The evening brought with it a chill, despite the heat my new body had.

  But it also brought a sense of excitement.

  There was less than a minute until Roderik and Halvard gained their new forms.

  The pair had apparently fallen into a deep slumber after I confirmed their evolution paths, and it had taken Analth explaining to my minions that it was normal.

  Both monsters were currently covered in the same strange glow of the Core, casting the village in a beacon-bright glow in the otherwise dark woods.

  The forest around us held its breath. Even the wind seemed to still, waiting for whatever was about to emerge from the Core’s light.

  We were all watching them closely, and I was whispering the countdown, mostly for myself, but for anyone who wanted to listen too.

  “...Three, two, one,” The light flashed, and there was a sound like glass shattering. A rush of heat rolled outward, stirring the ashes of the campfire and sending shadows dancing across the trees. When it faded—

  “Woah,” I exclaimed aloud. Falkar barked something in awe, while Skreek seemed to kneel instinctively. Even Elyndra tilted her head as if evaluating new rivals.

  Both monsters looked the same, and yet vastly different from what they had before.

  Roderik was still white-furred, but his features were sharper, more angular. His eyes seemed to catch every minute movement, and I watched him pluck a fly out of the air catching it by its wings.

  Halvard had a bigger change though.

  His skin, still the same reddish-brown hue, was now etched with dark violet runes that pulsed faintly in the firelight.

  A jagged tattoo crossed his face, lending him a look that would terrify anyone who faced him in battle.

  Floating beside each of the horns jutting from his shoulders were small motes—one of flickering flame, the other pure shadow.

  They were stronger now. I didn’t need to check their stats to feel it.

  [Halvard - Hobgoblin Pyreshade Level 10]

  [Average Stats: 12]

  [Average Skill Level: 7]

  [Number of Skills: 8]

  [Roderik - Kobold Sharpshooter Level 10]

  [Average Stats: 9]

  [Average Skill Level: 5]

  [Number of Skills: 5]

  The growth rate was phenomenal—each of them had gained new abilities on top of raw power.

  Roderik’s aura practically hummed with precision; I’d bet his new skills all revolved around archery or accuracy.

  Halvard’s, though… his magic burned hotter now. Those new skills, whatever they were, made the air around him ripple faintly with heat and shadow both.

  His stat jump alone told the story—double digits already. I couldn’t help but wonder just how powerful my so-called “caster” had become.

  “So this is evolution,” I muttered quietly, though Analth heard me.

  “That’s right, Eric,” she said, smiling. “Monsters that evolve become exponentially tougher, and—”

  Two calls of Herald reached my ears, and I blinked, looking at Roderik and Halvard. Both were kneeling before me, heads bowed.

  I had sworn it was them who had spoken.

  “Roderik… Halvard?” I whispered, and they looked up.

  “We are yours to command, Herald.” Roderik’s voice had an almost growl to it—like a dog’s bark.

  “Point me at your enemies, and I’ll turn them to ash.” Halvard’s voice, by contrast, was smooth as silk, like a wizened scholar—surprisingly refined for his bulk.

  “So by evolving you become…able to speak?” I questioned.

  It was Analth who answered.

  “Think of it this way,” she said. “Wild monsters evolve like beasts—stronger, smarter maybe, but still driven by instinct. Your summons, though… they’re born through your Core. That gives them something closer to what mortals have. A mind. A will.”

  A mind… a will. It was an interesting thought. The system classified them as minions, as servants. But in reality… they were just another kind of person.

  If anything, that made me feel even worse for the ones who had already died.

  My expression darkened, and the firelight flickered across my face. The others shifted uneasily at the change in my tone.

  “Herald?” Elyndra asked, her voice careful.

  “Not another soul will perish under my command,” I whispered. “I won’t allow it. I’ll sacrifice myself before I let another of you die for me.”

  “Don’t.” Analth’s voice cut through the night like a blade. She stepped closer, the firelight catching the edge of her armor. “Don’t think like that. Yes, once they evolve they gain will—but you need to understand something very quickly. You are a Herald. Once the world learns what you are, they’ll hunt you to the ends of the earth. Some of your monsters will die to protect you. That’s not cruelty—it’s purpose. It’s why you can summon so many of them.”

  I stared at her for a long moment, the human part of me wanting to argue, to tell her she was wrong.

  But she wasn’t.

  At the end of the day, I summoned these monsters to protect myself—and the Core.

  Throwing myself in front of an arrow meant for a minion would only defeat their purpose.

  “Still…” I said quietly. “I’ll do whatever I can to keep as many of you alive as possible.”

  Analth seemed to accept that. She shook her head with a low chuckle.

  “Then you’d be one of the first Heralds to grace this world who didn’t just throw wave after wave of monsters at the enemy, hoping to overwhelm them.” She smiled faintly. “Maybe you’ll be a Herald worth following.”

  I didn’t respond. I wasn’t sure I could.

  What was my goal here, really? Survive, sure. Maybe find a way home. But… could I even live normally again after everything I’d done here?

  And then another thought hit me—one that froze my blood.

  If I’d been summoned before the plane crashed… did that mean everyone else had been summoned too?

  My sister included?

  The idea unsettled me more than I cared to admit. The thought of my nerdy little sister stuck somewhere in this world—summoning monsters, killing people—it made my stomach twist.

  I stared into the remnants of the fire for a while longer, before going to get some rest in one of the unoccupied huts. Tomorrow would be another long day of hunting and gaining experience, and now we had Elyndra to accompany us as well as a hybrid melee-ranged fighter.

  Morning dawned gray and wet, rain drumming softly against the rooftops. The chill crept into my bones, but it did little to stop me from gathering up the group for another hunt. I only had one day left to push another monster to level ten and trigger its evolution.

  Sure, a couple of them were close, but leaving it to the last moment? That was how people died.

  “Alright,” I called out, glancing over my assembled monsters. “Today we focus on getting Skreek, Falkar, and Elyndra to level ten.”

  I earned nods of approval from the various monsters, Analth standing in the background and watching.

  After going over ideas and tactics, she finally approached.

  “I will come with you today,” She told me.

  It wasn’t an offer, it was her informing me what would happen.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Alright,” I responded with a shrug.

  “I’ll mostly hang back and watch, stepping in only if needed,” she added, pulling her helmet into place before striding past me to take the lead.

  I wasn’t sure what to make of that, but I followed her—my monsters falling into step behind me as the rain began to fall harder, the forest ahead shrouded in mist.

  We headed west, avoiding smaller fights as we made our way toward the new territory—the same area where we’d spotted stronger monsters the day before.

  It was a greater risk, but the rewards would be higher.

  It didn’t take long before we found our first prey.

  “Steelhogs,” Analth identified them, her tone cautious. Fitting name.

  There were five in total, each about the size of a large boar, thick armor plating running along their flanks and encasing their skulls.

  One stood out from the rest—larger, its plating a deep crimson instead of steel.

  Even from a distance, I could tell it wasn’t just stronger. Its instincts were sharper. It felt us watching it.

  “Right,” I muttered, glancing at Roderik and Halvard. “You two open up for us. I’ll take the big one. Skreek, Elyndra, and Falkar—each of you handle one. Elyndra, you might have to take two. Dominic, you’ve got the last.”

  The monsters nodded in unison, Halvard and Roderik grinning wide.

  “Lord Herald,” Halvard rumbled, “watch what your evolution has given me.”

  Before I could respond, a massive sphere of flame and shadow swirled to life above his head—heat washing over the clearing. My eyes widened.

  He thrust his hands forward, and the spell launched with a roar. The orb crashed down into the center of the Steelhogs.

  What followed was pure slaughter.

  Two of the beasts died instantly, bodies blackened and smoking. Another writhed on the ground, half its hide melted. The fourth limped away, squealing in terror.

  Only the crimson one stood defiant—its armor glowing faintly red, its eyes burning with rage.

  “What the hell…” I breathed, shaking my head. “Alright, that changes things. Falkar, Elyndra, Skreek—you three on the little ones! Dominic, you’re with me!”

  Orders given, we charged.

  Three arrows pinged harmlessly off the big one’s hide before we even reached it. A quick glance over my shoulder showed Roderik firing faster than I’d ever seen—each arrow a blur.

  He caught my look and smirked, loosing another shot.

  I shook my head and ducked aside as the beast lunged, its tusk slicing through the air where I’d just been.

  My sword struck its flank, but the blade bounced off the armor with a jarring clang that sent a tremor up my arm. I grunted, numbness spreading through my fingers.

  Dominic caught the next blow on his shield, the impact loud enough to make my ears ring. I moved to circle behind the creature—searching for a weak point in the crimson plates.

  It was smarter than I’d given it credit for. The beast twisted suddenly, rounding on me and ignoring Dominic entirely.

  Before I could raise my shield, it charged.

  I barely dodged the tusks but took the full force of its plated skull instead. The hit sent me flying, rolling hard across the dirt until I came to a stop with a grunt.

  “Fuck,” I spat, forcing myself up. I really needed to train—or something. Every damn fight left me bleeding or broken, and they were only getting harder.

  A sharp squeal tore through the air to my left. I turned just in time to see Elyndra finishing off the last of the smaller ones, her spear sliding clean through its neck.

  Good. That meant we could focus everything on the big one now.

  The more we hurt it, the angrier it became.

  Halvard’s fire magic barely singed its crimson hide, but his shadow bolts carved deep, smoking wounds across its flank. Roderik, meanwhile, seemed to always know the perfect moment to loose an arrow.

  It tried to gore Elyndra—an arrow pinged off its head, throwing its aim just enough for her to sidestep and counter.

  It lunged for Skreek—another arrow slammed into its flank, slowing it long enough for the goblin to leap aside.

  When they worked together, my monsters were a terrifying force.

  The Steelhog was bloodied and heaving now, eyes wild. It looked ready to either charge in a final rage or flee.

  Skreek didn’t give it the chance.

  The little goblin darted forward, sliding beneath a desperate tusk swing and driving his spear between two plates—straight into the beast’s ribs.

  It squealed, thrashed once… then collapsed in a heavy, shuddering heap.

  [Halvard has slain Steelhog (Lv. 9)! — +103 Soul Essence]

  [Halvard has slain Steelhog (Lv. 6)! — +70 Soul Essence]

  [Elyndra has slain Steelhog (Lv. 8)! — +91 Soul Essence]

  [Skreek has slain Blazebane Steelhog (Lv. 12!) — +145 Soul Essence]

  These higher-level monsters were definitely worth hunting—if only for the Soul Essence alone.

  A slow clap drew my attention. Analth stood at the treeline, looking genuinely impressed.

  “Not bad, Herald,” she said with a small smile. I felt myself puff up a little at the praise. “It takes skill to get monsters to fight in sync like that—and yet you seem to do it naturally.”

  I rubbed the back of my neck, shrugging. “It’s not that hard when the alternative is them arguing until we’re all dead.”

  She gave a soft hum—half amusement, half approval—then turned back toward the forest, glancing over her shoulder.

  “Come along, Herald. The monsters aren’t going to hunt themselves.”

  With that, she vanished into the trees.

  I sighed heavily. “Never a moment’s rest with her,” I muttered, before following after.

  We noticed the first signs about an hour after killing the Steelhogs—something was wrong in the woods.

  Yesterday, the forest was alive with noise and motion. Today, it was silent. Too silent. Even the wind felt like it was holding its breath.

  Then we reached the clearing where we’d fought the Thornprowlers the day before—and what we found made my stomach twist.

  Dead goblins. At least a dozen of them, scattered across the clearing alongside two wolves.

  But the wolves didn’t look like they’d been fighting the goblins. If anything, the blue dye on their fur matched the war paint streaked across the goblins’ faces. Pets. Companions.

  Whatever had done this hadn’t been a monster.

  One goblin’s throat was slit cleanly—too precise for claws or fangs. Another was riddled with small punctures, the kind arrows left behind.

  Someone had done this.

  “Adventurers,” I muttered, and Analth nodded grimly.

  “Skilled ones, too, I suspect.” She crouched beside one of the corpses, eyes narrowing. “Take a look at this.”

  I knelt beside her—and immediately felt my stomach twist.

  A single letter was carved into the goblin’s forehead. M. The edges were jagged, and the dried blood told me it had been done after the poor thing died.

  “Is this something you recognize?” I asked quietly.

  For a long moment, she didn’t answer. When she finally spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper.

  “Maybe… but no. It couldn’t be.”

  She straightened abruptly. “We should keep moving. Sometimes adventurers leave corpses out like this to lure in beast-type monsters for ambushes.”

  That was all I needed to hear. If Analth said we needed to go, we were going.

  We pushed westward, into parts of the woods I hadn’t yet explored. The trees began to thin, letting in weak slants of light, and the signs of life returned—birds, small beasts, faint trails of paw prints.

  But with them came more corpses. More markings. More M’s.

  With each one, Analth’s composure slipped further, a quiet tension tightening her jaw. Seeing that on someone like her—a legendary-class monster—worried me more than I wanted to admit.

  “Should we turn back?” I asked finally, even knowing it would cost us valuable time for evolutions.

  She hesitated, eyes flicking through the trees, then shook her head slowly.

  “No… not yet. Just stay alert. Whoever did this—they might still be close.”

  I nodded, and we continued forward.

  It didn’t take long before we reached another clearing, keeping low along the tree line.

  At first, I thought it was another ambush site. The air stank of blood and burned wood.

  Then I saw movement—and the sound caught up to me.

  Figures. Six of them. Fighting as one.

  The ground trembled faintly. The air shimmered with mana.

  The first, robed and chanting, hurled spells that tore craters into the ground. Another darted through the smoke, twin blades flashing. A third raised a barrier that shimmered like glass, deflecting the claws of the Thornprowlers they fought.

  These weren’t the half-trained amateurs we’d faced before. Every motion was precise. Controlled. Efficient.

  “Adventurers,” I whispered.

  Analth’s expression hardened. “No,” she said quietly. “Not just adventurers. Members of a guild.”

  One of the figures turned, shouting something over the roar of battle—and through the haze of ash and distance, I caught sight of an emblem stitched into their tabard: an ornate M, encircled by flames.

  My stomach dropped.

  Whoever they were, they were organized. And far too close to home.

  “Pull back,” I whispered.

  Analth raised a hand. “Not yet. Look.”

  From behind the six adventurers, a seventh figure emerged.

  A man—tall, ivory-skinned, his eyes glowing faintly blue. Dark hair, neatly trimmed beard. His armor gleamed like polished silver.

  In one hand, he carried a massive shield; in the other, a curved sword that hummed faintly with power.

  His gaze swept the battlefield. Two Thornprowlers lunged at him from the side—only to be cleaved in half by a single swing.

  The blade crackled with light, and as the beasts fell, arcs of lightning jumped from their bodies to a third, dropping it instantly.

  “This,” Analth murmured, voice low with awe and warning alike, “is the difference between adventurers and monsters. This is why you must evolve as fast as possible.”

  [Current Day: 4]

  [Soul Essence: 635]

  [Kingdom Core: Level 2]

  [Domain Size: 2 Sectors]

  [Active Quest: Evolution — 16 Hours Remaining (2/3 Monsters | in Progress)]