Morgan returned to a mostly sleeping Academy. Four roving guards were moving through the grounds. Each of the gates had been reinforced, and you couldn’t see into the lawn from outside anymore. At the nearest gate, Morgan deposited all the armor and the two greatswords with the guard. Giving instructions that Katherine be informed in the morning.

  Morgan checked his disc, looking for the closest creature. The arrow pointed southeast. Morgan took off, then remembered to check his currency. The numbers were 641 CT, 48 UT, and now 3 rare tokens (RT). So the orcs gave him 3RT and a few of the others. With those RT, he could get better materials for better armor or a weapon. He also saw that he had a small blinking icon. He had gained an ability point for closing the orc’s rift.

  ::Your current attributes are Str - 14, Dex - 18, Con - 13, Wis - 11, Int - 11.::

  Morgan thought about it. He wanted to get to 20 dexterity before increasing his strength. So he directed Sophia to do so.

  ::Your current attributes are Str - 14, Dex - 19, Con - 13, Wis - 11, Int - 11.::

  As Morgan neared the edge of town, Sophia informed him that the creatures were nearing. He slowed to a walk and then crouched, moving forward cautiously. At the cross street, he saw two very large creatures sitting near a large delivery truck upturned on its side. They were ill-proportioned, having long and spindly arms and squat legs. They were squabbling over a wooden box. Long, talon-tipped, bloated knuckled fingers tried to rip the box from the other as it held it up to its hideous face, sniffing deeply.

  Sophia said,

  With the utmost care, Morgan crept back and then scurried away. Not being able to use fire would be a problem.

  he asked Sophia.

  Morgan ran west, disc held in his hand, checking every 200 feet or so. Finally, the arrow on the disc changed to southwest. He arrived at the river that meandered around the town, the arrow pointed across. Well, it is about 50 feet wide, I guess I will have to try a jump, he thought.

  He backed up about 50 feet and sprinted toward the river. Sophia started to say something, then stopped. Leaping at the last step, he practically flew over the river. The rush of the air as he sailed over the churning river below was exhilarating. He did a parkour roll on the opposite bank when he landed, and kept rolling. He ended up lying on his back staring at the stars, after going over and over three times.

  Sophia said.

  Shaking his head, Morgan did a kip-up. How the heck did he know what a kip-up was? His body felt sleeker and more lithe than he would have ever thought possible. The disc now showed the arrow was large and pointing towards a small subdivision of like 30 homes. Pulling his bastard sword from his pouch, he made it materialize in his hand before beginning his stalk forward.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  He heard the sounds of growling and scrapping as he peered over a short wall. Two large wolf-like creatures, worgs, with thick matted coats and numerous cuts, gnawed and snarled at each other as they tried to eat the same large bone. Their eyes were like glowing embers of orange, and the smell of wet dog was heavy in the air. He was deciding if he was going to try for he leap attack or sneak up and ambush. But, this time, he was not he one to effect the ambush.

  From his left, he had the slightest warning. A rustle or a movement in his peripheral vision, he wasn’t exactly sure what. As he turned, trying to bring his sword up between him and the furry missile, he was hit broadside by a third worg he hadn’t seen. The thing was heavy and smelled like a wet dog that had rolled in piss. Its powerful jaws closed on his sword arm, slicing deeply into his forearm in a few places, but the bracers held. His grip on the bastard sword did not. It clattered to the ground ten feet away.

  This close, it was massive, twice the size of the largest dog Morgan had ever seen, more like a small horse than a dog. Its weight was mostly in its chest and neck, which it used to much effect, shaking Morgan’s arm, and by extension the rest of Morgan, violently back and forth. The thick, matted hair was scratchy and coarse as it scraped across Morgan’s skin. Its body was as hot as an oven.

  Morgan could feel more and more damage being dealt to his rending forearm. The beast ignored the many small cuts starting to ooze on its foreleg. He had to do something fast. He materialized a short sword in his left hand, and from this range, he couldn’t miss. The sword went in until the hilt, but it didn’t slow the beast. He could see the other two circling slowly; they were slightly smaller than the one he was fighting. He pulled the sword out and thrust it in again. This time, he hit something that made the worg drop him and yelp, then grab at his arm again. Now, Morgan was ready. He pulled the bleeding arm back to himself and threw himself backwards, swinging out with the sword as he did.

  The worgs were agile and moved with a predatory grace despite their massive bodies. Large paws the size of plates made no sound as they slowly circled him, spittle drooling from their massive maws, black tongues lolling out. They snarled and growled at each other as they circled. Were they talking to each other and planning? Morgan started circling, working his way in a larger and larger circle, trying to make his way to the bastard sword. When he got a couple of feet away, the large one growled, and one of the smaller ones leapt forward and stood over the sword. They were definitely talking!

  Morgan decided to try to misdirect. He leapt over the circling worgs and onto the nearest house. It wasn’t high enough. With a couple of hisses and growls, two of the worgs jumped up on the shingles nearby. The large one had stayed behind, a glint of cunning in his eyes. Morgan then rocketed himself at one of the worgs on the roof, in his newest, most effective tactic, using himself as a missile. Taking special care to keep hold of the hilt as he crashed into the worg. The worg attempted to dodge, jumping sideways.

  The sword caught the worg just behind the front legs and went deep into its chest. The impact caused Morgan to stop almost immediately. But, because the worg had been jumping out of the way, it was not touching the roof. It went flying off the roof, thumping into the yard below with a pained whimper. The other two worgs moved, one on the roof, the other below towards him. He threw his short sword overhand at the worg below and sprang to the bastard sword as it dodged.

  The heavier, bigger sword felt much better in his hands. This time, when he rocketed himself at the worg, they evaded him. Then, he circled, and one tried to attack him from behind. Expecting this, Morgan spun, dropping onto his back and thrusting up into the chest of the beast pouncing at him. The swishing sound of Godslayer’s Blade activating was music to his ears. The front right half of the worg fell away.

  Now, with just him and the largest worg, the worg was cautious, but not afraid. The hatred from its gaze was palpable. It let out a long mournful howl and then sprang at him with a zig-zag run. Morgan leapt, attempting to get about 10 feet off the ground and swung his body into a front flip, swinging the bastard sword as hard as he could. It connected low on the shoulder behind the rushing head of the massive worg.

  Its front shoulder was injured, the beast was much slower, and Morgan was able to kill it without any fancy moves or complications. Its baleful eyes followed him, still burning into him as he ran forward and stabbed into its chest. His XP bar was now at 63% and tokens were now at 684CT, 56UT, and 8RT. He closed the rift. Looking back at his messages, he had received a skill point and another title.

  ::Congratulations! You are the first person in this world to kill a worg. Title Granted::

  ::Title Granted - Scentsational - You gain an increased ability to smell.::

  He then selected a skill.

  ::Common - Wisdom +2 (Arcanist) - Increases WIS +2::

  ::Rare - Teleportation (Trickster) - You can teleport short distances.::

  He asked dejectedly.

  “That is correct.”

  ::Skill Granted - Wisdom +2 (Arcanist)::

  ::Your current attributes are Str - 14, Dex - 18, Con - 15, Wis - 13, Int - 11.::

  Morgan rolled his shoulders and then set off into the night, heading further west.