The Exile's Hand: Chapter 3

Hi all,

Apologies for my absence. Here is the next chapter of my original story. I have changed the ending of chapter two so that Myles does not meet anyone. I suggest reading the final part to avoid any confusion. I still need to make a dedicated post for this story in my collections, but for now, the chapters are available in the One-Shot/Originals category.

Another chapter will be posted tomorrow, after which I’ll return to working on my other stories. 

Chapter 3 - The Wandering Apparition

Myles fumbled with the straps of his backpack and yanked out a strip of cloth.

The gash ran deeper than he'd initially thought. He pressed the cloth against the torn flesh, hissing through his teeth as fresh pain lanced up his leg. The fabric darkened immediately, but he kept the pressure firm whilst he wrapped the length around his thigh. He pulled the knot tight enough to make him grunt.

Blood still seeped through, but slower now. It would have to do.

He leaned back against a tree trunk to catch his breath. As he replayed the fight in his mind, the details came back all too clearly. Although he had technically won, the victory felt empty considering the injury to his leg. Fighting the boar was nothing like spearing fish in the tide pools. The boar charged, dodged, and counterattacked in a straightforward but intense battle. 

His technique had been adequate, his timing mostly sound. But adequate wouldn't be enough if he encountered something faster, something that didn't telegraph its attacks with the boar's blunt simplicity. Every future fight couldn't end with him bleeding on the forest floor. The island wouldn't offer the luxury of recovery time between encounters.

He noticed he was slower than usual, which meant some of his attributes had been lost when they were reset. He would need to remember that when fighting other monsters.

"Let's find out what my new companion can do." Myles stood up and tested his leg to see if he could move without pain. "Summon Grey Tusk Boar."

The channelling took five seconds, half the usual time. The air shimmered, and the boar appeared right in front of him.

The creature stood at his knee height, grey hide stretched over compact muscle. Its tusks curved upward, a clear reminder of the harm it could cause. Small eyes regarded him with a quiet intelligence—not hostile, but not particularly friendly either. 

Myles crouched down, ignoring the protest from his injured leg. The boar's hide looked rougher up close, scarred and weathered. 

His Omniscient Eyes showed that its green aura was weaker than before. Had the transmutation process diminished its strength somehow? He hadn't noticed any mention of that in the System knowledge, but perhaps the conversion came with trade-offs he didn't fully understand yet.

Myles paused as information flooded his mind, a steady stream of specifics about Monster Summons. 

The summoning had a mana cost upfront, and maintaining the summon required continuous mana expenditure, though the exact rate remained frustratingly opaque. He'd need to track how long he could keep it manifested before exhaustion forced him to dismiss it.

The boar couldn't gain experience through combat. He'd imagined building a team of companions that grew alongside him, but these summons were static—powerful tools, but tools nonetheless. 

The card level differed from the monster level. His current limitation meant he could only transmute level one cards, regardless of the original monster's strength. Future progress would likely unlock more levels, but for now, he was limited.

Each summon maintained its own personality. The boar before him carried traces of the creature it had been, quirks and tendencies that would persist even when returned to card form. Any battle experience and coordination the boar gained with Myles would also be preserved.

He faced a dilemma. What if he found a boar with a higher level? Should he give up the one he had now for something stronger and risk losing the teamwork they had developed?

A loud grunt from the boar snapped him out of his thoughts. 

Myles stood up and pointed. “Let's see how well you follow instructions. Go to that tree.”

The boar's head swivelled toward the indicated direction. It trotted up to the tree and then stopped, turning around to look at him.

"Circle around me."

The boar processed the command before complying, its movements deliberate and somewhat clumsy. It understood his words—that much was clear—but translating understanding into action took time. 

"Charge that boulder."

The boar's nostrils flared. It lowered its head and launched itself forward. A loud thud echoed as cracks appeared across the boulder's surface from the impact. Myles winced at the noise. The boar backed away, shaking its head.

Myles studied his companion. The communication worked, but crudely. He could issue commands and expect them to be followed, but any complex strategy would require simpler instructions. Time and experience should improve their coordination.

"What should I call you?"

The boar snorted, pawing at the ground. 

"I'll call you Bacon."

Bacon tilted its head. Myles wondered if his new companion had any concept of its own impending mortality being referenced.

He retrieved his spear and looked around. Should he go further into the forest or stay near the edge and follow the coastline?

His mother told him she stayed on the outskirts, collecting ingredients from the island's edges instead of going into its centre. The farther you went, the tougher the monsters became. He was still at level one and had already ended up wounded after his first battle. The smart choice was obvious.

Myles turned, scanning the treeline near the beach. Somewhere within this outer ring, those plants were waiting. He would find them and collect what his mother needed, all while levelling up, getting better cards, and gaining more combat experience.

He carefully made his way along the edge of the forest, with Bacon trotting beside him. He kept his pace slow, eyes scanning the undergrowth for any sign of the plants. 

Bacon's grunt alerted him. The boar had stopped and lowered its head. Ahead of them, two shapes emerged from the undergrowth.

Grey Tusk Boars. The green auras surrounding them glowed slightly weaker than Bacon's—manageable, but still dangerous in tandem. Myles tightened his grip on the spear as Bacon began pawing at the ground, that familiar prelude to a charge.

"Take the one on the left," Myles said. "Go."

Bacon surged ahead, his hooves kicking up dirt. The left boar turned toward the sound, preparing to meet the charge head-on. The impact echoed through the trees—a brutal collision of muscle and bone that sent both creatures staggering.

The second boar fixed its attention on Myles and charged.

He'd learned from the first encounter. Instead of meeting the attack head-on, he sprinted sideways, putting a thick tree trunk between himself and the oncoming tusks. The boar struck the tree with enough force to shake leaves from the branches above. 

Myles circled around whilst the creature recovered, positioning himself for a thrust at its exposed flank. The spear punched through the hide, drawing blood but not striking deep enough to disable. With an unexpected burst of speed, the boar spun around, and he managed to pull the weapon out just in time, as the tusks ripped through the air where his ribs had been seconds before.

To his left, Bacon and the first boar circled each other, both sporting fresh wounds. They clashed again, tusks locking, each trying to force the other back through sheer strength.

Myles's opponent charged again. This time he waited, feet planted, then pivoted at the last possible moment. The boar's momentum carried it past, and he drove the spear down into its spine with all his weight behind the thrust. The creature collapsed mid-stride, legs folding beneath it.

Bacon's fight ended moments later. The summoned boar had worn down its opponent through relentless aggression, finally landing a charge that crushed ribs and left the wild boar gasping its last breaths on the forest floor.

Bacon trotted over, several deep gashes marking his side. The wounds should have slowed him down, but they didn’t seem to affect him.

If a monster summon died during a fight, it would return to card form. Myles would have to wait twelve hours before he could summon him again, and it would cost even more mana. With only one Monster Summon card in his collection, losing Bacon right now would leave him alone and vulnerable. The mana expense alone made reckless tactics inadvisable.

Myles pressed his palm against the first corpse. "Card Transmutation."

Failed. He tried the second corpse with the same result.

Luck had favoured him with the first boar. Apparently, it wouldn't be so generous moving forward.

They continued along the perimeter. Three more encounters followed over the next half hour—individual boars that fell to coordinated attacks between Myles and Bacon. The fourth boar dropped with the spear lodged in its throat, and a chime rang through the air, pure and crystalline.

Level up.

Myles summoned the notification card from where they hovered behind his back. The messages had accumulated from his battles with the boars. 

=-=-=-=-=-=

Grey Tusk Boar (Level 2) defeated—12 XP earned. 

Card Transmutation successful—Grey Tusk Boar card obtained. 3 XP earned. 

Grey Tusk Boar (Level 2) defeated—12 XP earned. 

Grey Tusk Boar (Level 1) defeated—8 XP earned. 

Grey Tusk Boar (Level 2) defeated—12 XP earned. 

Grey Tusk Boar (Level 1) defeated—8 XP earned. 

Grey Tusk Boar (Level 2) defeated—12 XP earned. 

Grey Tusk Boar (Level 1) defeated—8 XP earned.

Level Up! You have reached Level 2. 

Endurance +1, Intelligence +1, Wisdom +1, Free Points +2

=-=-=-=-=-=

His status reflected the changes immediately. The Intelligence and Wisdom increases should expand his mana capacity, though the exact amount remained unclear. The experience requirement for level three had increased—he'd need to kill substantially more boars to reach the next threshold.

Myles considered his free points. Strength could wait. The spear served him adequately against boars, and technique mattered more than raw power at this stage. He allocated one point to Vitality, one to Agility. The reasoning was straightforward—he needed durability to survive hits, and speed to avoid taking them in the first place.

He dismissed the notification window with a thought, sending them back to their invisible position. His hand dropped to his injured thigh. The wound felt different. Less painful, more itchy. He untied the cloth and examined the gash.

The flesh had knitted itself back together, leaving only pink scar tissue where torn muscle had been. The Vitality increase had sped up his healing well beyond the normal rate—a quirk of the system he would have to keep in mind for the future. If he could speed up the healing of an injury by spending free points, he needed to keep some in reserve. 

Myles touched the last corpse. "Card Transmutation."

This time, the transmutation worked.. The body dissolved and reformed as a card in his palm—another Grey Tusk Boar. He stored it in his monster catalogue's inventory as a backup.

They pressed on. Myles angled closer to the forest's edge, keeping the beach in sight. The sand had given way to rocky terrain now, a strip of uneven stone separated from the trees by a gradually rising hillside. Minutes passed before something caught his eye—a dark opening set into the hill's side.

He picked his way down the slope, testing each foothold. Bacon followed with less caution, lost his footing halfway down, and tumbled past in an ungainly roll. The boar landed on his back at the bottom with an audible thump.

Bacon twitched, regained his feet, and shook his head. He looked up at Myles with what could only be described as embarrassment.

Myles suppressed a smile and continued to the entrance. The cave mouth opened into darkness, extending back into the hillside's depths. Vines trailed down the rock face beside the entrance, purple flowers dotting their length.

He recognised it right away. It was the first plant on his mother’s list.

Myles pulled his knife and began harvesting, cutting carefully to avoid damaging the specimens. His pack held limited space, so he took only what was necessary. The vines joined his other supplies, and he retrieved his waterskin for a long drink.

The cave entrance beckoned. Should he explore deeper, or stick to his original plan? Myles pulled out his Monster Catalogue while he considered, studying its contents more thoroughly. He removed the Grey Tusk Boar and one of the Silver Flounder cards from the inventory, then flipped to the next page.

At the top of the left page, gold letters spelled out Barrier Archipelago. Twenty empty slots filled both pages, each one waiting for a specific monster card. This section was dedicated to the collection—gather every monster card from this region and receive some unspecified reward.

Not every monster could become a card, presumably. The world beyond the barrier likely contained hundreds of thousands of species, an impossible collection to complete. 

Myles slotted the two cards into their designated spaces. He would eventually have to go further into the heart of Monster Island if he wanted to collect them all. He wanted every last one, even without the reward. The more cards he had, the more options he gained and the better his chances of survival.

He closed the book and stared into the cave's darkness. Not today, perhaps. But he would return. For now, he wanted to collect the remaining plants he needed and level up a bit more.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

A chime rang through the air. Myles summoned the notification card.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Level Up! You have reached Level 3. 

Endurance +1, Intelligence +1, Wisdom +1, Free Points +2

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Myles considered his options. Another point into Agility made sense—speed had saved him more than once today. The second point he'd keep in reserve. If he got injured again, he could use Vitality to heal faster.

He glanced down at Bacon. The familiar signs of magical exhaustion had started creeping in. Several hours of maintaining the summon, combined with multiple transmutations, had drained his reserves more than he'd realised. The surprise was that his mana had lasted this long. The maintenance cost must be lower than he'd feared, and the Intelligence and Wisdom gains were helping.

They'd travelled halfway around the island by now, keeping to the forest's outskirts. Bacon had proven himself in battle after battle, their coordination improving with each encounter. The boar understood his commands faster now and anticipated his movements. But he was reaching his limits. Fresh gashes marked his hide that already bore scars from previous fights.

He’d collected seven more Grey Tusk Boar cards. Unlike the Silver Flounder cards, he couldn't see much use for having so many copies. Unless he developed enough mana capacity to maintain a whole party of boars, which seemed unlikely. By the time he reached that level, he'd have moved on to stronger cards.

The second plant he needed remained elusive. He'd been searching for hours without success, and worry gnawed at him. His mother was alone, feverish, and vulnerable. The herb he'd already collected would help with her fever, but she'd been insistent about finding the other plant. 

The sun filtered through the canopy above. Plenty of daylight remained, but he had no intention of staying past evening. Fighting in darkness held no appeal.

"Dismiss Grey Tusk Boar Summon."

Bacon vanished. The card appeared in Myles's palm, and he noticed something different immediately—the name "Bacon" now appeared beneath the image, distinguishing it from the copies in his inventory. He slid it into one of the quick-use slots.

Myles had to fight on his own now until his mana recovered. Fighting so many boars had built his confidence, so long as he avoided facing multiple monsters simultaneously. The lack of variety in his encounters seemed strange, though. Did the boars control the territory along the forest's edge? 

He made his way down to the beach. No monsters had appeared there during his entire exploration. It seemed the sand marked a boundary they wouldn't cross. 

Myles dropped his pack and waded into the shallows. Blood caked his leather armour, the smell grown rank after hours of combat. He splashed water across the stained material, scrubbing where he could reach. The cold shocked his skin, but the relief of being clean outweighed the discomfort.

He dunked his head under, letting the water wash away sweat and grime. When he surfaced, a small boy stood on the beach beside his pack, staring at the water.

Myles grabbed his spear and retreated several steps. The boy didn't react, didn't even glance his way.

"Who are you?"

The boy looked up briefly, shrugged, then returned his attention to the waves.

Myles studied him more carefully. Something felt wrong. The boy appeared alive at first glance, but a translucent quality marked his form—sunlight passed through him in places. His Omniscient Eyes detected nothing. No aura, no indication of level or threat.

He appeared to be around eight years old. What was he doing here on Monster Island?

"I can't remember my name," the boy said. “Or anything else about me, since I woke up here.”

"Are you from the village?"

"I don't know what village you're referring to. But I have this overwhelming urge to cross the water. Maybe I'm trying to return to the other island?"

"If you are, you're in the wrong spot."

"It doesn't matter. I'm too afraid of the water to even attempt it."

"I know what that feels like." Myles lowered the spear slightly. "There are stepping stones on the south side  of the island you can use."

"Already tried. I can't cross, no matter how much I try. It’s as if an invisible force is holding me back."

"How are you able to stay here without the monsters hunting you?"

The boy's expression flattened. "Are you stupid? I'm dead. Nothing but a spirit that lingers here."

"I thought there was something wrong with you, but I didn't want to assume." Myles waded back to shore. "Do you remember how you got here? How did you die?"

"No."

"Well, I'm Myles. What should I call you?"

Another shrug.

Myles rubbed his temple, thinking it over. "I'll call you Nestor."

"Does that name have some kind of meaning?"

"Who knows? It’s the first name that popped into my head."

Myles returned to his pack. The encounter was interesting, but hunger took priority. He gathered loose sticks and dry plant matter from the beach, arranged them carefully, and struck his flint until sparks caught. The small flame grew as he coaxed it with additional fuel.

Once the fire built up enough, he summoned his Monster Catalogue and pulled out a Silver Flounder card. Fresh fish sounded perfect. 

Before he could activate it, Nestor appeared beside him, staring at the card. "What is that?" 

"Watch."

Myles activated the card. It dissolved into three fish fillets that materialised in his palm. He retrieved his pan from his pack, set it on the fire, and laid the fillets inside. The sizzle of cooking fish filled the air.

"Is that your ability?” Nestor asked. “What class do you have?"

"I thought you didn't remember much? But you know about the System?"

"I know it's strange. I remember some things, but nothing about myself. Just odd feelings I get from time to time. For example, I know I'm interested in cards."

Myles frowned. They had one more thing in common, just like their fear of water. A coincidence too convenient to ignore.

Nestor crouched down. "What is that book for? How does your ability work?"

The spirit's interest felt excessive. Myles considered the risks of sharing his class information. Nestor couldn't leave Monster Island, couldn't even cross back to Barrier Island. What threat could he pose? But giving away information for nothing went against his instincts. Myles paused as an idea occurred to him. 

"I'm assuming the monsters aren't a danger to you, considering you're a spirit," he said.

Nestor nodded. "Nothing on this island can touch me."

"Then you must have explored thoroughly. You know about the monsters and their territories. The plants."

"I only explore during the day, so I don't know anything about nocturnal monsters. But I know everything else."

"What happens at night?"

"I don't know. As soon as the sun goes down, something happens. I wake the next morning with no memories of what occurred during the night."

"Strange." Myles flipped the fillets. "I don't need to know what crawls out after dark—I'll be gone by then. But I want to make an exchange. You provide information about the island, and I'll tell you about my class."

"Deal." Nestor extended his hand.

Myles stared at it for a moment before reaching out. His fingers passed straight through the translucent palm.

"Oops, I forgot." Nestor withdrew his hand with an embarrassed shrug.

"Forget about it," Myles said. "Before I tell you about my class, can you tell me where I can find a particular plant? It's an orange broad-leaf with prominent veins. I've searched half the perimeter and haven't found it."

"You came from the south of the island, right?" Nestor gestured along the coastline. "If you keep following the perimeter of the forest, you'll find it. The plant is hard to miss."

"Okay, that's a relief." Myles pulled the pan from the fire and set it aside to cool. "I'll tell you about my class."

He kept the explanation succinct, outlining the Card Transmutator's basic functions whilst eating. Nestor listened closely, his excitement growing with each new detail.

"That's incredible," Nestor said once Myles finished. "How closely are the cards' abilities related to the monster you transmute them from? It might give me an idea as to what monster you should target next."

"Monster Summons are directly connected, obviously. Item Transmutation Cards, however, are a bit less clear."

"You can't gain skills or abilities from the cards?"

"Not at the moment. I get upgrades every five levels, but I’m not sure what they will be."

Nestor frowned. "You have to rely on finding reliable Monster Summon cards, then."

"The problem is that they require mana to operate, and I'm running low at the moment."

"Then you need to focus on levelling up by fighting monsters that aren't too difficult."

Myles sighed. "I've been fighting the boars, but it will take too long to continue levelling up with them alone."

"If you want to fight something slightly stronger than the boars, I can guide you to where their territory is. You shouldn't have any problems defeating them with your spear."

Myles picked up his weapon and inspected it. Deep scratches marred the shaft where tusks had grazed the wood. Hairline fractures had formed in the sections that had borne the brunt of the impact. He didn't know how long it would last before it broke. If that happened, he was screwed.

The shaft was made from hardwood not found in the cove where he lived. He'd traded a substantial portion of their goods for it. He would have to wait to trade for another one, if he could afford it.

Judging from his class progression, he was more inclined towards a magic class than anything else. The problem was that he didn't have any abilities to take advantage of it.

"Alright." Myles stood and kicked sand over the fire. "First, we'll gather the plant. After that, you can guide me to the monster's territory.. I should be able to level up twice more before dark."

"Make sure you leave plenty of time to leave the island before dark."

"What do you mean by that?"

Nestor shrugged. "I don't know. Just a feeling I have."

Myles took heed of his words. He sensed the spirit was more than it appeared, but he had no solid proof. The boy's knowledge was useful, and as long as he stayed cautious, there shouldn't be any issues.

So, what do you think? In the next chapter, Myles keeps levelling up and receives some upgrades.