Elias's hands wouldn't stop shaking.
He stood just outside the door of his small house, iron sword clutched so tightly his knuckles had gone white. The blade felt heavier than it had any right to be.
"This is a bad idea," he muttered. "This is a very bad idea."
Behind him, the hearth crackled softly. In front of him, tall grass rippled in the wind.
Somewhere out there, something had roared.
Lyrien crouched beside him, fingers brushing the ground. Her expression was calm, almost detached—but Elias noticed how her ears twitched, tracking sounds he couldn't hear.
"You're holding the sword wrong," she said without looking up.
"I—what?"
"If you swing like that, you'll tear your shoulder before you ever hit anything."
Elias grimaced and adjusted his grip clumsily.
"Right. Sorry. I'm… not exactly trained."
She glanced at him then, eyebrow arching slightly.
"No," she said. "You are not."
They moved slowly through the grass.
Every step felt wrong. Too loud. Too hesitant. Elias's boots snagged on roots. His breathing sounded like thunder in his own ears.
I design circuits, he thought wildly. I calculate load paths and safety margins. I don't… hunt monsters.
A flicker of motion froze him in place.
Something crawled out from behind a low rise.
It was the size of a large dog, with too many legs and a carapace like cracked stone. Mandibles clicked together as it turned toward them.
[Monster Identified: Stoneback Skitter]
Level: 1
Elias's vision tunneled.
"That's… that's real," he whispered.
"Yes," Lyrien said calmly. "And it has noticed us."
The creature shrieked and charged.
Elias's brain screamed move—but his body didn't listen.
Lyrien did.
She surged forward, blade flashing in a clean arc that carved deep into the monster's side. It screeched, skidding away—but it didn't fall.
It turned.
Straight toward Elias.
"Elias!" she shouted.
He reacted on pure panic.
The sword came down wrong—too high, too slow. The impact rattled his arms and nearly tore the weapon from his grip. The creature slammed into him, knocking him onto his back.
Pain exploded across his chest.
The mandibles snapped inches from his face.
"I don't know how to do this!" he yelled, flailing.
"Then listen!" Lyrien barked.
Her blade plunged down through the creature's exposed joint.
The monster convulsed—then went still.
Silence crashed down around them.
Elias lay there, chest heaving, staring at the sky.
"I almost died," he said faintly.
"Yes," Lyrien replied. "You will, if you keep freezing."
She extended a hand and hauled him up with surprising strength.
A chime echoed.
[Monster Slain]
EXP Gained
Another followed immediately.
Devour Activated
+1 Vitality
Elias staggered as warmth spread through his body—not healing, but strengthening. The pain dulled slightly.
"…I felt that," he murmured. "Like something clicked into place."
"That is growth," Lyrien said. "But it will not save you if you rely on it alone."
He nodded shakily.
"I didn't lead," he admitted. "I froze. You saved me."
"Yes."
There was no judgment in her tone. Just fact.
"Then why stay with me?" he asked quietly. "You could've been summoned by someone stronger."
She studied him for a long moment.
"Strength without direction destroys," she said. "You hesitated because you feared responsibility. That can be taught."
She gestured back toward the small house in the distance.
"If you wish to lead, then start by learning. Watch. Ask. Do not pretend you are something you are not."
Elias exhaled slowly.
"Then… teach me," he said.
Something softened in her eyes.
"That," she replied, "is the first command you've given that matters."
In the distance, regional chat flickered.
[Regional Chat]
[IronWill]: Monsters confirmed. Lost a guy already.
[SunChild]: Please, anyone near water?
Elias looked at the messages. At the blood on his hands. At the woman who had just kept him alive.
He wasn't a warrior.
He wasn't a king.
But he could learn.
And that, he realized, might be enough to start.