“See, Mom, I told you there were some new tracks,” Cristine said, pointing out the tracks in the snow. “See, there are human footprints and beast paw prints that I don't recognize. Also, these lines, I'm not sure about.”

  “I see that, though I am curious what it was from. Do you still have the scent, Christine?” Cat asked, puzzled by the tracks.

  “Incoming!” Hunter said, running back up the mountain. “Two elementals this time.”

  The rest of the group came running up the mountain behind Hunter. Victor was on Ann's back, while the tall, mutated version of Riley came running up behind.

  “Let's do this! I've been waiting for a good fight like this,” Riley said, spinning around to watch both elementals coming up over the ridge.

  Two elementals, surrounded by floating ice shards, hovered over the snow and approached the group. The elementals struck first as volley after volley of ice shards came flying in towards them. Ann dodged to the left side and tossed Victor back behind a boulder while the rest of the group scattered. Using her abilities, a diamond-like shimmer covered Ann's skin, then her sword doubled in size and began to glow as she charged towards the elementals. That's when mist shot forth and covered the grounds around her, blinding the elementals from her movements.

  Not-so-little Riley came flying in from above as he jumped from afar, attacking one of the ice elementals, cutting off one of its arms. Ann came in from below with an energy surrounding her sword and a wild upward swing, slicing the elemental into two. That's when both Cat and Christine jumped in, using their abilities to block the explosion as a bubble full of mana enclosed the elemental.

  Seconds later, a large fireball pierced through the mist, burning up all the moisture in the air and leaving a smoke trail behind it until it met its target. The fireball burst and covered the entirety of the ice elemental's body, melting the ice until the body was no more.

  "Another elemental heart for me!" Victor said as he ran through the snow and went to pick it up.

  "Not today, little big brother!" Riley said while swooping in and picking up the heart to pocket it into his satchel.

  "Give it back, or I'm going to..." Victor proclaimed.

  "Or what? You're going to set me on fire? I'd like to see you try," Riley interrupted with both swords drawn.

  "Give it to him, Rei, you don't need the heart, and stop bullying your brother," Ann commanded.

  "Alright," Riley agreed and handed him the heart.

  Victor stored the heart, and as Riley turned around, Victor collected mana into his hand and set his brother's pants on fire. "Hey, Rei, looks like you got too close to the elemental," he snickered while walking away.

  Riley wasn't having it. He turned and ran towards his brother, jumped, and drop-kicked him down the mountainside. Victor flew by the group with such speed Christine had to step in, or fly in as a bird, then transformed into an owlbear to catch him in mid-flight before he hit the ground.

  "Riley Ray Wheaton, what the Hell was that for?" Ann asked in her "Mom voice," giving him the kind of look that could kill.

  "He set me on fire!" Riley hissed while pacing back and forth.

  "Control your anger. I want you to go down there with Hunter and scout," Ann commanded.

  "Yes, ma'am," Riley answered, his rage visibly subsiding.

  A few minutes down the mountainside, they saw the tracks go off a cliff. The rest of the group caught up and stared, puzzled, at the tracks.

  "Did they launch off this cliff?" Cat asked, perplexed.

  "I don't know, you don't see any crash landings, do you?" Hunter asked, scanning the area below.

  "Nope, I do not. Hmm, very interesting. Hey, Christy, can you go see if you can find more tracks around and see where they went? Maybe you could find their scent again," Cat continued.

  Hours passed as the group finally found the new tracks and moved further down the mountain. They continued their descent until darkness fell. "Well, we still have a day's walk down this mountain, and it's getting dark. Maybe we should turn in for the night, plus my wings are freezing," Cat said, breaking the silence.

  "Yeah, I agree, it's not like we're going to get down this mountain any faster," Ann added.

  The group set up camp and assigned Hunter and Riley to the first watch, while the rest of the group got some much-needed sleep from the battle and trek down the mountain. Once the first watch was over, Victor and Christine took the watch. Now, Christy was still tired from the long search for the tracks and looked at Vic, "You can handle the watch, can't you, while I rest?" she said, batting her tired eyes.

  "I guess I could do this alone, but just to be clear, if we get in trouble, it was your idea," Victor exclaimed, trying to shift responsibility.

  "My lips are sealed, good night," Christy said while sneaking off to bed.

  Victor stayed up for as long as he could before he too dozed off into La La Land.

  Two brown eyes with a scar covering one of them glowed in the moonlit night, sitting, hiding, and watching on the side of the mountain. The figure, tall and standing around six feet tall, was covered in tan fur with two tall ears, observing a boy in robes, all curled up and sleeping in front of a tent in the snow.

  "I am starving. I must eat," the unknown beast murmured, its eyes fixed on its unwitting prey.

  The next morning, Cat woke up well-rested, stretched, and took a walk around the tent to stretch her wings. Okay, there's Christy, Hunter, Anna, and Riley. Where is Victor? she thought to herself. She grabbed her gear and headed outside to find Victor sound asleep, curled up in a ball with Fluffy in his arms.

  "Come on. Excuse me, mister, but aren't you supposed to be on watch?" Cat said while nudging her boot into Victor's side.

  "Huh what, stop it Riley, I'm sleeping," he mumbled, rolling over to see Catherine Doe standing there with her arms crossed and a very mad look on her face. "Mrs. Doe?" He shot upright, dropping Fluffy on the ground. "I... I... I'm sorry, I must have fallen asleep. Mrs. Doe? Are you okay?" Victor asked, looking at her now frightened face. "Hello, Mrs. Doe, earth to Mrs. Doe," Victor waved his hand in front of Cat, and she snapped out of her daze.

  "There's blood everywhere. Did you do that, Vic?" Cat asked, pointing past his shoulder with a trembling finger.

  Once Victor turned around, his jaw dropped when he saw six half-eaten bodies strung across the mountainside in front of their camp. "N-n-no, Mrs. Doe, I didn't do that, I swear," Victor stuttered, trying to get the words out.

  "Hey, Ann, there is an issue, come see this please," Cat said, a new tremor of worry in her voice as she called out to Ann.

  A few seconds later, Ann emerged from the tent, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes with her right hand and carrying her sword over her shoulder in her left hand. "Oh man, that was some good well deserved sleep. Yawn. What seems to be the problem?" Ann asked.

  "Um, we have a problem. It looks like there are five bodies of the humanoid variety scattered all over our front lawn," Cat explained, her voice still laced with worry.

  "Huh, are there any monsters out here to kill?" Ann asked plainly as she took a look around and saw nothing alive.

  "Doesn't seem like there is any," Cat replied, still unsettled.

  "Well then, I guess I'm going back to bed. Please wake me up in an hour or two so that way we can get off this wretched mountain," Ann said while walking back into the tent, seemingly unfazed by the gruesome scene.

  Hours later, the group all got up and ate whatever was left of their food before packing up to leave.

  "So Hunter and I looked over those bodies, and we figured out these fellas were all humans," Cat whispered to Ann.

  "Okay, well, I guess we'll have to keep an eye out for any monsters trailing us," Ann said while stepping over a large rock.

  The trip down the mountain was uneventful. Nothing was seen besides a few Ice Elementals hidden around the sides of the mountain. They chose their steps carefully, making sure not to cross paths with anything until they were ready. Once at the bottom of the mountain, the group found a set of fresh tracks leading into the forest and more heading towards the river.

  "Do you have a scent?" asked Cat while staring at the bloodhound version of Christine.

  “Ruff, Ruff,” Christine said, nodding her head yes and wagging her little tail.

  “I really wish you would get Animal Speak while you are in your forms,” Cat said in an annoyed tone.

  Victor walked up and started petting Christine, saying, “I think she is so cute as a dog,” in a cheeky tone. Christine bared her teeth, turned around to look at Victor, then bit him in the hand.

  "Ouch, that hurt," Victor continued, wincing.

  “Heh heh. Eh, not so cute now, is she, Victor?” Hunter chimed in, walking down the path with the line tracks covered in footprints.

  “I guess not,” Victor replied, rubbing his right hand and following Hunter.

  “Let's follow these tracks and hopefully we can find your father,” Cat said, gesturing towards the distinct line tracks.

  “I'll catch up to you; I'm going to follow these tracks. Boys, stay with Cat,” Ann said, walking down the single path that diverged from the main trail.

  The group continued down their respective paths, hoping that one day they would cross paths with their lost family members.

  The night before, Scott snuck through the woods, trying to be as quiet as possible. He found nothing, so he stayed and waited until early morning when he finally tracked two beasts for the greater part of the day. He came across two [Death Stalker (lvl 25)]. "Well, aren't I in for a treat," he thought internally.

  "You realize these are both lower-level creatures, right?" Amarwrath interjected.

  "Yes, I am aware, Amarwrath. Thanks for the update. Now let's be quiet while I hunt, so we don't both die from the distractions," Scott replied in an annoyed tone.

  Scott moved in slowly, activating all of his skills: Speed, Fangs, Beastmode, and Flight. Using his eyes, he could see the heat signatures through the trees, so he activated the mark on one of them. He slowly rose off the ground and pulled both of his blades out of their sheaths. “Here goes nothing,” he thought. He flew forward and phased through the tree to get in behind them on their blind spot. Once he was through, he dropped down, stabbing the first marked stalker in the back of the head, and went for the second one with his other blade. But that one took off running, so Scott gave chase.

  Through some bushes and past some trees, he chased it until it stopped near a small cliff overlooking the woods. At first, Scott thought he had it until it started shaking violently. All of its tentacles spread out and shook. Then a roar rang out of its mouth, so loud that it echoed through the trees.

  That's when things got interesting. Multiple heat signatures appeared in his sight and were moving fast. "Ah, so you have friends?" Scott asked aloud. He rushed for the first one, watching its mouth since he knew soon he would see its tongue. The beast's tentacles stopped shaking and turned to be directed at him. The tongue shot out, and Scott moved to the left side, dodging the barbed spear tongue. Then he slid underneath as two tentacles slammed down right behind him. Raising to his feet, he moved forward, racing the tongue back to its mouth, but before it returned, he used his blade to cut it clean off. Two more tentacles slammed down towards him, and he phased right through them as he flew up and then dropped back down on top of its tentacles, and with both blades, cut them both clean off. He could hear the sound of the whips coming for him as he watched the Stalker pivot and launch its next attack.

  Scott spun around and crossed his blades to block the heavy-hitting tentacles, which pushed him back a couple of feet. One heat signature jumped up the cliff, and he rushed forward towards the newcomer, running fast past the one he was fighting. Both of its tentacles chased him as it spun around to stop him. With both of its claws, it reached for him just in time as he stepped up to the ledge, and the newcomer appeared. Perfect timing as Scott phased through the first one to watch it smash the new one's side, launching it back off the cliff to where it once came. He dropped low spun around and lunged forward with both of his blades pointed like a spearhead into its chest.

  Scott could see three more coming, jumping up the side of the small cliff, so he stood there, waiting for them to come. “Let's see how these ones do.” Scott mused. One jumped up onto the edge and shot its tongue at him. “Man, why do they always start off with that attack? Hey System, I think these beasts are too predictable."

  Right in the midst of him dodging to, of course, cutting off the tongue, two more jumped up. “Okay, this is a little more interesting; let's see if I have what it takes to take on three.” Scott mused. The way they worked together was impressive. Each tentacle flying by didn't tangle up with another's, so he had to continually dodge and block constantly, otherwise, he would be in big trouble. Having to stay one step ahead of each one was tiresome, but he managed to barely keep up.

  Two more were coming up the cliff side, and let me tell you, their heat signatures were twice the size of these three. “I need to finish these off before those two get up here, otherwise I'm probably screwed.” Scott said. Jumping up and phasing through all of the flying tentacles took a bit of mana out of him, but it was necessary to finish these stalkers fast. He dropped below the middle one and slashed at its underbelly while rolling out to the left towards another before his blade got stuck. The one to the left went to bite him, and he rolled over, shoved his fire and ice sword into its mouth and left it there because the last tentacles were flying his way hitting the location where his arm once was. Rolling backward, he watched each tentacle slam into the ground in front of him, so he leaped up and backward off of the cliff to fly up above and use his mana to pull the sword out of the left one and launch it towards the side of the right one.

  The bigger ones both shot their tongues towards him, but they didn't hit him with a barbed tongue. Both of their tongues were a bit different than the much smaller ones. These, in particular, had tongues that moved like a whip. They were much faster and smaller than the other stalkers. He scanned them real quick and realized these were females. [Death Stalker Mother (level 30)]

  Both of them wrapped one of their tongues around one of Scott’s ankles and began pulling him in like they were the fisherman and he was their prized catch. He then tried to phase through them, but nothing happened. Shit, I'm in big trouble. Pulling out his ax, he cut the tongue off on the closer one. But without the resistance from the other one, he began to go down faster. I have to think fast. I can't phase, and the speed is too great for me to cut it, so I guess I'll add a bit of weight to speed up the process and hope for the best. While going down, he positioned his axe below him and went into a squat stance with the ax in both hands. The impact was harsh; he felt his ankle break in, he was pretty sure, three different places. I really need to improve my body if I make it out of here alive.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  The ax somehow split so far into its big head that it came out the other side. Also, one of the teeth pierced his right thigh, and he was bleeding while they went tumbling down the cliff. Scott tumbled off to the side, hitting a few rocks on the way.

  Once he rolled onto his back with a groan, he noticed the other Stalker was in mid-air, coming towards him. He went to swing the ax he had in his hand to see he was empty handed. Well shit, let's try the other extreme. He lightened himself to the max and flew up fast, phasing through it. Okay, now I get it. Phasing only works if I don't touch them first. Every time I've phased before, I phased before I touched them.

  He flew up so fast he felt like he was Superman with both fists held high in the air, until he hit an invisible barrier that shimmered when he crashed into it. At that point, his arms folded, and he hit his head so hard that he lost consciousness. His unconscious body fell from the sky, plummeting back towards the ground. The Stalker watched from below, sitting, waiting for its moment to strike.

  "Wake up, you fool!" Amarwrath yelled internally, a frantic note in his mental voice.

  Scott's eyes opened first, seeing the sky, then the ground, then the sky once more. He was barreling down through the air until he finally took control of his body and leveled himself out.

  He stopped in mid-air, about fifty feet above the ground, and watched the Stalker pace back and forth, waiting for him to drop. His whole body was in pain; every little bit of movement felt taxing to his stamina. Both of his swords were down there—both on the cliff, one embedded in the Death Stalkers skull on the ground below while the other one was stuck in the side of the gutted one next to it. His ax was yet to be seen over the cliff.

  Scott flew up to the cliff, keeping an eye on the other Stalker, and dropped down to grab his swords. Both of his legs collapsed from underneath him when he landed, and he fell directly onto his side. He used his arms to crawl towards his fire and ice sword, grabbed hold of the hilt, turned over, and pulled until finally, the sword came loose. He could hear the other Stalker scaling the cliff side on its way up. Sheathing the sword, he flew up into the air, spotted the other sword and used his mana to pull it out and fly towards him before reaching out and snatching it out of the air and sheathed it.

  Flying over the cliff he dodged a few tentacles until he finally spotted his axe before flying down after it he swooped down, grabbed it and flew back up to where the last of the Death stalkers hung on the cliff side. Dawning his [Great axe of Winged Supreme (Rare)], took it in both hands, and dropped down to hopefully finish off this beast in one fell swing.

  Adding a bit of weight and dropping fast hitting a few tentacles on the way as the ax cut its way through until he embedded his axe into its back. Immediately, he flew up as he watched the Stalker fall to the ground with the ax still embedded , twitching, until it finally stopped moving. He flew down, took a look around before landing next to it onto his knees before he grabbed his ax and stowed it away.

  "You realize we could have died right there, right?" Amarwrath spoke in a worried tone.

  "Yeah, it was reckless, and my body is hurting," Scott laughed awkwardly, rubbing his sore head.

  "You need more training, young one. If I wasn't here, you would have surely fallen to your death," Amarwrath continued the scolding, even if Scott wasn't really paying attention.

  "I will get on that right away, after I heal up," Scott said with a groan as he flew down, trying not to move his body too much.

  His Ring of Healing was busy at work, slowly mending his body. The hole in his thigh began to close up and stopped bleeding, and his ankle began to twist back and forth, slowly getting itself back into place. Oh yeah, forgot to mention my foot was a bit crooked from the collision. He floated there for a while, letting his body heal and drinking a few potions.

  Once he was in good enough shape, he lowered himself to the ground and took a look around, seeing all of the carnage and chaos he just endured. He was still in a bit of pain because the wound in his thigh and ankle weren't at one hundred percent yet. His legs started to buckle a bit before he finally stabilized enough to stand upright.

  Scott did a bit of a stretch to loosen up his muscles from all the craziness that happened beforehand. I mean, there were two of the big Mother Stalkers and three of the smaller ones, not including the one dead by the tree.

  A sound of rustling bushes came from behind him. He could hear light footsteps. Something, or maybe someone, was approaching from behind. It wasn't something big because it sounded more like humanoid footsteps rather than a rodent or feline. He knew he could barely hear the steps, meaning it was light on its feet, not some large giant. No, it had to be a medium-sized person creeping through the bushes, carrying something much larger than what it could normally carry. In fact, it sounded like a metal pole was being dragged through the dirt. Normally, as a human, his ability to hear or smell things was a bit more limited, and he wouldn't have been able to hear it coming if he didn't have enhanced hearing.

  The figure stepped out of the darkness, and Scott slowly turned around to find a sword stabbing right past his head. He jumped to the side, and the sword followed him. Back to the drawing board, battle number two, I guess. He got a good look at her as he backed away: long, pointy ears like an elf or a hobgoblin, a sleek, small body, and a blue glowing sword twice the size of her body. Bringing up his sword, he blocked the swing and got knocked back hard, putting him on his back foot as he wobbled a bit to stabilize once more.

  In an instant, she was right in front of him again, much faster than he expected. They exchanged swing after swing, dodge after dodge, until finally, he rolled to her side and put a good gash into her leather armor, which sliced a small cut into her back.

  At that moment, Scott stopped and stared at what he saw. Her armor came down just enough to reveal a tattoo of sorts, one he was well acquainted with. It was a tattoo of a heart with a rose wrapped around it. The very same tattoo he had drawn for his wife when they were much younger, and she had it tattooed on her lower back.

  Her sword swung for his head again, and he let it phase through him while flying up. He noticed the frustration on her face even in the darkness as she swung through his body over and over, still not making any contact. In a gasp, he spoke, "Darlin'?" as her scent smelled familiar.

  She stopped swinging and stood there for a moment. She finally broke the silence and spoke. "Huh, the beast speaks. Only my husband calls me that."

  "If I may, could I land without you attacking me?" Scott asked, waiting for approval.

  "If you try anything, I will cut you down where you stand. I will allow you to land without attacking for now," she replied with a curious look on her face.

  Once Scott hit the ground and sheathed his swords, he said, “Listen to me I know this is probably a long shot but I am sure that you are Annastasia Annabeth Wheaton.”

  Her face was awestruck for a moment, but not soon after, it changed to that of anger. "Can you read my thoughts or maybe memories? What else can you do? You can fly and turn into a ghost. Wait, what is your name again? It doesn't matter, beast, I will slay you where you stand." She said quickly while raising her sword high above her head.

  Scott began to change into his human form, revealing his true self. All but his red glowing eyes changed back, something he hadn't done for a few weeks now. The beast look had been his norm for a bit and was starting to grow on him. His beard has grown longer and his hair was also longer on his head making him look more like a cave man rather than the clean shaved head and well groomed beard he used to have. His hair was more riddled with grey than he used to have. He pulled his hair back and tied it revealing his worn dirty face.

  Her jaw dropped along with her sword. "It is you," she said while running into his arms. For a moment, they stood in silence until she looked up and said, "Yep, it's definitely you. Babe, you stink! When was the last time you bathed?"

  "Ha ha, I've missed you too," Scott said as he bent over to give her a kiss while they embraced each other tightly. “You don't smell like a sweet rose either.”

  Another sound came in fast. Scott looked up and saw a Stalker move in. It must be the one that was launched into the trees. In that moment, he tossed her aside and took a hit to the chest: one of the barbed tongues and a tentacle with the spear end hit him in the abs.

  Scott transformed back into his beast form, grew his teeth, and pulled it close, grabbing onto both sides of the tentacle part of the tongue. Once he was close enough, the tongue retracted, ripping a nice hole in his abs. At that point, he pushed its head down and bit into the back of the Stalker's neck. The Stalker struggled and hit him a few times before he sucked its life energy dry. Ann picked up her sword and cut the sucker in half. Scott let go and sat down on the ground for a moment.

  "Are you okay?" Ann asked while setting her sword down once again to check on him.

  "I'll manage, I just need to find the crew and I will be back up to full health in no time." Scott said. “Both David and Tomas are healers.”

  "If I can get you to Cat, she can heal you," Ann suggested.

  "Eh, no problem. David is also a great healer. It's kind of ironic that both of them are healers. Hey, Babe, would you help me wrap up this wound on my side?" Scott asked while struggling to apply good pressure to his wraps.

  Three chests popped up near them, glowing and humming in the dark. “We must have finished a boss of sorts, or the System is being kind to us even after I spoke poorly of it.” Scott thought.

  "Shall we?" Scott asked Ann.

  "Shall we what?" she asked in a questioning tone.

  "You don't hear the chests nearby? They give off a humming noise when near, and at the darkest part of the night is when they usually appear," Scott continued.

  "Scott, you're in no shape to fight off any more monsters," Ann said worriedly.

  "What are you talking about? I'm in great shape," Scott said while stumbling a few steps.

  "Okay, if you insist. I still think we should find a healer," Ann said, her voice filled with concern.

  "I do insist," Scott said while hovering a few feet off the ground.

  "How can you fly?" she asked, clearly surprised.

  "I'm a Gravity Lord? Something I've picked up along the way," Scott replied with a shrug.

  "What about you? Any cool abilities? Or bloodlines? Oh, let me guess, you're a fighter," Scott asked with a bit of curiosity.

  "Yes, I'm a fighter. I can do a few things with my sword, I also have Diamond Skin, and this hidden Mist skill," Ann replied with a laugh.

  “I knew it, wouldn't have expected any less of you. Have you been training every day to keep your stamina up? Oh, and how are our boys doing?” Scott asked excitedly.

  “The boys are as good as expected given the circumstances we find ourselves in. They are constantly fighting with each other. Training? Somewhat, I guess. I've used more sword training than martial arts training and have been leveling up my strength, stamina, vitality, and working on my resistances too,” Ann replied, a slight exasperated chuckle in her voice.

  They finally found one of the chests, and of course, like a gentleman, Scott let his wife open the first one.

  [Ever Filling Potion of Vitality (Legendary)] Much like the potion says, the potion refills on a weekly basis, giving you 3 points to Vitality a week.

  [Ever Filling Potion of Strength (Legendary)] Much like the potion says, the potion refills on a weekly basis, giving you 3 points to Strength a week.

  “Wow, those are nice. Are you going to keep it to yourself, or could I possibly have one?” Scott asked with a huge smile, not knowing if she wanted to share.

  “I suppose we can share. How about I use strength this week and you use vitality, and we can switch back and forth?” Ann said, pragmatic as ever.

  “Yeah, I agree, that seems like a better idea,” Scott replied, drinking the vitality potion.

  They continued on and came across another chest, and this one was a bit larger than the last. I wonder what's in this one. "May I?" Scott asked.

  “Go ahead,” she replied.

  Scott opened the chest to find a large shield.

  [Shield of Defiance (Rare)]

  This shield defies both magic and attacks. With one use per day the user may activate the skill to create a much larger magical shield deploying a mana field wall that expands 10ft x 10ft that can block more for area of attacks. It even absorbs some magic. 0/10 Magic absorption 10 different magic spells in which this item will raise a tier in rarity. +30 Str, +30 Vit, +30 Tough.

  “Can you wield both the shield and the sword? Or are you more of the all-attack, no-shield type of fighter?” Scott asked.

  “It doesn't hurt. I guess I can take it and try wielding both,” Ann replied, examining the impressive shield.

  Scott handed the shield to Ann and they continued on their way. The third chest wasn't that far away from the second one. Scott floated back down to open it, and to the side of it was another smaller chest. Oh yeah, we have a total of four chests. The system is so awesome, it's like Christmas morning with just the wife and I all over again, except it's more like the good old days without children.

  Scott opened the bigger, longer one and found…

  [Defiance Longsword(Rare)

  When paired with the shield, the longsword cuts through magic and absorbs magic in kind. 0/10 Magic absorption, 10 different magic spells. Once the two have both absorbed 10 spells the weapons will evolve to a higher tier and give new and more improved abilities. +30 Str, +30 Agil.

  Of course, another item for the wife. It seems like the System is favoring the wife over me right now, kind of like those days we used to collect the monster pocket cards and she would get the nice cards, while I got the shittier ones. "Here you go, my dear," Scott said while handing over the new sword. "Oh, look here, there is more," he continued.

  [Defiance cloak(Rare)]

  This particular piece is black in nature and drapes over the right shoulder. Also this cloak when accompanied with the longsword and shield make a trio of power. Just like the others, if you fill this item with 10 different magic spells, the tier will upgrade one step higher. 0/10 Magic Absorption. +30 End, +30 Tough.

  "Wow, I can't believe this right now. That's another Defiance item added to the list, and for the wife, no less." Once Scott pulled it out and handed the cloak to Ann, the chest started to glow and transform, kind of like those monsters of the pocket kind when they evolve. After all the light show, there was a suit of armor sitting in front of him. He'd never seen that happen before. "Let's check it out."

  [Defiance Leather Armor(Rare)]

  Leather Armor of Defiance is a suit of armor that absorbs magic and with the suit combined with the cloak, longsword and shield giving an armor boost to the wearer. If you fill this item with 10 different magic spells, the tier will upgrade one step higher. 0/10 Magic Absorption. +30 Vit, +30 End, +30 Tough.

  "Well, well, lookie here for another Defiance piece," Scott said in a sarcastic and annoyed tone. He knew he should be happy for her and not be jealous. But it was like going to a Christmas party with the family and only the wife gets the gifts, and it feels like you're just the third wheel tagging along that gets nothing, definitely frustrating.

  "Oh, jealous much, little one? Seems to me that the wife is getting showered upon with gifts that you yourself have earned," Amarwrath said, his mental voice a playful tease.

  "Now you're jumping into this? I mean, yes, I am jealous and all. Plus, most of the work of killing those stalkers was done by me. Though she is my wife, and I should feel happy for her?" Scott said, trying to convince himself it was alright to feel those feelings and not be so jealous of her.

  "That sounded like it hurt," Amarwrath added, thoroughly amused.

  "What do you mean by that?" Scott asked mentally.

  "The point that you admitted you were wrong and told the truth," Amarwrath explained, his tone a bit wiser now.

  "Ha ha, are you my therapist now?" Scott continued, trying to lighten the mood.

  "I have lived a long time now, and been through a lot of relationships in my time. So if you need to talk, I'm right here, and what's a therapist, young one?" Amarwrath asked with a sincere voice mixed with a little curiosity.

  "Uh, never mind," Scott said, not giving him any more space to talk. He figured ignoring him for a while would be best just for a bit of peace of mind.

  The last chest was skinny and tall. Once Scott opened it up, all he could see was a bottle of red fluid. Scanning it, he noticed it was something that was going in his bag right away, well, after he drank it.

  [Ever Filling Phoenix Potion of Healing (Unique)] This bottle of healing refills once a day, and after the user's first drink, it is soul bound to that person. It stays soul bound until He or She dies. This will always restore your health points up to max once you have drunk the potion. The bottle can be broken but will be restored back whole and appear back in your storage.

  A get-out-of-jail-free card or potion while you're near death will be a nice addition to my collection. Scott popped the top and downed the whole bottle. His body got this burning sensation from the moment the fluid touched his lips. He could feel his body healing all over, and then every bit of pain was now gone. The holes in his body caused by the Stalker were fully healed like it never happened in the first place.

  "What was that?" Ann asked inquisitively, her eyes wide.

  “Oh, you know, just an Uber overpowered, awesome, soul-bound potion of healing that I can use once per day,” Scott said with the utmost joy in his voice, showing off the bottle like a salesman.

  “Cool,” Ann said very coldly, as she was still busy inspecting her own gear.

  “Hey, let's get back to the man cave, or we can, you know, stay out here in the woods like old times,” Scott said, giving her a wink.

  “Is that all you ever think about? And the answer is later. I need a proper bath and bed, then we can talk about that,” she replied, giving him that disgusted look she gets every time he asks for, you know, playtime.

  “No, I think about leveling up, getting better gear, what abilities I will be getting next, or how to combine the abilities in battle, and then of course, you know, playtime,” Scott said cordially.

  “Okay, Mr. Wheaton, let's go to the man cave,” Ann said, a small smile playing on her lips.

  “Oh yeah, I'll take you back to my place,” Scott said, trying to be all sexy-like.

  “On second thought, maybe the woods will do.” Ann whispered, taking off her gear.

  “Oh?” Scott said, getting the hint.

  Some time later they were walking through the forest fully geared and Scott was smiling from ear to ear.

  “Why are you so happy?” Ann asked.

  “Because,” Scott smiled.

  “Because what? Please for the love of God finish your sentences.” Ann said.

  “Because I get to see you.” Scott replied.

  Ann stepped up to Scott and embraced his arms. They leaked deeply into each other's eyes before kissing and holding each other tight.

  “I missed this.” Ann sighed.

  “I have certainly without a doubt missed you.” Scott said.

  She just smiled and grabbed his arm while they walked and talked through the dark forest. They paid no attention to anything besides each other. The rest of the walk back they caught up on what had occurred since the System, and even compared their experiences with meeting the avatar of the System. Scott even told her about Atlar, and she was super excited to see one of her fur babies and his new dire wolf pack.

  Scott's excitement about seeing the boys and how they've developed on their journey was palpable. He looked forward to sparring with them, just like the old days in their home gym, to see if they could best their old man. Their time together before the System had always been a whirlwind: martial arts twice a week, Riley's wrestling practice also twice a week, and the long tournaments that took half of Sunday because Scott was one of his coaches. If you added Pathfinder RPG into the mix every other Saturday night, their schedule was practically full. On top of that, Victor had his therapy appointments to help him with all his rage, autism, and past trauma that occurred prior to them adopting him.

  "I love my boys to death, but they're also a handful to deal with," Scott thought. Victor's destructive outbursts and high-pitched screaming with his autism actually made him drink for a while. He even lost some of his hearing due to those very nights. With all the stress that he and his wife had to endure, it didn't help on the marital front nor the intimacy side. It even started to tear them apart for a time.

  Riley didn't have the memory prior to adoption, so that made life easier on that front. Though it didn't help that he loved to talk. He would just talk to his brother constantly until his brother would get overwhelmed and resort to fists. But that didn't stop Riley. Nope, Scott had to be the mean dad who constantly told him to stop. Most of the time, they connected with monster-themed card games and, of course, video games.

  So, with all that said, Scott hoped they had fared well without him. Honestly, it was a huge break from it all, kind of like having a super long vacation from all the chaos since the System started. But in the end, he missed them dearly.

  Once Scott and Ann finally arrived at the man cave, the kids were outside playing with the direwolf pups, and Dawn approached them first, as she was tasked to protect the cave while they were gone. She began growling at them, and Ann instinctively pulled out her sword.