on its hook, noting briefly the slight dent it had on its hilt. He still had no idea why it hadn''t fired, but it was something he would figure out at a later time. Right now, the only thing he wanted to do now was to go to bed and forget everything about the day.


    His boots came off next, dusty and dirty from the travel, and he set them next to the bench. This was a staging area anyway, it was meant for such equipment. He could fix it up more tomorrow if need be.


    Next was the spirit armor though, and he hesitated significantly before steeling himself and seeing what the damage was. Taking off the different pieces Jerod was able to recall how perfectly the armor protected him from the spirit wolf, thinking about the situation in a clearer light it was obvious he was never in any real danger. The wolf might as well have been attacking the city wall with his fangs and claws for all the good it did for it.


    Jerod at last got all the armor off him, and inspecting the different piece, was astonished to see it looking as immaculate as when he first donned it a lifetime ago. Looking closer, Jerod could not spot a single dent, scratch, or abrasion on it, no evidence to the fight at all.


    It¡­. it was a miracle!


    Jerod stopped and thanked and praised every honored ancestor that ever existed in his family tree, his gratitude tempting him to run upstairs where the paintings of many of them hung so he could bow and scrape in person.


    Moving as quickly and as stealthily as possible, Jerod transported the armor back to its resting place in the main lobby, hoping nobody had noticed its brief absence. The lobby was as still, dark, and silent as he had left it, the light from the computer monitor he left on dimly illuminating the corner of the room. He took that as a good sign and he hurried to the case that held the armor, the empty frame still lit from the LEDs.


    He replaced the armor as delicately as he could while remaining in haste, but he was at the final sprint of his adventure. He felt emotionally fragile and giddy as he placed the last pieces back in their respective spots, practically cackling in glee as he saw himself getting away with his folly with none being the wiser.


    Once finished, he stepped back and admired his work, once again praising the wisdom of his ancestors, nothing looked out of place on the ancient equipment.


    Staring up at the beautiful armor, Jerod felt an immeasurable sense of accomplishment rise up in him. He realized that the deck of cards had been completely stacked in his favor, but he had done it, he slew a spirit beast by himself, just like the heroes of his ancestry.


    Well, they probably did it with a lot less panic and screaming, but that didn¡¯t discount what he did. The monster was dead, never to again threaten the city with its murderous fangs. And he totally did it, mission freaking accomplished.


    Jerod wondered briefly if this was what losing his virginity would feel like.


    Jerod left the lobby and made sure the spear was returned to its rightful place, the traitorous weapon getting a place in the furthest corner of the Amory. Then he showered and retired to bed, sleeping the sleep of the dead, all his worries far far away.

 Chapter 2

    Jerod woke up the next morning incredibly sore and it took him a few moments to remember why that was. Then the rush of memories flooded him and he audibly gasped in shock, sitting up in his bed in alarm.


    He could hardly believe what the hell had taken over him to commit to such an idiotic action simply because he was upset at losing a game. Was this what drunken people felt like after a night of alcoholic debauchery? Minus the hangover of course, but that was probably similar to the whole body ache he was experiencing now, in particular his arms and hands where he smashed the wolf to death in blunt force trauma.


    He should probably avoid playing that blasted game for a while if this was the effect losing a couple of matches had on him. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time he had to uninstall the game for a few months to recover, but it certainly was the instance that had the most extreme reaction. What on earth was he thinking, using the priceless ancient armor set like it was a toy? Granted, it had probably saved his life by preventing the wolf from getting a hold of his tender neck, of which Jerod was immensely grateful, but still. Weren¡¯t there equally effective and less priceless pieces in the armory he could have adorned instead?


    If not for the half remembered sensations of bludgeoning the monster to death lingering in his arms, Jerod might have thought he had only dreamed of the entire experience.


    Despite the insanity of last night, Jerod still had work today, the office would be expecting him within an hour. So with a groan at his soreness, Jerod got up and prepared for the day. First a shower in the ostentatiously large bathroom and then a breakfast of choice from the constantly restocked kitchen, oatmeal and raisins. Fresh coffee was provided for at the office.


    Midway through Jerod¡¯s meal though, his TAI phone rang, interrupting his morning routine. Glancing at the caller, Jerod froze seeing his mother¡¯s name, Cara, listed.


    Had she figured out what he did last night? No, that was impossible, nobody knew, and certainly nobody would know so soon.


    Centering himself, Jerod took a deep breath and answered the device with as much normal cheer as he could muster, ¡°Good morning Mother!¡±


    ¡°Ah Jerod, I am glad you answered, I wasn''t sure if you were on your way to work yet.¡±


    Jerod was certain that his mother knew he would be available at this time of day, but he let the obvious lie slide. ¡°Not yet, just eating breakfast, what¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Jerod¡¯s mother sighed dramatically, ¡°I just had your sister on my mind, trying to think about how to help the girl. Especially after our disagreement from the weekend.¡± Jerod honestly felt the best thing for both his mother and sister would be for them both to take a solid month away from each other. ¡°I just don¡¯t know what to do sometimes. She¡¯s such a strong willed woman.¡±


    ¡°Uh huh,¡± Jerod replied noncommittally, taking another bite of his oatmeal.


    ¡°So I had an idea, and I wanted to run it by you and see what you think.¡±


    ¡°Well, I''m listening.¡±


    ¡°What if we got uncle Jeff to offer Carl a job? You know, get some sort of position at Jeff¡¯s company, a steady stable spot where Carl can start building a future, what do you think?¡±


    Jerod straightened up in his chair and thought desperately for a diplomatic reply.


    ¡°Uhhhhhhh,¡± Jerod said succinctly.


    ¡°You don¡¯t like it?¡± Cara asked.


    No, Jerod did not like it, it would be a colossal mistake to offer that type of position to his sister¡¯s husband, Carl. Not that Carl wasn¡¯t smart enough for the kind of job his mother was describing, far from it, Jerod thought that his brother-in-law was one of the brightest people he knew.


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t your argument with Rylie last weekend about you trying to interfere too much in her life?¡± Jerod finally got out, mentioning the large spat that had occurred that last weekend. ¡°You know how much she value¡¯s her and Carl¡¯s independence, I doubt that kind of offer would be seen as anything less than patronizing and insulting. Its definitely not what she would want.¡±


    Cara gave another large sigh, ¡°your sister doesn¡¯t know what she wants, that¡¯s the problem, and then she blames all her problems on the family as if we haven¡¯t given her all the tools she needs to succeed already. If she and Carl had a stable and steady income, all this childish nonsense and petty squabbles would go away.¡±


    Jerod almost snorted his oatmeal at his mother¡¯s last statement. If large amounts of money prevented people from being petty and cruel then Jerod¡¯s extended family would all be one big happy family. Alas, Jerod thought wryly, he hadn¡¯t seen a happy family reunion, in like, ever.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± Jerod lied smoothly, ¡°But at this point, writing off their disagreement with you as childish nonsense is a bad move.¡± Jerod privately agreed with most of his sister¡¯s complaints actually, but felt she went about handling her issues self destructively. ¡°It will take time mother, I suggest holding off on any such action for now, at least until they¡¯ve cooled down some.¡± Hopefully, she would never bring it up again.


    ¡°I suppose you are right, Jerod,¡± his mother conceded, ¡°I just want what¡¯s best for them, they make this so hard on themselves. This is why I call you, you are one of the few voices of reason in this family. You are such a good son, you know that?¡±


    ¡°Indeed I do,¡± Jerod replied dryly.


    ¡°You know,¡± his mother continued, ¡°While I was talking to Uncle Jeff, I mentioned you too.¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± Jerod replied, slumping down a little.


    ¡°There¡¯s a position waiting there for you as well, Jerod. Uncle Jeff would be more than happy to have you on his team. I know I''ve said this before, but I just wanted to bring it up again.¡±


    Jerod supposed this was the true reason that his mother called this morning, he really should have seen it coming. It''s not like a job with Uncle Jeff would be all that bad, Jerod actually liked that particular uncle, more than the other aunts and uncles in his extended family at least, and the job itself would be guaranteed high pay and relatively easy. But there was a specific reason he had refused the offer before.


    ¡°I want to stay neutral, Mom, I don''t want to get involved in the TAI privatization movement.¡±


    ¡°Oh honey, come now, it''s not going to be like that.¡±


    ¡°It definitely will be, Mom. Uncle Jeff¡¯s and his company is the spearhead for that movement for heaven¡¯s sake! As soon as I accept a position with him, it will just be constant drama, drama, drama, half the family would probably stop speaking to me on the spot. I¡¯d probably get kicked out of my home for that matter too.¡±


    ¡°You could always move back in with us?¡± Jerod¡¯s mother replied hopefully. Jerod just sighed. ¡°Alright, I get it. A mother has to try, you know. It''s just such a waste where you are.¡±


    ¡°It''s not a waste, I like it here, I actually enjoy my job and I like my boss. How many people do you know that can say that?¡±


    ¡°But they are taking advantage of you, you do so much for them.¡±


    ¡°It''s a small company, all of us have to wear a few different hat¡¯s now and then.¡±


    ¡°And they''re not paying you enough,¡±


    ¡°I get paid plenty Mom. More than enough for everything I need. Plus I am getting free rent here. A ten or even fifteen percent pay increase simply isn¡¯t worth the risk of getting a job that I hate. Like I said, I am happy Mom, I am happy where I am. I am happy with my life.¡±


    Surprising himself, Jerod felt the truth and conviction in his words. It wasn¡¯t something he would have said with such earnestness even yesterday.


    ¡°If you say so honey,¡± Jerod¡¯s mother said with a smile on her words. ¡°In the end, that¡¯s what matters. If you are happy, then I won''t bring it up again.¡±


    ¡°You mean you won''t bring it up again for another year,¡± Jerod replied with good natured sarcasm.


    Cara just laughed at the other end of the line. He looked at the clock and then down at his unfinished meal, ¡°Hey Mom, it''s been good talking with you, but-¡±


    ¡°Oh, of course dear,¡± Jerod¡¯s mother interrupted, ¡°I¡¯ll let you go. Have a good day at work. I love you~.¡±


    ¡°I love you too,¡± Jerod replied, deactivating the device and returning to his meal, the oatmeal already lukewarm. He tried to not think about the problem in his family.


    The issue with Rylie, his sister, was an ongoing one and Jerod honestly didn¡¯t think there was a solution of any form available, in the foreseeable future at least. From Jerod''s perspective, everybody just needed to be less high strung about everything. Getting into fights over issues where neither party was prepared for change seemed like a colossal waste of energy. And really, there was little that was actually worth bothering to make a stubborn stance on, from Jerod''s perspective at least.


    Jerod sister though, she felt that any impediment on what she felt was right was a fight worth battling over. Rylie resented the control and manipulations their mother tried to put on them, and, while Jerod just ignored it, Rylie seemed to take every word as an attack. Plus, Rylie always felt very strongly about everything and their mother was always a fair weather kind of woman, moving where the momentum of the times took her.


    Rylie called their mother unprincipled. Their mother called Rylie stubborn. It was of no surprise that they had never been able to get along.


    Jerod finished up his breakfast and cleaned up the kitchen, something he did every meal because he felt terribly guilty leaving dishes for the cleaning people to take care of. On his way out the main door, Jerod passed by the case that held the spirit armor, giving it a good once over.


    Looking at it, Jerod could hardly believe the set had partook in the life and death struggle he had last night, it looked as perfect and heroic as ever. With a start, Jerod realized he never actually got a look at himself while he had it on. Did he wear it well, did it look good on him? Did it make him look like a dangerous and capable monster killer? Somehow, he doubted it.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    With one last glance at the case, Jerod moved on, out the large manor doors and down the ancient steps, and out to the modern garage space that held his TAIcycle. In the city, there was no better mode of transportation than the TAIcycle, a single or two seater device on two to three wheels that ran off TAI mana for locomotion. The contraptions only worked inside the high density TAI areas like the cities, meaning any inter-city travel still depended on beasts of burden for power like horses or oxen, but in the city travel was best done with a TAIcycle.


    Even in the far outskirts of downtown where Jerod lived, dozens of the TAIcycles littered the streets as the people of the city woke to the new day and commuted to their jobs.


    Jerod¡¯s TAicycle was a sleek silver machine, one of the most modern and most expensive examples available in the city, courtesy of his doting Uncle Jeff who had felt like it was an appropriate gift for the man who stayed so far away at the ancestral home. Jerod had wanted to refuse the gift at first, but his objections had died quickly upon seeing the bike. It was a work of art, and with the quality engine for speed and control. Jerod couldn¡¯t find it in himself to say no.


    So Jerod mounted the silver bike, clipped his matching helmet on, and began his morning commute, joining the hundreds of other TAIcycles on the roads that morning.


    Red Stern City, the city Jerod resided in and named after the Red Stern fish that populated the mountain river that ran through it, was a very flat city, with only small hills and inclines to decorate the topography. It was built at the base of a mountain that opened up to broad plains beyond and controlled one of the main routes through the chain of mountains behind it. Traditionally it was a fortress city, protecting the plains land from some of the more powerful monsters that sometimes appeared in the mountains, but even with that threat mostly gone, inter-city transport and trade was still vitally important. Red Stern City was made semi-wealthy for its fortunate location and their family reaped many of the profits. Jerod knew that many of the products produced at the plant he worked at would make their way to some of the closer cities nearby.


    Still, the half hour long commute completely across the city was made somewhat boring due to the lack of hills. Jerod liked to imagine what it might be like racing down the mountain roads in his TAIcycle should it ever become feasible. The bike was advertised with top quality speed and control abilities, but Jerod never had the opportunity to ever test them. It seemed a waste.


    Jerod made it to the plant, the name of the business boldly printed on the front of the building in big blocky letters, ¡°Joldeen Industries¡±. The business designed and manufactured many of the micro components of TAI products, Jerod wasn¡¯t exactly sure what those components did, but he knew there was heavy demand for what they were making. One of the biggest issues their company faced was lack of capacity.


    George Joldeen was the son of the owner of the company and one of Jerod¡¯s friends there, but rather than get into the managerial side of the operation, George much preferred working on the product, the geek that he was. That was why Jerod found him exactly where he thought he would, reviewing some new set of blueprints at the conference table, his desk and chair long forgotten.


    Lanky and balding, George stood hunched over the drawing tracing his fingers along one of the relays like a vulture over its meal. Jerod snorted at George¡¯s intensity over the plans as he walked in.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it a little early to be pondering the mysteries of mana relays? Have you even had your coffee yet?¡±


    ¡°It''s never too early to ponder the mysteries of mana relays,¡± George replied without sarcasm. ¡°And yes, I had my coffee a couple of hours ago. ¡®Could use another one though, heavens above.¡±


    ¡°Yikes,¡± Jerod replied sympathetically with a wince. He leaned against the door frame of the conference room and crossed his arms. ¡°That bad, huh? What¡¯s the problem?¡±


    George gave a little laugh and roused himself from the maps to look over at Jerod. ¡°The same as always, it''s not working!¡± George rubbed his stress filled face and put on a good natured smile. ¡°Just one of the joys of this job of course, every customer¡¯s request for new designs or tweaks are marked as ¡°extremely urgent¡± and they get mad at us for taking due diligence to make sure our product actually works as intended. So they tell us to skip several of our post-design stress tests in order to get the product out faster and then get mad at us when some of the designs have unforeseen complications.¡± George threw his hands out in a helpless gesture. ¡°What do they want from me?¡±


    ¡°I assume your firstborn is already claimed by another customer?¡±


    George chuckled and shook his head. ¡°So, did you need something? It''s no accident you dropped by, I know your office is on the other side of the building.¡±


    ¡°It''s nothing important,¡± Jerod replied, stepping back. ¡°It''s just some personal curiosity, a question that¡¯s starting bugging me on my commute in this today. But if you''re busy, I can ask later.¡±


    ¡°Well, I could use a break and some more coffee,¡± George replied, standing up and heading to the break room. ¡°What chu¡¯ got?


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve got one, no, I guess, two questions, actually.¡± Jerod started, following behind George as they moved across the commercial halls. ¡°I guess to start, what is the difference between ¡°spirit¡± and mana. I know my grandparents called everything ¡°spirit¡± this and ¡°spirit¡± that when they were alive. I mean, there are those ¡°spirit wolves'''', those monsters that still exist outside the walls. But wasn¡¯t it just a mana creature in the form of a wolf?¡±


    ¡°Huh,¡± George replied, entering the breakroom and grabbing himself a mug. Jerod followed suit. ¡°Well, there¡¯s the short answer and the long answer, which do you prefer?¡±


    Jerod snorted as he poured himself his own cup of coffee. ¡°Start with the short answer and if I don''t feel it''s enough, you can continue with the long one I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough,¡± George replied seriously, pushing his glasses up and considering his answer. ¡°The short answer is that there is nothing different, at least in this context, there are just two words that mean the same thing. Hundreds of years ago, nobody knew what mana and magic was of course, they just understood supernatural things existed and for the most part, anything involving mana or magic was simply labeled ¡°spirit¡± something or other. Hence the spirit wolves. Or spirit armor for the enchanted armor your family used to use. Your grandparents just hadn''t caught up with the current vernacular or were too stubborn to change.¡±


    ¡°Probably the latter, knowing my family.¡± Jerod joked. George grinned back.


    ¡°Well that makes sense to me,¡± Jerod continued, ¡°but now I''m curious what the longer answer would be.¡±


    ¡°Ah, well¡± George replied, brightening, ¡°In that case, there actually is a real difference between ¡°spirit¡± stuff and mana stuff. In the modern context, anything labeled ¡°spirit¡± will have its roots in older tradition of course, but will also operate strictly under the ¡°natural¡± mana state, which we''ve actually come to know is just a mix of all the different mana types. TAI mana you are most familiar with of course, it''s what we use to power everything in our city from our coffee maker,¡± George said, pointing out the machine with his full mug, ¡°to the equipment that make up our production line. But the truth is that there are actually dozens of different types of mana that exist naturally. And different geographical places across the continent can have different naturally occurring ratios of ¡°natural mana¡±, hence why different places are known for having different kinds of monsters spawn. Our spirit wolves, for example, only spawn within a few miles of the mountain range here and nowhere else on the continent, due to the specific mixture of the different mana types that form our area¡¯s natural ambient mana ecosystem. It''s all really fascinating stuff, and we are all learning more about mana everyday. It''s such a great time to be living in!¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± Jerod replied, catching some of George¡¯s enthusiasm. ¡°That kind of answers my next question too, I think. I was wondering why most of the enchantments and enchanted gear around my family ancestral manor don¡¯t work very well or at all any more. It''s because¡­ the TAI converters have changed the balance of the natural ambient mana too much for it to still operate.¡±


    ¡°Indeed,¡± George replied, now more solemnly. ¡°Pros and cons of the new age, some of the ancient wonders fade in time. Hopefully the new wonders make up enough for it.¡±


    ¡°I certainly hope so,¡± Jerod laughed, ¡°I can¡¯t imagine doing my job without a computer.¡±


    ¡°I remember doing my job without a computer, you entitled youngster,¡± George teased, taking a long sip of his coffee. ¡°Although,¡± he continued, ¡°If you take some of your enchanted items further away from the city, or send them along with one of the trading caravans that pass through to another city and back, it should return with somewhere around full charge, depending on the quality of the item.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure how useful it would be to do that, it''s not like it really matters anyway.¡±


    ¡°True¡± George replied simply.


    ¡°But wait,¡± Jerod asked, ¡°the armor that hangs in our lobby, it works just fine- I mean, it looks like it''s still fully functional.¡±


    George gave him a raised eyebrow. ¡°You mean the Boedring Dragon Set, famously worn by your great great grandfather when he slew the thunder wyrm flock that had flown down from the mountain peaks?¡±


    ¡°Uh,¡± Jerod replied, trying not to think about his less than glorious experience with it. ¡°Yeah, I think that¡¯s the one.¡±


    George whistled and stared down at his coffee contemplatively. ¡°Well, somebody could be simply charging it manually, I think you can purchase monster crystal shards and let the armor absorb those, but that would be rather expensive and not something you would casually do just to keep a set of armor looking pretty, no matter how historically significant. I guess your family could afford it though.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Jerod replied with a shake of his head, ¡°I¡¯ve been there for years now and have never seen or heard of anybody doing anything like that. How would that even work, anyway?.¡±


    ¡°Well, while describing ambient mana as a gas is an analogy I shudder to use it works well enough in this case. When the ambient mana gets dense enough or encounters some kind of catalyst, the mana can transform into a solid state. I¡¯ve read about some people actually artificially creating some mana crystals by forcing mana into a certain level of density, but the most common form of mana dense enough to be tangible would be monsters, which are, by definition, solidified spirit. When killed, the dense ambient mana that made up the monster dissolves back into the manasphere, but sometimes the more powerful monsters leave behind actual crystal mana that had condensed even further inside their bodies at some point. There is probably a more efficient way of doing it, but if you just crush a monster mana crystal next to your enchantment, the enchanted item should just soak up the a lot of that mana before it can dissipate. Those old enchantments are designed to soak up the natural ambient mana after all, armor and weapons especially. That way every time a warrior killed a monster, the dissipating remains would refill the weapon¡¯s or armor power level, marginally, at least.¡±


    ¡°Huh, that¡¯s actually quite clever of them.¡± Jerod remarked.


    ¡°Careful there Jerod, that¡¯s your own family you are referring to.¡±


    Jerod rolled his eyes. ¡°Well, that makes sense, but you are right, it sounds terribly expensive to buy mana crystals to charge up the armor, I really don¡¯t think they are doing that to it. How come it''s still fully powered then?¡±


    George snorted and shook his head, ¡°you really need to read up on your family lore some, Jerod. If you knew that lore better, you could probably answer it yourself.¡±


    With a slight scowl, Jerod replied, ¡°I know my family well enough as it is, I don''t care to read up on the lies and propaganda on how great our family was.¡±


    ¡°I doubt it''s all lies, a lot of exaggeration, sure, but, honestly, I feel that a little hero worship was a necessary aspect of life back then. Faith in the guardians and protectors of the city was a powerful motivator in times of trouble.¡± George glanced at Jerod¡¯s scowling face and smiled placatingly, ¡°But that aside, there were always rumors and stories about that set of armor, propagated by your family no doubt, but never confirmation on what it actually was. I think the name really gives it away though, and with what you have said to me now, I think there is some real truth in it. The Boedring Dragon Set probably has a dragon heart incorporated into the making of it. Dragons of course, were notorious for generating their own mana, it sounds like your ancestors managed to include some sort of mana production enchantment into the armor in order to keep it running. I can¡¯t imagine how they did it,¡± George said wistfully, ¡°back in the day, that armor must have been one of the most powerful artifacts on the continent.¡±


    Feeling somewhat floored from the apparent obvious revelation, Jerod just kind of sat back and thought of all the ways he had disgraced his family¡¯s legacy last night.


    ¡°If you ever feel like letting me take a quick peek at the armor¡¯s enchantments¡­¡± George asked, leadingly.


    Jerod gave a shake of his head, ¡°The family would kill me if I let an outsider inspect it, that was grounded into when I first moved in. The case itself only opens for direct descendants as it is, it''s got some really strong TAI enchantments to protect the case.¡±


    ¡°A shame,¡± George nodded, ¡°but totally understandable. That armor set really is a national treasure, I would surely like to see it in a museum someday.¡±


    Jerod could only numbly nod his head in reply.


    ¡°Well, if that¡¯s all, I''ve got to get back to figuring out why my relays are not conducting properly. Say hi to Paul when you get to your office for me.¡±


    Jerod left, acquiescing to the request and taking his coffee with him. He wondered about the ancient champion who slew the flock of thunder wyms, the man wearing the same dragon armor he had worn only last night. Would he have looked down in scorn at his descendent as he struggled with a spirit wolf, or looked on proudly at a man following his footsteps, if only as shallowly as possible?


    Jerod didn¡¯t get an answer by the time he made it to his desk, but probably the former he concluded. What he did figure out though, was that he probably could have just punched the stupid wolf to death in one hit with the quality of armor he was wearing and saved himself the trouble of that trauma. His arms still ached from the blows last night.

 Chapter 3

    The rest of Jerod¡¯s day at the office went well, for the most part Jerod¡¯s job was rather easy for him and had very little stress involved, just the way he liked it. The only issue that day was the ongoing drama for a presentation for a customer Jerod somehow got roped into helping with. Providing figures for the salesman was all well and good, but Jerod hardly thought it should be his responsibility to actually create the program for the salesman to present. But the man was busy and Jerod was not, so Jerod felt it improper to complain.


    In that back of Jerod¡¯s mind though, he could hear his mother telling him that he was getting taken advantage of there, but he brushed those thoughts aside. Successfully running a small company like Joldeen Industries required a team effort, not individualized glory.


    Still, Jerod could not help but complain in his head while assembling the display that he was an accountant, not a graphic designer. And he was mildly colorblind to boot, so if they didn¡¯t like the colors when he was done, that was on them.


    The extra work made him grumpy and exhausted and he left the plant at closing with a sigh of relief, waving good night to George and the other employees as he climbed atop his TAIcycle.


    His commute left Jerod ruminating on his discussion with George earlier that day and as soon as he got back home Jerod made his way down to the armory. According to George, none of the sets of ancient armor down there would be usable anymore, their powerful enchantments long empty from the decades without charge. And sure enough, after a little investigation, Jerod found the charge siegels on each set and Jerod¡¯s suspicions were realized. None of the sets of armor down there had any charge on any of their enchantments. Even the spears that Jerod had casually perused over yesterday were hardly better than sticks with pointy ends anymore.


    Feeling somewhat disappointed for no discernable reason, Jerod realized that had he actually used the spear that night before, it probably would have snapped. Jerod eyed the spear still sitting in the far corner where he had left it. It was probably for the best that none of this stuff worked anymore, there were relics of a bygone era.


    Next Jerod checked out the stupid dispersal shot that had refused to work last night. Jerod knew it was unlikely that the family would have stocked a weapon there without checking its capabilities, the regular caretakers of the manor were thorough in pretty much everything they did. Jerod did not recall ever having to change a TAIlight or fix an enchantment. And now that he thought about it, the bathroom fan worked just fine this morning, somebody must have fixed the blasted thing while he was at work yesterday.


    The dispersal shot was still right where he left it, although, worryingly, the dirty boots he had left there were gone and probably cleaned. He¡¯d have to check on that sometime. The weapon itself still had the small dent on the back of the butt, the caretakers either not seeing it or not seeing a need to replace the device with so little damage.


    Lifting the weapon up, Jerod inspected it, looking at the charge gauge, and a few other routine check ups that had been taught to all the children in public schools. It was part of the mandatory curriculum that each person knew how to maintain and use a dispersal shot in case of an emergency. From what Jerod could see though, the weapon seemed just fine, all that was left was to actually fire the stupid thing.


    Exiting out the door to the plains outside the city once again, Jerod beheld the setting sun wash its colors over the land. Angry orange and red light lit the scraggly brush, grass, and bushes that filled out the uninhabited lands with an intense color, painting the scene with an energetic foreboding feeling.


    Jerod ignored all that and stayed within a few steps of the small concealed door. He hefted the dispersal shot onto his shoulder and fired at a point in the near distance. The weapon gave no kickback as it shot, and the discharge itself left no visible trace beyond a slight rippling in the air. A spot on the ground nearish to where Jerod was aiming got disturbed as if a strong gust of wind had just hit it, dust and dirt kicking up for a second before settling down slowly.


    The weapon itself was hardly fatal when shot at a human or any non-mana entity. It was definitely disorienting when one got shot though, the internal minute amount of mana that existed in the human body getting forcibly dissolved was an unpleasant experience that left people feeling weak, nauseous, and dizzy. Dispersal shots could kill a person if used persistently though, as humans did need some mana in their system to survive, but going hours and even a few days without was always completely recoverable.


    That was why the dispersal shot was favored so much by the law enforcement, for those who weren¡¯t used to having their mana disrupted, it was an incredibly debilitating experience. It allowed for police to stun and capture their targets without risk of permanent harm.


    The weapon in Jerod¡¯s hands, though, appeared to work exactly as it should though, and Jerod could only scowl in bafflement as to why it had refused to work correctly last night.


    Shooting the weapon a few more times to similar results, Jerod gave up and shook his head. He must have been doing something wrong in panic that night before, because the blasted thing was working perfectly now. He slipped back inside the manor and rehung the device with a scowl. It was time for dinner anyway and he was getting hungry.


    The fridge and pantry of the manor were always well stocked by the caretakers, the caretakers themselves being people whom Jerod had met only a handful of times in all the years he had been living there. They always came during the day hours of the work week when Jerod wasn¡¯t around and did everything. They communicated with Jerod regularly via TAImail about the upkeep, but mainly to plan out his meals for him throughout the week with Jerod giving a little input into what particular foods he liked or disliked.


    When he first started living there they had offered to have a cook stay for the evenings and prepare his dinners for him, but that felt like overkill to Jerod, being the only person living there. He would have felt incredibly awkward having a professional chef cook just for him, he could hardly stand having all his grocery work done for him, but got used to that rather quickly. He did insist on paying for the actual groceries themselves though, something the caretakers grudgingly accepted. Jerod suspected they had been charging the family for the groceries with a significant upcharge before.


    Dinner tonight was a breaded chicken oven baked with carrots, and some sort of buttery grain food on the side, the picture of the meal on the recipe card provided looking absolutely delicious. If nothing else, the diversity of Jerod¡¯s meals had increased dramatically since he began living here. He was a little worried about gaining weight once he hit thirty because he never really exercised, but that was still years away.


    Before Jerod could secure all the utensils needed for the meal though, Jerod heard somebody entering the manor from the front entrance, and little chimes sounding around that house at the intrusion, courtesy of a small TAIbell Jerod had installed when he first moved in. Washing and wiping off his hands quickly, Jerod made his way to the front lobby to meet his unexpected guest. He was only a little bit nervous that it might be his grandfather here to evict him.


    When Jerod saw who had entered though, his face broke out into a wide smile and rushed forward. ¡°Rylie ! I didn''t know you were stopping by.¡±


    Rylie turned and gave Jerod a weak smile in return, opening her arms up for a large hug. Jerod took it and gave her a tight squeeze.


    Being Jerod¡¯s older sister, Rylie was always a strong powerful woman in Jerod¡¯s eyes, a woman who could do anything she put her mind to. She followed through on all her commitments for good or ill, and never backed down from what she thought was right. She was a person filled with boundless fiery energy, and Jerod admired her for her drive.


    Tonight, though, she looked tired and worn, her knee length green and beige dress that gave off the impression of spring was a tad wrinkly and she wore no makeup. Not that Rylie wore much makeup to begin with, as far as Jerod noticed, but tonight she looked¡­. Exhausted.


    ¡°Jerod,¡± Rylie replied, pulling back from the tight hug, but keeping Jerod in her arms, ¡°it''s good to see you, it''s been too long.¡±


    ¡°You keep declining my invites to come over,¡± Jerod shot back with a smile.


    ¡°I know,¡± Rylie said with one more squeeze before letting him go and stepping back. ¡°We¡¯ve just been so busy lately, we haven¡¯t been able to find the time to come out here in a while.¡±


    ¡°Well, you''re here now, come in, come in, is Carl here too?¡± Jerod asked, looking over his sister¡¯s shoulder as if her husband would appear there any second.


    ¡°Yes, he¡¯s out there, putting our TAIcycle away.¡±


    ¡°Well, do you two want to stay for dinner? I was just about to start making it, you know. It¡¯s breaded chicken and carrots and some other foods, it looks amazing, and I''ve become quite a decent cook, if I do say so myself.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m not sure if we have time, we were just coming over for a quick visit to get some stuff done¡­¡± Jerod shot her a pleading look and she eventually relented with a smile. ¡°I guess we can eat and still have plenty of time.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll make it quick, let¡¯s head back to the kitchen and we can talk while I start cooking.¡±


    The two made their way back, Jerod practically skipping. Rylie observed the manor, its dark and long halls bereft of life.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    ¡°I still can¡¯t believe you choose to live here,¡± Rylie commented as they entered the kitchen. ¡°I would get so lonely if I was here alone. I used to think this place was haunted as a kid, that the different armor sets came to life at night and started patrols like ancient sentinels. This whole place just reeks of loss and emptiness, I think i wouldn¡¯t last a week.¡±


    ¡°Eh, it''s not so bad,¡± Jerod replied, starting to cut up the carrots. ¡°I mean look at this kitchen! This oven alone must have cost several thousand gold, much less everything else in here. Even though I''m the only one who ever uses it, the family invests so much into this place and I get to reap the benefits.¡±


    Rylie huffed in annoyance. ¡°Such a waste of money, just so the family can pretend and maintain their image of this place. Those egomaniac pricks.¡±


    Jerod carefully didn¡¯t respond to those last comments, choosing to measure out the sourcream needed instead.


    ¡°It was a little lonely at first, but it got me away from all the family drama, which was nice. I¡¯m sure you can attest to that.¡± Rylie just snorted in response and Jerod continued, ¡°I heard you got in an argument with mom last weekend.¡± Jerod refrained from saying the word ¡®again¡¯. ¡°Do you want to talk about it at all?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s there to talk about,¡± Rylie replied, getting fired up all of a sudden. ¡°She just wants to control my life and I said no.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure that¡¯s not her actual goal.¡± Jerod replied diplomatically.


    ¡°No, her goals are to have a well behaved daughter who does whatever she asked to do, works a boring job for Uncle Jeff, and helps propagate the myth that our family is some noble household like some of those in the capital, when the truth is that they are all just a bunch of selfish, self-serving idiots who care more about reputation than about the welfare of the city!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think mom is like that,¡± Jerod said with a frown.


    ¡°No, she is worse!¡± Rylie exploded, surprising Jerod with the ferocity. All her previous signs of exhaustion were gone as she continued, ¡°all she cares about is maintaining her position within ¡°the family¡±, using you and I to secure her a spot. Ever since Dad died, all she can worry about is how she married into the family and how she will be kicked out if she can¡¯t provide enough usefulness to the family¡¯s agenda. She doesn¡¯t care about the policies, or the drama, or the ethics of anything the family does, she just wants a piece of the pie!¡±


    Jerod gave a big sigh, not sure how to respond. It wasn¡¯t in him to bad mouth people, much less their mother. And while he agreed with Rylie¡¯s sentiment, he still thought she was overreacting. And besides all that, what was the point of raging against a system you had no control over changing in the first place?


    ¡°Mom¡¯s a widow and a worrywart,¡± Jerod replied, trying to keep his voice even while he dipped the chicken in the batter to place on the cooking sheet. ¡°It''s just who she is to worry about that kind of stuff. I¡¯ve told her over and over that i¡¯ll take care of her if it ever comes down to it, and I know it won¡¯t come down to it. She gets along with everybody, nobody¡¯s going to want to ¡®kick her out¡¯. It''s just never going to happen.¡±


    Rylie blew out of her nose angrily, crossing her arms and leaning against a column. Eventually she said, ¡°You¡¯re just like mom, in some ways, Jerod. You refuse to take a stand on important issues, just hiding out here in the family manor and pretending none of it has anything to do with you.¡±


    Jerod felt his cheek flush in anger at the comment, but he replied coolly. ¡°Important issues? What important issues? And what could I possibly accomplish in them? Important issues like whether or not a statue of great Grandfather should be placed in a park, or in city hall? Or if we should reject that building proposal or not because the developer¡¯s competitors brided us not to? Or issues like whether the family should support that mayoral candidate or the other? Guess what? They both are corrupt so it doesn''t matter! The city will go on and keep running either way, so why should I bother to get involved?¡±


    ¡°There is right and wrong, Jerod, people like you and me who actually can recognize and value that need to be able to stand up and try to set things right! As citizens, and much more as members of the family that is supposed to protect the city, it¡¯s our duty to protect the people here from those who would screw them over, our family being the biggest culprits!¡±


    Jerod angrily shoved the chicken into the oven, and stood back up, trying to come up with a response. His anger, as it usually did, made it hard for him to think logically so it was much harder for him to try to formulate his thoughts.


    Eventually he turned around and said, ¡°The city has been around for thousands of years, and it has always been the same, corruption, power grabs, and conspiracies by the ruling class. And those fools backstab and kill each other all the time, but none of it actually affects the running of the city, the actual people of the city. I don''t want to be a part of that! So I say, let those idiot elites play their games and kill each other off, it doesn''t matter to the rest of us!¡±


    ¡°It''s not the same anymore,¡± Rylie said tersely, ¡°Technology has advanced and the people are playing with dangerous things, things they shouldn¡¯t be messing with!¡±


    Bewildered, Jerod started to say, ¡°What on earth are you talkin-¡± when it suddenly hit him like a bolt of lightning. ¡°Are you talking about TAI privatization!?¡± Rylie¡¯s answer was a stoney face and Jerod threw his hands in the air, ¡°Oh my word, are you serious?! You are still floundering around with that nonsense?!¡±


    ¡°It''s not nonsense, this is a serious matter that threatens the safety of the entirety of the city! And they are slowly getting away with it!¡±


    ¡°Oh, please,¡± Jerod replied, genuinely upset, ¡°Uncle Jeff is one of the few members of the family i actually like, and you think he¡¯s some evil villain trying to destroy the city like some children¡¯s novel, when all he really wants to do is free control of TAI research and production from the borderline cult group of people who would bottle it all up and offer it piecemeal to the populace if they could. Have you actually ever listened to him and ignored the lies about him for one second to see what he has to say? What Uncle Jeff is doing is a huge step in the direction of progress, I think, and if half the family wouldn¡¯t start attacking me if I did, I would have joined Uncle Jeff at his company years ago!¡±


    Throughout Jerod¡¯s rant, Rylie¡¯s face transformed from fury into disappointment, and looking at it now, it hurt more than Jerod would care to admit. Angrily, Jerod turned away and tossed a pot on the stove and activated the TAIwarmer to bring the water to a boil.


    After a minute of silence, Rylie spoke up again. ¡°I guess that really shows the real you Jerod, even when you found something you believe in, you aren¡¯t willing to commit to it in any real way.


    Jerod¡¯s voice cracked slightly as he responded, ¡°I¡¯m just me, just a little accountant. We are not like the hero¡¯s of old who could wash away dangers of the world with a wave of their hand. There¡¯s nothing I could do about it either way, anyway.¡± Jerod stared down at the clear water on the pot, the liquid still minutes away from boiling.


    ¡°Well, I believe I can do something, and I will do something.¡± Rylie replied, her voice strangely calm and even. ¡°Uncle Jeff is delving into dangerous territory with what he is doing, and he needs to be stopped. The whole privatization effort needs to be ended, for the safety of everybody.¡±


    Jerod turned around and faced his sister, wondering where she was going with it. She looked back at him with clear brown eyes. ¡°Carl and I have joined the TAImancers, the so-called cult, as you called them. We are leaving tonight, heading over a few cities to one of their schools. The trip will take a few months, but I''ll call you when we reach the cities along the way, to let you know we are okay. I trust you won¡¯t let anybody know until we are gone?¡±


    Jerod¡¯s mouth felt dry and all his words seemed to escape him. He stared out back at his sister, his eyes begging her to tell him it was a joke. But her steely eyes held no remorse.


    ¡°You¡¯re ¡­ leaving?¡± Jerod finally got out.


    Before Rylie could respond, Carl appeared in the kitchen next to his wife. He gave Jerod a pleasant smile before turning to Rylie, ¡°We¡¯re all set babe, I''ve got everything we need for the trip. Are you done here?¡±


    ¡°Just about,¡± Rylie replied curtly, not taking her eyes off of her brother. ¡°Jerod, promise me you won¡¯t tell anybody we are leaving for a few days.¡±


    ¡°Why do you need to go?¡± Jerod asked instead of answering her demand. ¡°Why can¡¯t you¡­ why can¡¯t you just stay here? There¡¯s no need for such¡­ drastic measures, why do you need to take everything so seriously? Why can¡¯t you just stay here and just learn how to get along with people?¡± Unasked was Jerod¡¯s plea not to be left alone.


    It was Carl who answered, flashing Jerod another brightsmile, ¡°Sorry kiddo, it''s a bit too late for that. We burned quite a few bridges at this point. We had to, uh, take a few things from the manor to help fund our journey too, but don¡¯t worry about it, it''s nothing anybody will miss. We¡¯ll also be borrowing your TAIcycle to haul our wagon out to the gate tonight, our TAIcycle doesn''t have near enough oxenpower to handle that. We¡¯ll leave it at the gate for you though, don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    Jerod looked over at his sister wordlessly, and she looked back, her lips thin and pressed. After a moment she spoke, ¡°I hope someday you¡¯ll be able to find something you believe in enough to fight for, Jerod. I know you¡¯ve got a good heart and character inside you, you¡¯ve just got to find the courage and avenue to let it all out. I think if you wanted, you could change the world, just like the heroes of old.¡± She turned to her husband, and took his arm. ¡°Let''s go, honey.¡±


    Jerod followed them out, feeling like he was being pulled by invisible strings, forced to watch his sister¡¯s departure. Without another word between the two parties, Jerod watched as Carl and Rylie mounted his TAIcycle and took off, their large tailor trailing ponderously behind. Carl gave a final wave back to Jerod which he didn¡¯t reciprocate, and then the two were gone into the night. The sun had already fallen down behind the tall walls of the city, leaving the streets in gloom.


    Jerod stood at the gate of the manor for a long time, trying to come to terms with what had just happened. He felt like he had been run over by a runaway cart, completely blindsided and given no chance to try to fix what had gone wrong. Or even time to figure out what and where it had all gone so wrong in the first place.


    He couldn¡¯t recall ever feeling so helpless and alone before.


    Eventually, when Jerod started feeling a bit of a chill, he headed back inside, watching the marble floor pass by with every step. He smelled the food in his oven, and the aroma alarmed him to the condition he left the kitchen in.


    He rushed inside to find the pot of water boiling over and the chicken in the oven charred beyond his capacity to consume. He switched off the oven and stove and took out the chicken, leaving the black meat on the counter. He found a stool and sat in it, watching the steam and smoke lift lazily off the ruined meal.


    After a minute or two, Jerod was losing track of time, the sound of the fire alarm broke him from his musings, the smoke too much for the sensors to tolerate. With a much aggrieved snarl, Jerod snatched the offending enchantment off the wall and smashed it down onto the solid floor, silencing the alarm forever.


    Jerod clenched and unclenched his fists. Eventually his thoughts returned to a perfectly usable piece of armor that would let him release his pent up frustrations against the tangible evils of this world in a net positive manner. At least there, he could feel like he was accomplishing something good.


    With one last look at his ruined meal, Jerod dismissed it and headed out to the lobby to once again equip the Boedring Dragon Armor. There were monsters to kill tonight.

 Chapter 4

    Jerod really liked accounting. In fact, he really liked accounting. Some people, friends and family included, like to joke about what a boring job accounting was, and Jerod understood that, understood why they felt that way. The image of a guy (or gal) sitting at a computer all day in a stuffy office, double checking numbers that nobody really cared about until tax season came, was an image that did sound dreadfully boring.


    And in many ways, Jerod¡¯s job was a lot like that, he sat in an office all day and most of his job was spent on solo activities. It was just plain boring, essential office work. A job like George¡¯s where you actually designed and created stuff had a much larger appeal. Many of Jerod¡¯s friends had gone into the TAI engineering field in some form or another, there was a large demand and larger salaries for quality TAI engineers inside Red Stern City. Fields like accounting were left to those boring people who preferred dealing with numbers.


    But Jerod did not see it that way, although he had to admit he fit the stereotype a little bit too much. To Jerod, accounting wasn¡¯t about numbers as much as it was about organization. Everything had a place to go, every transaction had the proper identification. Jerod liked the simplicity of it, although describing accounting as simple was rage inducing for any business major stuck in basic accounting. Accounting was complicated, with many different rules and exceptions and generally accepted accounting principles one must understand, but on the other hand, it all made sense, logical sense.


    Every problem had a solution, every error had the ability to get fixed, and every quandary was solvable with a little problem solving. Jerod liked that, and sure, there were other fields of study that had similarities, but Jerod had found accounting first and he stuck to it.


    Relationships and people though, those were entirely different. In Jerod¡¯s experience, human problems were generally insolvable. People had issues and you either learned to deal with it or bypass it. Jerod¡¯s mother had taken her husband¡¯s death poorly when he passed away nine years ago and she hadn¡¯t been the same since. Jerod had tried to help her, but all his efforts fell short to actually help her return to the happy carefree person she used to be. Jerod eventually concluded that people just couldn¡¯t be solved or fixed in the same way a particular issue in bookkeeping could.


    The same was true for his past relationships with women. In the two instances where he had gotten relatively serious, issues arose that Jerod simply could not find a fix for. Jerod told people that the relationships simply ¡°hadn¡¯t worked out¡± and it was true, but Jerod couldn¡¯t for the life of him figure out what was really broken about them to have been able to fix them anyway. The relationship¡¯s were an enigma.


    And lastly, there was his sister Rylie, the reason Jerod was back out here in the plains beyond the city walls. Rylie had never gotten along particularly well with their mother even before their dad had passed, but since then the two were like oil and water. And no matter how many times Jerod talked and counseled her, explained their mother¡¯s behavior, or otherwise tried to help her, nothing Jerod did lasted.


    The problem was unfixable. And now Rylie was gone, unable to tolerate their mother¡¯s or their family¡¯s apparent evil deeds, pushed away by some mysterious force that only existed in her head.


    The problems vexed Jerod greatly, understanding there was an issue, but being unable to do anything to fix it. The issue was vague and cloudy in itself, and all his actions were ineffective, not like accounting at all. Jerod was helpless.


    Jerod thought, as he dallied around outside the city wall, waiting for a monster to appear, that that was, perhaps, one of the major reasons he was out here. Rather than just his rageful aggression, Jerod was trying to find a problem he could solve and  monsters were a clear problem, an evil, and it had a clear solution as well. Destroying that which was evil with sword and shield.


    Not that Jerod actually had a shield with him at the moment. After returning to the lobby and donning the armor just as he had the night before, Jerod found his boots again, cleaned and returned to their proper resting place. He visited the armory just to double check, but confirmed that none of the weapons there had any active enchantments. Stuck without a weapon, Jerod had returned to the lobby and checked out the sword that came with the Beording Dragon Set and saw that it was actually fully active and ready to slay monsters. He was wary of actually using the weapon, images of himself accidentally slicing off his own hand flashed through his mind. It was much too long to start off with and probably impossibly sharp. Jerod took it anyway just in case and resolved to just take the dispersal shot as his main weapon tonight.


    Then Jerod marched outside and prepared to fight to the death yet again against the monsters that plagued humanity.


    Jerod had waited and waited though, pacing a little, back and forth a hundred lengths from the wall, but no spirit wolf or other beast showed themselves.


    Jerod hadn¡¯t bought a watch with him, but after what felt like a half an hour, Jerod grudgingly stepped further away from the wall and the lights from the city. Critically, Jerod realized he ought to have brought a flashlight, or some other sort of light with him. As he walked forward, he scanned the plains with squinting eyes, keeping a lookout for any movement, but all was still.


    As he waited, his thoughts inevitably returned toward his confrontation with Rylie, re-imagining the scenarios, wondering what he could have done or said differently to change her mind. A heartfelt plea? A logical argument? A hard guilt trip?


    But none of those hypothetical scenarios worked in Jerod¡¯s mind, because Rylie must have made this decision a long time ago and he had already missed his chance.


    Jerod found himself hating his family, hating their mother, and hating Rylie for doing this to him, and to each other. It was all so messed up, it was impossible to fix.


    Getting impatient and hungry, Jerod shook his weapon and called out to the darkness. ¡°COME ON OUT, YOU MONSTERS!¡± Jerod roared, his voice was loud and strained, burning his throat a little. He did not yell often. ¡°COME AND FACE ME!¡±


    At first there was no response, like Jerod expected there to be. He had been as quiet as possible up to this point, afraid of perhaps drawing too many monsters at once. He wasn¡¯t sure if that was even a thing though, but wasn''t certain, so after he had yelled he had promptly pulled up the dispersal shot and kept an eye out for an incoming horde of monsters. The horde did not appear, but out of the darkness a new beast had come instead, appearing fifty paces away as if out of thin air.


    Jerod could not make out what the monster was this time, hence he had not pulled the trigger on it immediately. It was definitely not a spirit wolf though, this one was much too big. This creature was round and large, and had low rumbly grunts as it snorted and puffed in its aggression. Its red eyes gleamed in the darkness, illuminating nothing but the monster¡¯s own malice. It walked on four legs and Jerod could feel the ground tremor slightly with each pair of foot falls.


    Jerod felt a spike of fear at seeing the beast¡¯s more leisurely approach, the unfamiliarity of the shadowy outline causing him to have wild imaginations of the danger. Jerod still had not fired, even when the beast got within forty paces of him and started picking up speed. At that point its maw came open and it roared a bellowing challenge.


    At the roar, it suddenly clicked in Jerod¡¯s mind what he was dealing with, it was a shadow bear. These monsters were known to only appear at night, unlike the spirit wolves who had no such limitation. While the monsters themselves did not possess more magical power than a spirit wolf and thus was generally categorized in the same threat class as the wolf, it was accepted that the bear was the far more dangerous monster, its size and mass allowing it to bowl over unwary travelers and their carts and wagons on the road, if not caught before the attack.


    Jerod did not want to get rammed by the incredibly massive spirit beast, no matter how theoretically powerful his armor was. Fortunately, he knew that disposal shot rounds destroyed the mass of the monsters when they hit, eliminating the threat of the charge as long as the shot was accurate.


    This knowledge was the only reason he hadn¡¯t panicked already, his decades old training telling him to stand his ground and carefully line up his shot. With the powerful dispersal shot in his hands, as long as he hit the beast before it got him, he would be perfectly fine. And so he did, and even remembered to exhale before he pulled the trigger, the shadow bear only ten paces away at this point, its massive angry maw set to tear him to pieces. It would be nearly impossible to miss at this point.


    Jerod pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. He pulled the trigger, again, managing to get three additional frantic attempts in before the bear reached him.


    The next thing Jerod saw was the world spinning around him, the city, the stars, the ground, and even the shadow bear racing by in the world¡¯s most punishing theme park ride. Then he felt himself get slammed into the ground, the sharp crack of sound from the collision startling him and making his ears ring. In an odd mirror of yesterday¡¯s events, he found himself trying to catch his breath, thoroughly stunned and out of sorts, looking at the starlit sky with wide unblinking eyes. Again, he did not feel particularly hurt anywhere.


    And just like the day before, the monster pounced upon Jerod¡¯s prone form, its massive jaws enveloping Jerod¡¯s entire head as it tried to twist and rent that appendage from his body. At the same time the bear¡¯s front claws raked against Jerod¡¯s chest, trying to find purchase in order to tear open his torso and feast upon his innards. The bear¡¯s back and and entire sat upon Jerod¡¯s legs keeping the prey from making any funny moves.


    Jerod screamed bloody murder, uselessly trying to bat away the much larger creatures paws and claws. His head was being twisted up at an awkward angle as the bear tried to tear his head off, but Jerod armor held true and both sides struggled in futility for several long moments.


    As the bear gained no success for its efforts, its anger seemed to grow and it became louder and more ferocious with its attacks. As for Jerod there was little he could do. The initial blind panic had faded away now that he appeared to be perfectly fine, if in an awkward spot. Pinned as he was, he couldn¡¯t move or really do anything to help himself though, he found himself praying fervently to his ancestors for his armor to hold out until somebody on the walls noticed his predicament.


    He couldn¡¯t for the life of him figure out why his blasted dispersal shot had not worked, when it worked perfectly fine not two hours ago! It had more than enough charge, he had checked that right before he had headed out.


    Eventually, the shadow bear got frustrated and tired with the stupid turtle it was dealing with and got off the human and grabbed him with his jaws and threw Jerod high into the air. Jerod landed a dozen paces away with an ungainly yelp, but managed to keep his wits about him and get up and start running before the bear got to him again. He knew that as long as he got close enough to the city walls the mana sensors would be able to pick up the monster and help would come, but the bear had tossed him away from the wall and stood between him and safety. Jerod attempted to run around the monster, but he had never been a fast runner before and despite whatever upgrades the armor was providing him, he was still far away from outrunning the spirit bear.


    In mid-sprint Jerod was bowled over again, this time just knocking him onto the ground on his side and skidding several yards across the dirt. The bear had hit him on an angle and wasn¡¯t able to jump on him immediately like last time, it needed a second to reorient and charge.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Jerod jumped back up in time to face the bear and unsheathed the sword that he could barely get out of the sheath for its length. Terror and desperation gave Jerod courage he had not expected to have and he charged the bear, holding the sword high above his head like he had seen in the moves and screaming like a banshee.


    The bear charged back and Jerod mis-timed his swing, the bear too fast and hitting him before he could strike. Feeling as though he just got run over by a runaway wagon cart, Jerod landed on the unforgiving dirt back first, stars in his vision yet again. By some miracle, he still held onto the sword and hadn¡¯t managed to cut himself with it either.


    The bear was on him quickly, gnashing teeth and claws again with no apparent effect. The bear hadn¡¯t seen fit to restrain him this time though, and Jerod was able to bring up his arm from the side and try to stab the monster. The blade slid into the monster¡¯s side with such an ease that Jerod would have thought he had missed the beast entirely if not for the furious and pain-filled roar that erupted out of the bear.


    The bear promptly rose from Jerod¡¯s form, and the two parties separated briefly in a moment of surprise, the monster, perhaps, wondering who would dare interrupt his, admittedly, frustrating meal. The bear looked around momentarily before his evil yellow eyes found the bright steel sword in Jerod¡¯s hands. Its eyes narrowed in contempt and outrage.


    Jerod took the brief pause to get his bearings and get back on his feet. He felt terribly weak and exhausted, having trouble holding the weapon up straight. He faced the monster squarely, standing two or three paces in front of him. Seeing him up, the bear let out a truly furious roar and charged forward. Jerod gathered his strength, doing the same, this time keeping the sword close with both hands, pointy end pointed straight at the beast.


    The two masses collided. Physics ruled that the bear won, and Jerod was promptly driven into the ground yet again. But the bear successfully impaled himself upon the sword and even as the bear tore into Jerod¡¯s armor for the fifth time Jerod was busy screaming and twisting the sword in and around the beast¡¯s insides with the little movements he was able to achieve with his pinned arms. Blood and viscera poured down upon him, the smell of it a new horror.


    The bear and the human thrashed and bellowed together, each intent on murdering the other.


    In the end, the human won. Mid-swipe from the monster''s powerful claws, something vital inside the bear gave way, and the bear collapsed upon Jerod. Jerod struggled and yelled, trying to get out from under it before enough of the bear disintegrated into mana, dispersing back into the mana-sphere,and he could move it. Even the bloods and guts that had drenched Jerod were visibly turning silver and dissolving into the air, leaving no evidence behind.


    Jerod pushed the still disintegrating corpse off himself and screamed wildly, ¡°GET WRECKED YOU ROTTEN FLEABAG! SCREW YOU!¡± He proceeded to use every curse word he knew, even the ones that he knew always sounded wrong when they came out of his mouth, and even gave the monster the double fingers, something he had never done before in his life. Then he just screamed out into the empty plains.


    After screaming until his throat couldn¡¯t take it anymore, Jerod just breathed in the cool night air, relishing in the sweet taste of oxygen. Then the high from the fight left him and he almost collapsed on the spot. Carefully sitting down on the dirt with a groan, Jerod vacantly stared at the almost completely gone bear corpse.


    He felt too tired to move. He felt too tired to lay down. He felt too tired to even think, so he just sat there until the corpse completely disappeared. And then he sat there some more.


    Eventually his thoughts started returning to him, and he let out a long groan at just what an awful fight he had just been in. the armor, unsurprisingly he supposed, had done more than its fair share of work. He doubted he actually had any real injuries on him besides the soreness and jarring he was feeling now and would especially feel tomorrow morning. Jerod knew he would be dead a dozen times over if not for the ancient armor he wore. He wondered if there would actually be visible damage on the armor this time or not but had trouble finding the energy to really care about that at the moment. A quick inspection found nothing out of place, but he would have to take a closer look at it when he got back.


    And even despite the crazy amazing armor, the stupid shadow bear had him outclassed in pretty much everyway. The armor hadn¡¯t given out yet, but monsters were known to be able to attack endlessly for days or weeks even, seemingly having no need for rest, and the bear would have gotten through to him eventually. Had the bear knocked away the sword sooner or something, Jerod could have literally died. Or maybe the city watch would have found him before the suite¡¯s armor wore off.


    Jerod tried not to imagine the scandal of him being found by the city guards a day or two from now, still getting batted around like a bouncy ball by the unrelenting monster. The na?ve and stupid kid from the family wearing the legendary  Dragon Armor and getting played around with by the spirit bear outside the walls, the humiliation for him and the family would be too much to bear, assuming they couldn''t hide it from the press.


    He shuddered at the thought of his grandfather in a rage. It would be better for him to join Rylie and Carl at that point.


    The sword though, the sword though was great. An absolutely fantastic weapon, Jerod¡¯s thoughts on it had done a complete 180. Sure it was large and unwieldy and Jerod swung it around like a toddler with a fishing pole, but it had assuredly saved Jerod¡¯s now tender butt. A much shorter sword or even a dagger would be preferable though, assuming they also cut through the monster flesh like a hot knife through butter. Jerod would have to investigate more.


    Which led Jerod¡¯s thoughts back to the dispersal shot, the weapon that had failed him when he needed it most. A spike of anger shot through him just thinking about it, he felt he had been more than prepared for any encounter, but had instead been caught with his metaphorical pants down because the stupid thing malfunctioned again.


    Finding a little bit of energy, Jerod got up off the dirt. He inspected the sword and saw no damage on it at all, and he sheathed it with a snort, struggling a little to sheath it properly. He looked out across the grounds, trying to locate the missing dispersal shot, but the evidence from the fight showed that they had been all over the place. The tracks and divots from the battle littered the ground for hundreds of paces around the land.


    Jerod eyed the land briefly, before looking over at the city walls and lights. He wanted nothing more than to trudge back inside, eat something to fill his angry and empty stomach, and then go straight to bed and leave the blasted dispersal shot behind. But he couldn''t do that, could he? If somebody found it before he could locate it again, it could be traced back to his household and then to him. And then uncomfortable questions would arise, questions like, what was he doing out here with the weapon? What were the circumstances in which the weapon got left behind? What were all these tracks we found nearby all about?


    And what would Jerod say? That he had gone out and tried to kill monsters for the fun of it? Somehow, he did not think that would go over well.


    And even beyond all that, even if he left now and found the dispersal shot later before somebody else, the caretakers would notice it missing tomorrow. He doubted his relationship with them was good enough that they would ask him before they sent a note to the family, or would keep it a secret for him if he asked. He wasn¡¯t the one paying their salaries, after all.


    So with a deep sigh of regret, Jerod trudged tiredly around the plains, trying to trace the battle and find the dispersal shot before any more monsters found him.


    That last thought had him pulling his sword out again and getting it ready and in front of him in case another bear decided to show his or her ugly face. Although now that Jerod thought about it, he wasn¡¯t sure if monsters had genders. He didn¡¯t think they reproduced that way. Where did the monsters actually come from, anyway? Did they just appear out of thin air when the conditions were just right?


    Jerod¡¯s mind wandered, as his eyes did too, and he resolved to spend a little more time researching monsters in the future.


    He had little success for a while, the tracks of the battle leading him on a confusing path, the two times he had been flipped in the air, leaving him puzzled and in awe at how far and how high he must have been thrown and with no apparent damage.


    Jerod kept a close eye out for movement and noise as he searched, hoping he wouldn¡¯t run into another monster tonight but his fears proved correct. A light rustling in some of the brambles and bushes nearby alerted him to the presence of the monster to the side, and he whipped his head around to see a spirit wolf and its white gleaming eyes running out.


    ¡°Come on!¡± Jerod shouted, preparing himself for the attack and getting the sword in position. ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of this tonight.¡±


    The wolf rudely ignored him.


    It was nighttime and very dark so Jerod couldn¡¯t really tell, but the wolf looked pretty much the same as the one he had killed last night. Jerod hoped that it wasn¡¯t the same creature coming back to haunt him or maybe a brother wolf vowing vengeance against the human that had taken away his beloved brother, a loving husband who left behind a widow wolf and kid wolves to fend for themselves in an uncaring world. Jerod idly realized that his thoughtz weren''t really that focused at the moment. He stupidly tried to take a swing at the wolf before it got to him, but he missed the agile beast as it casually sidestepped the wild swing, before jumping up at his throat.


    Jerod did manage to get his left forearm up in time though, the jaws of the wolf latching on to it, threatening to pull him down. Fortunately, Jerod was more prepared than last night and had braced himself appropriately. Even with his flagging strength, he managed to stay upright, although a little wobbly.


    The wolf refused to let go and Jerod let himself get pulled down, hunching over so he wasn¡¯t forced to carry the entire weight of the wolf with his left arm. The wolf snarled an awful lot and proceeded to do some kind of farcical game of tug of war with his left¡­ something or other. The armor on his left forearm. He would need to learn what that was called.


    The tugging was ineffectual as always and Jeord snarled back at the beast so it didn¡¯t have complete dominance in the sound department. He was able to bring his sword around, stabbing at the relatively stationary target with the pointy end and driving the blade deep inside several times in quick succession.


    The wolf didn¡¯t last nearly as long as the bear did and stopped struggling soon enough, releasing its grip on Jerod¡¯s arm suddenly, nearly causing Jerod to fall backward. It lay on the ground for a few moments, still snarling and snapping before that too suddenly ended and the wolf started disappearing into small silver mana spirals and disappearing into the mana-sphere.


    Jerod scowled down at the dissolving monster, checking his arm for damage and finding none. ¡°No more monsters tonight!¡± he demanded angrily at the corpse, as if it could heed his words and pass them onto his brethren.


    Jerod did find the traitorous dispersal shot without encountering any more spirit beasts, although it felt like it took half the night, Jerod being jittering and anxious the entire time. Grabbing the device with a furious sigh, he lifted it up and checked its status with a quick once over. The charge in it was still fine and nothing obvious jumped out at him, so he shouldered in and fired a test shot out over the plains.


    Nothing happened. He tried a couple more times before giving up with another enormous sigh, feeling strangely vindicated. At least this meant he simply hadn¡¯t messed up with it.


    He made his way back to his secret door without incident, beyond a spirit wolf¡¯s lonely howl sounding in the air. After hearing that Jerod double had timed it to the mana sensor line, huffing and puffing, before making the final stretch in a slow, exhausted trudge. He had remembered to lock the door this time before leaving and had tucked the key safely inside his suit, around a lanyard on his neck. It took some frustrating and angry finagling before he was able to extricate it and unlock the dumb door, and make it inside the dumb room, and take off his dumb boots and re-hang the dumb, malfunctioning dispersal shot¡­.


    Everything was becoming increasingly unfavorable in Jerod¡¯s eyes.


    Despite his impatience, Jerod did carefully take off the dragon armor, feeling incredibly smug at the still pristine condition the armor was in. Really, Jerod could not praise it enough, it was everything and more he could ever want from it. Five star review, would buy again. As befitting a legendary set of armor. The sword appeared to be in perfect condition too. Jerod left his boots in the staging room again, not finding it inside him to care about them. The caretakers would take care of it, as befitting their name.


    After re-hanging the dragon armor in the lobby and admiring it for a second or two, Jerod made his way to the kitchen and was shocked to discover it was not even nine in the evening. He was so shocked, he double checked a clock in the hallway, and then triple checked the time on the oven clock.


    The whole adventure had only taken a little over an hour. Only an hour and a half since Rylie left his life and the city behind to join some cultists hellbent on stopping the city¡¯s progress.


    Jerod let himself be stunned for a few moments before trashing the leftover chicken and carrots he had left on the counter, stepping over the shattered remains of the fire alarm. He re-heated some leftovers from the cooler he had been saving for lunch tomorrow and ate messily at the kitchen table. He left the dishes in the sink when he was done.


    Jerod felt his eyes threaten to close on him as he took a quick rinse off in the shower, and then collapsed onto his bed, not bothering to get under the covers. His last thoughts before he drifted to sleep was about how to secure a more user friendly weapon.