An abundantly large frame, contradictory agility, and the dexterity of a human. As a tigerborn, Tiger was packed with so many physical advantages that you would be hard-pressed to think of how he could further be improved.
He walked with his group of companions through the forest. Leading them was the gnome, Pipsqueak. Though the traps weren’t as dense as in the area around their camp, this place was littered with them. Pipsqueak was the only person Tiger trusted not to overlook a single one.
Then there was the elf, Monk, the boy who was at the top of essence training time and time again. Og, the demonborn whose frame belied his strength, though it still paled in comparison to Tiger. The last member of the party was En, a manborn girl with no special features to speak of. She was average when it came to physical prowess or tasks requiring deftness, but she made up for those with her quick-wittedness. She didn’t have any specializations, nor did she harbor any weaknesses. When it came to combat, she took charge of raids and did odd jobs that needed doing in the camp. She was responsible for everything that suited the levelheadedness of a manborn.
The tigerborn, Tiger; the gnome, Pipsqueak; the elf, Monk; the demonborn, Og; the manborn, En—these five made up the elite party chosen by Tiger himself. Were this an RPG, it would seem ridiculously overpowered, with every member a thief. They seemed much more balanced when it came to ability scores. Tiger was proud of his selection, in any case.
“A wolf’s coming,” Pipsqueak said. “A big one.”
“Brace yourself,” ordered Tiger.
A power wolf emerged from the bushes. They had seen this type time and time again over the past few days. As incredibly imposing as its enlarged stature was, the sight of it made the party lower their guard. Tiger was well-equipped to deal with this variety of wolf. He stepped out in front of his companions and sheathed his knife.
“This thing’s so dumb, picking a fight with us.” He laughed. “I’ll handle this.”
The wolf howled, charging at him at high speed. Tiger took the blow with his shoulder, stopping it in its tracks. The two jostled in place, shoulder pushing against shoulder. For some reason, the wolf made no attempt to bite its way out of the stalemate. Nor did Tiger’s party change their strategy, instead believing in his strength. They assumed that the wolf, whose muscles were surely putting pressure on its brain, was unable to consider yielding. Eventually, Monk stabbed the creature through its medulla oblongata. The knife glowed imperceptibly as it pierced easily into the wall of muscle and severed the nerves in the wolf’s brain.
The beast gave an indignant bark then a small whimper before going down.
“The bigger they are, the easier they fall,” Tiger said with a scoff. “Pipsqueak, En, get its meat.”
“Got it,” Pipsqueak said.
“Understood,” En replied.
“You’re not doing anything else, Og, so you help carry it,” the leader continued.
“Yeah, yeah.”
Tiger nodded at his underlings’ responses before glancing at the knife in Monk’s grip. The elf was far better at creating arcane tools than anyone else in the cohort. It took him mere seconds to apply an effect that would take the other children nearly an hour. He had a one hundred percent success rate, while the others failed half the time. When Tiger asked what intricate ability Monk imbued his knife with, the latter avoided the question. He knew it had to be more than that glow it gave off.
While part of him felt there was no need to press the matter since they were allies, Monk’s skills in manipulating essence were obviously superior to Tiger’s. He wasn’t like Og, who was essentially a physically weaker version of the tigerborn, or Pipsqueak, who didn’t excel at combat at all. Even in combat training, Monk had his fair share of victories. In short, the elf might possess the ability to kill Tiger. And that was why he was secretly wary of him.
✦ ✦ ✦
Tiger’s party returned to their camp triumphant, their backs laden with meat. Currently, only the children capable of holding their own against the wolves were able to leave the base. While a few of them managed to go berry-picking and avoid detection, it took immense courage to risk encountering one face-to-face, let alone a sneak attack. And so, fewer children were leaving the camp than before.
“We’re back,” announced Tiger.
“That wolf is huge! That’s a great catch, Tiger. All your catches are great!”
“Whoa...”
The children gathered around him, eyes full of admiration, which greatly stroked his ego. Now that the loners were gone, he ruled this place with his charisma and physical strength. However, while the kids praised him now, one slipup and he would lose their attention.
Fine. It didn’t change the fact that he was their king right at the moment.
Tiger’s elite party ate the wolf’s tenderest cuts in a spot that was prominently above the other children.
“You there.” Tiger jerked his chin toward an exceptionally pretty wind fae girl.
“M-me?” Her ephemeral appearance made others want to protect her.
“Entertain me.”
“Okay,” she stammered.
The children did not disobey Tiger, no matter how unreasonable his requests. He clapped and laughed as she performed a clumsy dance for him. The kids grew up knowing nothing but how to fight and drag each other down. As such, they could think of no entertainment beyond eating and laughing at another’s foolishness.
Tiger had undoubtedly forgotten he was in the middle of training.
That night, flames engulfed their camp.
CHAPTER 4: DANCE OF THE SNAKE AND WOLF