Noah found himself looking at a familiar scene, one so vile and disturbing that his earthen self would have faltered from the sight alone. Now, however, he found the budding barricade of bull bodies reassuring as he faced the charging beasts. The sound of retching behind him was mostly drowned out by the thundering hooves, but he still felt for the young man who was having his first true dance with death. Unlike his sickly companion, he was just getting into step and batted away the next bull with a half-hearted hammer strike. He was quite pleased with his new weapon; the enchantment was a thing of beauty, delivering far too much force for physicists to be comfortable with. As another two hulking beasts settled into their place as a fleshy wall, he finally had enough attention to notice the System notifications coming through.

  [10,000 XP Gained.]

  [10,000 XP Gained.]

  [5,000 XP Gained.]

  [10,000 XP Gained.]

  The numbers were satisfying as always, no doubt even more so to his companions, who needed only a paltry 1,000 XP to level. They would no doubt reach high heights in the battle, hopefully paving their path to Copper. That was, of course, if they made it out. The wall was of sufficient height and mass now that though it was being rammed into, it only moved in a slow dragging slide across the red snow. Noah took a moment to look at the others who were dutifully lined up behind him, noting that only Jergin had a bloodied weapon so far.

  “Jergin, level up and assign your points while you can. It won’t hurt to have a little extra oomph.” Noah yelled. Jergin nodded and Noah turned back to the front. He swung his hammer in an overhead arc, connecting with the skull of the beast directly opposite him across the barrier. Like whack-o-mole, he delivered several more of the stuck beasts to their final end. The herd had pressed several of the bulls into the barrier, leaving them rather open to his attacks. He directed the other three to take the easy kills while he prepared for the bulls smart enough to circle around the sides. The first of such creatures looked a bit different than the others; its hide had a darker red hue than the typical bronze. It didn’t charge immediately, seeming to take Noah in as it stepped in a semi-circle around the opening. Suddenly, its eyes glinted, and it sprung forward, its muscles visibly shifting as it forced its massive body into a sprint. Noah lacked the option to dodge or maneuver with the other behind him, so he responded to the attack with a full-body swing of his hammer. The result was arm-numbing as the impossibly hard skull of the beast resisted the blunt force. It seemed that despite the skull’s integrity, the brain could withstand such a blow–evidenced by the eyes that rolled back into the beast's skull.

  [100,000 XP]

  On some occasions, that number would have been a pleasant sight. Instead, it provoked a grimace as he considered facing several hundred such beasts. He figured he would follow his own advice and pulled up his status to level and assign points.

  Status

  Name: Noah Denter

  Race: Human

  Grade: C

  Domain: Proximal

  Caste: Copper

  Gate: 3

  Path: Adept

  Level: 253

  Strength: 1332

  Dexterity:1332

  Constitution: 596

  Stolen story; please report.

  Intelligence:50

  Wisdom: 100

  Willpower: 50

  XP: 143,000/10,000

  Essence: 0/10,000,000

  Stat points available: 0

  Now the hard part, Noah thought as he applied the 14 levels. That gave him 42 free points on top of the 112 to both strength and dexterity. As much as it hurt him, he resisted throwing the points into constitution immediately. While he knew he was reaching a critical disparity between strength and constitution, the most glaring gap was still in his software elements. It was the worst possible time for a revelation but as he considered his stats, a certain incongruency through his thought process for a loop. Julie had invested primarily in the mental stats and somehow still failed to draw the basic conclusions that Noah had reached so early on. He shook his head as he realized the issue with his logic. He had already believed that the world was in peril before his stat disparity completely ruined his judgment. She however, had firmly believed that it wasn’t enough of an issue for her to take action. Perhaps wisdom and intelligence weren’t as faultless as he had suspected, as the emotions and desires of the person determined the directions that they would truly consider. It could also be that the lack of physical or hardware stats had caused her to favor inaction personally.

  Ultimately, he decided to take a balanced approach to his allocation and assigned 12 points to constitution and 10 to the others. He was rudely interrupted from his reverie as a trio of bulls broke from the surrounding storm into their eye of protection. Noah didn’t see any obvious indication of greater strength like the previous opponent, so he charged the group who seemed somewhat surprised to see their signature move turned against them. Untrained in counter-hammer defense, the three dutifully joined their compatriots in the growing wall of beef. Noah had no illusions that this tactic was anything more than a stopgap measure, but he would use it as long as they allowed.

  ~

  Across the field, Goliath watched as his brothers stamped, trampled, and annihilated the pests. He wore a smug look and snorted in pleasure as the infiltrators were driven into oblivion. He wasn’t like the others he had met, their morals and ideals twisted by the System. No, he was a purebred, a true bull of bulls. He wouldn’t allow his pride to drive him too fast, too soon, crossing the barrier between realms only to be enslaved. He had seen it, too; even some of his own brothers had fallen for the trap of quick gains. He wasn’t a muscle-brained fool like those crossbreed Angus that now served some deer’s every whim. No, he was a bull of culture, a pristine Gallardo, praised by man and bull alike. He had never been broken by rider nor by the red-rage illusions of man and now he led his herd with a wise head upon his beefy shoulders. As he watched the men succumb to his mighty stampede, an irregularity occurred. He squinted, barely making out a disturbance in the sea of moving bodies. As the picture came into focus, his eye twitched. They’re alive?

  He watched as Limo, one of the stronger brothers, made his way to intercept the two-legged abominations. He had every bit of confidence in Limo, knowing that he was close to yet another breakthrough. Goliath moved until he had a clear view of the human facing off against his brother, snorting in laughter as the man failed to dodge. There was a mighty boom as the man’s weapon met Limo’s iron skull, and Goliath winced as he imagined the headache that would result. To his horror, Limo slumped to the ground while the two-leg remained standing. No! Limo!

  He wanted to charge in and face the terrible man, but caution stayed his wrath. Limo hadn’t been weak; in fact, there were only a couple that could match him in strength and durability. No, if Limo failed, it was because this man was very powerful. It was too late to call off the first pass of the stampede, but he could stop the second. He watched with grief as several more brave brothers confronted the man. Just a few more seconds, and it will be over. Goliath assured himself as the herd finished their charge and began turning for the second pass. He sprinted forward, quickly catching up with the herd and standing in between them and the interlopers. In his heart, he knew that it was his own folly that had led to his brothers’ deaths and to the heartbroken heifers awaiting their return. He had acted like just another mindless beast, hungry for power. The truth made him burn with shame, but he refused to allow further death. He would attempt to parlay with the man and his herd, and perhaps they could find a peaceful resolution.

  ~

  Noah prepared himself for the next charge, ready to leap behind cover like he had in the battle against the demon spawn atop the mountain. He watched as the herd began to turn, making a full circle as they turned back toward him. He gripped his hammer, allowing his domain to seep into the weapon that had already more than proven its worth. Out of nowhere, the massive red bull stormed the battlefield, cutting a line between Noah and the herd. Noah tensed as he examined the hulking figure, already planning how to best counter the inevitable charge. He waited for a long moment. Then another. The charge never came.

  The bull turned to face Noah, still some 50 yards away, and lowered its head like a snowplow to the pavement. Noah frowned at the odd behavior and was then struck dumb by the voice that followed.

  “Forgive me, mighty one. I have made a grave mistake in assaulting you.”