As the evening sun dipped low, casting long shadows over Tashmir's battered walls, Zashirmiq stood back on his feet, then put the Mutated Rabbit in his storage ring as he trudged toward the gate, His steps dragged. Blood and sweat soaked him. His armor was cracked at the shoulder, stained deep crimson along the chest and forearm.
At the gate, Sara looked at him from her post, her arms crossed over her leather cuirass. Her sharp gaze softened slightly as she spotted him.
"Tough day?" she asked.
Zashirmiq exhaled slowly, his voice a gravelly reply. "Yeah. Ran into a Mutated Beast."
Her expression shifted, alarm flashing behind her calm. "You okay?"
"Still standing."
"You're lucky to have made it back at all. Next time, take care of yourself, alright?"
"I will. Thanks, Sara."
He gave a small nod and moved past the gate, heading for the familiar twins' shop in the market area.
As soon as he stepped inside, the scent of herbs, polish, and oil wrapped around him like a comfort. Hina looked up from her artifact counter, and Hira from her alchemy. The moment their eyes landed on him, both their faces shifted from relaxed focus to wide-eyed concern.
"Zash! What the hell happened?!" Hina demanded, stepping forward, her hands immediately flying to his damaged armor.
"This much blood," Hira added,
"I'm fine." He offered a faint smile. "Ran into an injured Mutated Beast. A rabbit. Took some effort, but I managed to take it down."
"You what?!" Hina's voice rose sharply. "Are you crazy? Why would you fight something like that alone?!"
Hira echoed her, her voice tighter. "You could've died, Zash. Injured or not, a Mutated Beast isn't something to play with."
He raised his hands in apology. "I'm sorry. I didn't plan to fight it initially. But it was already wounded, so I was sure I could take it down. Anyhow, if things got bad, I was ready to run. I had it under control."
Hina scowled, but her hands dropped from his armor. "You better have. Don't do that again."
"Please," Hira added softly. "Just… be more careful."
"Got it." Zashirmiq reached into his storage and pulled out the body of the rabbit. It dropped onto the reinforced stone floor with a dull thud, a mix of light-gray fur, thick muscles, and bloody wounds.
The twins blinked.
"Full body of a Mutated Beast?" Hina asked, wide-eyed.
They circled the corpse with a mixture of awe and curiosity.
"You can barely buy parts of a Mutated Beast, let alone the whole thing. This is valuable, Zash. Really valuable," Hina muttered, already inspecting the hide.
"Alchemists would kill for the organs, artifact smiths would love the bones. Traders would pay a fortune for the meat alone," Hira added.
Zashirmiq nodded. "Use whatever you need. The rest we can sell."
"Wait, really?" Hina blinked. "You should take off your armor. It's trashed. I can reinforce your armor with this hide. Maybe even enhance the shock resistance. Let me repair it."
"And I can extract enough from the liver, tendons, and heart to make a full set of potions. Minor recovery potions and stamina restorers."
He waved a hand. "Do whatever you want with it."
The twins looked at each other, then back at him.
"We'll sell the leftover parts and give you the shards," Hira said, already cataloging.
"No need," Zashirmiq replied. "We're a team. You helping me with artifacts and potions is more than enough. Besides, your shop needs to stay profitable. Split it three ways."
They didn't argue further. Just smiled faintly and nodded.
"Also, after seeing how much use this rabbit had, I'm thinking of hunting a few more."
"No," both twins said sharply.
Hina stepped forward, arms crossed. "You got lucky this time. That thing was already half-dead. Don't push your luck."
"Mutated Beasts are no joke," Hira added. "Next one might not be so forgiving."
Zashirmiq held up his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. Noted."
He bid them goodbye and made his way home. A long, hot shower scrubbed the blood and grime from his skin, and he let himself unwind beneath the cascade of water.
Later, he headed to Amina's place.
She greeted him, "How was the day?"
"Not bad," he said casually.
Once done with dinner, he said his goodbyes and returned home for rest.
The next morning, after breakfast, Amina stood up and grabbed her combat clothes from the nearby rack.
As she pulled her sleeveless black top over her head, she asked casually, "So… what level are you now?"
"Six," Zashirmiq replied, finishing the last bite of his food.
She paused, one eyebrow arching as she adjusted the hem of the top. "Already?"
"That's very fast," she added, reaching for her high-slit black sarong. "I've never seen anyone grow that quick. I'm at sixteen."
Zashirmiq leaned back, watching as she wrapped the sarong around her hips. "Yeah, I know. I've got a skill called Insight — lets me see people's details."
"Insight, huh? That sounds like a very good skill," she said. "What other skills do you have?"
"Hmm, better we spar and see each other's skills in action. We'll know them better that way."
They moved to the lawn of her house.
"Well, I already told you about the Insight skill. I have Space energy domains, so my other two skills are related to it. One of the skills is Storage. Its function is simple — it allows me to store stuff just like we do in a storage ring, but the space is huge, and it's hidden. Only I can see and access that space.
"My last skill is Teleport. It allows me to disappear from the current spot and reappear anywhere within fifty meters, but there's a five-second cooldown between uses."
"Well, you already saw my details with your Insight skill, so I'll just explain how my skills work.
"Fireball allows me to conjure a ball of fire and throw it at enemies.
"Flame Dash lets me imbue a weapon with flames and make a dash.
"Ember Shield conjures a shield made of fire.
"Electro Field works similarly to Ember Shield, but with lightning power.
"Chain Spark lets me hit enemies with a lightning bolt that can strike multiple targets."
"Now that we know each other's skills, let's spar," Amina said, forming a fireball. She hurled it straight at him.
Zashirmiq vanished, reappearing a few meters away.
"A direct attack? You sure this is just a spar?"
"I'm holding back. But yeah, it won't be easy. Our level difference still matters." She smirked. "Let's make it interesting."
"If you touch me within five minutes, I lose. I'll do one thing you want."
"And if I don't?"
"Then you do one thing I want."
"I'm in."
Another fireball flew toward him. This time, he didn't retreat. He blinked behind her, hand outstretched.
A burst of flame flared up: Ember Shield. He stopped short, flickered back as a bolt scorched the spot he'd just vacated.
She laughed. "You really thought it'd be that easy?"
Before he could reply, she activated Flame Dash and shot backward, widening the gap.
They clashed again. Fire laced the air. Lightning cracked. Space warped as he teleported, countered, closed in, but still couldn't land a touch.
Seconds ticked down.
As the five-minute mark neared, she launched another fireball. He vanished in a blink.
"You're wasting your time. I knew you'd go behind me," she said as a fire shield flared behind her.
But no one was there.
Zashirmiq reappeared in front of her.
She reacted fast, triggering Electro Field and Chain Spark—too late. He was quicker. A soft kiss landed on her left cheek. Without warning, A bolt struck him. He crashed into the wall, clothes scorched where it landed.
He lay there smiling, pain spreading, but the taste of victory lingered.
"Looks like I won."
Amina crossed her arms, a faint blush rising on her cheeks. "Yeah, you did. What do you want?"
"To kiss the other cheek."
She paused, cheeks warm, then reached out a hand to help him up.
The next second, a soft kiss landed on her right cheek too.
"Worth the pain," he muttered, grinning