The sound of redcap war cries echoed through the narrow mountain pass, the voices seemingly coming from all sides at once. A javelin soared out from the darkness and struck the rocky ground; it skittered along until it came to a rest at Piper’s feet.

  In one smooth motion, she drew her bow and released. The arrow sailed out toward where the javelin had originated, and she was rewarded with a pained yelp. But no notification appeared, so she’d only wounded the redcap.

  “Nice shot,” Gorebark cried. “Take that, you ugly mortals!”

  A screaming redcap charged out of the inky blackness, its spear held above its head. With no time to loose another arrow, she swung her bow around like a club. The upper limb smashed into the creature's face. The redcap reeled to the side before she lashed out with a kick to send it tumbling to the ground.

  “Hey!” Gorebark shouted. “You know I’m not a club, right?”

  She ignored the demonic bow as she quickly used [Identify] on the attacking redcap and was horrified to see the result.

  Redcap, Level ???.

  Ding! Your skill, Identify has reached level 3.

  In the past, Alfred had mentioned that if she ever encountered something with question marks for its level, then she should run for her life. It meant that whatever she was identifying was at least 200 levels above her own.

  These weren’t the low-level redcaps she’d faced in the forest. These were powerful warriors and mages. And she could already see the difference as the redcap staggered back to its feet. Her blow had barely fazed the creature.

  Alfred charged past her and swung his axe down at the creature. The head bit deeply into her attacker’s shoulder, making it squeal with pain. He ripped it free and brought it down again, only for the redcap’s hand to shoot out and catch the haft. A shocked look passed over Alfred’s face before the redcap backhanded him away.

  Piper ducked as Alfred sailed over her head. She couldn’t imagine how high the redcap's Strength was to send such a big man flying with a single strike. She heard both Ethel and Ophelia cry out as Alfred landed heavily on the ground, but she couldn’t worry about him right now. She had to deal with her attacker, or they were all dead.

  Since she probably couldn’t win using brute force, she decided to try something different. She held out her hand and cast [Umbral Terror]. Her mana drained away at a shocking pace, leaving her with almost nothing remaining.

  At first, she thought the spell had failed. The redcap only slowed its pace, glancing around at the darkness quizzically. Then it started to scream. The creature howled and stumbled back as if it were beset by monsters on all sides.

  With another howl of pure terror, it tossed aside its weapon and turned to flee. It scrambled across the uneven, rocky ground, rushing through two other redcaps that had appeared. The new arrivals were knocked aside like pins and toppled to the ground.

  Ding! Your spell Umbral Terror has reached Level 2.

  Piper thought fast and decided to try something risky. She canceled [False Face] revealing her true demon self. Then she cast [Truth Shroud] and shot her level up to 600. Hopefully, the other redcaps would think the one she’d cast [Umbral Terror] on had fled because it had realized it was facing a powerful demon.

  As the other redcaps picked themselves up from the ground, they stared after their fleeing companion before turning back toward Piper. But this time, they were confronted by a level 600 shadeling demon. At the sight of her, the redcaps scrambled back and retreated a few metres before stopping.

  Piper held her breath, her skin prickling as the creature used [Identify]. She really hoped that this was going to work. Because if it didn’t, she was out of ideas. And worse, she was completely out of mana.

  The redcaps turned and bolted away, calling out in their guttural language. As they did, the warcries died down before ending completely. The only sound was boots scraping on rocks as the redcaps disappeared back into the night. Within a few seconds, silence reigned in the mountain pass.

  Piper exhaled and sagged with relief. There was no way she could have won against creatures with such high levels. If her plan hadn’t worked, she would have been screwed.

  With her heart hammering in her chest, she hurried over to Alfred’s side. Already, Ophelia and Ethel were helping the big man to his feet. One side of his face was beginning to swell, and his eyes darted around as if he were drunk.

  “What happened?” he muttered. “Did you kill it?”

  “I may have tricked them with a spell.”

  Alfred focused his unsteady gaze on her, and she felt her skill prickle again as he used [Identify]. He guffawed before grimacing with pain. Raising a hand to his face, he touched it gingerly. “A high level demon? Well done, Piper.”

  Ethel gave her a tight smile. “It was a very clever thing to do.”

  Piper beamed at the praise, feeling a little proud of herself. Her class might not be the most powerful one around, but at least it gave her unique options in a fight.

  Stepping forward, she offered Alfred her hand. But the big man just waved her off.

  “I’m fine,” he said. “That damn thing was strong. Might need a minute to recover, though.”

  As Alfred tried to regain his balance, Ophelia walked up to Piper. The girl leaned in uncomfortably close and stared directly at Piper’s face. “I haven’t seen you as a demon in ages. Your horns are way bigger. Has anything else changed? Is your tail poisonous now? What about your claws?”

  Piper reached up to touch her horns. Strangely, they did feel bigger. Were they going to keep growing until she resembled a mountain goat? As the three of them stared at her, she began to feel uncomfortable. She really didn’t like her demon side being exposed. It made her feel like she wasn’t really human.

  Glancing over at her mana, she willed it to refill faster so she could cast [False Face] again. But thankfully, Ethel must have sensed her discomfort and shooed her daughter away.

  “Leave poor Piper alone,” Ethel said. “How would you like it if she drew attention to one of your features?”

  Ophelia crossed her arms. “What could she possibly say? You tell me every day that I’m the cutest girl in the empire.”

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “Just leave her alone.” Ethel sighed. “Understood?”

  Her daughter rolled her eyes before stalking over to a boulder. She flopped down and crossed her arms, looking annoyed.

  Alfred glanced over at his daughter and shook his head. But the motion nearly made him stumble, and Ethel had to grab his arm to steady him. “It’s too dangerous to stand around jawing,” he said groggily. “The redcaps will be back soon with more of their friends. We need to keep moving.”

  “Are you sure you’re alright?” Piper asked. “We could rest for a bit.”

  “I’m fine,” Alfred said firmly.

  Piper pressed her lips together, not sure if she believed him. Instead of worrying, she decided to scan the darkness for any sign of the redcaps. But she couldn’t make out anything in the gloom, and all she could hear was the chirping of crickets. It seemed like the redcaps had disappeared into thin air.

  Alfred took the lead again, with Piper bringing up the rear. Her ears strained as she listened for anything moving in the dark. As they walked, the first moon rose over the mountains. Its icy surface glistened and cast a blue light over the valley.

  Her eyes darted around, searching for any sign of the redcaps. But there was no trace of the warband. Though with the number of caves and rock formations dotting the mountains, there were hundreds of places they could hide.

  Gorebark turned its face slightly. “You going to start killing stuff someday? That redcap would have given us dozens of levels. Are you some sort of pacifist demon?”

  “How the heck am I supposed to kill something hundreds of levels above me?”

  “Keep shooting arrows until it stops moving. It’s not a difficult concept. Remind me again, are you simple? You were dropped on your head as a child, right?”

  “Do you want the gag again?”

  “The truth hurts, doesn’t it?”

  Piper rolled her eyes and continued to watch for any movement. The redcaps may have withdrawn, but apparently there were still dread owls out there. Though she kept imagining them as cute, fluffy giant owls. The truth probably didn’t match what was in her head.

  After a short distance, Ethel took the lead with a club in hand. Meanwhile, Alfred fell back to walk beside Piper.

  “What was that spell you used?” he asked after a short while. “I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

  “It’s called Umbral Terror,” she replied. “It bombards a target with its worst fears. I saw another demon in the Infernal Realm use it to take out an entire castle.”

  “Scary stuff,” he muttered. “Any other tricks up your sleeve that I don’t know about?”

  Piper shook her head. “Just what I’ve shown you in the past.”

  They walked in silence for a few minutes before Alfred spoke again. “I grew up in these mountains, you know.”

  “You did?”

  “Aye.” Alfred gingerly pressed on his swollen face and grimaced. “I know many of these passes like the back of my hand. My pa was a lumberjack in a camp not far from here.”

  Piper looked around at the barren landscape.

  Alfred chuckled almost as if he could read her thoughts. “There’s a valley on the other side of the mountain with a river running through it and the most ancient trees you've ever seen. Even a few awakened trees that give magic lumber.”

  “Trees can awaken?” she asked incredulously.

  “Some even start walking,” Alfred said. “Let me tell you, it’s hard to put down a 100-metre-tall tree that can chase you and cast spells.” He was silent for a moment before continuing. “However, I’ve never been all the way over the mountains. No one in the camp ever had. I can get us most of the way to the Arissian Empire, but I don’t know the passes that will lead us to freedom. I guess I was hoping you might have a skill to help us. Any sign of wings growing on your back yet?”

  Piper reached over her shoulder but felt nothing on her shoulder blades. Not even nubs like her horns when she’d first arrived in this world. While she’d seen many demons with wings in the Infernal Realm, the shadeling she’d seen hadn’t had any. But maybe she could grow them someday.

  “I didn’t think so,” Alfred continued. “Ah well, Infernus will provide for us. I have faith in him.”

  “I’m sure we’ll make it no problem.” Piper said. “My dad said you always had to stay positive, no matter how bad things looked. We’ll make it to the Arissian Empire.”

  Alfred reached over and ruffled her hair. “You’re a good girl, Piper. I’d have been proud to call you my own. I hope you’ll stick around long enough to help me start a new farm when we reach the far side.”

  “Just try to stop me,” she said with a grin.

  With another wince, Alfred moved his jaw back and forth. “We probably should have bought a few more healing potions before setting out.”

  In hindsight, he was right. While she had the ability to heal herself, the others didn’t. Why hadn’t she used her gold coins to buy a few more potions from the healer in town? Everything had happened so quickly, she hadn’t even thought of it.

  Alfred headed back to the front of the line, marking the end of their conversation. She continued to walk along, keeping an eye out for any threats, but she didn’t spot anything as the second moon rose. Its surface was dusty red, almost like Mars back home.

  They kept marching through the night as the moons travelled their path overhead. Only when the first rays of the morning sun were peeking over the mountains did they stop at a clearing near a mountain spring.

  “We’ll camp here for a few hours,” Ethel announced.

  Alfred walked over to the spring and leaned on his axe. “It probably would be best if we kept moving.”

  Ethel crossed her arms. “You’re injured, and the girls are exhausted. I’ll take the first watch while you all sleep. Plus, maybe I can find some wild ashenroot growing for your injuries.” When Alfred opened his mouth to argue, a spoon appeared as if by magic in her hand. “I’m serious. Don’t argue with me unless you want to get whacked.”

  Alfred shut his mouth, but grumbled as he moved over to the horse and began to unload it.

  A slight smile played across Ethel’s face before she pointed the spoon at Piper and Ophelia. “I want both of you to set up the camp. Understood?”

  All Piper wanted to do was collapse onto her bedroll. Her eyes felt gritty from lack of sleep, and her limbs were leaden. She really needed to add some more points to Stamina and Vitality in the future if she was going to keep having sleepless nights.

  However, there was work to be done, and the faster she did it, the sooner she could sleep. She dragged herself over to the horse and took one of the sacks from Alfred. Then she began the process of setting up the camp. Hopefully, nothing would bother them again today so they could all get some rest.

  Justina strode out of her tent at the sound of a commotion. On the far side of the camp, she heard shouting and the unmistakable guttural tongue of the redcaps. Were the creatures truly foolish enough to attack a fortified camp of the Bloodveil Empire?

  Popping back into her tent, she grabbed her sword and quickly belted it around her waist. Hurrying outside, she nearly bumped into Augustus.

  As she tied up her dark hair, she asked, “Are we being attacked?”

  “No idea. I was going to check myself.”

  With Augustus at her side, they rushed through the camp, the other Crimson Guard falling in at her side. By the time they reached the edge of the camp, the disturbance had died down. She arrived to see a few of Duke Albrecht’s personal bodyguard holding down a redcap warrior.

  The warrior was screaming and frothing at the mouth. It kept yanking at its captors, desperately trying to escape. Its eyes were wild, reminding her of a terrified beast's, and it kept muttering the same words over and over again.

  “What’s happening?” she asked the nearest soldier.

  “The damn creature just ran straight into our camp. Something scared the Abyss out of it.”

  The crowd that had formed around the redcap parted slightly as a man appeared in purple robes. Justina had never seen him before, but she recognized the ceremonial robes of an augur. They were one of the strangest classes in the empire. An augur could detect magic or cancel it out but couldn’t cast any spells of their own.

  The augur approached the redcap and leaned down to touch the creature’s forehead. He had to yank his hand back as the creature snapped its yellow teeth at him. A guard grabbed the redcap's head to hold it still, and the augur tried a second time. This time, he placed his palm against the creature’s forehead.

  “I sense powerful infernal magic at work here. We must be close to the demon.” The augur’s hand glowed brightly, and then the redcaps’ eyes cleared. He motioned to the assembled guards. “Question it to find out what it knows. Tell it we’ll spare its life if it has information we can use.”

  Justina frowned and used [Greater Identify] on the redcap.

  Redcap, Level 345

  Drunken Pugilist (Uncommon), 199

  Javelineer (Rare), Level 108

  Stormlancer (Rare), 48

  Her frown deepened as she read the information. How could a peasant family have driven off such a powerful opponent, even with a legendary bow? If the girl was this adept with the weapon, she should be recruited into the human auxilia for the empire. She could prove to be an invaluable asset.

  “A bow did that?” Augustus muttered as if he were thinking the same thing.

  Justina turned to Virgil as the redcap was led off. “I’m going ahead to scout with you tomorrow,” she said. “Something doesn’t add up here, and I want to be the first to contact them. They shouldn’t be too far ahead of us now.”

  “What do you want to do when you reach them?” Virgil asked.

  “Right now, I just want to talk,” she replied, gazing down the mountain pass. “I have many questions that I need answers to.”