I wandered out of the forest clearing, heading generally towards the lake. I was enjoying the sunshine and fresh air after being stuck underground for what felt like years at this point. Or at least that was what I told myself. Really, I had no idea what to do next now that I had finally escaped from the underground, and even managed to overcome the monster that started it all with a chase through the forest. It seemed that some monsters were like nightmares after all, not nearly as frightening as they first appeared. Admittedly, that was thanks to all the levels and Experience I'd gained down below in the dark. Of course, there was also the element of experience. I frowned at the lack of capitalization in my mind as I thought of it. There was a difference between Experience and experience, and I had needed both desperately when I had started my underground journey, but they were helpful in different ways. I needed the Experience from killing monsters to grow stronger; on the other hand, I'd needed the experience to actually get better at doing so. Being on the surface seemed to have made me somewhat philosophical without anything else to occupy my mind. It was a better way to deal with the pent-up stress of the last however the hell long it'd been since I woke up here, than having a mental breakdown in the middle of the woods. So I tried not to think about it too deeply. Small mercies and all that.

  The lake drew closer as I wandered, and I could see the gentle waves glittering in the light. Oddly, though I couldn't see the sun above. I could feel the warmth and heat, see the light, but the familiar orange ball was nowhere to be seen. Suspiciously absent from its place in the sky, then again, that was earth logic, and I sincerely doubted at this point that I was still on earth.

  Odd, very odd. Then again, what about this place wasn't?

  Reaching the shore of the lake, I plopped down on my hind quarters right there, and stared out at the gentle waves and currents of the lake driven by the breeze that swept the surrounding open plains. I had no idea what to do or where to go from here. In the underground, it had been simple. Fight, Kill, Get stronger, and move on to the next chamber, the next area, the next challenge. It wasn't like the system had been forthcoming with information about what my goals should be.

  The war for your soul begins now, Mortal. Grow or die.

  Good Luck.

  "Well, I've grown and I haven't died, so that's progress, I guess," I muttered to myself. That had largely been the extent of the information it had provided me about what was going on. The other information it had spouted off, I could make educated guesses about. Best guess being that this whole place was something designed to make me stronger, strong enough to resist the effects of whatever [Soul-Sheer] was. I let out a sigh, staring out over the clear waters. A nice, clearly defined quest log would be wonderful right about now. Hell, I'd even settle for vague and unhelpful over non-existent. It had been a while since I'd last seen a system quest, and some direction would be appreciated right now. Almost as if there was some god looking down, laughing at the puny human struggling to figure things out, or the system really was sentient and could read my mind, my prayers were answered.

  I froze, staring at the new screen in front of me. This was concerning, very concerning.

  My mind flipped from relatively calm to overdrive in the span of a single moment, trying to puzzle out all the implications of what had just occurred. The system offered me a quest right when I was lacking direction and asking for one. That was a concern all by itself. Not even mentioning the idea that the system might be sentient or have someone sentient controlling it, or any number of other equally shiver-inducing possibilities. Next on the list, Born of my own soul? Was that supposed to mean that this entire place was inside my soul? That was a mind bender I couldn't even begin to contend with right now. Lastly, this was the first quest that had different ways to accomplish the goal, and I had a sinking suspicion I already knew exactly what the familiar guardian of this realm was, and exactly where to find it. Well, as exactly as one could remember the location of a cave they escaped into while running for their life. What was likely months ago.

  While the [Arach Tyrant] had turned out to be a bit of a pushover, given my stats and levels, and the other advantages I had. I very much doubted that the situation would be the same with this 'Guardian'. If the other side of the quest was to reach level 20, I had to assume that the guardian was at least that level as well. Possibly higher. That was a chilling thought. Everything grew stronger with levels. More stats, more abilities, more of everything, really. Not to mention monsters didn't seem to adhere to the level scaling the same way I did, at least. So far, it seemed that most monsters had at least one area they excelled at monstrously, whether that was a particular skill or set of skills, or a stat line.

  The question now was: which path should I take?

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  On one hand, reaching level 20 seemed like the safer option. I was already at level 15, so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch. I could continue hunting monsters, gaining experience, and gradually growing stronger. It was a path I was familiar with, one that had served me well so far.

  On the other hand, confronting the guardian held an allure of its own. It was a direct challenge, a test of my newfound strength and abilities. Plus, there was the possibility of unique rewards or knowledge that could prove invaluable in the future. The unknown reward mentioned in the quest description nagged at my curiosity. I stood up, brushing the dirt off my pants as I contemplated my next move. The lake stretched out before me, its surface now eerily still, as if waiting for my decision. I closed my eyes, feeling the strange sunless warmth on my face, and took a deep breath.

  "Both, both is good." I grinned, looking out over the lake as I dismissed the quest screen. I was a greedy bastard by nature whenever I had time to play games. I wanted all the levels, all the skills, all the resources, and I was more than willing to put in the work to get them. It'd worked out for me then, so why stop now? I'd hunt monsters on the surface until I was close to reaching level 20, and that was when I would hunt down the guardian. That fight would hopefully push me over the edge of level 20. I'd like to see what the system thought of that, popping both of its objectives at the same time. Right now I was level 15, that meant four more levels of hunting to be done, I couldn't scoff at how much another four levels could offer me before I went into my next big fight. 4 points in every stat, plus 12 free points, wasn't a small boost, not even counting what my bloodline would do to my Strength, Dexterity and Luck.

  Shit.

  I actually still had all the free points from the battle with the hivequeen as well. Four more levels plus all my free points would be damn near 50 stat points higher than where I was currently. I grinned as my gaze panned over the open plains. I had a direction again, a quest to fulfill and monsters to slay. Things were suddenly looking much better than they had been just a few minutes ago.

  Vipera materialized around me as if out of the ether, her coils draping along my frame. There was a time not so long ago when I would have staggered under the sudden addition of so much weight. With the stats I had now, it was hardly a bother; I'd only really notice if I had to do a significant amount of physical labour. I received yet another boop on the nose from her own snout, which had me snorting and shaking my head at the antics of my familiar.

  "Ready to go hunting?" I asked softly, patting her head. I couldn't help but glance at the surface of the lake as the wind died down, leaving the lake a smooth, glassy plane for just a moment. I barely recognized the man who stared back at me. It was so incongruous with how I thought of myself and my memories of the last time I'd seen my own reflection. The man in the lake was tall, standing over six feet tall, probably close to six foot four. He was wide in the shoulders with narrow hips. Dark hair framed an intense-looking set of brown eyes so dark they seemed almost black until the light caught them, rendering the dark into a rich brown. The reflections frame was covered in lean corded muscle beneath the clothes he wore, the simple denim jeans seemed out of place with the hard black cuirass, root-like boots and scaled bracers. That didn't even count the massive serpent root that coiled around his body, looking rather comfortable.

  "Seems I really have done some changing since I've been here," I said softly, reaching up to touch my own face. The only thing I really recognized was the eyes. I snorted. It wouldn't do to become vain now that I had a few muscles, at least not over the muscles. I might allow a little vanity where my stat sheet was concerned.

  Vipera's weight was comforting as I set off away from the lake, away from the reflection I knew was me, the me that survived the harsh new reality I found myself in. This place was chipping away at me. It had been since the moment I arrived here. From running and hiding to fighting and killing. This place was shaping me, grinding the softness away into hard edges. Regardless of anything else that happened or how I changed, I had a companion who would be with me through it all, while we looked after each other. Briefly, I wondered if this was how the first man to tame a wolf felt? Like they had gained the world in an unshakable companion.

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