Slowly proceeding into the dark forest, Rachel took in her surroundings, seeing less of what was immediately around her and relying on her large ears to feed her all the unseen activities in the night.
The land they were on was tilted and thick with shrubbery in places. It somewhat rose to what she assumed was the north, leading away from the road to her south. A brook ran along the base of the hill, but it wouldn’t for long by what she heard.
The English voices in a long caravan on the route surprised her a little; by their struggles, it was at a bit of an upward incline. A few words in a conversation drew her gaze to the group of merchants traveling in the dual moonlit night.
“Wasn’t the blue moon supposed to come out later tonight? I can’t see it yet.”
“Right… Do you think the Holy Abomination will make an appearance?”
“Haha! Ferrer, you crack me up sometimes. It’s a legend, like the Azure Sea Dragon that destroyed the Golden Isle of Passion. Did your parents tell you about the Wolf in Dunharv?”
“Woah, heheh, maybe save it until after we’re out of these cursed woods.”
She soaked in the unusual details, her thoughts a whirlwind. They weren’t on Earth; they had come to an entirely different planet.
Everyone… is speaking English. Seems unlikely, unless Anthony’s Feat translates everything for us. Convenient. Although… that also means it is affecting me without me being able to counter or detect it… It begs the question, what else? Unless this is a simulation of some kind. Also, two moons? How will they interact, or will they if this place isn’t real? Only one way to find out: experience them.
Her lips drew in upon seeing a sheen of white light and maneuvered to peer through the foliage, spotting an alabaster moon. It strengthened the resolve to push through opposition or obstacles within her; so, when she stepped away from the beams, she felt her misgivings regarding her transformation return.
Huh… So, the white moon doesn’t necessarily get rid of my caution or inhibitions like the azure does… It makes me braver?
She shook her head; it had to be more intricate than that. Her thoughts drifted back to how stupid it was for her to enter this unknown space so abruptly. At the same time, she countered her own argument with the fact that being too cautious would cripple her progress—[Strategic Mind I] interacting with her other Feats was doing a number on her mental state.
In any case, it didn’t matter now since she was here. She might as well test every bizarre aspect of this magical realm Anthony had opened up.
The sounds that permeated the shadows didn’t frighten her—nothing did when under the pale moon—and it wasn’t long until she found a break in the dense canopy overhead to study the heavens. It was partially overcast, and she figured the blue celestial object was likely a separate body from the white one after a few more comments about it.
Rachel’s thoughts cleared as the pallid lunar beams hit her, refocusing her thoughts on the road, where Anthony and Zoe were headed to before her dazed mind turned in the opposite direction to track a new duo that had been caught in her sound net.
Now, why would teens be creeping through such a dangerous place while making so much noise? The goblins are far more cunning than I thought, as well.
A tilt lifted the corner of her mouth as she spun in a slow circle, keeping toward the breaks in the tree cover to soak up the power the two-thirds visible alabaster moon provided her.
The unpredictable shifts that had suddenly taken hold of her life enticed her to dig deeper and explore how far this hole she’d entered went; it was similar to how she felt just before a big Muay Thai competition or when losing herself in a sparring match against Tyreese—it helped that the Jamaican man was a pro, and big enough to let her go all out.
Alexa may have been onto something, Rachel thought to herself while holding her arm behind her back and making her way toward the two teenagers; the pair were creeping through the forest far too noisily and would likely attract unwanted attention, which was ironic, considering their chosen career path she’d overheard from the merchants.
Maybe I am addicted to violence; I do love fighting… Why could I never accept that before? I fought at school… It started after Seo died—that was when Dad and Uncle Jintao started having problems… And Mom… She isolated herself for months, and I started fighting. I guess I wasn’t okay… I’m not okay.
Trying to dismiss the uncomfortable realization, Rachel tried to turn her thoughts back to the monsters around her rather than dissecting herself.
“Gah!”
This intense self-analysis is a double-edged sword! That’s in the past; this is now! What challenge can these goblins give me?
She had two Stat points she could place somewhere, yet Rachel quickly dismissed the idea of using them; she wanted to get a better grasp of her capabilities before pulling the trigger on anything, as Anthony pointed out, and she wasn’t sure she needed to do it in the first place. At her base strength, she’d already seen the results of this System when crushing her phone with one hand, if with a bit of effort.
The boy and girl’s names were Martin and Verna; their heated argument made Rachel groan, but they were really young. Verna wanted to go deeper to find the goblins, while the boy wanted to return to the wagons since they weren’t supposed to investigate the area without their instructor.
From what Rachel could gather, they were some kind of scouts-in-training, attending a famous school for it. This was their first operation on their own, and the results would significantly affect their position in the academy. Their only objective was to scout the road for traps laid by goblins, not entering the dark forest; they had trouble seeing with minimal light, being normal human teens and all.
They’d drawn the notice of a goblin scouting party of five, and the excited grunts and snickers of the creatures spoke volumes as to who would come out on top from this encounter; the kids were about to have their dental work done, from what she’d come to understand about goblin culture.
Rachel took her time in following the sounds they made, observing all the unusual animals and insects in the forest; some she recognized, such as owls and rats, yet others were utterly foreign. A four-winged bird that beat its feathers like a dragonfly caught her gaze, but it swiftly hid when spotting her passage through the forest.
Her illuminated red irises swept her surroundings as she continued, their instinct seemingly causing most of the creatures nearby to shy away, and something new made her pause beside a large, fallen tree.
I’m the monster in this forest; I can’t smell anything that makes me think it will be a challenge…
[Divine Beast Empowerment I - Advanced to E-tier]
[Beastial Instinct I - Advanced to E-tier]
[Bringer of Misfortune I - Advanced to E-tier]
Well, well, well… interesting, Rachel mused, returning to her slow hunt while processing all the information around her; she was about to leave the audible range of the road, showing how far the teens had strayed.
That confirmed that ability Tiers increase as we use them, which means passives are incredibly important since they’ll grow quicker than active ones; at least, that is a possibility, yet there could also be multipliers or limiters on growth. I’ll have to compare it to the others when they advance.
She came to a small clearing with a gentle brook, showing a magical sight of shimmering insects that moved between white flowers, causing them to glitter like stars; the alien world had so many things to distract her, yet the frightened chatter of the merchants regarding the goblins mainly occupied her mind.
Unfortunately for these scout students, shouts from the merchant train indicated that they had failed their mission in spectacular fashion, and would be severely reprimanded when they returned. If they returned. They’d triggered a trap, causing three large trees on pulleys to swing down and crash into their wagons like battering rams.
It caused a few injuries, but that wasn’t the main purpose of the trap. The first wagon had sustained damage to one of its wheels, blocking the others’ path forward. A shrill screech from a bird in a cage—a goblin-planted alert system—gave the goblin hunting party the message that their plot was sprung.
Anthony would make it in time to get acquainted with the group, and he’d drawn Zoe into a run upon hearing the cries. They’d need him since a force of forty was forming a pincer maneuver further up the road, hiding patiently in the brush.
There were far more of the creatures in the area than Rachel initially thought as she proceeded into the forest, honing in on their grunts and snarls that marked their communication, which partially seemed to be physical. They mostly kept to four to five-man scouting teams, with the higher-tier warriors likely taking the prime spot in the raiding party.
Hopping over the brook, Rachel gradually increased her pace, keeping to paths that drew her closer to the teens and gave the most moonlight. Her power and speed grew with every point added to her Lunar Pool; it was minor but noticeable, and the cloud cover was gradually giving way to a brilliant sky unlike any Rachel had seen due to the light pollution of Earth.
She broke into a sprint upon hitting 80% of her lunar capacity, ears lying flat, and easily finding stable ground due to having all of her peripheral vision in complete focus. The wind whipped her long ponytail behind her, and Rachel couldn’t wait to explore more of this new, powerful figure she’d gained; for some reason, she hardly felt the sting of losing her muscles—a sliver of azure light shone through the clouds.
Heartbeat racing, shirt pressing against her body, and smelling the lingering sweat of the teens in the air, Rachel burst through the underbrush to save them; Verna squeaked and stumbled back upon seeing her blurred appearance with Rachel moving like a ghost in the dark undergrowth.
A silent goblin nocked an arrow—it loosed the string—time slowed, and she twisted her wrist to snatch it out of the air. Using the momentum to skip in a circle, her leg lashed out upon entering the bush the goblin hid in, and Rachel was shocked to hear a sharp snap as its spine broke.
That easy—I killed it?!
Carried through the thicket, a few scratches marred her skin from the thorns as she recovered, and her tail went stiff as Verna’s cry was cut short. She’d fallen onto a rock, hitting the back of her head.
“Hey! Ack…”
“Wha—Verna?!”
Shit… Not exactly how I saw this going in my head, she internally groaned as two of the goblins snarled and exited their hiding place to approach her, small knives drawn.
The pulse in her ears died a little as the clouds covered part of the moon overhead, and she noticed a sliver of a blue moon had been showing.
Buzz-kill… she internally grumbled at the sky.
Around a meter tall and green-skinned, the hairless creatures wore animal pelts, causing Rachel’s eyebrow to lift; okay, she was fighting skinny monster shrimps. Still, she didn’t feel an ounce of fear as she stopped to appraise them from a small section of pale moonlight that remained.
“How bad is it, Martin?” Rachel casually asked as the other two long-ranged goblins retreated a bit to prepare to engage her from a distance. “Smart buggers, aren’t they?” she snickered to herself, feeling her appetite grow with the reappearance of the blue light.
Martin couldn’t see her beyond the thicket she’d passed through with the ambushers, but the sound of a friendly voice stilled his rapid pulse. “Who—umm, she hit her head on a rock—she’s bleeding! How many are there?”
Rachel was impressed he was adapting; he attempted to drag her out of the open and into some tall ferns. “Don’t worry about these guys; you just take care of your friend.”
“Thank you; we owe you!”
An archer’s bald head turned in Martin’s direction, and Rachel snatched the slinger’s stone out of the air before flinging it at its distracted buddy to keep its attention—she missed—they snickered at her aim, causing a spur to kick into Rachel’s heart and a wicked fire to ignite in her chest as they made faces to intimidate her, or at least that was likely their goal.
Dammit! My strength keeps increasing and decreasing with this bipolar sky, making me misjudge my aim. I’m getting too strong with all this Lunar Energy and the two moons.
A sly twist came to Rachel’s nose as the three knife-wielding creatures didn’t approach, instead opting to form a triangle around her and snarl while slashing the air threateningly; they were scared. Then again, if she focused on them, the archer or slinger would kill her; this wasn’t likely their first human kill.
She caught the black, dead eyes of the goblin a few meters from her, staring into oblivion, yet Rachel didn’t feel anything but chills for the fight to come, remaining in a casual posture.
Rachel passively twirled the arrow around her fingers while continuing to analyze her first encounter with these alien creatures, or was she the alien? The thought made Rachel giggle with the bright, azure moon that suddenly illuminated the area, casting a sapphire hue to the sharp-fanged fiends.
By their paint markings, weapons, tactics, and apparel, goblins in this world had their own culture and intelligence; they truly were a threat in this world—though not to her.
From what she’d heard from the conversations between Martin, Verna, the merchants, and their few guards, goblins were almost always hostile toward humans. The taste of humanity was a delicacy to most monsters; to them, it was practically food custom sent by the gods to deliver the most divine flavor. Collecting human teeth to wear as jewelry gave goblins status and honor in their colonies.
She wasn’t aware of a lot of fantasy tropes since that hadn’t been her hobby, so she couldn’t be sure if these creatures had any special abilities. It was for that reason she’d recruited Zoe, yet, upon entering the azure rays, she didn’t want spoilers.
Another arrow loosed, and Rachel wanted to laugh at the speed—it was like facing the timid kids in dodgeball—she snatched her second weapon, but this one had a noticeable difference.
Poison? she theorized, noticing the dripping green goo on the point. I didn’t even see him coat it. Well done.
“You okay—do you need help?” Martin called back, making two of the goblins turn in fear he’d burst through the undergrowth—a point Rachel took full advantage of.
Tossing the arrows at the one keeping its beady black eyes on her, she dodged another thrown stone, hand snatching the left goblin’s throat like a viper, her other hand deflecting its panicked slash as she’d been taught in self-defense lessons.
“Haha. I think I’m perfectly fine—whoops,” she giggled as she used the gagging creature to shield herself from the next poisoned projectile; its struggles were hardly noticeable. “What will you… Oh?”
The remaining knife-wielding scouts moved to rush her as the slinger went for a horn, the archer aiming to attack Martin.
“Way too smart,” Rachel grunted, tightening her grip as the creature’s dirty fingernails clawed at her hand, drawing silvery blood; its eyes bulged, windpipe crushed as she threw it at one of its advancing buddies.
However, instead of engaging them, Rachel dashed for the slinger, hearing them snarl, attempting to warn the goblin fumbling with the item on his belt. It looked up in time to see Rachel’s fist fracture its face, propelling it back two meters to tumble across the dirt and leaves.
The archer tried to stab her with a goo-laced arrow, but she simply grabbed his wrist and flipped it around to bury into its own stomach; its face showed disbelief, and Rachel could smell its fear as it looked into her wide, illuminated eyes.
Rachel swiftly dispatched the last two by snapping their necks, somewhat disappointed by the outcome; she sighed, studying her handiwork and the damage they’d done to her.
It wasn’t even a fight… It’s boring. I killed them, and I feel bored… annoyed. Maybe there is something about turning into a Mythickin that turns you into a psychopath. If I’m not careful, I might lose myself in this heat…
Releasing another depressed sigh, she slid her fingers over the shallow cuts on her arm; her blood was now white, sticky, and thicker than it should have been, clotting quickly. Contrastingly, her fist was stained red from crushing one of the green creatures’ faces.
She could get wrapped up in fights, but this was a whole different level, and she hadn’t hesitated for a second—then again, she might have died if she did—one wrong move could have been a dagger in her belly.
Martin stumbled through the brush, squinting in the dark until he saw her, eyes going wide. “Is it… The Jade Hare—you’re real?!”
Her ears drifted to the side as she turned to the awestruck teen; he looked to be around thirteen years old. “Hmm? Explain that to me… Verna is still breathing, at least,” she mumbled, cleaning her fist on one of the goblin pelts before going to check on the girl.
“Umm. Yeah, yeah… I wrapped her head with what gauze we had—the Ranger Guild tells stories about you—the mythical White Jade Hare that shows up and kicks ass!”
“Hehe. Well, isn’t that something?” Rachel brooded, finding the medical care far better than anything she knew she could do; the black-haired girl’s breathing was stabilizing. “She’ll probably have a Grade 2 concussion… Dizziness, memory loss, confusion, ringing in her ears. Heh. She’ll probably be irritable. You’ll want to get her to that healer druid you have in the caravan.”
“Right… Umm. We were sent here to—”
“I know why you were sent here,” Rachel said, knowing she probably was coming off as omniscient and magical with her entrance, not that she was trying to be. “Why don’t you tell me what I want to know while your friend recovers.”
“Mmgm… Martin—where the hell… Did you drug me again?! Who the—”
Rachel lifted an eyebrow at the young man, who swiftly shook his head. “It was a training exercise!”
“Uh-huh,” Rachel hummed, showing the panicking girl an innocent smile as she backed away. “Hello, I’m Rachel, apparently the…”
“White Jade Hare?” she gasped, wincing with a groan while gingerly touching her head. “Ugh… What happened? Did I die?”
Rachel let Martin explain things to her as she went to study the corpses she’d left scattered about; the sapphire gleam in the sky was covered by the dark clouds, and more scouting parties were patrolling now, but their area seemed to be free from inspection.
Taking a deep breath, she took in the rich, earthy smell of the place, experiencing millions of scents she had a troubling time identifying; she was able to cycle through them on a desire, not that it helped her much. All of her senses had been enhanced from [Divine Beast Empowerment I]’s advancement.
The rancid mouths and the blood of the goblins creased her nose, but she could filter it out if she wanted. What most pulled on her mind was the ease at which she’d just executed these creatures; she’d never killed anything in her life.
Obviously, I shouldn’t feel bad about murdering these things… They were attempting to kill teens—stupid teens, but teens, nonetheless.
Rising from her crouching position, she drew something rather disturbing from the encounter: this world was most likely very real and not just some virtual space to train. The lives, mannerisms, and things talked about between various parties of the caravan and the conversations she’d followed from the two teens were far too complex to be pure fiction.
Once the kids were calmed down, they told her about the stories revolving around the White Jade Hare and her companions that spotted their world’s history; hundreds of years of scattered interactions.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t tell her anything about who her companions were since they’d only heard a few things from the drunken stories told by their instructors. One Verna liked was the Battle of the High Keep, where an army of ogres had been dispatched by her group when all looked lost.
After getting a few quick answers that were on Rachel’s mind, she told them to head back to the road to help during the attack and made sure Verna promised not to participate; a quake ran down the girl’s spine at the intense, illuminated stare she gave her.
“I feel fine, though…” she groaned, clearly out to get recognition, which Rachel could respect, and she noticed a strange rhythm spike in her heart.
“Lying isn’t going to help anything,” Rachel said, showing an understanding smile. “You don’t want to become a burden to others… which includes the burden of dealing with your death. I had a teacher, too, and he told me the same thing when I got my first concussion. Maybe learn how to fall next time, or where you’re falling?”
“Yeah…” she mumbled, blushing with embarrassment while rubbing her arm. “Thank you, White Jade Hare. Are you going to handle the goblins?”
“I am! Why don’t you two talk a lot about the world and more about goblins—ooop, let’s stay awake, Verna—Martin, keep her talking and help her back. If you go… that way, you’ll reach the road and be a bit behind the group, but you won’t meet any goblins.”
The boy nodded, supporting the frustrated girl as he guided her in the direction she’d pointed. “She’s going to be so pissed if she doesn’t remember this tomorrow,” he groaned, yet his face showed he was a man on a mission. “I’ll get her back.”
“Good man,” she chuckled, patting him on the back.
He set off, and Rachel turned her attention back to the goblins; she could hide the corpses but didn’t see the point in it if her intention was going to draw more her way. She could hardly feel the wounds on her arm now.
However, something new quickly snatched Rachel’s attention as she gave herself time to analyze the sounds in the forest; in the far distance, there was an area utterly devoid of noise.
Interesting…
She took one of the small goblin daggers to practice throwing it on her path to the edge of apparently nowhere; the trick was passing between moonlight and darkness, which drastically changed her power output.
Thus far, she’d discovered quite a few things that grated against her brain:
Fantasy creatures were real.
She was written into the history books of another world, and it did open up the question of if these Quests Anthony could put them on could also take them through time.
Certain emotions she thought she should feel after killing something were nonexistent.
This world naturally had magic in it. All she had to go on were the discussions from the merchants regarding a few members in their party, but their examples and hopes gave Rachel the impression it was less potent than it seemed to be from those affected by The Oscillation.
An Irish moon goddess might not only be real but have some kind of vested interest in her, and she still couldn’t be sure that the deity hadn’t had a hand in causing this sudden change. At the very least, it raised suspicions in her own transformation.
On the other hand, she had many questions still left unanswered:
Would she change further?
Were these Quest Worlds connected to the Crystal Worlds she’d heard about?
How did these Quests operate compared to the Crystals, as well?
How should she react in this situation?
How would these enhancement abilities affect her mental state?
What was the end game?
Rachel snarled, dismissing a lot of the information. All I know is that I need a win condition. For what? I have no clue, but I always have to have a win condition. If the world has turned hostile, I have to act in-kind or get trampled, lying face down on the ring…
Her nose creased with the thought of her first competition, where she’d lost in the semi-finals; from that moment on, she promised never to let that embarrassment happen again, working hard to make that a reality.
Coming upon a fathomless fog, Rachel glared into the swirling abyss that left no sound. I can’t define myself… I’m fighting, but for what? To survive? No. I don’t only want to survive. I’m doing all of this to have control. Rule one… control the fight, and you can’t lose. I can’t lose control.
Methodical mind back in motion, she took a long stick and tested out the mist before attempting to press against it; the stick could go through, yet her hands met an impassable barrier. When she struck it, all the kinetic energy vanished, not causing a recoil.
A barrier, yet one only I can’t exit? I suppose it is similar to the Crystal gateways that generate a field… Animals can go in and out of it. It’s a competition area. Perhaps it could expand if the quest changes? All I get are questions…
The liquid in Rachel’s mouth thickened upon hearing something large exit a goblin cave, though electricity ran through her body as the azure moon broke free from the clouds. Body raring to go, her ears swiftly turned, listening intently to the guttural sounds the large creature made. Goblins cowered at the orders that came from the bigger entity.
A challenge? Well, if that’s the case, I should level up a little and finally put some points into my Feats and Stats.
Dismissing everything else with the rekindled fire in her chest, she realized she’d lost interest in the goblins due to how easy the fight had been; however, this wasn’t a goblin, or at least wasn’t like the ones she’d slaughtered.
Licking her lips, Rachel broke into a light jog, passing through the forest at twice her previous top speed as she moved to strategically take out the other scouts in the area.
“I’m going insane,” she laughed, throwing her dagger at the ambushed goblins, screaming in panic; it struck one’s shoulder, making it twist backward. “I don’t think I care anymore… I want to experiment with these new powers. Can you even understand me?” she asked, scooping one goblin up and abducting it, hiding behind a tree—not that she needed to.
She hummed, easily snapping its wrists, making them useless as it tried to struggle to break her grip around its throat. “I don’t think you do… I guess that makes this easier!”
The horn sounded behind her, and she could smell the fear in the crippled goblin’s sweat when a sinister smile twisted her mouth, showing the appetite for conflict that she’d been attempting to suppress with logic.
“Bring all of your friends. I’ve got this… strange buzz in my ears. Is it your wheezing?” Her fingers twitched as she moved into the moonlight, crushing the tiny fiend’s throat. “Damn… You’re all so fragile,” Rachel complained, tossing the body to the side as it suffocated; she felt too powerful.
Her bright, four-leaf clover-like irises shifted to the small pack of fodder that had come to offer her their life; she felt high on something.
I’m in control, she told herself, effortlessly predicting and dodging the arrows or stones the organizing goblins threw at her. I need to understand these abilities, and the best way is to exercise them.
Finding a thick branch on the ground, Rachel used it to break the bones of the little monsters. She allowed them to form their strategies to better grasp their ingenuity out of pure interest before crushing them; something Tyreese drilled into her was to watch her opponents carefully to see if there was anything she could learn or adapt into her technique.
Sliding between the sapphire moonlight and darkness, she let the fire grow within her. All the inhibitions Rachel experienced were evaporated under the blue celestial object that beat back the veil of clouds to fill her with strength.
[Level Up - Level 3]
Rachel’s grin briefly gleamed as bright as the white moon above her.
Slowly proceeding into the dark forest, Rachel took in her surroundings, seeing less of what was immediately around her and relying on her large ears to feed her all the unseen activities in the night.
The land they were on was tilted and thick with shrubbery in places. It somewhat rose to what she assumed was the north, leading away from the road to her south. A brook ran along the base of the hill, but it wouldn’t for long by what she heard.
The English voices in a long caravan on the route surprised her a little; by their struggles, it was at a bit of an upward incline. A few words in a conversation drew her gaze to the group of merchants traveling in the dual moonlit night.
“Wasn’t the blue moon supposed to come out later tonight? I can’t see it yet.”
“Right… Do you think the Holy Abomination will make an appearance?”
“Haha! Ferrer, you crack me up sometimes. It’s a legend, like the Azure Sea Dragon that destroyed the Golden Isle of Passion. Did your parents tell you about the Wolf in Dunharv?”
“Woah, heheh, maybe save it until after we’re out of these cursed woods.”
She soaked in the unusual details, her thoughts a whirlwind. They weren’t on Earth; they had come to an entirely different planet.
Everyone… is speaking English. Seems unlikely, unless Anthony’s Feat translates everything for us. Convenient. Although… that also means it is affecting me without me being able to counter or detect it… It begs the question, what else? Unless this is a simulation of some kind. Also, two moons? How will they interact, or will they if this place isn’t real? Only one way to find out: experience them.
Her lips drew in upon seeing a sheen of white light and maneuvered to peer through the foliage, spotting an alabaster moon. It strengthened the resolve to push through opposition or obstacles within her; so, when she stepped away from the beams, she felt her misgivings regarding her transformation return.
Huh… So, the white moon doesn’t necessarily get rid of my caution or inhibitions like the azure does… It makes me braver?
She shook her head; it had to be more intricate than that. Her thoughts drifted back to how stupid it was for her to enter this unknown space so abruptly. At the same time, she countered her own argument with the fact that being too cautious would cripple her progress—[Strategic Mind I] interacting with her other Feats was doing a number on her mental state.
In any case, it didn’t matter now since she was here. She might as well test every bizarre aspect of this magical realm Anthony had opened up.
The sounds that permeated the shadows didn’t frighten her—nothing did when under the pale moon—and it wasn’t long until she found a break in the dense canopy overhead to study the heavens. It was partially overcast, and she figured the blue celestial object was likely a separate body from the white one after a few more comments about it.
Rachel’s thoughts cleared as the pallid lunar beams hit her, refocusing her thoughts on the road, where Anthony and Zoe were headed to before her dazed mind turned in the opposite direction to track a new duo that had been caught in her sound net.
Now, why would teens be creeping through such a dangerous place while making so much noise? The goblins are far more cunning than I thought, as well.
A tilt lifted the corner of her mouth as she spun in a slow circle, keeping toward the breaks in the tree cover to soak up the power the two-thirds visible alabaster moon provided her.
The unpredictable shifts that had suddenly taken hold of her life enticed her to dig deeper and explore how far this hole she’d entered went; it was similar to how she felt just before a big Muay Thai competition or when losing herself in a sparring match against Tyreese—it helped that the Jamaican man was a pro, and big enough to let her go all out.
Alexa may have been onto something, Rachel thought to herself while holding her arm behind her back and making her way toward the two teenagers; the pair were creeping through the forest far too noisily and would likely attract unwanted attention, which was ironic, considering their chosen career path she’d overheard from the merchants.
Maybe I am addicted to violence; I do love fighting… Why could I never accept that before? I fought at school… It started after Seo died—that was when Dad and Uncle Jintao started having problems… And Mom… She isolated herself for months, and I started fighting. I guess I wasn’t okay… I’m not okay.
Trying to dismiss the uncomfortable realization, Rachel tried to turn her thoughts back to the monsters around her rather than dissecting herself.
“Gah!”
This intense self-analysis is a double-edged sword! That’s in the past; this is now! What challenge can these goblins give me?
She had two Stat points she could place somewhere, yet Rachel quickly dismissed the idea of using them; she wanted to get a better grasp of her capabilities before pulling the trigger on anything, as Anthony pointed out, and she wasn’t sure she needed to do it in the first place. At her base strength, she’d already seen the results of this System when crushing her phone with one hand, if with a bit of effort.
The boy and girl’s names were Martin and Verna; their heated argument made Rachel groan, but they were really young. Verna wanted to go deeper to find the goblins, while the boy wanted to return to the wagons since they weren’t supposed to investigate the area without their instructor.
From what Rachel could gather, they were some kind of scouts-in-training, attending a famous school for it. This was their first operation on their own, and the results would significantly affect their position in the academy. Their only objective was to scout the road for traps laid by goblins, not entering the dark forest; they had trouble seeing with minimal light, being normal human teens and all.
They’d drawn the notice of a goblin scouting party of five, and the excited grunts and snickers of the creatures spoke volumes as to who would come out on top from this encounter; the kids were about to have their dental work done, from what she’d come to understand about goblin culture.
Rachel took her time in following the sounds they made, observing all the unusual animals and insects in the forest; some she recognized, such as owls and rats, yet others were utterly foreign. A four-winged bird that beat its feathers like a dragonfly caught her gaze, but it swiftly hid when spotting her passage through the forest.
Her illuminated red irises swept her surroundings as she continued, their instinct seemingly causing most of the creatures nearby to shy away, and something new made her pause beside a large, fallen tree.
I’m the monster in this forest; I can’t smell anything that makes me think it will be a challenge…
[Divine Beast Empowerment I - Advanced to E-tier]
[Beastial Instinct I - Advanced to E-tier]
[Bringer of Misfortune I - Advanced to E-tier]
Well, well, well… interesting, Rachel mused, returning to her slow hunt while processing all the information around her; she was about to leave the audible range of the road, showing how far the teens had strayed.
That confirmed that ability Tiers increase as we use them, which means passives are incredibly important since they’ll grow quicker than active ones; at least, that is a possibility, yet there could also be multipliers or limiters on growth. I’ll have to compare it to the others when they advance.
She came to a small clearing with a gentle brook, showing a magical sight of shimmering insects that moved between white flowers, causing them to glitter like stars; the alien world had so many things to distract her, yet the frightened chatter of the merchants regarding the goblins mainly occupied her mind.
Unfortunately for these scout students, shouts from the merchant train indicated that they had failed their mission in spectacular fashion, and would be severely reprimanded when they returned. If they returned. They’d triggered a trap, causing three large trees on pulleys to swing down and crash into their wagons like battering rams.
It caused a few injuries, but that wasn’t the main purpose of the trap. The first wagon had sustained damage to one of its wheels, blocking the others’ path forward. A shrill screech from a bird in a cage—a goblin-planted alert system—gave the goblin hunting party the message that their plot was sprung.
Anthony would make it in time to get acquainted with the group, and he’d drawn Zoe into a run upon hearing the cries. They’d need him since a force of forty was forming a pincer maneuver further up the road, hiding patiently in the brush.
There were far more of the creatures in the area than Rachel initially thought as she proceeded into the forest, honing in on their grunts and snarls that marked their communication, which partially seemed to be physical. They mostly kept to four to five-man scouting teams, with the higher-tier warriors likely taking the prime spot in the raiding party.
Hopping over the brook, Rachel gradually increased her pace, keeping to paths that drew her closer to the teens and gave the most moonlight. Her power and speed grew with every point added to her Lunar Pool; it was minor but noticeable, and the cloud cover was gradually giving way to a brilliant sky unlike any Rachel had seen due to the light pollution of Earth.
She broke into a sprint upon hitting 80% of her lunar capacity, ears lying flat, and easily finding stable ground due to having all of her peripheral vision in complete focus. The wind whipped her long ponytail behind her, and Rachel couldn’t wait to explore more of this new, powerful figure she’d gained; for some reason, she hardly felt the sting of losing her muscles—a sliver of azure light shone through the clouds.
Heartbeat racing, shirt pressing against her body, and smelling the lingering sweat of the teens in the air, Rachel burst through the underbrush to save them; Verna squeaked and stumbled back upon seeing her blurred appearance with Rachel moving like a ghost in the dark undergrowth.
A silent goblin nocked an arrow—it loosed the string—time slowed, and she twisted her wrist to snatch it out of the air. Using the momentum to skip in a circle, her leg lashed out upon entering the bush the goblin hid in, and Rachel was shocked to hear a sharp snap as its spine broke.
That easy—I killed it?!
Carried through the thicket, a few scratches marred her skin from the thorns as she recovered, and her tail went stiff as Verna’s cry was cut short. She’d fallen onto a rock, hitting the back of her head.
“Hey! Ack…”
“Wha—Verna?!”
Shit… Not exactly how I saw this going in my head, she internally groaned as two of the goblins snarled and exited their hiding place to approach her, small knives drawn.
The pulse in her ears died a little as the clouds covered part of the moon overhead, and she noticed a sliver of a blue moon had been showing.
Buzz-kill… she internally grumbled at the sky.
Around a meter tall and green-skinned, the hairless creatures wore animal pelts, causing Rachel’s eyebrow to lift; okay, she was fighting skinny monster shrimps. Still, she didn’t feel an ounce of fear as she stopped to appraise them from a small section of pale moonlight that remained.
“How bad is it, Martin?” Rachel casually asked as the other two long-ranged goblins retreated a bit to prepare to engage her from a distance. “Smart buggers, aren’t they?” she snickered to herself, feeling her appetite grow with the reappearance of the blue light.
Martin couldn’t see her beyond the thicket she’d passed through with the ambushers, but the sound of a friendly voice stilled his rapid pulse. “Who—umm, she hit her head on a rock—she’s bleeding! How many are there?”
Rachel was impressed he was adapting; he attempted to drag her out of the open and into some tall ferns. “Don’t worry about these guys; you just take care of your friend.”
“Thank you; we owe you!”
An archer’s bald head turned in Martin’s direction, and Rachel snatched the slinger’s stone out of the air before flinging it at its distracted buddy to keep its attention—she missed—they snickered at her aim, causing a spur to kick into Rachel’s heart and a wicked fire to ignite in her chest as they made faces to intimidate her, or at least that was likely their goal.
Dammit! My strength keeps increasing and decreasing with this bipolar sky, making me misjudge my aim. I’m getting too strong with all this Lunar Energy and the two moons.
A sly twist came to Rachel’s nose as the three knife-wielding creatures didn’t approach, instead opting to form a triangle around her and snarl while slashing the air threateningly; they were scared. Then again, if she focused on them, the archer or slinger would kill her; this wasn’t likely their first human kill.
She caught the black, dead eyes of the goblin a few meters from her, staring into oblivion, yet Rachel didn’t feel anything but chills for the fight to come, remaining in a casual posture.
Rachel passively twirled the arrow around her fingers while continuing to analyze her first encounter with these alien creatures, or was she the alien? The thought made Rachel giggle with the bright, azure moon that suddenly illuminated the area, casting a sapphire hue to the sharp-fanged fiends.
By their paint markings, weapons, tactics, and apparel, goblins in this world had their own culture and intelligence; they truly were a threat in this world—though not to her.
From what she’d heard from the conversations between Martin, Verna, the merchants, and their few guards, goblins were almost always hostile toward humans. The taste of humanity was a delicacy to most monsters; to them, it was practically food custom sent by the gods to deliver the most divine flavor. Collecting human teeth to wear as jewelry gave goblins status and honor in their colonies.
She wasn’t aware of a lot of fantasy tropes since that hadn’t been her hobby, so she couldn’t be sure if these creatures had any special abilities. It was for that reason she’d recruited Zoe, yet, upon entering the azure rays, she didn’t want spoilers.
Another arrow loosed, and Rachel wanted to laugh at the speed—it was like facing the timid kids in dodgeball—she snatched her second weapon, but this one had a noticeable difference.
Poison? she theorized, noticing the dripping green goo on the point. I didn’t even see him coat it. Well done.
“You okay—do you need help?” Martin called back, making two of the goblins turn in fear he’d burst through the undergrowth—a point Rachel took full advantage of.
Tossing the arrows at the one keeping its beady black eyes on her, she dodged another thrown stone, hand snatching the left goblin’s throat like a viper, her other hand deflecting its panicked slash as she’d been taught in self-defense lessons.
“Haha. I think I’m perfectly fine—whoops,” she giggled as she used the gagging creature to shield herself from the next poisoned projectile; its struggles were hardly noticeable. “What will you… Oh?”
The remaining knife-wielding scouts moved to rush her as the slinger went for a horn, the archer aiming to attack Martin.
“Way too smart,” Rachel grunted, tightening her grip as the creature’s dirty fingernails clawed at her hand, drawing silvery blood; its eyes bulged, windpipe crushed as she threw it at one of its advancing buddies.
However, instead of engaging them, Rachel dashed for the slinger, hearing them snarl, attempting to warn the goblin fumbling with the item on his belt. It looked up in time to see Rachel’s fist fracture its face, propelling it back two meters to tumble across the dirt and leaves.
The archer tried to stab her with a goo-laced arrow, but she simply grabbed his wrist and flipped it around to bury into its own stomach; its face showed disbelief, and Rachel could smell its fear as it looked into her wide, illuminated eyes.
Rachel swiftly dispatched the last two by snapping their necks, somewhat disappointed by the outcome; she sighed, studying her handiwork and the damage they’d done to her.
It wasn’t even a fight… It’s boring. I killed them, and I feel bored… annoyed. Maybe there is something about turning into a Mythickin that turns you into a psychopath. If I’m not careful, I might lose myself in this heat…
Releasing another depressed sigh, she slid her fingers over the shallow cuts on her arm; her blood was now white, sticky, and thicker than it should have been, clotting quickly. Contrastingly, her fist was stained red from crushing one of the green creatures’ faces.
She could get wrapped up in fights, but this was a whole different level, and she hadn’t hesitated for a second—then again, she might have died if she did—one wrong move could have been a dagger in her belly.
Martin stumbled through the brush, squinting in the dark until he saw her, eyes going wide. “Is it… The Jade Hare—you’re real?!”
Her ears drifted to the side as she turned to the awestruck teen; he looked to be around thirteen years old. “Hmm? Explain that to me… Verna is still breathing, at least,” she mumbled, cleaning her fist on one of the goblin pelts before going to check on the girl.
“Umm. Yeah, yeah… I wrapped her head with what gauze we had—the Ranger Guild tells stories about you—the mythical White Jade Hare that shows up and kicks ass!”
“Hehe. Well, isn’t that something?” Rachel brooded, finding the medical care far better than anything she knew she could do; the black-haired girl’s breathing was stabilizing. “She’ll probably have a Grade 2 concussion… Dizziness, memory loss, confusion, ringing in her ears. Heh. She’ll probably be irritable. You’ll want to get her to that healer druid you have in the caravan.”
“Right… Umm. We were sent here to—”
“I know why you were sent here,” Rachel said, knowing she probably was coming off as omniscient and magical with her entrance, not that she was trying to be. “Why don’t you tell me what I want to know while your friend recovers.”
“Mmgm… Martin—where the hell… Did you drug me again?! Who the—”
Rachel lifted an eyebrow at the young man, who swiftly shook his head. “It was a training exercise!”
“Uh-huh,” Rachel hummed, showing the panicking girl an innocent smile as she backed away. “Hello, I’m Rachel, apparently the…”
“White Jade Hare?” she gasped, wincing with a groan while gingerly touching her head. “Ugh… What happened? Did I die?”
Rachel let Martin explain things to her as she went to study the corpses she’d left scattered about; the sapphire gleam in the sky was covered by the dark clouds, and more scouting parties were patrolling now, but their area seemed to be free from inspection.
Taking a deep breath, she took in the rich, earthy smell of the place, experiencing millions of scents she had a troubling time identifying; she was able to cycle through them on a desire, not that it helped her much. All of her senses had been enhanced from [Divine Beast Empowerment I]’s advancement.
The rancid mouths and the blood of the goblins creased her nose, but she could filter it out if she wanted. What most pulled on her mind was the ease at which she’d just executed these creatures; she’d never killed anything in her life.
Obviously, I shouldn’t feel bad about murdering these things… They were attempting to kill teens—stupid teens, but teens, nonetheless.
Rising from her crouching position, she drew something rather disturbing from the encounter: this world was most likely very real and not just some virtual space to train. The lives, mannerisms, and things talked about between various parties of the caravan and the conversations she’d followed from the two teens were far too complex to be pure fiction.
Once the kids were calmed down, they told her about the stories revolving around the White Jade Hare and her companions that spotted their world’s history; hundreds of years of scattered interactions.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t tell her anything about who her companions were since they’d only heard a few things from the drunken stories told by their instructors. One Verna liked was the Battle of the High Keep, where an army of ogres had been dispatched by her group when all looked lost.
After getting a few quick answers that were on Rachel’s mind, she told them to head back to the road to help during the attack and made sure Verna promised not to participate; a quake ran down the girl’s spine at the intense, illuminated stare she gave her.
“I feel fine, though…” she groaned, clearly out to get recognition, which Rachel could respect, and she noticed a strange rhythm spike in her heart.
“Lying isn’t going to help anything,” Rachel said, showing an understanding smile. “You don’t want to become a burden to others… which includes the burden of dealing with your death. I had a teacher, too, and he told me the same thing when I got my first concussion. Maybe learn how to fall next time, or where you’re falling?”
“Yeah…” she mumbled, blushing with embarrassment while rubbing her arm. “Thank you, White Jade Hare. Are you going to handle the goblins?”
“I am! Why don’t you two talk a lot about the world and more about goblins—ooop, let’s stay awake, Verna—Martin, keep her talking and help her back. If you go… that way, you’ll reach the road and be a bit behind the group, but you won’t meet any goblins.”
The boy nodded, supporting the frustrated girl as he guided her in the direction she’d pointed. “She’s going to be so pissed if she doesn’t remember this tomorrow,” he groaned, yet his face showed he was a man on a mission. “I’ll get her back.”
“Good man,” she chuckled, patting him on the back.
He set off, and Rachel turned her attention back to the goblins; she could hide the corpses but didn’t see the point in it if her intention was going to draw more her way. She could hardly feel the wounds on her arm now.
However, something new quickly snatched Rachel’s attention as she gave herself time to analyze the sounds in the forest; in the far distance, there was an area utterly devoid of noise.
Interesting…
She took one of the small goblin daggers to practice throwing it on her path to the edge of apparently nowhere; the trick was passing between moonlight and darkness, which drastically changed her power output.
Thus far, she’d discovered quite a few things that grated against her brain:
Fantasy creatures were real.
She was written into the history books of another world, and it did open up the question of if these Quests Anthony could put them on could also take them through time.
Certain emotions she thought she should feel after killing something were nonexistent.
This world naturally had magic in it. All she had to go on were the discussions from the merchants regarding a few members in their party, but their examples and hopes gave Rachel the impression it was less potent than it seemed to be from those affected by The Oscillation.
An Irish moon goddess might not only be real but have some kind of vested interest in her, and she still couldn’t be sure that the deity hadn’t had a hand in causing this sudden change. At the very least, it raised suspicions in her own transformation.
On the other hand, she had many questions still left unanswered:
Would she change further?
Were these Quest Worlds connected to the Crystal Worlds she’d heard about?
How did these Quests operate compared to the Crystals, as well?
How should she react in this situation?
How would these enhancement abilities affect her mental state?
What was the end game?
Rachel snarled, dismissing a lot of the information. All I know is that I need a win condition. For what? I have no clue, but I always have to have a win condition. If the world has turned hostile, I have to act in-kind or get trampled, lying face down on the ring…
Her nose creased with the thought of her first competition, where she’d lost in the semi-finals; from that moment on, she promised never to let that embarrassment happen again, working hard to make that a reality.
Coming upon a fathomless fog, Rachel glared into the swirling abyss that left no sound. I can’t define myself… I’m fighting, but for what? To survive? No. I don’t only want to survive. I’m doing all of this to have control. Rule one… control the fight, and you can’t lose. I can’t lose control.
Methodical mind back in motion, she took a long stick and tested out the mist before attempting to press against it; the stick could go through, yet her hands met an impassable barrier. When she struck it, all the kinetic energy vanished, not causing a recoil.
A barrier, yet one only I can’t exit? I suppose it is similar to the Crystal gateways that generate a field… Animals can go in and out of it. It’s a competition area. Perhaps it could expand if the quest changes? All I get are questions…
The liquid in Rachel’s mouth thickened upon hearing something large exit a goblin cave, though electricity ran through her body as the azure moon broke free from the clouds. Body raring to go, her ears swiftly turned, listening intently to the guttural sounds the large creature made. Goblins cowered at the orders that came from the bigger entity.
A challenge? Well, if that’s the case, I should level up a little and finally put some points into my Feats and Stats.
Dismissing everything else with the rekindled fire in her chest, she realized she’d lost interest in the goblins due to how easy the fight had been; however, this wasn’t a goblin, or at least wasn’t like the ones she’d slaughtered.
Licking her lips, Rachel broke into a light jog, passing through the forest at twice her previous top speed as she moved to strategically take out the other scouts in the area.
“I’m going insane,” she laughed, throwing her dagger at the ambushed goblins, screaming in panic; it struck one’s shoulder, making it twist backward. “I don’t think I care anymore… I want to experiment with these new powers. Can you even understand me?” she asked, scooping one goblin up and abducting it, hiding behind a tree—not that she needed to.
She hummed, easily snapping its wrists, making them useless as it tried to struggle to break her grip around its throat. “I don’t think you do… I guess that makes this easier!”
The horn sounded behind her, and she could smell the fear in the crippled goblin’s sweat when a sinister smile twisted her mouth, showing the appetite for conflict that she’d been attempting to suppress with logic.
“Bring all of your friends. I’ve got this… strange buzz in my ears. Is it your wheezing?” Her fingers twitched as she moved into the moonlight, crushing the tiny fiend’s throat. “Damn… You’re all so fragile,” Rachel complained, tossing the body to the side as it suffocated; she felt too powerful.
Her bright, four-leaf clover-like irises shifted to the small pack of fodder that had come to offer her their life; she felt high on something.
I’m in control, she told herself, effortlessly predicting and dodging the arrows or stones the organizing goblins threw at her. I need to understand these abilities, and the best way is to exercise them.
Finding a thick branch on the ground, Rachel used it to break the bones of the little monsters. She allowed them to form their strategies to better grasp their ingenuity out of pure interest before crushing them; something Tyreese drilled into her was to watch her opponents carefully to see if there was anything she could learn or adapt into her technique.
Sliding between the sapphire moonlight and darkness, she let the fire grow within her. All the inhibitions Rachel experienced were evaporated under the blue celestial object that beat back the veil of clouds to fill her with strength.
[Level Up - Level 3]
Rachel’s grin briefly gleamed as bright as the white moon above her.
